Simon Thornton raced to a 6 under par total for his opening nine holes in the final round of the Irish PGA giving him an unassailable lead in the race for the 101st PGA title. While the putts didn’t drop as frequently on the back nine, and he had his only bogey on the 11 in 4 days of excellent golf, he maintained his advantage right to the end. His four rounds of 66 ,66, 71, 66 for a winning total of nineteen under par was ten shots better than last years winning score.
The other major highlight of Saturdays play was Gary Murphy’s new course record of 64 on his way to overall second place at 13 under par.
Des Smyth kept the flag flying for the locals and came joint third with Seamus McMonagle on 12 under par.
Graham O’Callaghan finished the best of the home grown Seapoint team with a score of 8 over, followed by David Winters on 9 over and Enda Maguire 13 over. The fact that three young Seapoint members had made the cut and completed at this level was a source of great pride to the club.
A big thank you to all the volunteers, helpers and staff that made the four days go off very successfully and to the Green’s staff for presenting the course in such excellent condition for the competition.
Winner Simon Thornton receives the Irish PGA trophy from Capt John Garvey.