Bernhard Langer heads home to Germany this week hoping to record his sixth victory of the season at the WINSTONgolf Senior Open in Vorbeck.
The 57 year old German has been in irresistible form since winning on his first start of this season at the Mitsubishi Electric Championship in Hawaii on the US Champions Tour, and has enjoyed a healthy battle with former Ryder Cup colleague, Colin Montgomerie.
The Champions Tour is traditionally dominated by American golfers, but this year the top of the money list has taken on a distinctly European hue, with Langer leading the way ahead of his 51 year-old Scottish rival.
The reverse is the case on the European Senior Tour, where Montgomerie currently has a sizeable lead over the German at the top of the Order of Merit.
There is little to choose between the two golfers at the moment, but what is much more certain is they are currently dominating Senior golf on both sides of the Atlantic, and with Miguel Angel Jiménez also having won on his Champions Tour debut at the Greater Gwinnett Championship, the European Senior scene is undoubtedly stronger than it has ever been before.
Langer flies home to Germany having won five times this season, including The Senior Open Championship Presented by Rolex at Royal Porthcawl, where he finished 13 shots ahead of Montgomerie with a performance the Scot described as “one of the greatest in the history of golf.” He currently leads the Champions Tour money list with earnings of $2,704,014 and is second to Montgomerie on the European Senior Tour Order of Merit, having won €339,421 to date.
Montgomerie has won one less tournament than Langer this season, but two of those victories have come at Majors compared to Langer’s one. That run started with victory at the US Senior PGA Championship presented by KitchenAid and continued at the US Senior Open, before he returned to Europe to claim back-to-back successes at the Travis Perkins Masters and the Russian Open Golf Championship (Senior).
Heading into the last third of the season Montgomerie has amassed a record €607,476 on the European Senior Tour, while his earnings in America currently stand at $1,865,121 from four less starts than his German rival.
Andy Stubbs, Managing Director of the European Senior Tour, said: “Bernhard Langer and Colin Montgomerie have both had outstanding years this season, and with Miguel Angel Jiménez winning on his first showing on the Champions Tour this year, European players could conceivably dominate Senior golf in the foreseeable future. This is also a trend which is likely to continue with former Ryder Cup player, Jesper Parnevik, turning 50 next year and Ryder Cup captains past and present José María Olazábal and Paul McGinley, coming on board the following year.”
Defending champion is Scotland’s Gordon Brand Jnr, who held off a stunning final day challenge from Andrew Oldcorn to win the title by one shot.
Oldcorn surged through the field with a round of 61, but former Ryder Cup player Brand Jnr held firm with a closing 68 to claim his second Senior Tour win.
