Tournament: ISPS HANDA Senior Open
Venue: Sunningdale Golf Club, Sunningdale, Berkshire, England
Prize Fund: $2,850,000
Hashtag: #SeniorOpen
European legends Colin Montgomerie and Miguel Angel Jiménez are excited for the test posed by Sunningdale at the ISPS HANDA Senior Open, as Europe’s only Senior Major returns to the famed Berkshire venue this week.
Montgomerie, Europe’s victorious 2010 Ryder Cup Captain and record eight-time European Number One, is hoping to add another Senior Major Championship to his trophy cabinet, having twice won the KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship and U.S. Senior Open since turning 50.
The Scotsman is making his 12th appearance in the Senior Open, with his best finish coming in 2014 when he finished runner-up to Bernhard Langer at Royal Porthcawl.
Jiménez arrives at Sunningdale in great form, with four victories on PGA TOUR Champions in 2025, including his third Senior Major at the Kaulig Companies Championship. The Spaniard, a 21-time winner on the DP World Tour, holds a healthy lead on the Schwab Cup Standings as he bids to win the season-long Schwab Cup for the first time.
The 61-year-old will bid for a second Senior Open title to add to his victory on the Old Course at St Andrews in 2018, when he finished one stroke ahead of 12-time Senior Major winner Bernhard Langer.
Jiménez will play the first two rounds alongside four-time Major winner Ernie Els and two-time Major Champion Angel Cabrera, with Montgomerie teeing it up with two-time U.S. Open champion Retief Goosen and three-time Senior Major winner Fred Funk, who lost in a play-off at the Senior Open in 2009 when it was first held at Sunningdale.
Player Quotes
Colin Montgomerie: “Normally it’s a 4,000-mile commute to work. Now it’s a four-minute commute to work, which is a home tie, which is unusual.
“It’s very rare that it comes around that you’re playing at home but it’s just a lovely place to be. Look behind us. It’s a beautiful spot. All the Americans love it here. They think it’s their — well, it’s our Pine Valley in many ways, which is a huge compliment for Sunningdale, and it’s great to be at home.
“I think it’s a course that suits me more than some. It’s not the longest course, par 70 is quite strict, mind you. It’s a tough 70 with only two par 5s, but at the same time, got to hit the fairways. And that’s what I do; the best I’ve done in my career is hit fairways. So if I can do that, we can score.
“You never know. If a couple of putts go in we can get into some sort of contention, not just competing in the tournament but actually into contention. So we look forward to it.”
Miguel Angel Jiménez: “I feel good. Have a week off last week but I need to rest because of the rest of the season we have this year, recover a little bit of energy and coming here to Sunningdale . I played yesterday in the Pro-Am, and today I have a nice match with (José María) Olazábal and (Emanuele) Canonica, and we enjoy very, very much.
“The golf course looks stunning, as always. Not as fiery as four, five years ago. But we will see what is going to happen this weekend. I feel good. Golf course is nice and very, very pleased to be here.”
