OJ Pitcher believes his game is headed in the right direction after securing a podium finish competing on the Gosling’s Moongate Tour at Ocean View Golf Course last Friday.

The 40-year-old finished tied for a confidence-boosting third with Chaka DeSilva and teenage amateur Oliver Betschart at three over and was pleased with his performance.

“This is my second top-three finish on the Moongate so I was pleased about that, especially not being able to put in a lot of time on my game as I would like and that others do,” Pitcher told The Royal Gazette.

“I did not have any high expectations not practising much or playing a whole lot in the build up to the event. It was just about sticking to basics, not trying anything extravagant and just trust my game. That’s all it was and I was pleased overall.”

Pitcher was in the thick of contention in the 18-hole medal event after playing the front nine at even par but ran into trouble after carding a triple bogey at the par-5 10th that all but ended his title hopes.

“I make par and that’s three strokes off my score right there,” the acting Ocean View head professional said.

“That’s finishing even par, which wins the tournament. It did hurt but at the same time I was pleased with my recovery. Sometimes you get those blow-up holes and it filters on to the next hole and so forth, but I was able to recover.“

Pitcher dropped another shot on the back nine after three-putting for bogey on the par-3 last hole.

“It would have been extra special to get my first win on home turf at Ocean View and it would have definitely been dedicated to Brian Morris,” he said.

“One bad hole let me down or I would have won the tournament but I really feel it’s coming.”

Amateur Damian Palanyandi carded a one-over 71 to pip professional Dwayne Pearman for the title by one shot.

“I want to congratulate Palanyandi as he played extremely well,” Pitcher added.

“At one point he was actually two under during the round and then had a couple of hiccups here and there, but he recovered.

“I have the utmost respect for Palanyandi, who Brian spent a lot of time with in his younger days with lessons and stuff. Damian always shows love and support to Brian and the entire Ocean View family.”

Pitcher also praised Tour co-founder DeSilva, Andrew Trott-Francis and the groundstaff at the Devonshire facility.

“I definitely also want to shout out to Chaka and Andrew and the rest of the Moongate Tour committee for the amazing job they do with the Tour.” he said.

“Getting players in a competitive atmosphere to help build their confidence playing in competitive events because the goal is to prepare them as best as possible for the Butterfield Bermuda Championship.

“I want to thank Chaka and Andrew for bringing the event down to Ocean View. It was somewhat of a last minute adjustment to the original schedule, so for those guys to reach out to us to host it down at Ocean View, we appreciate that and a huge shoutout to the maintenance team.

“I have to give those guys their props as they do an amazing job down at Ocean View. They go over and beyond to make sure the course is in the best possible condition it can be. I just want them to know how much we appreciate their hard work.”