2026 ISPS HANDA Senior Open: Kelly wins Senior Open on dramatic afternoon at Gleneagles, and the Kings Course shines again

He was up, then he was down, and then he was up again, and Jerry Kelly was the Grand Old Duke of Gleneagles after an afternoon never to be forgotten on the Kings Course on Sunday. Jerry Kelly claimed his third Senior Major Championship victory with a final round of 68, winning by two strokes over Cameron Percy, Darren Fichardt and Matt Gogel, but those are just the pure statistical facts of his victory, and do not do justice to the drama and excitement of what unfolded over a special Sunday.

Kelly's final hole birdie on Saturday got him into a tie with the Australia Cameron Percy and Kelly's experience and ability saw him break out into a three-shot lead early on Sunday. Birdies at the 1st and 2nd holes, coupled with Percy's bogeys at the 3rd and 6th meant that Kelly was the outstanding favourite heading into the final nine holes of the championship.

But this story would not ever be just about the final group, as the softer, calmer conditions meant that the chasing pack had the chance to mount a challenge, and three players made the most of their opportunities. Scotland's Stephen Gallacher, a member of the 2014 European Ryder Cup team at Gleneagles, started the final round 10 shots off the joint lead, and seemingly a footnote in the story of the Senior Open.

A front nine of 29 featuring birdies at 1, 2, 3, 5 and 9 moved Gallacher from footnote to contender, and potentially giving him the opportunity to post a number in the clubhouse which the leaders may struggle to match. Further birdies at 10 and 11 and Gallacher had a seemingly unstoppable momentum, and news spread throughout the course of his charge towards the top of the leaderboard. Gallacher was within 3 of the lead, with great opportunities lying ahead of him there was a genuine chance he could have posted a testing score for the leaders to beat.

Then the momentum stalled, with a 3-putt bogey at the 12th and disappointing pars at 14 and 17. Gallacher birdied the 18th hole to shoot 62, and post 6-under-par in the clubhouse, but it was never going to be enough to overtake the leaders. Gallacher was the winner of the first ever tournament I worked at on Scottish soil when I volunteered at the 2004 Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, but alas there was to be no home winner this week, and the wait for a Scottish victory at Gleneagles extends to 14 years since Paul Lawrie's win in the Johnnie Walker Championship in 2012.

Kelly's playing partner and closest rival at the start of the day, Cameron Percy, was struggling to make a move. The Australian made 3 bogeys in his first 11 holes, but over the final 7 holes he managed to birdie the 14th and 16th to get back to 8-under-par and back in the picture as the championship reached its climax.

Meanwhile, Matt Gogel became another outsider who could have claimed a dramatic come from behind win, with 7 birdies in a round of 63 seeing him post 8-under-par in the clubhouse. Another outside challenger was South Africa's Darren Fichardt, who kept himself in the picture with birdies at 5, 9, 14 and 15, and on the 18th he played a remarkable chip and run bunker shot which came oh so close to dropping for eagle. The crowd nearly went wild but the ball came to rest agonizingly near to the hole, seeing Fichardt post another 8-under-par total in the clubhouse.

It was now down to the final group.

Percy had to lay up for his second shot, and Kelly found the greenside bunker with his second, so the chance of a playoff seemed very high, especially after Percy's approach finished around 8 feet below the hole. Kelly then played an extraordinary chip and run from the bunker, leaving himself less than 2 feet for a birdie to clinch it. Percy's putt missed and he joined Fichardt and Gogel on 8-under, leaving the way clear for the American to clinch victory, and Kelly obliged

Kelly then celebrated passionately and the win was a poignant one for family reasons, as well as being the title he wanted above all others.

"It's indescribable to win it". said Kelly. "The Senior Claret Jug is the trophy that I've wanted as an over-50 golfer more than than any other. To do it in Scotland at the Home of Golf. I'm absolutely speechless.

But it's been this Scotland army out here that's been behind me that really brought me through, and I really appreciate the people for getting behind me and just lifting me up when things were going low, saying you've got this and really pulling me through. I really appreciate Scotland itself.

My brain, actually, was the most successful part of my game. In the past I would have gotten down that I wasn't striking it the way I'd like to strike it. But instead of worrying about that, I just went and took care of the next shot.

I learned a lot about myself today, and I wish I would have learned it about 20, 30 years ago. 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.

I've had some issues with my back the last couple years. I'm kind of used to it. It tweaked on six and wasn’t able to take a full backswing for the rest of the day. That's over-50 golf there.

Incredibly proud. To be on this trophy, 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."

Yet again Gleneagles delivered a dramatic finale for a tournament I have covered there. It all began in 2013 with a playoff between Tommy Fleetwood, Stephen Gallacher and Ricardo Gonzalez, with Fleetwood coming out on top for his first big win as a professional. Then in 2019 it was the epic Solheim Cup and that Suzann Pettersen putt at the 18th, before Darren Clarke won the storm-delayed Senior Open on the Kings Course in 2022. Now, we have the 101st tournament to be played at Gleneagles, and just the second American winner, with a dramatic finish and a passionate celebration. It doesn't get any better than this, and it shows that Gleneagles is the superstar, and should be part of the professional golf landscape year-in-year-out.

"Gleneagles is the only place which makes Pebble Beach look bad" said Jerry Kelly during the trophy presentation on the 18th green.

I couldn't agree much more with the sentiment, even if I don't really rate Pebble Beach. Gleneagles should be hosting the world's best every year, and the Kings Course has shown its ability to test the best with the scoring in the majority of tournaments it has staged over the last forty years. With the subtle changes undertaken a decade ago, and the attention to detail in course set-up, Gleneagles have ensured that the Kings Course can withstand modern technology, and punish the wild bomber-style of golf.

Winning Scores of recent tournaments played on the Kings Course

Winner Score Players finishing under par Date Par

1987 Bell's Scottish Open I Woosnam -20 20 8-11 July 71 (284)

1988 Bell's Scottish Open B Lane -13 28 6-9 July 71 (284)

1989 Bell's Scottish Open M Allen -8 15 12-15 July 70 (280)

1990 Bell's Scottish Open I Woosnam -15 26 11-14 July 71 (284)

1991 Bell's Scottish Open C Parry -12 17 10-13 July 70 (280)

1992 Bell's Scottish Open P O'Malley -18 56 8-11 July 70 (280)

1993 Bell's Scottish Open J Parnevik -9 6 7-10 July 70 (280)

1994 Bell's Scottish Open C Mason -15 50 6-9 July 70 (280)

2022 Senior Open presented by Rolex P Harrington -10 26 21-24 July 70 (280)

2026 Senior Open presented by Rolex J Kelly -10 20 23-26 July 70 (280)

Most of the guys in the field last week still play a lot of golf on the regular tours, and hit the ball a long way, but 10-under-par won on a 6859-yard course, the same winning score as was shot by Ryan Fox on the 7,381-yard Royal Birkdale the week before.

Gleneagles is arguably the greatest tournament venue in Scotland, and once again it proved it with a stunningly staged event on and off the course, with a brilliant shuttle service run by Ember getting fans, staff and media to the course from the train station and car parks. Hopefully we do not have to wait for another four years until the next tournament staged at the Glorious Playground.

SHANK's 4th Senior Open was unforgettable, and unmissable

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SHANK, by Matt Hooper

Matt Hooper is an associate member of the Sports Journalists Association, and former employee of the Gleneagles Hotel