By Will Pearson, europeantour.com
in St Andrews
He might have been born and raised in England, but Bill Longmuir still considers himself a proud Scot and is hungry for more success in his native land when the SSE Scottish Senior Open returns to the Home of Golf this week.
Longmuir, an eight-time European Senior Tour champion, is one of seven Scots in the strong field assembled at stunning Fairmont St Andrews for the 22nd edition of the prestigious tournament, as Gordon Brand Jr, Ross Drummond, Kenny Hutton and Stephen McAllister, Andrew Oldcorn and Ryder Cup legend Sam Torrance complete a healthy home contingent.
The 61 year old, who was born to Scottish parents but raised in Essex, has always regarded himself as a Scotsman at heart, a fact that made his victory in the Scottish Senior Open a decade ago all the sweeter.
“My goodness, hasn’t time flown by,” said Longmuir, who triumphed in the 2004 edition of the tournament, held at The Roxburghe Hotel & Golf Course in Carnoustie. “But great memories all the same. I’m a Scotsman by blood and I consider it a great honour to have been the Scottish Senior Open champion that year and it meant a lot because it’s a special event for me.
“Every year I come I know all my family that live up here watch out for me and it’s a huge event. It’s always going to be a permanent fixture on my calendar for as long as I can play and it’s always an event I dearly want to play well in.”
Longmuir retains a long affinity for links golf, and for St Andrews in general, having sculpted some of the most memorable moments of his European Tour career in the golfing mecca on the east coast of Scotland.
In 1979, he led after the first round at The Open Championship at Royal Lytham following a first-round 65 as Seve Ballesteros stormed to his maiden Major win, while five years later, here in St Andrews, he also held a share of the lead following the opening 18 holes before, once again, curiously, Señor Ballesteros returned victorious.
“Whenever I’m in town I am recognised for leading The Open more so than anything I’ve ever done anywhere else in golf!” Longmuir continued. “They are great memories, especially the latter having been on the Old Course, because the history of the game is here in St Andrews.
“It’s wonderful to get that buzz in town. Everyone is just living and enjoying the atmosphere of what golf has created here – it’s fabulous.”
This is the sixth successive Scottish Senior Open to be played on the Sam Torrance-designed Championship Course at the spectacular Fairmont St Andrews Resort, where Spaniard Santiago Luna defends after capturing his maiden Senior Tour title here 12 months ago, and it is a fitting place to launch what is a crucial segment of the season.
After the recent Senior Majors, including last month’s Senior Open Championship Presented by Rolex, this week marks the first in a run of eight tournaments in nine weeks across seven different countries as the race for the John Jacobs Trophy picks up pace.
“I consider this almost the start of the season now,” Longmuir reflected. “We are going into a strong run of tournaments now so it will be nice to get back into the competitive spirit of playing and that starts right here this week in Scotand.
“I’m looking forward to the challenge certainly. It’s been damp so the course is a bit softer than you would usually expect so hopefully it can dry up and become a little fierier and more linksy because that’s what golf is all about in places like St Andrews.
“That, and this wind, of course…”
