DORSET senior stars Kevin Spurgeon and Gary Emerson will both tee up in Mauritius next month but with separate aspirations from varying schedules.

Spurgeon will be looking to win his second European Senior title, while rookie Emerson continues his preparations for his first full season on tour in a less high-profile competition.

Ferndown touring professional Spurgeon is returning to the course where he upstaged former Ryder Cup captain Sam Torrance to win the Commercial Bank Mauritius Open in December 2009.

Since 2011, the Constance Belle Mare Plage Resort has hosted the European Senior Tour’s end-of-season MCB Tour Championship.

“It’s a course I know well, and expect to do well on,” said 58-year-old Spurgeon, who is 31st on the 2013 money list and guaranteed to keep his card for a 10th successive year.

“At the very least, I would like to break into the top 30. My game is in good shape so there’s no reason why I can’t do even better.”

Both Spurgeon and Emerson will play in the pro-am tournament leading up to the main event on December 13-15.

But Emerson, who only turned 50 in September, was unable to make a late dash into the starting line-up for the main competition, despite a promising start to life in the senior ranks.

The 2004 Russian Open champion is 11th reserve after failing to make the cut in Taiwan earlier this month.

“It was always going to be big ask after playing in only three events,” explained Emerson. “I didn’t play badly, but a triple bogey on the final hole of the first day certainly didn’t help my cause.

“In the end, I just missed out by three or four shots. But I needed to finish in the top 10 to stand any chance of making the Tour Championship.”

Emerson, who finished ninth and 11th respectively in his first two Senior Tour events, will play in the Standard Bank Mauritius Open at Long Beach on December 1-8.

The tournament includes two rounds in a pro-am format followed by two rounds for professionals from the European Tour, Senior Tour, Challenge Tour, Sunshine Tour and Ladies Tour.

“It will be good practice for next season and I will be there to take my place in the Tour Championship, just in case enough players drop out,” said the Remedy Oak touring professional.

Spurgeon, meanwhile, is playing in the South African Senior Open prior to travelling to Mauritius.

“They (organisers) were looking to attract European players, and because we were already going to be visiting family in the area, it made sense to enter,” said Spurgeon.

It will be Spurgeon’s first event since the Dutch Senior Open in early October. With the journey to South Africa in mind, he decided against the long trip to Taiwan.

The SA Senior Open Championship is at the Blue Valley Golf & Country Club in Johannesburg on December 2-4.