Nov. 9, 2004 – England's Tommy Horton won the 2004 Hardys Super Seniors Prize after a nail-biting race to the line with compatriot John Morgan as the honor of the top golfer aged 60 and over was decided over the last three holes of the final event of the season.
Horton and compatriot John Morgan were separated by a mere €100 in the contest to top the Hardys Super Seniors Order of Merit heading into the Estoril Seniors Tour Championship at Quinta da Marinha Oitavos Golfe in Portugal.
Morgan held the upper hand as he occupied pole position on the Hardys Super Seniors Order of Merit having won the Hardys Super Seniors Prize on four previous occasions during the season, with Horton in second and it looked like those positions would remain unchanged with Morgan two strokes ahead with three to play.
But Horton made a decisive move over the most difficult stretch on the course, birdieing the 16th and parring the last two holes and when Morgan bogeyed the last Horton claimed the top prize.
"I didn't think I had a chance but then it went right down to the last hole of the last round of the last tournament," said Horton. "It was the closest contest we have known and to win the overall Hardys Prize was a wonderful bonus at the end of the season."
The Hardys Super Seniors Prize is presented by leading Australian wine brand Hardys who award a cheque for €1,500 to the highest placed player aged 60 and over while the runner up receives €500 and the third place finisher earns €250.
Overall Horton won the Hardys Super Seniors Prize on five occasions, finishing as the leading senior in the DGM Barbados Open, the Nigel Mansell Sunseeker International Classic, the Bad Ragaz PGA Seniors, the Charles Church Scottish Seniors Open and the Estoril Seniors Tour Championship.
That took the 63 year old's total winnings from Hardys to €9,625 with Morgan, who won the Hardys Prize four times, second with €8,750 and Canadian Bill Hardwick third with €6,625 while fourth place went to another Englishman in Malcolm Gregson, the only player aged 60 and over who also won a tournament when he claimed the De Vere Northumberland Seniors Classic at De Vere Slaley Hall.
"The Hardys prize is very important to us," added Horton. "With €1,500 for leading the Hardys Super Seniors there is a real target for us. I am getting to the stage where I still believe I can win but if I am not going to win then you at least want to be the leading Super senior. We all enjoy playing the Seniors Tour because of the camaraderie but it is still a business and I am out there to win. You have to have a target and the Hardys Super Seniors is one of my targets each year. It is an extra incentive.
"Malcom Gregson won at De Vere Slaley Hall this year which shows the Super Seniors are capable of winning and that is significant. To win the Hardys Super Seniors prize and a tournament is very special and that is our supreme target."
Gregson also won the Hardys Super Seniors Prize at The Daily Telegraph Turismo Andaluz European Seniors Match Play Championship while the other winners during the 2004 season were Bob Charles, Neil Coles, twice, Alberto Croce, Jay Dolan III, Hardwick on three occasions, Liam Higgins, Graham Marsh and Bruce Summerhays.
Hardys Wines said: "With Tommy Horton pipping John Morgan at the post to win the Super Seniors Order of Merit in Portugal in October in a very hard fought contest, and Super Seniors golfer Australian Graham Marsh, achieving two holes-in-one at The Senior British Open Championship, at the same hole, for the Hardys prize, it has been quite a year for Hardys Wines and the Super Seniors. The 2005 season will prove to be no less competitive and exciting for golfers and spectators alike."
