Carl Mason posts his 24th record win on the Seniors Tour at OKI Open de España
Englishman Carl Mason became the first person to win the highest number of titles on the European Seniors Tour when he won the OKI Open de España Senior by Cleveland/Srixon, marking his 24th title on the tour.
Mason turned a new leaf in the history of the tour when he played brilliantly in the final round of the tournament at the sprawling El Vale Golf Resort in Murcia, Spain, and finished off with 68, overtaking Tommy Horton who had previously held the highest
number of wins on the tour.
The 57-year-old launched his opening nine of the final round with an overnight lead of one shot over Bill Longmuir and posted a perfect front nine of four-under, 32. He birdied four of the five opening holes on the back nine to run away with the title having
an aggregate low of 13-under, 200.
“It has to be the highlight of my career,” said Mason who collected a winner’s share of €30,000 with a big grin. “It was very tough out there today with a lot of crosswinds and a tricky course so to make the start I did with four birdies on the front nine
was a great effort. That meant I could take it easy on the back nine and not make any silly mistakes. I managed to do that and actually was able to enjoy the victory – there haven’t been too many like that in the 24!”
Mason has a staggering Senior Tour earning of €2,183,751 and is not showing any signs of slowing down. He is hopeful of playing for a couple of more years on the Seniors Tour.
The Englishman started off his Seniors Tour career in 2003 and won four titles before he became the Order of Merit winner after winning The John Jacobs Trophy. Since then Mason has been a dominant force on the European Seniors Tour. He successfully defended
the John Jacobs trophy the next year and finished runners up in Sam Torrance in 2005 and 2006.
Longmuir, who had led the opening round and had been in contention for three days, finished in the third spot with his aggregate of eight-under, 205, one shot behind George Ryall of England. Ryall finished off nine-under, 204 to settle for the second position
and a runner-up cheque of €20,000.
John Harrison of England finished further down the leader-board with an aggregate of seven-under, 206.
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