Stolz wins inaugural Fairbairn Legends
23/10/2023
By Tony Webeck
The four bogeys were a cause of frustration yet PGA Legends Tour Order of Merit leader Andre Stolz delivered enough of the good stuff to win the inaugural TLE Fairbairn Legends Pro-Am.
Played for the first time at Fairbairn Golf Club at the former Royal Australian Air Force military air base in Canberra, Stolz shot 3-under 67 to finish two clear of Guy Wall and Brendan Chant.
The victory was Stolz’s 10th of the season as he finds form at the right time, the $120,000 NSW Senior Open to tee off at Thurgoona Country Club Resort from Friday.
“I’ve been working pretty hard on my game. It hasn’t been where I’ve wanted it to be but I’m showing some signs of some good stuff at least.”
HOW THE WINNING ROUND UNFOLDED
A birdie out of the blocks was the ideal start for Stolz.
Although he gave that back with a bogey at the par-4 third, birdies at four and five returned Stolz to red figures.
A bogey at the par-4 ninth saw Stolz turn in 1-under but he separated himself from the field with a timely eagle at the par-5 10th.
He moved to 4-under on his round with a birdie at the par-5 12th but dropped shots at both 14 and 15 to give the chasers a late sniff.
Stolz steadied with a birdie at the par-3 16th and then closed out his round with two pars for a two-stroke win.
Joint runner-up Guy Wall was 3-under through 12 holes of his round but three bogeys in the space of four holes late would prevent him from challenging Stolz for top spot.
WHAT THE WINNER SAID
“I had a lot of everything going on today but I hit enough good shots to make some birdies and capitalise on those.
“There were just a few key holes there today that you needed to birdie or whatever and I managed to do that pretty well.
“I played a fair bit here when I was a kid and the course is way, way better than it used to be.
“You couldn’t fault it. The fairways were great, the greens rolled magnificently.”
LEADERBOARD RUNDOWN
1 Andre Stolz 67
T2 Guy Wall 69
T2 Brendan Chant 69
T4 John Onions 71
T4 Grant Kenny 71
Parker goes one better at Blackheath Legends Pro-Am
20/10/2023
By Tony Webeck
A day after playing second fiddle to Andre Stolz, American Perry Parker triumphed by a single stroke at the Blackheath Legends Pro-Am.
A regular visitor to Australia to play the PGA Legends Tour, Parker has returned in good form after a month at home in the US.
He was part of a three-way tie at Springwood last Thursday but his round of 3-under 66 proved good enough at Blackheath Golf Club in the Blue Mountains.
With a host of big events coming up, Parker is thrilled to see the hard work paying off so suddenly.
“I went home for about a month and really worked on some things,” said Parker.
“I changed my driver; I went back to my old driver, my (TaylorMade) SIM driver. Changed putters and I think the practice that I put in is really paying off.”
HOW THE WINNING ROUND UNFOLDED
Parker made the best possible start in pursuit of his first win on the PGA Legends Tour in almost a year.
He hit driver, 7-iron to 20 feet at the par-5 first and proceeded to roll the putt in for eagle.
He gave one stroke back with a bogey at the next but birdies at the remaining par 5s – four and 10 – and eight straight pars to finish proved too much for the rest of the field.
West Australian Brendan Chant made eagle at the par-5 10th in his round of 2-under 67 to earn a share of second with Murray Lott, Martin Peterson and Grant Kenny.
WHAT THE WINNER SAID
“I played really good. I started off with an eagle – driver, 7-iron and made about a 20-footer – and just played really solid.
“Only made one bogey and played the par-5s in 4-under so that was really a key for me. Just parred everything else so it was just a really solid round.
“Totally different golf course than last year. Last year it was under water, this year it was really firm.
“A lot of the shots into the green were very firm, you had to really think about where you were going to land your iron shots in front and let it bounce up.
“I’m very excited to play Thurgoona (NSW Senior Open) and Richmond (Nova Employment Australian PGA Senior Championship) and excited for the rest of the year.
“We’ve got a great schedule so it’s great to be back and I’m looking forward to having some good results.”
LEADERBOARD RUNDOWN
1 Perry Parker 66
T2 Brendan Chant 67
T2 Grant Kenny 67
T2 Murray Lott 67
T2 Martin Peterson 67
Stolz smashes the field at Springwood
19/10/2023
By – Paul Munnings
Taking some time off the PGA Legends Tour to work on his game paid off for Andre Stolz who streeted the field at the Fidelity Capital Group Charity Legends Pro-Am in the NSW Blue Mountains.
Stolz shot a 6-under-par 63 at the Springwood Country Club to win by a massive seven shots from Darryl Purchase, Perry Parker and David Fearns.
The runaway victory was a warning shot to the rest of the Legends regulars that one of their best players is finding form ahead of the $120,000 NSW Senior Open at Thurgoona later this month and the $150,000 Nova Employment Australian Senior PGA Championship at Richmond (November 10-12).
HOW THE WINNING SCORE UNFOLDED
Stolz reeled off four straight birdies to end the front nine and after parring the short par-4 10th, added in another two birdies on the 11th and 12th holes. His two bogeys for the day came off “perfect tee shots” on the par-4 fifth and 16th.
WHAT THE WINNER SAID
“I decided I was going to skip a couple of events and have a couple of days off,” Stolz said.
“We’ve got a big stretch of tournaments coming up so I went down to Federal Golf Club in Canberra and did some really good quality work.
“It was nice to turn up fresh and I was really keen to play today.
“I also had a practice round yesterday and did a lot of really good homework. There were a few putts today that when I got up there I knew where they were going to break.
“I’m really happy to have some good form going with what’s coming up.”
LEADERBOARD RUNDOWN
-6 (63): Andre Stolz
+1 (70): Darryl Purchase; Perry Parker; David Fearns
+2 (71): Shane O’Brien; Rhett McIvor; Rolan Baglin
Henwood claims Links Shell Cove inaugural with stroke of luck
16/10/2023
By Tony Webeck
The “worst tee shot I could possibly hit” somehow provided the spark that Adam Henwood needed to claim victory at the The Links Shell Cove Legends Pro-Am.
The Links Shell Cove south of Wollongong was making its debut on the PGA Legends Tour with players raving not only about the quality of the golf course but the facility as a whole.
The windswept layout would see just three players break par for the day, Henwood’s 3-under 68 securing a two-shot win from Mark McFadden (70) and John Onions (70).
HOW THE WINNING ROUND UNFOLDED
Starting his round from the sixth tee in the morning wave, Henwood was even par through 12 holes as he mixed three birdies in with three bogeys.
Henwood was disgusted with the tee shot he hit at the par-5 18th yet after a stroke of luck was able to salvage a birdie.
He backed that up with an eagle at the par-5 first and then, after a bogey at the par-3 third, finished his round with a birdie at the short par-4 fifth to close out a two-shot win.
WHAT THE WINNER SAID
“I finished pretty strong. I didn’t have a great start – was having a few jiggles here and there and a few extra putts, couple of poor chips.
“I hit probably the worst tee shot I could possibly hit off one hole and got away with it unbelievably and made a birdie.
“I chucked a quick eagle in on the next and then a birdie on the one after that and all of a sudden I was looking not too bad.
“This place is amazing. Incredible property and a great golf course although it was pretty tough out there today.
“It was just one of those days. It was tough, it was a grind and I ground it out pretty well.”
LEADERBOARD RUNDOWN
1 Adam Henwood 68
T2 Mark McFadden 70
T2 John Onions 70
T4 Grahame Stinson 71
T4 Paul Powell 71
T4 David Diaz 71
T4 Robert Mitchell 71
T4 Lucas Bates 71
T4 Scott Ford 71
Robb king of Hilltop at Mollymook Senior Masters
13-14/10/2023
By Tony Webeck
A change to his putting grip and a new strategy on the greens proved a winning combination for Nicholas Robb at the Mollymook NSW Senior Masters.
Trailing by two at the start of Round 2, Robb’s putter proved pivotal in his second round of 1-under 71, the second-best of the day at Mollymook Golf Club’s Hilltop Course.
His 36-hole total of even par 144 was just enough to edge defending champion Chris Taylor (72) by a single shot with Adam Henwood (74) and Mark Boulton (75) sharing third.
HOW THE WINNING ROUND UNFOLDED
Playing the second round with Steven Conran and Roland Baglin, Robb turned in 2-under thanks to birdies on two, six and nine, his birdie at the par-3 ninth a mere formality after hitting his tee shot to just two feet.
Bogeys at 11 and 12 brought a host of players into the mix but a birdie on 14 and another brilliant tee shot at the par-3 17th secured a one-shot win.
WHAT THE WINNER SAID
“I’m really happy with how I played. The game-plan going in was to try and minimise three-putts. I walked off scratching my head last year when I had three-putts and four-putts but this year I had one three-putt both rounds this time so I was pretty happy with that.
“I changed my putting grip recently which made a big difference. I felt much more solid over the short ones and my driver behaved. Hit the driver straight, make a few putts, you’re probably going to end up with a good score.
“I hit a really good shot into the ninth. I just held a 6-iron off on the wind and it ended up about two feet away. And then on 17 I hit an 8-iron and it just held up perfectly to about a foot behind the hole.”
LEADERBOARD RUNDOWN
1 Nicholas Robb 73-71—144
2 Chris Taylor 73-72—145
T3 Adam Henwood 72-74—146
T3 Mark Boulton 71-75—146