Golf great Tom Watson seeks elusive victory at Royal Lytham and St Annes in The Senior Open Presented by Rolex

Watson has collected wins at Carnoustie, Turnberry, Muirfield, Royal Troon, Royal Birkdale and Royal Aberdeen but never at Royal Lytham and St Annes.

The two-time Ryder Cup captain said: “Royal Lytham is one of the premier links courses in the world and it always presents the players with a tough but fair challenge.

“My record at Lytham could use some polishing but I would love nothing more than to play well, with a chance to win at this iconic and historic venue. I am looking forward to this Major Championship with great anticipation.”

The World Golf Hall of Fame Member will forever be connected to links golf in Britain. In 1975, aged 26, he won at Carnoustie on his debut appearance at The Open, one of only four players in the post-war era to accomplish the feat.

He went on to be named champion Golfer of the Year another four times, and picked up his three Senior Open trophies in 2003, 2005 and 2007 before playing his way into a play-off for a sixth Claret Jug at Turnberry two years later at the age of 59.

Watson captured the imagination of sporting fans everywhere and inspired over-50s golfers around the world.

He was only three strokes off the lead heading into the final round of last year’s Senior Open and is still very much a threat to win at Royal Lytham and St Annes.

Watson will be just one of a host of former Ryder Cup captains, Major champions and European Tour winners competing on the Fylde coast later this month.

Bernhard Langer, Paul McGinley, Colin Montgomerie and Ian Woosnam are just some who will go toe-to-toe with defending champion Miguel Ángel Jiménez in the field at Royal Lytham and St Annes as stars of the golfing world descend on the Fylde for Europe’s only Senior Major Championship.

Joining Watson in the American contingent at the 33rd edition of The Senior Open Presented by Rolex will be former Champion Golfer of the Year Tom Lehman, who won The Claret Jug at Royal Lytham and St Annes in 1996.

Miguel Angel Jiménez will defend his title and tickets start from £13.50. They are available at www.

eventbrite.co.uk (then search for The Senior Open Presented by Rolex), where hospitality options in The Lehman Lounge can also be booked. Entry for Under-16s and parking are free.

The Senior Open Presented by Rolex will return to Royal Lytham and St Annes for the first time since 1994, when the Linksgate venue hosted the championship for a fourth successive year.

Bobby Verwey, John Fourie, Bob Charles and Tom Wargo were the winners at the course, which has hosted The Open on 11 occasions and staged the Ricoh Women’s British Open last year.

Jiménez became the third consecutive European winner of The Senior Open after his one-stroke victory over defending champion Bernhard Langer on the Old Course at St Andrews in 2018. Paul Broadhurst started the run of European victories at Carnoustie in 2016.

In 2017, Langer became the first player to win 10 Senior Major Championships when he joined Gary Player and Tom Watson as the only three-time winners of the Senior Open Trophy with his victory at Royal Porthcawl in Wales.

The Senior Open was introduced in 1987 at Turnberry in Ayrshire, Scotland when Neil Coles, the former Chairman of the Board of Directors of the PGA European Tour, won the inaugural title. This led, two years later, to the formal inception of the European Senior Tour.