PETER SENIOR has recorded his second straight 11th placing on the US Champions Tour and in his rookie season sits at 14th position on the money list.

Senior had a chance for a top five finish during the final round of the Principal Charity Classic in Des Moines, Iowa, but bogeys at the 14th and 15th holes cost him that opportunity.

The event was won by three time major champion Nick Price by four strokes over Champions Tour rookie Tommy Armour III, who secured his third runner-up finish of the season.

Senior’s cheque for US$35,500 takes his season’s earnings to a cool US$370,000. He finished 11th at the US Senior PGA Championship last week and was runner-up at the previous tournament in Alabama.

The Queenslander needs to finish the season inside the top 30 on the money list to retain his tour spot.

The Champions Tour will now have a two week break before the Dick’s Sporting Goods open in New York from the 25th - 27th June.

On the European Seniors Tour, Sydney’s David Merriman has shared fourth place in the Matrix Jersey Classic.

Merriman fired a final round one-under, 71 in windy conditions to finish at nine-under and six strokes adrift of Scot Gordon Brand Jnr.

Brand Jnr produced a steady level par final round 72 to complete a fine wire-to-wire victory and seal his maiden European Senior Tour title by five strokes.

Australia’s Graham Banister finished in sixth place after heading into the third and final round in second place.

The 53 year-old, who gained his European Senior Tour card at last November’s Qualifying School, was still celebrating after marrying his partner Jill last week.

“All the Aussies (including former European Tour winner Peter Fowler) went out for dinner last night and they’ve been great to me since I came on the Senior Tour,” Bannister said after shooting a second round five under 67.

“They’ve been to telling me to relax and enjoy it. This course is actually quite like the one I grew up playing in New South Wales so I feel comfortable on it.”

Next week’s European Seniors Tour event is the Handa Irish Seniors Open presented by Fáilte Ireland.

THE ever dependable Tom Lehman only needed a par to beat rivals Fred Couples and  South African David Frost on the first playoff hole of the 2010 US Senior PGA Championship in Parker, Colorado, today.

While Lehman started the sudden death playoff with a solid shot down the middle, Couples and Frost followed with terrible tee shots that set them up for double bogeys.

“That was just a bizarre playoff,” Lehman said. “I’m not sure I’ve ever experienced anything like that. I turned to my caddie and I said, ‘How many shots have they taken?’”

Sitting in the clubhouse watching all the drama must have been a very satisfied Aussie golfer in Peter Senior.

The US senior tour rookie recovered from a slow start to the tournament to record a final round two under par 70 to finish tied for 11th place.

Senior began the fourth round with a bogey on the par five first but fought back to post three birdies on the difficult Colorado Golf Club course.

Lehman, who finished at seven under for the tournament, was the only player in the 155 man field to beat par on each of the four rounds.

The 51 year old is known for his steady golf. The win was his first individual Champions Tour victory but his fifth top five performance in just six  starts on the tour.

“The course requires a lot of patience,” Lehman said. “It’s a very strategic course. One of the reasons why I like it so much. There’s so many options and decisions you have to make, and I really believe that it gives you the ability to really go for it as much as you want to or not.”

His much flashier opponent, Fred Couples, who has been ruling the roost in his rookie Champions tour season, wasn’t so happy as he left the course.

Back to back eagles on 15 and 16 gave him a big chance to win the tour’s first major of the year outright but his eight foot birdie attempt on the 18th missed by an inch.

His playoff hole drive was credited as his only bad tee shot of the week. It veered left off the tee into the shrubs, forcing him to take a drop, and to end with a six for the hole.

“It’s pretty disappointing,” was all he would say as he quickly exited the course.

Mark O’Meara (71) finished fourth, while Nick Price (70) was fifth and Larry Mize (70) and Bill Glasson (71) tied for sixth at 3 under.

Senior, finishing on one under, tied with defending champion Michael Allen (73), his fellow American Chip Beck (74) and Taiwan’s Chien Soon Lu (74).

Mike Harwood in 77th position was the only other Australian to make the cut.

YOU’D have to be a real night owl or very early riser to watch much of the Australian pay television coverage but the 71st US Senior PGA Championship gets underway early Friday morning.

It is the first major championship of the 2010 Champions Tour and will pit many of the cream off the world’s over 50 year old  golfers against the longest course in the tour’s history.

The 7604 yard Colorado Golf Club course just outside of Denver was designed by Bill Coore and one of the tournament’s competitors – Ben Crenshaw.

Crenshaw might be aided by lots of local knowledge but along with the others in the star studded field will have to contend not only with the record length, but with the potential buffeting winds, high altitude, four inch rough, punishing terrain and narrow fairways.

In a field bristling with major champions and golfing legends it will be interesting to see if tough course or golfing guile wins the day.

“There’s enough for players to have their hands full,” Crenshaw said this week in the lead up to the event.

“But they’re pretty skilled at breaking down a golf course and seeing how it plays.”

Were he to win, Crenshaw would become the first player to claim the Senior PGA on a course he designed himself since Jack Nicklaus accomplished the feat more than 19 years ago at the PGA National Golf Club.

A probably more likely winner would be Champions Tour rookie and runaway 2010 prize money leader Fred Couples.

Then there’s fellow in form major winners including Bernhard Langer, Tom Watson – currently being discussed as a potential US Ryder Cup team member – and Nick Price. The defending champion Michael Allen will also be in the mix.

Australia’s top hope is Peter Senior who finished runner up at the recent Region Charity Classic in Alabama and has been performing creditably in his first season on the tour.

The other Australians in the field are David Merriman, Mike Harwood and Peter Fowler.

Scheduled Australian television coverage of the 2010 Senior PGA Championship begins at 3 am EST on Fox Sports on Friday morning.

LIVE LEADERBOARD

US CHAMPIONS TOUR rookie Peter Senior has had his best finish of the year with a second placing at the Regions Charity Classic in Alabama.

It was his fourth top 20 finish in seven starts on the premier US over 50’s circuit and more than justifies his decision to relocate the family to the US and give the lucrative American seniors tour a burl.

The popular Aussie hit the magic 50 mark mid last year and went on to win the 2009 Australian PGA Seniors Championship on the Australian Legends Tour.

However, the US was largely unchartered territory for him after spending most of his career playing in Japan, Australia and Europe. His career wins since turning professional in 1978 includes 19 wins in Australia, four in Europe and three in Japan.

“It sounds simple, but I love playing golf. When I was about 48 I started giving it some more thought, talked to Stewart Ginn and Rodger Davis (both Australian ex Champions Tour competitors) about their experiences and decided to go for it.”

Senior started the Alabama tournament with a bang last Friday with an opening round of 65 and stayed in touch with a second round 66.

In the final round Sunday he was taking the tournament by the throat, birdying four of his first six holes but then finished with 12 consecutive pars to end three strokes behind winner Dan Forsman.

He ended tied for second with Japan’s Joe Ozaki after a bogey free tournament.

 “I got off to a good start, and then I went to sleep,” Senior said. “I missed a short birdie putt on No. 7 and I never got going after that. Then Dan just blew the competition away and coasted home.”

The runner-up cheque took Senior’s tour earning to about $USD320,000 in four months and he is 17th on the Champions Tour Money List.

He made the tour after becoming the first Australian to top the Qualifying School last year and the long time Gold Coast resident decided to re-located to Orlando this year with wife June and children Krystalle (21), Jasmine (17) and Mitchell (15).

Being able to take the family was a large part of the decision.

“I’ve talked to a few fellow Aussies and their one regret was travelling so much they didn’t get to see their children grow up. I didn’t want that to be me,” he said. “I’ve got myself a home base in Orlando and my wife and son are with me, which makes it a lot easier.”

Senior is also scheduled to play in the Senior British Open at Carnoustie this year and thanks to his success at the International Qualifying event at Kingston Heath in January will also play the British Open the week before.

FRED COUPLES is having a field day on the US Champions Tour with his third straight win in his rookie season.

The 50 year old set a course record 10 under par 62 to win the Cap Cana Championship in the Dominican Republic.

His total 21 under two stroke win made him the first player in Champions Tour history to win three of his first four tournaments.

In four three round senior tournaments Couples hasn’t had a score higher than 68 and is 77 under par.

Couples is the eighth Champions Tour player to win three straight starts, leaving him one behind the tour record set by Chi Chi Rodriguez in 1987.

He has also pocketed $1,027,821 for his trouble – and some of the older guys reckon the Champions Tour is a licence to print money.

Couples made 11 birdies in the final round, finishing with a total of 195. “It was an unbelievable day,” said Couples, who made five birdies in a row from the second through sixth hole.

“The first six or seven holes, there was an eagle, birdies and putts going in from everywhere, ” he said, including the work of second placegetter Corey Pavin.

The string of wins had Couples looking back to the early 1990’s – and probably to Augusta in two weeks time, when the strength of his good form will be put to the ultimate test.

“I had a great stretch of golf in 1992,” he said, referring to a two month period when he won three tournaments including the Masters. “But I must say that these four weeks on the Champions Tour I’m not missing many shots.”

Peter Senior doing nicely

Not quite reaching Couples’ heights but still trotting along nicely in his rookie Champions Tour season is Australian Peter Senior, who had his fourth straight top 30 finish.

After an opening 74 Senior posted improved rounds of 68 and 69 to finish at T23.

With AUD $102,287 in Champions Tour winnings, Senior is 27th on the Money List.

AMERICAN Fred Couples has won his second straight Champions Tour title with Australia’s Peter Senior again in the top 15.

Couples shot a final round six under 65 for a four stroke victory in the Toshiba Classic at the Newport Beach Country Club in California whilst a five birdie front nine helped Senior to a 67.

Both golfers are in their rookie years in the lucrative 50 and over tour.

Couples won the ACE Group Classic on February 14 in Florida and finished second behind Tom Watson in the season-opening event in Hawaii.

“In a good way I am full of confidence in my game,” Couples (66 64 65) said. “I talked to Jay Haas a long time ago and when you are 50 you are the youngest guy out here and if you are a good player like I think I am, I thought I would have some opportunities to win out here.”

Couples finished the tournament 18 under, with Ronnie Black (65) second on14 under, Tom Lehman (69) and Chien Soon Lu (69) tied for third at 12 under, and Watson (62) and Loren Roberts (68) following at 11 under.

Senior (71 68 67) finished at 7 under. He was 11th at the ACE Group Classic, his first Champions Tour event.

FRED COUPLES has won at his first appearance in a full field US Champions Tour event while fellow tour rookie, Australian Peter Senior, finished a very creditable 11th.

Senior pocketed US$32,000 to help get his over-50 American professional golf tour season off to a great start at the ACE Group Classic in Florida.

Couples showed he will be a major Champions Tour force – if the body holds out – by overcoming a record-tying final round by another senior’s rookie, Tommy Armour III.

Armour shot a final round 61, a tour record equalling 11 under, while Couples “plodded” along with a 64.

Couples, who at one point had a five-shot lead, ended up winning by a stroke with a 17 under 199. Scott Hoch, the 2008 champion, finished third at 9 under.

Senior had a very consistent tournament, playing three rounds of 71 and finishing with a 3 under 213.

The only other Australian in the field was Graham March, who finished 64th.