Farry confident Mauritius will impress

Marc Farry is confident the new look Constance Belle Mare Plage will impress his colleagues on the European Senior Tour when they visit the spectacular venue for the inaugural Mauritius Commercial Bank Open hosted by Constance Belle Mare Plage from December 11-13, 2009.

Former European Tour professional Farry, who joined the Senior Tour after turning 50 in July, has been overseeing changes to the picturesque Legends course, which is already renowned as a developing golfing tourist destination.

The Frenchman also believes the Mauritius Commercial Bank Open hosted by Constance Belle Mare Plage, which supersedes the Mauritius Open played at the spectacular resort since 1994, can develop into one of the most popular tournaments on the Senior circuit.

“The Mauritian people are very warm and friendly people and the Senior Tour players will get an excellent welcome,” he said. “The organisers, Constance Belle Mare Plage and the Mauritius Commercial Bank, are striving to make this first event there the best possible event in many different ways.

“The hotel, golf course, accommodation, the food - we want everything to be the best. We have been working a lot on the golf course because in the past it was a bit tight due to the trees. It is still tricky and will demand that you play your best golf but some of the holes are a lot more open now, which is good.

“We have changed a few tee positions too and elevated some, as well as removed some trees and branches which were not in a good position. I think it will be a good week and a lot of the players I have been speaking to over the past few months are very excited about it and happy to be playing a new tournament on the Senior Tour in a new country. Knowing the people at Belle Mare Plage, as I do, and knowing the MCB Bank people, this event will grow year after year to be one of the best tournaments in the region.”

Farry, winner of the 1996 BMW International Open on The European Tour, will be keen to produce a good showing in the Mauritius Commercial Bank Open hosted by Constance Belle Mare Plage, having made steady improvement so far this season.
He has finished in the top 20 in each of his last two Senior Tour events – tied 16th in the Travis Perkins plc Senior Masters and tied 20th in the Casa Serena Open.

With the €230,000 Mauritius event the first to be played on the 2010 Senior Tour schedule, Farry’s knowledge of the course could provide him with the ideal opportunity to make a strong start to the new campaign.
“My targets on the Senior Tour are, firstly, to play well in the Senior Majors on both sides of the Atlantic and, secondly, to win again and it would be great to do that in Mauritius,” he said.

“The Senior Tour is a good challenge for me. The competition is just as tough as it is on the main Tour. Everybody out here is practicing very hard and they want to do as well as possible. There can only be one winner every week so it is tough. But it is great – I’m loving every minute of it and I’m looking to do well next season.”
Preceding the 54 hole professional tournament, a field of international amateurs will contest a Pro-Am over the Legend and Links courses on December 8 and 9 and then move on to the Links course on December 10 and 11.