PHILLIP Price won the Staysure PGA Seniors Championship at London Golf Club to claim his second Staysure Tour title in three years.

The 2002 Ryder Cup star recorded rounds of 67, 66 and 71 before a final round of 67, to win the championship by two-shots from 2005 US Open winner Michael Campbell, James Kingston and Peter Lonard.

The Welshman’s first victory on the over-50s circuit came at the 2017 WINSTONgolf Senior Open.

And after five top 10s in 2019, Price became a Staysure Tour winner once again with victory at the European Tour Destinations venue at Ash, in Kent, thanks to that five-under par final round.

Price began the fourth round two strokes behind 54-hole leader David McKenzie, but started his surge up the leaderboard with three birdies in his first six holes, including one at the first hole.

A bogey on the seventh saw him make the turn at two-under to apply the pressure on the leaders before he moved swiftly passed them on the back nine.

Price shot a blemish-free 33, including an eagle on the 11th and a birdie on the 16th to set the target at 17-under.

With South African Kingston and Australian Lonard unable to match the Welshman’s total, Price was crowned champion to become the first player from Wales to win the event since Brain Huggett in 1993.

“This win is a little nicer than the first one,” said Price, who famously beat Phil Mickelson in the Sunday singles at The Belfry before Paul McGinley holed the winning putt..

“I’ve had my wife and two children here with me, and the children haven’t seen me win anything so that made it special.

“It’s nice to have them both here and nice to see me win something. I’ve been playing quite well all year with a lot of top 10 finishes, but without a win – so this was a huge relief for me.

“The birdie on the first got me off to a nice start. I hit a good tee shot and a nice six-iron and then a good chip. I holed a nice putt and that settled me down.

“I had a number in my mind all week. Eighteen-under won last year and I wanted to get to that.

“I got to 17, which is pretty close, and 18-under would’ve seen them off. But 17-under was good enough to get the job done.”

Major champion Campbell recorded a final round of 67, including an eagle finish, to finish two shots behind Price in second place alongside Kingston and Lonard.

Overnight leader and fellow Aussie McKenzie signed for a final round of 72 to take fifth.

With his win, Price moves into third place on the Staysure Tour Order of Merit, up from sixth place.

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DAVID McKenzie leads at the Staysure PGA Seniors Championship after an emotional day at London Golf Club, following the passing of Ryder Cup winner Gordon Brand Jnr.

The Australian recorded a bogey-free round of 65, to lead on seven-under by a stroke from Chris Williams – however, thoughts during the day were with the family of Brand Jnr after his sudden death on the eve of the tournament.

The Ryder Cup winner, who also won twice on the Staysure Tour, passed away during the night, and an emotional minute’s silence was held in his honour on the 10th tee at 12:35pm, when he would have teed off at London Golf Club for the opening round of the Staysure PGA Seniors Championship.

McKenzie, who finished tied fifth at last week’s weather-affected Senior Open, qualified for the Staysure PGA Seniors Championship via Monday’s aualifying event.

And while Steve Smith was resucing the Aussies’ first innings at Edgbaston in the first Ashes test, McKenzie carried his form into the opening round, where he made seven birdies without dropping a shot on the International Course.

“I drove down Sunday night and got in at two o’clock Monday morning and then came through Monday qualifying, which was really windy,” said McKenzie.

“So, the fact there was no wind today made the course a lot easier.

“I haven’t been at the top of a leaderboard for a while now. I’ve been playing okay at the last couple of tournaments on the Champions Tour in America and I had a nice week last week, so I’ve brought that form along with me.

“I would say my shot of the day which I’m most pleased about was my tee shot on the eighth – my 17th – across the water and I hit a six-iron into four feet. I played well. I kept it in play and didn’t get in any trouble.”

South African Williams has two runner-up finished already this season but is in prime position to strike, having signed for an opening round of 66, to sit a shot behind McKenzie.

Welsh pair Stephen Dodd and Phillip Price shot five-under par rounds of 67 to occupy third place alongside Sweden’s Magnus P Atlevi and another Australian Peter Fowler.

The second round begins at 7.45am, with McKenzie aiming to continue his assault on the course at 8.55am.

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