Andrew Marshall claimed a maiden win on the Legends Tour at the Sergio Melpignano Senior Italian Open after a superb closing 66 at San Domenico Golf.
The Englishman reeled in overnight leader Phillip Price to finish at -14, two shots clear of France’s Lionel Alexandre and Swedish debutant Johan Edfors, who both matched Marshall’s 66 to finish T2 at -12.
Order of Merit leader Scott Hend, and one of the men chasing him down, Peter Baker, were a further shot back at -11 after their rounds of 67. Welshman Phillip Price, who led by four after the first two rounds, having opened up with a scintillating 64, endured a day to forget. The 2002 Ryder Cup star was the only player in the top-20 to shoot over par and ended up in sixth place at -10 after a 74.
For Marshall – playing alongside Price – it was a case of patience being rewarded after a number of near-misses in recent years, including in Italy two years ago when James Kingston roared through the field to shoot 61 and claim victory.
“It feels really good,” said Marshall, a two-time winner on the MENA Tour and the PGA EuroPro Tour. “I wasn’t really thinking about winning this morning because Price was so far ahead. I’ve come close a few times and when you see other people win you do think ‘when’s it my turn?’ So to finally do it is great. I still can’t believe it really.
“It’s amazing what happens. Phil actually hit it in the hole on three and it was going so fast, it just hit the pin and then went through the green. So a lovely shot becomes a three-putt bogey and you wonder if it’s a sign. I just played lovely around the turn and got to five or six-under and it was all about the timing of it. I then ran out of holes to mess up and here I am soaked in champagne. Now I know I can do it, hopefully it won’t be too long before it happens again or I give myself a chance at least.”
With Price slipping back into the pack, a number of players made charges towards the top of the leaderboard including Scott Hend, who eagled the second and then added further birdies to move to -10 at the turn.
Johan Edfors also looked to be in with a shout after a back-nine 31 got him to -12. Playing in his first Legends Tour event, the Swede notched 17 birdies for the week and clearly enjoyed a return to a venue he last played 20 years ago.
“It’s been great coming back to San Domenico,” said the three-time DP World Tour winner. “I’ve had a fantastic first week on the Legends Tour. I have been practising and playing a few events but there’s a huge difference playing in a proper tournament. I was happy with my game coming in and it was nice to be able to bring that onto the course as well.
“It was tougher than I thought, but I was actually pretty calm and played my best golf of the week today. If I could have just holed a few more putts it could have been a really great day. I hit a lot of good shots and gave myself a lot of good chances and that’s all you want.”
