Martin Gray finishes joint 11th after disappointing 75

YORKSHIREMAN BRAND WINS
FINAL SENIORS TITLE
AFTER BAHRAIN PLAY-OFF

By Steven Franklin
Press Officer, European Seniors Tour
sfranklin@europeantour.com

Former Ryder Cup player Gordon J Brand came through the field to win the Arcapita Seniors Tour Championship at Riffa Views in Bahrain today, eventually defeating Argentine Adan Sowa on the third hole of a sudden-death play-off.
The Yorkshireman fired a final round of six-under-par 66 - by two shots the lowest score of the final round - to tie with Sowa, the joint overnight leader, who closed with a 71, at five-under-par 211.
Two return trips to the 18th were halved in par before Brand secured the €63,393 (£42,365) first prize and the final title of the 2006 European Seniors Tour season with a birdie 4 at the last, after Sowa had hooked his drive into the water and failed to make the green with his third shot.
It was an impressive performance from Brand, who came from five shots back to capture his second title of the year despite losing his regular caddie, wife and former Ladies European Tour professional Lyn, to injury after two holes of the final round.
MARTIN GRAY FINISHES JOINT 11th
“To be honest I wasn’t really thinking about winning today as there were so many good players in front of me. However, when they are 50 or older, good players don’t always do what they did when they were 25, and that’s the way it turned out for some of them today,” commented Brand.
Among those who failed to make the expected charge was defending champion Des Smyth, who closed with a 73 for seventh place on 214.
One stroke off the lead playing the ninth, the Irishman had 104 yards to the pin but duffed his lob wedge into the rocks at the edge of a lake 40 yards ahead.
After a drop, Smyth made a double bogey 6 and with it went his chances of victory.
“I just stone cold duffed it. It was lying perfect and I had the exact same yardage as the previous two days. To be honest, though, I played rubbish all day,” said Smyth.
Sowa’s second placed finish, his best result to date on the European Seniors Tour, earned him a full card for 2007, as he leapt from 45th spot on the Order of Merit to 22nd thanks to a €42,262 (£28,243) cheque.
Ladybank's Martin Gray, in with a definite chance of his maiden over-50s victory after a pair of 71s, went backwards with a final round of 75 to finish joint 11th on 217.
Riffa Views, Bahrain (par 72)

Final scores and collated totals

211 Gordon J Brand (Eng ) (pictured left) 73 72 66, Adan Sowa (Arg) 69 71 71 (Brand won play-off at third hole).
212 Luis Carbonetti (Arg) 72 71 69.
213 John Bland (SAf) 71 69 73, Simon Owen (NZ) 72 72 69, Stewart Ginn (Aus)74 71 68
214 Des Smyth (Ire) 69 72 73.
215 Horacio Carbonetti (Arg) 74 70 71, Jim Rhodes (Eng) 73 70 72.
216 Jimmy Heggarty (NI) 71 75 70.
217 Denis O'Sullivan (Ire) 74 74 69, Gavan Levenson (RSA) 72 74 71, Martin Gray (Sco) 71 71 75, Gery Watine (Fra) 73 73 71, Bob Cameron (Eng) 76 72 69
218 Pete Oakley (US) 72 76 70, Bobby Lincoln (SAf) 79 71 68, Terry Gale (Aus) 74 74 70, José Rivero (Spa) 78 72 68, Mike Miller (Sco) 73 74 71
219 Bertus Smit (SAf) 73 75 71, Tony Johnstone (Zim ) 72 72 75, Guillermo Encina (Chi ) 74 70 75
220 David Good (Aus) 74 71 75, Nick Job (Eng) 75 71 74.
221 Bruce Heuchan (Can) 77 74 70, Bob Larratt (Eng) 76 70 75, Doug Johnson (US) 76 72 73
222 Angel Fernandez (Chi ) 72 76 74, Manuel Piñero (Esp ) 74 77 71, John Chillas (Sco ) 74 73 75
224 Bill Longmuir (Sco) 82 72 70, Glenn Ralph (Eng) 78 75 71
225 Juan Quiros (Spa) 78 75 72, Martin Poxon (Eng) 80 73 72
226 Giuseppe Cali (Ita) 78 75 73
227 David J Russell (Eng) 81 71 75, Abdulla Sultan (Am) (Brn) 77 74 76
230 John Mills (am) (Eng) 77 78 75
231 Kevin Spurgeon (Eng) 74 74 83, Jerry Bruner (USA) 83 73 75
239 Victor Garcia (Esp) 82 76 81
240 Daij Ahmed (Am) (Brn ) 81 78 81
243 Ali Sager Al Noaimi (Am) (Brn) 82 84 77
252 Khalid Salem (am) (Brn) 85 84 83
259 Mike Massie (am) (Sco) 84 91 84
Retired during first round: Carl Mason (Eng), Sam Torrance (Sco)