On a thrilling final day in Mauritius, it was Peter Baker who came out on top, as the Englishman carded a third consecutive round of 67 to not only pick up the MCB Tour Championship, but also the Legends Tour Order of Merit.
Beginning the final round, fans were treated to an extremely tight leaderboard, with 10 players within three shots of the leaders Michael Jonzon and Robert Coles. Amongst those 10 was Baker himself, as well as his nearest challenger in the Order of Merit standings, Adilson da Silva.
We were in for a great day of golf on Sunday but, thanks to Mother Nature, we saw a 50-minute delay before the players made their way out to the course. That delay didn't seem to affect them though, as Baker birdied two of his first four holes to jump into an early lead.
Throughout the day though, we would see the leaderboard change numerous times and, as the front nine drew to a close, a three-way tie for the lead was taking place, with Patrick Sjoland, Baker and Da Silva battling it out for the top spot.
It really was becoming too close to call, with Sjoland taking the lead from Da Silva by just a single stroke with a handful of holes left to play. Leading by one shot with two holes to go, it seemed that the title was heading the Swede's way; that was until Baker hit the afterburners and carded a devastating finish to leap frog his fellow pro.
An unbelievable finish to an incredible season!See how the final moments unfolded for Peter Baker on 18 ⛳#MCBTourChamp #MCBRoadToMauritius@constancehotels @mcb.group pic.twitter.com/sHsOgMRjh0December 10, 2023
On the charge, Baker carded three straight birdies on the 13th, 14th and 15th to pull level and, after finding the fairway at the 18th, he hit a stunning approach shot into the green with a fairway wood!
Faced with around six-feet for eagle, he just missed the attempt, but the two-putt birdie meant he jumped Sjoland, who was at -14, to pick up his fourth Legends Tour title in 2023 and finish just 700 points clear of Da Silva in the Order of Merit standings.
