After a distinguished club career, Cameron is making up for lost time

For several of the Mauritius Commercial Bank Open field, the Belle Mare Plage and the neighbouring Legend golf course will be familiar territory

Englishman Bob Cameron will be among those paying a return visit after competing in the 2006 Mauritius Open, when he finished down the field behind winner Van Phillips.

The 56-year-old Cameron was a latecomer to the PGA European Tour after 30 years as a club professional in south-east England. But in the seven years since joining the Senior Tour, Cameron has yet to finish outside the top 20 in the order-of-merit and, after finishing eighth in 2009, he is among the favourites for the inaugural MCB Mauritius Open title.

“I did try to join the main Tour earlier in my career,” said Cameron. “I went to qualifying school a couple of times in the nineties but without success so I decided to remain a club professional.” Cameron returned to his career as resident professional at Sundridge Park and had great success in local and regional events. But when he reached 50 and became eligible for the Senior Tour, the chance to compete on a regular basis against quality opposition proved too hard to resist. “I had 19 wonderful years at Sundridge Park,but I wanted to compete at the highest level possible,” explained Cameron, who was awarded honorary membership on leaving Sundridge Park. “I felt there was something still there.” Cameron had won the Glenmuir Club Professionals’ Championship twice in three years so there was no doubting his ability but would he be able to perform on a greater stage? He went to Qualifying School and, with the top eight players securing a Tour place, he suffered the agony of finishing ninth. However, when one of the qualifiers was forced to withdraw from the Tour, Cameron was promoted into the available slot. In that first season, played in all but one competition, the Royal Westmoreland Barbados Open, which was an invitation event.

That remains the only tournament he has missed in a seniors career that has produced two victories, both in 2004, in the Open de France Senior and the Sanremo Masters.

The Plymouth-born professional, who makes regular visits to Sundridge Park to work on his game with his coach, Stuart Dowsett, enjoys the atmosphere on the Senior Tour. “It’s friendly and the players are chatty and more relaxed than on the main tour. But it’s still competitive and if you look at the scores, the standard compares favourably with the main tour.” Cameron believes that those who have previously played on the Legend course could have a slight advantage. “It is quite testing and extremely tight,” he said. “I’ve heard that there have been a few changes so I am hoping it may be a little more player friendly.”

And his target? ”I’ll be looking to get on the leaderboard and in contention over the last nine holes. Then we shall have to see what happens. “There’s good money to be won in Mauritius and a decent finish will provide a great start for the year ahead. “I’m looking forward to it.”

Neil webber