Phillip Price joined the Staysure Tour in October 2016, turning 50 on the opening day of the 2016 Senior Italian Open, and sealed his first Staysure Tour win in just his fifth start on the over 50s circuit.
The 2002 Ryder Cup star finished second in Italy in his inaugural outing and it did not take him long to enter the winner’s circle on the Staysure Tour.
At the 2017 WINSTONgolf Senior Open, Price teed it up in his fifth appearance on the Tour, only his second of the season, outside of the Senior Major Championships.
An opening round of 66, six under par, saw him sit two shots off the lead. A round of 69 kept him in contention in the second round to share second place with Chris Williams, three strokes off the leader Clark Dennis, heading into the final round.
“I was in the final group with Clark Dennis and Chris Williams,” said Price. “Clark was leading by three, but I started with five birdies in my first six holes and ended up leading by three going into the back nine.”
Birdies from the first hole to the fourth saw Price move into contention before another gain came at the sixth to move ahead as Dennis relinquished his lead. The Welshman made two birdies and two bogeys on the back nine, but his round of 67, including a par at the last, was enough to seal his maiden Staysure Tour win.
“I was delighted to stand on the last tee knowing that a par was all I needed to do,” explained Price.
“Even when you start with five birdies in six holes you know it will never last, so there was a bit of a hanging on feeling towards the end and I did a pretty good job of that.
“I had seen that Wiratchant had shot 64 for his last round and I knew I needed to make par. I hit my pitch into about four to five feet and had two putts from there, which I took. I didn’t hit a particularly good putt, but I made sure I didn’t do anything stupid.
“I was delighted to win my first Staysure Tour event. I hadn’t won a tournament in a long, long time, since 2003, so that’s 14 years, which is a lot of time. You always want to get that first win under your belt.
“Winning on the Staysure Tour was something I wanted to do. I had realised from the year before, in 2016, that I was competitive. When I turned 50 in the October before, I finished second and fourth in my first two events and then I got my Champions Tour card as a medallist from Qualifying School, but it was nice to come back to Europe for the events. I love that course at WINSTONgolf as well and it was nice to win, and I was hoping that I’d get it done.”
