Welsh 1-2 as Dodd scores first European 

Senior Tour victory

FROM THE EUROPEAN SENIOR TOUR WEBSITE
Welshman Stephen Dodd held his nerve at Golf Club Udine to win the 2016 Senior Italian Open by one shot from compatriot Phillip Price.
In just his seventh event on the European Senior Tour, the 50 year old Dodd  went into the final day nine under par after rounds of 69-64 and held on in testing conditions, carding a level par final round of 71.
The three-time European Tour winner, who made his Senior Tour debut at the Senior Open Championship in July, started his round with a birdie to move to ten under par but made three bogeys before the turn and another on the par four tenth hole.
He rallied on the back nine as he made birdie on the 13th hole and then took the lead after a gain on the 16th.

A sublime second shot to the 18th green left him a 15 foot putt for birdie which he duly converted to take home his first Senior Tour title.
“It was a bit strange really,” said Dodd. “I didn’t play too badly on the front nine, I just missed a lot of putts. But I had a decent finish which put me over the line, thankfully.
“I hit a lot of good shots but missed everything I looked at. That was the problem, but then I holed a nice one on the last when it really mattered.
 “I didn’t realise my birdie on 16 put me in the lead. There wasn’t a scoreboard there so I didn’t know.”
Dodd also becomes the ninth player to win on the European Challenge Tour, European Tour and Senior Tour. He won on the Challenge Tour in 1992, and secured three European Tour titles, his last in 2006.
“It’s nice to do that and to get a win so early in my career on the Senior Tour," he said. "One of my goals at the start of the year was win this season and I’ve achieved that. It’s a big confidence boost for me and I can now look forward to next year.”
Price, one of the heroes of Europe’s 2002 Ryder Cup side, made his Senior Tour debut this week after turning 50 on the day of the first round. The Welshman carded a one under par final round of 70 to take sole ownership of second place.
In third place were the pair of Magnus P Atlevi and André Bossert, winners earlier in the year at the Paris Legends Championship and Travis Perkins Masters, and Argentina’s Cesar Monasterio rounded out the top five after finishing six under par.
Austria’s Fife-born Gordon Manson carded the best round of the afternoon, a five under par 66, to finish in sixth place alongside England’s Barry Lane and Welshman Mark Mouland.

LEADING TOTALS AND PRIZEMONEY
 Par 213 (3x71)
 

1 DODD Stephen WAL  69 64 71  204 € 52,500

 2 PRICE Phillip WAL  71 64 70 205  € 35,000

T3 ATLEVI Magnus P SWE 69 67 70  206 € 21,875 

T3 BOSSERT André SWI  68 68 70  206  € 21,875 

5 MONASTERIO Cesar ARG 67 70 70 207 € 15,855 

T6 LANE Barry ENG 67 70 71 208 € 12,600 

T6 MANSON Gordon AUT/Sco 72 70 66  208 € 12,600

T6 MOULAND Mark WAL 72 67 69  208 € 12,600 

T9 BROWN Simon P ENG 67 68 74 209 € 9,100

T9 GOLDING Philip ENG  69 70 70  209 € 9,100

T9 SHERBORNE Andrew ENG 69 70 70 209 € 9,100

 

SCOTS' SCORES

T14 DRUMMOND Ross SCO 71 72 68  211 € 6,125 

T20 OLDCORN Andrew SCO 72 71 70  213 € 4,270 

T56 BRAND JNR Gordon SCO 73 76 81  230 € 1,190