Robert Steele won The Pandora 2010 Open at Burhill Golf Club in Surrey on the first play-off hole against Sean Doherty to win the second event on the 2010 PGA EuroPro Tour. Scotsman Craig Lee (Aspire Golf Centre) claimed third spot two shots behind Steele and Doherty at six under par, reward for a second round 66 and a final round of 70, which could’ve been different had it not been for bogeys at the first and last holes.
Five players tied for fourth spot at five under par.
Paul O’Hanlon was the best of the Irish contingent in a three way tie for 9th place after signing for a level par on the final day on 5 under. At one point O’Hanlon had gone three under after birdies on holes 1, 3 and 5 but then dropped the shots on the back nine to finish level.
Michael Collins birdied the 8th to recover one of three dropped shots on the front nine making the turn in two par. Then two birdies on the 10th and 16th left him level par until the 18th where a wide tee shot left him with a double bogey finish and a score of -4 overall.
Michael McGeady carded a 75 with a costly double on the 13th to end on -1 overall.
Cian McNamara finished on 74 despite an eagle on the par five 11th hole and ended the tournament +2.
Michael Collins reflected on round afterwards;
“I feel it’s very important to be honest with yourself when assessing what happened or else you can become a bit delusional.”
“The final round was a battle and I lost. I had no idea where the ball was going from flag fall. Bogeys on 3, 6 and 7 had me on the back foot early on and struggling. However, I kept at it as always, and birdies on 8, 10 and 16 got me back to level for the day and back in the top 10. I felt I was winning at that stage and a good sand save out of the left trap on the difficult 17th kept me going.”
“All that was left was the tough 198 yard 18th to negotiate. I decided a 4 iron was the best option but it needed to be a good one. Unfortunately, it wasn’t, taking off to the right and towards the 200 foot high tree situated short right of the green which spat the ball out to the right.”
“A ‘debate’ ensued with a referee as I felt the ball was in G.U.R. but he didn’t agree. For the record, I still think I was right as the club had removed trees a few months ago from this area and it still had not recovered. Anyway, the resulting double bogey left a sour taste but on reflection, 16th position after a week where I struggled with my long game has to be seen as a good result.
“I did see the funny side of the 18th after the round when Stan informed me that he overheard one of the members commenting to his friend that - ‘ I have often hit that tree but I don’t think I’ve ever been as wide as that lad!’
“An epic journey followed leaving South London at 5.30pm on a Friday evening of a Bank Holiday weekend! Holyhead took a smug 7 ½ hours but all was ok as I got 2 hours sleep across 4 chairs on the ferry and then drove down home to Mallow arriving at 9.45 Saturday morning. Amazingly, the car journey didn’t seem that long due to the high quality in car entertainment; that is Barrie Trainor and Stan throwing unbelievable shapes to music ranging from Fat Boy Slim to Paulo Nutini - Crazy Stuff!!!”
The next event on the 2010 PGA EuroPro Tour takes place at Castle Dargan in Sligo from Wednesday June 2.
