The Senior Open Championship Presented by Rolex promises to showcase the talents of over 30 Major Champions at Carnoustie next month. And there are only a few days remaining to take advantage of discounted tickets for the event, which is augmented by the confirmation that 1991 Masters Champion Ian Woosnam will be competing.
Season tickets for the 30th anniversary of the Championship from July 21-24 are currently on offer at £70 with Any One Day tickets costing just £25. These prices rise to £80 and £30 respectively from July 1. Under 16s go free when accompanied by an adult and car parking is also free of charge.
Meanwhile, Woosnam will return to Carnoustie hoping to rekindle the warm glow of victory which he experienced in the Scottish Open 20 years ago.
It was in 1996 that the Welshman beat everybody in the field – with the exception of par – to win one of his 29 European Tour victories over the fearsome Carnoustie Links which devoured a world class field.
Woosnam was last man standing that week, winning with a one over par total 289 and a four stroke victory over Scotland’s Ryder Cup player, Andrew Coltart. Two decades on, Woosnam will be back in Scotland, the Home of Golf, hoping to recapture the spirit of 1996.
When the Senior Open Championship was last played at Carnoustie six years ago, Woosnam finished tied eighth behind Germany’s Bernhard Langer, but is looking forward to reacquainting himself with the magnificent venue – and he has been practising with one eye on the Senior Open at Carnoustie.
“I remember that I was the only player to get close to level par and that it was a ridiculously hard week,” said Woosnam, casting his mind back two decades. “Every time I play Carnoustie it feels really tough and it’s going to be a challenge again. I enjoyed the last time I played there in the Senior Open in 2010 with a top ten finish and a couple of really good rounds.
“I’m looking forward to coming back and playing in the event. That’s why I’ve been working more on my ball flight this year, trying to get it lower with Carnoustie in mind. I’ve spent too many years trying to hit it high for the American conditions but I want to hit it lower to get more control to play well in the Senior Open Championship.
“You have to keep the ball lower in the conditions we face there. You can hit it high all day long but if you want to play in a coastal wind on a links course in Britain then you need to think about getting the ball back in your stance and keeping it down.”
Woosnam, who captured the Masters title at Augusta National in 1991 and celebrated the 25th anniversary of his greatest achievement in April, believes he can still land another Major Championship, but this time on the senior platform.
However, he knows that Carnoustie can reach out and grab even the greatest of golfers. He said: “It’s a great golf course. You get to the 16th tee and if you haven’t made your score by then – watch out! Anything can happen over these three closing holes.
“The 16th is a tiny little green and you can make a four or a five. Then at the 17th, again you know you are going in with a long iron more times than not while you have the negotiate the water at the last. Three fiendishly difficult holes. That’s what golf’s all about. That’s the challenge. If you are not in control of your swing and the golf ball it becomes very difficult. You can blow a tournament over those last few holes.”
Langer, who won the first of his two Senior Open titles on Carnoustie’s Championship links, will be in the field again along with more than 30 Major Champions including Tom Watson, Fred Couples, John Daly and a host of European legends such as Colin Montgomerie, Miguel Angel Jiménez and Jean Van de Velde.
Last chance early bird tickets for 2016 Senior Open Championship Presented by Rolex are available now by visiting: http://tickets.europeantour.com/event/the-senior-open-championship/carnoustie-golf-links/899860/
Hospitality packages are also available here: http://tickets.europeantour.com/event/the-senior-open-championship-hospitality/carnoustie-golf-links/905538/
Senior Open Championship Presented by Rolex www.senioropengolf.com