Sam Torrance of Scotland saved his best to last as a faultless five under par 67 steered him to his fifth European Seniors Tour title – and his 37th victory in all as a professional – at the Sharp Italian Seniors Open.
For the second year running Eamonn Darcy, who had shared the overnight lead with Torrance, suffered heartache on the final day at Circolo Golf Venezia.
Beaten in a play-off by Frenchman Gery Watine in 2005, this time around the Irishman faded in regulation play and finished second again after a closing 71 left him four adrift of Torrance’s winning aggregate of 11 under par 205.
“I was a bit unlucky last year but today I was well beaten,” admitted Darcy, who was not too disappointed given that this was his first professional tournament since October.
“Today I played a bit like I had expected to play all week. I tried to keep going for my shots but I was a still a little tentative. It’s all down to my lack of golf over the winter. If somebody had told me I would finish second beforehand I would have certainly taken it.”
For Torrance, he was delighted by the victory that moved him back to where he finished last season: at the top of the European Seniors Tour Order of Merit.
Speaking before collecting the first prize cheque of €26,250, he said: “I played beautifully today and managed to keep a bogey off my card, something I had not done for the first two rounds. For me the crucial moment came at the first when Eamonn made a three and I had a difficult 15ft putt for par. If I had gone two behind I would have been behind the eight ball straight away, but I holed it and that was important.”
From that moment on he never looked back and while his rivals faltered, the former Ryder Cup Captain sealed a comfortable four stroke success that will act as a timely fillip ahead of the 67th US Senior PGA Championship, which starts on Thursday.
He said: “I was entered into the BMW Championship at Wentworth, which is where I live, and I have played there for 35 years, but I chose to go the US PGA Seniors because I think I have a chance of winning that. This victory puts me in great heart for that and lays down a marker in my bid to retain the European Seniors Tour Order of Merit.”
The Italian golfing public, who have now seen Torrance walk off with two Italian Open titles on The European Tour and now the Seniors version as well, took special delight in the performance of Pietro Molteni, who closed with a 69 to finish with a share of third place on five under par alongside Argentine Luis Carbonetti, who also carded a 69.
The 55 year old teaching professional from Villa d’Este, near Lake Como, whose son Gregory plays on the Challenge Tour, will now accept an invitation to play in Ireland in two weeks’ time.
“This was my first tournament of the year and I planned that it would be my only one. But now I have been invited to Ireland and I will look forward to that very much. I have played in Ireland before in The Senior British Open Championship and really enjoyed it.”
Guillermo Encina of Chile ended in sole charge of fifth place on four under par 212, while a shot further back were Australian Stewart Ginn, winner of last year’s Qualifying School, Carl Mason of England and Juan Quiros of Spain.
Tony Johnstone, who was making his European Seniors Tour debut after a remarkable recovery from multiple sclerosis, found himself struggling with a cold putter and the Zimbabwean closed with a 79 for a share of 28th place on four over.
While Johnstone’s fortunes dipped, Terry Gale’s soared. Unusually inconsistent for the first two days, Gale produced an incredible turnaround after leaving the course on Saturday having added a 77 to his opening round 81, and wishing that he had not accepted an invitation to play in next week’s US Senior PGA Championship.
But a moment of clarity later that evening prompted the Australian to slightly alter his swing in the realisation that he was probably overcompensating in his desire to keep enough turn in it - and the result was outstanding.
A course record-equalling 66, matching the feat of his compatriot Stewart Ginn the day before, took Gale from 67th place to a finishing position of tied 44th.
