The Australian Scott Hend has been the protagonist of a spectacular final at the Real Nuevo Club de Golf de San Sebastián by winning the European Legends Cup by José María Olazábal, with a total of 16 strokes under par, consolidating his leadership in the Legends Tour with this victory.
The final day started with excitement, although the winner, Scott Hend, approached the first tee with overwhelming confidence, “I was very clear that I was going all out, and that the rest had to play absolutely spectacular golf if they wanted to catch me.” Nevertheless, the Brazilian Adilson da Silva, defending the title until today, and Stephen Gallacher, captain of the Junior Ryder Cup, fought until the last hole to close the gap that the Australian had from the first hole, but it was not possible. Despite playing fantastic golf, Da Silva with 66 strokes for -14 and Gallacher 67 for -12 had to settle for second and third positions respectively in this European Legends Cup where all the spotlight was on the host, José María Olazábal.
Hend prevailed after completing the tournament with rounds of 70, 63, and 67 strokes for a total of 16 under par, achieving his second victory of the season in his second year as a Senior player: “I knew that if I shot 4 under par today, it would be very difficult for the rest of the players to catch me, I knew I had to make good putts and I give all the credit to my caddie who did a great job. It was fantastic to finish like this, with birdies on holes 15, 16, and 17. Winning is always fantastic and really difficult, but I played my best golf these days. My goal is to play on the Champions Tour next year, it’s getting harder and I think this year I can make it if I keep playing like this.”
A large part of the spotlight was taken by the host, José María Olazábal, who finished his tournament presenting a clean scorecard, with 4 birdies for a total of 5 under par, finishing in a very commendable 15th position: “Considering that I might not have been able to play, it’s very good. I delayed the decision until the last minute, on Friday I hit some balls and although it bothered me, it wasn’t as much as the day before, when I had to withdraw from the Pro Am and decided to try to play as the host. I did what I could and managed to finish the tournament, the second day was a good day, today too, a good round without mistakes. To be honest, I have to say it wasn’t pretty, but I fought like a trooper and managed to have a good round. There were few putts because I didn’t play well, I missed a lot of greens and in the end, I saved the round without making any bogeys. In the first holes, I think I made practically one putt in the first 5 holes, another on the 7th and another on the 9th. That’s to start, none on the 10th, very few putts.
What I’m most happy and satisfied about is that we have been able to bring a tournament of this calibre to Gipuzkoa, to Basozábal in this case, there’s an enormous effort from many people and people have been pleasantly surprised both by the course and the organisation, and that’s why I’m really satisfied.”
The award ceremony for the winner of the second edition of the European Legends Cup, Scott Hend, was presided over by the host, José María Olazábal, along with the Deputy for Culture, Cooperation, Youth and Sports of Gipuzkoa, Goizane Álvarez, the Councillor for Sports and Healthy Living of the Donosti-San Sebastián City Council, Iñaki Gabarain, the General Director of the Legends Tour, Mark Aspland, the President of the Real Nuevo Club de Golf de San Sebastián Basozábal, Iñigo Manso, the President of the Basque Golf Federation, Javier Sainz, and the General Director of JGolf, Javier Gervás.
The European Legends Cup by José María Olazábal held at the Real Nuevo Club de San Sebastián, Basozábal, was supported by the Legends Tour, European Tour Group and Staysure, Basquetour (Basque Tourism Agency), the Donostia/San Sebastián City Council, the Gipuzkoa Provincial Council and the Basque Golf Federation, as well as Cuatrecasas, Reale/Galpe, Viñas Familia Gil, Maximiliano Jabugo, Joyería Olazábal, Cadena Cope Guipúzcoa, Mahou-Solán, TOA Shoes and Titleist under the organisation of JGolf.
