Australian Senior Golfer

Chook wins European Senior Tour OOM

TWO years after a back injury threatened to end his career, Australia’s Peter “Chook” Fowler has won the 2011 European Senior Tour Order of Merit.

In a dramatic final day of the season ending MCB Tour Championship in Mauritius, the 52 year old held off the challenge of former Ryder Cup player Barry Lane to win the money title.

Fowler fought back from consecutive double bogeys on the fifth and sixth holes at Constance Belle Mare Plage to finish the tournament in seventh position, his 13th top ten of a remarkably consistent campaign.

That was enough for him to end the year as Senior Tour Number One and lift the John Jacobs Trophy ahead of Lane, who was two shots back in a share of ninth.

Fowler is the third Australian to win the prestigious John Jacobs Trophy, following Noel Ratcliffe in 2000 and Ian Stanley in 2001

His winning cheque of €14, 814 took his earnings for 2011 to €302,327, meaning he finished the tour’s 20th anniversary season €32,154 clear of runner up Lane.

“It was a great tussle with Barry who also had two wins this season,” Fowler said.

“Fortunately when he had those two wins I finished second and third so I managed to stay close enough. The more the year went on, the more exhausted I was.

“Then I suffered some back problems again in Portugal in October so I was battling through towards the end of the season and it was good to see the job through.”

After struggling for two years with a disc problem in his back which happened in practice before his Senior Tour debut, Fowler won twice in 2011, capturing his maiden Senior Tour title in the ISPS Handa Senior World Championship in June before coming from seven shots back on the final day to win the Bad Ragaz PGA Seniors Open in Switzerland the following month.

He was also runner up in the ISPS Handa Senior World Championship presented by Mission Hills China and the Casa Serena Open and tied second in the Van Lanschot Senior Open.

In total he finished inside the top ten in 13 of his 18 tour appearances in 2011, with nine of those inside the top five.

Fowler also won the 2011 Australian Senior PGA Championship in Sydney and will be back home this week contesting the JBWere Masters in Melbourne.

“I’ve played pretty solid and pretty consistent this year and been in there most weeks,” he said. “I still feel I have room for improvement though. There’s a lot of good players out here who I’m still learning from –Sam Torrance, Carl Mason and Ian Woosnam – they play so well and I have to pick the bits of their game and add them to mine.

“After the struggles that I’ve had over the years this really does mean a lot to me. It’s great to beat all of these great champions on the Senior Tour.”

Fowler played 519 events on The European Tour events  in a career spanning  25 years, winning once in the 1993 BMW International Open when he held off Major Champions Ian Woosnam and Bernhard Langer.  His best finish on the Order of Merit was 22nd in 1989, the year he also won the World Cup for Australia when he partnered Wayne Grady.

He joined the Senior Tour in 2009 and struggled initially with his back injury, finishing 76th on the Order of Merit that season after playing just four events. The injury sidelined him for 12 months but he returned to finish 29th last year and after a winter of hard gym work, Fowler returned stronger and began the season with a share of  fifth in the ISPS Handa Australian Senior Open before only finishing outside the top ten five times in 18 events.

“The Order of Merit is across a 21 tournament stretch so it shows a high level of consistency,” he said. “I have to admit when Barry won in Scotland in August and people started talking about the Order of Merit it became quite gruelling. I knew, though, that if I stayed on my game I’d have a chance.”

Lane, who was the first person to congratulate Fowler on his triumph, also won twice in 2011, successfully defending the Cleveland Golf/Srixon Scottish Senior Open in August before winning his third Senior Tour title the following month at the Casa Serena Open.

He recorded six top five finishes in total and nine top ten finishes, ending the year with earnings of €271,173

“I was a bit aggressive toward the end today but I gave it my best and it was a great season,” said Lane.  “It was great to be in contention for the John Jacobs Trophy. Peter has had a great year and he works so hard so it’s great for him to win the trophy. I really am pleased for him”

Scotland’s Andrew Oldcorn finished third in the Order of Merit on €188, 981 while Englishman Gary Wolstenholme moved past former Masters Champion Ian Woosnam into fourth position with earnings of €181,636.

Former Walker Cup Player Wolstenholme sealed the Rookie of the Year Award following nine top ten finishes in his first full season on the Senior Tour.

Tom Lehman victory

Former British Open Champion Tom Lehman sealed a wire-to-wire victory in the MCB Tour Championship after surviving a final round battle with David Frost.

The American carded a final round 71 for a 12 under par total of 204 to hold off South African Frost by a single stroke.

Lehman, who defeated Frost and Fred Couples in a play-off to win the 2010 US Senior PGA Championship, was making his debut in a regular European Senior Tour event and the victory was his fourth of 2011

Peter Fowler

PETER FOWLER remains on top of the 2011 European Senior Tour Order of Merit after another strong finish at the Travis Perkins Senior Masters at Woburn Golf Club in England.

Fowler has had two wins and a string of top tens to lead the tour money list with €229,721 (Aus $306 619.86)

The 55 year old Australian tied for 5th this weekend in Woburn behind Thailand’s Boonchu Runagkit, who finished on 9-under, four clear of his nearest rivals.

Runagkit burst on to the tour last year with four wins but this was his first in 2011.

Victorian Mike Harwood is 6th on the money list with Peter Senior 7th despite his limited appearance on that tour.

PETER ‘CHOOK’ FOWLER has won his second European Senior Tour title of the year with a dramatic come from behind victory at the Bad Ragaz PGA Seniors Open in Switzerland.

The 52 year old Aussie finished on 14-under, overturning a seven-shot deficit to overcome Chilean Angel Fernandez with a five under par 65 in the final round.

Fernandez opened with rounds of 61 and 63 but blew out with a 75 in the third and final round.

Scot Andrew Oldcorn took the runner-up spot, two shots back, after a final round 68, while Fernandez finished tied for third on 11 under alongside South African Chris Williams, Englishman Gary Wolstenholme and Claude Grenier of Austria.

“I’m absolutely thrilled,” said Fowler, whose comeback is the largest on the Senior Tour since the 2006 London Senior Masters.

“I didn’t know I was leading until the last couple of holes, so that was the only time I got a bit nervous.

“Angel was playing so well I thought there was no way he’d let a lead like that slip. I thought I would have to shoot 63 today to have any chance of winning, but it turns out 65 was enough and I’m glad I played so well.

“It was probably a good job I didn’t know I was leading otherwise I might have been more nervous and messed it up.

“I’m very tired after six weeks on the road, so I’m looking forward to flying back to London tonight and having two weeks’ rest. It’ll probably be too late tonight to celebrate properly – I’ll have to save that for during the week.

“This is my second win of the season so this year’s gone pretty well so far. I’ve been very happy with my game the last six months.”

Fowler ended a two year wait for his maiden European Senior Tour title with a three stroke victory in the 2011 ISPS Handa Senior Masters in England early last month.

AUSTRALIAN Peter Fowler has gone close to knocking over two-time Major Champion Sandy Lyle at the inaugural ISPS Handa Senior World Golf Championship at Mission Hills in Southern China.

Fowler’s closing 71 for second place represented his best finish on the European Senior Tour following an injury plagued two years.

Fowler fought gamely down the final stretch but dropped shots on his last two holes to finish three behind the Scot, who was certainly delighted with his first tournament victory in 19 years.

Lyle had been without a victory since winning the last of his 18 European Tour titles in the 1992 Volvo Masters but brought that barren run to a commanding end with a flawless final round 70 over the Mission Hills World Cup Course to finish on 12 under par 204.

“You wonder after about four or five years whether you’ll ever win again let alone nearly 20, so this is very special,” the 53 year old five-time Ryder Cup player said.

“I joined the Senior Tour and it didn’t happen as quickly as I expected it to, so you do have doubts.  My trophy cabinet has been gathering dust over the years so  I feel relieved to get a win and it’s even better that it’s here in China on this course. This answers a lot of questions I had about myself.”
Lyle, a former British Open and Masters Champion, finished runner-up behind Peter Senior at the Australian Senior Open last November and currently leads the European Senior Tour Order of Merit after five events.

“Peter (Fowler) played well and put the pressure on when he got to one shot but he found the rough on 17th and all though he recovered really well he missed a six footer for par which gave me a two shot lead again going down the last which really helped,” Lyle said.

Sixty six year old Australian veteran Noel Ratcliffe finished in a share of 4th in China while Rodger Davis shared 12th position.

The next European Senior Tour event will be the US Senior PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky, from May 24 to 29.

MIKE HARWOOD has captured his maiden European Senior Tour title in the OKI Castellon Senior Tour Championship in Spain, securing the tour’s Rookie of the Year title and marking a magnificent return to top golf.

Harwood carded a superb final round six under par 66 in windy conditions at Club de Campo del Mediterráneo on Sunday to finish three strokes clear of overnight leader Angel Franco and add the season ending Championship to the Volvo Masters he won on The European Tour in 1990 – becoming the first player to win both titles.

It capped a memorable fortnight for the 50 year old, who won the Australian Senior Open two weeks ago and rounded off a seamless return to competitive golf in 2009 after more than a decade out of the game.

“It was an amazing day, emotional too,” said Harwood. “When the wind was as bad as it was this morning I just didn’t want to make an idiot of myself.

“It’s been a great week. I had a few lucky breaks and I’ve made a lot of putts this week. I came in thinking this could be my week but I played well and putted so well.

“I hoped I would win this year but thought it might be unrealistic after so long out of the game. There must be something about Spain and the wind because my Volvo Masters win came in exactly the same conditions.”

Harwood had started the day two strokes behind Franco at Club de Campo del Mediterráneo but five birdies on his front nine saw him move into a share of the lead.

“My short game today was unbelievable on the front nine,” said Harwood. “I played pretty well on the back nine – I didn’t hit the ball that great but my short game was electric.”

Harwood won about $103,000 in Spain which took his year’s tally to about $210,000 allowing him to slip past the Rookie title leader and fellow Aussie Peter Senior, who won about $150,000 for the year, but did not play in Spain.