By Kent Gray
All good things come to an end eventually but Roger Chapman is far from done even if his Champions Tour status is dusted.

The Kenyan-born, Ascot-based Englishman’s five-year exemption on the U.S. senior circuit, courtesy of his back-to-back major wins at the 2012 Senior PGA Championship and U.S. Seniors Open, expired last July. The 58-year-old saw out the season in America but there was no late Schwab Cup surge to secure a U.S. stay-of execution as he finished 79th placing in the standings with $111,628.

Fortunately, the PGA Tour Champions loss is the Staysure Tour’s fulltime gain with Chapman committing to the former European Senior Tour in 2018, starting with the $425,000 Sharjah Senior Golf Masters from Thursday.

“It was nice to come back to Europe and play [last year]. It was a good change to travel on a Wednesday and come back on a Sunday night, whereas in America, Cathy, my wife, and I would travel from April until July – three months living out of a suitcase,” said Chapman.

Related: Dennis a happily marked man heading into Sharjah

“We had a good 5-6 years out in the States but it’s nice to come back to Europe and play with my good friends again. I was always a bit more relaxed playing in Europe. I was playing a bit better and got some confidence going and played OK.”

Four top-5 finishes and another three top-15s in 11 starts last year saw Chapman claim13th place in the Staysure Order-of-Merit with €110,338. One of those top-5s was in the season opener at Sharjah Golf & Shooting Club and has Chapman eyeing loftier goals in 2018.

“I’m aiming for a top five finish on the Order of Merit and now that I’m committed to playing a full [Staysure Tour] schedule I believe that’s within my grasp,” he said.

“I really enjoyed the tournament last year. None of the players really knew what to expect with it being held on a nine-hole course but I thought the layout was very good, the holes were great, the variation on tee positions on the par-3s and par-5s made it feel different on each nine and it was a good test of golf.”

Chapman banked in excess of $2.5 million in the past five years in the U.S. but $1 million of that came in his breakout year of 2012 when he finished 4th on the money-list; his next best season with 49th in 2014. Before the 50+ retirement plan, the 1979 English Amateur Champion finished in the top-100 of the European Tour in 19 of 21 campaigns spanning two decades but managed only one win, the Brazil Rio de Janeiro 500 Years Open in 2000 when he edged Padraig Harrington in a playoff.

His major wins likewise came over quality opposition; he beat American John Cook by two strokes for the PGA title and Fred Funk, Bernhard Langer, Tom Lehman and Corey Pavin by the same margin at the U.S. Senior Open.

Chapman headed to Dubai early to sharpen his game at the European Tour Performance Institute at Jumeirah Golf Estates.

“I had a couple of visits from my coach, Gary Nicol, who came down from Scotland and I have hit a few balls but the weather in the UK hasn’t been much good. Being in Dubai gives me the chance to get some sun on my back before I go over to Sharjah for the tournament. I’m looking forward to competing again and seeing how the tournament plays second time around.”

Related: McGinley one of 14 former Ryder Cuppers confirmed for Sharjah

The post Chapman seeks fast Sharjah start to Staysure Tour commitment appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

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 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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Des Smyth, Ronan Rafferty, Jose Rivero, Gordon J Brand, Steven Richardson, Gordon Brand Jnr, Philip Walton, Costantino Rocca and Barry Lane are all confirmed for the opening event of the 2017 European Senior Tour season at Sharjah Golf and Shooting Club from March 16-18.

Another former European Ryder Cupper, reigning Senior Open champion and senior tour order of merit champion Paul Broadhurst, is also expected to compete for the $63,750 winners’ cheque in a field set to include the top 20 from last season’s money list.

Also confirmed are two-time senior major champion Roger Chapman, former moneylist winners Peter Fowler and Paul Wesselingh and Welshman Stephen Dodd, who won the 2005 World Cup of Golf.

“We are all very excited about the inaugural Sharjah Senior Golf Masters and would like to extend our grateful thanks to Shurooq for enabling our very first event in Sharjah to see the light of day,” said European Senior Tour chief David MacLaren.

“We believe that this may be the very first time that a full European Tour event of any description has been played over a nine-hole layout and this is sure to add a different and exciting dimension to a tournament that we would urge all local golf fans to support.”

Joining the elite European Senior Tour stars are Sharjah Golf & Shooting Club’s Ramli Sulaiman and Rene Larsen of Jumeirah Golf Estates who triumphed in a recent “Amateur and Professional Qualifier”, along with another local player, John Mills.

The post Nine Ryder Cuppers <br> set for inaugural <br> Sharjah Senior Masters appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.