Jerry Kelly hit an incredible bunker shot into the 18th green Sunday at Gleneagles that television commentators said would be good to end 20 feet from the hole. Kelly’s ball stopped four feet short.

When Cameron Percy missed his birdie attempt from 12 feet, Kelly had two putts to win the ISPS Handa Senior British Open in Scotland. He only needed one. Kelly made birdie to sign for his third consecutive 68 and topped Percy (70), Matt Gogel (63) and Darren Fichardt (66) by two shots to capture his third senior major title and first in four years.

Not bad for a 59-year-old who hadn’t won a PGA Tour Champions event in 15 months.

“It’s indescribable to win it,” Kelly said. “The senior Claret Jug is the trophy that I’ve wanted as an over-50 golfer other than any other. To do it in Scotland at the Home of Golf and to actually win and get into the Home of Golf at St. Andrews, I mean, I’m absolutely speechless.”

Kelly birdied two of the first three holes to start his round Sunday, but then stalled some, making bogeys on the sixth and 11th holes, allowing others to stay in the mix. He made six straight pars from Nos. 12-17 and closed with the aforementioned birdie on the last to shoot 10-under total for the week. He earned $447,800.

Gogel, 55, shot a bogey-free 63 to move up 12 spots on the leaderboard and into the second-place tie. Fichardt, 51, birdied three of the last five holes to make a late charge.

“I learned a lot about myself today, and I wish I would have learned it about 20, 30 years ago,” Kelly said. “You’re never too old to learn, and that’s what really pulled me through. Hitting a couple speed putts from 90, 100 feet on a couple of those holes, it was kind of enjoyable to putt the strikes on it. You get the second putts, some of them tailed away, as well.”

Paul Devlin

The three-time PGA Tour winner has now won his 14th title on the senior circuit, but first since the Mitsubishi Electric Classic in April of last year. He hadn’t collected a top-10 finish this year but tied for 17th place and tied for 14th place, respectively in the U.S. Senior Open and Kaulig Companies Championship earlier this month.

Both of his senior major titles came at the Senior Players Championship in 2020 and 2022. His best finish in the British Open was a 26th place tie (2006) in 11 attempts.

“Incredibly proud,” Kelly said. “Just to win this, I mean, how many of them has there been? To be on this trophy, to be a part of this trophy, to be a part of the R&A—I just love it over here, I really do. It brings it full circle that I didn’t do what I wanted to in the Open Championship but to get it done here, I mean, I’m over the moon.”

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Main Image: Paul Devlin