Reigning European Tour Properties Senior Classic champion Santiago Luna has a title defence on his mind as he prepares to tee it up at Lighthouse Golf and Spa Resort this week.
The Spaniard won the first European Tour Properties Senior Classic at Linna Golf Course in Finland last year and is aiming to retain his title in Bulgaria this week.
European Tour Properties has a portfolio of 28 world class golf venues in 21 countries across three continents and this week’s tournament in Bulgaria is the second staging with the network’s backing.
Luna secured a one-shot victory in Finland last year and is craving that special feeling of being a winner once more.
“I’ve won three times and it’s fantastic, but you never know if you’ll have the chance to win again,” Luna said. “As soon as you have the chance to win, and you feel like you can battle, it’s really nice. For me, it doesn’t happen enough.
“I’m feeling unbelievable. We’ve been playing for many years and you still have the chance to win. When you win and you come to try and defend your title, it’s a really nice experience.
“The most important thing for me is to be here playing every year. To have the chance to win is fantastic but the most important thing for me is to be fighting every year and have the option to do next year. I want to play a lot of tournaments and enjoy playing golf.”
This week’s event at the picturesque Lighthouse Golf and Spa Resort is only the second time the European Tour has visited Bulgaria – and a first for the Staysure Tour. Luna has been impressed with both the golf course and the resort as a whole.
“It’s a new experience to be in Bulgaria,” Luna said. “The golf course is fantastic and the people are very friendly. The hotel is very good and it’s the perfect place to play golf and enjoy the week.
“The golf course is a very good golf course. It’s a good design and a real challenge. It’s a long course and the wind changes at different parts of the course.
“It’s a challenge, but its in good condition and it’s wonderful to have a great tournament here. I’m going to try and enjoy the week and hopefully win.
“I came from Woburn last week and I didn’t play badly, but some shots were really bad. The condition of this golf course isn’t that different but the holes are really wide.
“I prefer that look to Woburn. I practiced today and I felt good, so we’ll see what happens in the rest of the week. I’m happy with how I look on the golf course.”
Joining Luna in Bulgaria this week is Travis Perkins Masters winner Paul Streeter, Order of Merit Number Four Stephen Dodd and VTB Russian Open Golf Championship (Senior) winner David Shacklady.
The tournament will begin, in Alliance format, at 10:00 am local time on Friday with Peter T Wilson and Tim Thelen set to go first before defending-champion Luna tees off at 10:40am.
