Walmer and Kingsdown professional Richard Wallis left receives the Order of Merit salver from Southern regional captain Rob Edwards

Walmer & Kingsdown’s Richard Wallis has secured the 2010 Virgin Atlantic PGA South Region Order of Merit.

His share of second after a five-way tie for the Wildwood Invitational title was the culmination of a season in which he played more consistently than anyone else, having led from the start with a win in the Southern Open in June.

After slipping outside the top 10 in the PGA Surrey Open, he scored another vital victory a month later in the Tylney Park Classic and then two fifth places in the PGA Kent Open and The Crown Inn PGA South Region Matchplay.

With two events to go, Wallis had his work cut out to win the title as he was now under increasing pressure from Craig Cowper (Horton Park), Jamie Harris (The Nevill) and last year’s runaway Order of Merit winner Andy Raitt
(St. George’s Hill).

All within reach of Wallis, all three had their chances at the PGA Southern Professional Championship at Dale Hill after Wallis went out of contention after the first round and slumped to 18th place.

But when Matt Ford came in with a sensational 61 to take the title, the Order of Merit was still wide open and after his Matchplay victory, Cowper was in pole position.

Wallis admitted he was feeling the pressure. He said: "Craig had been playing really well all season and to find him in the lead for the Order of Merit title with one event to play made things interesting at Wildwood, especially with a couple of weeks to think about it!"

Courtesy of another PGA South Region sponsor, Wallis stayed at The Crown Inn, Chiddingfold, on his way to Wildwood and what would prove to be a
well deserved Order of Merit victory.

He said: "Having led the Order of Merit from the start, it was a brilliant way to finish a good season.

"I played some good golf in the first round at Wildwood but in the second we were all trying not to lose it!

"I managed two more birdies down the finishing stretch to get back in shape and while it would have been nice to win the Invitational, the Order of Merit title is the one I really wanted."

Wallis won 11 events throughout the PGA South Region’s 2010 tour and no less than 33 top 10 finishes out of the 52 tournaments played, underlining his remarkable consistency throughout the season.

Not surprisingly, Wallis was also the top money winner.

But it’s the future that Wallis is thinking about now: "I’m really looking forward to playing at Wentworth in the BMW PGA Championship in 2011, and in the meanwhile a week at The Legends sounds like the ideal way to get away from it all!"