In-form Jean Hugo has emerged as a genuine late challenger to Stephen Gallacher in the battle to be the No 1 on the Staysure Legends Tour this season.

A week after shooting a closing 62 to win the Portugal Legends Championship, Hugo went low again on the last day - a 65 did the trick this time - to also land the Champions UK plc European Senior Masters at Grand Hyatt La Manga Resort.

It was the 50-year-old’s third win of the season on the seniors’ circuit and, in picking up €60,000 - a record top prize for the event - he jumped to fifth on the points list.

Gallacher is still out in front in the title battle with three events to go - two in Cambodia before the season finale in Vietnam - after maintaining his consistent campaign by finishing joint-seventh alongside compatriot Paul Lawrie in Spain.

Hugo’s bogey-free closing effort on the South Course at the Murcia venue gave him a 19-under-par total and a one-shot win over Englishman Van Phillips, the overnight leader.

A 22-time winner on the Sunshine Tour in South Africa and victor on the Hotel Planner Tour as well, Hugo missed out on securing playing rights for the over-50s’ circuit at the Qualifying School earlier this year.

However, he secured a status through landing a breakthrough victory in the Reignwood Legends Championship in China early last month and has never looked back.

“I think China helped a lot,” admitted the Stellenbosch man. “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.”

On an exciting last day, Hugo, who started out three shots behind Phillips, was no time making his move by reeling off three consecutive birdies from the second before adding another gain at the sixth to move into a share of the lead.

Chile’s Felipe Aguilar then moved into pole position by reaching the turn at 17 under only to see his hopes of a maiden seniors’ success dashed by a run of three straight bogeys from the tenth.

Having reached 16 under with a birdie at the ninth, Hugo picked up shots at both the 14th and 15th before signing off with his eighth birdie of the day at the par-5 18th to set the clubhouse target.

Phillips, who’d shared the lead after the first day before moving into the outright lead at the 36-hole stage, had an eagle putt at the last to force a play-off but, agonisingly for him, it narrowly missed and left him having to settle for second spot after a closing 69.

India’s Jeev Milka Singh, who won the Genesis Scottish Open at Castle Stuart in 2012, finished a further shot back in third, with Aguilar, who eagled the last, ending up fourth on 16 under.

“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.”

Gallacher and Lawrie, the 2022 winner at the same venue, closed with matching 69s to finish on 13 under, one shot ahead of Greig Hutcheon, who also signed for a four-under last-day score.