Philip Golding has the chance to become the first player to successfully defend the French Riviera Masters title this week, with the Englishman looking to extend his extraordinary record on French soil.
Golding’s four stroke victory at Terre Blanche Hotel Spa Golf Resort last year earned him a place in the record books as the first player to win on the Challenge, European and Senior Tours in the same country.
The 53 year old won the Open des Volcans on the Challenge Tour in 1999 and claimed his only European Tour win in the 2003 Open de France, and returns to the south of France in good form, with three top five finishes to his credit already this season.
With only two more events to play in 2015 on the Senior Tour – the French Riviera Masters followed by the MCB Tour Championship in Mauritius – Golding is targeting more success in France.
“I’m lucky enough to have won the French Open, I also won on Challenge Tour in France and now I won this tournament last year - three different Tours, all in France, so it’s very nice,” he said.
“It’s always a pleasure to come back, especially in the South of France, in Terre Blanche. It’s a good course. It’s also always a pleasure to come back to defend a title. There are 70 other players to play this week and I’m sure they all want to win, so I wish them good luck, but of course to win again would feel really good.”
While Golding is keen to claim his third career Senior Tour title, he also has one eye on breaking into the top six on the Order of Merit to seal a spot in next year’s US Senior open.
“I finished top six last year - that was the goal and I managed to do that,” he said. “I’m laying seventh at the moment and we only have this one and Mauritius at the end of the year, so there are two events left, so I’ll be doing my best.
“The Senior Tour is good fun. It is a bit different from the main Tour but all the players are still very competitive, so it’s slightly different but it’s good to play. It still makes me improve my golf, nothing has changed there.”
Among those hoping to deny Golding a successful defence is compatriot Paul Broadhurst, who triumphed on his Senior Tour debut in the Prostate Cancer UK Scottish Senior Open in August. Another former Ryder Cup player, Englishman David Gilford, will be hoping he can follow suit when he makes his Senior Tour at Terre Blanche Hotel Spa Golf Resort, which is a European Tour Destination.
