The European Senior Masters has announced Farmfoods as title sponsor for this year's event.
The inaugural event will be known as the Farmfoods European Senior Masters, with former Ryder Cup player Peter Baker acting as tournament host as he makes his debut on the European Senior Tour.
Taking place from October 19-22, 2017, Baker will tee it up alongside his Senior Tour colleagues at Forest of Arden Marriott Hotel & Country Club, Birmingham, which is the penultimate event on this year’s schedule. A testing course which will challenge all professionals, rewarding the winner with an impressive €50,000, as part of the total €200,000 prize fund.
Farmfoods will bring their event sponsorship experience to the table, having headline sponsored the British Par 3 Championship for several years, as well as sponsoring The 1999 Open Championship winner Paul Lawrie and 2016 Senior Open Championship winner Paul Broadhurst.
Farmfoods chairman Eric Herd said: “We are delighted to expand our sponsorship portfolio by partnering with the European Senior Tour for the European Senior Masters.
“We’ve sponsored the Farmfoods British Par 3 Championship for a number of years and will enjoy expanding our association with the game of golf with this brand-new event.
The Farmfoods European Senior Masters is a welcome addition to the Tour schedule and is one of three events held in England in 2017. Tournament host and two-time European Tour winner Peter Baker, will be making his Senior Tour debut with his 50th birthday on October 7 just a couple of weeks before the event.
Baker said: “I’m excited to be hosting the very first European Senior Masters, it’ll be a great way to celebrate my debut on the European Senior Tour.
“The Forest of Arden is a great venue with fantastic facilities, it’s going to be a brilliant weekend full of fun for fans of all ages.
“I’m really excited to be playing competitive golf against some friends and familiar faces I’ve battled with over the years.”
Paul Broadhurst, 2016 Senior Tour Order of Merit winner, will be looking to continue his fine form from last year at the Forest of Arden in October. The chasing pack won’t be too far behind either with the likes of Masters winner Ian Woosnam OBE, former Ryder Cup star Jarmo Sandelin, three-time European Senior Tour winner Gary Wolstenholme MBE and Barry Lane, previous winner of the British Masters at the Forest of Arden, among them.
David MacLaren, head of the European Senior Tour, said: “We are delighted to add the European Senior Masters to the schedule. It’s our ambition to continue to add events to the schedule and this is another step in the right direction.
“We’d also like to thank Farmfoods for supporting the event as headline sponsor.”
The Forest of Arden is a fitting stage to host such an illustrious event. With its two courses, the Arden (the Championship course) and the Aylesford, it has hosted the British Masters five times, with European Senior Tour regular Barry Lane triumphing by three strokes in 2004. Other past winners include Colin Montgomerie and 2018 European Ryder Cup Captain Thomas Bjørn.
To register for free tickets to the European Senior Masters, clickhere.
