Mark Laskey wins Rowallan Castle Open following play-off

Mark Laskey beat Tim Rice and Oliver Farr in a play-off to win the Rowallan Castle Open on the PGA EuroPro Tour, after all three finished the tournament six under par.

After no play was possible on day two, the tournament was reduced to 36 holes with only the top 50 plus ties playing the final round.

Laskey (Brocket Hall) started the day two ahead on eight under and at one point had a four-stroke lead on ten under. However, bogeys at nine and ten were followed by a triple at the 11th and Rice (Limerick), who to that point had played his final round to par, then lead on six under and extended his advantage with a birdie at 12.

Farr (Worcester Golf & Country Club) quickly reduced Rice’s lead to one with consecutive birdies from 13 to 15. Laskey ensured the pressure remained on Irishman Rice with a birdie at 15, and though both bogeyed the 16th a birdie on 17 saw Laskey reclaim a share of the lead, with Farr now in the clubhouse on six under.

With the trio all tied for the lead they headed to the 18th tee for the play off, which took three plays of the same hole to complete. Farr dropped out when he bogeyed the second play-off hole and when Rice did the same on the following play, Laskey was crowned Rowallan Castle Open champion 2013. He wins £10,000, a brand new Motocaddy trolley and now leads the PGA EuroPro Tour Order of Merit.

“It is great to get my first PGA EuroPro Tour win,” he said. “It has been a long time coming so it is a bit of a hurdle I have finally jumped.

“When I lead by four I wasn’t thinking too far ahead but I was playing nicely and I was trying to push on and make birdies. I made a couple of sloppy mistakes but managed to keep my head together.

“It was definitely a lot harder today. Left to right winds are something I need to work on and that is where I messed up.

“I knew I was playing well enough and putting well. There are some tough holes to finish but I kept fighting and got into the play off. I haven’t been putting well this year so it was nice to putt well when I needed to.”

A two-hour highlights package of the event will be broadcast on Sky Sports HD at 8pm on Tuesday, August 13, repeated on Wednesday, August 14. The next PGA EuroPro Tour event is the MarHall.com Scottish Classic, which takes place at Mar Hall Golf Club August 7-9.