PGA Scottish Championship golf: Jim McKinnon leads by one heading into final round

SOME of the Tartan Tour’s usual suspects are lurking menacingly but the top three spots heading into the final round of the £50,000 PGA Scottish Championship are filled by unheralded players all bidding to secure the biggest win of their careers.

At the end of a day that saw a two-and-a-half hour delay due to the greens on the King’s Course becoming flooded following heavy early-morning rain, Irvine Bogside’s Jim McKinnon emerged as the new leader after a five-under-par 66 for an eight-under total of 205 after 54 holes.

He holds a one-shot cushion over Caldwell’s Christopher Currie (69), with Alan Lockhart, who is attached to Ladybank, lying a stroke further back in the Scottish PGA’s flagship event after he carded a 68. The leading trio have hardly put a foot wrong so far this week in testing conditions but, with the likes of Greig Hutcheon, last year’s Tartan Tour No 1, and former European Tour Rookie of the Year Scott Henderson still in the hunt, their mettle is set to be tested over the closing circuit. McKinnon, a 38-year-old, has three order of merit victories to his name but all of them have been in 36-hole events. His record in marathons like this tournament is less impressive.

“I’ve probably played in it 14 times and this is the first time I’ve been in proper contention,” said the Ayrshireman. “I’ll be nervous, no doubt, as it is probably going to be the biggest golfing day of my life, but I’m looking forward to it.”

The King’s Course greens were already soft following recent rain and all 18 of them required squeegee treatment after almost half an inch of rain cascaded on to the Perthshire course in the space of a few hours.

Players praised the efforts of the Gleneagles greenkeepers in getting the course playable, but the pins were all cut on high points and that is a factor in uncertainty on the greens.

“It’s in the lap of the gods,” observed West Linton’s Gareth Wright, last year’s runner-up and still in contention this time around after a third-round 68 for 209, just four off the lead. “You’ve just got to try and hit it as close as you can and take your luck when it comes around.”

In fairness to McKinnon, it didn’t sound as though his round had much to do with luck. He raced to the turn in 31, having picked up birdies at second, fifth, sixth and eighth, and made another gain at the tenth in a flawless effort. Revealing he’d missed a number of other birdie chances, including one from less than two feet at the 11th, the leader said: “I hit 18 greens in regulation and a 60 was definitely on. My game is really solid and I also feel good playing with a new Srixon ball that I put in the bag for the first time on Monday.”

Currie, who repaired the damage of two early three-putt bogeys with an eagle at the sixth, hitting a 7-wood second to 20 feet, insisted he wouldn’t be heaping any extra pressure on himself heading into the final round. “If I go out and shoot 80, it won’t be an issue because I’ve already proved to myself that I can play at this level,” said the 29-year-old from Clydebank. “I just need to keep the same attitude and belief as it has been flawless so far.”

Lockhart, a 31-year-old who lives in Bridge of Allan, won the Scottish Young Professionals’ Championship in 2005. “Winning this would make it a nice double and also give me a first order of merit success,” he said after a bogey-free round. Wright, incidentally, achieved that feat as well – the first time he’d done so in the paid ranks.

Henderson (67) and Hutcheon (68) are just three shots off the lead alongside Murrayfield’s Mark Kerr, who saw his three-shot overnight lead disappear following a 74. The 29-year-old was “flustered” for a few holes after running up a triple-bogey 7 at the fourth but was pleased that he managed to cover his last 11 holes in two-under.

After his round, Henderson admitted it had been a perplexing week so far. “This game serves up some mysteries,” said the likeable Aberdonian. “My first round was the best I’ve played but that’s been my highest score. Work that one out.”

Hutcheon, the winner 12 years ago, albeit over the neighbouring PGA Centenary Course, said he’ll need to stop making elementary errors if he’s going to have a realistic chance of regaining the title. “I’ve made a couple of silly mistakes every day and stopping those is going to be the key if I’m going to get the job done,” admitted the Banchory man.