Lee fires stunning 61 to complete Masters rally

CRAIG Lee, who started the tournament with a double-bogey six, capped an incredible recovery by winning The Dunlop Masters, the latest event on the PGA EuroPro Tour, by six shots at Bovey Castle in Devon yesterday.

The 33-year-old, who is attached to Aspire Golf Centre near Aberdeen, carded a closing 61, nine-under-par, to claim the 10,000 first prize with an 18-under-par total of 192.

Lee, the 2009 Northern Open champion, had put himself in contention with a second-round 63 that included a seven-under-par front nine of 28. That earned him a share of the lead going into the final round and the Scot again got off to a storming start.

He reeled off seven successive 3s and was out in 29 before slamming the door shut on the chasing pack early in the back nine with a birdie at the 11th followed by an eagle-3 at the 12th.

For the third day in a row, Lee dropped a shot at the par-4 16th but a closing birdie was a fitting way to sign off.

The win has lifted Lee, who was playing in only his third event of the season on the EuroPro Tour, into second place behind Australian Daniel Gaunt on the Order of Merit with earnings of just over 13,000 from three events.

The top five in the rankings at the end of the season secure cards for the Challenge Tour and Lee will be hoping to use that as a stepping stone back to the main European circuit. He lost his card at the end of the 2008 season and since then has been playing on a mixture of circuits, including the Tartan Tour.

Hornsea's Steve Uzzell finished second, with three more Englishman – Andrew Johnston (North Middlesex), James Busby (The Shropshire) and Sean Doherty (Bury GC) – tying for third.

Meanwhile, Englishman Robert Dinwiddie has moved into a three-way tie for the lead at the Saint-Omer Open. Starting on the 10th, Dinwiddie, from Barnard Castle, joined overnight leaders Martin Wiegele and Colm Moriarty at the top of the leaderboard on five under par after a fine start to his second round. After four straight pars, he picked up five birdies in the next 11 holes.

Austrian Wiegele struggled to match his opening 66 with a level-par 71 while Irishman Moriarty parred the opening two holes of his second round.

Denmark's Mark Haastrup sits fourth on four under after a wild round which featured seven birdies and three bogeys through 16 holes.