Andrew Oldcorn is hoping that a superb run of form can steer him through a bout of fatigue and yield a first European Senior Tour title of the season at the Dutch Senior Open, which takes place at Amsterdam’s The International for the first time this week.
The Scot has experienced an incredible purple patch since the beginning of September, when a tied ninth place finish in the Travis Perkins plc Senior Masters kicked off a run of five consecutive top tens, including runner-up finishes at the WINSTONgolf Senior Open and the French Riviera Masters.
Last week’s tied fifth finish at the English Senior Open left him fourth in the Order of Merit and €55,228 behind tournament winner Steen Tinning, but the 53 year old is more focussed on just securing a top six finish in the rankings which would earn him a place in all of the Senior Majors in 2014.
“I have been playing very well and the one thing that’s missing is just being top of the pile at the end of the week,” said the three-time European Tour winner, who also has one Senior Tour title to his name. “I would like to think that with the confidence I've mustered over the last few weeks, that might be something I have to aim for but I'm struggling a bit so I just need to dig deep.
“To be honest I'm running on empty at the moment. I'm physically and mentally shattered. It’s the run we’ve had plus I wasn’t feeling very well last weekend with a minor ear infection.
“It’s great to have another tournament and I'm obviously playing well but I'm not feeling great and I’ll have to dig deep and try and give it one last push.
“This week is so important for the Order of Merit now so there is a lot to play for. I think with Steen winning last week I would almost have to have a top five here and win in Mauritius and also hope that those guys ahead of me don’t have a couple of high finishes and that’s very unlikely.
“I just want to try and finish as high as I can in the rankings and get that top six spot. I’ll try get through the first couple of days here and see where it leaves me come Sunday.”
Oldcorn has finished runner-up twice in the last two years in this event, but a change to a new venue means this week is a bit of an unknown quantity for the Edinburgh man.
While he admits the previous course suited him down to the ground, he is looking forward to the new challenges The International Golf Club, situated close to Amsterdam airport, will present.
“I really loved the course at The Hague just because it suited me well,” he said. “That obviously showed with my two runner-up finishes there, while I was top ten the year before those. This is obviously a more modern venue but I think the big thing we will have to content with this week is the weather, looking at the forecast. I’ll just keep it going for another week and see what happens.”
Paul Wesselingh is targeting a return to the top spot in the Order of Merit after he was deposed from the summit by Dane Tinning last week and the Englishman is joined in the field by Australia’s Peter Fowler, who lies one place further back in the rankings in third as the race for the John Jacobs Trophy intensifies.
Oldcorn’s compatriot and Captain of the Great Britain and Ireland team which was narrowly defeated by Continental Europe in the Seve Trophy by Golf+ last week, Sam Torrance, is also present as The 2002 Ryder Cup winning Captain looks to go one better than his tied runner-up finish at August’s SSE Scottish Senior Open and seal a first win of the season.
