First senior Top 10 for Brendan McGovern
Andrew Oldcorn. Picture: Getty Images
European Senior Tour rookie Brendan McGovern moved up to 23rd in the money list when he clinched his first top 10 behind Andrew Oldcorn in the WINSTONgolf Senior Open in Germany.
The 50-year old closed with a 69 to take ninth place on four under and pocket € 9,649 as Oldcorn dedicated an emotionally-charged second European Senior Open title to a friend after beating England’s Paul Broadhurst in a play-off.
Oldcorn, an eight-time runner up on the Senior Tour, went into the final day one shot behind leaders Magnus P Atlevi and Peter Fowler but carded five birdies en route to a final round 69 and an eight under par total.
Broadhurst raced up the leaderboard, setting a new course record with a 67 and forcing Oldcorn to make a birdie putt on the last hole for a play-off.
On the second extra hole, Broadhurst ran into difficulty as he found a fairway bunker with his drive and then failed to locate the green with his third shot, giving Oldcorn two putts to take the title.
“I’m absolutely ecstatic,” said Oldcorn. “The biggest thing for me today was keeping my focus. I had a wobble at the start of the back nine and was lucky to get away with just one bogey. I knew when I got to 18 I would have to make birdie, and that was pretty straightforward.
“The first putt I holed in the play-off was symptomatic of how I putted all week. I holed a succession of those 15-footers all week, and it’s what you need to do to win tournaments.
“I can’t say how much this means to me. Me, my family, and those who are big supporters of mine have had a really tough winter off the course.
“I want to dedicate this win to a really good friend of mine who is suffering with his health, Trevor Lawrence. He’s been one of my biggest supporters over the last 30 years, and I want to dedicate this to him.”
McGovern, who has made €21,538 from his first four starts as a Senior, was the leading Irishman in Germany.
Ronan Rafferty (73) tied for 29th on one three over with Philip Walton (78) tied 38th, Des Smyth (78) tied 46th, Denis O’Sullivan (75) tied 49th and Eamonn Darcy (80) 56th.
Final scores
208 A Oldcorn (Sco) 70 69 69, P Broadhurst (Eng) 70 71 67,
209 B Langer (Ger) 71 69 69, M Atlevi (Swe) 69 69 71, P Fowler (Aus) 68 70 71,
210 M Mouland (Wal) 71 70 69, P Wesselingh (Eng) 68 73 69,
211 G Turner (Nzl) 72 70 69,
212 Brendan McGovern (Irl) 73 70 69,
213 M Harwood (Aus) 74 71 68, A Bossert (Sui) 74 70 69, I Woosnam (Wal) 72 73 68, C Monasterio (Arg) 73 69 71, S Brown (Eng) 73 68 72, P Linhart (Esp) 71 72 70,
214 P Golding (Eng) 68 71 75, R Drummond (Sco) 71 73 70,
215 B Lane (Eng) 75 71 69, G Manson (Aut) 68 73 74, S Tinning (Den) 72 73 70,
216 P O’Malley (Aus) 75 69 72, B Conser (USA) 73 73 70, G Wolstenholme (Eng) 72 73 71, J Kingston (RSA) 70 72 74, A Franco (Par) 70 73 73,
217 B Cameron (Eng) 74 73 70,
218 N Job (Eng) 73 71 74, A Sherborne (Eng) 70 75 73,
219 J Carriles (Esp) 75 73 71, T Thelen (USA) 71 79 69, Ronan Rafferty (Nir) 71 75 73,
220 P Eales (Eng) 75 72 73, D Gilford (Eng) 75 73 72, G Marks (Eng) 68 79 73, M Mackenzie (Eng) 71 76 73, C Mason (Eng) 73 72 75, J Rivero (Esp) 73 71 76,
221 C Williams (RSA) 73 73 75, S Luna (Esp) 74 73 74, J Berendt (Arg) 74 74 73, Philip Walton (Irl) 75 68 78, G Brand (Eng) 71 76 74,
222 L Carbonetti (Arg) 71 77 74, W Grant (Eng) 73 77 72,
224 J Sallat (Fra) 76 77 71,
225 D Russell (Eng) 71 76 78, J Quiros (Esp) 76 75 74, Des Smyth (Irl) 75 72 78,
228 K Tarling (Can) 74 77 77, Denis O’Sullivan (Irl) 77 76 75,
229 G Rusnak (USA) 78 78 73, A Macdonald (Eng) 74 77 78,
230 M Davis (Eng) 75 78 77,
231 B Longmuir (Sco) 76 77 78, F Lamare (Fra) 80 74 77,
233 Eamonn Darcy (Irl) 76 77 80,
234 C Rocca (Ita) 78 80 76,
241 G Emerson (Eng) 78 82 81, J Robinson (Eng) 80 77 84,
DQ L Zhang (Chn) 74 71 DQ.
