Hutcheon triumphs to be crowned Optical Express Tour Champion 2011

The Optical Express Pro Golf Tour 2011 drew to a close at the exclusive Son Gual Golf Resort, Mallorca, with Greig Hutcheon of Banchory Golf Club taking home the £4,000 top prize in a closely fought final day, finishing with a three shot lead at 3 under par total
of 141.

Overnight leader, Greig Hutcheon continued his fine form into day two, despite a valiant effort by three-time event winner Paul McKechnie who shot the ‘best of the day’, a fine par 70 to close the gap to four shots and take home the £1,000 joint third prize with Lindsay Mann. Hutcheon said, “It was a great honour and I am delighted to win the Optical Express Tour Championship. The Championship has been fantastic at a superb location. Competitive golf in mid January for nineteen qualifiers has been extremely generous of David Moulsdale and the team at Optical Express, a fantastic finish to what has been a great string of events over the past year. The whole tournament has been hugely positive for young aspiring golf professionals. I am now looking forward to more good form in the coming season after this fantastic start to the year!”

Son Gual was the perfect setting for the culmination of what has been a truly memorable season. Thankfully, the players enjoyed great weather conditions during their three days of play. Owner of Son Gual Sabine Pamer said, “We were honoured to be asked to
hold the Optical Express Tour Championship here at Son Gual. It has been a fantastic few days of golf over our challenging course and we are pleased the players enjoyed their time here. We look forward to welcoming back Optical Express for future events.”

The three day Championship tee’d off on Tuesday with a pre-tournament Pro Am event for invited guests, eventually won by Harper MacLeod representatives who collected their prize from fellow competitor and guest, Chief Executive of The Seve Ballesteros
Foundation, Ivan Ballesteros, “I really think this tour gives the opportunity to young players to reach their goals. It is fantastic to see Optical Express support young talented players and the development of golf in Scotland. It is important for every country to help
build and nurture golf talent and it is great to see the Tour provide this opportunity. I was honoured to take part in the end of season Pro Am Event and lend my full support to the Tour." A donation from the Pro Am event will be donated to The Seve Ballesteros
Foundation.

Tournament Directors Alan Tait reflected back on the Tour, “My fellow Tournament Director Nigel Scott-Smith and I are absolutely delighted at the success of this week’s Championship. It could not have been a more fitting way to finish off the season on this year’s Optical Express Pro Golf Tour. To stage a Tour Championship at such a fantastic venue as Son Gual on the island of Mallorca, is just a dream come true. The professionals all thoroughly enjoyed the week and it's great that we have been able to reward our leading players, who more importantly have shown their support to the Optical Express Pro Golf Tour in its first year. The guys very much appreciate that opportunities like this do not come around very often and to compete for a £10,000 prize fund in January with all expenses covered is simply wonderful. On the strength of the success of this week I am convinced that Optical Express will become an important and valuable partner in Scottish golf for many years to come.”

Marketing Manager at Optical Express, Mary-Frances Kearney commented, “Optical Express is extremely proud to be involved in this new tour on the Scottish golfing calendar. We will build on the success of the Tour and continue to support the development of sporting talent in the UK.”