SSE Scottish Senior Open: Andrew Oldcorn makes a strong comeback after failure in Turnberry
Scotland’s Andrew Oldcorn flourished at the rainy Torrance Championship Course on the opening day of the SSE Scottish Senior Open, as he posted a bogey-free five-under par 67, to take the share of the third spot on Friday, August 17, 2012.
It was a great comeback by the former PGA Champion who missed the cut at The Senior Open Championship presented by Rolex, three weeks ago.
The 52-year-old veteran, whose only Seniors Tour victory came at the 2011 De Vere Club PGA Seniors Championship, birdied the fifth and eighth hole before the turn and then produced three birdies on the first four holes of the back nine.
At the end of the round, he was just one stroke shy of the leaders, Marc Farry and Anders Forsbrand, who posted a six-under par 66 each.
“After playing so poorly at Turnberry I was able to put in so much work, put it behind me and concentrate on playing well here even though I haven’t done well here in the past,” he said.
“The Senior Open was as big a downer as I’ve had my whole career. I’ve missed the cut by a shot before but it was just how poorly I played. I’ve played as poorly in the Senior Open for three years in a row now, and I had to get to the bottom of that”.
“Birkdale’s my favourite course in all of Britain so I’ll look to that next year. But it’s been the biggest disappointment of my career,” he added.
He also stated that he took long practice sessions after his failure in Turnberry and worked on his weaknesses. According to him, he did three-hour sessions at a time and even extended them when needed.
Overall, it was completely out of his routine and the hard work paid him off in Fairmont St. Andrews on Friday. He now plans to challenge the leaders in the upcoming rounds by maintaining consistency in his game throughout the tournament.
Carl Mason, who has 25 European Seniors Tour victories registered to his name – most by any player in the history, also tied for the third position. He now aims to add another title to his resume.
Tags: