Mitchell in third Seniors Win

England’s Peter Mitchell carded a closing round of four under par 68 to claim his third victory of the season at the Lake Garda Italian Seniors Open at the Palazzo Arzaga Hotel, Spa and Golf Resort.The 50 year-old from Kent started the day tied with Chile’s Guillermo Encina but in the end had to withstand a sustained challenge from both Ian Woosnam and Gordon J. Brand before winning by one shot on 13 under par 203. The victory was worth €30,0000 (£23,364) and helped the Englishman to climb up to fourth place on the European Seniors Tour Order of Merit behind Woosnam, Bernhard Langer and Brand. Mitchell had opened with rounds of 68 and 67 and produced five birdies and a bogey to edge out his nearest rivals in one of the most exciting finishes seen on this season’s Seniors Tour. "That’s the hardest I have ever had to work to win a tournament," the exhausted Englishman said after rolling a curling three-foot putt into the hole on the treacherous 435-yard par-4 final hole. "You wouldn’t believe how quick the greens were. I spent the whole day trying to dribble the ball up to the hole but still had five or six three-footers coming back. "It’s great to win a third title but now I need a beer and a bit of a rest."
Brand started the day one shot behind Mitchell and Encina but couldn’t quite do enough to add to his back-to-back victories earlier this season at the De Vere PGA Seniors Championship and the Travis Perkins plc Masters. He did lead for a while after holing a 30-foot putt for an eagle on the 522-yard par-5 eighth hole but he lost out on a chance of getting into a play-off when he three-putted from about 30 feet across the final green. "I hit that putt as pure as anything but it just wouldn’t stop rolling," he said after signing for a 68. "It was a shame. It was such a good roll and I think it was probably the only significant putt I missed all week long." Woosnam carded a flawless round of 67 which included four birdies in-a-row from the eighth but like Brand could not do quite enough to catch Mitchell. His consolation was a cheque for €17,000 (£13,239) which moves him just under €30,000 ahead of Langer at the top of the Order of Merit with just one counting event left to go."I didn’t play quite as well as I did the first two days," admitted the Welshman. "I hit some good shots but not quite enough to catch Peter."He’s really on a roll."Meanwhile home favourite Costantino Rocca failed to ignite the challenge the large local crowd had come to see. The former Ryder Cup star from nearby Bergamo closed with a level par 72 that saw him drop from a share of fifth place in to a tie for seventh on seven under par 209.
It was also mixed day for Scotland’s Sam Torrance who arrived in Italy still seeking his first victory of the 2008 season. The former Ryder Cup captain did claim six birdies but also ran up a ruinous seven on the 156-yard par-3 seventh to finish with a one under par 71 and a three under par aggregate of 213.