Van Phillips clinched his first Legends Tour title by defeating Adilson da Silva and Phillip Archer on the fourth sudden demise play-off gap on the WINSTONgolf Senior Open in Germany.
An extremely tense and entertaining afternoon was capped off by an excellent play-off as Londoner Phillips sealed the win with a lovely strategy to 18 inches to disclaim Da Silva a 3rd win of the season and consign Archer to runner-up spot right here for the third yr in a row.
Archer had seemed the favorite to seal a maiden Legends Tour title for a lot of the ultimate spherical as he raced to -7 for his first 12 holes of the day to open up a two-shot benefit from Phillips with six holes to play.
Forward of them on the course, Da Silva began the day 5 photographs off the lead, and he flew by way of the sphere with a bogey-free 64. The MCB Street to Mauritius primary parred the 18th to set the clubhouse goal at -12, however it seemed like it might be not less than one quick when he signed his card.
Then the drama unfolded. Archer – taking part in within the penultimate group – slipped again from -15 after 14 holes with three late bogeys, together with one on the remaining gap. Phillips bogeyed the 15th however a birdie at 17 meant a par on the final can be sufficient for the title – just for him to three-putt for bogey.
The trio headed again up the 18th for the sudden demise play-off, and when all three gamers made pars on the primary three makes an attempt, play switched to the shorter par-4 tenth. Da Silva and Archer once more made pars, however an outstanding wedge to 18 inches and a easy tap-in birdie was sufficient for Phillips to assert the trophy.
“It’s superb,” mentioned the 52-year-old champion. “It’s been actually powerful the final couple of years – simply grinding away with accidents. It’s simply superb to win and form of validate all of the onerous work. It’s unbelievable.
“I’ve been engaged on staying actually calm and staying within the second. I felt like I achieved that every one the best way round till the 18th. After which I simply hit a horrible putt from 4 toes. I haven’t been on this place for a very long time – I used to be simply nervous.”
His strategy on the fourth play-off gap was semi-blind, so he was delighted to see how shut it was: “I used to be praying it was a kick-in, as a result of I simply couldn’t face one other four-foot putt. Seventy-five yards is a superb yardage for me. Only a three-quarter swing. So yeah, I simply executed it. Excellent.”
To look at the ultimate spherical highlights from the WINSTONgolf Senior Open, click on right here.
