Mark Brown announced his arrival on the Legends Tour with a bang by shooting a bogey-free 64 to overturn a one-shot deficit at the start of the final day and clinch the beautiful crystal trophy at the 27th Swiss Seniors Open.
Robert Coles held the 36-hole lead, but a front nine of one over par opened the door for the congested chasing pack. The lead changed hands on multiple occasions, but it was ultimately Brown who got the job done with key birdies at the 15th and 16th holes to open up some daylight at the summit. He parred the 17th and was able to play 18 with a two-shot cushion, making a stress-free par to become the first debutant to win on the Legends Tour since Scott Hend at the 2023 WINSTONgolf Senior Open.
The DP World Tour winner had started the day with four pars but got things going with three birdies in four holes from the 5th to turn in 32 strokes. He picked up another at the par-3 11th before those back-to-back gains at 15 and 16 completed a magical first week with his family watching on. Brown jumps straight into 20th on the Order of Merit.
“It’s amazing,” said the champion. “I really didn’t know what to expect this week, so we’ve all just had a blast. We’ve had a fantastic week, and what a way to finish today.
“I stayed pretty patient. I felt like the scoring was going to be pretty low today. There’s hardly any wind, so I just needed to be patient, especially on the front nine. I managed to make a few birdies on that back nine coming home, which was really the key. Winning is never easy, so I had the heart rate going coming up 18.
“I’ve got a six-year-old son and he’s obsessed by the trophies. Unfortunately, we don’t win too many in a golf tournament, so he’ll be especially pleased to see the trophy.”
Coles played the back nine in just 31 strokes, including a birdie at the 18th, to sign for a 67 and join the tie for 2nd alongside Keith Horne and Van Phillips. That result lifts him to 11th on the Order of Merit and gives him valuable momentum to carry into the ISPS Handa Senior Open in a couple of weeks and his defence of the Staysure PGA Seniors Championship the following week.
Horne won last week’s Reignwood Legends Championship and he could have climbed to number one on the Order of Merit with a win this week. He gave it a good run with a closing 66, but back-to-back bogeys on 13 and 14 derailed his charge. He responded well birdies at the next two holes, but only managed pars at 17 and 18. He’s jumped from 4th to 2nd on the points list, just behind Hend.
Phillips had five birdies and one dropped shot in a 66. It’s a welcome return to form for the reigning WINSTONgolf Senior Open champion in the last couple of events after he also finished 5th in China last week. He’s now 16th on the Order of Merit.
Sweden’s Mikael Lundberg and 2018 Swiss Seniors Open winner Jean-François Remesy had rounds of 65 and 66 respectively to finish tied-5th on -12. Last season’s Order of Merit number one and 2023 winner at Bad Ragaz, Adilson da Silva, climbed into 7th with a 64.There was a four-way tie for 8th at -10, including Bradley Dredge, Thomas Gögele, David Shacklady and Simon Griffiths.
Visit the homepage to see the final leaderboard and updated Order of Merit, and for more information about the Swiss Seniors Open at Golf Club Bad Ragaz. The Legends Tour now heads to the ISPS Handa Senior Open at Sunningdale, from July 24th-27th.
