Matthew Cort (Beedles Lake Golf Club) won his seventh Midlands Order of Merit title after two first place finishes, a tied-sixth and finishing the season tied-second at the Midland Masters. James Freeman (Rotherham Golf Club) and Daniel Whitby-Smith (Drayton Park Golf Club) finished in second and third place in the Midlands Order of Merit rankings and will join Cort at the PGA Play-Offs, held at PGA National Cyprus, Aphrodite Hills Resort in March 2025.
Cort was thrilled to take the title, having previously claimed Order of Merit titles in 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018 and 2021. Speaking after the Midland Masters, he said: “I think when you win an Order of Merit, it proves you've been consistent through the year. I won the first two events, which was great, and then I was kind of out of it this week after the first round, so it was great to come back and have a low one today to get into a play-off. It's not every day you score eight under, so I'm thrilled about that, and to wrap up the Order of Merit is always good.”
Freeman secured his second place spot after two tied-second finishes, a tied-fourth and a tied-sixteenth. His tied-second place finish after a five-way play-off at the Midlands Masters was the determining result.
Freeman said after the event: “It’s absolutely brilliant - it was a goal at the start of the day to see if I could get into position. I thought I was a couple behind coming in and obviously to end up being involved in the play-off, I’m absolutely over the moon. We're all busy pros, so the opportunities you get from the PGA Play-Offs, to play higher up - that's the right kind of nugget at the end of the year to gear us on to winter and come out strong for next season.”
Whitby-Smith had two tied-fourth finishes, a tied-second and a tied-ninth to head into the PGA Play-Offs for the third year in a row.
He said: “I’m very excited, I knew I had to come here and basically win to have a chance. Fortunately I played really nicely and got myself in the play-off. I’m disappointed not to get it over the line, but the main goal was to make the PGA Play-Offs, so I’m really pleased I managed to do that.
“Last year I got two DP World Tour starts - I think that's probably what kept me going again today, just thinking of the outcome at the end. Thankfully, I did enough and I’ll hopefully get some more starts. I’m a big fan of Aphrodite Hills - great golf course, nice hotel, always a nice way to kick off the season.”
See the final Midlands Order of Merit rankings here.
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