Scotland’s Connor Syme has recorded a tournament victory from the comfort of his own home in the second virtual golf event organised by the European Tour.
Competing against 28 players over 18 holes at Royal Portrush, which hosted the 2019 Open Championship, Syme shot an eight-under 64 to win by two shots.
He claimed the 10,000 euro prize for two charities of his choice.
“Having an opportunity to make a difference with what is going on in the world is great,” Syme said.
“I’m honoured to have won and have the opportunity to hopefully change a few people’s lives.”
Following his victory at the Northern Irish venue, which hosted the 148th Open Championship in 2019, Syme opted to split the cheque between two charities – FoodTrain, which supplies meals to the elderly in Dundee, Scotland, and Hospice of the Valleys, a charity which provides palliative care.
The Scot finished two shots clear of England’s Lawrie Canter and Dutchman Will Besseling, who were joint second.
Syme and the rest of the field, including former world number one Martin Kaymer, competed over the links layout from their own homes in the one round, 18-hole stroke play event.
Dutchman Joost Luiten won last week’s first event at the iconic Old Course in St Andrews and there are three more to come in the new series of virtual golf tournaments, using the latest simulator technology.
“Seeing the scores from last week I wasn’t really sure how I would fare, but it was great to get a good score around Royal Portrush,” said Syme.
“I played solid on the front nine and then I just went crazy for a few holes ten through 14 – that was a cool run to go on.
“It was my first time competing in something like this on Trackman [technology], so I really had no idea what a good score would be, but I was very happy with the numbers.”