Nick McCarthy led an elite group of male and female professionals from across the UK as he captured the inaugural 2020protour order of merit title.
Moortown Golf Club-based Nick won four events this season – at Bradford Golf Club, Headingley Golf Club, Worsley Park and Howley Hall – and finished in the top five a further 10 times. In 21 events he amassed 1,646.58 order of merit points, finishing 34.5 points clear of Nick Poppleton.
Nick said: “It’s a great feeling to win, particularly when there was a chance we weren’t going to play any professional golf this season. Chris Hanson and Adam Walker have done a great job setting up the tour, attracting so many top players, and getting all the events played. I’m looking forward to seeing the tour go from strength to strength in 2021. It’s been a really competitive circuit and I played a lot of very good golf to get four wins and finish in the top five as often as I have.
“I’ve got some work planned through the winter to prepare for the new season, when hopefully I can take up some of the starts I’ve got through my ranking on the Challenge Tour and fill my schedule with plenty of events.”
Wath-based Poppleton finished second in the order of merit and posted a total of 99 birdies throughout the season, finishing just one short of claiming a £20,000 bonus for making 100 birdies. Meanwhile, Huddersfield’s Nick Marsh finished in third place in the season-long points race and Penrith’s Adam Chapman took fourth spot. Rockliffe Hall’s Andrew Wilson finished in seventh place, Blackwell Grange’s Aaron Cox finished in 16th place and Hexham’s Tom Rowland finished in 20th place.
The tour was launched by European Tour professionals Chris Hanson and Adam Walker, and gives women an equal footing with men in its tournaments – playing for the same prize money and under the same rules and terms of competition with the only difference being the placement of the tees. The tour broke new ground when Ellie Givens picked up her first win as a professional at her home club, Rockliffe Hall, sharing the top prize with fellow Rockliffe-based professional Andrew Wilson.
