As the European Senior Tour celebrates its 20th season, the depth in talent now competing for the top honours has been highlighted by the trend for first time winners established so far in 2011.
For the first time in Senior Tour history the first five events of the season have been won by maiden winners, with Peter Senior, Massy Kuramoto, David Frost, Chris Williams and Sandy Lyle all joining the list of Senior Tour champions.
Already that is half the number of new winners in 2010, when Kevin Spurgeon, Boonchu Ruangkit, Tom Lehman, Gordon Brand Jnr, Marc Farry, David J Russell, George Ryall, Barry Lane, Gary Wolstenholme and Domingo Hospital earned their first titles.
Such is the standard on the Senior Tour that two-time Major champion Lyle’s victory in the ISPS Handa Senior World Championship presented by Mission Hills China – his first anywhere since 1992 - came four seasons into his Senior Tour career. Similarly Williams finally achieved his maiden Senior Tour title in the Aberdeen Brunei Senior Masters presented by The Stapleford Forum after finishing runner-up three times in two seasons and recording 12 top ten finishes last year – the most of any player.
The competition will be further swelled with the influx of rookies joining the Senior Tour over the forthcoming months, all hungry for a maiden victory of their own. Among the new crop will be former European Tour champions Anders Forsbrand, Mark Mouland, Paul Curry and Ross McFarlane, who will follow Andrew Sherborne onto the Senior Tour after the Englishman made his debut in the ISPS Handa Senior Masters presented by Mission Hills China earlier this month, finishing in a respectable share of 16th place.
Next on the radar for the Senior Tour players is a chance to win a maiden Senior Major in the US Senior PGA Championship which takes place at Valhalla Golf Club in Kentucky – host venue of The 2008 Ryder Cup – from May 26-29.
