Poor putting sees O'Hara forced back

Published on Monday 16 November 2009 21:55

TWELVE months after topping the table for the most greens hit in regulation on the European Tour, Steven O'Hara showed his accuracy once again by finishing fifth in those same standings on this year's circuit. Only Sergio Garcia, Retief Goosen, Soren Hansen and Rory McIlroy were ahead of him.

Yet, in a clear indication of how much O'Hara has been let down by his putting, the former Scottish Amateur champion from Motherwell finds himself heading back to the Qualifying School after failing to secure a place in the top 115 on the money list.

O'Hara, in fact, finished 151st and that means he'll have to enter the qualifying process at the second stage, which is being held at four courses in southern Spain which tees off on Friday. The 29-year-old is in the field at Arcos Gardens, while his younger brother, Paul, will be among the hopefuls at Hacienda del Alamo.

Also heading for the Tour School are Andrew Coltart (122nd),

Scott Drummond (128th), Callum Macaulay (134th), Alan McLean (165th) and Chris Doak (168th).

Meanwhile, Martin Laird has jumped up one place to 103rd in the latest world rankings, the PGA Tour player having been a lowly 268th in those standings a year ago.