ANDREW DAKERS from NSW and Queenslanders Ricki Mangan, Steve Morshuis and Tana Palmer are the newest graduates to the Australian Legends Tour following the Qualifying School held at Camden Lakeside Country Club in NSW.
The Australian PGA Legends Tour Qualifying School teed off with six 50-years plus amateurs chasing four playing tickets for the 2009 season.
The Legends Tour of the PGA of Australia comprises over 50 events covering the eastern seaboard of Australia to New Zealand with the total prize money being $1.2 Million.
The Legends Tour has continued steady growth in recent times with an increase in the number of events and prize money.

Much of this can be attributed to the participation of well known names in Australian golf such as Rodger Davis, Bob Shearer, Mike Harwood, Mike Clayton and Wayne Grady.
It is a requirement that players must be over 50 years of age to compete on the tour.
The PGA says current plans are to increase the total number of events to 60, increase the prize money pool to $1.4 million, a possible event being staged in China and to keep attracting not just local players but also overseas players to ensure a competitive environment.

FINAL SCORES

The final scores from the 2009 Qualifying School Final were:
1. Andrew Dakers (Am) NSW 74 73 74 - 221
2. Ricki Mangan (Am) Qld 75 75 74 - 224
3. Steve Morshuis (Am) Qld 75 77 79 - 231
4. Tana Palmer (Am) Qld 80 71 89 - 240
5. Hyuk Kwon (Am) NSW 83 82 79 - 244
6. Alexander McKay (Am) Vic 81 85 81 247

MIXING with the big timers at the Australian Open has rubbed off on Victorian Jason Perry, helping him claim the Australian Men’s Mid-Amateur Golf Championships for the second year running.

Perry battled fierce winds on the third and final day of the championship to take the title by two strokes at The National Golf Club on the Mornington Peninsula.

Perry, who was one stroke behind overnight leaders John Beveridge and Kim Olsen at the start of play, made a solid fist of the challenging conditions to hold off New Zealand’s Kim Johnson who finished second. Victorian Jason Schulz was third.

The final round was played Thursday on the Peter Thompson-designed Ocean Course.

Perry shot rounds of 73, 72 and 74 over the three days of the championship, with competitors playing all three of The National’s courses.

“It’s been a crazy two months since the Australian Open which was a fantastic experience,” Perry said.

“It’s great having my wife and kids here and I’d like to thank my caddy and parents as well.”

As the winner, Perry receives a consecutive exemption into the Australian Open at the New South Wales Golf Club later this year.

Mid Amateur Round 2

STRONG winds are expected to provide a challenging final day for competitors in the Australian Men’s Mid Amateur Golf Championship at the National Golf Club in Victoria.

The second round on Wednesday saw perfect conditions for scoring on the Greg Norman designed Moonah Course, with a number of players in contention to take the title on day three.

Unfortunately, first round leader Kym Olsen (Vic), who shot a second round 76 to accompany his initial 70, is unlikely to compete in the final round because of an injury that flared during play.

Leading overnight were John Beveridge (Vic), who played consistent golf to shoot a one under par round of 71 to be joint leader on even par with Peter Woodward (Vic) who has carded two even par rounds to date.

Kim Johnson (NZ) fired a 2 under par round of 70 around the long Moonah layout to move into tie for third with National GC member Jarrod Schulz.

Also tied for third is defending champion Jason Perry (Vic) who will have the benefit of being in a similar position last year in his come from behind victory.

The final round of the 2009 Australian Men’s Mid Amateur Championship will be played on the Peter Thompson designed Ocean course.

Olsen leads first round

VICTORIAN Kim Olsen leads the Australian Men’s Mid Amateur Golf Championship after posting a two under par 70 at the National Golf Club on the Mornington Peninsula.

Olsen leads fellow National GC member Jarrod Schulz and Peter Woodward (Vic).

The Mid Amateur title, being held for the third time, is for men aged between 30 and 54.The winner gains a full exemption to the Australian Open.

Defending champion Jason Perry (Vic), who recently returned from Royal Sydney where he played alongside his idols in the 2008 Australian Open, played steady golf to finish tied fourth, three shots behind the leader in a group of four other players.

The championship began Tuesday morning with the title for the first time being contested in a unique format across all three courses at the National.

The day’s play commenced with moderate hot northerly winds making conditions for scoring on the Old Course very challenging.

Players faced changing conditions mid way through the day, with the wind switching to the south. Players were challenged with a moderate southerly breeze during the afternoon.

Competitors will now face the Greg Norman designed Moonah course for Round 2.

This year’s champion will gain a full exemption to the 2009 Men’s Australian Open at New South Wales Golf Club.

US PGA TOUR: SONY OPEN IN HAWAII, WAIALAE COUNTRY CLUB, HONOLULU, HAWAII

A blistering final round six under 64 has seen Australian Adam Scott finish just two shots off a win at the Sony Open in Hawaii –the first full field event on the 2009 US PGA Tour calendar.  

 Starting the day three shots off the lead and tied tenth, the 28 year old Aussie carded seven birdies in his round to equal the best round of the day and soar into contention.
He held the lead briefly after overnight leader Zach Johnson stumbled early on, but the American regrouped with four birdies on the back nine to take the title. Johnson secured his victory by two shots over Scott and American David Toms.

Charles Howell III was a further stroke behind at 12-under, with Kevin Na and Brian Gay one shot back in a tie for fifth.

 For Scott, who is recovering from a knee injury that forced a six week break, the start to the year will brim him with confidence. He finished T18 at his first outing, the Mercedes Benz Championship last week and secured his best result since winning the EDS Byron Nelson Championship last April.

 “Today was really good for me,” said Scott.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve been in the hunt in anything.
“It was nice to get on the back nine and have a chance, and get the competitive nerves going again. I enjoyed the challenge.
“I wish I could have made the putt on 17 to have a bit of a chance on the last, but all in all, I’m pretty happy with how my game is shaping up.”

 Scott will now head to Qatar where he will look to claim his third straight Qatar Masters. He will then return home to Australia for a month for more rehabilitation on his knee which still needs to be iced daily and requires more treatment.

In more good news for the Aussies, rookie Marc Leishman carded a five-under-par 65 to grab a share of 12th spot in his first PGA Tour event.
Starting the day in a tie for second place, Nathan Green struggled with four bogeys early on, but closed with a birdie to also finish in 12th place.
Geoff Ogilvy never recovered from a disastrous start that saw him drop five shots through seven holes to finish in a tie for 32nd at five-under overall.

EUROPEAN TOUR: THE ABU DHABI GOLF CHAMPIONSHIP, ABU DHABI GOLF CLUB, ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

Robert Allenby has finished the best of the Australasians at the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship tying for 15^th place on 13 under, eight shots behind winner Paul Casey of England.

Allenby, a US TOUR regular and playing in his first event for the 2009 season shot rounds of 71, 68, 69 & 67 to finish one shot ahead of compatriot Brett Rumford on 12 under while halfway leader Richard Green was a further stroke back in a tie for 26th.
For Casey, it was a case of surviving a late scare to secure his first title in two years. Coasting to victory, or so it seemed, when he led by six with only eight holes to play, he then bogeyed three of the next four holes. The 31 year old led by six shots at the turn but problems with his putter saw his lead desert him as up ahead South African Louis Oosthuizen posted an eight-under-par 64 and suddenly the gap was only one.

However, the 31-year-old Ryder Cup star, whose last win came in the same event at the start of 2007, parred the closing stretch for a 70 and a 21-under total of 267 to take the title by one shot from Louis Oosthuizen and defending champion Martin Kaymer. It was Casey’s second Abu Dhabi win in three years.

New Zealand amateur Danny Lee was the next best of the Australasians posting rounds of 68, 70, 73, 68 to finish on nine-under-par ahead of fellow countryman and 2008 Australasian Tour Order of Merit Champion Mark Brown two shots further back.

Rod Pampling, Scott Strange and Aaron Baddeley finished well done the leaderboard in 37th, 50th and 62nd respectively.

ASIAN TOUR: 2009 ASIAN TOUR QUALIFYING SCHOOL, ST ANDREWS 2000 GC & RAYONG GREEN VALLEY CC, THAILAND

12 Australasians have successfully qualified through final stage of Asian Tour School and have earned their cards for the 2009 season.

Led by South Australian Peter Cooke and Victorian Matthew Griffin who finished best of the contingent from Down Under in a tie for ninth place, 11 Aussies and New Zealander Mark Purser braved five rounds over five days at the St Andrews 2000 and Rayong Green Valley courses.

Also finishing in the Top 40 and ties were: Michael Light (T12), Kim Do.H (T15), Tim Stewart (T17), Mark Purser (T19), Chris Gaunt (T19), Adam Le Vesconte (T26), Jason Norris (T26), Christopher Campbell (T30), Adam Groom (T33) and Rohan Blizard (T33).

Victorian Brad Lamb narrowly missed the cut when he finished in a tie for 41^st spot.

Overall, Australia had the biggest representation in the 2009 Qualifying School with 83 players.

Japan’s Daisuke Maruyama triumphed in a play-off with Mohammad Siddikur and Rory Hie becoming the first Bangladeshi and Indonesian players respectively to earn full playing rights.

AUSTRALASIAN RESULTS:

US PGA TOUR: SONY OPEN

WINNER: ZACH JOHNSON (USA)

T2 Adam Scott (-13), T12 Marc Leishman (-7), Nathan Green (-7), T32 Geoff Ogilvy (-5), T51 Tim Wilkinson (-2), T65 Jarrod Lyle (+2). 

MC: John Senden, Aron Price, Peter Lonard, Greg Chalmers, James Nitties.

EUROPEAN TOUR: THE ABU DHABI GOLF CHAMPIONSHIP

WINNER: PAUL CASEY (ENGLAND) -21

T15 Robert Allenby (-13), T20 Brett Rumford (-12), T26 Richard Green (-11), T35 Danny Lee am NZL ( -9), T37 Rod Pampling (-8), T42 Mark Brown NZL (-7), T50 Scott Strange (-5), T62 Aaron Baddeley (-2)

MC: Peter O’Malley,

ASIAN TOUR: 2009 ASIAN TOUR QUALIFYING SCHOOL FINAL STAGE

1^ST: DAISUKE MARUYAMA (JAPAN)

T9, 359, Peter COOKE, Australia, 73, 70, 72, 75, 69

T9, 359, Matthew GRIFFIN, Australia, 70, 72, 72, 74, 71

T12, 360, Michael LIGHT, Australia, 70, 74, 75, 75, 66

T15, 361, KIM Do.H, Australia, 76, 72, 74, 70, 69

T17, 362, Tim STEWART, Australia, 74, 70, 77, 74, 67

T19, 363, Mark PURSER, New Zealand, 74, 73, 70, 75, 71

T19, 363, Chris GAUNT, Australia, 72, 73, 71, 75, 72

T26, 364, Adam Le VESCONTE, Australia, 75, 71, 72, 79, 67

T26, 364, Jason NORRIS, Australia, 72, 68, 75, 76, 73

T30, 365, Christopher CAMPBELL, Australia, 71, 77, 74, 74, 69

T33, 366, Adam GROOM, Australia, 73, 74, 75, 72, 72

T33, 366, Rohan BLIZARD, Australia, 71, 77, 74, 71, 73

THE WEEK AHEAD:

US PGA TOUR: The 50th Bob Hope Classic hosted by Arnold Palmer at PGA West (Palmer Course), La Quinta, California, PGA West (Nicklaus Course), La Quinta, California, Bermuda Dunes CC, Bermuda Dunes, California, Silver Rock, La Quinta, California
EUROPEAN TOUR: Commercialbank Qatar Masters Presented by Dolphin Energy, Doha GC, Doha, Qatar

CHAMPIONS TOUR: Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai, Hualalai Golf Course, Ka’upulehu-Kona, Hawaii

(Original material courtesy PGA Australia)

GOSSIPS might only see actress Kate Hudson pictured here with Adam Scott on the beach in Maui.

We just note Scott seems to have learned his lesson after a beach incident put him out of action in Australia and he is now wearing a knee brace in the surf.

Scott said recently that he and Hudson were “just friends” but it was noted they were getting very cuddly on their beach towels.

Scott was in Hawaii competing in the Mercedes-Benz Championship and the Sony Open.

In December Scott withdrew from the Australian PGA Championship and subsequently the Australian Open after injuring his right kneecap running out of the surf at Coolum Beach in Queensland.

Lets hope his cautious state and relaxed attitude see him achieve big things in 2009.

Whatever Hudson was whispering in his ear on their towels later seems to have done wonders for his performance at the Sony Open.

Scott’s blistering final round in Hawaii

GEOFF OGILVY has started the 2009 golfing year in fine style for himself and the nation with a comfortable six-shot win at the season-opening Mercedes-Benz Championship in Maui.
It was Ogilvy’s fifth PGA Tour title and moves him from 11th to sixth in the world.

The wire-to-wire victory finished with a topsy-turvy five-under 68 on the final day to finish on 24-under-par, half a dozen strokes clear of Americans Anthony Kim (67) and Davis Love III (67) at 18-under.
Sean O’Hair had the day’s best round, a blistering eight-under 65 seeing him leap from a tie for 11th into outright fourth place at 17-under.
Justin Leonard (70) was fifth one stroke further back, while South African Ernie Els (67) and Americans Zach Johnson (67), Kenny Perry (70) and DJ Trahan (71) finished at 15-under.
Johnson Wagner rounded out the top 10 following a closing 69.
Adam Scott (70) failed to make any in-roads as he had to settle for a share of 18th place at nine-under.
Ogilvy, who started the day with a six-shot buffer, made a horror start with bogeys in the first two holes.
He recovered with birdies on holes five and six before again giving up shots at the following two holes to see his lead whittled to just one.
But a glorious eagle and five birdies over the next six holes saw Ogilvy, the 2006 US Open champion, extend his advantage once again before sealing victory at the $5.6 million ($A8 million) event with a par on the 18th.
Ogilvy is the third Australian to win the tournament after Steve Elkington (1992, 1995) and Stuart Appleby (2004-2006).
Ogilvy was relieved to get his game back on track after his rough start on a rain-softened track at Kapalua.
“I enjoyed the last two-and-a-half hours more than I enjoyed the first two hours today. It was obviously a very rough start,” he said.
“I had never had a six-shot lead before. That’s quite an uncomfortable feeling really.”
“It was tricky on the front nine and I wasn’t playing horribly. I just had a couple of loose shots and a couple of putts that I thought were pretty decent and didn’t go in, which is the sort of thing that happens when you’re leading, I guess.”
The Australian regained his composure when he reached the green in two at the 521-yard, par-five ninth and made eagle to enter the back nine with a more comfortable three-stroke lead.
“I had the two best shots of the week down the ninth hole, made my best putt and probably my best back nine of the week. So it was definitely a round of two halves,” Ogilvy said.
“A pretty poor first eight holes, and great last 10 holes, and I really enjoyed it. Once I got through nine, I really enjoyed every hole on the back nine.”
“All of a sudden I felt a lot better about everything, and played really well the last nine holes.”