Parry reigns in Spain - 25/09/2006

John Parry produced a fantastic final round to win the Ladbrokescasino.com Masters by two shots at the La Cala Golf Resort in Malaga.

Parry (Harrogate GC) dropped just one shot in the 36-hole tournament, with the opening day wiped out due to rain. He posted 67 in his opening round to sit two shots behind the leaders at five under before a faultless final round of 65 clinched the title.

Birdies at the first, seventh and eleventh moved Parry to eight under and an eagle at 14 took him level with clubhouse leader Matthew Ford at ten under. Pars at 15 and 16 preceded birdies on the last two holes to take him to 12 under for the tournament and the £10,000 winner's cheque.

"I was steady up to the last five holes and the eagle really did it for me - I guess I kind of sneaked in under the radar towards the end," said Parry, who jumps to eighth in the Order of Merit ahead of October's Tour Championships in Les Bordes, France.

"I wasn't quite sure how the others were getting on and I was just concentrating on my own game really. I was good from tee to green both days, hitting pretty much every green and I never put any pressure on my putting."

The 21 year-old goes to the French showpiece in great form and has his sights set on a good finish there, with £20,000 going to the winner and a coveted top five spot to grab a spot in the final round of Challenge Tour Qualifying School, which the winner has his eyes on: "I need to do something similar at Les Bordes in order to get into the top five," said Parry.

Ford (Marriott Tudor Park) finished second after also posting 65 for his final round - with six birdies in the last eight holes of his tournament. In the first round, Ford kicked off with a double bogey but rallied with seven birdies to show he had a grip on the track and posted 69. Ford bettered his first round birdie tally by one in the final round and with just one bogey at the tenth, and was in a strong position to win back-to-back tournaments after victory in the Brooks Brothers 2008 Classic at Five Lakes in Essex. He could do nothing about Parry's fine performance though and his runners-up cheque puts him fourth on the Order of Merit ahead of France.

"Good to finish well and post a decent score in the clubhouse," said Ford. "It's good for the Order of Merit too as a few of the guys at the top missed out so a top five spot is a real possibility. It was good fun out there with Colin Roope too - a bit like the Ryder Cup with us both grabbing birdies down the back and high fiving."

Ford's playing partner Roope (wstore.co.uk) finished in third spot with a 66 in his final round - picking up five birdies in the last seven holes and 13 birdies in the tournament in total.

Daniel Brooks (Mill Hill) was well placed to try to force a play-off at nine under with five holes to play, but bogey-birdies-bogey from 14 meant he ran out of holes scuppered his chances and he ended at eight under. He shares fourth spot with Mark Staunton (Black Bush GC) who also found himself in a strong position at eight under through 11 after an opening round 67 but he parred the remaining seven holes and had to settle for a share of fourth.

Christopher Hanson (Crosland Heath/GO2SPORT.com) plundered five birdies in the last six holes to leap to seven under for the tournament, his 66 adding to an opening round 71(136) earning Hanson a share of sixth spot with Paul Hendriksen (Fingle Glen GC) and Adam Scallon (Brocket Hall).

Jason Kelly (Wentworth) shared the lead overnight with Brooks and Adam Frayne (St Mellion) but he shot one over today to finish tied in ninth with David Clark (Morpeth GC), Kevin Harper (East Devon) and Tim Rice (Limerick). Frayne finished tied in 19th place after a four over round of 76 took him to three under for the tournament.

The Ivobank PGA EuroPro Tour now moves to France's Les Bordes for the Tour Championships. The Ladbrokescasino.com Masters was the final event for players to break into the Top 60 with Noel Fox (MMI) still out in front ahead of Dale Marmion (Eaton) and Alan Murray (Greystones GC) -  the full list of players in the Top 60 is under the final results below.

LADBROKESCASINO.COM MASTERS FINAL RESULT (first round score first)

1 John Parry                     67, 65 -12 (132)  £10,000

2 Matthew Ford               69, 65 -10 (134)  £5,000

3 Colin Roope                  69, 66 -9 (135)    £2,500

=4 Mark Staunton            67, 69 -8 (136)    £1,550

=4 Daniel Brooks              65, 71 -8 (136)    £1,550

=6 Christopher Hanson   71, 66 -7 (137)    £1,033.33

=6 Paul Hendriksen         68, 69 -7 (137)    £1,033.33

=6 Adam Scallon              67, 70 -7 (137)    £1,033.33

=9 David Clark                 70, 68 -6 (138)    £775.00

=9 Kevin Harper               70, 68 -6 (138)    £775.00

=9 Tim Rice                      66, 72 -6 (138)    £775.00

=9 Jason Kelly                  65, 73 -6 (138)    £775.00

Date Posted: 25/09/08, 6pm (UK time)