Simon Griffiths completed a wire-to-wire victory at the Farmfoods European Senior Masters with a closing 68 on La Manga’s South Course to keep a stacked chasing pack at bay as he cruised to a -17 winning total.
The 51-year-old Qualifying School graduate started the final day at the popular Spanish resort with a one-shot lead following rounds of 64 and 70, and made it to the turn in 35 strokes, with birdies at 4 and 7. It was a solid start, but recent winner Van Phillips overtook Griffiths with four birdies in a row from the third and another two at 8 and 10to reach -15.
Griffiths responded with birdies at 11 and 13, and a Phillips bogey on 15 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.
FAIRYTALE VICTORY
“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,” he admitted. “You know, you’ve just got to keep battling, and 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-third at the Senior Italian Open in his previous start. The victory takes him to 10th
on the MCB Road to Mauritius, and Phillips climbs to 13th after finishing solo second.
ROAD TO MAURITIUS TITLE STILL IN THE BALANCE
Scott Hend eagled the final hole to complete a 68 and end the week in southern Spain alone in third on -14. That helped the Australian move into second in the season’s ranking and close the gap to number one Adilson da Silva, who finished a shot further back in a five-way tie for fourth.
Tournament host Peter Baker signed for a closing 68 – his best round of the week – to climb into tied-24th on -7. He’s still fourth 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.
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