Mark Mouland won’t forget his maiden voyage to the island of Bermuda anytime soon.
The 52-year-old native of St. Athan, Wales, battled a stiff field and stiffer island breezes to capture the 2014 Grey Goose World Par 3 Championship at the Turtle Hill Golf Club in Southampton, Bermuda.
A two-time European Tour winner, Mouland’s two-day total of 1-under par 107 (51-56) was one shot better than Michael Sims and Camiko Smith, both of Bermuda.
“It was survival out there today,” Mouland admitted after the round. “With the wind gusting you become indecisive on the tee. You don’t know if it’s (the wind) into you, right to left, left to right. You’ve got three different clubs in your hand and it’s really guess work.”
Mouland’s scrappy final round included three bogeys and a chip-in birdie.
“Can you believe I haven’t made a putt over four-feet in the last two days?” Mouland said. “Today the only birdie I made was a chip-in and that was very lucky.”
With the victory, Mouland takes home $20,000 (USD), the largest first-place check in the championship’s five-year history.
Bermudian amateur Mark Phillips finished fourth at 1-over, with American Charlie Bolling rounding out the top five.
Thomas Curtis, Dave Levesque and Jordan Mitchell finished T6 at 3-over, with Mark Brown, Will Haddrell and Gary Wolstenholme finishing T9.
Phillips also captured the men’s amateur division title, while Pat Ayres of the United States won the women’s amateur portion of the championship. Bermudian Jeffrey Lindo won the men’s senior amateur title.
Turtle Hill Golf Club www.fairmont.com/southampton-bermuda/golf