Ryder Cup star Jamie Donaldson is now a Legends Tour winner after overcoming a four-stroke deficit to win the Champions British Inc Senior European Masters presented by Peter Baker.
Playing his second event since his 50th birthday this summer, the three-time DP World Tour winner closed with a brilliant 67 at Club La Manga in Murcia, Spain, finishing on -11 strokes to beat Mikael Lundberg, Thomas Gögler and Van Phillips.
Overnight leader Michael Campbell fell back after a series of untimely bogeys on the back nine and ended up tied for fifth with defending champion Simon Griffiths and fellow Briton Matt Cote at -8.
Swedish Ryder Cup pair Jarmo Sandelin and Joakim Haeggman, as well as Adilson da Silva and Dutchman Maarten Lafeber – who matched Donaldson’s low-round 67 – fell further behind at -7.
Jamie’s plan
“Early in the round, I wasn’t trying to push too much, just letting it happen. I was trying to stay calm and stick to the plan of just hitting fairways, knowing I was going to have a chance, and that’s what I did. I got off to a strong start, and then as I made more birdies around the turn, things just snowballed in my direction.
“I was really happy to finish so strongly, although it was a pity that I had a bogey on the 17th, but I hit a great tee shot on the 18th and hit a 5-iron into the center of the green that bounced really well. My first putt was terrible, but luckily I was in good rhythm and I got -11.
“I played in Italy and finished 17th, and I remember thinking it’s going to be really hard because there’s a lot of guys here who may not hit the ball as long as the guys on the DP World Tour, but they still play really, really good golf, and they’re really, really good at scoring. Italy was scoring really well and I knew if I wanted to win here, I had to hit some golf. Luckily, I managed to do that this week.”
The 2014 Ryder Cup player started at 5 under and quickly closed within one shot with three birdies in his first six holes, while former U.S. Open champion Campbell faltered. Another play on the 10th hole – a bogey for Campbell – gave him a share of the lead as tensions mounted. An exciting finish to the tournament, with excellent birdies at 16 and 18, vaulted him into the club lead at -11.
Germany’s Gergler seized the opportunity earlier, making three birdies on the front nine to take the lead and soon locked horns with Donaldson for the title. Gergler stood at No. 17 with an -11 lead, but like Donaldson, he bogeyed the par 3 and needed a birdie on the accessible par 5 to make the playoff. Unfortunately, his tee shot caught the wind and found water, leaving him one shot behind the club lead despite shooting par.
Mikael Lundberg, a standout player over the past three months, joined Gogler at -10, knocking a 3-wood shot over a foot on his final 235-yard shot for eagle. The Swede has finished in the top 10 in seven of his last nine starts and victory seems imminent. Van Phillips also birdied Nos. 17 and 18 to jump to -10, capping another solid week for the Englishman.
“It was a tough week,” Phillips said. “It was windy and the greens were really difficult, but I played really solid and I’m really happy with it. I didn’t have a lot of motivation today but I got a strong result and I’m happy with that. I’ve had some close calls in recent months and some disappointing Sundays, so it’s nice to get a decent result on Sunday.”
The Legends Tour now moves to Asia, with the Vatanak Legends Tour taking place in Cambodia in two weeks.
