John Vogelpohl signs off stellar season on Tartan Pro Tour with Gleneagles glory

Vogelpohl, who has lived in Scotland for the last 14 years, followed opening scores of 66-67 on the PGA Centenary Course with a 70 in the closing circuit at the Perthshire venue.

Finishing with a 13-under-par total, he won by a shot from Sebastian Sanden, who’d led after an opening 65, followed that with a 74 before closing with another 65.

Worth £5,000 on this occasion, it was Vogelpohl’s second victory of the season after landing a breakthrough win as a professional in the MacDonald Spey Valley Masters presented by Novellus in Aviemore last month.

The 23-year-old went into the season finale with the top spot already secured on the Order of Merit, as well as a coveted HotelPlanner Tour card in his pocket.

“It feels fantastic,” said Vogelpohl of winning the last event of the year. “I was also relieved to finish off the last day of the season without letting it slide.

“Seb played some phenomenal golf and I was relieved that I got up and down on the last couple of holes to hold him off.”

In addition to his brace of wins, Vogelpohl also recorded four second-place finishes and five other efforts that saw him end up between third and tenth place.

“I’ve played very well all year,” he added. “My win at Spey Valley was great as it secured my HotelPlanner Tour spot and that took the pressure off me over the last few weeks.

“It is nice to get another win at Gleneagles, my home club, to finish off what has been a very consistent campaign for me. It’s been a great year.”

Michael Stewart, who skipped the event after securing a spot in the Open de Espana on the back of his tie for fourth in the Dunhill Links last weekend, finished second on the season-long points list.

Needing either a win or solo second finish to jump above Stewart, Craig Howie had to settle for ninth spot on two under after signing off with a 74.

Stewart, another two-time winner over the course of the campaign, has a chance of improving his HotelPlanner Tour category for next season through a DP World Tour Non-Members Points List.

Even if he does, though, the second one from the Tartan Pro Tour will not go to Howie due to a strict 1-2 on the points list being in place.

Sam Locke and Will Porter, meanwhile, missed out on their last chance to secure automatic promotion to the HotelPlanner Tour by recording a third win of the year on the Scottish circuit.

Adding to his strong finish to the season, Porter finished joint-fourth with Graeme Robertson, a member of the triumphant Great Britain & Ireland team in last week’s PGA Cup at The K Club.

Locke, the Tartan Pro Tour’s record winner, ended up ninth after leaving himself with a mountain to climb following a first-round 74 before finishing the season on a high with a 68 that contained six birdies, including five in six holes.

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