Bruce Vaughan knows that he’s not in Kansas anymore but as the former Senior Open champion makes a rare European appearance at the Casa Serena Open this week, he is hoping that the surroundings of Kutná Hora can inspire a return to his Major-winning form.
His name may not be the first to jump out of the draw sheet at the Casa Serena Open, with players such as Mark James, Carl Mason, Sam Torrance and Ian Woosnam in attendance, but Vaughan holds a significant advantage all of those golf superstars.
He is the only one to have won a Senior Open Championship trophy, having come out of nowhere in 2008 to beat Greg Norman and Bernhard Langer to the title via a sudden death play-off win over compatriot John Cook at Royal Troon.
The American’s only appearances in Europe since have been to fly to Britain for the prestigious Senior Major. That was, until, he received the invite to do a stint in Europe, starting with this week’s Casa Serena Open followed by next week’s Cannes Mougins Masters.
“I've always wanted to come over here to see this part of the world,” said Vaughan. “Coming from Kansas, this isn’t quite home.
“I saw Marc Farry at the Senior Open and he asked me to come over for the Cannes Mougins Masters and I said, ‘Yeah, I’d love to’, so I got invites for Casa Serena and next week’s event and I'm looking forward to it. It’s beautiful here in Kutná Hora and I’ve been pleasantly surprised by the golf course.”
It’s been a little bit of a journey into the unknown for the 55 year old, but he has been enjoying every minute of his time in the Czech Republic and he has even let his imagination run a little wild.
“I've never been anywhere! I’d only been to the Senior Open, and I've always believed that people need to get out, especially Americans because for the most part they only understand their own bubble,” he continued.
“Golf is global and to get an opportunity to see the country and play golf, you can’t turn it down. Kutná Hora is an unbelievable town. I've never seen this kind of place, so you don’t come with any perceptions.
"For people in Kansas, Oklahoma is a big trip! The road on the way here was so tight, I thought it looked like a James Bond movie or something!”
After a disappointing time of it recently, Vaughan is hoping that the stark change in surroundings can inspire him to some magic and is hopeful when pushed on his chances of winning this week.
“You never know,” he replied. “It’s all about putting. Everybody can hit the ball pretty well, it’s the guys making the most putts that will last the pace.”
While it may be more a case of digging his heels rather than clicking his heels amongst the star-studded field in Casa Serena, Vaughan is hoping that somewhere over the rainbow is a second career win.
