Ahead of the sixth European Senior Tour event of the 2017 season, here is all you need to know before the WINSTONgolf Senior Open tees off…
Rewind
In 2016, Andrew Oldcorn secured his second Senior Tour title with a play-off victory over Paul Broadhurst on the second extra hole.
Broadhurst set a new course record with his final round of 67, forcing Oldcorn to make a birdie putt on the last hole to force a play-off.
Nothing could separate the two players on the first extra hole but, on the second, Broadhurst found a fairway bunker with his drive forcing a tricky second shot. He failed to find the green with his third shot, giving Oldcorn two putts to take home the title.
The field
Paul McGinley, Captain of Europe’s 2014 Ryder Cup team, will be making his European Senior Tour debut this week after confirming he will tee it up at WINSTONgolf. The Irishman, a four-time European Tour winner, has amassed career earnings of more than €11 million and is one of 13 former Ryder Cup players in the field.
Sam Torrance, Captain of the 2002 Ryder Cup side, will make his first appearance of the season and will be joined in the field by Phillip Price, who made his Ryder Cup debut that year. The Welshman secured a crucial point for Europe after beating then World Number Two Phil Mickelson in the Sunday singles at The Belfry.
Philip Golding, Santiago Luna and Chris Williams, winners on the Senior Tour so far this year, are also in the 60-man field.
The course
The unique inland ‘links’ course, on which Oldcorn secured victory, will be used for the WINSTONgolf Senior Open for the second year in a row.
Although not a true links course, it retains many of the essential elements of a links course with rolling fairways and greens featuring deep swales and subtle burrows.
Sitting 50 kilometres from the coast, wind is less of a factor, however, course management is essential on this layout as there are plenty of pitfalls awaiting the 54-man field.
The course was voted the ‘Best New Course in Germany’ in 2011 by Golf Magazin, and was named ‘Best Course in Germany’ in the 2014 edition of Golf Journal.
