SYDNEY golfer Stefan Albinski has claimed his second Australian Senior Amateur Golf Championship after surviving an exciting final round surge by US senior star Kemp Richardson.

Albinski held a four stroke overnight lead and needed every one of those to deny Richardson, who shot a final round five under 67 – the best round of the tournament.

In ideal scoring conditions at the Royal Canberra Golf Club Albinski finished with a one under par 71 to end the  2010 championship at two under and take a wire-to-wire victory by one stroke.

“It feels fantastic - particularly today with Kemp playing such a great game - to win anything like that is good,” Albinski said of his second Kerry Packer Trophy.

The Mona Vale Golf Club member won the 2008 title in his rookie year in elite Australian senior amateur golf (open to men aged 55 plus) but has been somewhat down on his usual superb form of late.

“I love this golf course – it’s my favourite golf course so I always enjoy my golf here which always helps,” he said.

“It was tremendous – I haven’t been playing so well lately so it was great to be better.”

Richardson, a former US and British Senior Amateur champion, always looked a threat after showing his class by being able to fight back from poor starts in both his first two rounds to remain in contention.

His final round five under saw him finish in second position at one under for the 54 holes.

Victorian Chris Tatt finished in third place at 4-over with a final round 71 while Canberra local Bill Banks took fourth place with a 72 (7 over total).

New South Welshman Roy Vandersluis slipped to a final round 77 to take fifth place at 8-over, Victorian Michael Jackson (9 over) finished sixth, one stroke ahead of Rod Boyd (ACT) and Ian McPherson (WA) who shared seventh.

Royal Canberra Golf Club last hosted the Australian Men’s Senior Amateur Championship 1987 and will host the 2013 Women’s Australian Open.

STEFAN ALBINSKI has increased his lead to four strokes after the second round of the Australian Men’s Senior Amateur Golf Championship at Royal Canberra Golf Club.

A strong westerly wind saw the 2008 champion shoot a two over par 74 to finish at one under.

Fellow New South Welshman Roy Vandersluis is in second place at three over. He carded a second round four over par 76 following his opening round 71 and could be a real threat if he gets his putter working. Vandersluis has missed a swag of gettable birdie putts in his opening rounds.

But American Kemp Richardson was the real second round mover, leaping from fifth place overnight into third with a three over 75.

The former British and US Senior Amateur champion again got off to a poor start and had to battle back to remain in contention. If he starts off well to today he could give Albinski a shake.

Ross Bockman (NSW) is in a tie for fourth with Victorian pair Michael Jackson and Chris Tatt at 5-over par. Bockman shot the round of the day with a one over par 73.

Rod Boyd (ACT) and Ian McPherson (WA) are in a tie for seventh place.

Defending champion Rodney Barltrop (NZ) improved to finished with a second round 78 but it won’t be enough to make up for his first round blowout of 83.

The interstate teams event is set for an exciting finish. The strong Victorian team currently hold a four stroke lead over the ACT and NSW teams. Not too far away is the West Australian team with the defending 2009 champions Queensland now too many shots behind to retain their title.

Albinski leads after three under 69 in the opening round

A BOGEY FREE three under par opening round on the testing Royal Canberra Golf Course has seen Sydney’s Stefan Albinski take the lead after the first day of the 2010 Australian Men’s Senior Amateur Golf Championship.

Albinski helped himself to three birdies to end the day on 69, one ahead of Victorian Chris Tatt, who had a great front nine and was five under after 10 holes.

One stroke further back was Roy Vandersluis, who carded an excellent one under par 71. Local ACT player Ross Bain is fourth after an even par 72

Visiting top USA amateur senior golfer Kemp Richardson started the day with four three putts on his first seven holes but fought back to be in fifth place at one over.

Defending champion Rodney Barltrop (NZ) struggled with an 83 and will have plenty of work to do to make up ground during the final two rounds.

But for a double bogey on the final hole, 74 year old Geoff Everett (NSW) would have fired his age but had to settle for a 76.

One hundred and thirty top senior golfers are competing in the 54 hole tournament with the final round on Friday.

AUSTRALIA’S elite senior amateur golfers will face a tough challenge from top international players when the 2010 Australian Men’s Senior Amateur Championship gets underway from Wednesday April 28 at the Royal Canberra Golf Club.

Leading the international challenge is the tournament’s defending champion, New Zealand’s Rodney Barltrop, who will be itching to claim the Kerry Packer Trophy for the fourth time following wins in 2004, 2005 and 2009.

The Kiwis have had it over the Australian in Trans Tasman golf in recent times with Barltrop the main offender.

But this year’s championship will see the added inclusion of two of the best senior amateur golfers from the USA, Randall King and Kemp Richardson.

Richardson, the 2001 US Senior Amateur and British Senior Amateur Champion will be aiming to win his first Australian Senior Amateur crown.

He became part of United States Golf Association history by winning the USGA Senior Amateur, a title his father, John, won in 1987. The Richardsons are believed to be the only father-son combination to win USGA titles.

Leading the local charge will be 2008 champion Stefan Albinski, one of six Australian golfers competing in the tournament to have won the title previously.

Albinski is the current Western Australian, Queensland and Tasmanian Senior Amateur champion and is ranked first on the Australian Men’s Senior Rankings. He also won the Australian Men’s Senior Match Play Championship in Victoria last year.

The other former Australian champions in the 130 strong field are Denis Dale (2006, 2007), Rick Oliver (2007), Bill Banks (2001), Tony Gresham (1998, 1999, 2000) and Owen Beldham (2002).

Royal Canberra Golf Club last hosted the championship in 1987.

The event is contested over 54-holes of stroke play and players must be 55 years and over to be eligible.

LEADING Australian senior amateur golfer Stefan Albinski has been in imposing form over the past three days winning the 2010 West Australian Senior Amateur Championship by six strokes.

The defending champion led after day one and never looked like being headed as he added yet another state championship to his growing collection.

Albinski carded a highly consistent 74-74-73 over three rounds at Royal Fremantle Golf Club.

Michael Jackson, winner of the 2009 Victorian Senior Order of Merit, improved his scoring every day and finished runner-up with rounds of 78-76-73.

Queenslander Grahame MacDonald was in third place another four strokes away with scores of 78-75-78.
Finishing fourth was evergreen 69 year old Tony Gresham (75-81-76) with the top five rounded out by West Australian Nigel Goodall who also improved every day (81-79-74).

Goodall was the leading West Australian senior in an event dominated by the visitors.
Leading Scores:
1    221    Stefan ALBINSKI   74 - 74 - 73   NSW
2    227    Michael JACKSON   78 - 76 - 73   VIC
3    231    Grahame MacDONALD   78 - 75 - 78   QLD
4    232    Tony GRESHAM   75 - 81 - 76   NSW
5    234    Nigel GOODALL   81 - 79 - 74   WA
6    236    Tony KENNINGS   79 - 82 - 75   NSW
7    237    John BEAUMONT   76 - 81 - 80, Will GERRARD   79 - 80 - 78

PORT MACQUARIE local Brian Sams has won the 2010 NSW Senior Amateur Championship with three rounds of consistent golf at his home club.

The long time Port Macquarie Golf Club member finished with a 54 hole total of 218, just five over par.

With the extra expectation, local knowledge isn’t always what it is cracked up to be and Sams did a great job to claim what is his second NSW title, having won the event in 2005.

The strong final round challenges expected from defending champion Bill Banks and winner of last week’s Tasmanian Senior Amateur Championships Stefan Albinski didn’t really eventuate.

Instead, Tura Beach’s Russell Rogers continued his recent good form to take second place 4 strokes behind Sams on 222.

Third place was shared by previous Australian Senior Champion Rick Oliver and fellow NSW player Roy Vandersluis who has now finished in the top five in his last three Australian Senior Ranking events.

Considering the heavy rain earlier in the week, it was a very successful tournament for the Port Macquarie Golf Club, currently celebrating its centenary year.

Walking Stick Trophy
In the Walking Stick Trophy teams event, NSW proved far too strong to win comfortably from Queensland and the Combined States Team, with Victoria 4th.

Leading Scores:
218 Brian Sams 73 70 75
222 Russell Rogers 74 75 73
223 Rick Oliver 79 71 73, Roy Vandersluis 77 74 72
224 Noel Wood 74 75 75
225 Alan Bullas 76 75 74
226 Stefan Albinski 75 74 77, Grahame Macdonald 78 71 77
      Peter King 74 76 76, Ian Read 77 75 74
227 Bill Banks 74 76 77, Terry Jones 75 75 77
      Cliff Chidlow 76 75 75, Denis Dale 81 73 73
      David Limbach 78 77 72

Full 2010 NSW Senior Amateur Golf Championship Results (NSW Golf Association)

NEW ZEALAND has continued its recent domination over Australia in senior amateur golf with a convincing win in the 2010 Trans Tasman Senior championship.

The Kiwis won the Presidents Cup style event by 18 points to 6, dominated both days of the tournament, played February 15-16 at the Clearwater Resort in Christchurch, New Zealand.

After holding a convincing overnight lead of 8 ½ to 3 ½ following the foursomes and fourball matches, the Aussies knew they were up against the wall, needing to take nine of the 12 single matches on the final day for an outright win.

The Australian team, led by New South Welshman Denis Dale, tried hard but in the end were no match for a home team that always seemed to have an answer when it came to the crunch.

The Kiwis won the singles matches 9 ½ to 2 ½ .

Overall, there were 17 matches over the two days that went to the 17th and 18th holes and the Kiwis won all but five of these.

Australia won the first two Trans Tasman events in 2007 and 2008 and with a win in 2009 and the latest result the Kiwis have now made the overall result all square.

The Australian team will have the chance to restore some lost pride when the next match is played at Sanctuary Cove Golf Club in 2011.

EUROPEAN Seniors Tour Rookie of the Year Michael Harwood has gone back to where his golfing resurrection began and has taken the Finance Brokers of Tasmania Seniors Open for the second year running in Hobart.

Harwood carded a two under par 69 to finish one shot ahead of New South Welshman Peter Criss in the 36 hole event at the Kingston Beach Golf Club on the weekend.

“After 15 years of not playing competitive golf, last year this tournament kick-started my seniors career and gave me a lot of confidence about the year ahead. I hope this win has the same effect in 2010,” Harwood said in his presentation speech.

The Victorian will now focus on his upcoming European Tour Seniors events in Brunei, Thailand and South Africa.

It was also back to back wins for the Senior Open Amateur winner, Tasmanian star senior Michael Leedham, who also happened to be Harwood’s final round playing partner in the jointly conducted event.

Leedham finished with a final round 72 for a tournament total of 147, three strokes ahead of second placegetter Ross Bockman (NSW).

Three NSW senior amateur golfers tied for third - Greg Stanford, Bob Angus and Denis Dale.

The amateur actually beat the pro on the back nine, with Leedham playing it at three under while Harwood was one over.

But Harwood’s four birdies on the front more than evened that score.

AUSTRALIA’S Stefan Albinski has won the individual 2009 Senior Amateur Championship of the Asia Pacific in Sabah, Malaysia but the Australian team in the Asia Pacific Seniors Championship has been beaten by New Zealand.

The Aussies were defending champions but couldn’t overcome a Kiwi outfit that has had the wood on them in a number of individual and team events throughout the year.

The Kiwis took a two stroke lead into the final round of the 54 hole championship at the Karambunai Golf Course and proved too strong for their cross Tasman arch rivals, eventually extending the winning margin to 8 shots.

A number of the Australian team battled through some illness and heat related disorders thoughout the week but no one was making excuses.

This included Albinksi, who arrived from Hong Kong – where he had added the Hong Kong Seniors title to his growing championship belt – with tummy troubles.

In the final round, Albinski led the Austra;ians with a 74 followed by Greg Corben (77), Denis Dale (78) Ross Percy and Grahame MacDonald (79) and Brian Sams (81). The New Zealanders again carded consistent scores with three 75s (Rodney Barltrop, Ian Donaldson and Eric Brodie) followed by Martin Webber (77) John Sanders (78) and Murray Martin (82).

The Australians, after winning last year, were left ruing a disappointing team result. With the exception of Albinski and a good opening round from Grahame MacDonald the scores were not up to the ability of the players selected.

Denis Dale, writing on the AUSOOM website, said although the greens were tricky and some players struggled physically it was the same for all teams.

“Simply put, this was not the Australian team’s year. Well done New Zealand,” Dale wrote.

In the prestigious individual title section, Albinski beat New Zealand’s Martin Webber by one stroke.
After teeing off in the final round two strokes behind, Albinski played even par golf and had a two stroke lead entering the back nine.

However, a double bogey at 14 followed by a bogey on 15 saw his lead erased and the two rivals were all square playing seventeen.
Showing the class that has helped Albinski to a number of senior titles, he lifted both his game and his concentration and reached the long par 5 in two great shots to take the lead with a birdie.

When both players parred the tricky eighteenth the individual championship belonged to second successive year.
Next year the Asia Pacific Seniors Championship will be held in Thailand in the last week of November. All who make the team will have a chance to reclaim the team trophy and perhaps watch Stefan Albinski make it three in a row.

Leading Teams:
1. New Zealand
2. Australia
3. The Philippines
4. Hong Kong
5. India
6. Taiwan
7. Malaysia

Leading Individuals (not all scores listed):
222 Stefan Albinski 72-76-74 (AUS)
223 Martin Webber 74-72-77 (NZ) 226 Eric Brodie 78-73-75 (NZ)
232 Rodney Barltrop 79-78-75 (NZ)
233 Grahame MacDonald 74-80-79 (AUS)
233 Greg Corben 80-76-77 (AUS)
235 Ian Donaldson 82-78-75 (NZ)
236 Brian Sams 79-76-81 (AUS)
236 Iggy Clavecilla 82-74-80 (Phil)
238 Murray Martin 79-77-82 (NZ)
238 Ross Percy 79-80-79 (AUS)

THOSE pesky New Zealanders won the Senior Men’s Amateur Trans Tasman golf championship for the first time this year and here’s hoping the new 12 man Australian team just announced will turn the tables in 2010.

The 2010 Trans Tasman Sanctuary Cove Trophy will be played at the Clearwater Resort, Christchurch, New Zealand on February 15 – 16.

The annual event consists of foursomes, fourball and singles match play in a format similar to the Ryder and President’s Cups.

Australia rightfully won the first two Trans Tasman events in 2007 and 2008 until a disaster in May this year.

The Kiwis trounced the Aussies over two days at the Sanctuary Cove Golf Club.

The Kiwis won the singles matches 9-3 and including the Fourball and Foursome events the overall result was 16 to 8.

The strong Australian team hoping to restore order to the universe next year will be:

Stefan Albinski NSW   Bill Banks ACT
John Beaumont SA     Chris Coats QLD
Greg Corben NSW      Denis Dale NSW
Tony Gover ACT        Grahame MacDonald QLD
Ross Percy VIC          Ian Read QLD
Brian Sams NSW        Chris Tatt VIC
Phillip Billings (Non playing Captain)

The first of two selection trials for the New Zealand team has been completed and six  members of their team determined.

Murray Martin        Frank Borren     Ian Donaldson
Ron Olivecrona     Arthur Parkin     Rodney Barltrop

Rodney Barltrop further dented Australian pride this year by winning the Australian Senior Amateur Championship title on Bribie Island.

It really is time for the rightful order to be restored.

QUEENSLANDER Peter King has finished with three birdies in the final half dozen holes to blitz the field and win the 2009 ACT Seniors Championship.

King defeated Denis Dale (NSW) and the overnight leader Roy Vandersluis (NSW) by 3 shots with a final round 72 at the Royal Canberra Golf Club.

It was King’s first ever victory in an Australian Amateur Senior Ranking event.
The first two days of the tournament were played at Murrumbidgee Golf Club and Gungahlin Lakes Golf Club.

The Final 10:
1    222    Peter KING    QLD    75  -  75  -  72 Windaroo
2    225    Denis DALE    NSW    75  -  76  -  74 Asquith
2    225    Roy VANDERSLUIS    NSW    70  -  76  -  79 The Lakes
4    226    Richard GREVILLE    NSW    77  -  74  -  75 Avondale
5    228    Ross BOCKMAN    NSW    78  -  76  -  74 Long Reef
5    228    Bill BANKS    ACT    76  -  72  -  80 Royal Canberra
7    229    Graham BOWEN    WA    77  -  75  -  77 Mandurah
7    229    Vincent CLARK    NSW    77  -  75  -  77 The Lakes
7    229    Russell ROGERS    NSW    75  -  76  -  78 Tura Beach
10   231    Noel WOOD    NSW    78  -  76  -  77 Antill Park