We return to Mauritius for the seventh edition of the MCB Tour Championship, the final event of the 2017 European Senior Tour season. With the John Jacobs Trophy still at stake, here’s all you need to know ahead of what promises to be an enthralling week at Constance Belle Mare Plage…
Rewind
England’s Barry Lane returned to the winner’s circle as he beat compatriot, and fellow former Ryder Cup player, Paul Broadhurst to the 2016 MCB Tour Championship title by a single stroke.
Lane carded opening rounds of 67-67 to join Broadhurst in a share of the lead going in to the final day, and moved three strokes clear as he made the turn in just 31 shots to get to five under par.
Colin Montgomerie, victorious Ryder Cup Captain in 2010, threatened on the final day as he carded a final round of 69, but had to settle for outright third place at three under par.
Broadhurst made a late charge, as he carded three birdies on the back nine and an eagle on the last meaning that Lane needed to finish with a birdie to avoid a play-off. After reaching the green in two, Lane had two putts for the title, and he duly converted for his fifth Senior Tour victory.
The field
Tom Lehman and Ian Woosnam, the opposing Europe and USA captains in The 2006 Ryder Cup at The K Club, headline a stellar field at Constance Belle Mare Plage, and they are joined by ten additional former Ryder Cup players.
In addition, Lehman, who won the 2011 MCB Tour Championship, is joined by four further Senior Major champions: Paul Broadhurst, Roger Chapman, David Frost and Mark McNulty.
Broadhurst, winner of the John Jacobs Trophy in 2016, is one of five Senior Tour Order of Merit winners teeing it up in Mauritius, and the Englishman is one of seven players still with a chance of taking home the coveted trophy at the close of play.
Clark Dennis leads the Order of Merit by €25,000 and knows that victory or outright second place will see him become the first American winner of the John Jacobs Trophy. He leads from Chris Williams, winner of the Sharjah Senior Golf Masters presented by Shurooq, and Philip Golding, victorious at both the Swiss Seniors Open and Travis Perkins Masters.
Magnus P Atlevi, Peter Fowler, Lane and Broadhurst, will also arrive in Mauritius with the opportunity of winning the John Jacobs Trophy. They would have to win the MCB Tour Championship and hope that other permutations go their way.
The course
Designed by seven-time European Tour winner, and former Senior Tour player, Hugh Baoicchi, the Legend Course at Constance Belle Mare Plage is a test fitting of the Senior Tour’s final event of the season.
At just over 6,600 yards, the course is set within a former hunting reserve and a large part of the course was renovated in 2016. The first, second, fourth, ninth and 18thholes were remodelled, reshaped and raised, allowing new irrigation systems to be put in place and introducing water features on every hole on the course.
The signature hole is the par three 17th, which is played over a bay with spectacular views of the Indian Ocean. At 166-yards, the green is tricky and well-guarded by bunkers.
