Jean Hugo has won the inaugural Portugal Legends Championship by six shots after a scintillating bogey-free final-round 62 at Pinheirinho on the Alentejo coast. It was the South African’s second win in his last three events, following victory at the Reignwood Legends Championship in Beijing in October.

With Hugo at -20, England’s Greg Owen finished second on -14 after a closing 65, with Johan Edfors a further shot back. Andrew Marshall finished fourth at -12, one ahead of a group of players at -11 that included Cameron Clark, Robert Coles, Keith Horne and the overnight leader, Paul Lawrie.

“I’m delighted to win again,” said Hugo after his course-record round of 10-under-par. “I was just trying to manage expectations, be patient and play my own game. I thought I did that quite well today, and at the end of the day that was good enough.

“I was hitting it well early on, and I had good chances on the first couple. I hit it close enough on three, so that was my first birdie. The pin on five was tucked, and I was really hitting it well. I had about three feet on five and about six feet on six. It was nice.

“When you come round the corner I had a bit of a lead, but going into the back nine there’s a lot of trouble out there, so it wasn’t enough. Then Johan started playing so well over the first four holes on that side, and that put a lot of pressure on me. So I’m proud of the way I handled myself.

“When we got here on Tuesday, it didn’t feel like a 62 course. You don’t think about that on the final day, you’re just trying to do your own work. I was just trying to get it over the water on the last, never mind making birdie, so the record is a bonus.

“The par threes are very good. They’ve got so many options on the greens. If you can make a par on the par threes every round, that’s very good. It was wide enough off the tee that I didn’t feel a lot of pressure, which I like, so you can use your length. All in all, I think it’s a nice, generous course, and I think people will love it.”

Hugo made his professional debut in 1999 at the Open Championship at Carnoustie. It was fitting, therefore, that one of his playing partners for the final round at Pinheirinho was the man who famously lifted the Claret Jug on that windswept day more than 25 years ago.

But while Lawrie’s challenge faltered as his putter ran cold, it was Hugo who surged into the lead with five consecutive front-nine birdies. A stunning eagle at the 11th then gave him further breathing room before a superb finish enabled him to reach double-digits under par for the round.

For much of the day, Greg Owen was his nearest challenger. The Englishman, who started the day at seven-under, was quickly out of the blocks on Sunday with four birdies in his first seven holes to reach -11 and get within touching distance of Hugo.

Further birdies at 11 and 12 further reduced the arrears but a costly bogey at 15 derailed his challenge and he was forced to settle for second-place despite a strong finish with birdies on 16 and 18. Having won earlier this year at the Barbados Legends and enjoyed a number of top-10 finishes, Owen remains very much in contention for the Road to Cambodia Order of Merit that is still led by Stephen Gallacher, who finished T13.

“It’s been a great week overall,” said Owen. “The first two days I couldn’t miss with my driver, my irons were average, and I was holing putts. Anything I got close, I was making. Today, for some reason, I was horrific off the tee, but my wedge play was phenomenal. I missed a short putt on nine, when a wasp landed on my putter as I was taking it back and distracted me, and I lipped out. Other than that, I holed everything I needed to. I didn’t hole anything long, so my wedges and my putting saved me today.

“I’ve enjoyed it here this week. There are some really good holes and it’s in great condition. It’s a phenomenal venue, we’ve been looked after really well, and I hope we keep coming back. It suits my game.”

Edfors, who began the day as the only player in the field without a bogey, endured a horror start and was lucky to only drop a single shot on each of his two opening holes. But the Swede restored parity with birdies at five and six before reeling off four in a row on the back nine to apply some pressure to Hugo down the difficult closing stretch. But the South African remained unphased, notching birdies of his own on 15, 17 and then 18 to close out a hugely impressive victory among the stunning pine trees of Comporta, to the south of Lisbon.

The Staysure Legends Tour now moves on to La Manga next week for the Champions UK European Senior Masters.

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