Barry Lane is looking forward to returning to where he fell in love with the game of golf, as the Englishman tees it up in this week’s Senior Open Championship Presented by Rolex at Sunningdale Golf Club, the venue where he caddied as a youngster.
The four time Senior Tour winner grew up in nearby Bracknell, and as a boy spent his summers caddying and playing at the famous Surrey venue – which is hosting the Senior Major for the first time since 2009.
Having turned 50 in 2010, this is the first time Lane will take on the course he loves so dearly in his bid to claim a first Major title.
He is certainly in the right vein of form to be earmarked as one of the favourites this week, having finished in the top five in three of the last four Senior Opens, while a runner-up finish at the WINSTONgolf Open two weeks ago was the culmination of a strong run of results in the 2015 season.
“I love Sunnigdale so I’m looking forward to it,” said Lane, who won five European Tour events in 684 starts – putting behind only Sam Torrance on the all-time list of starts. “I used to caddie there when I was a kid and I played the Sunningdale Foursomes this year with Laura Davies too.
“It’s pretty much where it all began for me. I used to caddie there and then in the afternoon at around four o’clock we were allowed to go out and play. So we’d catch the train from Bracknell and go out and play 18 or 36 holes in the evening all summer. It was perfect.
“Whether you know the course or not you still have to play well there, if you’re not playing well it won’t work.
“I played really well at the US Senior Open, played lovely all week and didn’t really get much out of it. I was sick in Switzerland but I shot 69, 68 and 66 then finished well in Germany so it’s momentum, I’m very happy with where my game’s at.
“I didn’t play competitively for six months and then finished 22nd in the US Senior PGA Championship, my first event out, which I was very happy with.
“I was playing alright in the first few events but not putting well and then I started to get it going, got a bit of a run of tournaments and started playing good stuff. Everything is good."
Having come close on so many occasions in this event, Lane is now hoping he can break his Major duck but he believes the old-fashioned nature of the golf course may play into the hands of some of the bigger hitters on tour.
“I finished third twice in the last three years and finished fifth the year before that so I love these courses that we play the Senior Open on."
“I’ve been in contention twice but I’m not sure Sunningdale is as much of a leveller as the links courses, because it’s not very long. It’s anybody’s this week really.
“You’ve got to look at the long players and the likes of Montgomerie and Langer but it’s down to putting and hitting the ball in the right spots.”
Other home favourites in the field include Sir Nick Faldo, fresh from playing his final Open Championship at St Andrews last week, and two-time Senior Major winner Roger Chapman, who is yet to win of the big four on British soil.
Paul Wesselingh, meanwhile, will be hoping to improve on his performances at the Senior Open but the eight-time Senior Tour winner has made steady improvements in each of the last three seasons – finishing 47th in 2012, 27th in 2013 and 20th in 2014.
