Peter Baker has the opportunity to clinch the MCB Road to Mauritius title at the Legend’s Tour’s first ever visit to the beautiful country of Vietnam – the penultimate event of the season – as he heads a field of 60 players that also includes former US Open champion Michael Campbell and last year’s Order of Merit number one James Kingston.
Former Ryder Cup player Baker has had an incredible season with three wins at the Irish Legends, the JCB Championship and the flagship Staysure PGA Seniors Championship, plus two runners-up finishes, a 3rd, a 5th and a 6th.
“Winning the MCB Road to Mauritius is the end game, but I want to do well in this tournament and not look too far ahead. I know it’s close, but I really want to have a good tournament this week and see what happens. This is a big event for us in its own right. I’ve not really done that great in Asia before, so it would be nice to have a really good week and get the most out of it.”
On potentially sealing the MCB Road to Mauritus title, he added: “I’d be delighted. It’s not something I thought of at the beginning of the year, so it would be a big bonus.”
Adilson da Silva is the only player who can catch Baker at the top of the MCB Road to Mauritius, but he needs a minimum of a top-5 finish and to finish ahead of the Englishman this week in Vietnam to extend the race to next week’s season-ending MCB Tour Championship – Mauritius.
The Brazilian has also notched an impressive three wins this year, along with one runner-up finish, two 4th place finishes and a 6th. Interestingly, all three of his titles have come at tight, tree-lined layouts – similar visually to the challenge in Vietnam, although this course will play longer than many this year.
“It’s been an amazing year for me,” says last year’s Barry Lane Rookie of the Year winner. “I’ve been very fortunate this year. I’ve been working really hard trying to stay calm and stay present, and it’s definitely been paying off.
“I’ve got to take my hat off to Peter. He’s an amazing player and he’s been playing so well. The good thing is it makes me work harder. It’s never going to be easy, so him playing well makes me try to be better and work harder.”
Aside from the battle at the top, Scott Hend will be looking for another big performance after winning on his Legends Tour debut at the WINSTONgolf Senior Open in Germany in mid-September. The Australian hasn’t teed it up on the Legends Tour since then – as he still plays on the Asian Tour as well – but he boasts a brilliant record in Asia with 10 wins on the continent on the DP World and Asian Tours.
Hend has spoken about his comfort levels in Vietnam: “The conditions, the grass types and the way the greens are is very similar to growing up in Australia, so for me to come and play in Asia isn’t much of a change. Whereas when I go to Europe, I struggle with a few of the grasses, so coming here feels like I’m at home.
“It’s quite windy here and it’s hard to judge the wind because we have the mountains around the course and sometimes it swirls. It’s a challenge to pick the clubs and the lines off the tee. Whoever can handle the wind and adjust their ball flight is going to be right up there.”
The course measures 6,795 yards, and it’s a par 71, featuring five par-3s, four par-5s and nine par-4s. The layout is extremely undulating and surrounded by some very dense forest areas that are rich with stunning local wildlife. The players will also have to contend with the very grainy paspalum grass.
In a ground-breaking move for the Legends Tour, the three days of action will be broadcast live in the local area, in association with VTV. The usual highlights show is also being produced for the rest of the world.
Visit www.legendstour.com to see the full list of tee times, keep up to date with the leaderboard and find out more about the Vinpearl DIC Legends Vietnam at Vinpearl Resort Nha Trang.
