Two familiar faces were in evidence on the Legend course yesterday when former Mauritius Open champions Mike McLean and Phil Golding made guest appearances in the Constance Hotels Pro-Am.
The two men are on holiday on the island – Mike and his wife, Vicky, at the Constance Prince Maurice and Phil, his wife Sally and their son Lucas at the Constance Belle Mare Plage.
And they willingly accepted invitations to play in the two-day competition.
It is the first time Mike and Phil have been back to the resort since the format of the tournament changed with the arrival of the European Senior Tour.
Mike and Vicky are, in fact, celebrated their 20th wedding anniversary this week, while Phil had a golfing engagement on Reunion Island and he and Sally decided to spend some time at one of their favourite holiday destinations.
“We’re really enjoying ourselves back in Mauritius,” said Mike, winner of the Mauritius Open in its inaugural year of 1994 and again in 2000.
“Not much has changed and we have always loved it at the Prince Maurice.
“And it was good to be able to play the two courses again.
“There have been a few subtle changes to the Legend but they have been done a wonderful job and you could hardly detect that any work has gone on there.
“I could see that the sixth tee has gone back a little and the tee at the 14th has been raised since I last played it, giving a better view of the hole.”
Phil was Mauritius Open champion in 1996 and is looking forward to making a return visit next year, when he becomes eligible to join the Senior Tour.
He recently won a good quality professional event in Turkey, beating the Spaniard, Carl Suneson, in a play-off, so his form is holding up well.
“This is the place I will be most looking forward to visiting on the Tour,” he said. “It’s my favourite place in the world.”
Both men agreed that the course had improved and was looking in excellent condition.
And, with his tongue firmly in his cheek, Phil said:
“It’s not as tight as it used to be. They’ve widened some fairways and shifted a lot of rocks to make it more open.
“The course was much more difficult in our day.”
“Yes,” Mike agreed, “but the first year was the hardest!”
Neil Webber
