With six events to play on the 2010 European Senior Tour, the race to finish Number One on the Order of Merit is as exciting as ever. However, the quest to be the 2010 Rookie of the Year is shaping up to be equally as enthralling.
The man currently in the box seat is Thailand’s Boonchu Ruangkit following his blistering start to the season which saw him win all three Senior Tour events in March to set numerous Senior Tour records into the bargain.
His victories in Brunei, Thailand and South Africa saw him became the first player since Tommy Horton in 1997 to win three consecutive tournaments on the Senior circuit and he also achieved three victories in the shortest time, namely seven tournaments, one fewer than the previous record holder, Brian Huggett.
Furthermore, during his victory in the Chang Thailand Senior Masters, his 21 under par total of 195 was not only the lowest 54 hole score to par in the history of the European Senior Tour, his 11 stroke victory over his nearest challenger was also the largest recorded for a 54 hole event since the Senior Tour began in 1992.
Ruangkit is currently second on the Order of Merit overall, behind Bernhard Langer, with €207,759 to his name, €34,911 ahead of his nearest challenger for the Rookie of the Year crown, David Frost, who is in third place overall with €172,848.
The South African turned 50 last September and made an impressive initial impact in the Senior Tour ranks when he finished in a tie for fifth place in The Mauritius Commercial Bank Open last December before losing out in a play-off to Tom Lehman for the US Senior PGA Championship at the Colorado Golf Club in Denver in May.
While Ruangkit and Frost are the main two protagonists for the Rookie of the Year crown, Andrew Oldcorn cannot be discounted, being currently seventh in the Order of Merit overall with €113,690 to his name from his eight starts to date.
It leaves the former winner of the PGA Championship at Wentworth Club €59,158 behind Frost and €94,069 behind Ruangkit, but with several big money tournaments remaining on the 2010 Senior Tour schedule the Scot, who turned 50 at the end of March, is still very much in the frame.
Like Frost, Oldcorn played well in the US Senior PGA Championship, eventually finishing in a tie for eighth in his first Senior Major. It was one of his five top ten finishes of the season thus far and he will be looking to maintain that form in front of his home fans in the next tournament on the Senior Tour – the Cleveland Golf / Srixon Scottish Senior Open at Fairmont St Andrews in two weeks time.
The European Senior Tour Rookie of the Year has been contested since 1998 when Ireland’s Denis O’Sullivan took the crown.
Since then the winners have been Jerry Bruner (1999), Priscillo Diniz (2000), Simon Owen (2001), Steve Stull (2002), Carl Mason (2003), Pete Oakley (2004), Kevin Spurgeon (2005), José Rivero (2006), Costantino Rocca (2007) and Ian Woosnam (2008), with the current holder of the crown being Australian Mike Harwood.
The five time European Tour winner, who returned to competitive golf in 2009 after more than a decade out of the game, won the season ending OKI Castellón Senior Tour Championship to overtake England’s Roger Chapman and take the title with €120,232 to his name, €22,569 ahead of Chapman.
