Thomas Gögele edged an exciting final day battle with Bradley Dredge to lift the trophy at San Domenico with a brilliant three-round total of -19 after scores of 64, 66 and 67.
The eventual winner had a one-shot advantage over Dredge heading into the final 18 holes and it quickly became a two-horse race as Gögele made two birdies and the Welshman picked up three in the first six holes to be locked together on -16.
Both players birdied the 8th and 10th holes, but they were finally separated when Dredge dropped a shot on the 14th. Gögele doubled his lead to two shots with a birdie at the par-5 16th and Dredge’s three-putt bogey from long range at the par-3 17th gave him a much more comfortable three-shot advantage going up the final hole. Gögele made a brilliant up-and-down to go bogey-free over the last two rounds and complete a three-shot win.
Dredge, who won the European Legends Cup last season, signed for a 69 to finish alone in 2nd on -16 and climb to 13th on the MCB Road to Mauritius.
Gögele had been showing signs of a breakthrough victory with consistently strong performances all year, and this week completes an excellent run of form that featured three top-15s following a tied-3rd in the HSBC India Legends Championship.
“It’s amazing,” said the champion, who rises to 9th on the MCB Road to Mauritius. “I’ve seen a few people who have their first win and said they can’t really say what it means to them – and I can’t really say what it means to me now. I’ve worked really hard the whole day. I wouldn’t say I played as good as the last two days, but I didn’t make any mistakes. It was a close battle with Bradley, he’s a very, very good player. I got out on top, and that’s fantastic.
“We had an interview at the beginning of the year in Barbados, and I said I was working on the right things. A lot of things I did well then, and I’ve improved on them since. I’m really proud that I was able to do them so well. It was good the last few weeks, and this week I really did them even better. It shows me that I’m able to win, that I can win with a low score and that the things I’m working on are the right things.”
It was even more special as he had his wife Nicole caddying for him: “It’s absolutely outstanding. I love it. I love it when she comes with me. It’s a great week for us. I pretty much always play well when she’s on the bag, so it was due that I win one with her. It’s a great moment for us.”
Andrew Marshall and Simon Griffiths were tied-3rd on -14. Marshall flew up the leaderboard with eight birdies in his first 14 holes, but finished with three pars and a bogey at the last in an excellent 65. Griffiths, playing in the final group alongside the top two, made a vital birdie on the 18th and signed for a 67.
Steven Richardson’s 64 was the best round of the day and saw the former Ryder Cup player finish in tied-5thalongside Brian Davis. Davis, who’s a five-time runner-up on the PGA Tour, closed out his week with three birdies in the last four holes to shoot 66.
Greg Owen was 7th on -12, with David Shacklady and top Italian Emanuele Canonica a shot further back. There was a six-way tie for 10th, including a couple of winners this season, Joakim Haeggman and Clark Dennis.
James Kingston, who won the Sergio Melpignano Senior Italian Open the two previous times it’s been played at San Domenico, in 2021 and last year, finished tied-18th on -7.
MCB Road to Mauritius number one Adilson da Silva was tied-24th, but he still has a healthy lead of over 750 points at the top of the season-long Order of Merit. The Brazilian has finished 2nd on the list the last two years.
Visit www.legendstour.com to see the final leaderboard and updated MCB Road to Mauritius standings, and to find out more about the Sergio Melpignano Senior Italian Open at San Domenico GC in Puglia, Italy.
