The 2013 John Jacobs Trophy winner, Paul Wesselingh, is hoping to find the right balance in this year’s European Senior Tour season as he aims for a second Order of Merit trophy.
Wesselingh won the Senior Tour Rookie of the Year award in his debut season in 2012 and then finished more than €100,000 ahead of Steen Tinning the following year to top the Order of Merit.
After his success on the Senior Tour he accepted playing privileges with the PGA of Japan, but by his own admission the increase in travel contributed to some disappointing results in 2014 and 2015.
“I have heard a lot of advice over the years,” said the 54 year old. “But the one thing that has really stuck out to me is when I was told: ‘It is not how well you play; it is how well you travel’.
“Because I was not on the European Tour for 25 or 30 years, I think I might have a little more desire to play golf at this level and I really enjoyed it when I was over in Japan.
“My downfall recently, I think, has been trying to play too much. My success in 2013 led to a card in Japan. I played 23 events last year, and probably the same the year before.
“There is a lot of travelling involved in that. I tended to have two good scores and then one bad score. I found that I could not prepare properly for tournaments. It took me about two months to get over that but I feel great now.
“It is a little bit more relaxed on the Senior Tour, but we still want to beat each other.
“I do know I have to keep working hard. I go to the gym four or five times a week for a few hours and then hit balls for three hours after that.
“It is tough, you have to do these things, but I’ve got that determination to do so.”
After a chance meeting with a former coach, Wesselingh started 2016 with a second place finish in the Algarvian Invitational and is further preparing for the season-opening US Senior PGA Championship with an appearance in an Alps Tour event in Austria.
“I managed to get hold of my old coach, Gary Alliss,” the Englishman continued. “We lost contact and my son then found him on Facebook. I got in touch with him and then flew over to the UK for a lesson and, two months later, I finished second in a tournament with a score of 12 under.
“You never know with golf – it’s such a strange game.
“I played in Graz to get a bit of tournament practice and I was up against younger guys who can hit it 50 yards further than I can.
“There will be a lot of great players over at Harbor Shores [host of the US Senior PGA Championship]. I love that course and have good memories there.
“It’s a much longer course than we’ll play on the following week at Celtic Manor in the Wales Senior Open. The biggest difference will be the greens, they have had some fantastic weather in the United States, and they will be a lot faster as a result.”
