A DEJECTED Gary Emerson was made to pay a heavy price for two costly errors which wrecked his hopes of a big pay day at the £2m Volvo PGA Champion-ship at Wentworth yesterday.
Wayward drives on the fourth and 17th holes led to Emerson playing his provisional ball on both occasions and saw him drop three shots on holes he would have normally expected to birdie.
That potential five-stroke swing of misfortune cost Emerson approximately £10,000 in much-needed prize money to add to his European Tour order of merit points.
Emerson, who was hoping to make it three consecutive years in the top 25 at Wentworth, had to settle for a share of 61st place and cheque for £5,100.
On paper, a closing 75 would indicate a poor day at the office for Emerson who finished on two over par.
But nothing could be further from the truth as Emerson looked to be coasting to a top-40 finish with just four holes of his final round remaining.
He was one-under par through 14 holes and was seven feet away from a birdie at the 15th after a finely-judged approach shot over the greenside bunker.
Emerson, however, missed the putt and went on to three putt from 12 feet at the next hole to drop back to level par.
The fuse had been lit and Emerson was visably shaken by his failings when he stood on the tee at the 522-yard penultimate hole.
Emerson became too keen to repair the damage and hooked his tee-shot into a garden of one of the plush houses that line the lavish West Course.
The Broadstone touring professional had earlier overcome the disappointment of dropping a shot at the par-five fourth, which had previously yielded him three consecutive birdies.
Once again his ball be-came the property of the millionaires who are fortunate enough to reside in this salubrious neck of the woods.
But on the 17th, there was no time to mount a second recovery, and the double bogey seven was the final straw for a disheartened Emerson.
Ironically, it was the same hole that provided the highlight of Emerson's third round on Saturday when his second shot left him a five-foot putt for an eagle. He went on to miss the putt which summed up his hit-and-miss weekend.
By the time Emerson rea-ched his 72nd and final hole, it was as much as he could do to muster a par and keep the lid on his disappointment before making a hasty retreat from the Surrey club.
"There's not much you can say after a round like that," said Emerson. "I am just so angry with myself that I threw away such a good opportunity. I played well enough for a good score but just lost my concentration."
Despite a few hiccups, Emerson looked comfortable with his new belly putter which had helped him to a second-round 69 on Friday and came to his rescue on more than one occasion during his third-round 73.
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