We are well into the new year, and I am really enjoying my time coaching at Wembley. I thought this a good moment to give a bit of an update regarding my golfing travels over the last 3 months. The last 5 years I’ve been playing on the European Legends Tour and although it has been fun and I have visited numerous countries, this year I am stepping back from international touring and focusing more of my attention to playing in Australia. I’ll still play a few events overseas, but this year will be kind of like going back to where it all started 37 years ago by focussing on Australian Tour events.
At the end of last year, the European Legends Tour had us heading to Cambodia for two tournaments and then to Mauritius to finish off the year. Quite a long way away from Europe but fun and exciting places to play golf. Cambodia is one of the poorer nations in the world, but it has a long and fascinating history (good and bad) and a rich cultural tapestry. Phom Penh is the capital, and I had so much fun exploring the city and eating the delicious food on offer. It would normally take around 50 mins to get from the hotel to the tournament golf course but a police escort every day assisted us to navigate traffic congestion, and the trip became a very comfortable 30 mins. It was a great cultural experience, and I managed to play some decent golf. A final round 66 had me ending up in 14th position.
From here we were supposed to travel across the border to Vietnam but due to a hurricane hitting Vietnam, the government declared a force majeure which meant our tournament was cancelled. 48 hours of chaos and uncertainty before the Mr Vattanac (the host of our event in Cambodia) said we could hold our event that week on the other 18 course he has at his 36-hole venue. So, cancel a flight, book another flight home and extend the accommodation by a week and the cancellation turned out not be such a big deal. Although I played solid but unspectacular golf, it was still an enjoyable week.
From Cambodia it was back to Perth for just over 48 hours. Enough time to do some washing and repack the suitcase before I got on the plane and headed to Mauritius. This was my 4th visit to Mauritius so I felt pretty comfortable visiting there. I know the course well and I’ve had the same caddy each year so just a quick practice round and the next day the tournament began. I left Mauritius without the trophy but I played well which was a nice way to end the year.
Although I didn’t have a win it wouldn’t surprise you to know that the aptly named Legends Tour is jammed full of talented players. It is extremely competitive. Winners of major championships, umpteen Ryder Cup players, and a bunch of multiple European Tour winners that are just as skilful and competitive today as they were in their heyday. Such a fun tour to play on.
After a really enjoyable festive season it was time to get ready for the first event of 2026 on the Australian PGA Tour, the Webex Players Series Perth played at Royal Fremantle. This is such a fun week for me. Not only do I have all the comforts of home I also get to play against the next generation of players… the majority of the field weren’t even born when I started playing on the Australian Tour. Always a challenge but something I love to do. My form and momentum that I felt had building at the end of last year continued and with 4 rounds under par I finished 16th.
So this year I plan to mix a lot of coaching, passing on my knowledge of playing for over 35 years of professional golf, with a little bit of golf around Australia. Should be fun. To book a lesson visit michaellonggolf.com.
