Adilson Da Silva clinched the MCB Road to Mauritius title on Sunday by finishing in a share of seventh after a closing three-under-par 69 in the MCB Tour Championship on the Legend Course at Constance Belle Mare Plage.
It was a case of third time’s a charm for Da Silva as he claimed the John Jacobs Trophy as the MCB Road to Mauritius number one after finishing second on the season-long points list the last two years. The Brazilian picked up wins at the OFX Irish Legends and European Legends Cup, plus a second place at the Zambia Golf Legends Championship, tied-second at the WINSTONgolf Senior Open and six more top-10s, including his tied-seventh this week.
“It’s difficult to describe it,” said Da Silva. “This is the really the cherry on top. It’s such a prestigious trophy to win. It’s just been such an experience, you know, to finish runner-up twice. Sometimes you start to think it’s not going to happen. It’s amazing when all the work and things pay off. It’s so rewarding. It’s just been such a wonderful journey for me.
“I have to thank a lot of people. You know, it’s not only you at the end of the day; it’s your family, your coaches, your physiotherapist, the sponsors. It’s a lot of people involved. It means a lot to me and for my family as well, so yeah, they’re very happy.”
Up ahead of Da Silva, defending champion Peter Baker of England finished birdie-birdie to shoot a final round of 68 and then birdied the par-five 18th a further three times in extra holes to outlast Barry Lane Rookie of the Year Simon Griffiths, also of England.
“It’s just fantastic, I didn’t expect any of that really, during the week,” said the champion, who also won the first event of the season at the Barbados Legends hosted by Ian Woosnam. “Today was a tough day. I didn’t really get it going early on. It was tough around the turn, but I played some really good shots on the way in and was just hanging in there all day. We played some great shots on the play-off holes, and fortunately it went my way. I’m absolutely delighted to do it here in this great place.
“I think sometimes it’s meant to be. I’ve had some really good chances this year and not quite done it, and it hasn’t really come together. This week it’s all come together and I’m really, really proud to be the champion.”
Three shots behind the top two, four players finished in tied-third on 13-under. Zambia Golf Legends Championship winner Keith Horne had seven birdies in a 67, and 2022 MCB Road to Mauritius number one James Kingston had a pair of birdie-twos in his 68. Greig Hutcheon, who got his maiden win at this year’s Legends Open de France, eagled the last hole for a 69, and Carl Suneson had to settle for a 70, but his best finish of 2024 did lift him to 33rd on the MCB Road to Mauritius.
Baker finished second on the Order of Merit, with Scott Hend third, Griffiths fourth and former Ryder Cup player Joakim Haeggman rounding out the top five. All five have earned a slice of the MCB Road to Mauritius Bonus Pool and the top four have qualified for the Champions Tour’s Trophy Hassan II in Morocco in February.
The top 10 this season have guaranteed their entry into three senior major championships next year – the Senior Open, the US Senior Open and the Senior PGA Championship. That means Horne, James, Hutcheon, Robert Coles and Thomas Gögele can also look forward to some fantastic opportunities in 2025.
