Carus Green Golf Club resident and European Senior Tour winner Gary Wolstenholme MBE, competed recently at Carnoustie Golf Club in Scotland for the British Senior Open, and found himself paired with a pretty special partner in golf legend Tom Watson.

Having been exempt from pre qualifying for the Senior Open from his position on last year’s order of merit, Wolstenholme got off to a slightly shaky start, with an opening round of 75, but was able to score a 71 (-1) for the second round which saw him comfortably make the cut, at which time, he was then drawn to play a round with the eight-time majors winner.

“Carnoustie is such a wonderfully tough golf course and did present challenges,” said Wolstenholme. “Despite not playing my best with Tom, I limited the damage to 74, birdying the last hole which is a feat in itself if you know the course. The final day was much more successful and I was pleased to play some of the best golf I’ve played ‘tee to green’ for many years.”

Shooting 69 on the final round, Wolstenholme was placed 27th from 49th and finished on a high note, cementing himself in 11th place on the tour’s current ‘Order of Merit’.

“Hopefully I can continue to play well and secure myself a fully exempt place on next year’s tour by finishing inside the top twenty.” he added.

“All in all, it was a great tournament. I thoroughly enjoyed the experience of playing with Tom, with whom I have played before at the US Masters in 2004. It was great to be reacquainted with him and is always an ambition I suppose for any golfer to meet their heroes of the past - and certainly Tom is a true legend of the game.”