By Kent Gray
Given the struggles to keep the European Tour financially and logistically viable in this unprecedented time, many feared the Staysure Tour would become a sad casualty of the coronavirus pandemic.

The doubters clearly hadn’t figured on Ryan Howsam’s vision for the over-50s circuit. The Englishman, who founded insurance firm Staysure in 2004, has become the first individual to have a controlling stake and leadership role in one of golf’s major circuits after taking a majority equity share in what is now known as The Legends Tour.

Howsam will oversee the Tour’s commercial strategy as part of the evolution of Staysure’s existing umbrella sponsorship announced in 2017. The Legends Tour was officially unveiled at the Wentworth Club, the European Tour’s HQ, on September 1 with former Ryder Cup captains Mark James, Paul McGinley, 1999 Open champion Paul Lawrie and 1991 Masters champion Ian Woosnam on hand to sell the sizzle. The quartet will be joined by major champions Darren Clarke, Tom Lehman, Colin Montgomerie and Michael Campbell as Legends Tour ambassadors. The exciting news for Middle East fans is the work behind the scenes to bring a couple of Legends Tour events to the region. Well-heeled amateurs will also be intrigued by the exciting opportunities to compete alongside some of the game’s greats, including a ‘Legends Club” where Ams will compete in their own Order of Merit race.

New Legends Tour chief Mark Aspland chatted to Golf Digest Middle East soon after the tour’s unveiling to bring us up to speed with the all the latest developments of the circuit that no only refuses to die but is determined to become the “greatest amateur experience in golf’.

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It’s an incredibly exciting time for senior golf.  Discussions were at the formative stage when I started working on the then Staysure Tour in early 2019. Keith Pelley and Ryan Howsam have a really strong relationship and the idea was first discussed between them whilst on the golf course. For the staff and players, we have the best of both worlds, the European Tour will still operate the ‘inside the ropes’ activities, whilst Ryan will have overall commercial control of the Legends Tour and drive the commercial activity and vision.

Majority equity shareholder Ryan Howsam is flanked by Paul McGinley and Colin Montgomerie

It was quite a job to unpick 25 plus years of the integration with the European Tour operations, but the result is a big step forward for a traditional rights-holder to engage with an entrepreneur to drive the business forward.

To align with the premium nature of the product we are looking at aspirational and successful venues to host events. We have an optimum number of 24/25 events eventually and the product we are building and the value proposition behind the Tour will align very closely with Tourism destinations. We have a very successful 10 year partnership in Mauritius and now Seychelles to form the season-ending Tour Championship, and are currently exploring the Caribbean and Middle East to complement the existing events.

We believe the Legends Tour has a unique offering that will complement the European Tour in the Middle East. We are in regular contact with Tom Phillips in the Tour’s Dubai Office and have several opportunities that are being explored.  The UAE has history with the players now playing on the Legends Tour, and we hope to build on this going forward.

The Legends Tour can complement the other golf activity in the Middle East. We are focusing on the Legends Tour being the ‘greatest amateur experience in golf’. The Pro-am and Alliance formats are central to this – it’s not re-inventing the wheel, more focusing in on the commercial value of our players, and offering an ‘inside the ropes’ experience in the tournament that I believe doesn’t currently exist in the Middle East.

It’s not re-inventing the wheel, more focusing in on the commercial value of our players and offering an ‘inside the ropes’ experience in the tournament that I believe doesn’t currently exist in the Middle East.

Aligned to this, in the new Tour structure within the Staysure Group, we have access to over 5.5 million predominantly 50+ UK travellers. This creates a compelling opportunity for premium tourism destinations and helps us to pull together a long-term narrative for the Legends Tour in the region.

In the new proposition, we are planning for standard fields to be 60 pros and 30 amateurs playing over the 3 days of the tournament.  Two pros to 1 am will create an intense, competitive opportunity for the amateur.  We are creating a ‘Legends Club’, where amateurs can play in a number of tournaments and feature on their own Order of Merit too.

The Amateur spots will be at a premium as they are limited and different territories have slightly different commercial models. For example, we are targeting the US golf travel market for our events in the UK to create a week of golf at incredible venues culminating in the Alliance events.  A title sponsor could come in and own Alliance spots too then allocate to charity / junior golf for a CSR project?  We will work a model according to the commercial requirements of the individual events.

The Legends Club proposition feeds directly into the three-day Alliance events and will initially be focused on events owned and promoted by the Tour, but will be built out further over time. We totally respect that a number of external promoters host tournaments and want to use their own format. We aim to have between 6-8 Alliance events for the Legends Club in 2021. The Legends Club is a lifestyle opportunity where you travel and play with your wife /husband/partner to premium destinations living the life of our pros.

The opportunity is not just for over 50s. it’s for anyone with a passion for golf and spending time with our Legends on and off the course. The Legends Tour pros are great fun to be with and provide the full experience of not just golf… eat with them in the Players’ Lounge and enjoy a drink with them afterwards. This is a unique, premium experience that true golf fans will revel in.

“Accessibility to our stars will form the basis of our growth plan moving forwards.”

The celebrity Pro-Ams we have planned with big names from the sports, music and entertainment worlds are designed to create additional charity / CSR, PR and marketing opportunities, plus enhance the playing experience during the week and therefore commercial value for the over-all event. We want to create a week of top quality entertainment to maximise the value of our events.

The Ambassadors are a crucial part of our strategy going forward and we have been specific in their criteria of being Ryder Cup captains and major winners. We will be using them to drive the brand forward, create awareness, generate content for legendstour.com and utilise them for lifestyle experiences as well as playing experiences. They are the perfect marketing channel for us and our partners and we have further exciting additions planned on top of those already announced.

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By John Huggan
In the absence of many star names plying their trade primarily on the PGA Tour Champions in the United States, what was the European Senior Tour, then the Staysure Tour, has always struggled for attention. Nostalgia was its biggest selling point, the circuit reliant on pro-am income to survive.

Although specifics in terms of scheduling and the number of future events are still to be determined, things are going to be different in 2021. For one thing, the Staysure name will be replaced by the rather grand Legends Tour. And for another, Staysure Group CEO Ryan Howsam has assumed a majority equity share in what is, in golf, a unique ownership structure. Working alongside the head of the Legends Tour, Mark Aspland, Howsam, who founded the travel insurance company in 2004, will oversee the tour’s commercial strategy.

In that regard, the so-far lack of many recognisable names to build events around has been acknowledged and rectified. Going forward, former Ryder Cup captains Darren Clarke, Mark James, Tom Lehman, Paul McGinley, Colin Montgomerie and Ian Woosnam, along with 2005 U.S. Open champion Michael Campbell and 1999 Open champion Paul Lawrie, will act as the tour’s “official ambassadors.” They will, according to the press release announcing the changes to the 50-and-older circuit, “play a key role in outlining the tour’s vision in the months to come.”

“Our major champions, our past Ryder Cup players and captains and our European Tour winners have considerable pulling power,” Aspland said. “The accessibility to them offered by our new structure will form the basis of our growth plan moving forward.”

Indeed, perhaps the biggest difference will be in what Howsam calls the “alliance format” of the as-of-now undetermined number of 2021 events, in which amateurs will get the chance to play alongside the pros in tournament conditions. An additional focus on the amateur experience, will include a selection of celebrity pro-ams aimed at bringing together the “legends of golf” with others from sports, music and entertainment.

“I see the re-launch of this tour as something which could change the landscape of over-50s golf forever,” said James, a seven-time Ryder Cup player. “The alliance format brings a different dimension to competitive golf and will give the players the opportunity to meet a plethora of people and form new relationships, while amateurs will continue to hear the many stories from our lives on tour.”

Entry to that sociable atmosphere will come at a premium price. Membership into the “Legends Club” will cost £60,000, a source told Golf Digest. There will also be a dedicated Order of Merit where the amateurs will compete for a place in the end-of-season Tour Final by playing in three-day alliance events at some of the “best golf courses in the world.”

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By Kent Gray
Spaniard Lucas Vacarisas claimed medallist honours at the first of the MENA Tour’s two 2019 Q-Schools in Aqaba but left the real final round drama to those fighting for their cards near the foot of the leaderboard.

After opening the 54-hole event with a course record of 65 on Wednesday, Vacarisas slipped into a share of second place following a second round 74 at Ayla Golf Club. But a closing 69, impressive in yesterday’s blustery conditions, saw the world No. 2004 finish at -9 and win by three from Swede Gustaf Kocken and Englishman Alastair Kinnaird.

Another Englishman, Alfredo Curbishley, matched  Vacarisas’s course record in the final round, the 65 propelling him up to a solo fourth for one of the 30 cards on offer.

There was also a three-way playoff for the final two cards between England’s Mark James, Pakistani Ahmad Baig and Swede William Nygard.

Baig birdied the first playoff hole to take his card while Nygard three-putted from 15 feet for par to give James a second chance.

Nygard’s personal horror show continued when he hit his drive left into the desert on the second playoff hole, allowing James to secure his “Journey to Jordan” playing privileges with a steady par.

“I thought after my second shot on the first playoff hole, I was finished,” James admitted.

Mark James claimed the 30th and final MENA Tour card.

“I hit a good bunker shot to give myself a chance but got lucky that William three-putted. Then I had to take my chance and I hit a good drive to put myself in position.

“I’m relieved really. I didn’t play my best this week but grinded it out. I can’t wait to get started for the year on the MENA Tour now.”

The 10-event Mena Tour proper opens with a $100,000 event back at Ayla Golf Club from Feb. 8-11 – but not before another 54-hole qualifier beginning on Sunday.

For full scores and qualifiers from the Category A qualifier, click here.

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Related: Brandel Chamblee berates himself after missing Senior Open cut at St. Andrews

In other words, the last thing the 17th needed was an added challenge, something 18-time European Tour winner Mark James received on Thursday in the Senior Open Championship at the Old Course. After going out in three-over 39, James fought back and arrived at the 17th tee at two-over par, which is currently well out of contention but still in the mix to make the cut. Those chances got much slimmer when James struck his tee shot and it hit a seagull mid flight, causing the ball to cruelly ricochet out-of-bounds:

Unluckiest golf shot of the year?

Mark James’ tee shot on the famous 17th hole on the Old Course, St Andrews hits a bird before going out of bounds. #SeniorOpen pic.twitter.com/jow7G0YbqN

— Staysure Tour (@StaysureTour) July 26, 2018

We’ll spare you the “not the birdie he was looking for” joke and just say that’s an awful break, and not the first time it’s happened to a professional golfer this year. This past April at Harbour Town, Kelly Kraft’s tee shot on the par-3 14th also struck a bird in mid-air, causing the ball to drop into a water hazard. Although Kraft would end up missing the cut by a shot, he still saved bogey. James was not as fortunate, making a triple-bogey en-route to a five-over 77, which currently has him tied for 122nd, nine off the lead.

The post Pro’s tee shot hits seagull on the Road Hole at Senior Open, causing ball to ricochet out-of-bounds appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

The 51-year-old Englishman will be joined by three other Ryder Cup blasts from the past – Mark James, Ronan Rafferty and Barry Lane – at the European Senior Tour event at Sharjah Golf and Shooting Club from March 16-18.

“I am greatly looking forward to starting my defence of the John Jacobs Trophy [order of merit title] in Sharjah in March,” said Broadhurst who won his first senior major at Carnoustie in July by two shots from American Scott McCarron before going on to capture the US Champion Tour’s Pure Insurance Championship in September.

“I have always enjoyed playing in the United Arab Emirates, and it’s great that the Senior Tour golfers now have a chance to return to a country where a number of us will have very fond memories.”

Broadhurst, who finished second at the Wales Senior Open, WINSTONgolf Senior Open and the season-ending MCB Tour Championship and had two other two 10s, easily captured the the 2016 order of merit title with €399, 285 from nine events. Swede Magnus P Atlevi, tied third with Miguel Angel Jimenez at Carnoustie, was second with €211,557 to tie up rookie of the year honours.

Atlevi will also tee it up in Sharjah which is one of five European Tour events scheduled for the UAE in 2017 alongside the this month’s main tour Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship, February’s Tiger Woods-headlined Omega Dubai Desert Classic, November’s DP World Tour Championship and the Challenge Tour’s Ras-Al Khaimah Golf Challenge in October.

It’s the first Senior Tour event in the region since 2000 but a first professional tournament for Sharjah and the emirate’s Peter Harradine-designed nine-hole course.

James, a former Ryder Cup captain and two-time Senior Tour winner, won the inaugural Dubai Desert Classic in 1989, the very first European Tour event held in the UAE.

Northern Ireland’s Rafferty, winner of the European Tour Order of Merit in 1989, will go in search of a maiden Senior Tour title, adding to the seven he won on main tour between 1989 and 1993.

Lane will land in Sharjah fresh from winning the MCB Tour Championship.

Former Desert Classic champion Eamonn Darcy, a hero of Europe’s 15-13 Ryder Cup win in 1987, fellow Irishman and two-time Ryder Cupper Des Smyth and five-time Senior Tour winner and 2011 OOM winner Peter Fowler (Australia) have also been linked with to the Sharjah bow.

Photo – Getty Images

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