Ian Woosnam, who enjoyed a dramatic return to winning form in the United States recently, can expect a rousing welcome in the hillsides and valleys this week when he returns to his homeland for the SSE Enterprise Wales Senior Open at The Celtic Manor Resort.
Victory eluded the 57 year old Welshman in past visits to Celtic Manor, when Sir Terry Matthews’ impressive resort hosted the Wales Open 15 times between the turn of the century and last year’s final rendition on The European Tour.
However, the 1991 Masters champion has unquestionably rediscovered the route to the winner’s enclosure, having claimed the Dutch Senior Open on the European Senior Tour in 2014 before hitting his stride early in his 2015 campaign with a superb play-off success in the Insperity Invitational.
The SSE Enterprise Wales Senior Open represents the start on the season for the European Senior Tour on its home continent, following last week’s Senior PGA Championship Presented by KitchenAid in Indiana.
And Woosnam is relishing this early opportunity to return home as a conquering hero following his play-off success in the Insperity Invitational over Tom Lehman and Kenny Perry in America.
"It’s a great feeling to win again," said Woosnam, who headlines the field over the Roman Road course at Celtic Manor, which staged four editions of the Wales Open, including the 2005 event in which Woosnam opened with a 64 before finishing fifth.
The Welshman would love to add the SSE Enterprise Wales Senior Open to an already illustrious CV when he tees up on Friday aiming to add to the five Senior Tour and 29 European Tour titles he captured during a glittering career. He is truly delighted to see the tournament back on the schedule for a 13th time after a one year absence in 2014.
He said: “It’s great for the Senior Tour and also for Wales that the Wales Senior Open is back on the schedule, and with a brand new sponsor. Obviously I’d love to add the tournament to my list of wins, so I’ll be trying my best to get my hands on the trophy at Celtic Manor this week.
“It’s always nice to play in front of your home fans, so hopefully we’ll get a big crowd to come out and support us all, just like we had at Royal Porthcawl for the Senior Open Championship last year.”
Woosnam has come mightily close to winning the tournament on several occasions, most notably in 2008, when he was the joint leader heading into the final round but ultimately lost out on the title by two shots from Engand’s Peter Mitchell.
More recently, he finished in a tie for third place behind another English player in Phil Golding the last time the tournament took place in 2013, despite holding the lead going into the final round at blustery Royal Porthcawl.
As well as headliner Woosnam, the field for the first European Senior Tour event on home soil contains a raft of Ryder Cup players and champions the world over, who have claimed more than 750 titles between them. He is joined by two of his old sparring partners, Mark James and Sam Torrance, who have also enjoyed the thrill of captaining a European Ryder Cup side, while Ireland’s Philip Walton knows how it feels to deliver a winning point in that contest.
Golding, technically, will be defending champion when he sets foot on the Roman Road course having won the last playing of the event in 2013. Also in the field is past European Number One Ronan Rafferty, former PGA Champion Andrew Oldcorn and another Welsh title winner on the European Tour, Mark Mouland.
The 2015 tournament is being supported by the title sponsor, SSE Enterprise, as well as the Major Events Unit of the Wales Government, The Celtic Manor Resort, Nemo Personal Finance and numerous other local companies.
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