Finca Cortesín and a stellar match formed by Matthew Baldwin, Carlos del Moral and Sam Connor. It was the grand final of the sixth edition of the Gecko Tour, but any of the many fans who came to see the outcome of the best winter circuit in Europe could well have thought they were in front of a European Tour tournament. A high level. A lot of quality. Impeccable scenery.
In the end the victory went to Matthew Baldwin and the order of merit to Andreas Andersson after a hard fought battle against the young English talent Sam Connor.
The outcome of the tournament and the circuit has been very exciting. Until the last putt it was not known who would win the final and who would win the order of merit. Connor is the one who has put all the uncertainty. He was depending on himself to make a double at Finca Cortesin, while Andersson was in the hands of Baldwin. If Connor won, the Englishman won the order of merit. If Baldwin won, order of merit for Andersson.
The Swede, who came into this final as the leading leader in the rankings, had a bad start on Monday’s first day, but rebounded remarkably with a 67 on Tuesday to finish in third place. He had done a good part of the job. He had to beat Connor to unseat him from the top spot.
Connor went out for everything, but he found himself up against a very difficult opponent. Matthew Baldwin, a regular on the European Tour, is a very difficult player to beat. He plays very straight, very tidy and hardly makes mistakes. You have to be very patient and bet on your resources to be able to beat him. The battle between Connor and Baldwin has been anthological.
Matthew reached the 18th (par 5) with a one stroke lead, but Connor played a textbook hole. Great drive and shot two to the green. He had a tricky, but eagleable chip, while Baldwin played short and left himself a birdie option, downhill, from just over three feet. Sam was aggressive with his chip. He knew he had to chip in because his opponent was so close. He got a little out of hand and missed the putt back that he rolled before Baldwin. He ended up with a par. Afterwards, the leader, under no pressure because he had two putts, missed for birdie, but sealed the victory with a par. It could not have been more exciting. Finally, Baldwin won with 136 strokes, one ahead of Connor and five ahead of Andersson and James Robinson.
Baldwin’s victory hands the order of merit on a silver platter to Andreas Andersson. The Swede, the most consistent of the year at the Gecko, is a fair winner. He will also receive the Alps Tour card for next year.
The win comes at the best time for Baldwin. “In two weeks I play the first Challenge tournament in Kenya and it’s always good to go in with the confidence of having won. The Gecko is a great circuit. The work that Ken and Katherine (responsible for the Gecko) do is very good. It allows us to compete with high level players, as we have seen today,” he said shortly after signing his card as winner of the final. Baldwin wins again and does it again in Spain. His last great victory was in the Challenge Tour of Spain in 2011, in La Gomera.
Andersson was very satisfied with his victory in the order of merit. “I’m very happy, I can’t be more proud because it’s the reward for the work done throughout the year. It is a reinforcement for the future,” he said.
The Gecko Tour puts an end to a sixth season that began with renewed airs and that has had several extraordinary moments. Two amateurs, two girls (Noemí Jiménez and Julie Aime) and international players such as Sam Connor, Clarke Lutton, Steven Jones, Jordi García del Moral, Marcos Pastor or Mario Galiano have won. Long live the Gecko.
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