McElhinney joint 3rd in Europro tour championship.

It was a good end to the season for Brian McElhinney who shot a final pound of 69 to finish on level par and in joint 3rd place in the season ending Tour Championship at Slaley Hall near Newcastle.
The run away winner was Simon Lilly who shot a record score of 65,including 8 birdies and a bogey at the 18th to collect a cheque for £15,000 which allowed him to jump from 21st in the order of merit to 5th.With the top 5 gaining a Challenge tour card for 2010 it turned out to be a double celebration for Lilly.
It was also a good result for Steve Surry.He finished 2nd on 1 under par after a closing round of 70.The £7,500 helped him to jump from 9th into 4th place and also collect a Challenge tour card for next year along with Lilly,No1 Scott Jamieson,No2 Tom Haylock and No3 Daniel Brooks.

McElhinney's finish earned him £2,650 and left him the top Irish for the year in 22nd spot.Barrie Trainor recovered from a terrible start in round one when he was 6 over par after 9 holes.He covered the last 45 holes in 2 under par for a share of 10th place and £700 in prize money.Tim Rice had 3 rounds of 75 to finish in 26th place on +9 and claim £320.Michael Collins 79 finished in 47th place on +16 and won £215 and Brendan McCarroll will want to forget the tour championship.He had a final round of 80 to finish in 55th spot on +24 and earned £175.