Barry Lane has made next week’s lucrative Casa Serena Open in the Czech Republic a late addition to his schedule as he attempts to end the season as the European Senior Tour’s Number One.
Lane made the announcement immediately after his tied second finish in the Travis Perkins plc Senior Masters at Woburn Golf Club, citing his determination to overtake Peter Fowler in the Senior Tour Order of Merit and claim the 2011 John Jacobs Trophy.
The 51 year old, who is splitting his schedule with The European Tour where he is 136th on The Race to Dubai, is currently €33,503 behind leader Fowler in the Senior Tour Order of Merit. With a prize fund of €400,000 on offer at Casa Serena Golf, second placed Lane sees the fourth edition of the Casa Serena Open as the ideal opportunity to close that gap.
“I’m going to play Casa Serena now because it is a big event with a big prize fund and if I can win there or finish a higher than Peter Fowler then I will have a really good chance of trying to go on and win the Order of Merit,” said the five time European Tour winner.
“I hadn’t originally planned to play but it is such a good opportunity and I am playing so well that I thought I would add that to the schedule.”
Fowler has earned ten top ten finishes in 13 Senior Tour events this year, including victories in the ISPS Handa Senior Masters presented by The Stapleford Forum in June and the Bad Ragaz PGA Seniors Open in July.
Englishman Lane is also on a hot streak of form. His tied second place finish at Woburn came two weeks after his first win of the season at the Cleveland Golf/Srixon Scottish Senior Open, while he also finished as the leading European in The Senior Open Championship in July.
“I have managed to make some nice inroads into his lead at the top of the Order of Merit after winning in Scotland and then finishing tied second at Woburn so hopefully I can keep the momentum going in the Czech Republic and keep closing the gap,” said Lane.
“I would love to win the John Jacobs Trophy obviously. It would be a great achievement, especially as I haven’t really played the full season on the Senior Tour.
“To win any Order of Merit is something to be proud of because it means you have been the most consistent performer over a period of time.”
Lane’s maiden Senior Tour title, at the 2010 Cleveland Golf/Srixon Scottish Senior Open, came 22 years after also winning his first European Tour title on Scottish soil in the 1988 Scottish Open and his love for the country continued when he defended his crown at Fairmont St Andrew’s this year.
He finished in 20th place in the 2010 Senior Tour Order of Merit, which was won by the recent winner of the Travis Perkins plc Senior Masters Boonchu Ruangkit, but his late entry for the Casa Serena Open is proof that he is determined to top an Order of Merit for the first time in his distinguished career.
Lane is joined in the field for the Casa Serena Open by Fowler and former Ryder Cup Captains Mark James, Sam Torrance and Ian Woosnam. Last year the event was won by Englishman Gary Wolstenholme, who followed Bernhard Langer (2008) and Peter Mitchell (2009) as champion.
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