Rewind 12 months to the eve of the inaugural Sharjah Senior Golf Masters and Chris Williams seriously doubted if he had the mental fortitude to win again. He’d recorded 39 top-10s in eight seasons on the Staysure Tour (formerly European Senior Tour) – nine of them podium finishes – and yet had only once converted for the silverware, at the 2011 Brunei Senior Masters. It got to the point where the only final round surprise was when, not if, he would stumble down the stretch.

But on Saturday at Sharjah Golf & Shooting Club last March, Williams held his nerve to bury the demons as he edged Gary Marks in sudden death.

Related: Williams beats his inner demons to win inaugural Sharjah Seniors title

“Words fail me,” the now 58-year-old South African said at the time. Fast-forward 12 months and the disbelief has given way to understandable pride.

“It was a good feeling and something [extra] special to create history, winning the first European Tour-sanctioned event ever held on a nine hole golf course. It was a unique event and a completely new experience to play a Tour event on a nine-hole course, but I guess in playing nine holes twice I got to know the course a little better than an 18-hole layout. It’s always good to win a play-off too. You never know what might happen when you’re playing extra holes.”

South African Chris Williams celebrates at Sharjah Golf & Shooting Club

The victory spurred Williams on to his most successful seniors circuit season since 2010 as he finished runner-up to American Clark Dennis in the Order of Merit race. He’s looking forward to refreshing old friendships in Sharjah but there is more fighting talk than a year ago.

Related: Dennis a happily marked man in Sharjah

“As Senior Tour players we get to know each other over the years, unlike the main Tours. We see each other just about every week during the season and we make friends over many years. We enjoy the atmosphere and the interaction between players and spectators but there is always a competitive edge to the tournaments.

“We are certainly out here to enjoy ourselves but we are here to win a golf tournament. That’s our focus and that’s our target. It’s an enjoyment to play well and be in contention and it’s most enjoyable to win. When I won in Sharjah last year, in a play-off with Gary Marks, it took a lot of pressure off me and gave me the impetus to have a really good season.

“I’ve been having a good time at home in South Africa over the last few months and I’ve kept fit by practicing almost every day and playing in a few Pro-Ams. I won a Pro-Am just recently so maybe that’s a good omen for me to hold on to my title and retain the Sharjah Senior Golf Masters trophy.”

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The former Ryder Cupper is leading the call to action for volunteers ahead of the Staysure Tour (formerly European Senior Tour) event at the nine-hole Sharjah Golf & Shooting Club on March 8-10.

Jobs are available as caddies, marshals and scorers and Rafferty, 54, promises a unique “fun-filled” experience for those willing to give up their time.

“It’s not like when you’re at the Dubai Desert Classic or the DP World Tour Championship where the players aren’t really approachable. The merry band of over 50s are just the opposite, the atmosphere is completely different,” said the seven-time European Tour winner who is searching for his maiden Staysure Tour title.

“That might not have been evident in Sharjah last year because the golfing public in Dubai are used to things like ‘keep quiet, there are some golfers over there’. It won’t be like that at Sharjah. So get involved – name your group, call yourself the ‘merry bandits’, get a name tag on everyone so we can build up a relationship and get on first-name terms and we’ll interact for the week.”

The Northern Irishman, who played the 1989 Ryder Cup at the Belfry after topping the European Tour moneylist that season, says the Staysure Tour players are ready for a bit of banter.

“At events like the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth, certain ‘teams’ of volunteers will work on each hole, and players then get to know those people day by day and year after year. They walk up onto the tee and they see a familiar face in a marshal’s uniform, and they recognise you and greet you.

Volunteers at last year’s Sharjah Senior Masters with winner Chris Williams.

“It would be great to get a bunch of people down from the local golf clubs or involve a group of people from a social club. Because every club has its groups of friends who play in a regular four-ball on a certain day. It’s more appealing to do things in a group, rather than on your own as an individual, so if you’re interested in volunteering – bring a friend or two.

You can register as a volunteer for the Sharjah Senior Masters here.

The deadline is February 16. Those who apply for roles will be contacted on February 23.

South African Chris Williams, who pipped Englishman Gary Marks in a playoff last March, is poised to defend his title. Rafferty, for the record, finished in a share of 43rd place at the inaugural 54-hole event featuring a field of 57 and no halfway cut.

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What David MacLaren, the new Head of the European Senior Tour, can guarantee is his loyalty to the circuit’s newest stop and his commitment to grow the tour, whether that is in the UAE, the wider Arabian Gulf or beyond.

Several high-profile players, Italian Ryder Cup star Costantino Rocca the most vocal among them, called for increased playing opportunities on the over 50s circuit during the $425,000 season-opener at Sharjah Golf & Shooting Club.

SEE ALSO
Rocca: European Senior Tour must ‘cultivate’ sponsors and not get greedy

A Middle East swing, something to mirror the European Tour’s ‘Desert Swing’ in Abu Dhabi, Doha and Dubai, was mooted given that the Senior Tour, following Chris Williams’ playoff win Saturday, essentially now goes into hibernation until late June and another new event, the European Tour Properties Senior Classic in Finland.

Outside of the co-sanctioned U.S. PGA Championship in Washington (May 25-28) and the U.S. Senior Open in Massachusetts (June 29-July 2), majors that few of the European members are guaranteed to start, there are in fact only two events in the first four months of the season.

MacLaren has revealed he is in talks to add new stops in Sri Lanka and Madagascar from 2018 which would pad out the scantily clad early-season schedule.

“I think they [Sri Lanka and Madagascar] would both be obtainable, or reachable, from here [Sharjah] and that would give us a nice three tournament swing,” MacLaren said.

South African Chris Williams celebrates at Sharjah Golf & Shooting Club

Whether further Middle East events can be added remains to be seen however. MacLaren understands the enthusiasm for a Senior Desert Swing but is mindful of the four European Tour events and the two European Ladies Tour tournaments already hosted in the Middle East. He also wants to ensure Shurooq (the Sharjah Investment & Development Authority) are fully repaid for their three-year bankrolling of the Sharjah Masters.

“I think there is. I’m in the capable hands of Nick Tarratt who runs our regional office out of Dubai, and I think there is,” MacLaren said if there was room for further Middle East events.

“But I’m also very conscious that we must get the balance right between not enough tournaments and too many tournaments. In some ways, I think I’d obviously prefer one very strong tournament than three or four tournaments that aren’t as strong….I’d much prefer to ensure we’re giving the best to Sharjah and the best to Shurooq and the best to Sharjah Golf & Shooting Club.

“If other opportunities arise out of that, that’s absolutely great. But I feel a loyalty to this because of all the investment everybody has made. Even as a self contained tournament this is a symbol of what the Senior Tour is all about and is one of three, possibly four new tournaments this year and that’s good for everybody.”

MacLaren praised SGSC Managing Director and Vice Chairman, H.E. Sheikh Mohammed Bin Abdullah Al Thani, and the club’s tireless Director of Golf, Martin Duff, for pulling the Sharjah Masters together inside a year. It was the first time the European Tour has played an event on a nine-holer which was beamed around the globe in immaculate condition thanks to widely hailed Kiwi course superintendent Marty Brown.

SEE ALSO
Williams beats his inner demons to win inaugural Sharjah Seniors title

He also commended Shurooq CEO H.E. Marwan Bin Jassim Al Sarkal for his foresight in ensuring the tournament’s television coverage went beyond the European Senior Tour’s usual product with three one-hour highlights programmes available for same day distribution in 65 countries.

Media coverage is vital to grow the tour and part of the chicken and egg argument voiced by Rocca. The 60-year-old urged MacLaren not to be greedy when it comes to sponsorship negotiations or contract renewal talks.

“I was reading with interest Tino’s [Constantino Rocca’s] comments and he’s absolutely right. And the funny thing is that his comments, that’s exactly what our strategy is, which is yes, we’d love to have 20 tournaments at a million dollars each but I’d prefer create for the guys 20 tournaments [full stop],” MacLaren said.

“If that means we’ve got to play for less prize-money to start with and build from the bottom up, then I think that’s the right strategy. Because then you are creating momentum, you’re creating a base.”

MacLaren clearly has support for what is a tough sell; previous Senior Tour events in Bahrain and Abu Dhabi didn’t survive beyond two seasons. He was hand-picked by new European Tour chief Keith Pelley nine months ago to revive the Senior Tour and head up European Tour Properties, the latter including Dubai’s Jumeirah Golf Estates.

South African Williams, who beat Englishman Gary Marks in overtime to become Sharjah’s inaugural champion, is also impressed with MacLaren’s early work.

“We’ve got a new guy, David MacLaren, he’s a really sharp chappie, a really clever guy,” said Williams. “He speaks several languages and he’s obviously negotiating in a native language which is a big thing, speaking to the French in French [for example]…”

Like Williams, MacLaren knows the stars of yesteryear are the European Senior Tour’s greatest commodity with a Pro-Am start alongside the likes of a Rocca, two-time senior major champion Roger Chapman or reigning Senior Open Champion Paul Broadhurst a unique opportunity.

David MacLaren, the European Senior Tour’s new chief, chats with Welshman Mark Mouland during the Sharjah Senior Golf Masters presented by Shurooq

“The great thing is I think we’ve got a product that works and it’s a product that works because of how well our players can engage,” said MacLaren. “ They can interact with amateur partners and sponsors and corporate guests more than any other tour can do. The guys are more relaxed, they’re more experienced, they’ve got more time and they’re much more willing to share.

“So media is important, social media is important but actually it’s the on the ground experience that our players can give that actually is really what our USP [unique selling point] is and that’s what makes a Senior Tour tournament special.

“The ability to play a round of golf in a Pro-Am with sponsors, members, with [tournament] staff even, that’s the magic, that’s the magic of the Senior Tour and that’s what I want to use as the centrepiece for how we build going forward.”

MacLaren says seniors golf was impacted even more keenly by the “global economic meltdown” than any other level of the game because “tournament sponsorship and sports sponsorship is something that can be sacrificed by larger companies.”

But with Sharjah, Finland, the English Senior Classic at Forest of Arden Hotel and Country Club in Coventry (October 20-22) and possibly the Dutch Senior Masters (earmarked for October 6-8) added to this year’s schedule, he’s confident about the future.

“We’re in a very good place because we’ve got some upward momentum. For the last few years our Senior Tour players haven’t been used to tournaments at the beginning of the year and I am really hopeful this will prove a catalyst for some more new tournaments in this part of the world.

“But even if that doesn’t happen, to know we can come back here for the next three years to such a special place, and I mean that genuinely, is something that gives us great heart and fills us with great pride.

“To start as spectacularly, genuinely, as we have this week [in Sharjah], that’s something I won’t forget, that’s something our players won’t forget.”

The post THE BIG READ: European Senior Tour chief David MacLaren on Sharjah’s impressive debut and tackling golf’s toughest sales job appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

The South African had recorded 39 top-10s in eight seasons on the European Senior Tour – nine of them podium finishes – yet had only once converted the consistency into a shiny trophy for the mantlepice.

On Saturday, six long years after that victory at the 2011 Brunei Senior Masters, when a closing 64 illuminated his undoubted talent, Williams finally remembered how to close again to become the inaugural Sharjah Senior Golf Masters champion.

“Words fail me,” said Williams who started his week at Sharjah Golf & Shooting Club with a course record 65 and then overcame his inner deamons with a closing 68 and steely nerves to see off Englishman Gary Marks in a playoff.

“After being eight years on the Tour and finally getting my second win after all these years is just amazing.

“I’ve been playing well and scoring well in South Africa leading up to this event, playing in as many pro-ams as I could to keep my game sharp with a scorecard in my back pocket. So that gave me a lot of confidence before this week.”

WATCH: Highlights from a dramatic final round at the #SharjahSGM as Chris Williams secured his second Senior Tour title pic.twitter.com/dJbBeTfNuW

— Legends Tour (@euLegendsTour) March 19, 2017

Sick of wasting his obvious talent, Williams recently sought the counsel of a sports psychologist used by Brandon Stone among other “young” main tour South Africans. He’d never doubted his swing but needed to find a way to negotiate a way around the mental brick wall. It seems he may have done just that.

Williams made it look easy Saturday – the dark sunglasses helped project that calm exterior  – but it was anything but. Countryman James Kingston, who eventually finished tied third with Swede Magnus P Altevi,  was his main concern for much of the final round. Then Marks came at Williams with three birdies on the bounce from the 13th.

By the time they reached the 54th hole, Williams (who had led by as many as four shots) needed to make a sand save par from an awkward lie in the bunker guarding the left hand side of SGSC’s 9/18th hole just to make the playoff. He later described it as the very best of his 203 winning strokes, a -13 total matched by Marks.

When Marks inexplicably three-putted the first hole of overtime, Williams seized his chance by stroking home a four-footer. It was an early $64,000 birthday present sure to make his 58th celebrations back in South African on Monday extra special.

Williams caught fire early to negotiate the front nine in just 32 blows, which included a spellbinding run of birdie-birdie-eagle-birdie from the fourth to the seventh. After holing out from the greenside bunker on the sixth for eagle in the first round he repeated the feat Saturday with a holed sand wedge from 90 yards.

 “I got off to a great start today,” said Williams. “I was five under through seven holes and then Gary came back with three birdies on the back nine. But nothing is easy out here, you’ve got to work hard for these wins no matter where they are.”

Marks was disappointed not to grasp his best victory chance when a birdie putt on the last hole of regulation burned the left edge of the cup. But he took plenty of positives from his season-opener performance.

 “I was thrilled to get in the play-off – it was obviously a sad way for it to end for me, – but it was much more than I could have hoped for coming to the tournament as I hadn’t been playing before this week.”

Atlevi, last season’s order of merit runner-up and rookie-of-the-year, has started the new season strongly after finishing -12 alongside Kingston who enjoyed his equal best senior tour finish despite a topsy-turvy final round. Kingston’s closing 70 included a miracle birdie on the par 5 15th where he hooked his drive into the water, snapped his driver over his knee in frustration, took a penalty drop, boomed a three wood just shy of the green and proceeded to hole the chip. In the end a bogey on the previous hole, when he was lucky not to find further water with a pushed drive, proved costly.

England’s Roger Chapman finished fifth at -10 under and reigning European Senior Tour No.1 and Senior Open Champion Paul Broadhurst a shot further back in sixth.

Photo by Phil Inglis/Getty Images

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The 51-year-old South African has a maiden European Senior Tour title in his crosshairs after firing a six-under 66 in Friday’s second round to summit the leaderboard at -10.

A two-time winner on the European whippersnappers (read main) Tour, Kingston takes a one stroke advantage to his 12.05pm, final round tee time today over countryman and overnight leader Chris Williams and Englishman Gary Marks.

With six players within three strokes of Kingston’s lead, Sharjah’s historic 9-hole debut as a European Tour venue is set for a compelling climax. Kingston is just pleased to be part of the mix.

 “I’m absolutely delighted,” said Kingston who carded seven birdies, including four in succession from the third to the sixth, in his 66.  “Coming here, not knowing what to expect with the golf course. I wasn’t 100 per cent sure how I was playing, but ten under par is great.”

Marks got off to a flying start with three birdies in a row and matched Kingston’s total of seven on the way to a four under 68 which would have been even better but for a double bogey on the seventh and a bogey on 11. 

“It was a great start, you can’t plan things like that, but you have to keep it going and not defend or get complacent,” Marks said. “I had a period around the middle of the round, took a double bogey on seven and I had another bogey soon after, so I was in a bit of trouble. But a couple of decent putts went in, one for par and one for birdie and I finished steadily after regrouping.”

Williams followed up his electrifying course record opening round of 65 with a more sedate two under 70 while Roger Chapman (67), Steen Tinning (71), Magnus Atelvi (71) and reigning European Senior Tour order of merit champion Paul Broadhurst (67) are poised in a share of fourth at -7.

The post Kingston poised as Sharjah Senior Golf Masters set for thrilling finale

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