Simon Griffiths completed his wire-to-wire victory with an assured performance that included five birdies on the South Course to keep a stacked chasing pack at bay as he cruised to a -17 total.
The Qualifying School graduate started the final day with a one-shot lead following rounds of 64 and 70, and made it to the turn in 35 strokes, with birdies at the 4th and 7th holes. It was a solid start, but Van Phillips, a winner recently at the WINSTONgolf Senior Open, overtook Griffiths with four birdies in a row from the 3rd and another two at the 8th and 10th to reach -15.
The eventual winner responded with birdies at 11 and 13, and a Phillips bogey on the 15th meant Griffiths had a two-shot lead with four holes to play. He parred 15, 16 and 17 and stood on the final tee knowing a par would get the job done after Phillips had birdied the par-5 18th.
Griffiths played it aggressively by hitting driver off the tee and a hybrid onto the green, with the two-putt birdie sealing his first title in his 14th start on the Legends Tour. Phillips secured solo 2nd on -15 with his four at the last.
“It feels incredible,” said the champion. “It was a tough day. I played lovely, but missed a lot of putts and was getting very anxious there. But somehow I managed to come out on top. The putter felt like a stick of dynamite all day, to be honest. It wasn’t nice, but they went in at the end and that was all that mattered.”
It’s a fairytale win for a man who earned his chance on the Legends Tour at Qualifying School in January but started the season battling injury: “It’s been a tough year. You know, you’ve just got to keep battling, and yeah, here I am.”
The win caps a superb run of form for Griffiths as he’d only finished outside the top eight once in his previous six events and secured his best result of the season prior to this week with a tied-3rd at the Sergio Melpignano Senior Italian Open in his previous start. The victory takes him to 10th on the MCB Road to Mauritius, and Phillips climbs to 13th.
Scott Hend eagled the final hole to complete a 68 and end the week in southern Spain alone in 3rd on -14. That helps the Aussie move into 2nd on the MCB Road to Mauritius and close the gap to number one Adilson da Silva, who finished a shot further back in a five-way tie for 4th.
Two-time winner this season Da Silva had four red numbers and one dropped shot in his 70, as he takes another step towards topping the season-long Order of Merit with just two events remaining. The Brazilian has finished 2nd on the MCB Road to Mauritius the last two years.
Thomas Gögele got his maiden title last time out in Italy and he built on that with a closing 65 – the best round of the day – to climb alongside Da Silva on -13. The other three who finished in that tie for 4th were two-time PGA Tour champion José Coceres, DP World Tour winner Emanuele Canonica and Keith Horne, who lifted the trophy at this year’s Zambia Golf Legends Championship in August.
Former Ryder Cup hero Phillip Price had a 72 to finish in 9th on -12, with English duo Gary Evans and David Shacklady a shot further back in tied-10th.
Tournament host Peter Baker signed for a 68 – his best round of the week – to climb into tied-24th on -7. He’s still 4th on the MCB Road to Mauritius, but he needs a big end to the season to retain the crown he earned with four wins last year, including one at the MCB Tour Championship Mauritius.
Visit www.legendstour.com to see the final leaderboard and updated MCB Road to Mauritius standings, and to find out more about the Farmfoods European Senior Masters hosted by Peter Baker at La Manga Club, Murcia, Spain. The Legends Tour heads across the Atlantic next week for the WCM Mexico Senior Open at Punta Mita Golf Club, from November 15th-17th.
