Scoring had been excellent in scorching conditions through the first two rounds at Golf de Saint-Cloud in Paris, but Da Silva dealt the best with the tricky breeze and final round pressure to clinch the trophy on -15.
The Brazilian started the day with a one-shot lead and had two birdies in his first three holes, but three bogeys in the next five dropped him back into a tie for the lead with Greg Owen and opened the door for the chasing pack.
Owen, who started the week with a 63, was -1 for the day after 12 holes, but a disastrous quadruple bogey on the par-3 13th ended his challenge and two more bogeys led to a 76 and a tied-7th finish. It was a disappointing final day for the Englishman but he can take solace in his fourth Legends Tour top 10 in a row.
That left two-time DP World Tour winner Michael Jonzon as Da Silva’s closest pursuer heading into the closing stretch. The Swede had three red numbers in four holes from the 13th to get within one of the leader, but Da Silva birdied 14 and 17 to give himself a two-shot cushion coming up the final hole. Jonzon bogeyed 18 in the penultimate group, allowing the Brazilian to seal a three-shot triumph with a closing par.
“It’s amazing,” said the champion. “Especially today after I had a three putt and started to make a few mistakes that I hadn’t done in the first couple of rounds. It was up and down a lot. It was hard to stay in the present on the back nine, but somehow I managed it, and it feels incredible.
“I birdied 14 and then I had a peak at the leaderboard to see who else was there, because this is a course where you can get a string of birdies coming in and Michael was playing in front of us and I heard a lot of applause. I managed to hit two great shots and two good putts to birdie 17 and I knew what I needed to do on 18.”
Da Silva is the second player to reach three wins this season, with MCB Road to Mauritius number one Peter Baker already at that total. The Brazilian has been the King of the Jungle this year with his other two titles also coming on tree-lined courses – the Riegler and Partner Legends in Austria and the Swiss Seniors Open. It means the pair have won six of the eight non-majors so far this season to set up an incredible battle with Senior Open champion Alex Cejka for MCB Road to Mauritius supremacy.
“It’s my dream to win the MCB Road to Mauritius,” Da Silva added. “Winning the Barry Lane Rookie of the Year last year was special, and to be in with a chance to win the Order of Merit is insane.”
Keith Horne, who lost to Da Silva in a play-off in Austria, finished alone in 3rd on -11. The South African notched six birdies and three bogeys to shoot 68. Mauricio Molina played the final four holes in -4, including a chip-in eagle on 15, to finish 4th on -10, and Robert Coles was a shot further back. Baker finished 6th and Joakim Haeggman was alongside Owen in tied-7th.
Visit www.legendstour.com to see the final leaderboard, MCB Road to Mauritius rankings and the full Legends Tour schedule. The next tournament is the WINSTONgolf Senior Open in Germany from September 15th-17th.
