Alastair Forsyth claimed his second Scottish PGA title 22 years after his first as Paul O’Hara suffered a second-place heartbreak yet again at West Kilbride.
The 46-year-old Mearns Castle pro, twice a winner on the European Tour, won the national title as a rookie pro in 2000 on the Queen’s Course at Gleneagles.
This time he won the Loch Lomond Whiskies-sponsored championship in sudden death over the luckless O’Hara, who finished runner-up for a fourth time in the last seven tries.
Ironically, O’Hara’s sole national title came beating Forsyth in a play-off at Downfield in 2019, but this time the older head prevailed.
‘We got there in the end’
Forsyth won at the second play-off hole after the pair had tied on 15-under, Forsyth shooting 68 to O’Hara’s 71, and then claiming the title with a par in extra time.
“We got there in the end,” he said. “This win is probably more satisfying than my first one. Back in 2000, I was up-and-coming and I had my main Tour card.
“This time it was less expected because I’m not playing as much these days. I know my game is good enough but the question is whether it is sharp enough. It was this week.”
That said, Forsyth’s challenge seemed to have vanished when he double-bogeyed the third, having started three behind O’Hara. The Lanarkshire man, the front-runner in the Arnold Clark Tartan Tour Order of Merit, was four ahead of the field playing the front nine.
But Forsyth gradually reeled him in after his poor start, with a birdie at the 5th and a brilliant eagle at the 7th.
“You either let that kind of thing bother you, or you grind it out,” he said.
“It was a strange day. I wasn’t out of it after the third round. But you sometimes think you’re unlikely to catch Paul when he gets his nose in front.
“I actually didn’t look at the scores at all until I saw the board on the 18th and got a pleasant surprise to see I was sharing the lead. I just assumed Paul would be well out in front.
“This is our national championship. It’s the one we all want to win. To do it again is very, very pleasing.”
‘It was not like me at all’
The 2022 @LochLomondMalts Scottish PGA Champion is @Forsythgolf
Alastair won on the second playoff hole against @pohara61, after both players tied after 72 holes on -15 par at @theWKGC #tartantour #pgascotland @ArnoldClark pic.twitter.com/Lc71ZrbWQw
— PGAScotland (@PGAScotland) September 2, 2022
Forsyth’s birdie at 15 put him into the lead but O’Hara, playing in the game behind, immediately replied when he reached the same hole and neither man could force a winning birdie the rest of the day.
O’Hara’s putting stroke let him down in extra-time, missing a chance for birdie at the first. When they returned to the 18th, his par putt from six feet grazed the hole.
“I missed so many putts during the round and it was the same in the play-off,” he said. “I missed a five-footer to win and then a six-footer to keep it going.
“My pace was just miles out. It was not like me at all.”
Craig Lee, last year’s runner-up, closed with a 70 to finish third on 10-under. Graeme Robertson earned the prize for the leading trainee after a 70 gave him fourth on nine-under.