Lee surges to Northern Open victory with closing 62 at Royal Dornoch

Craig Lee mounted a rousing final day assault at Royal Dornoch to win the Northern Open for the second time in his long professional career.

The 48-year-old, who landed the title at Spey Valley back in 2009, charged home with a superb course-record equalling eight-under 62 and eased to a commanding five-shot victory over Alastair Forsyth, Matt Ford and James Freeman.

“I’m absolutely delighted,” said the former DP World Tour campaigner from Stirling after picking up a cheque for £3,200 in the latest event on The PGA’s Open Series.

“I’ve been a pro longer than some of younger kids have been on the earth and it’s nice to prove that I can still compete. The wins certainly get sweeter as the years pass.”

Lee had been three shots off the halfway pace set by Bradley Neil but as the frontrunner stumbled out of the blocks on the closing day, Lee barged his way to the head of the leaderboard with a front-nine of 30.

Neil, the former Amateur champion, slithered off the top with a ruinous triple-bogey six on the second hole while Forsyth, a two-time winner of the Northern Open, manoeuvred his way into the mix with an early birdie and an eagle on the fifth.

Freeman also kept himself in contention with an eagle of his own on the ninth while Cruden Bay amateur, Chris Gilbert, birdied five of the last six holes on the outward half to muscle his way into the reckoning.
Lee fortified his position of authority, however, with birdies at 12, 14 and 15 as he enjoyed a procession to a coronation.
“Funnily enough, I wasn’t hitting it that well on day one and I wasn’t hitting it that great on the range before round two either,” added Lee, who will defend his PGA Professional Championship title at Ingrebourne Links next week.

“But with the last couple of balls I found something and took that onto the course. I knew I needed a fast start and five-under to the turn was great. It was just one of those days where I just hit so many good shots but never felt I was doing anything ridiculous.

“I even said to my girlfriend who was on my bag, ‘are you sure we’re eight-under?’.

“It’s been a terrific couple of days at Royal Dornoch. We’ve been spoiled to get this place as a venue. This win is a great springboard for the rest of the season and a real confidence booster.”

Forsyth, the Northern Open champion in 1999 and 2019, closed with a 66 for a three-under aggregate while Ford signed off with a 68 and Freeman posted a 69.

Overnight leader Neil endured a turbulent 76 which included a birdie, quadruple-bogey, birdie, birdie finish at 15, 16, 17 and 18. The 29-year-old had to settle for a share of 14th on three-over.

Gilbert’s 68 for a one-under total gave him an excellent share of eighth and earned him the Bookless Cup as the leading amateur in the field.