The contest for the European Senior Tour Number One spot may already have been decided before the season-ending MCB Tour Championship, with Colin Montgomerie successfully defending the John Jacobs Trophy, but the race for the Rookie of the Year award remains fascinatingly poised heading to Mauritius.
In pole position to succeed 2014 winner Cesar Monasterio is Englishman Paul Broadhurst, who has made a huge impact in a short space of time since ‘coming of age’ in August.
The former Ryder Cup player won on his Senior Tour debut in the Prostate Cancer UK Scottish Senior Open and also finished tied fourth in the Travis Perkins Masters, amassing an impressive €74,654 from just three events in 2015.
Broadhurst holds an advantage of €16,805 over his nearest rival, Lianwei Zhang, the first Chinese player to compete on the Senior Tour, who has been a consistent performer since turning 50 at the start of May.
Zhang has finished in the top 25 in all six of his appearances to date, including a tied fourth finish behind Broadhurst in Scotland and a share of 15th place in The Senior Open Championship Presented by Rolex at Sunningdale Golf Club in July.
With a first prize of €64,000 on offer in Mauritius, a maiden victory for Zhang at Constance Belle Mare Plage would ensure he finishes the year ahead of Broadhurst, as he bids to become only the second Asian player after Boonchu Ruangkit in 2011 to win the Rookie of the Year title.
Similarly, a victory for Australian Peter O’Malley would also bring him into the equation, although he would require Broadhurst and Zhang to finish outside the top five. With season earnings of €30,748 from his five events so far, and in 41st positon on the Order of Merit, O’Malley therefore has plenty of ground to make up, while qualifying school winner Ken Tarling is a further six places adrift with prize money of €25,497.
Paul Wesselingh, the 2012 Rookie of the Year, is the defending champion of the MCB Tour Championship, and the Englishman will be chasing a third consecutive victory over the Legend Course, having also won the title in 2013 – the season he won the Senior Tour Order of Merit.
Wesselingh was succeeded as Rookie of the Year in that campaign by Denmark’s Steen Tinning, who finished second to him on the Order of Merit, while Monasterio claimed the honour last year after winning the English Senior Open en route to a top five finish on the money list.
