The Staysure Tour travels to Moscow for the VTB Russian Open Golf Championship (Senior) this week and here’s five things to know about a tournament which marks the halfway stage on the Staysure Tour’s International Schedule.
The resort
Moscow Country Club boasts Russia’s first Championship golf course, designed by renowned architect Robert Trent Jones II. The Country Club is nestled within dense forest in a tranquil setting close to Moscow. In addition to golf, Moscow Country Club features a five-star hotel, cottages and townhouses to rent throughout the year, as well as a choice of eight restaurants for guests to enjoy. The venue recently joined European Tour Properties’ world class portfolio of destinations, increasing their network to 28 venues across three continents.
On the tee
A strong field will tee it up in Russia this week, headed by 1989 European Tour Number One Ronan Rafferty. The Northern Irishman was a seven-time winner on the European Tour during a distinguished career and joined the over-50s ranks in 2014. Rafferty will be joined in Russia by two-time Staysure Tour winner Chris Williams, five-time winner Peter Fowler and last month’s WINSTONgolf Senior Open winner Stephen Dodd, among others.
Back-to-back aspirations
After winning the Staysure PGA Seniors Championship at London Golf Club, Philip Golding will bid to become the first back-to-back winner on the Staysure Tour since Fowler in 2015. The Australian won the Acorn Jersey Open in June 2015 before following it up with victory at the ISPS Handa PGA Seniors Championship the following week. Golding, a two-time winner last year, secured his fifth Staysure Tour victory at the Staysure PGA Seniors Championship thanks to a superb closing 63, helping him to finish two shots clear of runner-up Magnus P Atlevi.
Flashback
The last Staysure Tour event to be held on Russian soil was the 2014 Russian Open Golf Championship (Senior), which was won by 2010 European Ryder Cup Captain Colin Montgomerie. The tournament was hosted by Moscow Country Club, under its old muse of Le Meridien Moscow CC, and was Montgomerie’s final win of a stand-out year on the Staysure Tour. The Scot had already secured two Senior Majors in the form of the US Senior PGA Championship presented by KitchenAid and the US Senior Open, before securing a hat-trick of victories at the Travis Perkins Masters. The 31-time European Tour winner then made it four Staysure Tour titles in a year by posting rounds of 69-68-65 to triumph in Moscow.
