Like the rest of the world-class field assembled at Royal Porthcawl for this week’s Senior Open Championship Presented by Rolex, home favourite Ian Woosnam is hugely impressed by the links setup which will host Wales’ first Senior Major Championship.
The Welshman has enjoyed an illustrious career, winning 29 times on the European Tour and four times on the European Senior Tour.
The 56 year old famously won the 1991 Masters Tournament, and would love to add another of golf’s biggest prizes to his portfolio, on a course he clearly rates highly.
“It would be nice to give the Welsh fans another good performance and there’d be nothing better than being able to hold that trophy on Sunday,” said Woosnam. “I had a practice round yesterday and I think Royal Porthcawl is in the best shape I've ever seen it.
“Everybody who has been involved in setting this up so well has done a fantastic job. It's a great showcase for Welsh golf. With the weather being perfect up until now it really is a case of so far, so good.”
Woosnam isn’t the first to praise the coastal Glamorgan venue this week, with the likes of Tom Watson and Colin Montgomerie also speaking very highly of the challenging course.
A good spell of weather in south Wales, with plenty of sun seen in these parts recently, means the fairways are hard and the views on offer from the course are even better than usual.
“I really enjoyed being out there yesterday and seeing the coastal views on offer from every hole,” he said. “It’s great to see Tom Watson talking so highly of the course as well, so there’s a real positive feeling about the place at the moment.”
Another player who will receive plenty of support this week at Royal Porthcawl is the in-form Mark Mouland.
The Welshman, who has two European Tour titles to his name and one European Senior Tour crown, is delighted to be in Royal Porthcawl competing against so many world-class players.
“It's just fantastic for Wales, said Mouland. “We have some really good courses, this being one of them, and I know everybody is looking forward to it.
“Everybody's here. (Bernhard) Langer's killing it; Monty’s (Colin Montgomerie) is killing it as well. (Miguel Ángel) Jiménez is here and he's probably favourite on paper, but it will be a testing week for everyone. It’s just a fantastic field.”
Although the home fans will be delighted to see Watson, Montgomerie and Fred Couples in action, nothing would draw a louder cheer than a home win on Sunday.
“Woosie (Ian Woosnam) is playing well. He's obviously been our best player for many years, and he still plays so well and he's really keen still. I know he’s definitely keen to win this one.
“As for myself, I'm playing well also and I know the course from years gone by. I've had a few practice rounds and the course is benign at the moment. No wind, the rough's low and I expect the scoring to be pretty low.”
