Peter Fowler is determined not get carried away by his move to the top of the European Senior Tour Order of Merit as he prepares for this week’s Travis Perkins plc Senior Masters at Woburn Golf Club.
The Australian has been on flying form this year, claiming his first Senior Tour win at the ISPS Handa Senior Masters presented by The Stapleford Forum in June, before swiftly following that up with a second victory at the Bad Ragaz PGA Seniors Open.
And he received another huge boost last week after American Tom Watson confirmed he will not be fulfilling the requisite number of events to feature on the Order of Merit, meaning Fowler is now top of the pile on €216,741.
But while Fowler has been delighted with the form that has lifted him to the number one spot, he insists he is not taking anything for granted and is just taking every tournament as it comes.
“I’m just happy to be out there playing good golf, I had quite a lot of time out with injuries so I’m really happy with my game at the moment,” said Fowler, who struggled with a back injury during his first year on the Senior Tour in 2009.
“It’s a real buzz to be at the top, but I’ve been around long enough to know that just because you’re Number One at one stage of the season, it doesn’t mean you’ve won anything.
“You can spin it any way you want but each tournament presents its own challenges and rewards, and you get rewarded at the end of the year if you’ve been consistently good enough, so hopefully I can continue to play like I’m playing now.”
The John Jacobs Trophy is certainly no foregone conclusion, with Barry Lane in close pursuit in second place on €172,122, Andrew Oldcorn also close behind on €170,526 and the likes of Ian Woosnam, Peter Senior, Mike Harwood and Sandy Lyle all in the hunt.
Fowler’s win at the ISPS Handa Senior Masters presented by The Stapleford Forum was not only the first of his Senior Tour career but also his first professional win in Europe for 18 years, with his previous coming on The European Tour at the 1993 BMW International Open.
His highest finish on The European Tour money list came in 1989, when he finished 22nd, while he finished 29thon last year’s Senior Tour Order of Merit.
