Welshman Stephen Dodd won his second European Senior Tour title in spectacular fashion on a dramatic final day at the Farmfoods European Senior Masters, securing victory with a 40-foot birdie on the 18th green at Forest of Arden Marriott Hotel & Country Club in Warwickshire.
Dodd started the final day three strokes behind America’s Clark Dennis, but quickly made ground as he went out in 34. The 51 year old spent most of the final day chasing Dennis and Paul McGinley, and found himself one shot behind with three holes to play, after a bogey on the 15th.
Playing in the penultimate group, Dodd found the fringe at the front of the green on the course’s signature par-three 18th, leaving himself 40 feet for birdie and a share of the lead. He made the putt – which rolled around the hole before dropping in – to join McGinley at the top of the leaderboard on two under par.
McGinley, playing in just his fourth Senior Tour event, struck his tee shot short of the green, and then missed a tricky putt for par to drop to one under. Dennis found the green, but missed a birdie putt from 15 feet, which would have forced a play off, handing Dodd his second title following his victory at last year’s Italian Open.
“It was one of those putts where I was just trying to get by the hole, but fortunately it went in,” said Dodd. “Given the tough conditions, there aren’t going to be 64s or 65 out there. Level par is usually a good score, and that’s what I had in mind. The field was great this week, and to come out on top is a great achievement for me.”
He added: “It has been a challenging three days with the weather, but the course held up well. It has been a challenging week for the greenkeeping staff too, but they did a fantastic job.”
In fourth place was Sweden’s Jarmo Sandelin, a member of Europe’s 1999 Ryder Cup side, who recorded the best result of his debut Senior Tour season on one over par. Tournament host Peter Baker, playing in his first event on the over-50s circuit, finished tied for seventh place with Gordon Brand Jnr, Paul Eales and Tim Thelen.