Greg McBain secures title after Deeside play-off

ABERDONIAN Greg McBain (Paul Lawrie Golf Centre) led from start to finish to win the Paul Lawrie Invitational at Deeside Golf Club for the second time in three years – but he had to play two extra holes before clinching the title and £7,500 first prize.

Iceland's Gisli Sveinbergsson with the trophy after winning the 2014 Duke of York Young Champions Trophy at Royal Aberdeen

McBain, 30, beat Grantown-on-Spey’s Gavin Hay (Nairn Dunbar), this year’s Scottish Young Professionals champion, with a birdie at the second hole of a sudden death play-off.

They had tied at the end of the regulation 54 holes on ten-under-par 200. Hay, 23, set the clubhouse target after a closing round of 64, and McBain, thanks to birdies at the 16th and 17th, shot a 66 to force the play-off.

The par-4 18th was used for the shoot-out. It was halved first time round in 4s. McBain then holed a 12-foot birdie putt the next time after Hay had been a touch strong with his approach and chipped downhill to within a yard of the hole.

It was McBain’s fourth win on the Tartan Tour this season and boosted his earnings to over the £26,000 mark, which ranks as his highest yet.

“I heard that Gavin Hay was back in the clubhouse at ten-under-par, which meant I had to birdie at least two of the last three holes, just to force a play-off,” said McBain. “I came into this tournament playing well and was pleased with the way I kept the good form going.”