Lewis Scott (Lee-on-The-Solent Golf Club) shot the best round of the tournament with a seven-under-par 65 and overcame Graeme Robertson (Fairways Golf Studios) in a three-hole play-off to win the Coca-Cola PGA Assistants' Championship at Farleigh.
Scott burst through the field on the final day to finish level with Robertson on 14-under-par and force a play-off at the 18th. It took three attempts to decide a winner with Scott holing a lengthy birdie to claim the historic trophy.
Reflecting on his performance at Farleigh this week, Scott said: “It’s been a good few days - day one and day two were very steady for me, I didn’t hole many putts, I didn’t go crazy out there so I just knew there was a low round out there today, but I’ve played steady golf throughout.
“I just didn’t quite get the ball rolling the first two rounds, but obviously today I holed a few really important putts, especially coming in down the stretch, getting birdies at 16 and 17 - tough holes into the wind - and obviously that put me in a position to win the play-off.”
The 17th hole at Farleigh has been one that’s caused headaches for a number of players throughout the week, but Scott managed to birdie the hole during the final day’s play, where Robertson made bogey shortly afterwards, with the two-shot swing leading to the play-off.
Scott continued: “It’s a tricky hole and with the wind today being the strongest of the three days, it made it trickier.
"It’s an awkward tee shot because you want to try and cut the corner but you don’t know how much is too much with the hazard down the right, so I hit a good solid tee shot, left myself 172 yards up the hill into the wind and just hit a really solid 6 iron, landed up there perfectly and left myself 15 foot below the hole. Then obviously the bonus was holing the putt, so I was very happy with that.”
Being a third-year trainee, the 2023 edition of the Coca-Cola PGA Assistants’ Championship was the final opportunity for Scott to be able to win the trophy. He added: “It just dawned on me that I’ve just finished year three - I played in this event the last two years and didn’t manage to do anything, so it’s nice to win it on my last chance.”
Elsewhere, Daniel Brown (Sene Valley Golf Club) finished on 12-under-par, while Melissa Wood finished as the highest female on eight-under-par.
