The 2012 European Senior Tour season will begin on the Spanish island of Mallorca when Pula Golf Club hosts the inaugural Mallorca Open Senior from May 11-13.
Designed by 2012 European Ryder Cup Captain José María Olazábal, who will be eligible to join the Senior Tour in 2016, Pula Golf Club in Son Servera will welcome the Senior Tour for the first time having previously hosted seven European Tour events.
With a prize fund of €200,000 and first prize of €30,000, the Mallorca Open Senior will take place two weeks before the US Senior PGA Championship presented by KitchenAid, launching the 21st Senior Tour season and the contest to succeed Peter Fowler as winner of the John Jacobs Trophy.
It will be the Senior Tour’s first visit to Mallorca since 2009, when Mark James defeated former Ryder Cup teammate Eamonn Darcy in a play-off to win the Son Gual Mallorca Senior Open.
The tournament also means the return of top class golf to Pula Golf Club which hosted both editions of the Iberdrola Open on The European Tour, won in 2010 by Ryder Cup player Peter Hanson and last year by Northern Ireland’s Darren Clarke two months before he lifted the Claret Jug in The 140th Open Championship at Royal St George’s.
Prior to that, Pula Golf Club hosted the Mallorca Classic on The European Tour between 2003 and 2007, with the first three editions won by Spanish Ryder Cup players Miguel Angel Jiménez, Sergio Garcia and course designer Olazábal respectively.
Pepa Marijuan, Managing Director of MatchGolf, said: “We are very proud to maintain our support and relationship with the European Tour that this year will start with the first event of the season on the Senior Tour.
“We are delighted to present the new senior event, the Mallorca Open Senior, at Pula Golf Club to start the 2012 season. For more than seven years now, MatchGolf has been promoting Senior Tour events, and we look forward to welcoming all of the Senior champions and hope they enjoy this tournament.”
Andy Stubbs, Managing Director of the European Senior Tour, said: “We are delighted that the Mallorca Open Senior will open the 2012 European Senior Tour campaign, and we would like to thank promoter MatchGolf for maintaining their long-standing relationship with the Senior Tour through this new event.
“We are also grateful to Romeo Sala, the owner of Pula Golf Club, for hosting many of the great champions on the Senior Tour and for helping us to get the new season off to the perfect start.”
