Australian Senior Golfer

DEFENDING champion Adam Scott is just one stroke off the leaders after the first round of the 2011 Valero Texas Open.

Coming off his runner-up finish at the Masters Scott shot a four-under 68 behind joint leaders J.J. Henry and former British Open Champion Stewart Cink.

Scott was tied for third along with Charley Hoffman, Jhonattan Vegas, Vaughn Taylor and Kevin Chappell.

Geoff Ogilvy was on three-under tied for 8th, followed by fellow Aussies Aron Price (70), John Senden and Michael Sim on one-under and Steve Elkington even.

The day’s spotlight was unfortunately on Kevin Na who almost set a PGA Tour record with a 16 on the par-4 ninth.

Na, who finished 4-under on the other 17 holes, watched his first shot on the 9th veer badly off course. The next wasn’t any better and it just got worse.

“I got done with the hole and I said (to my caddie), ‘I think I made somewhere between a 10 and a 15,” Na said. “But I think it’s close to a 15.” The final count was 16, not quite enough to beat John Daly, who had an 18 on the par-5 sixth hole at Bay Hill in 1998.

Ogilvy and Scott were in the group following Na and watched the whole sorry saga unfold.

“There’s some rocks in there and some pretty nasty stuff,” Ogilvy said of the 474-yard ninth. “You don’t have to do a whole lot wrong to have three or four attempts to try and get it out. It becomes a comedy of errors sometimes.”

Australian Television Times

The 2011 Valero Texas Open is being telecast on Fox Sports:

Saturday 2nd Round 5am to 8am

Sunday 3rd Round 5am to 8am

Monday 4th Round 5am to 8am

2011 Valero Texas Open Leaderboard  

FRESH from his US Masters performance Adam Scott has moved to San Antonio for this week’s 2011 Valero Texas Open, where he is defending champion.

Scott should be chock full of confidence following his T2 with Jason Day at Augusta and his new-found expertise with the long putter.

Added to that Scott has won four of his seven tour victories in Texas and he’s entitled to be a raging favourite.

Maybe the only negative will be getting over the almost-won-it Major blues.

“It’s certainly a big let down I think mentally or emotionally after any major, whether you’re in the mix or not,” Scott said in Texas today.

“It certainly does take a lot out of you, it’s not just the tournament week but it’s the weeks before, a lot of practice and the weeks leading up to it. So … it was important for me to have a couple days where I did not much and it was nice to be at a nice resort here to do that.

“Hopefully (I can) get back in the swing of it today in the pro-am and, you know, hit a few balls and recalibrate and ready to go for tomorrow.”

Scott won the title by one shot over Fredrik Jacobson last year on the Greg Norman designed TPC San Antonio.

Fellow Masters runner-up Jason Day won’t be playing but other Australians shooting for the title include Geoff Ogilvy, Marc Leishman, Steve Elkington, John Senden, Michael Sim, Steven Bowditch, Jarrod Lyle, Matt Jones, Nathan Green, Nick O’Hern and Aron Price.

Australian Television Times

The 2011 Valero Texas Open will be telecast on Fox Sports:

Friday 1st Round 5am to 8am

Saturday 2nd Round 5am to 8am

Sunday 3rd Round 5am to 8am

Monday 4th Round 5am to 8am

2011 Valero Texas Open Leaderboard

AUSTRALIA’S golfing heart has once again been broken at the US Masters.

South African Charl Schwartzel snatched the title an Australian has never won with four straight birdies coming home to take the 2011 championship with a final round 66 early today.

Just minutes before, Adam Scott and Jason Day had stood on the 18th congratulating each other as joint clubhouse leaders on 12 under.

Watching them walk up to the 18th and briefly shake hands after both had played exceptional rounds warmed the heart.

There was more pride as 23 year old Day sank a tough downhill putt for birdie to tie Scott on 12 under but there was also a knowing that Scott really needed to sink his birdie putt to have a chance.

When that didn’t happen Schwartzel just needed par to win and his birdie was a fitting climax to a round that began with a chip in birdie on the first and an eagle from the fairway on the second.

He obviously had the momentum and sometimes you just can’t buck history.

50th anniversary of Gary Player victory

The 26 year old ended up donning the green jacket on the 50th anniversary of compatriot Gary Player becoming the first international player (and first South African)to win the Masters.

The final round leader board was acknowledged as one of the most turbulent in the event’s history after four-stroke overnight leader Rory McIlroy imploded on the back to leave the field wide open.

There were at times 10 golfers jockeying to win and twice coming home there were five golfers sharing the lead.

On the second occasion that included three Aussies, Scott, Day and Geoff Ogilvy (67), who posted six straight birdies from the 11th hole on.

Scott took the outright lead on the 14th and was briefly two strokes in front before Schwartzel and then Day rounded him up.

Scott and his broom stick putter were just amazing but the 30 year old Queenlander probably lost the tournament with a wayward second shot from the middle of the fairway on the 17th. He scrambled and made a clutch putt for par but it ruined a great opportunity to get a couple of strokes on Swartzel.

Scott’s putting a revelation

Scott finished with a 67, his second in succession, to be two behind the winner, but if that success with the big putter continues he has a formidable future ahead.

“To be right in the mix is everything I’ve dreamed of. It just didn’t pan out,” Scott said. I’ve got to be pretty proud of the way I played over the weekend. Obviously I can’t control Charl.

“When you birdie the last four holes at the Masters when you’re around the lead, that usually wins. I’m disappointed I didn’t win when I held the lead with a few holes to go. It’s exciting to be in the mix at a major, something I haven’t been able to talk about before.

“It would have made the Masters exciting for [Australian golf fans] to have three guys contending on the back nine on Sunday. It’s been a while.”

Day happy

His playing partner Day (68) had a magnificent first appearance at the Masters and after being joint leader on a number of occasions and losing that spot, held his nerve in a way that his playing partner of the first three rounds – McIlroy, didn’t.

“I couldn’t do any more than what I did today. Adam and I played wonderful golf and Charl played even better golf,” Day said.

“I’ve known Adam since I was 15. We’ve been good mates since then. We had a lot of fun today. “It was really really good to be in the hunt for the Masters.”

McIlroy still held a one-shot lead when he teed off at the 10th but a triple bogey began the decline.

He collapsed to finish with an 80 and equal 15th but for a 21 year old showed remarkable maturity afterwards to acknowledge it was a steep learning experience that will stand him in great stead in the future.

A learning experience for McIlroy  

Tiger Woods also made a big charge and looked ominous with an eagle on the 8th but missed another short putt for eagle on the 15th and remained on 10 under for the rest of the day.

All in all, it was a heart in mouth finish for Australian spectators and despite the ultimate heartache they can take much from the fact that golf down under is in a very good place.

WIN or lose, Jason Day and Adam Scott will share their experience of the 2011 US Masters final round at Augusta National early Monday.

The two Australian golfers will hit off together in the third last group and both need to do something special, and have leader Rory McIlroy help their cause, if either is to become the first from this country to win a Masters green jacket.

Day has shown composure far beyond his 23 years so far in the tournament and his even par 72 in the third round sees him four behind McIlroy, who finished on 12-under.

Day is tied in second place with Argentine Angel Cabrera (67), South African Charl Schwartzel (68) and Korean K.J. Choi (71), all on eight-under.

“I didn’t know I was leading until I walked down (hole) six and saw my name on the leaderboard,” Day said. “It was very short-lived. I didn’t play myself out of the tournament. I could have played better but I’m very happy with where I am.

“I felt pretty good, had a good warm up and came out of the gates firing. There were a few mental errors and I didn’t hole the putts that I did yesterday but I didn’t feel like I played too differently. I made a few disappointing choices.”

Scott and his new broomstick putter roared into contention with a five-under par 67 that matched the lowest round of the day while Day briefly took the lead with a hat-trick of birdies after the fifth hole.

“I struggled for my rhythm the first couple of days but today on the range it fell into place,” Scott said. “I got off to a good start, which is something I seem to struggle with here.

“To get a couple of birdies in early and then keep the momentum going into the back nine was nice and certainly what I needed to do.”

Geoff Ogilvy is the other Australian in the top ten after a one-over 73 saw him tied for 9th along with Tiger Woods (74), Fred Couples (72), Bubba Watson (67) and Ross Fisher (71).

Ogilvy will play in the sixth last group with Couples and with seven strokes to make up on the leader either will need something approaching a miracle to win. But in golf, particularly at Augusta National, such things sometimes happen.

If it can’t be an Aussie, it would be hard not to cheer for 21 year old McIlroy to take his first title and be the youngest Masters Champions since Tiger Woods in 1997.

Jason Day knows it is going to be hard to beat the Northern Irishman.

“Rory, the way he’s hitting the ball, he can shoot a couple under-par I think and probably win,” he said. “There’s a lot of pressure on us to make some birdies early and put some pressure on him.”

Australian television coverage on Ten an One HD starts at 4am AEST.

2011 US Masters Leaderboard

ADAM SCOTT is delighted with his performance with his new broomstick putter and believes it will be a big positive for him when he fronts at the 2011 US Masters in April.

“I think it’s going to be great for me,” Scott said in the midst of his impressive display at the WGC- Cadillac Championship in Miami on the weekend.

“It’s just more enjoyable to play golf feeling somewhat confident on putts from ten feet and in. It’s nice to see a ball rolling at the hole at a good speed. You know, I don’t feel like it’s that much of an effort for me to do it. So I’m really looking forward to seeing how it goes at Augusta.”

Over recent years, it has often been an out and out pleasure to watch Scott’s outstanding ball striking tee to green but when he gets on the putting surface it can be excruciating. And that’s not just for the spectators.

The 30 year old Queenslander admitted that his short putting has made him at times feel like not playing golf.

Talking about how in the past couple of years how he usually won or was “right up there” if he putted well from 10 foot in, Scott said:

“But you know, my short putting was really ruining my good golf, and it was very frustrating to the point where, you know, I just didn’t really feel like playing because every round I played, most likely I would leave two or three out there and that adds up to a lot at the end of a week. It was hard to have a good week.”

Scott has been using the broomstick putter for just under a couple of months and can’t see a change in the foreseeable future.

“I decided the week before the (WGC-Accenture) Match Play that I was going to use it. I was comfortable enough, and I had spent the five weeks previous working on it. Yeah, I spent a fair bit of time hitting putts with it. But, you know, this is certainly giving me a new bit of life out there, and I’ve enjoyed the last three weeks (in tournaments) putting with it.”

“I think there’s definitely going to be a carryover effect in the long term, certainly free up the long game. It’s going to free up chipping and the bunker play; that you don’t have to feel like you have to hit every chip stiff to feel like you’re going to make par.”

“It was hard work trying to get it around and not leave yourself 6 feet. And when you’re trying not to leave yourself 5 or 6 feet, inevitably you’re going to leave yourself 5 or 6 feet five or six times a round. Now I can just play. I don’t really worry about anything. I just deal with what’s out there.”

Scott was in real contention for the Cadillac title and finished at T6 with putting stats much better than normal.

Scott had a quick response to golf media who asked if there were changes he had to make with the broomstick putter.

“Well, you’ve got to extend your arm a lot longer to get it out of the bag,” he joked.

ADAM SCOTT was still in contention halfway through the final round of the 2011 World Golf Championships- Cadillac Championship in Florida today before a disastrous double bogey sealed his fate.

“I wasn’t quite firing on all cylinders but I said to myself on the 12th tee, I can still win from here,” Scott said later.

“I hit a poor drive and really made a meal of it from there,” he said.

The Queenslander started the day three strokes behind overnight leader Dustin Johnson and battled down the final stretch to finish with a one under par 71 and equal sixth.

That put him five strokes behind winner Nick Watney, who birdied the deadly 18th hole for a two stroke win over fellow American Johnson.

Watney’s final round 67 gave him a tournament tally of 16 under to claim his first WGC event and his third US PGA Tour title.

Scott was delighted with his success with his new broomstick putter, missing from just once inside five feet all week.

The next best Australian was Robert Allenby who finished with a 68 to be

tied for 15th on seven-under.

The highlight of Allenby’s round was an eagle on the par four 11th.

“I didn’t have to line that putt up, which was good,” he quipped. “I had to kick a goal between the trees (in the middle of the fairway). I punched a little three-quarter eight (iron) and it landed perfect and then went up to the hole and in. When it landed I knew it was going to be close.”

Aaron Baddeley hit a 66 in the second round, the best score of the day, to storm to just three points from the leaders, but faded in the final two (73, 74) to finish tied for 28th on three under.

Jason Day and Marcus Fraser finished tied together at 2 over in 45th place and Geoff Ogilvy finished T49 at 3 over.

Peter Senior, the oldest man in the field, will probably be looking on the bright side of having earned a spot and competed. He was a little off the pace finishing at 8 over and T64.

Tiger Woods finished with a 66 to match the day’s best but started the day too far back to ever be in contention.

He finished on 8 under tied for 10th with five others, including Roy McIlroy and Padraig Harrington.

2011 WGC-Cadillac Championship Final Leaderboard

YOU can do your bit for Queensland flood relief efforts and have a once in a lifetime opportunity to play a round with Australian golfing superstar Adam Scott on Monday.

Just back from Hawaii, Scott has announced he will be participating in the Battle of the Stars Celebrity Golf Tournament at the Gainsborough Greens Golf Club on January 31 to help raise funds for flood victims.

Scott has started an eBay auction for a player and two mates to join him and battle other sporting stars including the likes of Dick Johnson (V8), Quade Cooper (ARU), Matt Rogers (NRL), Karmichael Hunt (NRL & AFL), Ryan Harris (Cricket), Jeff Thomson (Cricket) and Totai Kefu (ARU).

“My home state of Queensland has been hit pretty hard so if there’s anything you can do to help it’s going to a great cause,” Scott wrote on his blog .

“If you ever wanted to play a round of golf with me and hang out here’s your chance.”

When we checked Thursday lunch time the latest bid was $3,500.

To bid or for more information go to the eBay auction page here.

GEOFF OGILVY will be aiming to make it two in a row when the 2010  Australian PGA Championship tees off on Thursday.

The 33-year-old won his first Australian Open on Sunday by four shots from Alistair Presnell and Matt Jones.

Ogilvy looked at ease over the four days of the tournament at The Lakes in Sydney and will be brim full of confidence facing a hot field full of international talent and previous winners at Coolum.

His major rivals include four-time winner and defending champion Robert Allenby and a rejuvenated Adam Scott who is striking the ball wonderfully but just needs to get his putter on song.

Three-time winner Peter Lonard is also back on home soil from the US this week and will be aiming to finish his year on a high after lots of downtime with health issues.

American John Daly will also be looking for a better result after failing to make the cut in Sydney.

Television coverage

The PGA Championship will be telecast on ONE HD from noon to 5pm Thursday to Sunday and also on TEN Saturday and Sunday.

2010 Australian PGA Championship Leaderboard

AUSTRALIAN OPEN defending champion Adam Scott has shown great form just two weeks out from the Sydney showdown with a great win at the Singapore Open.

It is the third time Scott has won the event in the last five years and his second title for the year.

Scott carded a final round three-under 68 to finish at 17 under for the tournament, three shots ahead of second place getter Anders Hansen.

US Open champion Graeme McDowell tied for third with Rikard Karlberg at 13-under.

The 30 year old Queenslander had to maintain concentration with disruptions to the tournament because of thunderstorms. The final round was suspended for the day because of fading light.

When he came back out he was chased hard by a group including McDowell and defending champion Ian Poulter.

“It was great. It’s a relief to finally get finished. I’m very happy to be a winner here again,” Scott said of the title he previously won in 2005 and 2006.

“It’s not an easy back nine to come out and play and I didn’t make it look that easy either so I’m just happy to be done.

“It’s a course I absolutely love and I’ve hit so many good shots here over the years so that does help.”

Scott’s other victory this year came at the Valero Texas Open in May, his first win on the US PGA Tour for more than two years.

He will defend his Australian Open title at The Lakes in Sydney from December 2-5.

Baddeley misses out on $1 million bonus

Meanwhile, Aaron Baddeley has just fallen short of a $US1 million ($A1.01 million) bonus in a one in three chance on one sudden-death hole in Orlando, Florida.

Baddeley went into a post-tournament sudden-death play-off for the winner-takes-all Kodak Challenge – decided on the lowest cumulative score on 18 of 30 designated scenic tournament holes throughout the season.

He was up against Americans Troy Merritt and Rickie Fowler but battler Merritt grabbed the cash to finish a great day after earlier securing the 125th and last spot on the season money list to retain full 2011 playing rights.

At least Baddeley retained his US PGA Tour spot for next year, unlike some other unlucky Aussies.

Aron Price‘s tie for 65th in the final tournament was some $US73,000 ($A74,000) short of lifting him from 131st into the money list’s top 125.

It was not all bad new as he will retain partial playing rights for finishing in the top 150, along with Cameron Percy, who came in 145th.

Those outside the top 150 and missing out include James Nitties (155), Mat Goggin (159), Jarrod Lyle (162), Nick O’Hern (168), Rod Pampling (180), Mark Hensby (185) and David Lutterus (201).

Their last chance is the six-round tour qualifying school final stage next month.

(Photos: Scott celebrates his win in Singapore. AFP PHOTO / HO / WORLD SPORT GROUP / PAUL LAKATOS.)

QUEENSLANDER Adam Scott will be heading home in December with the 2010 Australian PGA Championship firmly in his sights.

Having claimed the Stonehaven Cup in an emotional victory at the Australian Open last year, Scott will play the PGA Championship at the Hyatt Regency Coolum from December 9-12 with nothing to prove to his home state fans.

At 29, Scott had that long awaited maiden Australian tour victory firmly under his belt, but to back it up in 2010 with a win in his home state would be all the sweeter.

“I grew up on the Sunshine Coast and played my junior golf there so to come back and win an Australian title in my own backyard would be a great achievement,” Scott said this week.

“Winning the Australian Open last year was very special and it obviously put an end to people asking when I would win at home.

“But I don’t intend to stop at one win, my form has been good and I’m looking forward to coming home to Queensland.”

Now 30, Scott has already won 8 US PGA Tour events and outside of Australia a further 8 international titles in Europe, Asia and the Middle East, and has been a member of 4 President Cup Teams – 2003, 2005, 2007 and 2009.

So far this year Scott has one title to his name, the Valero Texas Open which he won in May.

His best result since has been a T5 finish in the Deutsche Bank Championship only two weeks ago.

Among those hoping to rain on Scott’s parade in Queensland will be

defending champion Robert Allenby, 2008 Champion Geoff Ogilvy and the always watchable John Daly.

The Australian PGA Championship will be the final tournament on both the PGA Tour of Australasia and OneAsia Order of Merit, with players competing for a total prize pool of AUD$1,500,000.

2010 Australian PGA Championship television coverage

The tournament will be showcased on OneAsia’s television platform with live coverage for four hours a day across all four tournament days, and broadcast to over 260 million homes in more than 40 countries.

Full coverage of the event will be available domestically on Network Ten, as well as internationally on ESPN Star Sports, Jupiter Golf Network, SBS Golf Channel, Fox International, Sky Sports NZ, ESPN3 & America One in the USA, ViaSat & Bloomberg Television among others in Europe.

Tickets for the Australian PGA Championship presented by Coca-Cola are now on sale and can be purchased online by clciking here or via the PGA Hotline- 1800 009 499.