Staff WriterGrab your flat cap and polish the brass on your hip flask – the Senior Open is heading back to Sunningdale, and it’s bringing enough star power to short-circuit a TrackMan.
The 39th edition of the ISPS HANDA Senior Open tees off July 23–27 on the revered Old Course, a stretch of Berkshire turf so revered it practically asks players to take their shoes off before walking on the greens. And the guest list? Let’s just say, if golf had a Mount Rushmore, half the field would be up there chiselled in granite.
Six continents will be represented by Major Champions alone – a sort of golfing United Nations with fewer suits and more back braces. Ernie Els, Pádraig Harrington, Bernhard Langer, José María Olazábal, Retief Goosen, and Angel Cabrera headline a lineup that reads like the credits from a 2000s Masters highlight reel.
Also joining the fray are Rich Beem, Michael Campbell, David Duval, Justin Leonard, Shaun Micheel, and Y.E. Yang – each with enough tour sauce to fill a decanter.
Let’s not forget the Brits. Darren Clarke, Paul Lawrie, and Ian Woosnam are sharpening their spikes, ready to defend the home patch with a flask of tea in one hand and a sand wedge in the other.
Colin Montgomerie, now Europe’s most decorated grumbler and eight-time No.1, will be joined by fellow Ryder Cup alumni Thomas Bjørn and Paul McGinley.
Oh, and did we mention the defending champ? South Korea’s K.J. Choi is back after making history last year as the first Senior Major winner from his homeland.
He’ll be flanked by former Senior Open winners Miguel Ángel Jiménez (who also won last month’s Kaulig Companies Championship – because of course he did), Alex Čejka, Stephen Dodd, and Paul Broadhurst.
For those who like their drama brewed strong and poured slow, Jiménez’s runner-up finish to Dodd the last time the Senior Open visited Sunningdale in 2021 still lingers like a good Rioja. This year, expect another vintage.
Fresh faces will also pepper the leaderboard, with Ryder Cup stalwarts David Howell and Stephen Gallacher making their Senior Open debuts, alongside seasoned DP World Tour winners Søren Kjeldsen and Anthony Wall.
So, if you fancy a week of ironclad storylines, sun-drenched fairways, and watching your old golfing heroes show the young bucks how tempo really works – you know where to be.
Tickets are still available (but not for long) and will bump to full whack after 4 pm on Thursday, July 17.
You can snag daily, season, or even Ticket+ passes if you like your golf with a side of creature comforts.
The Senior Open. Sunningdale. Legends, links, and a whole lot of lovely walking trousers. Don’t miss it.
