Former PGA Cup captain Cameron Clark was one of four players to secure their cards for this year at the Legends Tour’s Qualifying School at Gloria Golf Resort in Turkey.
The PGA Fellow Professional missed out agonisingly last year but this time around was a far happier occasion as he put together rounds of 69-69-73-74 to book his playing privileges alongside Michael Jonzon, Paul Streeter and Anthony Grenier.
The Moor Hall Head Professional, who captured the Senior PGA Professional Championship in 2025, will make his Legends Tour debut at Aloha GC in Marbella – 10 years previously Clark also won the PGA Professional Championship.
“It's a very stressful week but I had prepared really well for it and I felt like my game was in a good place and I made a solid start with two good opening rounds,” said Clark. “I just really held on as it got windier and colder. But all in all, it was pretty decent from start to finish, really.
“It's probably a little bit different for me as it's not obviously my living so I'll approach it slightly differently. That said, there is still as much pressure probably as anyone is feeling, particularly being in contention the last couple of days. I've worked hard the last couple of years to get to this point and I feel that I've got the game to do it and I want to make the most of it for the next four or five years, if I can.”
The experienced Clark was well-equipped to handle the situation.
“It was a bit different this year because it was a shotgun start in the last round. So they took all the leaderboards away, there was one on the back of the 17th and 18th greens but, because of the logistics, it was obviously going to be hard to keep the leaderboards up to date. One of my pals followed us for a few holes and I asked him after 15 holes where we were standing roughly. Fifth place was level at the time and I was two-under I had some sort of idea but I didn’t want to know any more than that.”
Pictured: PGA Fellow Professional Cameron Clark
Clark was understandably satisfied was it to finish with a birdie at 17 and then a par at the last after what had happened 12 months earlier.
“That's what I was most proud of. The previous year was probably the biggest disappointment of my career and so much had been made of it throughout the week as well. A lot of the players and the media were talking about it and they knew the relevance behind it. I didn't get the ball out from the water beside the 18th green and then I did get it out, chipped it on, missed the putt and made a double-bogey seven. Had I parred it I would have got in a play-off.
"This year I hit it in the trees down the right, chipped out sideways and then hit a 4-iron just off the green and got up and down.”
It all means that Clark is looking ahead to a year of significant travel as he seeks to maximise his playing opportunities.
“We've got Marbella this month and then I don't play then until Barbados at the end of April. It will get busy in the middle of season. I'm really looking forward to Northern Ireland as that's where I was born and going to places like Barbados and China where I've not been before. It will be nice to see some different parts of the world.”
“I'm really looking forward to Northern Ireland as that's where I was born and going to places like Barbados and China where I've not been before. It will be nice to see some different parts of the world" - Cameron Clark
In between times, Clark will be active on The PGA tournament circuit.
“I'll definitely defend my PGA Senior PGA Professional Championship at Royal Dornoch, which will be really nice in May, and then it will depend on what the Legends Tour schedule looks like. From mid-July into September is probably the busiest time so I won't be able to do everything but we'll see. I played Dornoch in October and it is absolutely beautiful.”
As for the secrets to his longevity, Clark says that fitness play a major role.
“I've always generally played and I think just keeping yourself fit and keeping yourself strong is such a big part of it nowadays. So I do a lot of that just to try and stay competitive, try and keep my speed up particularly, try and keep distance up particularly because obviously that can be a big advantage going into senior golf,” he said.
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