Bob Charles, a man who
doesn't drink tea or coffee,
is ready to maintain
Senior Open record

PRESS RELEASE
Two-time winner Bob Charles will tee up at The 2008 Senior Open Championship presented by MasterCard at Royal Troon Golf Club looking to maintain his remarkable record of being the only person to have played every tournament since the event began in 1987.
The evergreen New Zealander, who continues to compete at the top end of the European Seniors Tour leaderboards at the ripe old age of 72, this year marks the 45th anniversary of his Open Championship win at Royal Lytham & St Annes.
It is also the 15th anniversary of the last of his two Senior Open Championship victories, at Royal Lytham & St Annes in 1993.
Charles, pictured above by Cal Carson Golf Agency (all rights reserved), who also claimed the title in 1989, heads to Royal Troon Golf Club for his 22nd consecutive Senior Open Championship, from July 24-27, in fine form over links courses, with top 20 finishes in Jersey, Wales and Ireland so far this season.
He has shot scores lower than his age ten times on the European Seniors Tour, including on five occasions so far in 2008, with a 71 and 70 in Poland, a superb final round 69 in Jersey, a 71 in Wales and most recently with a first round 71 in Ireland.
Charles also showed that he can still keep up with players half a century younger than himself when he finished a remarkable tied 23rd at the Michael Hill New Zealand Open on The European Tour last year.
The left-hander said he had many fond memories of the Senior Open Championship, having finished runner-up on six occasions to add to his two wins.
He said: “I’ve won it twice and I’ve played in every one so it is special for me. It was first played in 1987 and I’m hoping to keep the record going. I’m really looking forward to playing Troon. I had a fifth place there in The 1962 Open Championship, which is the best finish I have had there.
“The tee shots are quite challenging at Troon as you are hitting across fairways. For someone who can really shape the ball it is good but if you drive it straight, you go straight through the fairway. You have to be able to bend the ball to keep it on a lot of fairways.
“I always look forward to the Senior Open Championship. I played very well at Muirfield last year. I think I even made more birdies than the winner Tom Watson did in the four rounds. But I also made a number of double bogeys and triple bogeys which destroyed potentially good rounds.
“I was really pleased with my performance last year and I think going in this year my game is in even better shape. I’m hitting the ball a little bit longer and that helps.
“I don’t expect much of my game at my age but I love the game, I love to play and I love the competition.
“Once you get to 71 or 72 it’s a lot easier to break your age than when you are in your 60s. I’ve broken my age in Poland, Jersey, Wales and Ireland– each of the four tournaments I have played in Europe this year. It’s about all there is left for me these days – to shoot my age or better!
“I just like to think that I will still be playing at the 50th anniversary of my Open Championship."
Charles’s modesty is just one of his many qualities, along with a steely self-discipline that has seen him abstain from drinking tea and coffee for the past 25 years.
He said: “Moderation is my motto. I don’t go to excess on anything. I have a glass of white wine and a glass of red wine in the evening, sometimes I have two glasses of red. I also stretch daily and I sleep well.”
Charles will be joined in the field by the defending champion Tom Watson, who is the only other player to have won an Open Championship and Senior Open Championship at the same venue
If the legendary American retains his title, he will have won The Senior Open Championship on three of the courses where he also lifted The Open Championship, following his previous double victories at Turnberry and Muirfield.
Charles admits he is excited by the presence of the five time Open Champion in the field, along with the Senior Open Championship debuts of the big European trio Bernhard Langer, Sandy Lyle and Ian Woosnam.
He said: “I think the field is great for this event. With Watson and the new European players such as Langer, Lyle and Woosnam I think it will be a hugely successful event. We have also got some good players coming over from the US.”
To reserve a Championship hospitality package in the Barcelό Troon Marine Hotel, E-mail marine.mande@barcelo-hotels.co.uk
Tickets for The 2008 Senior Open Championship presented by MasterCard - which is jointly run by the European Seniors Tour and The R&A and co-sanctioned by the US Champions Tour - can be booked now by visiting http://www.europeantourtickets.com/.