Defending champion Peter Baker finished birdie-birdie to shoot a final round of 68 and then birdied the par-5 18th a further three times in extra holes to outlast Barry Lane Rookie of the Year Simon Griffiths on the Legends Course at Constance Belle Mare Plage.
Baker started the day with a one-shot lead after firing a scintillating 62 in round two, and he made it to the turn in 35 strokes with birdies at the 4th and 6th sandwiching a dropped shot at the 5th. He birdied the 10th, but then reeled of six pars in a row.
Any one of 10-plus players could have won the tournament as the back nine unfolded, but it was Griffiths who came through from the penultimate group. The European Legends Cup winner started three shots behind Baker and had four birdies in the first eight holes to draw alongside the reigning MCB Road to Mauritius number one.
Griffiths, who earned his Legends Tour card at Qualifying School in January, picked up another shot at the 13thand birdied the final two holes to shoot 65 and set the clubhouse target at -16. Baker matched his birdies on the stunning par-3 17th and reachable par-5 18th to force extra holes.
Griffiths holed a 15-foot birdie putt to stay in it on the first play-off hole, before missing a 10-footer for eagle and the win after a magnificent second shot on the second go. Baker had converted short birdie putts on both occasions. Both players found the greenside bunker with their second shots on the third extra hole, and when Griffiths failed to get up-and-down, Baker holed out from a couple of feet for the birdie and victory.
“It’s just fantastic, I didn’t expect any of that really, during the week,” said the champion, who also won the first event of the season at the Barbados Legends hosted by Ian Woosnam. “Today was a tough day. I didn’t really get it going early on. It was tough around the turn, but I played some really good shots on the way in and was just hanging in there all day. We played some great shots on the play-off holes, and fortunately it went my way. I’m absolutely delighted to do it here in this great place.
“I think sometimes it’s meant to be. I’ve had some really good chances this year and not quite done it, and it hasn’t really come together. This week it’s all come together and I’m really, really proud to be the champion.”
Three shots behind the top two, four players finished in tied-3rd on -13. Zambia Golf Legends Championship winner Keith Horne had seven birdies in a 67, and 2022 MCB Road to Mauritius number one James Kingston had a pair of birdie 2s in his 68. Greig Hutcheon, who got his maiden win at this year’s Legends Open de France, eagled the last hole for a 69, and Carl Suneson had to settle for a 70, but his best finish of 2024 did lift him to 33rd on the MCB Road to Mauritius.
Adilson da Silva clinched the MCB Road to Mauritius title by finishing in tied-7th, alongside Emanuele Canonica and Robert Coles. The trio signed for closing rounds of 69, 68 and 69 respectively to end the week on -12. Andrew Marshall, Patrik Sjöland and Clark Dennis were tied-10th on -10.
It was a case of third time’s a charm for Da Silva as he claimed the John Jacobs Trophy as the MCB Road to Mauritius number one after finishing 2nd on the season-long points list the last two years. The Brazilian picked up wins at the OFX Irish Legends and European Legends Cup, plus a 2nd place at the Zambia Golf Legends Championship, tied-2nd at the WINSTONgolf Senior Open and six more top-10s, including his tied-7th at this week’s MCB Tour Championship Mauritius.
“It’s difficult to describe it. This is the really the cherry on top. It’s such a prestigious trophy to win. It’s just been such an experience, you know, to finish runner-up twice. Sometimes you start to think it’s not going to happen. It’s amazing when all the work and things pay off. It’s so rewarding. It’s just been such a wonderful journey for me.
“I have to thank a lot of people. You know, it’s not only you at the end of the day; it’s your family, your coaches, your physiotherapist, the sponsors. It’s a lot of people involved. It means a lot to me and for my family as well, so yeah, they’re very happy.”
Baker finished 2nd on the Order of Merit, with Scott Hend 3rd, Griffiths 4th and former Ryder Cup player Joakim Haeggman rounding out the top five. All five have earned a slice of the MCB Road to Mauritius Bonus Pool and the top four have qualified for the Champions Tour’s Trophy Hassan II in Morocco in February.
The top 10 this season have guaranteed their entry into three senior major championships next year – the Senior Open, the US Senior Open and the Senior PGA Championship. That means Keith Horne, James Kingston, Greig Hutcheon, Robert Coles and Thomas Gögele can also look forward to some fantastic opportunities in 2025.
There was plenty to play for up and down the leaderboard with the top 20 on the final MCB Road to Mauritius standings qualifying for the Senior PGA Championship, the top 30 getting into the Senior Open and the top 50 booking their spots at the 2025 Staysure PGA Seniors Championship. You can see the full MCB Road to Mauritius standings, and who qualified for all these amazing events, on the Legends Tour website.
Griffiths can be incredibly proud of finishing 4th on the MCB Road to Mauritius and claiming the prestigious Barry Lane Rookie of the Year Award after struggling with injury in the first half of the season. He racked up a win, this week’s 2nd place, a 3rd, a 4th, a 5th, a 6th and an 8th in his last nine tournaments this season to fly up the Order of Merit.
“It’s a great honour,” he said. “It’s amazing to come out as one of the youngsters and play well and be the Rookie of the Year. I think getting a run of tournaments was important. Just getting in certain positions, and when you’re playing, you can learn off the previous weeks. So that helped me a lot.”
Visit www.legendstour.com to see the final leaderboard and updated MCB Road to Mauritius standings, and to find out more about the MCB Tour Championship Mauritius at Constance Belle Mare Plage, Mauritius. Plus, you can see the exciting and globe-trotting 2025 Legends Tour schedule.
