Disappointing final round for Padraig as he struggles in tough windy conditions to a one under par round of 71. This came up just one shy of the winner Jerry Kelly. Having never been inside the top thirty on this course, he looked to be well on the way as he went out in level par to maintain his lead but Kelly caught and passed him around the turn and Padraig found himself two behind with two to play. He made a spectacular birdie on the par five 17th where he played a deft pitch to a couple of feet but as Kelly bogied the last, Padraig found the rough off the tee and the same fate awaited him to lose by one. Onwards and upwards!
Padraig surges into the lead at the SAS Championship with a brilliant round of 67 which leaves him with a three shot lead going into Sundays final round. He got off to a fast start with four birdies in his first seven holes and turned in 31 shots. He added two more birdies at the 10th and 12th holes before a visit to the rough cost him a dropped shot at the par four 15th hole. He recovered well at the par five 17th hole to dip under par again but finished with a bogey on the par four 18th hole. He tees off in the final round at 5pm with David Toms and Shane Bertsch.
Padraig opens his account at the SAS Championship with a fine round of six under par 66. It was a blemish free round which is always nice and contained six birdies in all. He got off to a slow start with just one shot picked up on the front nine, at the par four 2nd hole. But he found his form on the back nine, which he covered in a blistering five under par. He currently is just one shot out of the lead!
Padraig plays this week on the PGA Champions Tour for the SAS Championship. It is being played at Prestonwood Country Club in North Carolina and it is an event that Padraig hasn’t won on the Champions Tour. The course plays to a par 72 and can stretch to 7,237 yards. Low scores are the order of the day with Fred Couples shooting twenty under for three rounds in 2022. Should be a fun event!
Tee Times: Opening round Friday at 4.54pm with Steven Alker and Y.E.Yang.