A sodden Maroochy River Golf Club could take no more rain on Monday, 30mm overnight adding to the 20mm on Sunday and a further forecast of 40mm on Monday forcing the closure of the golf course and abandonment of the second and final round.

It also marks the end to the 2024 PGA Legends Tour season, Andre Stolz claiming the Order of Merit in emphatic fashion with more than $129,000 in prize money, $10,000 more than his record season in 2023.

It matches Burns’s record of four consecutive Order of Merit titles, Burns pleased to make it seven wins for the year despite injury issues.

“The body’s been a bit ordinary the last six months and it’s a good way to finish for the year,” said Burns.

Burns shot 5-under 67 on Sunday to finish one stroke clear of John Wade, Michael Wright and Adam Henwood with Peter Lonard (69) and Richard Gilkey (69) sharing fifth.

HOW THE WINNING ROUND UNFOLDED

Given the challenge of the conditions and rain delays, Burns played superbly to go bogey-free.

He and Peter Lonard were the only two players not to drop a shot over the course of their round, the first of Burns’s five birdies coming at the par-4 15th after starting from the 12th hole.

Burns picked up a second birdie at the par-5 17th and then picked up shots at the two par 3s on the front nine.

But it would take until his final hole for Burns to edge ahead, his final birdie coming at the par-5 11th.

WHAT THE WINNER SAID

“It’s tragic we couldn’t get down for the second round but the course is great the way it held up under the water,” said Burns.

“We had a lot of rain overnight and it was very wet out there yesterday and windy.

“It was a very nice putt on the last to sneak one ahead, especially when you knew it was going to rain the next couple of days.”

LEADERBOARD RUNDOWN
1          Brad Burns                   67
T2        John Wade                   68
T2        Michael Wright            68
T2        Adam Henwood          68
T5        Peter Lonard                69
T5        Richard Gilkey              69
7          Chris Taylor                  70

NEXT UP

The PGA Legends Tour now breaks for Christmas with the 2025 season to begin with Qualifying School at Murwillumbah Golf Club on the New South Wales Northern Rivers from January 7-10.

Final Order of Merit standings

STORY: TONY WEBECK | PGA AUSTRALIA

Playing his 63rd and penultimate event of the PGA Legends Tour season and battling a rib injury, such was Henwood’s experience in the hyperbaric chamber he intends to make one a permanent part of his recovery.

“I’m going to buy one as soon as I sell my house and put it in the truck I’m going to build,” said Henwood after his ninth win of the season.

“I’ve spent some time in some and as soon as I head south, I’m going to spend two hours a day in one for about 20-30 30 days and see if I can get rid of this rib injury every day.”

A three-stroke leader after day one, Henwood held off a late charge by two-time PGA TOUR Champions winner Rod Pampling (66) to complete a two-shot win with a two-round total of 11-under, Murray Lott taking outright third with rounds of 69-68.

HOW THE WINNING ROUND UNFOLDED

Bogey-free in Round 1, Henwood laid down an early marker to the rest of the field with birdies at two of his opening three holes.

He would turn in 2-under on the back of six straight pars and then moved to 10-under with a birdie at the par-4 10th.

As Pampling made his move up the leaderboard, Henwood went on another seven-hole par stretch before conjuring a brilliant up-and-down at the par-5 18th to build a more comfortable cushion.

WHAT THE WINNER SAID

“When I came down the last, I didn’t ask or look at the scoreboard until I hit my second shot,” said Henwood.

“I had a bum yardage so I thought, I can’t get there and the pin’s on the front. That’s a horrible up-and-down if you’re just short.

“I decided to hit it over near the hazard on the right to use the width of the green but when I got there I had an even worse shot than just off the front because of the way the green is shaped.

“Then I asked what the scores were and when they said 9-under I was like, Oh no, I could really bugger this up.

“It was a tough shot but I hit an awesome shot to three feet so then that was done.”

LEADERBOARD RUNDOWN
1          Adam Henwood          65-68—133
2          Rod Pampling              69-66—135
3          Murray Lott                  69-68—137
4          Simon Tooman            68-70—138
T5        Marcus Cain                 68-71—139
T5        Richard Gilkey              72-67—139
T5        Andre Stolz                  70-69—139

STORY: TONY WEBECK | PGA AUSTRALIA

As the 2024 PGA Legends Tour draws to a close with its final Sunshine Coast swing, Wade went bogey-free in a round of 6-under 66, three clear of Roland Baglin (69) with six players sharing third at 2-under.

Wade’s most recent Legends Tour win dates back all the way to September 2023 at Magenta Shores Golf and Country Club, a cooperative putter finally bringing Wade some joy.

“The form’s been pretty ordinary,” confessed Wade, who also received the Glenn Joyner Memorial Jug for his win.

“The putter helped me out a lot today. I haven’t been holing any putts, let alone hitting the ball badly, but today I managed to keep the round going with some good par saves. Made a few birdies and kept a nice clean card for a change.”

HOW THE WINNING ROUND UNFOLDED

Signs were good early for Wade that a change of fortune may have been imminent.

After a regulation par at the first, the 56-year-old peeled off three straight birdies from the par-5 second.

A birdie at the par-5 eighth saw Wade turn in 4-under, further birdies at 11 and 17 – and none of the big numbers that have plagued him in recent weeks – saw him post a number in the morning that proved unassailable for the afternoon wave.

WHAT THE WINNER SAID

“I hadn’t been here for a few years and last time I was here it was firm and fast. I thought the greens were amazingly firm today, even after all the rain last night,” said Wade.

“They’ve done some good work with the bunkering off the tee around that 230, 240 mark, so you need to keep it out of those, hit a lot of greens and just keep the damage to a minimum, which I haven’t been doing lately.

“I’ve just been having way too many big numbers, so I’m really, really pleased.”

LEADERBOARD RUNDOWN
1          John Wade                   66
2          Roland Baglin               69
T3        Matthew King              70
T3        David Hill                     70
T3        Guy Wall                      70
T3        Russell Swanson          70
T3        Mark Boulton               70
T3        Michael Craig               70

NEXT UP

The penultimate event of the season is the ever popular Sunshine Coast Masters at Twin Waters Golf Club starting Thursday with the season finale, the Queensland Senior PGA Championship, to follow at Maroochy River Golf Club from Monday.

Both Barr and Kennedy made the mad dash from Arizona to tee it up at Sanctuary Cove, Barr having fallen just one stroke short of securing full PGA TOUR Champions status for 2025.

He and Kennedy both shot rounds of 5-under 67 on The Pines Course at Sanctuary Cove to edge Lucien Tinkler (68) by a shot, Barr thankful for a good night’s sleep for his fourth win of the PGA Legends Tour season.

“I felt like I’d probably go OK today if I could get some sleep last night, which I did,” said Barr.

“My game’s really good and hopefully I get some opportunities next year.

“I’m going to have to make them happen but I’m confident where I’m at.”

Kennedy finished tied for 26th at Q School and was grateful for a win at the golf club that he calls home.

“Being a local boy at Sanctuary Cove, I was very familiar with the pins, and there were some really tough, tricky pins out there today,” said Kennedy. “It was nice to see them tuck a couple.

“Actually hitting into the water on 17 and making bogey got me motivated to get myself started and I made four in a row after that.

“It was nice to come and play out here and support Pete and Adam and also the members of Sanctuary Cove and tie for the win.”

HOW THE WINNING ROUNDS UNFOLDED

With the Sanctuary Cove greens holding their firmness despite the quantity of rain in south-east Queensland in recent weeks, both Barr and Kennedy took time to adjust.

Barr began his round with a bogey at the par-4 second while Kennedy took seven holes before registering his opening birdie at the par-3 16th.

A bogey followed at the par-5 17th but he responded with a superb birdie at the par-4 18th.

It would be the first of four in succession that would position Kennedy toward the top of the leaderboard.

Barr had no problems finding early birdies, making four in seven holes after his dropped shot on two.

He moved to 4-under with a birdie at the par-4 15th and then closed with a birdie at the first to tie Kennedy’s 5-under total.

WHAT THE WINNERS SAID

“It actually played beautifully. The course was fantastic,” said Kennedy.

“It’s been in this good a shape for the last two or three months, so I’m pretty spoilt out here to be able to practise and use the facility.”

“We had some nice sunshine here and there, but the course was stunning,” added Barr.

“The greens were firm today, which I was surprised when we started out. You got the big bounce off the green, so just had to make an adjustment.

“The pace was good though and even though we had rain, the course was magnificent.”

LEADERBOARD RUNDOWN
T1        Brad Kennedy              67
T1        Scott Barr                     67
3          Lucien Tinkler               68
4          Adam Henwood          69
T5        Peter Lonard                70
T5        Terry Pilkadaris             70
T5        David Bransdon           70

NEXT UP

The PGA Legends Tour now moves north for the three-event Sunshine Coast swing to close out the season, starting with the Living Choice Australia Legends Pro-Am at Headland Golf Club.

STORY: TONY WEBECK | PGA AUSTRALIA