2014 Ryder Cup star Jamie Donaldson is now a winner on the Legends Tour after overcoming a four-shot deficit to claim the Champions UK plc Senior European Masters hosted by Peter Baker.
Playing in just his second tournament after turning 50 over the summer, the Welshman – a six-time winner across both the DP World Tour and HotelPlanner Tour – shot a superb closing 67 at La Manga Club in Murcia, Spain, to finish at -11 and edge out Mikael Lundberg, Thomas Gögele and Van Phillips.
Overnight leader Michael Campbell faded on the back-nine with a series of untimely bogeys and finished in a tie for fifth place at -8 alongside defending champion Simon Griffiths and fellow Englishman Matt Cort.
Swedish Ryder Cup duo Jarmo Sandelin and Joakim Haeggman, along with Adilson da Silva and Dutchman Maarten Lafeber – who matched Donaldson’s low round of 67 – were a shot further back at -7.
“It’s fantastic,” said Donaldson afterwards. “I’ve had a great week and it was nice to play so well today and birdie the last to pip them to it. The plan all week was to take advantage of the par-fives, get through the par-threes and pick up shots where I can on the fours. I did that perfectly today. I was really happy with the way I played.
“Early in the round I wasn’t trying to push too much, just wanted to let it happen. I tried to stay calm and stick to the plan of just hitting fairways and know I’ll have chances and that’s what I did. I got off to a strong start, and then it kind of snowballed in my direction as I made more birdies around the turn.
“I’m really pleased to have finished so strongly, and although it’s a shame I bogeyed 17, I bounced back really well with a great drive on 18 and then a solid 5-iron into the heart of the green. I hit a terrible first putt but luckily the pace was good and I got to -11.
“I played Italy and finished 17th, and I remember thinking that it was quite difficult because there’s so many guys out here that may not hit the ball as long as guys on the DP World Tour but they still play really, really good golf, and they’re very, very good at scoring. The scoring in Italy was really good and I knew I’d have to play some golf if I want to win tournaments out here. Luckily, I managed to do that this week.”
The Legends Tour now moves on to Asia with the Vattanac Legends in Cambodia taking place in two weeks’ time.
Follow Golf Digest Middle East on social media
X
YouTube
Main Image: Getty Images
Subsribe to Golf Digest Middle East Newsletter
