Tartan Pro Tour win is timely tonic for Neil Fenwick

Capital golfer recently lost sponsor and house almost went on fire

Paul Lawrie with Neil Fenwick at the presentation

Neil Fenwick landed a timely first triumph on the new Tartan Pro Tour after suffering a tough time as he lost his sponsor and also watched in horror as his house almost went up in flames.

The Edinburgh golfer was delighted to win the Pollok Open, the fourth event on the circuit set up by Paul Lawrie to provide playing opportunities for Scottish-based pros in a year hit by Covid-19 cancellations.

Fenwick, who is attached to Dunbar, shot two 68s at the Glasgow venue for a six-under-par total before beating Scottish Par-3 champion John Henry at the fifth extra hole to land the £4,000 top prize.

“It’s been a tough year for me, on and off the course,” said Fenwick, referring to his dad, Ross, being in a coronavirus coma for six weeks before waking up and making a complete recovery.

“Unfortunately, I recently lost my sponsor, so this was a timely win. I also had a fire in our house. I was on the BBQ. I’d got a new gas bottle and it was faulty. It took alight so it could have been pretty serious. As it was, it set alight the whole garden and blew my windows out, so we had to move out.”

Fenwick, who was on Dunfermline Athletic’s books before pursuing his career in golf, was left with nothing to play in this season when the PGA EuroPro Tour scrapped its 2020 schedule early on in lockdown.

It was a massive boost, therefore, when Lawrie announced the launch of his new circuit, with Fenwick having joined Henry, Sam Locke and Chris Maclean in landing victories so far.

“I made a point of thanking Paul for just giving us the opportunity to compete this year,” said Fenwick. “The events have been excellent and, to be honest, I’m surprised they’ve not been supported better. But the fields have been strong.

“Paul said he is going to try and do this again next year with more events. It would be great if we didn’t have to drive up and down the M6 a lot (for PGA EuroPro Tour events south of the Border), but we’ll wait and see what next year brings.”

The circuit continues this week with the St Andrews Classic – it starts today on the Jubilee Course before concluding tomorrow on the New Course – before finishing with the Rowallan Castle Championship next week.

The player who tops the order of merit will secure a spot in next month’s Aberdeen Standard Investments Scottish Open at The Renaissance Club, with Henry leading the way from Locke then Fenwick.

“It’s great to keep myself in the hunt,” said Fenwick of that battle. “We’re obviously playing in these events to earn money, but we are also aspiring to move forward.”