RIVERO HOLDS OFF DRUMMOND TO WIN SCOTTISH
SENIORS OPEN AT DALMAHOY

FROM THE EUROPEAN SENIORS TOUR WEBSITE

Spain’s José Rivero closed with a battling two under par 70 to claim his third European Seniors Tour title at the Charles Church Scottish Seniors Open at Marriott Dalmahoy Hotel & Country Club near Edinburgh.
The 52 year old former Ryder Cup player from Madrid started the day with a three shot lead over Scotland’s Ross Drummond and South Africa’s Bobby Lincoln after opening rounds of 70 and 66 but had to work hard to withstand a late challenge from Drummond before clinching a single shot victory with a 10 under par 54 hole aggregate of 206.
Drummond moved to within one shot of the lead when he hit a 117yd wedge shot into the hole for an eagle 2 on the 403 yard par-4 12th and two holes later he briefly achieved parity when the Spaniard made his sole bogey of the day on the 14th.
However, the four time Scottish PGA champion immediately handed the initiative back when he dropped a shot of his own on the 423yd par-4 15th and even a fine birdie on the 449yd closing hole could not make up the deficit after Rivero had birdied the 535 yard par five 16th to go back to two in front.
“It’s great honour to win here in Scotland,” said Rivero after collecting the £33,750 first prize. “I did well in a couple of Scottish Opens and to win here means a lot to me.”
Drummond was far from despondent after collecting his second runner-up finish of his rookie season on the Seniors Tour.
“I played well and when I hit that wedge into the hole I knew I had a chance,” he said “I’m delighted with the way I hung in there but you have got to give credit to José for the way he played coming down the stretch.”
Drummond’s nine under par aggregate of 209 saw him finish four shots ahead of third placed Englishmen, Bob Cameron and Nick Job, while first round leader, Costantino Rocca from Italy, struggled with a painful hip injury and had to settle for a level par round of 72 and a three round aggregate of 212.
Sam Torrance closed the defence of his title with a fine three under par 69 that enabled him to climb from 13th into a share of sixth place alongside Chile’s Angel Fernandez and Spain’s Juan Quiros on three under par 213.
The former Ryder Cup captain started his round with birdies at both the 491 yard par five first and the 426 yard par four second. He also made advances at the tenth and the 16th but then dropped his only shot of the day at the 18th where he hit his second into a greenside bunker and failed to get up and down.
“I hit all of the first 16 greens in regulation but then missed the last two,” said Torrance who now travels to St Andrews where he is to team up with his son Daniel in the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.
“I struck the ball well but I have been struggling to get the ball into the hole.”
Current European Seniors Tour Number One Carl Mason finished with a two over par 74 to narrowly miss out on the £2,600 he needed to break the Seniors Tour’s record for the most money won in a single season.
The 54 year old Englishman still has two opportunities at the OKI Castellón Open de España and the Seniors Tour Championship to surpass the £245,285 he accumulated while heading the money list for the second time in 2004.

LEADING FINAL TOTALS
Par 216 (3 x 72)
206 J Rivero (Sp) 70 66 70.
207 R Drummond (Sco) 69 70 68.
211 B Cameron (Eng) 70 71 70, N Job (Eng) 71 69 72.
212 C Rocca (Ita) 67 73 72.
213 A Fernandez (Chi) 73 71 69, S Torrance (Sco) 71 73 69.
Other Scots' totals:
217 B Longmuir 74 72 71 (jt 19th).
218 M Miller 73 73 72 (jt 24th).
219 M Gray (Sco) 73 76 70 (jt 29th).
220 J Chillas 74 74 72 (jt 31st).
221 S Martin 75 75 71 (jt 35th).
228 R Weir 77 72 79 (jt 57th).