- Jean Hugo won the Champions UK plc European Senior Masters at La Manga Club.
- Hugo finished one shot ahead of Van Phillips.
- It is the South African’s third Staysure Legends Tour title in his last four starts.
Jean Hugo started Sunday three shots behind Van Phillips at La Manga Club. He finished it with his third Staysure Legends Tour title in five weeks. The South African made eight birdies without a bogey in a closing 65 to reach 19-under and win the Champions UK plc European Senior Masters by one.
Phillips had led after each of the first two rounds and came to the par-5 18th needing an eagle to force a play-off. His approach stopped six feet from the hole, but the eagle putt narrowly missed. He tapped in for birdie, a 69 and second place on 18-under.
Hugo had never played La Manga before this week. The win follows his breakthrough at the Reignwood Legends Championship in Beijing and a course-record 62 at Pinheirinho to take the Portugal Legends Championship last week.
Jean Hugo wins the Champions UK plc European Senior Masters 🏆 A final-round 65 sees the South African finish on 19-under-par and claim a dramatic victory at La Manga Club. His third Staysure Legends Tour victory in just over a month. 🔥 #EuropeanSeniorMasters https://t.co/JKWKNN2Pg2
— Legends Tour (@euLegendsTour) November 8, 2026
Aguilar’s back-nine slide
Hugo birdied three holes in a row from the 2nd, and a fourth at the 6th drew him level with Phillips on 15-under.
“I think I got off to a great start,” said Hugo. “I was a few behind after yesterday, so the game plan was just to get in there as quickly as possible and try to catch the leaders before the turn. I think everything worked well. I don’t think I missed many greens this week, so the long game was good and I made the putts I needed to make today.”
Felipe Aguilar started even faster. The two-time DP World Tour winner birdied the 1st, 4th and 6th to share the lead, then birdied the 8th to go clear. He turned on 17-under, but bogeys at the 10th, 11th and 12th ended his challenge. An eagle at the 18th got him back to 16-under, and a 70 earned him fourth place.
Hugo reached 16-under with a birdie at the 9th. Back-to-back birdies at the 14th and 15th took him to 18-under, and another at the par-5 18th set the clubhouse target of 19-under.
“I like watching leaderboards,” Hugo said. “It keeps me calm or gets me motivated, depending on the situation. Coming in with a few to go, it was good to have the lead because there are quite a few tough holes coming back in. It was nice not having to chase on some of those holes.”
Jeev Milkha Singh shot 64 on Saturday, then closed with a 68 to finish third on 17-under. Matthew Cort was fifth on 15-under after a 69, and Adilson da Silva’s 68 earned him sixth on 14-under. Michael Jonzon (67), Paul Lawrie (69) and Stephen Gallacher (69) shared seventh on 13-under.
From Tour School to Securing His Card
Hugo finished fifth at Qualifying School earlier this year, just short of full playing rights. He spent much of the season relying on other players’ circumstances to get into fields. The win in China secured his card through 2027.
“I think China helped a lot,” Hugo added. “It was a tough golf course and it suited me with the length I still have. That was a bit of validation after missing out at Tour School at the beginning of the year. It was an important week for me. I just wanted to have a solid season and not have to go back to Tour School in January. That was my main goal.”
The last three events of the season are in Asia. The Vietnam Legends Championship is first, at PGA Golf Club Phan Thiet from 20–22 November. The tour then plays two weeks at Vattanac Golf Resort in Phnom Penh, where the Vattanac Tour Championship from 4–6 December decides the Order of Merit.
Related: Jon Rahm Caps Abu Dhabi Debut with Record Sixth Rolex Series Title
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European Senior Masters Leaderboard
| Pos. | Player | To Par | R1 | R2 | R3 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jean HUGO | -19 | 66 | 69 | 65 | 200 |
| 2 | Van PHILLIPS | -18 | 65 | 67 | 69 | 201 |
| 3 | Jeev Milkha SINGH | -17 | 70 | 64 | 68 | 202 |
| 4 | Felipe AGUILAR | -16 | 66 | 67 | 70 | 203 |
| 5 | Matthew CORT | -15 | 65 | 70 | 69 | 204 |
| 6 | Adilson Da SILVA | -14 | 71 | 66 | 68 | 205 |
| 7 | Michael JONZON | -13 | 68 | 71 | 67 | 206 |
| Paul LAWRIE | -13 | 68 | 69 | 69 | 206 | |
| Stephen GALLACHER | -13 | 69 | 68 | 69 | 206 | |
| 10 | Phillip ARCHER | -12 | 69 | 69 | 69 | 207 |
| Hennie OTTO | -12 | 70 | 68 | 69 | 207 | |
| Greg HUTCHEON | -12 | 70 | 68 | 69 | 207 | |
| 13 | Greg OWEN | -11 | 69 | 71 | 68 | 208 |
| Maarten LAFEBER | -11 | 69 | 68 | 71 | 208 | |
| 15 | Peter BAKER | -10 | 74 | 68 | 67 | 209 |
| Keith HORNE | -10 | 72 | 69 | 68 | 209 | |
| Anthony GRENIER | -10 | 69 | 70 | 70 | 209 | |
| Emanuele CANONICA | -10 | 69 | 68 | 72 | 209 | |
| 19 | Clark DENNIS | -9 | 71 | 71 | 68 | 210 |
| Miguel Angel MARTIN | -9 | 68 | 72 | 70 | 210 | |
| 21 | Andrew MARSHALL | -8 | 74 | 71 | 66 | 211 |
| Simon KHAN | -8 | 71 | 69 | 71 | 211 | |
| 23 | Markus BRIER | -7 | 69 | 72 | 71 | 212 |
| Paul STREETER | -7 | 71 | 69 | 72 | 212 | |
| James KINGSTON | -7 | 76 | 70 | 66 | 212 | |
| 26 | Philip GOLDING | -6 | 70 | 72 | 71 | 213 |
| Alastair FORSYTH | -6 | 69 | 72 | 72 | 213 | |
| Richard BLAND | -6 | 72 | 69 | 72 | 213 | |
| Cameron CLARK | -6 | 67 | 72 | 74 | 213 | |
| Phillip PRICE | -6 | 67 | 72 | 74 | 213 | |
| 31 | Mark BROWN | -5 | 71 | 71 | 72 | 214 |
| Craig FARRELLY | -5 | 75 | 70 | 69 | 214 | |
| Mikael LUNDBERG | -5 | 72 | 68 | 74 | 214 | |
| 34 | Scott DRUMMOND | -4 | 75 | 70 | 70 | 215 |
| Simon GRIFFITHS | -4 | 73 | 72 | 70 | 215 | |
| Joakim HAEGGMAN | -4 | 75 | 70 | 70 | 215 | |
| Thomas GÖGELE | -4 | 72 | 75 | 68 | 215 | |
| 38 | Sam LITTLE | -3 | 72 | 69 | 75 | 216 |
| Christoph GÜNTHER | -3 | 68 | 75 | 73 | 216 | |
| David DRYSDALE | -3 | 72 | 73 | 71 | 216 | |
| Robert COLES | -3 | 72 | 74 | 70 | 216 | |
| 42 | Steve WEBSTER | -2 | 75 | 69 | 73 | 217 |
| Bradley DREDGE | -2 | 76 | 71 | 70 | 217 | |
| Lionel ALEXANDRE | -2 | 72 | 75 | 70 | 217 | |
| 45 | Patrik SJÖLAND | -1 | 75 | 68 | 75 | 218 |
| Brian DAVIS | -1 | 72 | 75 | 71 | 218 | |
| Michael CAMPBELL | -1 | 73 | 74 | 71 | 218 | |
| Gary ORR | -1 | 77 | 71 | 70 | 218 | |
| 49 | Andrew OLDCORN | Par | 72 | 75 | 72 | 219 |
| 50 | Gary MURPHY | +1 | 71 | 72 | 77 | 220 |
| Raphaël JACQUELIN | +1 | 73 | 72 | 75 | 220 | |
| 52 | Euan MCINTOSH | +3 | 72 | 70 | 80 | 222 |
| Santiago LUNA | +3 | 77 | 69 | 76 | 222 | |
| 54 | Mark MOULAND | +6 | 74 | 74 | 77 | 225 |
| Jarmo SANDELIN | +6 | 74 | 77 | 74 | 225 | |
| 56 | Jean-François REMESY | +7 | 74 | 75 | 77 | 226 |
| Malcolm MACKENZIE | +7 | 75 | 76 | 75 | 226 | |
| 58 | Raymond RUSSELL | +8 | 78 | 72 | 77 | 227 |
| David J RUSSELL | +8 | 82 | 74 | 71 | 227 | |
| 60 | Marc FARRY | +9 | 79 | 77 | 72 | 228 |
Simon Bale
Simon Bale is the publisher of Golf Today. A low single-figure handicap golfer, he was previously a major shareholder and course reviewer for Top100GolfCourses.com for over a decade, starting in 2010. Through this role, he developed extensive knowledge of golf course design and architecture while playing more than 300 courses worldwide.