Australian Senior Golfer

SANTA has certainly been generous to little Greggie Chalmers this year, bringing him his second Australian golf title in three weeks.

In a dramatic end to the 2011 Australian PGA Championship, Chalmers emerged from the pack to force a one hole playoff with Robert Allenby and Marcus Fraser.

Earlier, it seemed it would be a cake-walk for third round leader KT Kim with perhaps America’s Bubba Watson the only real danger.

But they all fell to horror holes at some stage of the day, as did another short term leader, Aaron Baddeley.

Chalmers was back at 7-under and realistically giving himself little chance of catching the likes of the usually very consistent Kim on 13-under.

The West Australian’s final score of 12-under was a much lower winning score than he had anticipated before teeing off.

“I was a little surprised that 12 under ended up getting into the playoff I thought at the time that would be a nice top three or five tournament,” Chalmers said.

“It was a little tricky today, but I thought there was still quite a few birdies out there. I just tried to play solid golf, I made some very nice putts when I really needed to, my putt on 14 that I made probably saved my day.”

Chalmers, who had a similar come from behind win on the final day of the 2011 Australian Open, will take some time off before deciding whether he will contest the upcoming JBWere Masters and attempt to capture the ‘triple crown’ of Australian golf.

He said while he would love to be at Victoria Golf Club for the Masters the week before Christmas, the decision will ultimately come down to family commitments.

“To be brutally honest I have played 31 or 32 events this year and I’m tired. We don’t dig gold for a living, it’s certainly not something that needs physical strength, it is just a decision I don’t want to make right now.”

“I’ve still got flights booked to go to Perth and see my family. It’s going to be a tough choice I’m not sure what to do.”

To date Robert Allenby is the only player who has taken out the triple crown, doing so in 2005.

Obviously disappointed not to take home his fifth Australian PGA Championship title, Allenby said he was happy to see his game coming back together and the trophy in the hands of a good mate.

“Of course I wanted to win. I wanted to win my fifth PGA there is no question about it,” said Allenby.

“I was pretty pumped. I haven’t been in contention, I haven’t had a chance really for a while to win a tournament so the feeling was pretty nice.”

“I am happy with second, obviously first is what I really, really wanted, but I am happy for Greg. He is a good friend of mine and mates for a long time.”

Fellow playoff entrant Marcus Fraser was likewise optimistic about the result.

“You are going to be disappointed having a chance to win the tournament like that but you have to cop it on the chin and get better, it’s as simple as that,” said Fraser.

Outside the top trio, Adam Scott shot a 4-under 68 to finish in a share of fourth alongside Presidents Cup teammate Aaron Baddeley at 10-under par.

2007 PGA Champion Nick O’Hern finished in a tie for sixth with Marc Leishman and third round leader K.T. Kim, while Jason Day, John Senden and Y.E. Yang rounded out the top 10.

The PGA Tour of Australasia now moves to New Zealand for the staging of the BMW NZ Open hosted by Christchurch to be played at Clearwater Resort.

Stolz takes 2011 OneAsia Order of Merit

With Kim falling by the wayside, Australia’s Andre Stolz secured the 2011 OneAsia Order of Merit.

Kim would have snatched the title with a win but Stolz took the honors,   finishing the tournament in a tie for 19th on five under par.

Stolz took the season opening Indonesian Open and backed it up with a win in the Thailand Open. The co-sanctioned Australian PGA Championship was the last event in the OneAsia tour for 2011.

Marcus Fraser ... 7 birdies in his 65

UNHERALDED Aussie golfer Marcus Fraser leads the 2011 Australian PGA Championship by two strokes at the mid-way point of the event.

Fraser, who spends much of the year on the European Tour, fired a 7-under 65 to finish the day on 11-under.

That put him two strokes clear of the much higher profile visitor Bubba Watson, who was ominously flexing his big-hitting muscles on the Hyatt Regency Coolum layout.

The American hit a 4-under 68 to be a stroke clear of Korean Presidents Cup Internationals team member KT Kim, whose 67 put him at eight under.

Then came fellow Korean YE Yang (68) and a clutch of Australians on 7-under, including John Senden (64), Adam Scott (67) and Robert Allenby (68).

The undoubted shot of the day came from Queenslander Senden who matched the hole-in-one by his playing partner Greg Chalmers on the second hole yesterday.

British Open winner Darren Clarke almost made it a trifecta when he hit the same pin with his tee shot.

The Northern Irishman could have done with the luck, though he still snuck into the weekend with his 1-over 73 putting him at 2-under for the tournament.

Other notables still in the hunt include Jason Day (69) and Stuart Appleby (68) on 6-under, Steven Bowditch (73) and Aaron Baddeley (72) on 5-under, Greg Chalmers (69) and Peter Fowler (69) on 4-under, and Greg Norman (69), Geoff Ogilvy (69) and Nick O’Hern (69) on 3-under.

Marque invite Rickie Fowler looked in trouble for a while but also made the weekend with his 73 putting him at 2-under.

Defending champion Peter Senior also finished with a 73 and made the cut at 1-under.

2011 Australian PGA Championship TV Times

Australian television coverage of the PGA Championship on the weekend will switch to the Ten Network, and here’s hoping the golf will be kind to viewers and restrict itself, at least in the closing stages, to the 12noon to 5pm scheduling.

Peter Senior reckons he's a good bet

AUSTRALIA can enjoy a third week of sensational tournament golf with the 2011 Australian PGA Championship getting underway on Thursday.

Coming after the star-studded Australian Open in Sydney and the Presidents Cup showdown in Melbourne, Coolum will revel in one of the best PGA fields in years.

High profile participants include Bubba Watson, Rickie Fowler, British Open winner Darren Clarke, YE Yang, Presidents Cup stand-out KT Kim, and Australians Greg Norman, Jason Day, Adam Scott, Geoff Ogilvy, Aaron Baddeley, John Senden and Robert Allenby.

Then there’s defending champion Peter Senior, fresh from a very successful year on the US Champions Tour.

Senior has apparently been telling friends the $61 odds on him retaining the title are well worth a flutter.

“I have never been one to come and say ‘yeah, I’m playing great and I know I’m going to win it’. I hate saying it cause normally it comes back to bite you on the backside,” Senior said.

“The way I am playing at the moment, I have told my friends to have a little wager. I’m driving the ball well, I have had a lot of good iron shots and it will all come down to how well I putt this week. This is a course that really suits me. I’ve always played reasonably well around here.”

The PGA Championship is also the last event of the year on the OneAsia tour, with the current money list leader Australia’s Andre Stolz.

“At the start of the year I was not thinking about the Order of Merit,” said Stolz, who has amassed US$449,074 in eight events. “Winning a money list anywhere in the world is a great achievement and it would be nice to win this one.”

2011 Australian PGA Championship TV Times

The event is being broadcast on the Ten Network with coverage on ONE HD on Thursday and Friday (1pm to 6pm) and on Ten on the weekend (12pm to 5pm).

Rickie Fowler to brighten up the Sunshine Coast

The always flamboyantly attired  23 year old American recently claimed his first tour title and organisers will have the delicious option of pairing him with another 23 year old, Queensland’s Jason Day, who will also be playing for the first time in Australia as a professional.

If not there are other potential partners including Greg Norman, Bubba Watson, Darren Clarke, Y E Yang, Adam Scott, Geoff Ogilvy, Robert Allenby, John Senden and Aaron Baddeley.
Fowler, the 2010 US PGA Tour Rookie of the Year, beat Rory McIlroy by six shots a couple of weeks back to claim his first professional title at the Korea Open.

“It was really great to get my first win on the board in Korea and now I’m looking forward to a few more,” said Fowler who has previously played in Australia as an amateur.
“I won the World Amateur in Adelaide in 2008 and also played well in the 2009 Master of the Amateurs at Yarra Yarra, but it’s going to be very different this time. I’m looking forward to getting back to Australia and spending some time in Queensland. It will be a great way to finish off my year.”
The 2011 Australian PGA Championship presented by Coca-Cola will be played at the Hyatt Regency Coolum from November 24-27.

Yang has confirmed Coolum start

The South Korean, who famously claimed the 2009 US PGA Championship over Tiger Woods, will join Greg Norman, Adam Scott, Jason Day, Geoff Ogilvy, Bubba Watson, Darren Clarke, Robert Allenby, Aaron Baddeley and John Senden in the Coolum field.
“This will be my first time playing in Australia and I hope to play well,” said Yang, an automatic qualifier for The Presidents Cup, which will take place at Royal Melbourne the week before the PGA Championship.
“I haven’t played in Australia before, but I look forward to being part of the PGA Championship.”

The championship is co-sanctioned by OneAsia and the PGA Tour of Australasia and tickets are available from Ticketek

GOLF fans attending the Saturday session of the 2011 Australian PGA Championship this November will get in free.

The PGA of Australia launched “Free Ticket Saturday” this week as a further initiative to mark the organisation’s 100th birthday.

With the Coolum field currently featuring the likes of Greg Norman, Adam Scott, Jason Day, Geoff Ogilvy, Bubba Watson, Darren Clarke, Robert Allenby and Aaron Baddeley, PGA CEO Brian Thorburn says the initiative is set to ensure everyone gets the opportunity to see Australian golf at its best.

“This year will be the biggest year in Australian golf for many, many years and the PGA want to give everyone the chance to be a part of the Australian PGA Championship,” said Thorburn.

“Since 2002 the PGA Championship has been an extremely successful event at its Sunshine Coast home and this year we hope fans will come from far and wide to be part of such a huge occasion.”

Tickets for the remaining days of the Australian PGA Championship also went on sale this week, with an early bird rate $10 off gate prices.

Those wishing to take advantage of the ‘Free ticket Saturday’ offer will still need to book their complimentary ticket through Ticketek. No booking fees will apply.

Tickets are now available – click here to go to Ticketek’s Australian PGA Championship page.

The 2011 Australian PGA Championship presented by Coca-Cola will be played at the Hyatt Regency Coolum on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast from November 24-27, 2011.

FIFTY ONE year old Peter Senior has become the oldest winner of the Australian PGA Championship after he defeated Geoff Ogilvy on the second playoff hole of the rain interrupted tournament.

The pair finished locked together at 12 under after 72 holes after play resumed at 6am (AEST) on Monday morning at the Hyatt Regency Coolum following Sunday’s suspension of play due to heavy rain.

Australian Open winner Ogilvy set the pace earlier, signing for a six under 66 before Senior birdied the 18th for a 71 to force a sudden death.

The birdie was a great comeback for Senior who had to sit out the night knowing the tee shot he hit on the tenth moments before play was abandoned was in deep trouble in the middle of the trees.

Senior was leading by one stroke at that stage but when play resumed he bogeyed that hole while Ogilvy struck with an immediate birdie to make it a three way tie for the lead with Peter Fowler.

Senior and Ogilvy both narrowly missed birdie putts when they returned to the 18th for the first extra hole but then but then Ogilvy three-putted for bogey leaving Senior to claim his third PGA title with par.

Senior previously won the championship in 1989 and 2003 and the win today means he has won as a pro in five separate decades.

The Queenslander has been in great form of late, winning the 2010 Australian Senior Open in Perth, finishing at 5 under and tied for 21st at the Australian Open in Sydney and coming off a very successful debut year on the US Champions Tour.

Two-time winner at Coolum Nick O’Hern (69), Andre Stolz (71) and Senior’s fellow veteran Peter Fowler (71) all missed out on the playoff by just a shot, Stolz after making bogey and O’Hern and Fowler when they both missed birdie putts.

A shot further back and tied for sixth place were Richard Green (68), Matthew Griffin (68), Aaron Townsend (73) and American Bobby Gates (74) who had led after each of the first three rounds.

John Senden (71) and Japan’s Akio Sadakata (73) rounded out the top 10 on minus nine, one shot ahead of defending champion Robert Allenby (70) and China’s Liang Wenchong (71) and two clear of Marc Leishman (66) and Brad Kennedy (68).

Play is underway Monday morning at the Australian PGA Championship at the Hyatt Regency Coolum with Geoff Ogilvy taking an early lead on 12 under.

Peter Senior is one behind with Peter Fowler, Andre Stolz and Richard Green.

Unfortunately, television broadcaster ONE HD is showing the American football rather than the final of this iconic Australian event.

Play was suspended at 2pm (AEST) on Sunday afternoon with 24 of the 70 players who made the cut still out on the course, with Senior leading by just a shot from his American playing partner Bobby Gates and fellow Australian veteran Peter Fowler.

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