Scotland’s John Chillas left it very late but he finally claimed his first title of 2004 by winning the season ending Estoril Seniors Tour Championship to complete at marvelous year which saw him finish second on five occasions.
Chillas, joint leader at the start of the day, closed with a three under par 68 at Quinta da Marinha Oitavos Golfe for a two stoke victory over Australian David Good.
There was cause for double celebration for Chillas as his winning cheque for €37,325 (£25,805) saw him dramatically claim the final place in the Rest of the World team for the UBS Cup.
The Scotsman had to win the tournament to make the team and rely on poor finishes from higher ranked Seiji Ebihara from Japan and Scotland’s Bill Longmuir to join England’s Carl Mason in the side for next month’s clash against the Americans. With Ebihara finishing joint 32nd and Longmuir ending equal 38th, Chillas’ place in the side was assured.
Mason, who before the start of the week had already wrapped up this year’s European Seniors Tour Order of Merit title for the second successive year, came close to winning his sixth title of the season but finished three behind Chillas in joint third with Scotland’s Martin Gray and American John Benda.
Chillas has won once before on the Seniors Tour in last year’s Travis Perkins Senior Masters but victory in Estoril after a season of near misses brought him greater satisfaction.
“I am absolutely delighted. This year has been a great year. I started off with a couple of thirds, then a second, then I had four seconds on the trot so to actually win in the last event is something I am over the moon about,” said Chillas, who finished with a three round aggregate of six under par 207.
Despite the pressure on Chillas he was surprisingly relaxed on the final day. He led at the turn after going out in one under, cemented his position by birdieing 10, suffered a minor setback with a bogey on the next hole but pulled away from the field with birdies on 12 and 15 before parring home unchallenged.
“I was quite relaxed this week. There was a lot riding on it because mathematically I could still make the UBS Cup which I could only do by winning. I just intended to have a bash at it, have a bit of fun and I have been very, very lucky,” added the 53 year old Scotsman.
Chillas finished the season in third place on the Order of Merit with winnings of €218,280 (£150,915) behind Mason and second placed Pete Oakley of the United States.
Good, also hungry for a title this year after six top five finishes, closed with a 67 – which was joint best round of the week.
Mason’s performance completed a fine season and allowed him to set a new single season earnings record with total winnings of €354,775 (£245,285). The previous best mark was €350,242 (£244,222) which he recorded last year following four victories in his rookie season.
“One of the targets of the year was to defend the Order of Merit and I have done it in fine style,” said Mason.
The battle for the Hardy’s Super Seniors Prize, which goes to leading player aged over 60, and the final Hardy’s Super Seniors Order of Merit positions also witnessed a thrilling finish.
England’s John Morgan looked set to win the Prize and secure the Merit list from second place compatriot Tommy Horton.
However, Morgan dropped two shots over the closing holes to finish the tournament on two over while Horton birdied the 16th to help him finish one stroke better and claim the Merit list title.
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