John Murphy closed with a three-under 69 to finish in a tie for sixth place at the Clutch Pro Tour’s Mannings Heath Masters, as England’s Giles Evans stormed to victory and top spot on the Order of Merit.
The third-to-last event of the campaign carried 1.25x points in the race to secure promotion to the HotelPlanner Tour, and Murphy, who came into the week in sixth place, entered the final round in a share of fifth place and three back, knowing a win would likely vault him to the top of the rankings.
And he got off to the perfect start, birdieing each of the opening three holes but bogeys on four and seven left him an uphill task as the birdies were flying in elsewhere. Further birdies on eight, 12 and 16 got him to -12 but a closing bogey cost him a two-way share of fifth place and instead he had to settle for a three-way tie for sixth.
The Kinsale man holds onto his sixth place on the Order of Merit, but both Alex Maguire and Paul McBride – who were ranked second and third respectively – fell out of the top three after missing the cut. Maguire now lies fourth, McBride fifth, and Murphy sixth, though all three know that their fate lies in their own hands over the final two events.
Evans was two behind Angus Flanagan who was seeking his second win in a row and Oliver Sullivan, but he produced a scintillating final round, firing eight birdies in a bogey-free 64 to take a two-stroke win over Flanagan with Canada’s Callum Davison and Tom Gandy from the Isle of Man taking joint third at -14, one further adrift.
Giles now takes over top spot in the rankings from OJ Farrell who was relegated to third as Flanagan moved into second place.
Attention now turns to the Caddy Club Championship at Ingrebourne Links which kicks off on Tuesday August 18th, before the season-ending Tour Championship at Slaley Hall at the end of September.
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