The European Senior Tour returns to Woburn for the 17th edition of this prestigious tournament. This is a landmark year for the event as Travis Perkins celebrate 10 years of title sponsorship. Here’s all you need to know ahead of this year’s Travis Perkins Masters…
Rewind
Last year, Switzerland’s André Bossert held off the challenge of 1991 Masters Tournament champion Ian Woosnam to win his first European Senior Tour title.
Bossert and Woosnam shared the lead after the second round at Woburn, but the Swiss posted the lowest round of the day, a three under par 69, to take the title home by four strokes.
2003 HNA Open de France winner Phil Golding carded a level par 72 to share second place with Woosnam, and Peter Fowler and Gordon Manson shared fourth place.
Bossert was the only player to card three below par rounds, and the 53 year old became the eighth player to have won on all three European Tour stages: the European Challenge Tour, European Tour and European Senior Tour.
The field
Woosnam headlines the 54-man field at Woburn which also includes fellow former Ryder Cup Captains Mark James and Sam Torrance and a further ten former Ryder Cup players, including José Rivero, Costantino Rocca, Jarmo Sandelin and Des Smyth.
Barry Lane, who represented Europe in The 1993 Ryder Cup, will be bidding for back-to-back titles on English soil after triumphing at last week’s Willow Senior Golf Classic. In the process, Lane carded the lowest round in Senior Tour history – 60 (-12) – and the lowest 54-hole score to par - 194 (-22) - at Hanbury Manor Marriott Hotel & Country Club.
Double Senior Major Champion Roger Chapman will hope to build on his impressive start to the 2017 season as we enter a crucial phase in the race for the John Jacobs Trophy which is awarded to the player who finishes top of the Senior Tour Order of Merit. Chapman recorded his best result of the season last week, solo fourth, with a score of 13 under par.
The course
The magnificent Duke’s Course at Woburn has hosted the Travis Perkins Masters since 2001 and is also a familiar venue for many of our members as it played host to the British Masters on numerous occasions from 1979 to 2002.
The three aforementioned Ryder Cup Captains, James, Torrance and Woosnam won the British Masters at Woburn, as did New Zealand’s Greg Turner in 1997.
Gary Orr, who made his Senior Tour debut in Finland earlier this year, will be drawing on his victory on the Duke’s Course in 2000 as he attempts to go one better than his second place finish at last week’s Willow Senior Golf Classic.
Each fairway on the Duke’s Course is flanked by a myriad of pine, birch and chestnut trees, and accuracy is a must at this venue.
