Wright revels in another play-off win
Gareth Wright certainly loves a play-off in East Lothian. He’s now won four of them in the past four years on Scotland’s Golf Coast following yesterday’s dramatic victory in the £50,000 P&H Championship at The Renaissance Club.
In a last-day tussle between two players who, unusually for professionals, use yellow balls, the Edinburgh-based Welshman stood on the last tee trailing his playing partner, Greig Hutcheon, by two shots before forcing a play-off by hitting his 7-iron approach to five feet for a closing birdie against the leader’s bogey.
Hutcheon, who’d been partially blocked out by a tree after seeing his tee shot at the last drift further in the wind than he’d anticipated, then caught a branch with his second at the first play-off, which he lost to a regulation par-4 from his title rival.
Wright’s fourth shoot-out success in East Lothian follows his success in qualifying for the 2013 Open Championship at Muirfield in a play-off at North Berwick before he repeated the feat at the same course to get into the 2015 Scottish Open at Gullane.
He then triumphed in another play-off to secure a spot in the Paul Lawrie Match Play at Archerfield Links last year and is, unsurprisingly, already looking forward to returning to the same neck of the woods next year for another Scottish Open qualifier.
“I certainly like play-offs in East Lothian,” said the 35-yearold, who picked up £5750 for the overall victory and an additional £1500 for being the leading club professional after 36 holes. “I definitely wouldn’t say no, that’s for sure, if you offered me the same route into next year’s Scottish Open when it comes back to Gullane.”
Wright, who also won last year’s Scottish PGA Championship at Gleneagles in a playoff, trailed Hutcheon by three shots after the eighth in the final round, then got it back to one before the gap increased again following a Hutcheon birdie at the 16th.
Hutcheon, who clinched victory for Great Britain & Ireland in the PGA Cup at Foxhills in Surrey last Sunday, was left kicking himself, though, after failing to convert a five-foot birdie chance at the 17th before racing his first putt from off the green 15 feet past the hole at the last then leaving the next one agonisingly short.
“I had a chance to seal it at the 17th as that would have given me a three-shot lead,” said the 44-year-old, who is attached to the Paul Lawrie Golf Centre Inchmarlo. “On the plus side, it was one of my best weeks of the year. I played a lot better, made a cheque and it’s heading into winter – happy days!”
On 10-under-par 203, Wright and Hutcheon finished a shot ahead of fast-finishing duo Neil Fenwick (Dunbar) and Alan Welsh (Cathkin Braes). They both closed with best-ofthe-week 64s.