TIM RICE has emerged as the winner of the Elavon sponsored PGA (Professional Golf Association) Order of Merit.
Having finished third in each of the last two seasons, the Limerick man had unfinished business but displayed unrivalled consistency and more than occasional brilliance to hold off Niall Kearney who finished runner up, with Michael McGeady in third, Simon Thornton in fourth and Richard Kilpatrick rounding out the top five.
Rice won a total of six times (five solo, one shared), finished runner up four times, and was third on an additional four.
In 27 total starts, he was outside the top 10 on just five occasions and set new course records at Newlands (64) and Bellewstown (65).
“It’s very pleasing,” said Rice. “I found something in my swing at the start of the year and I stuck with it and that really helped me throughout the year.
“The standard was so high this year. Colm Moriarty set the tone in the first event in Lucan when he shot seven-under, so everyone else had to get up to speed pretty quickly. You couldn’t make a couple of birdies and stop, you had to keep going and it made all of us lift up our games.
“It was a great schedule as well. We got some new courses, and I’d like to give a mention to Seamus McKibben for organising the Pro-Am in Royal County Down.
“A special thanks to the team at Elavon. Their enthusiasm and support all season were incredible. As sportspeople, we need support like that, and we thrive on it and hopefully it can continue to grow in the coming years.”
