Graham Fox conjures grandstand finish to win the Northern Open at Moray

Graham Fox conjured the kind of finish that grandstands were invented for as he trundled in a raking birdie putt on the final green to seize the Arnold Clark Tartan Tour’s Northern Open title for the first time.

Graham Fox, right, shows off the Northern Open trophy after his win at Moray Golf Club in Lossiemouth, where Ryan Bain claimed the Bookless Trophy as leading amateur. Picture: PGA in Scotland

The 45-year-old, who had been holding a slender one-shot lead after Thursday’s opening round, recovered from a ruinous outward half and capped a spirited back-nine with a huge putt across the 18th to plunder the prize and the plaudits.

That gave West Kilbride man Fox a battling level-par 71 for a two-under aggregate of 140 and a one stroke victory over the two-time Northern Open champion, Paul O’Hara.

“It must have been 60-odd feet,” said Fox with a gasp of triumph as he added the coveted crown to the two Scottish PGA Championship titles he has won during a long career on the domestic circuit. “It’s just one of these things, you try to get the pace right and luckily enough it curled in with the last roll of the ball.”

Holding a narrow advantage heading into the closing round, Fox set about fortifying his position at the summit and a birdie on the first gave him the ideal start.

But O’Hara, aiming to become just the fourth player in 50 years to win three or more Northern Opens, mounted a bold offensive and a trio of birdies over the first four holes swiftly had him in command.

After dropping a shot on the third, Fox endured a wretched run towards the turn and leaked four shots in a row from the sixth.

At one point, Fox was four strokes behind, but the former DP World Tour player steadied the ship and began to repair the damage. A birdie on the 10th kick-started his revival before another monstrous putt on the 13th for birdie upped the ante.

Having crucially saved his par on the 14th with a 20-footer from off the green, Fox made birdie on the 15th to stay right in the thick of it.

With O’Hara spilling shots at 10 and 13, there was nothing between the sparring duo as they came down the last but Fox delivered a knock-out blow with that thrilling putt for a title-winning three.

“I lucked out on the back-nine,” added Fox with a wry chuckle. “Paul got a bit unlucky with a couple of his shots and I holed a couple of monster putts. It was just momentum. And a bit of luck. You need that on days like this.”

O’Hara signed off with a 71 for a one-under tally of 141 while local man Albert MacKenzie and Aberdeen veteran Scott Henderson, the winner back in 1996, shared third on 145s.

Strathlene’s Ryan Bain took home the Bookless Cup as the leading amateur after finishing in a share of ninth on five-over.