England’s Van Phillips became the fourth first-time winner on the European Tour this year by beating compatriot John Bickerton in a play-off for the Algarve Portuguese Open at Le Meridien Penina.
With the pair tied on 11 under par playing the last, Phillips pulled off a magnificent recovery shot from a cart path after hooking his tee shot to set up a birdie to equal that of Bickerton and take the contest into extra holes.
When Bickerton missed the 17th green, the first play-off hole, on the right and chipped into a greenside bunker, Phillips made no mistake with two putts for his maiden victory and the 93,330 euro first prize.
Phillips said: "The second shot on 18 has got to be the best shot I have ever hit. I was standing on the cart path. I had a chance of cutting it above the trees if I left it where it was. I would have had a free drop as it is Ground Under Repair but would have had to have dropped it behind the tree. So I left it where is was, cut it above the trees with a four iron and it was a great shot.
"Now I feel relieved. I always felt I was good enough to win and started to wonder if it was ever going to happen."
Having started the day level on eight under par, Bickerton was the first to take the lead when Phillips dropped a shot at the par-five fifth. Phillips bounced back with a birdie at the next and once again Bickerton edged ahead courtesy of a birdie on the seventh. Phillips responded with two birdies of his own to take a slender one shot lead with nine holes to play.
Bickerton, literally stung into action by a bee on the ninth, hit back with birdies at the 11th and 12th holes and when Phillips dropped a shot at the 14th Bickerton had a two-shot cushion with four to play. Phillips closed the gap to one with a birdie on the 15th and then Bickerton bogeyed the 17th after pulling his drive left. With two solid shots to 18 feet on the last Bickerton had the chance for outright victory but his eagle putt just fell short.
"Nearly, but not quite," he said. "I thought I had done the hard work on the last, hitting the green in two. But then Van pulled off a great shot. To hit the green from where he was standing on the cart path really was a tremendous effort."
"Going back to the 17th was tough as I hadn’t played that hole at all well during the week. But once I got the tee shot into play again I thought I had done the hard part.
"It’s disappointing after yesterday’s round and another good round today. But if I keep playing like that hopefully a win will come."
For Bickerton it was his third top-ten finish since graduating from the Challenge Tour last year and the runner-up prize of 62,210 euro lifts him to eighth in the Volvo Order of Merit and 13th in the Ryder Cup Points list. Phillips, a former Walker Cup player and Challenge Tour Graduate in 1996, moves up to 14th in the Volvo Order of Merit and 18th in the Ryder Cup Points list.
For the first two days it was the older generation who set the pace round the Sir Henry Cotton-designed layout that played to its full length. Irishman Des Smyth, at 46 the third oldest player in the field, opened with a round of 66 to lie two shots clear of the chasing pack. Having finished 114th in the 1998 Volvo Order of Merit to just keep his playing privileges Smyth confessed to having "scared" himself into playing well. "I feel like a hare at a coursing event with all these young greyhounds chasing after me and there is no way out until I reach 50 and join the Seniors Tour," he said. "The 66 came from fear, not confidence."
By the end of the second day Smyth was still heading the field after a level par round of 72, a shot ahead of American Bob May, and Sweden’s Fredrik Jacobson. Smyth eventually finished joint 25th.
But Saturday is traditionally moving day and it was Bickerton who charged out of the pack with a best of the week 64. His round included ten birdies in the first 15 holes but dropped shots in the last three holes allowed Phillips and Italy’s Massimo Scarpa, another Challenge Tour graduate from last year, to catch him after both had rounds of 68.
As Bickerton and Phillips traded blows in the final round they were chased by Germany’s Alex Cjeka, Sweden’s Robert Karlsson and Spaniard Santiago Luna who shot final rounds of 67, 68 and 69 respectively to share third place on 279, nine under par.
But no-one could catch the two Englishman as they both battled for the title. "I was confident of staying with John, or being within a shot of him, and seeing what happened down the stretch," said Phillips. "I knew the key holes like 16 and 17 were going to play a part so I just hung in there.
"I always believed in myself. To now have won just feels great."
