PGA Pro shoots 59 under tournament conditions

A PGA Professional has earned his place in the record books after firing a 14-under-par 59 to claim the PGA Southern Open Championship Pro-Am title

Richard Wallis

A PGA Professional has earned his place in the record books after firing a 14-under-par 59 to claim the PGA Southern Open Championship Pro-Am title.

Richard Wallis, playing at the par-73 Drift Golf Club in Surrey, won the tournament by six shots from Andrew Raitt and Nick Redfern.

He turned in eight-under-par 29 - requiring only eight putts - birdied the 10th, played holes 13-15 in four under and made a sandy birdie at the last to record his first 59.

"I'm absolutely over the moon to shoot this 59," said Wallis, a three-time winner of the Virgin Atlantic PGA South Order of Merit and the reigning Titleist PGA Play-Offs champion.

"I've shot low scores before, but never in an official PGA event like this.

"Usually the game's great but putting is not, or vice versa, but today everything really clicked. The course was in great nick and on the greens you felt any putt could go in."

Wallis - who has recently returned to work after the birth of his daughter - entered the tournament fresh off his first EuroPro Tour victory in the Kerry London Championship at Burhill.

He plans to play nine EuroPro Tour events in 2013, but his main goal in to finish inside the top three on the Virgin Atlantic PGA South Order of Merit.

Nick Bonfield
Content Editor

Nick Bonfield joined Golf Monthly in 2012 after graduating from Exeter University and earning an NCTJ-accredited journalism diploma from News Associates in Wimbledon. He is responsible for managing production of the magazine, sub-editing, commissioning and feature writing. Most of his online work is opinion-based and typically centres around the Majors and significant events in the global golfing calendar. Nick has been an avid golf fan since the age of ten and became obsessed with the professional game after watching Mike Weir and Shaun Micheel win The Masters and PGA Championship respectively in 2003. In his time with Golf Monthly, he's interviewed the likes of Rory McIlroy, Justin Rose, Jose Maria Olazabal, Henrik Stenson, Padraig Harrington, Lee Westwood and Billy Horschel and has ghost-written columns for Westwood, Wayne Riley, Matthew Southgate, Chris Wood and Eddie Pepperell. Nick is a 12-handicap golfer and his favourite courses include Old Head, Sunningdale New, Penha Longha, Valderrama and Bearwood Lakes. If you have a feature pitch for Nick, please email nick.bonfield@futurenet.com with 'Pitch' in the subject line. Nick is currently playing: Driver: TaylorMade M1 Fairway wood: TaylorMade RBZ Stage 2 Hybrid: Ping Crossover Irons (4-9): Nike Vapor Speed Wedges: Cleveland CBX Full Face, 56˚, Titleist Vokey SM4, 60˚ Putter: testing in progress! Ball: TaylorMade TP5x