Scotland’s Gary Orr finally made the breakthrough he has threatened so often when he produced a magnificent eagle three on the final hole to overhaul Phillip Price and win the Alrgarve Portuguese Open. Fittingly the 1993 Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year won his first European Tour title on the Le Meridien Penina course designed by Cotton. His final round of 69, three under par, gave him a 13-under-par total of 275, one clear of Price and four clear of Brian Davis, Tony Johnstone and Paul McGinley.
After drawing level with Price, the 1994 champion, with a birdie on the 14th, Orr looked to have squandered his chance of victory after hooking his tee shot on the 17th and making bogey. Price had played a superb five wood from the right rough to within 15 feet but his birdie putt stopped in the jaws of the hole. With just a one stroke lead, Price again found the rough with his tee shot and could do no better than a par five. Orr, however, rose to the occasion by hitting a perfect two iron 220 yards to 12 feet and stroked the ball in the hole to claim the 166,600 euro first prize.
“It’s a dream to do something like that – to win with an eagle on the last,” said Orr. “Winning is what everyone works for. It’s not easy sometimes when things don’t work out but you’ve got to keep plugging away.”
The 32-year-old from Helensburgh, whose wife Sarah is expecting their first child in May, has finished runner-up three times and has amassed numerous top tens. But the winning breakthrough had always eluded him. In 1998 Colin Montgomerie holed a long putt to win the Volvo PGA Championship and then last year Lee Westwood charged through the field to deny Orr in the TNT Dutch Open. In the first event of the year Orr again finished runner up when Anthony Wall triumphed in the Alfred Dunhill Championship.
He said: “It’s a psychological barrier. Until you’ve won you don’t know what your capable of. I always felt I had the game to win I just had to take my chance when it came along. That putt on 18 – I wasn’t going to leave it short. When you get an opportunity like that you’ve got to take it.
“You don’t want to start finishing second all the time. It’s not what you try to do. It does frustrate you a bit but what I’ve tried to do is not let it get to me. Tried to put it to the back of my mind. It’s been a struggle. But because I hadn’t won a tournament it made me work much harder.”
Orr and Price started the final round level at ten under par with Ireland’s Paul McGinley three off the pace but it was the Welshman who got off to the better start, rolling in six single putts in the first seven holes for an outward half of 31, four under par. Orr held on with an eagle three on the fifth, followed by a birdie on the following hole to reach the turn one shot adrift. McGinley was also making up ground but his hopes faded with a bogey on the ninth and then two more dropped shots on the 13th and 14th.
The two leaders, who had played flawless golf for the first nine holes, struggled around the turn and both dropped shots at the tenth and 12th but Orr bounced back with his birdie on the 14th to set up the dramatic finale.
“Gary played the last perfectly so I think he deserved to win,” said Price. “An eagle on the last is tough to beat. I had a very good front nine, holed some good putts, but ran into trouble in the middle. I’m disappointed but this is one of my favourite tournaments. I would love to win it again but will have to wait until next year.”
Brian Davis equalled the course record of 65 with a round that included nine birdies to charge through the field into a share of third alongside McGinley (70) and Tony Johnstone (69).
