On behalf of The Legends Tour, along with our partners from The R&A and Rolex, it is my honour to welcome you to Sunningdale Golf Club for The Senior Open Presented by Rolex.
After last year’s Championship was frustratingly cancelled due to the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, much has changed since Bernhard Langer claimed his fourth Senior Open title at Royal Lytham & St Annes in 2019.
Over-50s golf in Europe looks very different now with the creation of the Legends Tour following the ground-breaking joint venture between the European Tour and Ryan Howsam, the founder and Group CEO of Staysure.
It is an exciting time for senior golf, with legends of the game becoming the face of our Tour and several of the biggest names in the game’s history turning 50, such as 2018 Ryder Cup Captain Thomas Bjørn, who made his Legends Tour debut last month, and Alex Cejka, who has enjoyed an incredible start to his over-50s career with victory at the KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship.
Reigning Champion Bernhard Langer will bid to make history with a fifth Senior Open trophy this year against an incredibly strong field of Major Champions and Ryder Cup stars, including Bjørn and Robert Karlsson, who both make their Senior Open debuts at Sunningdale Golf Club.
Some of the greatest names to ever tee it up have their names etched into The Senior Open Trophy, including three-time champions Gary Player and Tom Watson, back-to-back winners Christy O’Connor Jnr and Brian Barnes, and The Senior Open’s first winner, Neil Coles in 1987.
We have just started a new era in the history of the Legends Tour and this Championship starts a run of events which put iconic names at the forefront of our tournaments, with 2014 Ryder Cup Captain Paul McGinley hosting an event in Ireland next month, and 1999 Open Champion Paul Lawrie welcoming us to Aberdeen for the Scottish Senior Open in September.
It would be remiss of me not to thank PGA TOUR Champions for their collaboration in helping to administer an overseas qualifier for the first time in the Championship’s history to enable overseas players the opportunity to earn a spot in the field while minimising international travel.
My thanks also go to The R&A for their continued support of this Championship and also to Sunningdale Golf Club, who finally get to host this event for the third time after last year’s cancellation.
I reserve my final thanks for the Championship’s presenting sponsor Rolex for their continued support not only of this event, but their support of the European Tour, the Legends Tour and the game of golf.
I must also mention the staff, volunteers and marshals who put an incredible amount of effort into this event to make it what it is.
Enjoy the week.
Mark Aspland
Head of the Legends Tour
