George Murray completed the bounce back from an injury that could have ended his career by claiming his first professional title at the Scottish Hydro Challenge and taking a major step towards the big-time of the European Tour.
The 27-year-old from Anstruther finished with a decisive flourish on the MacDonald Spey Valley course with a five-under 66 to add to his three 67s and complete a four-shot win over Magnus Carlsson of Sweden with an outstanding 17-under aggregate of 267.
However, 2004 Scottish Amateur champion Murray admitted he had almost given up the game because of continuing back problems until the diagnosis of former British Lions and Scotland physiotherapist Stuart Barton saved his career.
“If the injury had kept going the way it was going I wouldn’t have been playing, that’s for sure,” he said. “I was told I needed to have an operation and it might not have been successful.
“I was playing rotten every week, missing cuts, spending loads of money and thinking ‘this is rubbish and I don’t want to do it any more’, but my coach Ian Rae told me to stick in and get it sorted.
“Then I went to Stuart about 18 months ago and he advised me treatment which didn’t need surgery. I got a steroid injection in a bulging disc and the back has been great ever since.”
Buoyed by that and some warm-weather preparation in Florida this spring after a tip-off from caddies at Kingsbarns, Murray hinted at his improved form with a third place on the main tour in the Madeira Islands Open in April, and confirmed it with his first Challenge Tour victory after a couple of second places.
Carlsson was the only real threat to Murray’s three-shot lead at the start of the final day but although Murray’s bogey on the fourth gave the Swede a little encouragement, the Scot gave absolutely nothing away from then on.
Instead a surge around the turn with successive birdies at the eighth, ninth and tenth took him clear, and he holed out from 30 feet at the last for the perfect ending, which takes him into fourth in the Challenge Tour rankings, from which the top 20 get cards to the big show next year.Rankings”I was quite calm all week and again today, even though I three-putted the fourth. I got a good par at the fifth and then kept thinking about bringing it in,” said Murray.
“It’s a good step up the rankings and I’m looking to buy a house in the next few weeks so the cheque will come in pretty handy.”
Carlsson, who returned to the Challenge Tour after two years on the main tour, bogeyed the last to finish in second with England’s Lee Slattery and Norwegian Marius Thorp sharing third on ten-under.
Chris Doak was the next best-placed Scot tied on fifth with the welcome news that he earned a place in next week’s Saint-Omer Open in France.
“A pretty good week but I could never get the putter working this week and only an eagle and a birdie in the final round isn’t going to get it done,” he said after a final-round 70 to finish on nine-under.
Another Scottish hope, Callum Macaulay, returned a four-under 67 for his first top-12 finish of the season and some great encouragement for the Tulliallan man entering a key spell of the season.
“That’s the first of a run of events that are pretty important coming up and it’s the second tournament in a row I’ve struck the ball well,” he said after finishing on a seven-under aggregate of 277.
“The putts aren’t dropping as I’d like but I’m getting in position tee to green and I know the putting will come together eventually.”
Macaulay will concentrate on the Challenge Tour full-time for the rest of the season barring an attempt to get through local final qualifying for the Open in a fortnight in an attempt to secure the top-20 ranking that will get his European Tour card back.
Lloyd Saltman came in with a 68 for his best finish of the season to be tied with Macaulay and hinted at a growing maturity he believes will carry him forward.
“Consistency is the key,” said Saltman. “I’ve been prone to the odd double or triple bogey which has left me the wrong side of too many cuts, but I didn’t have a double-bogey this week and the result is much better.”
Defending champion Jamie McLeary finished with a one-over 72 and a five-under-par total in a share of 21st place, while the pre-tournament favourite Matteo Manassero finished with a 72 to end on level par back in 42nd place.