Craig Lee secures DP World Tour starts after winning PGA Play-Offs

Craig Lee teed up some exciting starts on the DP World Tour this season after recording an impressive three-shot victory in the PGA Play-Offs at Aphrodite Hills in Cyprus.

Craig Lee, pictured playing in last year's Loch Lomond Whiskies' Scottish PGA Championship at West Kilbride, won the PGA Play-Offs by thre shots at Aphrodite Hills in Cyprus. Picture: Mark Runnacles/Getty Images.

The 45-year-old followed two opening rounds of two-under 69 on the Mediterranean island with a closing five-under-par 66 to win comfortably from Englishman Daniel Whitby-Smith (65).

In addition to a £3,500 top prize, the success also secured starts for Lee, who runs his own golf studio in Stirling, in a number of DP World Tour and Challenge Tour events.

He will play the Betfred British Masters, the ISPS Handa World Invitational, the Horizon Irish Open and the BMW PGA Championship on the DP World Tour, as well as the Challenge Tour’s British Challenge and Scottish Challenge.

“It’s awesome,” said Lee “Coming into the week I didn’t know what to expect as I haven’t played a huge amount of golf recently, but I grafted.”

Lee held a DP World Tour card for five seasons between 2012 and 2016 and has made a total of 186 appearances on the circuit. He finished runner-up to Thomas Bjorn after a play-off in the 2013 Omega European Masters and also claimed top-ten finishes in both the 2012 Irish Open and 2015 Portugal Masters.

His most recent appearance on the circuit was in the 2020 Scottish Open, making the cut after an opening 65 at The Renaissance Club.

Lee, who led by four shots overnight, never looked like being caught after following an early birdie with a burst of three in a row from the seventh to turn in 32. He then added another gain at the par-5 tenth as he signed off with a classy bogey-free performance.

“I made a birdie on seven tand decided to go for the green on eight, then managed to two-putt that, then to get to the turn and see that I still led by a couple of shots was a nice place to be,” added the former Northern Open champion.

He is the second successive Scot to win the PGA Play-Offs after Greig Hutcheon triumphed last year at Slieve Russell in Ireland.

Paul O’Hara finished eight shots behind Lee in fourth place, with Alastair Forsyth, the third Scot in a 24-player field, ending up in a tie for 14th on seven-over.