“I’m looking forward to the rest of the year,” says the former Ryder Cup player. “I’ve had a good break and I’m back on it now, which is great, and really looking forward to the next few weeks. I’ve always played better when I’m fresh and I’m looking forward to playing. We’ve had a good run (at the start of the season). I’ve been up there a lot with the chances to win, so that sort of takes its toll. It was the right time to have a bit of relaxation and refresh to get ready for the second half of the year.
“I’ve never played this course, but it looks lovely. It’s a beautiful area, so I’m really looking forward to it. My game felt good last week, so hopefully we’ll play well this week and see what we can do. Of course, it would be nice to win the MCB Road to Mauritius again. I think I’ve got six or seven tournaments left, so I need to play well and try to win one, if not more.”
Scott Hend
The Aussie returns to the Legends Tour this week after playing a couple of Asian Tour events since his last appearance at the Staysure PGA Seniors Championship hosted by Colin Montgomerie. Hend started the season with four top-5s in a row, including a tied-4th finish at a major, the KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship. He’s looking forward to getting back in action on the Legends Tour in France – on and off the course.
“It’s good to be in France,” says the current MCB Road to Mauritius number three. “There’s some fantastic wines here, even in the grocery stores, and there’s a lot of cheese to be had this week. It’s always great to come for a visit here.”
This is his first trip to Le Touquet specifically so he’s leaning on his fellow competitors for course info and hoping it suits his style of play: “I’m asking the boys for a few tips. There are a lot of trees and it’s quite benign at the moment, but who knows what’s going to happen when the tournament starts. They’ve said it’s pretty open and you can smash it. That’s usually pretty good for me. I find the best way to play golf is your natural way, and I’m generally sort of an aggressive type of person, sort of up front, so that’s how I play my golf.”
Brian Davis
Davis is making his Legends Tour debut following a brilliant career that includes two DP World Tour wins in 248 appearances and five runners-up finishes in 386 events on the PGA Tour. He’s relishing this new chapter in his golfing life after recovering from a career-threatening injury.
“This is big for me,” says the Englishman, who turned 50 on August 2nd. “Because if I go back maybe six or seven years ago, I had major surgery and I didn’t think I was going to ever play again. So for me to be in this spot now, I’m just grateful that I’m here.
“I get to play with some of my friends that I haven’t seen in a while, so it’s really cool. I’m playing with Van Phillips today (in a practice round). We roomed together for six or seven years, so it’s just nice to catch up with the guys. Everybody’s really welcoming. We want to go beat each other’s brains in on the golf course, but then we get to have a beer afterwards.”
After spending much of the latter part of his career playing in America, Davis is looking forward to travelling the world with the Legends Tour: “I flew into Paris yesterday, so it was a little bit different trying to get the car and everything organized. But it just brings me back to the memories of playing on the DP World Tour and you click into what you used to do. But I’m just so thankful to have a second go, because I thought I was done. I’m just trying to soak up every minute and enjoy it. And obviously, I’ll learn how things work out here and hopefully have a good second career.”
