PETER SENIOR is excited to be heading to the 2010 Open Championship at St Andrews in July after a nail biting finish at the International Final Qualifying event at Kingston Heath Golf Club.

It will be Senior’s 18th British Open appearance and his fifth at the home of golf.

He will be joined by fellow qualifiers Kurt Barnes and Ewan Porter.

Barnes tore up the Kingston Heath layout with a second round eight under par 64 to finish on ten under overall, two shots ahead of overnight leader Ewan Porter (68) with Senior (70) taking third place on five under par.

It was a nervous wait for 50 year old Senior, who was aiming for his first Open appearance since 2000 when he finished 72nd at St Andrews.

At six under with just a hole to play Senior bogeyed the 18th moving back to five under and narrowing the gap between himself and his nearest competitor New South Welshman Aaron Townsend.

He then sat in the clubhouse watching and waiting for scores to come in before breathing a sigh of relief as he secured the third and final spot while Townsend and Victorian Steve Jones finished two shots back on three under. 

“It feels fantastic. I thought I had blown it coming down the last couple of holes but the score hung on and I am really excited about going there,” said Senior.

Senior previously played St Andrews’ Opens in 2000, 1995, 1990 and 1984 with his best result 14th place on debut. His best finish at The Open was in 1993 at Royal St Georges when he finished fourth.

“St Andrews is such a special place, the atmosphere is just fantastic and I am really going to enjoy this one.”

In contrast to Senior, the 2010 Open Championship will be Kurt Barnes’ first appearance at a Major. The affable big-hitting New South Welshman set the course alight firing a superb 8 under 64 final round to take honours on the final day after starting in fourth place and two shots off the pace. 

Two rounds of 68 saw Sydney’s Ewan Porter do what no other player at Australasian Qualifying has ever done – qualify three times from three attempts. He qualified at both attempts at The Lakes in 2007 and 2008

GEOFF OGILVY has again launched Australia’s golfing year off to a great start by winning the SBS Championship in Kapalau, Hawaii.

Ogilvy won the season opening title last year but this time around believes he can keep the good form going.

“I think I forced it too much (last year),” the Australian said after shooting a final round six-under-par 67 to storm home and seal a one-stroke victory over a fast-finishing Rory Sabbatini.

Ogilvy went on to win the World Golf Championships Match Play Championship in February last year but his efforts for the rest of 2009 were largely forgettable.

Apart from a respectable tie for 15th at the US Masters, he went missing in the big tournaments.

“I played so well here last year, and I played really well in the Match Play, played great at Houston (and) played alright at the Masters,” Ogilvy said.

“After that I think it goes awry. Before you know it, it’s the middle of the year and I am still struggling for two months, and I hit more balls and I chased it too hard as opposed to letting it come back.”
“I wasn’t happy with the way I was playing until after the Presidents Cup (in October).

“I had a moment of clarity when I played (Steve) Stricker in singles, (thinking) what are you trying so hard for? It’s a ball and there is a hole. Just hit it that way.”

Ogilvy has vowed to take a break this year if his game starts deteriorating, believing a cycling or surfing holiday is more likely to fix his game than grinding on the range.

“I think I’m a slow learner, but a pretty good learner. I think it’s taking me a long time to work stuff out that I probably should have worked out earlier, but at least I’m working it out.”

The PGA Tour will now head to Honolulu for the traditional first full field event of the season at the Waialae Country Club, where a number of new recruits, including the likes Australian’s Cameron Percy, will test their games at the highest level for the first time.

The SBS Championship is restricted to winners of the previous year’s PGA Tour events.