Roger Chapman will defend his MCB Tour Championship – Seychelles title when he returns to Constance Lemuria for the second leg of the Indian Ocean Swing on the Staysure Tour. Picture by GETTY IMAGES

ROGER Chapman returns to the MCB Tour Championship – Seychelles 12 months after winning the inaugural title at Constance Lemuria.

And the former Kent amateur is relishing the opportunity to reacquaint himself with the stunning Indian Ocean layout.

The two-time Senior Major Champion came from seven shots behind at the start of the final round to lift the trophy in 2018, beating Phillip Price on the first play-off hole after sinking a 30-foot eagle putt.

Chapman, who has four top 10s to his name in 2019, including a share of 10th place at The Senior Open, at St Andrews, is excited to be back on the Indian Ocean island.

“It’s always great to be a defending champion,” said Chapman. “It’s great being in Seychelles and I’m looking forward to defending my title.

“The win meant a lot last year. I was injured at the beginning of the season and had a shoulder operation in the middle of May and did nothing until The Senior Open at St Andrews.”

The Berkshire-based golfer, who was born in Kenya where he lived until he was five, will tee it up in the second staging of the event.

The Seychelles tournament is the second of the three event final series MCB Tour Championship, where the top-performing player will be crowned King of the Swing after the Indian Ocean events.

Chapman, who has five victories worldwide to his name – including the 2012 US Senior Open and US Senior PGA – was crowned both the inaugural King of the Swing and the MCB Tour Championship – Seychelles winner.

The 60-year-old who lives in Ascot. will face a tough test, not just from the players battling for the title, but from the picturesque course which hosted the first European Tour-sanctioned event in Seychelles 12 months ago.

“The course is like an examination,” said the three-time Staysure Tour winner, who believes the Constance Lemuria course, which has serious elevation changes, offers one of the most spectacular views in the world of golf according to the defending champion.

“The paper is there in front of you and you’ve got to do your best,” added Chapman.

“You have to plot your way around this course, like a game of chess, and make sure you hit the fairways.

“The first 12 holes are really, really good and then you get to the 13th tee and you go up, and then you get to the 14th tee and you go up again.

“You think you have to come down sooner or later and then you hit 15, which is probably one of the most beautiful holes in the world.

“The hang time on the shot into the green is close to 10 seconds, which is incredible. Then the par five 16th goes back up the hill before you get to 17 which is a little par three.

“You then arrive at the 18th tee and see the fantastic view but the tee shot puts the fear of God into you.

“It’s not an easy tee shot, especially with the wind. Some guys hit driver, but a lot of guys will take an iron off the tee to make sure they hit the fairway – it’s fraught with danger.”

Chapman will tee off at 11.45am local time alongside the MCB Tour Championship – Madagascar winner Barry Lane.

Also in the field is Europe’s victorious 2014 Ryder Cup captain Paul McGinley.

The first round at the MCB Tour Championship – Seychelles gets under way at 9am local time which is four hours ahead of GMT.

•For live scoring at the MCB Tour Championship – Seychelles click here.

Chapman was part of Kent’s golden era

ROGER Chapman was a member of the last Kent team to win the English County Championship in 1978 before their triumph at Huddersfield in September.

Kent took the title by beating Northumberland 5&4 in the final at Frilford Heath.

Chapman’s team-mates included Walker Cup ace Peter Hedges, Paul Hoad, who went on to play on the European Tour and has taught on the circuit, Toby Shannon, who beat Sandy Lyle 10&8 in The Boys Amateur Championship, in 1974.

Chapman, whose only win in 20 years on the European Tour came in Rio de Janeiro, in 2000, was the first Kent player to win the English Amateur Championship in 1979, at Royal St George’s.

He also claimed the Lytham Trophy in 1981, the year he made his Walker Cup debut, where he beat Hal Sutton, twice on the final day, at Cypress Point, in California.

The post MCB Tour Championship – Seychelles champion Roger Chapman defends his title appeared first on Golf North.

Welshman Stephen Dodd is desperate to maintain his run of a victory in every season he has been on the Staysure Tour, in the Austrian Senior Open, at Murhof GC. Picture by GETTY IMAGES

STEPHEN Dodd has been the first to admit his 2019 Staysure Tour campaign had not gone to plan.

Yet despite a balky driver, he carded an opening-round of 64 to take a one-shot lead at the Murhof Legends – Austrian Senior Open on eight-under par.

The Welshman – who was crowned The Amateur Champion at Royal Birkdale 30 years ago – showed remarkable resilience during the Staysure Tour’s first official day of competition in Austria – the 45^th different country to host Europe’s over-50s circuit.

Following a bogey at the eighth hole, Dodd carded back-to-back birdies on the ninth and 10th, and then repeated the bounce-back effort by erasing his double-bogey at the 15^th with consecutive gains on the next two holes.

“The score was good,” the 53-year-old said, “I didn’t particularly drive it very well, so I’ve got a bit to work on perhaps, but I am delighted with the score.”

Dodd has collected one win on the Staysure Tour in each of the three years he has been eligible to play.

But so far he has not yet matched that high standard in 2019, and finds himself in 30^th on the Order of Merit.

Still, the man who collected his first professional title at the 1992 Bank Austria Open knows the book is not closed this season just yet.

“To put it politely, it’s been a quite one,” he said. “The season is not finished yet though, we’ve still got a few more events, so we’ll see where we are come December.

“There are plenty of birdie chances if you drive it well around here. The greens are good and the weather was perfect today so it all sets up for a good week.

“So far, we’ve had a fantastic week. Gary Stangl and the team and everybody at Murhof have looked after us fantastically well.”

The highlight of the day came when Frenchman Thomas Levet holed his 235-yard second shot into the par five seventh for an albatross.

“Making an albatross helps a lot,” the former Ryder Cup winner said. “I had my first albatross 39 years ago when I was 12-years-old and a 24-handicap. I holed a five-wood then, but there were no spectators.

“Today, the spectators behind the green were so shocked nobody reacted, so I thought, from where I was, that the ball had run through the green because I could see the pitch mark but not the ball.

“When I arrived at the green, I fixed my pitch mark and started walking to the back of the green when a guy shouted ‘It’s in the hole!’”

Levet hit every green in regulation on day one, and along with his three-under par hole, signed for a six-under 66, which put him in a share of fourth place alongside Jarmo Sandelin, José Coceres and Rafael Gomez.

A pair of Englishmen – double Senior Major Champion Roger Chapman and Staysure Tour Rookie Gary Evans – sit only one stroke behind Dodd on seven-under, while home-hero Markus Brier carded a 71, which left him in a share of 29^th.

The second round of the Murhof Legends – Austrian Senior Open begins on Saturday at 8am, with the lead group of Dodd, Chapman and Evans set to go at 11.18am.

For live scoring click here

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