Australian Senior Golfer

FOR the third year running the PGA Tour of Australasia is heading to Wollongong Golf Club for the 2011 NSW PGA Championship.

After a very successful two years, Wollongong Golf Club is delighted to again play host to the prestigious NSW PGA Championship.

“We’re very proud to be hosting the NSW PGA again this year,” said Geoff Jones, President of Wollongong Golf Club.

“We’ve worked hard over the last two years to create an event that can be enjoyed by players, officials and spectators alike.

“The course is also in great shape and we think this year’s event will be our best yet.”

While this may be the third time Wollongong has been involved with the Championship it will be the first time, since the 90’s, playing the event for one of Australia’s premiere and most loved golfers, Craig Parry.

A prolific winner on the world stage, Parry, has won events all over the world including in Japan, Europe, Canada, Asia and Australia but is yet to add the NSW PGA Championship to his list of titles.

“I have had a very fortunate career and have had the opportunity to play and win all over the world yet to be missing one of my home State titles is something I look forward to correcting this year,” said Parry.

“I am really looking forward to playing at the Wollongong Golf Club, I have heard great things from guys who have played in past years, and hopefully a big local crowd come out to support me.”

The PGA Tour of Australasia has enjoyed much success in Wollongong since 2009 and is again looking forward to a successful 2011 NSW PGA Championship.

“The Championship has been very successful since moving it to Wollongong, the course is immaculate, local support is always high and importantly the players all enjoy their time there,” said Simon Butterly, General Manager of the PGA Tour of Australasia.

“This year is set to be the biggest ever for golf and we are happy to be able to bring this excitement to regional areas of the country through our State Based Championships, we are looking forward to another great Championship at Wollongong.”

The event immediately precedes The Australian Open and Presidents Cup and will be played at Wollongong Golf Club from Thursday 3rd November to Sunday 6th November 2011.

The field will by vying for their share of the $120,000 prize purse.

SORRY, we couldn’t resist the thought of Craig Parry posing with a giant panda in China ahead of the tee off of the 2010 OneAsia season.

This photo is about the best evidence we could find that this momentous event did actually take place.

The shot was taken in the lead up to the US$1 million Luxehills Chengdu Open, which begins today and will be telecast in Australia on ONE HD.

“I was amazed at how lively they were. They were a lot of fun and appear to be a very social animal, caring for each other and very playful,” the panda said of Parry after his visit to the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding. Or maybe that quote was the other way around.

Parry, 44, is being touted locally as one of the favourites for the event, beginning Thursday at the Luxehills International Country Club.

The tournament kicks off the growing  OneAsia tour, which this year features 11 events,  $14.3 million in prize money and culminates with the Australian Open and Australian PGA Championship in December.

“I’m quite confident as I’ve been playing quite well. I recently shot eight-under and I haven’t done that for a while,” Parry said.

He is one of more than 40 Australians competing in the event, which also includes OneAsia 2009 Order of Merit winner Scott Strange.

Other notables include Chinese stars Liang Wenchong, Zhang Lianweim and rising talent Alex Wu Ashun, and eight-time China Tour winner Li Chao. Japanese US Tour star Shigeki Maruyama is also in the top-class field.

OneAsia is supported by the PGA of Australia and ultimately is seeking to provide players in Asia with an alternative pathway to the PGA Tour and the European Tour.

Defending Australian Open Champion Craig Parry and world number five Geoff Ogilvy have confirmed they will be starters when the tournament returns to Royal Sydney Golf Club later this year.
The official Royal Sydney announcement was made at a media conference this week. The 93rd Australian Open will run from December 11 to 14.
In a pre-recorded interview, Craig Parry said he was delighted the open was returning to Royal Sydney, as it is a course he loves, but, “It doesn’t love me, though. I’ve never seemed to play well around there.”
Golf Australia chief executive officer Tony Hallam announced the triumphant return this week and is confident the field will be brimming with the best of home-grown talent.
“We have every expectation that all of the leading Australian players will be back to participate at Royal Sydney in the 2008 Australian Open,” Hallam said.
Hallam spoke to the nine Australians competing in the US Masters in Augusta last week and is confident the likes of Stuart Appleby, Robert Allenby and Aaron Baddeley will be back.
“We have the strongest group ever of Australian players, we have two in the top-10 (in the official world golf rankings), three in the top-20, 12 in the top-100,” he said.
Hallam did not rule out attempts to secure selected non-Australian stars of the USPGA Tour and said moves to lure players of interest had already begun.
“We had about 30 international players last year and we certainly had some positive discussions last week,” he said.
“But it’s very early in the year in terms of their schedules but I think one of the discussions with a very leading player last week, he knew the Open was in Sydney, he knew where it was being played.”
“The players are already talking about it.”

Golf Australia could be looking for a new chairman of its Open championship, with the position recently vacated by Paul McNamee. McNamee has departed to take up the role of CEO at the struggling Melbourne Demons AFL club.
Hallam is reported to have said no decision had been made to replace McNamee.
“Paul has done a wonderful job over the past couple of years and he is leaving us as a good friend of golf and Golf Australia in particular. Paul’s role was actually part-time, so there was a lot of work done around Paul by our team, and we’re looking for them to step up into additional roles. At this stage, we are not specifically looking to replace Paul.”

A replacement is definitely needed by Golf Australia for a major naming rights sponsor to replace MFS. The financial company is in dire straights with its shares suspended from the Stock Exchange.

 UPDATE 20/5/2008

World Number 4 Adam Scott and 2006 US Open winner Geoff Ogilvey have confirmed they will be joining defending champion Craig Parry at the 2008 Australian Open.

Unfortunately, Aaron Baddeley will miss the event. His wife Richellle is expecting thier first child in November and he has decided he will not be returning to Australia to play in any tournaments at the end of the year.