Upper Beaconsfield golfer Scott Laycock, pictured during last year’s Pakenham Pro-Am, took out the Surf Coast Knockout event on Torquay on Sunday. Picture: Stewart Chambers
SCOTT Laycock secured a unique place in Australian golfing history by winning the inaugural Surf Coast Knockout amid much fanfare at The Sands Torquay on Sunday.
The 39-year-old Upper Beaconsfield resident revelled in the experimental format and party atmosphere, sinking a monster birdie putt on the penultimate hole on his way to a one-up win over Andrew Buckle in the matchplay final.
Laycock was the last of 32 players to qualify for Sunday’s matchplay component, having finished his three strokeplay rounds locked with eight other players at three-under.
The Cardinia Beaconhills member won the nine-man playoff for the last berth in Sunday’s seeded knockout series, before going on to defeat top seed Peter O’Malley, Peter Wilson, Steve Collins, Adam Bland and Buckle in consecutive matches.
The first three of those contests couldn’t be decided in the six-hole circuit, with Laycock claiming victory on the ‘knockout hole’.
The final swung Laycock’s way when he drained an improbable birdie putt on the ‘party hole’ to snare the lead heading to the last tee.
The veteran pro said he won’t soon forget the ovation from a crowd of 500 surrounding the green.
“It was a huge buzz,” he said.
“With Andrew holing his (par) putt before me, and mine was no guaranteed two-putt, so to hole it was a real bonus.”
Laycock won the 2001 Victorian Open and 2002 Bridgestone Open in Japan, and, despite contending regularly since, his only professional victories have come in the 2008 and 2010 Sydney Invitational tournaments.
He was entitled to feel like he was overdue for a break.
“I had top-15s in the Vic Open and Vic PGA, so I was in decent form, but it’s just been a nine-hole stretch here or there that was letting me down, so maybe this format suited me,” he said.
“I was looking forward to it. Once you’re in the 32, anyone can win – as I proved.”
Not surprisingly, Laycock joined the chorus of support – from players and fans alike – for the hybrid strokeplay-matchplay format, which looks set to become a more regular feature on the Aussie tour.
He said the atmosphere, with bands and DJs providing entertainment on the party hole, was also more help than hindrance to the players.
“It was great. You’d hear all the comments, like, ‘you’ve got a pretty tricky putt here, mate’, and just the crowd adding a bit, which they normally wouldn’t do because it’s frowned upon in a normal stroke event,” he said.
Laycock is now hoping the January victory will kick-start his 19th year as a professional.
He plans to follow the Australasian Tour for the rest of the summer, before playing in a series of tournaments one the One Asia and second-tier Japanese tours during the Aussie winter.
– Paul Pickering
