The aptly named Legends Tour is in town for the final showdown taking place at Constance Belle Mare Plage on the Legend Course, Mauritius. MARK SAMPSON reports.
At the press conference on the day before tournament, Colin Montgomerie sat beside Peter Baker and reminisced about the 1993 Ryder Cup at the Belfry.
That year their team included the likes of Nick Faldo, Ian Woosnam, Bernard Langer and swashbuckling Seve Ballesteros. In a similar vein the final tournament of the season is stacked with Major winners and big names from yesteryear.
Colin Montgomerie returns hoping to relive his 2015 win when he finished with a birdie, eagle (hole-in-one) birdie finish to catapult himself to the top of the leaderboard.
Adilson da Silva, sitting at the top of the Order of Merit rankings, is hoping to stay there after playing the bridesmaid in the last two seasons.
And last year’s winner of the MCB Tour Championship and the John Jacobs Trophy, Peter Baker, returns to his happy hunting ground hoping to finish the year on a high.
The season is almost complete, the players are ready and host Constance Hotels, Resorts and Golf hold the trump card.
The Legend course is in scintillating condition, a miracle due to recent cyclonic conditions which brought heavy rains and strong winds to the region.
The course, recently rated as the No 1 course in the Indian Ocean by the World Golf Awards, will this week test the seasoned professionals. According to Montgomerie it requires absolute precision off the tees and can appear easy one day while as unforgiving the next. The consensus is the Legend is in the best condition ever and particularly the greens, which are running as quickly and smoothly as ever.
Day one of the MCB Tour Championship promises to be as exciting as the field itself. The question is who will get off to a quick start and will the mercurial weather play a role in the outcome with the ever-changing conditions?
With a prize purse of $1-million, it’s all to play for in the final tournament of the season.
