Paul Wesselingh’s blistering start to life in the senior ranks continues to hit new heights after he secured a place in next week’s US Senior PGA Championship.

The Kedleston Park pro earned his spot in the first senior major of the season, which is being held at Harbor Shores, Michigan, on the back of his stunning debut in the Mallorca Open Senior, where he finished tied second.

The six-time PGA Cup player claimed one of two exemptions on offer at Mallorca, the other going to fellow PGA pro Andrew Sherborne (The Kendleshire). The pair will be joined in the US by the top 18 players from last year’s Senior Tour Order of Merit.

Wesselingh had further cause to celebrate after winning the Senior PGA Professional Championship at Northants County on Friday to cap a memorable two weeks.

He admitted he was stunned to have secured a place in the $2m USPGA tournament and was left with a massive dilemma as the championship clashed with next week’s BMW PGA Championship, which he has also qualified for via the Titleist PGA Play-Offs.

But he revealed the choice was made much easier following a chat with Australian Mike Harwood, a former PGA Champion.

“As soon as I signed my card in the tournament office on Sunday I was given a pack by an official and told ‘there you are, you’ve got into the USPGA Seniors’,” said Wesselingh.

“I asked when it was and was told ‘next week’. I replied I’m playing at Wentworth and he said ‘well you’ve got to make your mind up by midday Monday’.

“I was stunned with that and Mike Harwood, who I had just played with, had heard the conversation and took me to one side. He asked me how many times I’d played Wentworth and I told him seven. He then said ‘how well have you done?’, and I told him I made the cut once.

“He said ‘It’s a no brainer, go to the States. If you play the way you did you could be competing for it’. I also learned that any money I win there will count towards the Order of Merit, which will help give me a head start on a lot of the other players, while there’s also the experience as well.”

The late change of plan has also benefited one of Wesselingh’s three children, who will be going to the US with him.

“Ryan was going to caddy for me at Wentworth and now I’m going to take him to America with me,” said Wesselingh.
“He’s getting a nice trip but that also means the others want the same so I have had to promise them that.”

Wesselingh’s withdrawal from the BMW PGA Championship has seen Elie’s David Patrick, winner of one Scottish Region Order of Merit this season secure a late-call up to The European Tour’s flagship event.

Source: http://www.europeantour.com/seniortour/season=2012/tournamentid=2012842/news/newsid=160672.html#midland+us+senior+pga+debut

• Mason eyes more Spanish success
• New date for Benahavis Senior Masters

• Gary WOLSTENHOLME

Gary Wolstenholme will be hoping to complete a Spanish double as he travels to the Benahavis Senior Masters in two weeks’ time brim-full of confidence after his victory at the season-opening Mallorca Open Senior last week.

The Englishman claimed his second professional win in Mallorca after a final round of 69 sealed a two shot victory over the chasing trio of Mike Harwood, Paul Wesselingh and Chris Williams at Pula Golf Club.

It was a perfect start to the year for the 51 year old after a superb first full season on the Senior Tour which earned him the Rookie of the Year award. Despite not adding to his first victory at the 2010 Casa Serena Open, the six-time Walker Cup player only missed one cut in 21 appearances, racking up nine top ten finishes.

Indeed, the closest he came to victory last year was at the Benahavis Senior Masters, where he led going into the final day but finished tied second, three shots behind Carl Mason as the Senior Tour’s all-time leading money winner claimed his 25th Tour title.

Wolstenholme will be hoping to go one better this year as he attempts to build on his fine start to the season at La Quinta Golf and Country Club on the southern coast of Spain, just outside Marbella.

But his task has been made harder by the presence of 26 players from the top 30 of last year’s Order of Merit, who comprise what is arguably the strongest field in the tournament’s history.

The man whom Wolstenholme shared second place with last year, former Ryder Cup Captain Mark James, will be searching for his first win since 2009 – which came, coincidentally, at the Mallorca Open Senior.

Mason will return to a tournament which has brought him so much success as he aims to make it three Benahavis Senior Masters titles in the space of four years while Peter Fowler, the 2011 John Jacobs Trophy winner, also attends, in search of his third Senior Tour victory.

Amongst the local favourites at La Quinta will be the former Ryder Cup star who designed the course over which the Senior Tour’s third tournament of the season will be played, Manuel Piñero.

Four-time Senior Tour winner Juan Quiros is also in the field, as are his fellow Spaniards José Maria Cañizares, Antonio Garrido and Miguel Angel Martin, who will make his first appearance at the Benahavis Senior Masters having turned 50 earlier this month.

The fourth edition of the Benahavis Senior Masters has been moved to a new date on the Senior Tour Schedule, from October to the much earlier time of June 1 – 3, and has also benefitted from an increased prize fund of €200,000.

Entry to the tournament is free.

Source: http://www.europeantour.com/seniortour/season=2012/tournamentid=2012844/news/newsid=160398.html#wolstenholme+seeking+spanish+double+benahavis

• Watson to make emotional Turnberry return

• Tom WATSON

Tom Watson broke into a throaty chuckle as he listened to a description of the weather at Turnberry. Outside the clubhouse, where numerous images of the eight-time Major Champion beam down benevolently from the walls, the rain tapped insidiously against the window pane and, a few yards beyond, the 18th green flag cowered at a 45 degree angle against the bone-chilling wind.

“Just my kind of weather,” laughed Watson down the phone line as he participated in a conference call with the media to discuss the 2012 Senior Open Championship presented by Rolex and his enduring love affair with the Ailsa Course at Turnberry.

With typical humour, Watson gently chided the media ‘pack’ listening attentively to every word. “You guys playing today?” he asked, continuing: “Doesn’t sound as if too many of you are in a hurry to get to the first tee!”

In the event, the unseasonably cold and damp weather relented and suddenly Turnberry was bathed in glorious sunlight, just as it was those 35 years ago when the freckle-faced kid from Kansas went toe-to-toe with Jack Nicklaus for the 1977 Open Championship. The Golden Bear was in the prime of life, but he had to succumb to the brash, young upstart on that day of days – the iconic Duel in the Sun.

Turnberry has been both an alluring seductress and a cruel mistress to Watson. That Open in 1977 aside, he captured his first Senior Open title over the Ailsa Course in 2003 then suffered that final hole calamity in the most recent Open there three years ago. One par from immortality and a champion again at the age of 59. It wasn’t to be. A bogey five – where 32 years earlier he had made three at the final hole – enabled Stewart Cink to squeeze through by the side door.

Watson and Turnberry go together like Ailsa Craig and the famous Lighthouse, two of the familiar landmarks, along with the majestic Five Star Hotel, which combine to give Turnberry its fame and deserved popularity among golfing glitterati everywhere.

Despite missing out to Cink, 23 years his junior, and been forced to gaze forlornly at the Claret Jug he might have felt was rightfully his for a sixth time, Watson’s love for Turnberry burns as brightly as ever as he edges towards his 63rd birthday.

“That week only increased by love for the place” insisted Watson, who will line up in search of a fourth Senior Open crown from July 26 to 29. The response he received from so many people – people who thought they were too old to play golf anymore but were moved to play the game again after watching my performance that week  – was uplifting.

“Going into the week I was playing very well but my putting was poor. Then on Tuesday I changed my putting and started to make everyone. I told my wife: ‘I can win this tournament’. It wasn’t just a bragging statement.

“Of course, on the Sunday night I was distraught. It tears your guts out when something like that happens. When the ball was in the air at the 27nd hole I said: ‘Just like 77’. It was going right at the flag but with the uncertainty of links golf maybe a gust of wind took it a bit further than it was meant to.

“I felt extreme disappointment, but one good was the response from around the world. I had thousands of people writing to me on a common theme, that they had quite golf because they felt too old but I had given them hope to work at it and go back and try again.”

Watson’s chances of winning again – he also triumphed at Muirfield and Royal Aberdeen at Senior level to add to his four Open Claret Jugs gained on Scottish soil – could depend on how quickly he recovers from a hand injury.

The three-time champion has spent a few days on a whistle-stop tour of the UK, taking in Royal Lytham and St.Annes in the process where he discussed the 2012 Championship with the new Presenting Sponsor, Rolex, The RA and the European Senior Tour Managing Director Andy Stubbs.

He added: “I’m not in very good stead at the moment because I have a never strength problem in my right hand. It was caused by mowing for a number of hours at my farm in Kansas. I woke up the next day with a little bit of soreness in my neck and three days later my strength in my right hand was diminished greatly. I can’t grip the club properly but the doctors say the strength will come back in time.

“I assume I will be ready and able to play in July and Turnberry will give me another of those great challenges to win again.”

As the wind abated and Turnberry glistened in the sunshine and stiff breeze, Watson must aloud about that expanse of green just outside the window.

“That 18th has sure seen some drama, hasn’t it?” he asked rhetorically. “I remember here at the Senior Open in 2003 I was very lucky to get into a play-off but Carl Mason made a mistake at the 18th and that let me in.”

A few minutes later and Watson signed off, again urging his attentive audience to get out and sample the course which has brought him so many memories. No-one can wait until Master and his Mistress are reunited in just over two months time.

TO BUY TICKETS FOR THE SENIOR OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP PRESENTED BY ROLEX, CLICK HERE.

Source: http://www.europeantour.com/seniortour/season=2012/tournamentid=2012860/news/newsid=160244.html#watson+ready+rekindle+turnberry+love+affair

• Buy Senior Open Championship presented by Rolex tickets NOW

• Tom WATSON

Three years after his unforgettable attempt to make golfing history ended in heartache, Tom Watson will make an emotional return to Turnberry, scene of so many of his greatest moments, when he joins the field for The Senior Open Championship presented by Rolex from July 26-29.

The American agonisingly missed out on becoming the oldest Major Champion in history when, at the age of 59, he led The 2009 Open Championship going into Turnberry’s  72nd hole.

Needing a par for a record-equalling sixth Claret Jug, Watson could only manage bogey meaning he joined compatriot Stewart Cink in a play-off, which the younger American duly went on to win.

However, Watson’s remarkable performance captured the imagination of the golfing world and wider sporting public, coming 32 years after he was part of another of the game’s most enthralling battles, the famous Duel in the Sun with Jack Nicklaus, also over Turnberry’s iconic Ailsa Course.

Watson emerged victorious on that occasion, winning The 1977 Open Championship, and he also won the first of his three Senior Open Championships in dramatic fashion at Turnberry in 2003, beating Carl Mason in a play-off after Mason had led by two shots going into the final hole.

The 62 year old, who won the US Senior PGA Championship presented by KitchenAid last year, returns to Turnberry hoping to become the most successful player in the history of The Senior Open Championship presented by Rolex, having also won the replica Claret Jug at Royal Aberdeen Golf Club in 2005 and Muirfield in 2007. This year’s Championship is the 26th staging of the event.

Watson also finished tied third in last year’s Championship at Walton Heath, won by his compatriot Russ Cochran, and his presence in the field is certain to be popular with the Scottish crowds, with whom he has such a strong affinity.

Watson is closely affiliated with The Senior Open Championship’s new Presenting Patron, Rolex, and the leading Swiss watchmaking brand is proud to count such a legendary player among its valued family of Testimonees. Considered one of golf’s most enduring professionals, Watson’s etiquette, passion and excellence exemplify Rolex’s philosophy and values.

Paul Bush OBE, Chief Operating Officer for EventScotland said: “The Senior Open Championship is always a special tournament that brings together masters of the professional game, and it is fantastic news that Tom Watson will once again join the field in 2012.

“Scotland is the home of golf, and in Turnberry we have a course that has played host to so many iconic moments in golf; not to mention some highlights from Tom’s incredible career. As we build towards the 2014 Ryder Cup we are delighted to be supporting the Championship for the sixth time, which will give younger fans the chance to see the likes of Watson, Sam Torrance and Barry Lane, who have all contested the famous biennial match between Europe and the USA.”

Andy Stubbs, Managing Director of the European Senior Tour, said on behalf of the Championship: “We are delighted that Tom will once again be joining us for The Senior Open Championship presented by Rolex and I’m sure golf fans around the world cannot wait to see him return to Turnberry where he has played his part in so many of the game’s most memorable moments.

“Anyone who was present at either the Duel in the Sun, or his heart-warming performance in The Open Championship three years ago, will remember those occasions for the rest of their lives, and we all look forward to seeing whether Tom can conjure another piece of history in July.”

Discounted advance tickets for The Senior Open Championship presented by Rolex can now be purchased online, with season passes now available at £60 and any one day tickets at £18. They can be booked online at www.europeantourtickets.com as well as www.senioropengolf.com where other discounts and offers can also be found.

Hospitality packages are also now available at £95 per person inc VAT, which includes admittance to the course along with a three-course lunch and glass of champagne in Turnberry’s signature restaurant, 1906, reserved parking, a Championship programme and a draw sheet.

American Cochran won The 2011 Senior Open Championship at Walton Heath, England, holding off the challenge of former Open Champion Mark Calcavecchia, three-time Senior Open Champion Watson and 2010 United States Ryder Cup Captain Corey Pavin.

Source: http://www.europeantour.com/seniortour/season=2012/tournamentid=2012860/news/newsid=160093.html#watson+make+emotional+turnberry+return

• Gary WOLSTENHOLME

Gary Wolstenholme got his 2012 campaign off to a winning start with a two-stroke victory in the Mallorca Open Senior, the first event of the new European Senior Tour season.

Wolstenholme, who had the distinction of being England’s most capped amateur before turning professional on reaching the age of 50, claimed his second Senior Tour title with final round of 69  at Pula Golf Club for an eight under par total of 205.

South African Chris Williams, Australia’s Mike Harwood and England’s Paul Wesselingh finished tied second, two strokes back.

Wolstenholme immediately goes to the top of the Senior Tour Order of Merit with his winner’s cheque for €30,000 and continues an impressive level of consistency in the senior ranks which has seen him win twice and finish in the top ten 12 times in his 28 appearances since turning 50.

“Everything just clicked into place,” said Wolstenholme. “I came with no expectations so I cannot tell you how delighted I am. This is a genuine bonus.”

 Wolstenholme got off to the perfect start, holing from 25 feet on the first for a birdie and while he dropped a shot on the seventh, missing from six feet for par, a run of three birdies in five holes from the ninth lifted him clear of the chasing pack. A wrong club on the 14th cost him another shot but from there he was able to par in for the title.

“It has been a good week,” he added. “This is a top class venue and it’s been a great final round. We had some wind coming from different directions and the pins were in tough places so it was hard for players to chase for score and overtake us.  But obviously this course fits my game.”

Wesselingh’s hopes of a title on his Senior Tour debut took a blow with a double bogey seven on the sixth and he ended his first event since graduating from the Qualifying School in January in a three-way tie for second place with a final round of 71. Williams made the biggest charge with six birdies en route to a four under par 67 to also shoot a 54 hole total of six under par 207, with Harwood completing the trio on that mark with a one under 70.

Juan Quiros closed with a level par 71 to finish the week as the leading Spaniard a further shot back.

Source: http://www.europeantour.com/seniortour/season=2012/tournamentid=2012838/news/newsid=160069.html#glory+wolstenholme+mallorca

• Graduates flying high in Mallorca
• Fowler and Lane cut the ribbon on 2012 Senior Tour

• Paul WESSELINGH
• Gary WOLSTENHOLME

A superb five under par 66 propelled Englishman Gary Wolstenholme into a share of the Mallorca Open Senior lead at six under par alongside compatriot Paul Wesselingh, but the pair have a host of contenders lurking close behind following the second round of the Senior Tour’s opening event of 2012.

Wolstenholme, who signed for a one under par round of 70 at Pula Golf Club on Friday, made seven birdies over the course of an impressive showing on the Balearic Island, while Wesselingh, who, having continued the fine form that saw him seize a share of the first round lead, carded a second consecutive three under par 68 that included five birdies, meaning the fellow countrymen will take a slim lead into Sunday’s final round, one shot clear of a trio at five under par.

Beginning the day two shots behind the overnight leaders, Wolstenholme, the 2011 Senior Tour Rookie of the Year, came flying out of the blocks at the José María Olazábal-designed layout on Saturday morning, finding birdie at the short second after a monstrous 40-foot putt.

He found another birdie at the par four fourth, while a bogey five at the seventh was sandwiched between a further two birdies at the long sixth and par three eighth holes – thanks to another sizeable putt – helping him reach the turn in 33 blows.

The Egham-born man matched this total coming home, finding a further three birdies on the back nine at the 11th, 13th, and 15th holes with a second bogey of the day at the par four 17th as the 2010 Casa Serena Open Champion vies for his second Senior Tour title in Spain this week. 
 
He said: “It’s funny how things work out, yesterday I played average and today was better. This is my first tournament here and it’s a tough course so I can’t expect miracles, but I learned a few things from the silly mistakes I made yesterday and I have been hitting great shots.”
 
Wesselingh, playing his first event since claiming a card for this season with a second place finish at the Qualifying School earlier this year, again produced another solid round with just two bogeys coming at the par four fifth and 16th holes while the Kedleston Park pro found birdies at the second, fourth, and seventh holes on the front nine to reach the turn two under par for the day, with back-to-back birdies on the short 13th and par four 14th giving the 51 year old a share of the lead with one round remaining.

A makeable birdie putt at 18 that would have given him outright possession of the lead failed to drop, but it was still a satisfying day for the Liverpudlian considering the circumstances.

“I played really good, very solid play I am happy how it all went,” said Wesselingh. “This is the first tournament for me and I never expected to start this way, I didn’t come out with any expectations, only to finish top 30 this year.

“But I had two great draws that helped a lot, I played with DJ Russell yesterday, who was a pro in my club, and Dick Mast today, who I played two rounds with at the School, so they were great rounds that have really settled me in. I am delighted. I will look forward tomorrow, with no more expectations other than enjoy it.”

Australia’s Mike Harwood, a five time winner on The European Tour, looked to be putting the best round of the day together having reached the 16th tee at six under par, but successive bogeys at the final two par fours mean he will have to make do with a three-way tie for third place alongside Paraguay’s Angel Franco and Spain’s Juan Quiros – who both shot rounds of 68 – one shot back going into Sunday.

Andrew Sherborne of England (67) and Spain’s Manuel Moreno (70) are a further two shots back, while the other co-leaders following Friday’s first round, America’s Dick Mast and England’s David J Russell, both struggled to find the form that took them to the top of the leaderboard after the first round, matching each other with four bogeys and three birdies on the way to one over par rounds of 72.

Mast and Russell sit four off the pace alongside 2011 John Jacobs Trophy winner Peter Fowler (71) and last season’s Number Two, England’s Barry Lane (69), with a fascinating day in store in Sunday’s deciding round as the congested field contests for the €30,000 first prize in the augural Senior Tour event of the 2012 season.

Source: http://www.europeantour.com/seniortour/season=2012/tournamentid=2012838/news/newsid=160025.html#wolstenholme+wesselingh+wonderful+mallorca

• Fowler and Lane cut the ribbon on 2012 Senior Tour
• Senior Tour season gets underway in Mallorca
• Ryder Cup hero Walton raring for return

• David J RUSSELL
• Paul WESSELINGH
• Dick MAST

American Dick Mast and England’s Paul Wesselingh made a flying start to the new Senior Tour season as the top two players from the Qualifying School shared the lead with England’s David J Russell at the end of the opening day of the Mallorca Open Senior.

The leading trio shot three under par rounds of 68 over the José María Olazábal-designed Pula Golf Club to lie one stroke ahead of nine players including former Ryder Cup Captains Mark James, Sam Torrance and Ian Woosnam, Senior Tour debutant Philip Walton and last year’s Number One, Peter Fowler.

The presence of the two Englishmen at the top of the leaderboard will certainly give Kedleston Park Golf Club, near Derby, plenty to cheer about as both players have been associated with the club – Wesselingh taking over from Russell as the head professional in 2001.

Wesselingh, embarking on a new tournament schedule after a successful career as a club professional, is playing his first event since finishing second behind Mast at the Senior Tour Qualifying School in January.

All the action came on his front nine with two early birdies preceding a bogey on the sixth before chipping in for an eagle three on the ninth – the only eagle of the opening day – for an outward half of 33. Nine successive pars followed for his 68.

“I was a bit shaky as this is my first event on the Senior Tour, but I played nicely and had a number of birdie chances,” he said.

Russell, whose sole European Senior Tour title to date came in 2010, reached four under par through ten holes before bogeying the 14th while Mast, who finished third in the 2006 Senior Open Championship at Turnberry behind Loren Roberts, bogeyed his penultimate hole to also drop back to three under par.

Both players had their sons caddying for them, the younger members of the family good golfers in their own right with Chris Russell a professional playing on the Tartan Tour in Scotland and Jacob Mast a useful golfer as junior at Liberty University in Virginia.

“This is my first year here so a nice way to start,” said Mast. “I missed a few greens as everybody did but played great.”

Russell had a couple of good saves coming home, notably saving par on the 16th after finding water and then up and down from sand on the 17th but overall was pleased with his round. “It’s a difficult and demanding course in very good condition,” he said. “I played very nicely after six months off.”

The Mallorca Open Senior, the first event of the 2012 European Senior Tour season, also heralded the debut for Walton, hero of the 1995 Ryder Cup where he secured victory at Oak Hill, and the Irishman will be pleased with his first outing after collecting three birdies with just a solitary dropped shot.

Australian Fowler, winner of the John Jacobs Trophy as Senior Tour Number One last year, began his defence of the title in style by reaching four under par through 11 holes before two bogeys coming home as he carded an opening 68.

Source: http://www.europeantour.com/seniortour/season=2012/tournamentid=2012838/news/newsid=159967.html#graduates+flying+high+mallorca

• Senior Tour season gets underway in Mallorca

• Peter FOWLER
• Barry LANE

European Tour Champions Peter Fowler and Barry Lane have helped to mark the start of the 2012 European Senior Tour season by cutting the ribbon in an opening ceremony at Pula Golf Club, host venue for this week’s Mallorca Open Senior.

Australian Fowler, who topped last season’s Order of Merit following the season-ending MCB Tour Championship in Mauritius last December, and England’s Lane, who pushed his antipodean colleague all the way in what was an enthralling battle for the John Jacobs Trophy in 2011, were the centre of attention at a ceremony that also featured a host of European Tour greats and former Ryder Cup stars including Gordon Brand Jr, Antonio Garrido, Mark James, Carl Mason, Manuel Piñero, Sam Torrance and Ian Woosnam amongst others.

Fowler will be looking to become the first player since Sam Torrance in 2006 to retain the John Jacobs Trophy, and a victory in the €200,000 event on the Spanish island of Mallorca would certainly represent a flying start for whoever triumphs over the course of the three-day tournament. 

Andy Stubbs, Managing Director of the European Senior Tour, said: “Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for joining us this morning with many Major Champions, Ryder Cup Captains, Order of Merit winners and great champions of Spain. I think it is fantastic we are able to launch the 2012 European Senior Tour, our 21st season, here at Pula Golf Club.

“We are looking forward to a great event this week and many more throughout the year to December in Mauritius where we will finish the Tour. We had a great Order of Merit race last year with these two great players to my right and left, Peter Fowler and Barry Lane, a great contest for that as well as the many other winners on the Tour. We look forward to another great year.”

Designed by 2012 European Ryder Cup Captain José María Olazábal, who will be eligible to join the Senior Tour in 2016, Pula Golf Club in Son Servera has previously hosted seven European Tour events, most recently last year’s Iberdrola Open won by Northern Ireland’s Darren Clarke two months before he lifted the Claret Jug in The 140th Open Championship at Royal St George’s.

Source: http://www.europeantour.com/seniortour/season=2012/tournamentid=2012838/news/newsid=159839.html#fowler+lane+ribbon+2012+senior+tour

• Ryder Cup hero Walton raring for return
• James targets Majorcan double at Pula

• Peter FOWLER

The 2012 European Senior Tour season gets underway this week, with Peter Fowler launching his defence of the John Jacobs Trophy at the Mallorca Open Senior at Pula Golf Club.

The Australian, who sealed the 2011 Order of Merit top spot in Mauritius last December, will encounter many familiar faces and some new threats as he looks to become the first player since Sam Torrance in 2006 to retain the John Jacobs Trophy.

Torrance is among those looking to get their 2012 campaign off to a flying start on the Spanish island, along with fellow former Ryder Cup Captains Ian Woosnam and Mark James, who captured the title the last time the Senior Tour visited Mallorca in 2009, defeating Eamonn Darcy in a play-off at Son Gual Golf.

Barry Lane, whose formidable challenge Fowler held off last year to win the Order of Merit, is also in the field having decided to dedicate his full 2012 schedule to the Senior Tour, rather than splitting it with The European Tour.

While Fowler will know all about the challenge Lane will pose to his successful defence, the Mallorca Open Senior gives him the first chance to have a look at the new crop of Senior Tour rookies making their debuts this week.

Among them is Spaniard Miguel Angel Martin, the three-time European Tour winner who celebrated his 50th birthday only last Wednesday. Martin will be hoping to launch his Senior Tour career in style with a victory on home soil, while former Ryder Cup hero Philip Walton is also looking forward to his new career after coming of age in March.

Walton, who sealed victory for Europe in The 1995 Ryder Cup, is raring to go after months of practising for his debut.

“I’ve played Pula Golf Club a few times down the years and I know it can get really tough if the wind picks up,” he said.
“There are a lot of elevated greens so that’ll make it tough in windy conditions. I haven’t had great results there to be honest, but this time out it will hopefully be a bit more relaxed and I’m looking forward to it.”

There is also a debut for another former European Tour champion, Scotsman Stephen McAllister, while American Dick Mast heads the group of Qualifying School graduates also hoping to capitalise on their opportunity with a strong opening week performance.

Designed by 2012 European Ryder Cup Captain José María Olazábal, who will be eligible to join the Senior Tour in 2016, Pula Golf Club in Son Servera has previously hosted seven European Tour events, most recently last year’s Iberdrola Open won by Northern Ireland’s Darren Clarke two months before he lifted the Claret Jug in The 140th Open Championship at Royal St George’s.

Source: http://www.europeantour.com/seniortour/season=2012/tournamentid=2012838/news/newsid=159670.html#senior+tour+season+gets+underway+mallorca

• Wales to host first Major Championship

Speedy Services has been named as the new title sponsor of the Wales Senior Open, which returns to the European Senior Tour schedule for 2012.

The UK’s leading supplier of equipment rental and support services has agreed a two year deal which begins with this year’s tournament at Conwy Golf Club in Caernarvonshire from August 24-26.

It is Speedy’s first title sponsorship of a golf tournament and is in addition to an existing sponsorship of leading Senior Tour player Roger Chapman.

The newly named Speedy Services Wales Senior Open is expected to attract the leading names on the Senior Tour and will have a prize fund of £250,000.

The return of the Wales Senior Open to the Senior Tour schedule came through a £5 million agreement between the Welsh Government, The European Tour and the RA, a deal which also means that The Senior Open Championship presented by Rolex will be played in Wales for the first time in 2014.

Conwy Golf Club last hosted the tournament in 2008, when Englishman Peter Mitchell held off the challenge of home favourite Ian Woosnam, the former World Number One and Masters Champion.

It was also the host venue in 2007, when the Senior Tour’s most successful player Carl Mason won by two shots en route to winning the Senior Tour Order of Merit that year.

Speedy’s group Marketing Director Steve McIntyre said:  “We are thrilled to be sponsoring the Wales Senior Open and are excited about the possibilities that lie ahead.

“The sport has never been more popular and the Senior Tour is more competitive and exciting than we can remember, so to put our name alongside an event like the Wales Senior Open is a real coup for us and something we will be looking to maximise from now on.”

Andy Stubbs, Managing Director of the European Senior Tour, said: “We are delighted to have Speedy on board for the Wales Senior Open, a tournament which was created in 2001 as a legacy to Wales hosting the 2010 Ryder Cup and which returns to the Senior Tour schedule after a year’s absence with the support of the Welsh Government’s Major Events Unit.

“In addition to their title sponsorship, we will be utilising a number of Speedy’s Event Services and equipment which will help us with the logistics of running the tournament and we look forward to returning to Conwy Golf Club for an event that has traditionally been one of the most popular on the Senior Tour schedule and which will play an important role in the build-up to Wales hosting The Senior Open Championship in 2014.”

Wales’ First Minister, The Rt Hon Carwyn Jones AM, said: “It’s great to see the Wales Senior Open back on the schedule and returning to North Wales thanks to support from the Welsh Government.  Conwy Golf Club is one of Wales’ top links courses and will once again prove a tough test for some of Europe’s leading senior players.”

The event is expected to attract large crowds to the North Wales coast over the Bank Holiday weekend, as entry to the event is free making it an ideal family day out. Parking is available for just £5.

Source: http://www.europeantour.com/seniortour/season=2012/tournamentid=2012868/news/newsid=159424.html#speedy+sponsor+wales+senior+open

• Sam TORRANCE

Former Ryder Cup Captain Sam Torrance has added his name to what is becoming the strongest field in the history of the Benahavis Senior Masters by confirming his attendance at La Quinta Golf and Country Club from June 1-3.

Torrance joins a host of fellow former Ryder Cup players including Gordon Brand Jnr, Antonio Garrido, Manuel Piñero and Mark James, along with reigning John Jacobs Trophy Champion Peter Fowler, the 2010 winner Boonchu Ruangkit, and defending champion Carl Mason as they attempt to collect the lion’s share of the increased prize fund of €200,000.

The Benahavis Senior Masters has moved to a new date on the Senior Tour schedule this year, from Mid-October to early June, and the move has proven popular with the players as many of the Senior Tour stars attempt to steal a march in the Order of Merit at the early stages of the season.

“I am thoroughly looking forward to returning to the Benahavis Senior Masters,” said Torrance, a three-time Senior Tour Order of Merit winner. “I’m really keen to get off to a good start this season and hopefully I can put myself in contention at La Quinta.

“It’s certainly a perfect time of the year to be playing in Benahavis and hopefully the crowds will be out in force to give the tournament a really exciting atmosphere befitting of this wonderful venue.”

It will be no easy task for Torrance though, with 27 from the top 30 players expected to play at La Quinta, a premium parkland course nestled in the hills overlooking Marbella and the Mediterranean Sea.

Entry for the Benahavis Senior Masters is free and makes an ideal opportunity to see some legends of the game up close and personal.  For more information about the Benahavis Senior Masters please visit here

Source: http://www.europeantour.com/seniortour/season=2012/tournamentid=2012844/news/newsid=158926.html#torrance+make+benahavis+return

• Philip WALTON

Philip Walton is best remembered as the man who sealed victory for Bernard Gallacher’s European team at The 1995 Ryder Cup, and the Irishman is hoping to rekindle that competitive spirit when he makes his Senior Tour debut at the Mallorca Open Senior next month.

Walton, a three time winner on The European Tour, turned 50 in March and, after seven years away from competitive golf on the continent, is primed for a return to action in the Senior Tour’s first tournament of the season at Pula Golf Club.

The Dubliner has been working tirelessly on his game and fitness over the last few months and his excitement for his Senior Tour debut is palpable.

“I’ve been a long time out of it really,” said Walton. “I just can’t wait to get going now. I’m really looking forward to it.

“It’s a second chance for me and that’s the way I’m looking at it, so I want to make the most of it. I played on the Irish PGA and Pro-Am circuit for a few years and did quite well, but I had got  used to the traveling lifestyle of The European Tour and I’ve missed it.”

One thing Walton is particularly looking forward to is reuniting with all the friends he made during his 22 year career on The European Tour, with former Ryder Cup team-mates Mark James, Costantino Rocca, Sam Torrance and Ian Woosnam all Senior Tour regulars.

 “I’m really looking forward to seeing a lot of the lads again,” he said. “It’s crazy that I haven’t seen any of them in so long, but I’m good friends with Stephen McAllister and Eamonn Darcy and a few more of the lads so it’ll be great to be back in their company week by week.

“I know it’ll be a little bit more relaxed than before, but there are some top class players out there on the Senior Tour with the likes of Peter Fowler, Barry Lane, Andrew Oldcorn – there are so many of them – so I know it won’t be easy.

“But hopefully some of the lads will be scared of me now, being one of the new fellows out there, and they know I was a tough nut back in my day. I suppose they’re all tough nuts really though, so it’s just case of cracking them.”

Mallorca is the first stop for Walton and having played there a number of times during his professional career, he knows what to expect.

Expectations of immediate personal success are being kept in check for the time being, but he feels that if he starts the season well, he could be in with a chance of beating players such as McAllister, Malcolm Mackenzie, Miguel Angel Martin and Philip Golding in what is sure to be a closely fought race for the 2012 Rookie of the Year award.

“I’ve played Pula Golf Club a few times down the years and I know it can get really tough if the wind picks up,” he said. “There are a lot of elevated greens so that’ll make it tough in windy conditions. I haven’t had great results there to be honest, but this time out it will hopefully be a bit more relaxed and I’m looking forward to it.

“It is hard to say how I’ll fare. I’ll just see how I go at the start. I think if I play well in the first couple of months, a couple of top 20 or top ten finishes to start, then I’ll have a good season, but it will probably take a few weeks. I just hope I can find that gritty competitive spirit that I had before.”

Source: http://www.europeantour.com/seniortour/season=2012/tournamentid=2012838/news/newsid=158581.html#ryder+cup+hero+walton+raring+return

England’s Mark James will face a formidable field at the first event of the 2012 Senior Tour season, the Mallorca Open Senior, where the Englishman will be bidding to claim his second Senior Tour title on Majorcan soil and third overall.

Three years ago, James, who captured 18 titles in a glittering career on The European Tour and won The Ryder Cup as a player before captaining the European Team at Brookline in 1999, prevailed in a play-off over Irishman Eamonn Darcy at the inaugural Son Gual Mallorca Senior Open, after closing with a superb round of 66.

The victory was James’ fifth since turning 50 – in addition to his two titles on the Senior Tour he has also won three times on the US Champions Tour, including the Ford Senior Players Championship – and the 58 year old has set his sights on securing his sixth win when the inaugural Mallorca Open Senior takes place from May 11-13 at Pula Golf Club, in Son Servera.

But James will meet strong opposition in the shape of the 1991 Masters Tournament winner Ian Woosnam of Wales as well as Peter Fowler and Barry Lane, who took the race to be crowned the winner of the 2011 Order of Merit down to the wire, with the Australian eventually prevailing courtesy of a superbly consistent year which yielded two victories and a further 11 top ten finishes.             

Fowler, winner of the Bad Ragaz PGA Seniors Open and the ISPS Handa Senior Masters, will now bid to become the first man since Scotland’s Sam Torrance in 2006 to retain the John Jacobs Trophy.

Fowler and Woosnam will be joined in San Servera by two men who have also lifted the John Jacobs Trophy, namely 2010 winner Boonchu Ruangkit of Thailand and England’s Carl Mason, who ended the 2003, 2004 and 2007 seasons as the Senior Tour’s Number One.    

The home challenge at Pula Golf Club will be led by José Maria Canizares, who finished runner-up behind James at the Ford Senior Players Championship, and his fellow former Ryder Cup players Manuel Piñero, José Rivero and Antonio Garrido, winner of The European Tour’s first ever event 40 years ago.

Senior Tour champions Domingo Hospital and Juan Quiros will also be in attendance, along with three-time European Tour champion Miguel Angel Martin, who will be making his Senior Tour bow.

Other debutants in the field include Ireland’s Philip Walton and Scotland’s Stephen McAllister, who between them secured five European Tour titles. Both will now be looking to follow in the footsteps of Gary Wolstenholme, winner of 2011 Rookie of the Year award after finishing fourth on the Order of Merit in his maiden Senior Tour campaign.

Designed by Europe’s current Ryder Cup Captain José María Olazábal, Pula Golf Club has hosted seven European Tour events including both editions of the Iberdrola Open, won by Ryder Cup stars Darren Clarke of Northern Ireland (2011) and Sweden’s Peter Hanson (2010).    

Source: http://www.europeantour.com/seniortour/season=2012/tournamentid=2012838/news/newsid=158133.html#james+targets+majorcan+double+pula

The Bad Ragaz PGA Seniors Open, one of the longest running tournaments on the European Senior Tour, will have an increased prize fund of €280,000 – a rise of €30,000 on 2011 – when it celebrates its 16^th edition from July 6-8.

Golf Club Bad Ragaz, in Switzerland, will host the tournament for a 16^th consecutive year, the longest unbroken run of any host venue on the Senior Tour, and the rise in prize money underlines the tournaments status as one of the leading events on the Senior Tour.

Last year’s tournament was won in dramatic fashion by Peter Fowler, who overturned Angel Fernandez’s seven shot lead to claim his second Senior Tour title, and the Australian went on to win the 2011 Order of Merit ahead of former Ryder Cup player Barry Lane.

Fernandez had fired a superb opening round nine under par 61 to equal the course record that was set in 2006 by Spaniard Juan Qurios and equalled in 2008 by Englishman Carl Mason, who is the only player to win the Bad Ragaz PGA Seniors Open on three occasions.

Andy Stubbs, Managing Director of the European Senior Tour, said: “The Bad Ragaz PGA Seniors Open has been a permanent fixture on our schedule since the inaugural event in 1997, and we are delighted to announce a significant increase in the prize fund.

“We have enjoyed a long standing relationship with Golf Club Bad Ragaz and this rise in prize money shows how the tournament continues to grow. The tournament is already one of the most popular on the Senior Tour due in no small part to the wonderful hospitality we are always afforded at Golf Club Bad Ragaz, and we are all looking forward to another superb tournament in July.”

Ralph Polligkeit, President of the Bad Ragaz PGA Seniors Open, said: “We are very pleased about the increased prize fund and we are also to announce that one of the game’s greatest players, Gary Player, will attend our Tournament at Bad Ragaz for the first time. We’re very much looking forward to it.”

Source: http://www.europeantour.com/seniortour/season=2012/tournamentid=2012854/news/newsid=157886.html#prize+fund+increase+bad+ragaz

• Bernhard LANGER

The United States Golf Association (USGA) has announced Scioto Country Club in Columbus, Ohio, as the host venue for the 2016 US Senior Open Championship, which will take place from August 11-14.

This will be the fourth USGA event held at Scioto Country Club, which will celebrate its centenary in 2016 as the first 18-hole course in central Ohio.

“The USGA is delighted to return to Scioto Country Club, especially on the occasion of the club’s centennial,” said USGA Executive Director Mike Davis.

“Scioto Country Club’s rich history is associated with two of the USGA’s greatest champions in Bob Jones and Jack Nicklaus. Central Ohio, and particularly the state capital of Columbus, will be an enthusiastic setting for conducting a successful US Senior Open in 2016.”

Scioto Country Club is one of four courses in the United States to have hosted five different Major Championships, including the 1926 US Open Championship, one of nine USGA events captured by Robert T. Jones Jnr; The 1931 Ryder Cup; the 1950 US PGA Championship; the 1968 US Amateur Championship, when Bruce Fleisher was a winner one month short of his 20th birthday; and the 1986 US Senior Open, won by Dale Douglass in his first year of eligibility.

In addition, Scioto Country Club is where Jack Nicklaus, an eight-time USGA champion – including two US Senior Opens – honed his game with legendary teaching professional Jack Grout.

“Scioto Country Club has always been a very special place to me,” said Nicklaus, who won 18 Major Championships, including four US Opens. “It is where my father first introduced me to the game of golf at age 10; where I met my first instructor, long-time friend and mentor Jack Grout; and where my career really was nurtured.

“Scioto is steeped in championship golf history, and it is something that I was indoctrinated with in my childhood. I grew up with Bob Jones as my idol, largely in part due to the wonderful stories and memories attached to his US Open victory at Scioto in 1926.

“It is personally gratifying to see another Major Championship being added to Scioto’s legacy, and as a past US Senior Open champion, I’m thrilled the USGA is bringing such a significant championship to the passionate fans of Columbus and central Ohio.”

Scioto Country Club was designed by renowned Scottish-born architect Donald Ross, and opened for play in 1916. The course was renovated by Dick Wilson in the early 1960s, and recently re-designed under the guidance of architect Michael Hurdzan and Nicklaus, who is serving as Honorary Chairman for the 2016 US Senior Open.

Scioto Country Club reopened in 2008 while preserving the original Ross routing and design, and was awarded Renovation of the Year by Golf Inc. magazine. In addition to the golf course, Scioto Country Club has acclaimed facilities and programs for aquatics, tennis and platform tennis.

“Scioto Country Club is honoured to build on its rich tournament tradition by hosting the 2016 United States Senior Open Championship,” said Scioto Country Club president Jeffrey M. Wilkins. “We are excited that the sixth Major tournament Scioto will host will take place during the year of the club’s centenary celebration. We are looking forward to working with the USGA and providing an unparalleled experience that participants and fans will cherish and that the Club, the City of Upper Arlington and Columbus will treasure as a part of golf history in our community.”

The US Senior Open Championship, which was won last year by American Olin Brown, who succeeded Bernhard Langer as champion, is open to any professional and amateur golfer who is 50 years of age with a USGA Handicap Index® not exceeding 3.4.

In 2012, the US Senior Open Championship will be played at Indianwood Golf Country Club, in Lake Orion, Michigan, from July 12-15. The 2013 championship will be played from July 11-14 at Omaha (Nebraska) Country Club; the 2014 championship will be played July 10-13 at Oak Tree National Club in Edmond, Oklahoma; and the 2015 championship is scheduled for June 25-28 at Del Paso Country Club in Sacramento, California. 

The USGA will conduct the 2016 championship in association with HNS Sports Group, a full service event management company headquartered in Dublin, Ohio.

Source: http://www.europeantour.com/seniortour/news/newsid=157592.html#scioto+country+club+host+us+senior+open

• Friends reunited, 17 years on

• Costantino ROCCA

Costantino Rocca, Italy’s most successful golfer, has been elected the new President of the PGA of Italy after a unanimous vote.