Jack McDonald hails 'best decision' after winning Scottish PGA at West Kilbride
Whitecraigs-attached player joins his boss David Orr on trophy after polished performance in Ayrshire
Jack McDonald produced a fine display of frontrunning golf to cruise to victory in the Ramsdens Currency Scottish PGA Championship at West Kilbride.
The 33-year-old Whitecraigs assistant, who was making his first appearance in the Tartan Tour’s flagship event, closed with a six-under 65 for a 13-under total and won by five shots from Gavin Hay and Graeme Robertson.
McDonald, who had been leading by two strokes after 54-holes, could even afford the luxury of a bogey on the 18th as he enjoyed a procession to a coronation. It was his only dropped shot over the final 36-holes.
“I’m absolutely delighted,” said Ayrshireman McDonald, whose sizzling summer has also included an appearance in The Open Championship.
“This is the flagship event for the Tartan Tour. To win it at my first go is unbelievable. This was some of the best golf I’ve played all season. Every shot I hit came off.
“I knew I was leading on the way in, and I just tried to make as many birdies as possible coming home to keep myself ahead.
“It was a nice lead to have playing the 18th. I hit a 7-iron off the tee and the bunker is 244-yards away and I wasn’t expecting it to go that far and go in it.
“I would never hit a 7-iron that far but that’s how fiery the course was. I just composed myself and got it on the green. It’s a great feeling."
‘Back working in shop over weekend’
David Orr, who McDonald is doing his PGA training under at Whitecraigs on Glasgow’s southside, also has his name on the cherished old trophy. “I’m back in the shop working at the weekend,” chuckled McDonald. “I wouldn’t expect David to give me more time off.”
McDonald stepped back from full-time touring golf to start his PGA training earlier this year and the former Walker Cup player continues to revel in the change in career direction.
“It’s one of the best decisions I’ve made,” he said. "It’s taken a lot of pressure off my performance golf. I can work and do other things and then go out and just play and enjoy it again. It’s been really good.”
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