Gordley earns third European eTour victory in a row at Scandinavian Mixed

American Payton Gordley defeated Christopher Aitken to complete a hat-trick of victories in the third event of the European eTour Series, the Scandinavian Mixed.

With competition played over historic venues such as Chambers Bay, Erin Hills and Wolf Creek, Gordley (screenname Golfx3) navigated tough competition to earn his third successive title at the Scandinavian Mixed.

“I’m super stoked,” Gordley said following his win. “It’s three times in a row now, I couldn’t be happier. I feel super lucky.”

In addition to the trophy, Gordley earned the US$5,000 winners’ cheque, which he said he was likely to use for college tuition fees, and potentially golf lessons.

“I’m not sure what I’ll be using it for, probably college tuition. I’ve been getting into real life golf a little bit lately so maybe get some lessons in for that.”

The competition included eight players competing in the leading online and mobile golf game, World Golf Tour (WGT) by Topgolf, which is currently played by more than 20 million people worldwide.

After earning their spots to compete, the contest feature two round robin groups before straight knockout deciding matches and semi-finals – all over nine holes. The final was then played over 18 holes at Erin Hills.

Starting in Group B, reigning champion Gordley got off to a solid start with victory on the last hole over newcomer Jon Laycock (Rebellion27), but suffered his first loss in the entire series during his next match against Sebastian Cosma (Sebicu).

He rallied well to defeat compatriot Jason Young (Young46) in the final match of the group stages, finishing second in the group behind his countryman.

Entering the knockout stages, Gordley faced a tough opponent in Geoffrey Courtois (Joe Maverick) – another first time player in the eTour – but came through with a 2UP victory to progress to a match-up with Matthew Wienecke (Whirlaway) in the semi-finals.

After winning on the eighth hole, Gordley came up against Aitken in the finals. The 21 year old made the first move with back-to-back birdies at the third and fourth holes to move to 2UP, but was pegged back to all square by the turn. He regained the lead at the 11th, and after moving back to 2UP at the 14th, Gordley closed out the match with a big birdie putt at 16.

Group A: Highlights

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/AVcFdEBy5TI" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Group B: Highlights

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/xMj5u4DnYcU" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>