Round 1

The opening round of the Cadbury Schweppes Australian PGA Championship will be completed on Friday morning after lightning strikes at Coolum forced play to be suspended on Thursday with Tim Wilkinson and Peter Wilson leading.
Wilkinson had already completed a six-under 66 to set the clubhouse pace while Wilson had dropped back to that score to share the lead after earlier being at minus eight thanks largely to a front-nine he negotiated in just 29 strokes.
Half of the 156-man field was still on the course when thunderstorms rolled in just after 3pm (AEST) and officials made the decision at 4:45pm to resume play at 5:30am on Friday, with round-two tee times set to be pushed back by an hour and a half.
Wilson had largely defied winds that had continued to strengthen throughout the day, sizzling around the front nine with birdies at every hole except the 2nd and 8th as he looked set to threaten the course record of 63.
But after adding another birdie at the 12th a double bogey at the 13th halted his charge and he had just parred the 14th when the suspension came, leaving him level with 30-year-old New Zealander Wilkinson.
2006 US Open champion Geoff Ogilvy and Wilkinson’s compatriot Richard Lee both shot 67 and have since been joined at minus five by two-time champion Peter Senior, who has played 11 holes so far.
Fresh from his first season on the US PGA Tour, which included more than $US 1 million ($AU 1,555,845) in prizemoney and three top-five finishes, Wilkinson went out in 31 after starting at the first tee and was seven-under at one point.
Wilkinson grabbed birdies at the first two holes, went to the turn with three more in a row and picked up further shots at the 12th and 14th to open up a two-shot lead, but his sole blemish for the day halved his lead at that point.
Lee had a flawless round that included five birdies while Ogilvy collected an eagle and three birdies through his first 10 holes, and conceded he could have gone even lower as he came home with eight pars.
One shot further back thanks to a 68 is Victorian Peter Nolan, and Tasmanian Mathew Goggin is also four-under at the turn, while Brett Rumford, 2006 Australian Open winner John Senden, Steve Collins, Martin Dive and Mahal Pearce all signed for 69s.
Defending champion Peter Lonard and Queenslander Steven Bowditch both shot 70, along with one of Ogilvy’s playing partners, Michael Sim, while Sportsbet Masters winner Rod Pampling and Robert Allenby are also at minus two.
The third member of group 16, American John Daly, slumped to two-over on the back nine with a double bogey and another bogey but recovered with five birdies in his last 13 holes to shoot 71 and share 18th with Craig Parry and Anthony Summers.

 Australian PGA Championship Live Leaderboard

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

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.

THE Australian PGA Seniors Tour has been renamed the PGA Legends Tour.

PGA Australia says the new name was approved at a recent board meeting and the move will also see the tour introduce a new logo.

The PGA Legends Tour, for PGA Members over the age of 50, has approximately 30 events per year.

The biggest event on the tour, which features the likes of golfers Wayne Grady, Rodger Davis and David Merriman, is the Polygiene Australian PGA Seniors Championship which will take place from December 11-14 in Byron Bay.

The Byron Bay event will have a total prize pool this year of $80,000, reflecting the increasing interest and popularity of senior golf.

The 2009 PGA Seniors Qualifying School will be played from  January 11 - 14 January at Camden Lakeside Country Club in New South Wales.

The 2008 event was a huge success with Victoria’s Jason Perry finishing strongly to take the title.

As Perry discovered, winning the championship gives a direct exemption to the Australian Open, and next year’s winner will have the opportunity to play in the 2009 Australian Open at the New South Wales Golf Club.

All three courses at the National Golf Club - The Old Course, Moonah and Ocean Courses - will be utillised for the 54 hole event in January.

Golf Australia says the National is a fantastic golfing facility and a one of its kind in Australia that will provide a fantastic challenge for players from all parts of the country.

Trevor Herden, Golf Australia Director of Championships, said, “This is a fantastic opportunity for the golfers in this demographic to test their skills against their peers over three championship courses at one of the best facilities in the country.”

What: 2009 Australian Men’s Mid-Amateur Championship
When: 20 – 22 January 2009
Where: The National GC, Victoria
Format: 54 holes stroke play (max 120 players)
Courses: The Old Course, Moonah and Ocean Courses ( 1 round on each)
Handicap Limit: 7.4
Location: 10 The Cups Drive, Cape Schanck (Mornington Peninsula), Victoria
Entry Fee: $150.00 (on-line); or $170.00 (mail, fax, or e-mail)
Entries Open: 28 October 2008
Entry Close: 5 January 2009

Golf Australia Championship Entry Form

Much has changed in the sport since 77 golfers from just two countries – the USA and Canada - competed for men’s medals in individual and teams events at the 1904 Olympics in St Louis.

Golf is now played by 60 million people in nearly 120 countries  and pressure is mounting for it to be readmitted to the Ollympic fold.

Effectively, golf is now in a play-off against baseball, karate, roller sports, rugby sevens, softball and squash for inclusion.

Representatives of the International Golf Federation have formally presented their case for golf to become an Olympic sport during a meeting with the International Olympic Committee Program Commission in recent days at the IOC headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland.

Making the presentation were Peter Dawson, Chief Executive of The R&A and Joint Secretary of the IGF, and PGA TOUR executive Ty Votaw, Executive Director of the IGF Olympic Golf Committee.

Among the key points they highlighted were golf’s worldwide participation and diversity; the sport’s economic and charitable impact; and its commitment to the youth of the world. Golf, they noted, has grown significantly in these three areas and would continue to grow as an Olympic sport, thus influencing the relevance and attraction of the Olympic Games.

the current top-10 rankings for both men and women feature players from 12 different countries

Dawson said  golf was truly an international sport that continued to grow through

new initiatives being implemented all over the world to teach the game to both young and old.

“We believe the time is right for golf to be brought back to the Olympic Games,” he said.

During the presentation, the IOC Programme Commission was shown a series of short films that featured top players expressing support for golf’s bid. The films opened up with Lorena Ochoa of Mexico, the Number 1 ranked woman golfer in the world, and closed with World Number 1 ranked Tiger Woods. In between, the support of top players such as Annika Sorenstam from Sweden, Phil Mickelson from the United States, Suzanne Petterson from Norway and Vijay Singh from Fiji.

Also appearing in the films with statements of support were: Paula Creamer, United States;  Karrie Webb, Australia; K.J. Choi, South Korea; Ernie Els, South Africa; Sergio Garcia, Spain; Ryuji Imada, Japan; Anthony Kim, United States;  Camilo Villegas, Colombia; and Mike Weir, Canada.

“We felt it was critically important to show that many of the game’s biggest stars are saying supportive and positive things about golf’s bid for the Olympics,” Votaw said. “We obviously believe there is a very compelling case as to why golf should become an Olympic sport, and today was the first official step in what essentially is a year-long selection process. Peter and I took the opportunity to highlight the growth and popularity of golf, its global impact and how it would benefit the Olympic Games.”

A special element to the presentation was the presence of the actual trophy presented to Canadian George Lyon for winning the individual stroke play in 1904 in St. Louis, USA. 

Showing just how international professional golf has become, Votaw pointed out that the current top-10 rankings for both men and women feature players from 12 different countries.

Professional golf is televised every week in 216 countries, translated into 35 languages, with a reach of more than 500 million households. Also of note is that 120 players, or half of the LPGA’s membership, are from countries outside the United States. Plus, the European Tour’s “Race to Dubai” in 2009 will feature 53 tournaments in 27 countries.

While specifics of the proposed Olympic format will be based on the input of top players and outlined in the formal bid, Dawson and Votaw presented an overview of the IGF’s initial thinking, which includes 60-player fields for both men and women playing in a yet-to-be determined individual competitive format.

“We envisage the individual athlete competing for his or her country to ensure geographic balance among the players and to maximise the number of countries that can earn a medal,” Dawson explained.

Dawson and Votaw also noted the ease with which golf would fit into any of the four finalists to host the 2016 Games due to existing golf facilities in those cities – Chicago, USA; Madrid, Spain; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; and Tokyo, Japan. Both the host city and selection of any new sports will be determined at the 121^st IOC session, scheduled for October 2009 in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Townsend and Long accepted their trophies at the final Von Nida Tour event held at The Vintage Golf Club in the New South Wales Hunter Valley on Sunday.

Townsend,  27, wrapped up his maiden Von Nida Tour victory with a final round three under 68 to win by seven shots from runner up Victorian Steve Jones.

Last week’s Cellarbrations NSW PGA Championship winner Tim Wood finished in third place on eight under par while Sydney’s Jamie Arnold and newly turned pro Matthew Griffin were tied fourth a further two shots back. 

For Townsend, who is now heading for the second stage of US Tour School, the win comes after he previously finished second three times, the most recent this year at the OG Roberts South Australian PGA Championship.

“I can say enough about how special this is”, said a delighted and exhausted Townsend. “My first one, to win the NSW Open is tremendous.”

“I tried not to look at the leaderboard or too much that was going on around me and just tried to think if I play well and just try to take care of what I do then it will make it hard for anyone to try to catch me so I was really happy with how I played.”

“My confidence is at a high now and that’s what you need at this time of year so its an excellent time to be flying this high!”

Townsend played an impressive tournament, establishing what was to become an unbeatable lead on Day two. He finished the second round with a five shot lead, extending that to six by the end of the third round and finished off with a seven shot buffer.

Perth based New Zealander Long clinched the 2008 Von Nida Money List Trophy by $760.00 over Townsend. The 40 year old finished the year on a high with a win at the Oceanique WA PGA Championship two weeks ago and immediately backed up with a runner up finish at last week’s Cellarbrations NSW PGA Championship, finishing on a total of $27,650.

“I’m very happy. There’s a lot great talent and great players on this Tour and it’s a great privilege to have won this trophy. It’s the first Order of Merit Trophy I have ever won!”

“It’s been a great three weeks”, said the semi retired New Zealand born WA resident. “I intend to enjoy my golf a lot more now and am enjoying the break. It’s really refreshing to be able to have a week off now, have a few drinks and then start again!”

Belmont teenager Brendan Smith finished as the leading amateur.

Final leading scores at the NSW Open at The Vintage.

1, Aaron Townsend, -17, 63, 67, 69, 68, 267

2, Steven Jones, -10, 65, 71, 70, 68, 274

3, Timothy Wood, -8, 73, 67, 68, 68, 276

T4, Jamie Arnold, -6, 62, 73, 70, 73, 278

T4, Matthew Griffin, -6, 67, 71, 71, 69, 278

6, Bradley Andrews, -5, 69, 74, 68, 68, 279

T7, Benjamin Burge, -3, 71, 68, 71, 71, 281

T7, Brad Lamb, -3, 69, 72, 68, 72, 281

T7, Peter Nolan, -3, 71, 71, 72, 67, 281

T10, Aaron Black, -2, 68, 70, 70, 74, 282

T10, Ryan Hammond, -2, 66, 72, 73, 71, 282

T10, Brendan Smith, -2, 71, 73, 67, 71, 282

T13, Michael Brennan, -1, 72, 69, 72, 70, 283

T13, Leigh McKechnie, -1, 70, 68, 73, 72, 283

T13, James Nitties, -1, 72, 70, 73, 68, 283

T13, Jason Norris, -1, 69, 72, 74, 68, 283

T13, Peter Wilson, -1, 75, 69, 69, 70, 283

T18, Matthew Ballard, E, 69, 70, 72, 73, 284

T18, Craig Scott, E, 70, 74, 69, 71, 284

T18, Tim Stewart, E, 69, 73, 71, 71, 284

T18, Michael Williams, E, 67, 74, 70, 73, 284

The Australian team has recorded a resounding victory at the 2008 Asia-Pacific Senior Golf Championship played in Sabah, Malaysia.

Current Australian Senior Amateur Champion Stefan Albinski compounded the win, taking out the individual championship.

The six man Australian team of Rick Oliver (captain), Denis Dale, Ross Percy, Brian Sams, Nigel Goodall and Albinksi finished 23 strokes ahead of the New Zealand team, with The Philippines third.
With the best four rounds counting each day, the Australian team finished on 23 over par - averaging better than 74 for each scoring round on the tricky par 72 Nexus Golf Resort course at Karambunai.
In the individual championship, Stefan Albinksi (73-75-73) and Brian Sams (74-76-71) featured in a play off for the title.

Albinksi was the winner with a birdie on the second sudden death play off hole.

Australia was the dominant team at the event this year with all six Australian team players finishing in the top 20 positions with four players finishing in the top ten.

12/11/08, Round 2: Aussies strengthen lead

Australia has taken a commanding lead after round two of the 2008 Asia-Pacific Senior Championship in Sabah, Malaysia.

Quality rounds of 74 from Nigel Goodall and Brian Sams set the pace with Stefan Albinski (75) and Denis Dale (76) making up the four scores that counted in the teams event.

Rick Oliver (80) could not repeat his opening two under par 70. Ross Percy (80) struggled with his game today but looks forward to the final round on Thursday.
Australia now leads New Zealand by 17 shots and The Philippines by 19 and are hoping for another good day of consistent scores on the final day to take home the team trophy.

Australia’s consistency sees five of their players in the top ten individual scores with Stefan Albinksi the best in second place.

11/11/08, 1st Round: Rick Oliver helps Aussie team take lead

A two under par 70 by Rick Oliver has helped Australia to the lead after round one of the 2008 Asia-Pacific Senior Championship at the Karambunai Golf Resort in Sabah, Malaysia.

He shares the individual lead while Australia leads New Zealand by 5 shots in the team competition.

Sydney’s Stefan Albinksi was the next best Australian with a very tidy 73 followed by Brian Sams who worked hard for his four over par 76.

Denis Dale and Nigel Goodall both reported a struggle on the greens when they finished with 77’s. Ross Percy was not at his usual consistent best with 82. The best four scores count each day.

The Australian team includes Rick Oliver (NSW), Denis Dale (NSW), Ross Percy (VIC), Brian Sams (NSW), Nigel Goodall (WA) and Stefan Albinski (NSW).

(Original Reports Courtesy of Denis Dale and AUSOOM)

2008 Asia Pacific Seniors – Live Scoring