Shaun McAllister falls short in Cork but earns biggest pro payday

Published on Friday 8 July 2011 21:49

CRAIGIELAW'S Shaun McAllister, well placed overnight, did not win the top prize of £10,000 in this week's PGA EuroPro Tour event, the Audi Cork Irish Masters, but nobody could accuse the young Scot of buckling under the last-day pressure at the Fota Island Resort.

McAllister shot rounds of 68, 70 and 70 for an eight-under-par total of 208, finishing joint third behind first-time winner Paul Reed (Bristol and Clifton).

McAllister birdied the ninth, short 13th, 15th and short 17th in his final sub-par round, dropping shots at the short 11th and 14th.

It was his highest ever finish on the EuroPro Tour and the 2,100 reward was his biggest payslip so far as a professional. He's on a learning curve and this will give him a huge confidence boost.

Chris Kelly (Cawder) was the next best Scottish pro in joint 16th place on 216 for which he earned 429.

lHaving won numerous titles and the Order of Merit on both the European and Senior Tour, Ian Woosnam will go in search of the one prize missing from his glittering CV at The Senior Open Championship, played from July 21-24.

Woosnam won 29 times on the European Tour - with his most memorable triumph coming at the 1991 Masters Tournament - and has added a further four titles since joining the Senior ranks, but victory in a Senior major has thus far eluded him.

However, the diminutive Welshman is hopeful of building on his tied eighth finish at last year's Senior Open Championship, which marked his first top ten finish in a Senior major.

He said: "Other than The Masters, the Senior Open Championship is the biggest tournament I'll play in this year, so it goes without saying that I'd love to win it.

"It's a Senior major and at this stage of my life it's probably the only realistic chance I have of winning another major tournament, because I'm not likely to be slipping on the Green Jacket again any time soon. So I hope I can give it a good go."

Having recently broken a two-year drought with his victory at the Berenberg Bank Masters in Cologne, Woosnam is heading to the historic Walton Heath Golf Club in Epsom, Surrey, with his confidence fully restored.