OUR deep felt thanks and gratitude to all those who have read, contributed, assisted, been associated with, encouraged or (especially) offered constructive criticism to Australian Senior Golfer in its initial year of publication.

Season’s Greetings to all and best wishes for the holiday season and for the New Year. 

Keep visiting us in 2009 as we continue to strive to provide bigger and better coverage and improved resources and features; and most of all to continue the celebration of the great game of golf.

Effective immediately, golfers now need only three or more “live scores” as at 1 January each year to retain their handicaps. The previous requirement was for five or more.

Golf Australia says the change brings the relevant Australian men’s and women’s regulations into line and is more consistent with international standards.

The move is part of a number of recent changes and part of an ongoing process of moving towards a single Golf Australia Handicapping & Course Rating System for both men and women.

Golf Australia says further important changes to the women’s and men’s Australian Handicapping Systems will be announced on Monday 2 March 2009.

“Live Scores” include official competition rounds played within the year but can now also include “Extra Day Scores”.

Golf Australia also recently released Explanatory Notes stipulating that “Extra Day Scores” will have the same capacity to amend a player’s handicap as a competition score.

The GA note states: “An Extra Day Score is any completed stroke round not in competition and may be returned on any day of the week. All Extra Day Scores must be returned on the course of an affiliated club and marked by any affiliated female or male golfer of any recognised golf club. If no WCCR/MCCR is available, the course AWCR/AMCR must be used in place of a CCR. (Note – A Committee is permitted to introduce a condition requiring players to nominate prior to playing that their round is to count as an Extra Day Score.)

Extra Day Scores will be accepted only for the purpose of obtaining an initial Australian Women’s/Men’s Handicap or to enable sufficient cards to maintain an Australian Women’s/Men’s Handicap (Extra Day

Scores may be used at any time of the year to enable a player to accrue a sufficient number of cards to maintain their Australian Women’s/Men’s Handicap). Extra Day scores WILL be used to adjust a player’s handicap.

The marker must be responsible for ensuring that the player conforms to the Golf Australia regulations, the Rules of Golf, and the Club’s Local Rules and By-Laws and that they play from the correct tees.”

Regarding the increase in the men’s maximum handicap, GA says that at the National Handicapping & Course Rating Forum held in Melbourne in August, there was widespread support for the maximum Australian Men’s Handicap being increased to 36.4.

The Golf Australia Handicapping & Course Rating Committee has adopted this recommendation and, together with several other changes, it is forecast for implementation on 1 April 2008.

GA says the reason these changes are being held back until this time is they require changes to Golf Link and need to be managed accordingly.

The experienced touring professional pulled away from the field and finished the 54 hole tournament at four under-par.

Under tough conditions Ratcliff’s even-par final round was the equal best of the day as the Byron Bay course firmed under strong westerly winds. Ratcliffe played controlled golf in the trying conditions with rounds of 70, 70 and 72 to be the only player in the field to finish under par.
When Ratcliffe pitched to within inches of the cup on the sixteenth, the lead stretched to five strokes and those still hoping to mount a challenge were left in his wake.

Ratcliffe ended the tournament with two regulation pars claiming his second Australian PGA Seniors title. His first win was in 2001.

Ratcliffe is a very experienced campaigner and his many wins include a number of titles on the European Seniors Tour.
Defending PGA Seniors Champion David Merriman equaled Ratcliff’s final round 72 to finish tied second with John Clifford (78), Terry Gale (75) and Stuart Reese (75).

Japanese Touring professional Hiroshi Fujita capped off a successful week finishing tied 10th at eight over-par.
Ratcliffe will take home $14,400 of the $80,000 purse on offer at the championship.

Round 2

NEW South Welshman John Clifford has produced the low round of the day and now shares the tournament lead after the second round of the Polygiene Australian PGA Seniors Championship at Byron Bay Golf Club.
In blustery conditions, Clifford shot a four-under-par round of 68 and sits level with Noel Ratcliffe and Garth Domigan on a 36 hole total of four-under.
Clifford, the 2003 Australian Seniors Champion, played consistent and near flawless golf to climb up the leaderboard  with a bogey free round. Ratcliffe had the putter on song, recording five birdies on his back nine to finish with a two-under-par 70.
Round one leader Terry Gale lost ground as the putts failed to drop on day two finishing with a four over par round of 76. He is tied for fourth with a one-over-par total.

Tournament favourite and defending champion David Merriman is still in contention, six strokes back at two-over-par and in a tie for ninth position.
Executive Officer of the NSW/ACT Division of the PGA of Australia Melville Proud has praised the tournament.
“It has been an excellent week. The planning by Mark Wilson (Tournament Director and Captain Byron Bay Golf Club) and the club has really made the tournament a success. A lot of the big names are in contention so it should be an exciting finish.”
The final round of the  Championship concludes on Sunday with the final group of Clifford, Ratcliffe and Domigan teeing off at 11:30am.

Round 1

WEST Australian Terry Gale holds a one stroke lead after the first round of  the Polygiene Australian PGA Seniors Championship at Byron Bay Golf Club.
Gale finished with a five-under 67 to sit one shot clear of New Zealander Garth Domigan.
Gale, the two-time Australian PGA Senior Champion (1996 & 2006) made seven birdies and two bogeys in a round highlighted by putting.
“I played some nice iron shots and putted well, every time I hit it close I made it. When you’re holing putts, you confidence lifts and all of a sudden the game is not that hard,” Gale said.
“The course is in great condition and requires a strategic approach. I went for some shots today and it paid off, I wanted to get out of the blocks quickly,” he said.
New Zealander Garth Domigan sits in second place, however he held the lead for most of the day before failing to finish off his round dropping three shots in the last two holes.
After a steady start, Domigan made the turn at one-under par before reeling off an impressive stretch of six birdies in seven holes and taking him to seven-under-par through 16 holes.
An errant shot at the par three seventeenth, followed by a drive into the water hazard on eighteen saw him surrender the lead to Gale and finish his round at four-under-par.
Defending champion David Merriman opened with a disappointing four-over-par 76 while tournament drawcard Rodger Davis opened with a respectable two-under, 70.

Preview Report

The 2008 Polygiene Australian PGA Seniors Championship is underway at the Byron Bay Golf Club in northern NSW with an in form David Merriman a hot favourite to defend his title.
Merriman, who was a stellar performer on the European Seniors Tour Order of Merit this year with earnings of more than $200,000 for 22nd place, will face stiff competition from Rodger Davis, Mike Ferguson and Terry Gale.
The $80,000 PGA Seniors Championship is being played over 54 holes on the tough and windy Byron Bay course which is in perfect condition despite recent storms in the area.
“The course is in great shape, the recent works and re-designs have really lifted the profile of the course. It should be a great week and hopefully we can get some crowds for the weekend” said Tournament Director and Captain of Byron Bay Golf Club Mark Wilson.
Seventy-three senior (50+) PGA Professionals teed up for the first round of the championship on Friday and were joined by a lucky group of amateurs who will be able to rub shoulders, swap jokes and go shot for shot with some of Australia’s finest golfers.
The championship runs s from 11-14 December.

(Original source material courtesy PGA Australia)

SOUTH AFRICAN golfer Tim Clarke was tucking into a pie and chips when he suddenly realised he was involved in a sudden death play off for the Australian Open Championship.

Clark hadn’t given himself a chance when he finished at 9 under par for the tournament and was rueing lost opportunities when he saw his playoff rival Mathew Goggin warming up on the practice green.

Much like Goggin, Clark had given away most of his spare balls, his cap and gloves.

Overnight leader David Smail had been cruising along three strokes clear until two late double bogeys derailed his day.

Clark and Goggin scrambled their equipment and themselves back together to face off on the 18th hole.

“I didn’t even consider that there would be a playoff until 30 minutes after I’d finished,” Clark said later.
“I spoke to my wife and said ‘I think I’ve thrown away another tournament’.”

“I packed up the locker and spoke to my caddy and said see you in America in a few months.”

Clark won the play off and the title with a nerveless up and down from a deep greenside bunker while Goggin just needed to two putt to make it square. The big crowd at the 18th couldn’t believe it when Goggin’s his  final straightforward one metre putt lipped out. He was quick to walk over and congratulate a bemused Clark.

Later they were both feeling empathy for New Zealander Smail.

“I feel for David. He had the tournament, he was playing well and had such a horror finish that’s it brutal for him,” Goggin said, refusing to dwell on his own missed opportunity.

Clark said: “”I am obviously very happy but it’s tough to show happiness when you know there’s two guys out there that feel pretty bad.”

Smail’s trouble started with a wayward tee shot at the par-four 15th, and when he again found the trees at 16 forcing him to chip out into the fairway his chances of victory quickly faded.
Clark blistered around the course in regulation play bagging seven birdies in his opening 13 holes but his campaign appeared over when he dropped three shots in consecutive holes starting with a double bogey from the greenside bunker at the 13th. But the classy 32-year-old steadied, posting two closing birdies.

Goggin, who finished runner-up in last week’s Cadbury Schweppes Australian PGA Championship to Geoff Ogilvy, went almost unnoticed for much of the final round but his closing three-under 69 was enough to force extra holes.

“If it rains you’ll be see through,” a fellow competitor yelled out to Allenby. “At least there will be something to see,” Allenby responded.

Robert Allenby started and finished with birdies but in between he missed a host of birdie opportunity putts and finished the day on his overnight total of 8 under. He too would have been kicking himself knowing that 9 under would have kept him alive.

Resplendent in all white, Allenby started the day seemingly full of confidence.

“If it rains you’ll be see through,” a fellow competitor yelled out to him on the practice putting green just before he hit off.

“At least there will be something to see,” Allenby responded. And there almost was. Superb drives and approach shots let down in the end by his putting.

Following him for 18 holes it was easier to understand why he rates so highly for greens in regulation on the US PGA Tour but has not recently translated that into wins.
Western Australian Stephen Dartnall, who led at the completion of the first and second rounds, also finished a single shot outside a playoff after a solid even-par 72 alongside Smail, who carded a 75.
Pre-tournament favourite Geoff Ogilvy saved his best for last having teed off well before the leaders on Sunday carding his first round in the 60s for the week - a four-under 68 - to finish at minus seven overall.
Victorian Chris Gaunt fired an even-par 72 to share sixth spot with Ogilvy, veteran Steven Conran who closed with a two-under 70, and Andre Stolz who matched Smail’s 75 playing in the final group.
Reliable left hander Richard Green finished all alone a further stroke back at six-under after firing an impressive 68 in the trying conditions.
First-round leader Ewan Porter signed for a 75 to finish among a group of five players at minus five.
Also among those at five-under was Victorian Tim Wood whose roller-coaster round included an eagle on the par-four first along with five birdies, six bogeys and a double bogey.
Sportsbet Australian Masters champion Rod Pampling shot a closing 72 to finish at four-under in a share of 16th with American Paul Goydos
John Senden, who claimed the Stonehaven Cup in 2006, shot a 71 to finish at three-under for the tournament with Gareth Paddison (72) and Andrew Bonhomme (75).
New Zealand’s Danny Lee, the sole surviving amateur in the field, closed with a 75 to sit in a share of 24th with Steven Bowditch who followed a third-round 66 with a closing 78.
New Zealander Mark Brown is the 2008 Order of Merit Champion.

Round 3 Report

ROBERT Allenby is four shots off the pace but still in a position to strike heading into the final round of the Australian Open at Royal Sydney Golf Club.

Sydney followed up the unplayable rain of Friday afternoon with hot and blustery wind conditions that saw New Zealander David Smail holding a one shot lead overnight. 

Thirty eight year old Smail, a multiple winner on the Japan Golf Tour and member of the Australasian Tour since 1993, shot a two under round of 70 to move to 11 under for the event.

A big mover today was Australian Andre Stolz who finished the day one shot behind Smail in second place.

Stolz lept to second spot after an equal best round of the day, a six under 66.

The central coast based golfer was on course-record pace through fifteen holes having taken the lead on the back of eight birdies before blemishes at the 15th and 16th saw him settle for outright second heading into day four.
Sydney’s Ewan Porter survived the ever-increasing winds to sign for a level-par 72 and sits in a share of third place alongside second-round leader Stephen Dartnall who battled to a three-over 75 to also trail by three shots.
Steven Bowditch was the other big mover on the day carding a superb 66 that was only soured by three late bogeys.
Bowditch is joined at minus seven by Robert Allenby, whose 71 included an eagle at the par-five 13th, Rohan Blizard, who carded a 70, and Victorian Chris Gaunt whose bogey on the last completed a third-round 75.
Mathew Goggin, who also struggled to a three-over 75, is in a four-way tie for ninth alongside Andrew Bonhomme (69), Jason Norris (73) and 2008 Cellarbrations NSW PGA Champion Tim Wood who signed for a 66.
Sportsbet Australian Masters champion Rod Pampling has the job ahead of him at minus four in a share of 17th with South African Tim Clark and boom Kiwi amateur Danny Lee who both fired 69’s on Saturday.

After several players were forced to finish their second round this morning due to yesterday’s rain abandoned second round, the cut line fell at level par leaving 63 players to contest the final two rounds.

2007 runner-up Won Joon Lee was among 19 golfers who missed the weekend action by a single stroke while defending champion Craig Parry’s defence ended prematurely following consecutive 73’s.
2001 champion Stuart Appleby, veteran Peter Senior and US PGA Tour regular Nathan Green also missed the cut by two shots while Northern Irishman Darren Clarke at plus five and American John Daly at plus six were also left without work on the weekend.

The final days play begins Sunday at 8:25am with the leading group teeing off at 1:10pm.

Round 2 Report

Play has been officially suspended on day two of the Australian Open at Royal Sydney after heavy rain rendered the Rose Bay course unplayable. Western Australian Stephen Dartnall holds a two-shot lead over joint overnight leader Mathew Goggin who shot a two-under round of 70. Round-two is now scheduled to resume at 6.45am with round-three to commence at 11.45am.

 with players to hit off in threesomes from both the 1st and 10th tees.
Western Australian Stephen Dartnall holds a two-shot lead over joint overnight leader Mathew Goggin who shot a two-under round of 70.
Playing in the first group of the day, Dartnall made the most of wet but calm conditions on his way to a four-under 68 to sit alone at the top at minus 11.
Ewan Porter, who also held a share of the lead after round one, sits one behind Goggin in third spot after signing for a 71 which included bogeys on two of his final three holes.
Rod Pampling is well placed at minus six after a solid second-round 71 alongside New South Welshman Matt Jones who scorched around the tricky layout in five-under par.
Playing in the second group of the afternoon, Robert Allenby made light work of the trying conditions to move to five under overall and minus four on the day through nine holes before play was abandoned.
Two-time champion Peter Lonard sits alongside Allenby after carding a two-under 70 while Cameron Percy, who equaled Jones’ low round of the day signing for a 67, is also one of five players at minus five.
New Zealand duo Mark Brown and David Smail are among a cluster of players at four under the card - both men were one over for the day when bad weather stopped play.
Michael Sim also mastered the conditions landing an eagle and a birdie in his first eight holes and is one of seven players at minus three alongside lefty Richard Green, who is also minus three on the day through eight.
Pre-tournament favourite Geoff Ogilvy had made an early move turning in 34 to sit at two-under overall along with American veteran Paul Goydos.
South African Tim Clark appears likely to return for the weekend action after carding a one-over 73 to be in a tie for 36th at minus one for the tournament with boom amateur Danny Lee, who dropped three shots in his final seven holes, to drop down the leaderboard.
Jarrod Lyle (71) and Marc Leishman (72) are among several players facing a nervous wait at one-over the card in a share of 54th.
Former champion Stuart Appleby did his best to save his round with two birdies in his last three holes but is currently on the outside looking in at plus two for the tournament in a share of 71st place.
Defending champion Craig Parry (73), veteran Peter Senior (74) and Nathan Green (73) are a further stroke back while American drawcard John Daly is one under through nine at plus five for the tournament.

Round 1 Report

Sydney’s Ewan Porter, Tasmanian Mathew Goggin and Monday qualifier Stephen Dartnall are in a three way tie for the lead after the opening day of the Australian Open at Royal Sydney Golf Club.

The Aussie trio all carded a course-record equaling seven-under 65’s in benign conditions equaling the low round set by 2006 Champion John Senden.

And all three had a different story to tell. Goggin came into the event having finished runner up at last week’s Cadbury Schweppes Australian PGA Championship, whilst Porter returned to the course after withdrawing from last week’s event due to illness. Dartnall, from  Western Australia, on the other hand had to survive Monday Qualifying at New Brighton, shooting a 62 (10 under) in the process to get a start.
Fresh from his runner-up finish Goggin hit the ground running with six birdies on the front nine to set up his round, while Dartnall managed six birdies and an eagle on the day.
Porter birdied his final two holes to be the last man in at minus seven on a low scoring day.
Kiwi duo Mark Brown and David Smail, who led for much of the day after firing early five-under 67’s, are joined by Australian Masters winner Rod Pampling two shots off the pace.
Queensland’s Troy Kennedy sits at minus four after signing for a 68 alongside boom Kiwi amateur Danny Lee.
Senden, who landed a spectacular ace on the par-three 13th to storm into the lead after teeing off at the 10th in just the second group of the day, is one of six players at minus three.
Former US PGA Tour winner Andre Stolz is among those at three-under while former champion Peter Lonard offset a costly double bogey at 14 with two birdies at 16 and 18 to finish with the same score.
South African Tim Clark remains within striking distance at minus two alongside a host of players including Wayne Perske, Chris Gaunt and Brendan Jones.
Robert Allenby recovered from a shaky start to his round to finish with a 71.
Pre-tournament favourite Geoff Ogilvy rescued his day with four late birdies on the way to an even-par start, while Northern Irishman Darren Clarke also showed tremendous powers of recovery on his way to an opening 72 after racking up a disastrous triple bogey on his second hole of the day - the par-four 11th.
Defending champion Craig Parry struggled to a one-over 73 to sit on the bubble in a share of 70th with Stuart Appleby, Marcus Fraser and Peter O’Malley - just to name a few.
John Daly’s roller-coaster ride in Australia continued with the big-hitting American carding a disappointing six-over 78 that included three double bogeys, three bogeys and three birdies.

Australian Open Preview

Holding your breath waiting for Tiger Woods to show up at the Australian Open can’t be recommended but there will be a quality field when the tournament gets under way at Royal Sydney on Thursday.

Adam Scott is highly likely to be back from injury, Geoff Ogilvy and Rod Pampling will be fresh from their recent home victories, and with all the talk about the possibility of Tiger being lured downunder next year, everyone seems to have forgotten that the US is providing a drawcard this year in big John Daly.

Daly hasn’t made the cut in his last two Australian appearances but with a few solid weeks of tournament golf behind him, no after dark lurid headlines, and with the Royal Sydney course said to suit his game, this could be the one.

Add to that Northern Ireland’s Darren Clarke, South African Tim Clark, American Paul Goydos and of course there is a crowd favourite in defending champion Craig Parry.

Parry shot a final round 68 in Coolum and if he’s coming into some real form, who knows?

Before the Masters, there were suggestions Robert Allenby could again take out the three Australian titles and with the pressure now somewhat off he could well be in final day contention.

Stuart Appleby is also waiting in the wings along with a host of others we haven’t mentioned who have a chance of a good showing, players like John Senden, Nathan Green, Mathew Goggin and - a standout performance at Coolum - 49 year old Peter Senior.

James Nitties is also rushing back to compete in Sydney after qualifying for the US PGA Tour next year. Nitties finished in a tie for second place at the qualifying tournament in La Quinta, California.

LIVE LEADERBOARD LINK

The men’s Order of Merit competition has been expanded to include a full set of medals for the 65 and over players and medals will now be awarded to the top three golfers in this age group.

In addition, a Super Senior Matchplay Championship for the over 65 group will be played at the same time as the Australian Senior Matchplay Championship. A field of 8 players will contest the event in 2009 which will be played at Barwon Heads Golf Club.
Among other changes Golf Australia announced for new Australian Amateur Ranking Systems was the introduction of a National Order of Merit for Australia’s senior women amateur golfers.
The system used for this competition will be the same as that for senior men, with every event played used in calculating an average points score. The minimum divisor for senior women in this introductory year is 4 events.
The first event recorded was the 2008 ACT Senior Women’s Championship and the current leader in the Women’s Order of Merit is Liz Smyth from the Royal Canberra Golf Club. She leads from Nicky Moon from Federal Golf Club and Chris Taylor also from Royal Canberra.

Golf Australia says new Amateur Ranking Systems now underway will provide players, as well as the industry, a great opportunity to monitor the movements in the standings across all age groups at the peak of men’s and women’s amateur golf.

For 2009, Australian Amateur Ranking Systems will be conducted in six categories – open men and women, boys’ and girls’ and senior men and senior women (55+).

The player with the highest points average at 31 October 2009 will be recognised as the winner of their respective Ranking System.

The Australian Amateur Ranking Systems are provided as a service to Australian golf as well as to achieve the following objectives:

• To replace the use of handicaps as the primary entry standard for national amateur championships. This will provide a fairer and better outcome for players, and Golf Australia encourages all other domestic operators of elite amateur events to consider adopting the same improved procedure.

• To be used as a supporting tool for team selection.

• To increase participation in the events which count towards a player’s Ranking Average.

Each System will be points-based, and will operate over a 12-month rolling period. All National Championships and each State’s Amateur Championships in the respective Systems will count towards a player’s average, in addition to various other major events nominated by the States, including those which have been National Ranking Events in the past.

Players’ points are determined by their finishing positions in each event and the events themselves will be weighted with the events traditionally attracting the strongest fields being awarded the most points.

Golf Australia says the Systems are sure to be highly competitive and will provide vast interest for amateur golfers of all ages and genders, in particular Girls’ and Senior Women where previously there has been no similar ranking system operating.

The Karrie Webb Series will continue to operate in conjunction with the Women’s Open Ranking System.

Full details.

The pair finished tied on 12 under par 276 while tournament favourite Robert Allenby finished in third place on 279.

Allenby battled with his putter all day and didn’t recover from a disastrous late double bogey.

Pampling started the day at seven under, three shots behind overnight leaders Allenby and Michael Sim, and shot a closing 67 which included five birdies and an eagle. Fraser, five shots off the pace after 54 holes, hit the lead with six birdies on the front nine and held it together in the run home for a round of 65.

The play-off was down the par four18th, the toughest hole on the course, and twice they walked off with pars. In the end, it came down to a six-foot putt for par that Fraser missed and a three-footer that Pampling made.

Full Results

IF IT is possible to focus too much on the modern golf swing then maybe Jeff Mann has done it.

Jeff is a retired doctor who has built an amazing resource at his website, Perfect Golf Swing.

As Jeff happily admits, his analysis of the golf swing is so detailed it is not for everyone.

But for those who are interested, it is fascinating stuff.

Even though Jeff set up the website entirely himself and it has a very simple, no frills design, it demonstrates the internet at its best.

The only problem is, if, like me, you start reading, viewing and absorbing and then look up and realise several hours have passed and you haven’t even reached the top of the backswing.

As for Jeff, he has obviously spent countless hundreds of hours putting it all together – and the project is still ongoing.

The beauty of Jeff’s work – apart from the fact that it is all entirely free to access - is that he has drawn all the material together from the best teachers and resources from throughout golf’s history.

And because it is online every minute, gory aspect of the modern golf swing can be analysed not just with words, pictures, illustration and graphs, but with relevant video clips and links as well.

The amazing thing is that Jeff only started playing golf when he retired from practicing medicine in 2001.

Jeff looked around and noted there was no free online review of the full golf swing available. Sure, there are a myriad of sites offering free golf tips, but nothing detailed like this.

Jeff decided to approach it as he would a scholarly analysis of any educational subject and that’s why he decided on the no frills style of Perfect Golf Swing.

As in a scholarly review, every point is referenced to the original source, whether that is from a David Leadbetter book, a Ben Hogan video clip or an animated robot swinging at one of the modern golf clinics. And all of it is based entirely on traditional golf instructional teaching.

As an older golfer himself  - and with the benefit of his medical knowledge of human physiology - Jeff knows that most senior golfers are not going to be physically able to exactly replicate the perfect swing of a golf robot or even a young Aaron Baddeley. Allowances can be made.

And as Jeff freely admits, the review will not offer a developing golfer any secret formula that will magically enable them to instantly perfect their golf swing.

What it does do for those interested is provide the basis for a thorough and in-depth understanding of golf swing mechanics.

Read and absorb it and suddenly all those seemingly disparate and (often in reality) confusing golf tips in the magazines and websites will all make perfect sense. You’ll know exactly where they are coming from.

Visit Perfect Golf Swing here

(Illustration from Swing Like a Pro. Ralph Mann and Fred Griffin)

Peter Senior will make golfing history when he fronts up for his 30th Australian Masters event this week but the 49 year old has lost none of his passion for the game.

Senior is a two time winner of the Masters and will line up as the only player to have played in all thirty Australian Masters tournaments since the first event was played at Huntingdale in 1979.

“It has been a long trip and I have enjoyed every one of them,” Senior, who won the title in 1991 and 1995, said this week. “Thirty years sounds like a long time but I’ve still got a few left in me.”

Senior feels he has been playing well lately with good finishes in the Western Australian PGA and a second at the NSW PGA.

He was feeling confident when talking to media about the upcoming big three Aussie tournaments, including the Open, the PGA and the Masters, and even suggesting that “if I can putt a little better than I have been” anything could happen.

“Or you could do a Robert Allenby and win all three of them,” he said.

The putting would have to be going exceptionally well for that to come to pass but it is a measure of the competitive spirit Senior has displayed in 30 years travelling the globe.

Whatever has been happening for him overseas, Senior is a household name in Australian golf because he has returned home every summer to play in front of home crowds. The fact hasn’t been lost on his legions of fans, making him a crowd favourite and the name ‘Senior’ synonymous with the Australasian Tour.

“One thing I always said was that I would come back to support the Australian Tour, no matter where I was or what I was doing. I have foregone some really good tournaments to come back and play our events, but I wanted to do that.”

Senior said that whilst his thirty years sounded a lot, he has lost none of the desire that has brought him so much success and popularity in the game since he first turned professional in 1978. Whilst he plays less tournament golf these days, he intends to continue with his career on the senior’s circuit when he turns 50 next July.

“I love the game. It doesn’t matter where I am or what I am doing, corporate days, pro-ams, I still enjoy being on the course. The main reason I stopped tournament golf was to spend time with my kids in their school years.

“I figured that when I turned 50 I would still have the opportunity to play. Sitting at home and doing nothing for the first couple of years was really hard, but deep down the desire is still there.”

Senior is keen to try his luck on the Seniors tour in the US next year but knows it will be tough with “about 500 guys” competing for the eight available spots.

If anyone can do it, Peter can.

The First Round of the 2008 Sportsbet Australian Masters starts on Thursday with the first groups teeing off at 7am.

The morning groups include Craig Parry, John Daly and Finland’s Mikko Ilonen teeing off the tenth tee at 7:10am – now that will be a sight to behold.

There will be free to air television coverage on all four days of the tournament on the Seven Network, check your local guides.

Daly, who artfully manages to combine being a highly gifted two time major winner while keeping up a train wreck of a personal life, shot his best round of golf in three years on the final day of the Hong Kong Open yesterday (Sunday).

He had eight birdies to finish one off the course record on the tight Hong Kong Golf Club course.

He was already out of tournament contention having followed up opening round consecutive 68’s with a deflating 73 on Saturday.

Without a US PGA Tour card for two years, Daly says one of his problems of late has been not playing in enough consecutive big time tournaments.

With a tendency to go to Hooters rather than practice, Daly needs the consistent big game play to keep his game together.

“I can’t remember the last time I had three weeks in a row that I could play,” Daly says. “That’s probably why I’m hoping to get a lot of invites in the European tour and play four, five, six in a row. That’s the only way I can play good golf.”

First, we have the 30th Australian Masters kicking off in Melbourne on Thursday. The following week we have the Australian PGA (Dec 4-7) at Coolum and then the Australian Open at the Royal Sydney Golf Course from December 11-14.

 

 

Apart from ably demonstrating in Hong Kong that despite being rated World No 788, he can still put an exceptional round together, Daly also proved his public pulling power.

If he keeps his shirt on, his putter out of the water and his nights in reasonable order, he could be something to watch.

But whatever Daly’s golfing performance over the next two weeks in Australia (his schedule didn’t allow staying for the Australian Open), his inclusion has already served to further heighten interest in what should be a fascinating summer of golf.

First, we have the 30th Australian Masters kicking off in Melbourne on Thursday. The following week we have the Australian PGA (Dec 4-7) at Coolum and then the Australian Open at the Royal Sydney Golf Course from December 11-14.

Most of Australia’s big name players will be appearing at some stage.

Nick O’Hern has just been ruled out for the duration with a thumb injury, Aaron Baddeley has a new baby to contend with, and Geoff Ogilvy and Adam Scott will miss the first week but not the next two.

Stuart Appleby, Robert Allenby, Matthew Goggin, Nathan Green, Richard Green, Peter Lonard, Craig Parry, Rod Pampling, John Senden and Peter Senior will be among the other starters.

The Australian contingent at the Masters will be further strengthened with the participation of Scott Strange, winner of the 2008 Wales Open and fellow West Australian, Rick Kulacz who won the Brunei Open in his rookie year on the Asian Tour.

In addition, Jarrod Lyle, Greg Chalmers, Aron Price and Marc Leishman, all winners on the Nationwide Tour en route to progressing to the 2009 PGA TOUR will play. 

The home grown talent will be challenged by a strong international line up including 2005 US Open Champion Michael Campbell from New Zealand, dual PGA TOUR winner Daniel Chopra from Sweden along with two time member of the International Team at The Presidents Cup and three time European Tour winner, Tim Clark from South Africa.  These proven champions will be joined by one of the games brightest young stars in Danny Lee from New Zealand.  Danny is the current United States Amateur Champion and the #1 ranked amateur in the World.

Northern Ireland’s Darren Clarke, regarded as one of the game’s best ball strikers, will be the main overseas draw for the Australian Open at Royal Sydney.