England’s Philip Golding enjoyed his best year on the Staysure Tour in three years as he won both the Swiss Seniors Open and Travis Perkins Masters in 2017.
Finishing inside the top six on the Order of Merit every year since 2013, last year proved no exception as he took fourth place on the season-long Rankings.
Both of his victories in 2017 came at venues where he had previously finished runner-up, starting at Golf Club Bad Ragaz next to the Julian Alps in Switzerland.
Swiss Seniors Open
Starting the final round four strokes behind Mark Mouland, Golding started strongly with three consecutive birdies from the second to the fourth holes but made the turn three strokes behind new leader Clark Dennis.
He then made consecutive gains on the tenth, 11thand 12thholes, and a bogey for Dennis on the 14thsaw the deficit reduced to just one stroke. Golding then drew level on 15 under par with a birdie on the par five 16thhole.
Golding finished with pars on the 17thand 18thholes, and was one group ahead of Dennis who was made to wait for his maiden Staysure Tour title after a costly double-bogey on the 54thand final hole saw him drop to 13 under par, handing the Englishman his third title on the over-50s circuit.
Travis Perkins Masters
The only golfer to go lower than par on each of the three days at Woburn Golf Club, Golding secured his fourth Staysure Tour title at the Travis Perkins Masters.
One stroke behind first-round leader Ian Woosnam, Golding started the tournament with a two under par round of 70. Finishing his second round one under par, the Englishman found himself chasing Dennis on the final day once again.
He bridged the gap with birdies on the first and fifth holes, but a bogey saw him remain three strokes behind the American.
Dennis, however, ran into trouble on the back nine, and Golding birdied the tenth and then cancelled out a bogey on the 13thwith another gain on the 16thbefore parring the final two holes to double his tally of titles for the 2017 season.
Golding would then finish fourth on the Order of Merit with earnings of more than €165,000, matching his previous best finish on the Rankings.
