Van Phillips clinched his first Legends Tour title by defeating Adilson da Silva and Phillip Archer on the fourth sudden death play-off hole at the WINSTONgolf Senior Open in Germany.
An incredibly tense and entertaining afternoon was capped off by a brilliant play-off as Londoner Phillips sealed the win with a beautiful approach to 18 inches to deny Da Silva a third win of the season and consign Archer to runner-up spot here for the third year in a row.
Archer had looked the favourite to seal a maiden Legends Tour title for much of the final round as he raced to -7 for his first 12 holes of the day to open up a two-shot advantage from Phillips with six holes to play.
Ahead of them on the course, Da Silva started the day five shots off the lead, and he flew through the field with a bogey-free 64. The MCB Road to Mauritius number one parred the 18th to set the clubhouse target at -12, but it looked like it would be at least one short when he signed his card.
Then the drama unfolded. Archer – playing in the penultimate group – slipped back from -15 after 14 holes with three late bogeys, including one at the final hole. Phillips bogeyed the 15th but a birdie at 17 meant a par at the last would be enough for the title – only for him to three-putt for bogey.
The trio headed back up the 18th for the sudden death play-off, and when all three players made pars on the first three attempts, play switched to the shorter par-4 10th. Da Silva and Archer again made pars, but a superb wedge to 18 inches and a simple tap-in birdie was enough for Phillips to claim the trophy.
“It’s amazing,” said the 52-year-old champion. “It’s been really tough the last couple of years – just grinding away with injuries. It’s just amazing to win and kind of validate all the hard work. It’s fantastic.
“I’ve been working on staying really calm and staying in the moment. I felt like I achieved that all the way around until the 18th. And then I just hit a terrible putt from four feet. I haven’t been in this position for a long time – I was just nervous.”
His approach on the fourth play-off hole was semi-blind, so he was delighted to see how close it was: “I was praying it was a kick-in, because I just couldn’t face another four-foot putt. Seventy-five yards is a great yardage for me. Just a three-quarter swing. So yeah, I just executed it. Perfect.”
To watch the final round highlights from the WINSTONgolf Senior Open, click here.