The Oxford English Dictionary, that esteemed body of correctness, defines an era as ‘a period marked by the prevalence of some particular state of things’. Apply this definition to the previous 15 years of the European Seniors Tour and two distinct eras reveal themselves: the late 1990s dominated by Tommy Horton; and the rise to prominence of Carl Mason and Sam Torrance in the new century.
Mason topped the Order of Merit in 2003 and 2004 and has finished runner-up in both the following years. The reason he has not been able to close on Horton’s record haul of five Order of Merit wins is simple: the form of one Samuel Robert Torrance OBE.
In the space of 36 events spanning three and a half years on the European Seniors Tour, the 2002 winning Ryder Cup Captain has collected eight tournament victories and has finished inside the top ten a further 19 times.
Three of the wins came in 2005 when Torrance collected his first John Jacobs Trophy, courtesy of finishing €20,307 (£13,717) ahead of Mason. In 2006, he won four times and was confirmed as the 2006 Number One with record earnings of €347,525 (£232,250) - €79,072 (£52,843) clear of Mason.
“Winning back-to-back Order of Merits is a tremendous achievement and something Carl knows all about. It is something I strived for all year. I played in nearly every event and showed how much I wanted this,” said Torrance.
“Tommy’s record of five is something else to strive for and I would love to do it. It will be a challenge to win it again, especially as we have a number of good players reaching 50, but I think I will be up for it. My swing will last forever and I still have a strong will to win, so it’s a question of my body holding up.”
Three of European golf’s greatest players – Spain’s Seve Ballesteros, England’s Nick Faldo and Germany’s Bernhard Langer, who between them have won a total of 13 Major Championships – all celebrate their 50th birthdays in 2007 and become eligible to play on the European Seniors Tour, while Torrance is also aware of the emerging challenge from within the current ranks, evidenced by the number of first-time winners this year.
Gordon J Brand of England, Guillermo Encina of Chile, Juan Quiros of Spain, American Loren Roberts, José Rivero of Spain and Japan’s Katsuyoshi Tomori – six men who also underline the international nature of the Tour - all experienced the joy of securing their maiden titles in 2006.
In fact it was Rivero, a member of Europe’s Ryder Cup-winning Teams in 1985 and 1987, who got the season off to an enthralling start by defeating England’s David J Russell at the fourth hole of a sudden-death play-off to capture the DGM Barbados Open at Royal Westmoreland Golf Club, Barbados, after both men had finished the 54 holes locked at nine under par 207.
Torrance also got into the winning act early on, closing with a faultless five under par 67 to capture the Sharp Italian Seniors Open by four strokes from Eamonn Darcy, who was runner-up for a second successive year.
Beaten in a play-off by Frenchman Gery Watine at Circolo Golf Venezia in 2005, this time around the Irishman faded in regulation play and a final round 71 left him four adrift of Torrance’s winning aggregate of 11 under par 205.
The following week saw 25 members of the European Seniors Tour cross the Atlantic for the 67th US Senior PGA Championship, played in difficult windy conditions at Oak Tree Golf Club, Edmond, Oklahoma, USA.
Rivero, Tomori and Torrance all featured prominently and, indeed, Tomori finished in seventh place after an impressive final round 67, before Jay Haas went on to defeat fellow American Brad Bryant in a play-off to secure the first prize.
Torrance transported his form straight back across the Atlantic Ocean to capture the AIB Irish Seniors Open, in association with Greenstar and Fáilte Ireland, following a four-man play-off at the Sheraton Fota Island Golf Resort and Spa in Cork.
Having won the Irish Open on The European Tour in 1981 and 1995, the Scot claimed the Seniors version in some style by hitting his 150 yard approach to within 14 feet of the flag on the second extra hole and converting the eagle putt to defeat American Jerry Bruner, who could only manage a birdie four.
Earlier, Australia’s Stewart Ginn and Encina had dropped out on the first extra hole after failing to match the birdies carded by the other two. The four had all finished the tournament locked at six under par 207.
Encina quickly made amends by producing a brilliant final round of six under par 66 to seal his maiden Seniors title at the Irvine Whitlock Seniors Classic. The smooth-swinging South American compiled a seven under par total of 209 to finish three clear of New Zealand’s Simon Owen and Americans Rex Caldwell and Alan Tapie at La Moye Golf Club, Jersey.
The Tour then moved to Wales for the lucrative FIRSTPLUS Wales Seniors Open at the Vale Hotel, Golf and Spa Resort near Cardiff and ultimately it was Rivero who coped best with the tricky, sun-baked Wales National Course. The Spaniard started the final round six shots back but a birdie at the 54th hole saw him finish on four under par 212 and snatch a dramatic one shot victory over Quiros, Russell, Torrance and Watine.
However, the best come-from-behind victory of the season came from Giuseppe Cali, who made up a seven stroke deficit in the final round of the Bendinat London Seniors Masters at The London Golf Club, Kent, England.
The Italian carded a five under par 67 to tie Delroy Cambridge on six under par 210, before defeating the Jamaican at the fifth play-off hole on the Jack Nicklaus-designed Heritage Course.
England’s Mark James produced three successive under par rounds at the tough Prairie Dunes Country Club in Hutchinson, Kansas, USA, the following week to go into the final round of the US Senior Open with a chance of victory. However, The 1999 Ryder Cup Captain could only manage a 75 on Sunday to finish in 14th place, as Allen Doyle of the United States retained the title with a four round total of eight under 272.
Next up was the Tour’s biggest event of the season and another Major Championship, The Senior British Open Championship, presented by Aberdeen Asset Management.
The spectacular Westin Turnberry Resort in Scotland hosted the world’s best senior golfers and after four days of memorable competition - during which the legendary Gary Player beat his age with a first round 69 and Eduardo Romero, one of four Argentine members of the European Seniors Tour, reeled off a scintillating seven under par 63 - Loren Roberts captured the €231,225 (£157,799) first prize and the replica Claret Jug after defeating Romero at the first play-off hole.
Roberts and Romero had finished the four rounds tied at six under par 274, one ahead of American Dick Mast with his fellow countryman Craig Stadler, the 1982 Masters Tournament Champion, in fourth place.
The runners-up finish boosted Romero’s confidence and the following week he hit top spot with a successful defence of the Wentworth Senior Masters at Wentworth Club, Surrey, England, where he closed with a round of 70 for a winning nine under par total of 207, two better than Horacio Carbonetti of Argentina and Torrance in second place.
From England the players flew to Switzerland for the ever popular Bad Ragaz PGA Seniors Open at Golf Club Bad Ragaz, where Quiros registered his maiden victory in only his seventh start on the European Seniors Tour. The Spaniard, aided by the altitude of the Alps, produced the lowest 18 hole score of the year with a nine under par second round 61 en route to a 14 under par total 196 and a two stroke win over Mason.
The following week, Tomori joined the club of first-time winners with victory at Helsingör Golf Club, Denmark, in the Scandinavian Senior Open, following in the footsteps of Seiji Ebihara, Noboru Sugai and Dragon Taki by becoming the fourth Japanese winner in the history of the European Seniors Tour.
Tomori closed with a brilliant 66 to complete a winning 54 hole total of 14 under par 199, two clear of Rivero and Darcy, the latter registering his seventh runners-up finish as his search for that elusive first win continued.
Back-to-back triumphs then followed for Torrance in the PGA Seniors Championship at The Stoke By Nayland Golf Club, Suffolk, England, where he finished three ahead of Argentine Luis Carbonetti on 20 under par 268, and the Charles Church Scottish Seniors Open at the Marriott Dalmahoy Hotel & Country Club, Midlothian, Scotland, where his three under par total of 213 beat fellow Scot Bill Longmuir by a shot.
Torrance made up seven shots in 36 holes on Dalmahoy’s revamped East Course to capture his fourth title of the season and the 40th of his professional career: yet another landmark in a truly memorable season for the man from Largs.
The rest of the year was defined by the performances of Carl Mason, who turned around an indifferent season by winning the European Senior Masters on the Duke’s Course, Woburn Golf Club, Bedfordshire, England, The Midas Group English Seniors Open at St Mellion International, Saltash, Cornwall, England, and the Estoril Senior Open of Portugal at Quinta da Marinha Oitavos Golfe, Portugal.
“The victory in the European Senior Masters changed my year and I became much more confident,” said the 53 year old, whose three round total of seven under 209 was two better than Horacio Carbonetti in second place. “Throughout my career I have always wanted to win at one of the great courses like Woburn.”
At St Mellion, Mason carded a battling final round 71 to hold off a charging Ginn, the Australian closing with a 67 to finish one adrift of the Englishman’s four under par total of 212. Mason’s win completed a unique hat-trick in the event following his triumphs at Hillside Golf Club in 2003 and Formby Hall Golf Club in 2004. It also thrust Mason into contention for the Order of Merit, a position he improved the following week with a runner-up finish behind Brand in the OKI Castellón Open de España Senior at Sergio Garcia’s home course of Club de Campo del Mediterráneo, Spain.
Brand closed with a level par 72 to hold off a star-studded field, which included two-time Open Champion Greg Norman, to secure his maiden Seniors title with a winning total of 13 under par 203.
The in-form Mason was back on top in the Estoril Seniors Open of Portugal the following week, where he collected his third title in four events thanks to a brilliant final day display in atrocious weather conditions.
After entering the back nine trailing by a stroke, Mason produced three birdies in torrential rain to win by four from Torrance and Ginn, the latter achieving his eighth top ten of the year. Mason finished with a level par 71 for a winning aggregate of nine under par 204 and his 14th title in less than four years on the European Seniors Tour.
Then it was off to Riffa Views in Bahrain for the traditional climax, the Arcapita Seniors Tour Championship, open to the leading 42 players on the Order of Merit. Des Smyth flew over from America to defend the title, but Gordon J Brand came through the field with a superb six under par last round 66 then beat Adan Sowa, the overnight leader, at the third extra hole. Brand’s win lifted him to fourth place in The European Seniors Tour Order of Merit with w196,002 which meant that the final top four - Torrance, Mason, Rivero and Brand - had between them earned w1,045,353.
Steven Franklin
Reproduced by kind permission of The European Tour Yearbook which can be purchased at europeantourshop.net
