A bogey ridden round saw Belfast’s Damian Mooney drop down the leaderboard and finish T24 on the final day at Trump International as the 57-year-old carded an eight-over-par round as windy conditions picked back up again.
Mooney was well in contention to challenge for the win after round three, but finally ran out of steams as the Lough Erne pro made nine bogeys in the final round.
After four bogeys in his first six holes, the Belfast man needed to respond quickly. A birdie on the seventh hole helped the cause, but unfortunately it wasn’t to be his day.
Four-over-par on the front nine, Mooney went on to card four more bogeys on the back nine, taking his tournament total to 10-over-par. A disappointing end to an otherwise steady display of golf over the week.
A man who won’t be disappointed with his day is 50-year-old Bo Van Pelt as the American takes home his maiden win on the Legends Tour, going the distance on the final day by beating Darren Fichardt via a playoff.
“It means a lot to me, it’s been a long road back and I can’t thank the Legends Tour enough. My first event at Costa Navarino was great and this was too. I’ve been playing pro golf for 27 years and the two I’ve played on this tour have been as good as anything I’ve played,” said Van Pelt.
Van Pelt, who led by one stroke after round three, carded a final day one-under-par to put him at three-under with his son as his caddie for the four grueling rounds of golf.
“My son was great. It was his first week on the bag, but he said a lot of good things at the right time… I feel like the luckiest guy in the world to win on this continent and win a huge event on the Legends Tour with your son on the bag – you’ve just got to pinch yourself,” he added gladly.
Four years out of the game, Van Pelt showed no signs of age as he birdied the playoff hole, the par-5 18th, to win emphatically.
“The play-off was a fresh start. I hit a really good drive and there at the end I just tried to focus on the shot at hand,” said the first-time Legends Tour winner.
It was heartbreak for South Africa’s Darren Fichardt who was also in search of his first Legend’s Tour win as the 50-year-old played the round well, making three birdies in a two-under-par final day.
Fichardt was tied with Van Pelt after the 15th hole, and it could be argued that momentum was on the South African’s side, but Fichardt will undoubtedly look back on a missed opportunity to take the lead on the 15th hole, blasting an eagle putt past the hole and missing his birdie attempt.
The South African went par for par with Van Pelt as they closed out their final few holes, but it all went wrong for Fichardt on the playoff hole, making a devastating double bogey to see the Staysure Championship slip from his grasp.
Regarding the other Irishmen in the field – Gary Murphy finished T31 on 12-over-par, Cameron Clark finished in T33 on 13-over and Paul McGinley ends his weekend at T41 on 15-over.
Local man and 1999 Openw winner Paul Lowrie crept his way into the top 10 as the Aberdeen man saw red figures for the first time this week, carding a one-under-par round.
The Legends Tour now moves on to Brocket Hall for the English Legends on August 22nd.
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