Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Peter Baker opens up commanding lead at Staysure PGA Seniors Championship at Trump International Links

The in-form Englishman carded a six-under 66 in the best of the conditions at the Menie Estate.

Peter Baker leads the way at the Staysure PGA Seniors Championship at Trump International Links. Image: Kenny Elrick/DC Thomson
Peter Baker leads the way at the Staysure PGA Seniors Championship at Trump International Links. Image: Kenny Elrick/DC Thomson

Peter Baker showed why he is the form player on the Legends Tour by storming into a four-shot lead at the halfway stage of the Staysure PGA Seniors Championship at Trump International Links.

The 55-year-old has won twice on his previous five starts on the Legends Tour with victories at the Irish Legends in June before another success at this month’s JCB Championship.

A second round of six-under-par 66 – a course record off the tournament tees – helped Baker reach nine under overall and open up a commanding four-shot lead.

Fellow Englishman Greg Owen is his nearest challenger on five under after rounds of 69 and 70 with Scotland’s Andrew Oldcorn, 2005 US Open champion Michael Campbell and Welshman Stephen Dodd a further shot behind.

But Baker, a three-time winner on the European Tour and a member of the 1993 European Ryder Cup team, is the man to beat in the £500,000 event.

He said: “It’s been a good year.

“We are only halfway there, though.

“I’m just trying to keep the run going but not getting ahead of myself.

“Golf is a funny game. It’s tough and when you find a bit of form you want to keep it going.

“Hopefully the form will last for a couple more days here.

“I think everything in my game has been a bit better this year. It’s not just one department. That’s all added up.

“I’m driving it a lot better, my irons are good and my putting has improved. That’s been huge.”

Peter Baker was on the birdie trail at Trump International Links. Image: Kenny Elrick/DC Thomson

The senior circuit has tended to be dominated by players in their early fifties but Baker takes inspiration from 65-year-old Bernhard Langer, who is second in the order of merit on the lucrative Champions Tour in the United States.

He said: “Bernhard Langer is a great example to everybody.

“You just have to manage yourself, what’s good for you.

“The hard bit is that age is against you.

“We’re lucky with golf that at 50 you get another chance at it.

“I played with Fred Funk who is 67 and he played lovely today.

“He still loves playing. If I can get anywhere near Fred and Bernhard and still be playing then, I’ll be delighted.

“The massive change is with preparation these days. I do little and often.

“I don’t go for hours on end at the range like you used to do. I break it up a little bit more as it can be hard on the body.”

Peter Baker has already won twice on the Legends Tour this season. Image: Kenny Elrick/DC Thomson

His game plan certainly worked on a weather-disrupted day at Trump International Links.

Baker was safely inside the clubhouse having completed his round when play was suspended for almost 90 minutes due to the threat of thunder and lightning.

After his bogey-free round of 66, he said: “The course record was nice.

“It’s a great course. I came up here three years ago with some friends and we played off the back tees.

“It was a huge mistake. We moved up after 12 holes.

“It was just impossible. It’s a sensational course.

“Through the dunes, it’s tremendous. It feels like a real proper event.”

Owen relishing being back in action

Four birdies over the closing seven holes helped Owen move into second spot.

The 51-year-old from Mansfield has endured a tough period off the course in recent years.

He said: “It’s been a long day.

“We had to deal with some extra conditions.

“It was a lovely finish, my caddie got me through.

“It’s been a struggle coming back. I’ve not played competitively for a long time.

“I’m dealing with a few things but the golf is there, I just have to play.

“This is my first full year, but I had major back surgery and then some personal issues and haven’t really played for six years.

“It’s nice to get back and play some decent stuff.”

Local knowledge helps Dodd

Welshman Stephen Dodd, winner of the 2021 Senior Open Championship, had the help of some local knowledge in the form of Ladies European Tour pro Michele Thomson as his caddie.

He moved into contention with a five-under 67 to end the day tied second.

He said: “It is nice to have Michele on the bag.

“I was looking for a local caddie and she was available.

“She’s been stuck with me for the last few days and now a few more. We’re enjoying it.

“It was a good day, kept it in position nicely.

“The wind was the opposite direction when we started, but it was a gentle breeze.

“Not quite Porthcawl for the Senior Open! I drove it very well and holed out nicely. All in all a solid day.”

Conversation