Selfridge clinches first career Top-10
Jack Senior with the SSE Scottish Hydro Challenge trophy. Picture: Getty Images
Chris Selfridge added another €5,083 to his bank balance and moved up the Challenge Tour money list thanks to the first Top 10 of his professional career.
The Moyola Park star, 23, tied for 10th in the SSE Scottish Hydro Challenge hosted by Macdonald Hotels and Resorts and is now 56th in the Road to Oman rankings with €11,160 from just four starts.
Two bogeys and three birdies in a closing, one under par 70 left the four-time Irish amateur major winner—he won two Norths, one East and one Irish Close—seven strokes outside a three-man playoff of the title that saw England’s Jack Senior secure a maiden Challenge Tour title after four extra holes.
The 26 year old eagled the par four ninth hole at Macdonald Spey Valley Golf Club to burst into back nine contention and then birdied the 13th and 16th holes before rolling home a 15 foot birdie putt on the 72nd hole to secure a play-off with compatriot Robert Coles and Thailand’s Prom Meesawat.
Senior’s final round of four under 67 set the clubhouse target of 16 under par which was soon matched by Meesawat (68) and Coles (70).
Inseparable after 72 holes, the trio returned to the 18th three times but a winner could not be determined so they moved to the first where Senior’s booming drive almost found the par four green.
With Meesawat and Coles playing their second shots to 25 and 20 feet respectively, Senior knew he had a great chance if he could land his chip close.
With the pressure on again, the former Walker Cup player responded brilliantly again as he flopped his chip to just six inches.
With Meesawat and Coles missing their birdie putts, Senior was left the easiest winning putt he will ever have and tapped-in for a potentially career-changing victory worth €40,000 that propels him from 29th to third in the Road to Oman Rankings and a great position to win one of the 15 European Tour cards on offer to the Challenge Tour’s finest at the end of the season.
“Hitting driver down the first in the play-off was massive,” said Senior. “I knew the other two guys didn’t have the firepower to get it over the hill. I hit driver there this morning and every time the wind was right I was going to hit driver because the shot really suited me.
“I actually thought I could get it on the green if I got the right line but I was just happy I got it close and had a great lie so all I really had to do was flick it up there and it was always going to release to the pin.
Senior has been close to making his breakthrough on the Challenge Tour, most notably at the Made in Denmark Challenge but a poor final round saw him finish tied for fourth.
“I should have won in Denmark a few weeks ago but had a disappointing finish there so to come here just a few weeks later is very satisfying,” he smiled.
“The key today was the eagle on nine. I hit a great drive and just committed to it. I just thought ‘you have to stand up and be counted’ and I hit a great drive down there onto the green to about five feet and rolled in the putt.
“After that, which was just after I made a great birdie on eight from a horrendous lie, that’s when I thought that maybe I had a chance to win, that it might be my day. I knew I had been playing well enough to win recently but you just never know till you get over the line.”
Rathmore’s Alan Dunbar tied for 35th on three under after a 70 in what was just second Challenge Tour start of the season.
As for the Road to Oman standings, Ruaidhri McGee is eighth from nine starts, Selfridge 56th (4 starts), Gareth Shaw 66th (5), Simon Thornton 126th (4), Mick McGeady 157th (5), Dunbar 159th (2), Gareth Maybin 173rd (4), Richard Kilpatrick 174th (2), Kevin Phelan 184th (1), Peter Lawrie 185th (1), Niall Kearney 207th (1), Stephen Grant 213th (5) and David Rawluk 234th (1).
Complete Final Round Scores
268 J Senior (Eng) 66 69 66 67 *Senior wins sudden-death play-off at the fourth extra hole, R Coles (Eng) 66 66 66 70, P Meesawat (Tha) 65 69 66 68,
270 G Boyd (Eng) 64 64 70 72,
271 J Hansen (Den) 68 68 69 66,
273 M Orrin (Eng) 68 65 72 68, M Lafeber (Ned) 65 71 68 69, R McGowan (Eng) 66 71 67 69, J Heath (Eng) 68 70 68 67,
275 S Griffiths (Eng) 72 67 67 69, Chris Selfridge (Nir) 69 65 71 70, R Fox (Nzl) 68 69 70 68,
276 R Kellett (Sco) 68 67 70 71, S Jeppesen (Swe) 68 70 67 71, J Stalter (Fra) 67 67 72 70, R Evans (Eng) 68 68 68 72,
277 H Porteous (RSA) 67 71 67 72, J Lima (Por) 65 73 68 71, T Remkes (Ned) 69 67 68 73,
278 R Gouveia (Por) 70 70 70 68, P Archer (Eng) 72 67 70 69,
279 D Burmester (RSA) 66 70 70 73, O Bekker (RSA) 70 69 68 72, S Heisele (Ger) 68 69 70 72, M Søgaard (Den) 72 68 68 71, T Pilkadaris (Aus) 68 71 73 67, C Ford (Eng) 70 66 73 70, A McArthur (Sco) 70 67 68 74, E Saltman (Sco) 66 74 69 70,
280 R Davies (Wal) 68 72 70 70, S Arnold (Aus) 70 69 74 67, E Bertheussen (Nor) 67 71 67 75, J Guerrier (Fra) 70 70 68 72, C Shinkwin (Eng) 69 69 71 71,
281 T Linard (Fra) 70 67 72 72, J Makitalo (Fin) 69 69 72 71, D Im (USA) 71 69 68 73, Alan Dunbar (Nir) 69 70 72 70, S Garcia Rodriguez (Esp) 73 67 73 68,
282 J Billing (Swe) 71 69 69 73, C Hanson (Eng) 72 68 71 71, M Röhrig (Ger) 68 70 73 71, C Gloet (Den) 69 71 71 71, C Arendell (USA) 70 70 71 71, J Fahrbring (Swe) 68 72 72 70, N Elvira (Esp) 71 67 71 73, G Lockerbie (Eng) 72 68 71 71,
283 D Coupland (Eng) 72 65 73 73, W Harrold (Eng) 68 66 73 76, M Delpodio (Ita) 71 68 71 73, J Sarasti (Esp) 71 69 73 70, D Huizing (Ned) 69 71 71 72, B Åkesson (Swe) 69 67 74 73, G Forrest (am) (Sco) 73 67 72 71,
284 J Gonnet (Fra) 70 68 72 74, F Andersson Hed (Swe) 70 69 70 75, F Calmels (Fra) 72 65 73 74, N Kimsey (Eng) 70 70 74 70,
285 N Henderson (Sco) 68 72 70 75,
286 S Walker (Eng) 71 67 72 76, A Knappe (Ger) 69 71 77 69, B Etchart (Esp) 69 71 67 79, S Gros (Fra) 71 69 72 74,
287 N Quintarelli (Ita) 68 71 72 76, J Huldahl (Den) 71 69 71 76,
288 D Dixon (Eng) 68 71 76 73, P Dwyer (Eng) 69 71 75 73, J McDonald (am) (Sco) 70 70 74 74,
289 A Bernadet (Fra) 70 70 70 79,
295 J Byrne (Sco) 70 70 76 79.
