Ronan Rafferty will be playing in front of “home” crowds when he tees up in the Prostate Cancer UK Scottish Senior Open at the Archerfield Links Golf Club this week.
For many years now, the former European Tour Number One has lived with his wife, Yvonne, in Perthshire and he sees himself as something of a local.
“I love living in Scotland and now see it very much as home from home,” said the Ulsterman, who back in 1981 became Great Britain and Ireland’s then youngest Walker Cup player at the age of 17 years and seven months and later went on to top the 1989 European Tour Order of Merit and represent Europe in that year’s Ryder Cup.
“Perthshire is a great place to live and of course it means this year’s Scottish Senior Open is a relatively short drive away in East Lothian. “I’m looking forward to it and I think it is great the Senior Tour has teamed up with Prostate Cancer UK because the disease is the biggest killer of middle-aged men in Britain and is something we need to do everything in our power to stamp out.”
Rafferty made his European Senior Tour debut last summer and went on to finish tied fifth behind Ian Woosnam at last year’s Dutch Senior Open but admits he still has not played as well as he would have liked.
“It’s been difficult,” he admitted. “I haven’t played much competitive golf for several years so it has been a bit of a learning experience being back out on Tour. I’ve also had a few niggling injuries which haven’t helped. But I believe I can be competitive and would like nothing better than to put in a good performance here in Scotland.”
Rafferty will be joined at Archerfield by former Ryder Cup captains, Sam Torrance and Mark James, and Scots Gordon Brand Jnr, Andrew Oldcorn, Ross Drummond as well as 2002 champion, Bill Longmuir.
The field is headed by reigning champion, Mark Davis, who claimed his maiden European Senior Tour title 12 months ago at Fairmont St Andrews, and also includes two-time 2015 winner Peter Fowler,, 2014 Ryder Cup Vice-Captain Des Smyth and former Ryder Cup player, Paul Broadhurst, who makes his European Senior Tour debut after turning 50 earlier this month.
This year’s Prostate Cancer UK Scottish Senior Open is the first to be played at Archerfield Links Golf Club with the East Lothian course becoming the sixth different venue to host the long-running tournament.
With a prize fund of £250,000 the tournament will have a field of 60 European Senior Tour professionals, who will play alongside an amateur partner for the first two rounds before the professionals only contest the final round on Saturday, August 29.
Archerfield Links has hosted the Ladies Scottish Open since 2010, while it also hosts an annual charity Pro-Am event each June in conjunction with Senior Tour player Ian Woosnam.
The Fidra Links course, which will host the Prostate Cancer UK Scottish Senior Open, was designed by Senior Tour Committee Chairman, David J Russell, one of Woosnam’s assistant captains at The 2006 Ryder Cup, who is one of Archerfield Links’ two Touring Professionals, along with Catriona Matthew.
