Talk about a double celebration. In the week that he turned 21, Ciaran Jones also toasted the biggest win of his fledgling professional career as he landed the Sandy Pipey Young Masters title at Royal Dornoch.
The Deer Park assistant reeled off rounds of 69 and 67 for a four-under aggregate and a narrow one-stroke victory over Deeside’s Kevin Duncan.
Jones, who has just completed his first year of The PGA training programme, had arrived at Dornoch the morning after the night before. “My score in the Pro-Am probably reflected my birthday celebrations, I was five-over,” he chuckled.
Once the tournament itself got underway, though, Jones had shrugged off the lingering birthday effects. An opening 69 left him in a tie at the top after day one and he made his move in the closing round.
His nearest rival Duncan certainly enjoyed an eventful final 18. His two-under front-nine included just one par while a double-bogey on the 11th left him with it all to do.
Jones, meanwhile, was making steady progress and, after a stream of pars, he upped the ante with birdies at the ninth and 12th.
As Duncan rallied with a trio of birdies at 12, 14 and 15, Jones struck a decisive blow on the 17th with a neatly executed 9-iron which rolled to within three-feet of the hole and set up a crucial birdie. Jones, however, didn’t appreciate the magnitude of the moment.
“The first time I looked at the leaderboard was after hitting my second shot to the 18th,” explained Jones, who picked up the first prize of £2,300. “I’d read the leaderboard and saw I was three-under and tied but that was my score for the day.
“I was actually four-under for the tournament and leading. I cosied it up there thinking ‘two putts for a play-off’ but it was actually two putts to win it.”
Jones recently made the switch to the well-respected and well-travelled PGA coach, Spencer Henderson, and the move has reaped an instant reward.
“A million thanks to Spencer because he deserves a lot of credit,” added Jones, who was a junior at Bathgate, that celebrated West Lothian club that produced decorated Ryder Cup men Eric Brown and Bernard and Stephen Gallacher.
“My head and my game were just on different planets. Spencer has tweaked what’s there and now I understand what causes what I do. Playing under pressure over the last few holes underlined the work he has done.
“I was actually ready to give up playing competitively not that long ago until I took up with Spencer. I came here with no expectations so winning has been an amazing. It’s not sunk in yet.”
With Duncan finishing runner-up, there was an excellent performance from female PGA trainee, Taylor White of Cathkin Braes, as she posted rounds of 70 and 69 to finish sixth on one-under.
Jordan Sundborg, the winner of the Scottish Young Professionals’ title earlier in the campaign, was confirmed as the winner of the 2024 Order of Merit.
Click here for all the scores from Royal Dornoch
