The 53-year-old professional from Camberley Heath in Surrey had a closing two-under-par 70 over a cold, wet and windy Torrance Course at Fairmont St Andrews for an eight-under-par aggregate of 208 to win the Cleveland/Srixon Scottish Senior Championship by one stroke from fellow Englishman Bob Cameron and Argentine Luis Carbonetti.
Ralph, who has been a professional for 36 years, slipped on a step in a swimming pool while on holiday in Mauritius last year and broke his right ankle, an injury that kept him out of action for seven months.
“I worried that I would never play again at this level,” said father-of-four Ralph who had his diminutive wife Michele on the bag. “The break was in an awkward place and surgeons had trouble with plates and screws, but when I came back I was surprised how well I was playing.
“I could have cried coming up the last. It is a relief to get that first win and there could be no better place to do it than at the home of golf. Now I want to press on and win more.”
The £33,750 first prize lifted him 21 places to No.9 on the European Senior Tour order of merit led by Mark McNulty who was not playing. Ian Woosnam, who is No.2, failed to overhaul him after finishing nine shots adrift in joint 14th place.
Top Scot was rookie Gordon Brand Jr in seventh place after 73 for 213 while fit-again Sam Torrance finished brightly with a 70 that was too little too late as he finished down in joint 39th place 15 shots adrift of the leader. Ross Drummond, who was leading Scot overnight, tumbled down the field with a closing 78 for 217 and joint 14th place.
Ralph, who began one shot behind Cameron, made his move with an eagle-birdie burst at the sixth and seventh, reaching the green of the par-5 sixth in two shots and holing the putt, following up with a 3 at the 296-yard par-4 seventh.
Then it was a case of holding on as Carbonetti levelled with a birdie 3 at the 13th, but crucially failed to par the tough par-3 17th which allowed Ralph to stick his nose back in front. He played the last safely, wedging his third shot to 12 feet from where he had the luxury of two putts for the victory.
Brand Jr, the Bristol-based Scot, was within two shots of the lead until he took a double-bogey 6 at the 15th where he pulled a chip shot into the face of a bunker where from he could only just get out. From there he took three putts.
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