Golf Almerimar is a 27-hole golf resort designed by nine-time Major winner Gary Player and opens its doors for the first time to an international tournament by hosting the European Legends Cup. The tournament brings together 60 Legends Tour players on the Almeria coast including two-time Masters champion José María Olazábal. Three players to watch this week include:
Paul Lawrie
The 1999 Open champion was leading going into the final round at the OFX Irish Legends and the Staysure PGA Seniors Championship hosted by Colin Montgomerie, but wasn’t able to get over the line in either event – finishing tied-3rd and 2nd respectively. He’s knocking on the door and clearly playing well, so we expect him to feature highly on the leaderboard this week, especially with strong winds in the forecast for the tournament days. He hasn’t played on the Legends Tour since that disappointment in Scotland, and he’s raring to go at Golf Almerimar.
“I’m not playing a lot this year, so when I do play, I can enjoy it a bit more,” he said. “I look forward to it more having been at home and playing a little bit at home. I’m hitting balls every day even if I’m not playing competitive golf. When I’ve teed it up, I’ve played alright. I had a chance to win in Ireland and obviously the Staysure PGA Seniors in my last start on the Legends Tour.”
Lawrie bounced back from his disappointment in the Staysure PGA Seniors Championship by winning the Farmfoods British Par 3 Championship the following week: “I think it was important to get straight back in there. It was ideal that was an event that I could play because I always have a great time there. No matter what level you play at, when you don’t win, you’re going to feel it. So to go and win a few days after was magic.”
The Scot is obviously targeting a fourth career Legends Tour win after his near-misses earlier in the year: “That’s what we’re all trying to do, I’m trying to win. Just the same as all the rest of the boys. Even though I don’t play as much as some, the goal is to win. I’m not here to do anything else. If it does happen this year, that would be great.”
Joakim Haeggman
The Swede comes into this week in excellent form with three top-22 finishes in the majors this season and a win in India and tied-4th finish in France in his last two starts. That run of form has seen him climb to 4th in MCB Road to Mauritius and he’s got his sights set on continuing that move up the standings in the second half of the season.
“Kicking on is the goal right now,” said the former Ryder Cup player. “We’ve got seven events to go this year, and I’m looking forward to the challenge. The win got me right up there in the MCB Road to Mauritius. I’m one of the guys who has got the chance to win it in the back end of the year, so it’s all about the golf between now and the Christmas holidays.
“I’m on a little bit of a high, but it’s a new week and a new challenge. We’re back in Spain and I’m looking forward to it. Obviously, I’m feeling good about it, but it’s going to be tough. It’s going to be warm again – similar conditions to India. It feels like I’m well prepared for this. The course is similar to India. You need to be able to hit the fairways because you’ve got to control the ball and hit the greens because it can be tricky to chip around these grainy greens. Being on the green in the right amount of shots is going to be vital this week.
Hopefully we get some wind for the weekend, which I like to play in as well.”
Haeggman knows it’s important to relish the challenge: “I think it’s all about that. You know, you’ve got to take it on board, and you’ve got to like it the way it is. For me, wind has always been a good thing. I played well this year in the Senior Open, as well. But I think all these guys out here have the experience. We all played on the regular tours earlier on in our lives and we know what the wind is going to do.”
Peter Baker
The reigning MCB Road to Mauritius number one returned to Legends Tour action after a mid-season break with a tied-22nd finish at last week’s Legends Open de France presented by CLA, but significantly, his rounds got better each day as he shot 74-72-66. At 4th in this season’s Order of Merit, he knows he needs a big finish to the season to retain his number one spot, and this week could be critical with 825 points available for the winner.
“It all helps if you can have a good week this week,” said the man who currently sits 688 points off top spot in 5th on the MCB Road to Mauritius. “It’s a big week because it’s practically two tournaments rolled into one. Having a good week at the right time is very helpful.”
Putting was central to Baker’s success last season, and there might be a change in that area this week: “I putted really well last year and, you know, that comes and goes. You’ve got to putt well to win, so that’s something I’m working on. I might have a new putter in the bag this week – we’ll just have to wait and see. Obviously, it’s always the putter’s fault rather than the player (laughs). That’s the theory. I haven’t quite figured out which putter I’ll use yet. I’ll do a bit of practice and see which one I feel confident with. But hopefully we can have a good putting week, and a good week overall.”
Click here to see the full field and first round tee times, and to find out more about the European Legends Cup at Golf Almerimar, Andalucia, Spain.
