The Legends Tour returns to Greece for the second Costa Navarino Legends Tour Trophy, with Paul Lawrie, Michael Campbell, Scott Hend and Stephen Gallacher headlining an international field with players from all six inhabited continents.
In addition to seven former Ryder Cup players, two-time DP World Tour champion Anthony Wall is making his debut and PGA Tour winner Bo Van Pelt is playing in his first regular Legends Tour event, having made his over-50s bow at the recent Senior PGA Championship in America – the first of three majors that count on the Order of Merit.
It was another American who wrote his name in the history books last year as Clark Dennis won the inaugural Costa Navarino Legends Tour Trophy with a score of -17. The Texan is relishing the prospect of defending his title in Greece after enjoying his first visit to the country so much 12 months ago: “It was great. The venue was just amazing from the start. I thought the courses were brilliant and we just had a fantastic time the whole week. There’s a lot of history and a lot of fun things to see, and the resort is incredible. I can’t recommend it highly enough for people to go and experience it.”
This year’s tournament will again be played over two of the four courses at Costa Navarino, although there’s a slight tweak with Thursday’s opening round taking place on the Hills, rather than the Bay. The second and third rounds will again take place on the International Olympic Academy Golf Course, meaning both of this year’s layouts were designed by Jose Maria Olazabal. The Dunes, which was designed by Bernhard Langer and opened in May 2010, is the fourth course at Costa Navarino.
Scoring was incredibly low on the Bay 12 months ago, but it was the Olympic where Dennis came to the fore with two rounds of 66 to come through the field and win by four shots, so he knows exactly what it takes to score well on the main tournament layout: “The Olympic is a really good golf course. I thought it was very fair. It’s very scorable if you drive it in the fairway, but if you start to drive it a little crooked, it can be tough. You have to drive it in the fairway, and then iron play is important. The greens are fair, but a little difficult with some slopes on them. Most importantly, you have to drive it well.”
Costa Navarino is widely regarded as one of the best golf resorts in Europe, with five-star hotels, luxurious villas, incredible restaurants and the four signature golf courses all on-site, just a 40-minute drive from Kalamata Airport. The Mediterranean climate is perfect for golf and the quartet of courses all offer incredible views of Navarino Bay, which was the site of one of the most significant naval battles in Greek history in October 1827.
Dennis had his son Phillip caddying for him last year, and he credits talking about the local history during his final round as a contributor to his success: “Phillip and I were having a good chat. He’s a history buff, so he was telling me about the Battle of Navarino Bay, which happened down right below where we were playing. That kept me thinking about other things and kept my focus off the leaderboard and onto just enjoying the moment, so that helped.”
The victory enabled the 2017 Order of Merit number one to finish 12th on the season-long points list last year, and he needs another big week this time around as he’s currently outside the top 50 following a slow start to 2025. Scott Hend sits at the top this season courtesy of a win at the Barbados Legends hosted by Ian Woosnam and a runner-up finish at the Staysure Marbella Legends. The Aussie will be confident of building on that lead at a venue where he’s played well, having finished runner-up to Dennis in Greece last year.
Angel Cabrera is second after victory at the Senior PGA Championship, and Simon Griffiths, last year’s Barry Lane Rookie of Year, rounds out the top three.
