Southgate on top at Aviemore
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MATTHEW Southgate got his reward for three rounds of unerring accuracy at the Macdonald Spey Valley Golf Course after a four under par 67 saw him take a two shot lead going into the final round of the Scottish Hydro Challenge.
The young Englishman, in his first year as a professional, has been in sparkling form from tee to green in the Highlands as he surged through the field to post a 13 under par leading score, two clear of first and second round leader Chris Doak of Scotland, Italy’s Federico Colombo and Frenchman Edouard Dubois.
Another Scot, Greig Hutcheon, posted the lowest round of the day, a fine six under par 65, to move back into contention on nine under alongside the English duo of Ben Evans and Lloyd Kennedy, but it was Southgate who took command of the tournament with 18 holes to play.
The 22 year old, who turned professional after a successful trip to last year’s Qualifying School ensured him full playing rights on this season’s Challenge Tour, is finally finding the professional form that saw him win the prestigious St Andrews links Trophy as an amateur last year.
“It was a good day – I have been playing great all week and I just tried to keep to the same swing thoughts as yesterday because I really was in the groove,” said Southgate.
“I actually hit 36 greens in regulation over the past three days – I missed the 12 green in the first round and then hit every one yesterday and hit the first 11 holes today so I am striking as good or better than anyone else. I have just had that great feeling of putting the club in the slot and hitting it.
“I’ll wake up tomorrow and be pretty nervous but that is a good thing in my opinion. If you are not nervous then it can’t be important and you always have to try and remember that everyone else around you will probably be just as nervous as me.
“I might be shaking like a leaf when I wake up but it’ll calm down a bit and then all I can really do is hit the first tee shot, find it and hit the next one and see what happens.”
