Williams wins Sharjah Senior Masters golf
sharjah — The inaugural Sharjah Senior Golf Masters presented by Shurooq reached a thrilling conclusion as South Africa’s Chris Williams claimed his first title in six years at the first hole of a sudden-death play-off against Englishman Gary Marks.
“Words fail me. After being eight years on the Tour and finally getting my second win after all these years is just amazing,” said Williams, whose last win came at the Aberdeen Brunei Senior Masters presented by Stapleford Forum. “I’ve been playing well and scoring well in South Africa leading up to this event, playing in as many pro-ams as I could to keep my game sharp. So that gave me a lot of confidence before this week.”
Like all of the players this week, Williams was highly impressed by the Peter Harradinedesigned course at Sharjah Golf & Shooting Club – the first time a Senior Tour event had been played on a nine-hole layout.
Words fail me. After being eight years on the Tour and finally getting my second win after all these years is just amazing Chris Williams
“The course was amazing, the fairways where very good and the greens were magnificent,” said the 57 year old. “Everybody I’ve spoken to enjoyed playing this golf course. We didn’t know how a nine-hole course was going to work but it’s been tremendous and it really gives you food for thought.”
The event also marked the first time the European Senior Tour had ever visited the emirate of Sharjah and the organisers could scarcely have hoped for a more captivating final day.
Overnight leader James Kingston, got off to a slow start but Williams, who had broken the course record with a 65 in the opening round, caught fire again playing the front nine in just 32 blows, which included a spellbinding run of birdie-birdie-eagle-birdie from the fourth to the seventh.
But as Kingston continued to struggle for momentum on the second circuit of the nine-hole track, it was Marks who seized the initiative, carding three birdies on the bounce from 13 to 15 to move into a share of the lead with Williams.
The pair remained locked together with matching pars over the remaining three holes before each signing for rounds of four under 68, 13 under 203 for the tournament, meaning a return trip down the 18th for a play-off.