Phillip Price ended his seven year wait for a second title on The European Tour with a superb victory in the Algarve Open de Portugal at sun-kissed Quinta do Lago.
The 34 year old Welshman’s only other victory had come in the same event at Penha Longa in 1994 and he showed his love of Portugal once again with a scintillating closing round of eight under par 64. It gave him a 15 under par total of 273 and a two shot winning margin over Padraig Harrington and Sven Strüver.
After starting the day in a share of 15th place, four shots off the pace, Price’s sterling effort not only saw him take the first prize of 166,660 euro, it also elevated him to 11th place on the Volvo Order of Merit and sixth in the Ryder Cup points table.
“I think I’m relieved more than anything,” he said. “I’ve finished second so many times that I was thinking over the last three holes, I really do not want to blow this. I’ve found it difficult to win so to get the job done today was very, very pleasing.
“At the start I thought if I could shoot seven or eight under I might have a chance. I played very well in the third round and only scored 70 so I thought if I got it going early on, which I did, things might be different.”
Price’s start was certainly spectacular and he could not have hoped for much more, birdieing five of the first six holes to make up ground on the group of five players - Harrington, Strüver, Simon Dyson, David Gilford and Stephen Scahill – who held the joint lead at 11 under par at the start of the day.
A blip followed when he overshot the green at the short seventh to drop a shot but he recovered well into the back nine with birdies at the tenth, 13th and 14th holes. It gave the Welshman the lead over the rest of the field who were struggling to make the same strides forward but Price gave the chasing pack hope when he three putted the short 15th for a bogey four.
However, he showed the mettle of a champion over the testing final stretch. A pitch-in birdie three from the left of the 16th green saw him take the lead again and when he followed that with another birdie at the long 17th, he had put daylight between himself and his closest pursuers.
Playing four groups behind, Harrington knew he had to make a move if the title was to be his and he showed signs of a challenge with a birdie from three feet at the 14th. But his uncertainty on the Quinta do Lago greens manifested itself over the closing stretch and he failed to make any other gains, closing with four pars for a 70 and a 13 under par total of 275.
“I had 35 putts which is just too many to have a realistic chance of winning,” said the Irishman, whose next appearance on The European Tour will be at the Benson and Hedges International Open at The De Vere Belfry in a fortnight’s time.
“I hit 18 greens and if somebody had told me I was going to play tee to green the way I did I would have been thrilled. But I should have had a better score. Obviously the four par fives hurt me badly because I didn’t birdie any of them and I reached all four, that was a big pity.”
Joining Harrington in a tie for second place was Strüver who started the day in a share of the lead but who did not look like he would feature in the prizegiving after an error-strewn front nine of 37. But the 33 year old German battled back bravely and three birdies in his last six holes secured a 70 and gave him his best finish of the season. It also moved him from 97th on the Volvo Order of Merit to 29th.
“After the start I had, I had a feeling it wasn’t going to be my day but I was pleased with the way I hung in there and fought back towards the end of the round,” he said. “For not having been up there in contention in tournaments for so long, it feels nice.”
Further down the leaderboard, three players shared fourth place on 11 under par 277, Ignacio Garrido, Alastair Forsyth and Scahill, the best round of the three being posted by Forsyth whose 69 came together on the back nine where he picked up five shots in six holes from the 12th.
The Scot did drop a shot at the last after trying too hard to make an impression with his driver but the finish represented his best of the season and moved him up to 71st on the Volvo Order of Merit.
Scahill could not quite reproduce the fireworks of his third round 66 and had to settle for a closing 72 while Garrido finished with a 70 after a round which featured four birdies and two bogeys, including at the first where he missed the fairway for the fourth round in succession.
“I am disappointed not to win naturally but I am pleased with the week overall,” said the Spaniard. “My putting hasn’t been good for a while but this was the first week I have felt comfortable with it and I think that reflects in my score. I’m looking forward to the next few tournaments.”