JERRY SCULLION may have been a rather surprise winner of the PGA Ulster Championship last year, but the Kilkeel head pro has no intentions of handing over the title without a stern defence of the crown.
He will defend the championship title today, at The Hilton Templepatrick, when the tournament will be played over 36 holes with two shot-gun starts at 8.00 am and 1.30 pm. Normally, the competition was played over two days. There is no warm-up pro-am this time, either.
“I'm looking forward to defending the title,” said Scullion, who finished tied 30th at the recent Irish Region PGA Championship.
”I have been building up to my defence of the Ulster title by getting a few competitive rounds under my belt.”
Last year, Scullion posted a superb second round eight-under-par 64, after an opening regulation 72, to jump out of the pack and finish one shot ahead of Mark Staunton and Michael McDermott: “The win last year was great. Everything just fell into place on the second day. I would certainly take a couple of rounds like that last round again this time around,” said the 33-year-old.
“I'm warming up nicely at the minute and hitting the ball decently enough. I played in the TGI Partnership Trophy at the Belfry, a couple of weeks ago, and thoroughly enjoyed it. It was a decent test. At the moment, the putter is behaving itself and I just hope everything else stays together.”
Scullion will, of course, have many opponents aiming to take the crown from his head, among them the likes of Simon Thornton, Damian Mooney and Richard Kilpatrick. The fact that both rounds are squeezed into one day can make a big difference.
