It is clear that Carl Mason likes La Quinta Golf & Country Club. Not in vain, in the last three years he has won the Benahavís Senior Masters here twice and in the other, in 2010, he finished second. In mid-October, the English player added his twenty-fifth victory in the European Senior Tour after a final round of 69 strokes and an overall score of 9 under par, three strokes ahead of the runners-up, his compatriots Mark James and Gary Wolstenholme.
Among the Spaniards, Juan Quirós was the most outstanding, finishing with a par, while Manuel Piñero finished with +2, and Txomin Hospital, Emilio Rodríguez and José María Cañizares, with +3.
This Benahavís victory was Carl Mason’s second this season, in which he continues his love affair with Spain, a country where he sealed his first Tour victory at the 1994 Spanish Open and also broke Tommy Horton’s record for Senior Tour titles by taking his 24th at the OKI Spanish Senior Open last May.
Mason won the inaugural Benahavís Senior Masters in 2009 when he defeated Gordon Brand Jr. in a play-off, and finished second in the same tournament last year.
This time the victory, which has earned him 27,000 euros and moved him up the Senior Tour Order of Merit to eighth place, came after he climbed to the lead thanks to consecutive birdies on holes 2 and 3, hunting down Gary Wolstenholme, who had started the day at the top of the leaderboard.
Mark James moved up the leaderboard and was only three strokes behind Mason with nine holes to go. The 1999 Ryder Cup captain birdied the 13th and 14th holes, but a bogey on the 16th ended his hopes and he finished tied for second with Wolstenholme, 3 strokes behind the champion.
Mason had some bad moments at the end due to bogeys on 13 and 14, which left him only two strokes behind Wolstenholme, but he finally stabilized his game and managed to win clearly.
A champion’s word
“I played really well and I’m very happy with the win,” said the two-time European Tour winner. “I was happy to be under par, especially on the back nine holes, something that was very difficult,” he added.
“It’s a strange thing,” he continued, referring to the fact that he has won six Senior Circuit titles in Spain. “There must be something in the water here, or probably in the Rioja! I always kick really well on these greens.”
After breaking the Senior Tour record for wins this year, it seems like he might relax a bit, but Mason is still hungry for success and hopeful that there are many more wins to come. “It’s a great thrill for me to keep winning,” he acknowledged.
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