Only one player broke par all three days as Victorian Mark Boulton claimed the Australian PGA Senior 9 Hole Championships Pro-Am at the Town of 1770 Golf Course.
A pocket of serenity 90 minutes north of Bundaberg, Town of 1770 is always one of the most popular stops on the PGA Legends Tour, 47 players making the trip to play the nine-holer three days in succession.
Coming off a win at Bargara, Tim Elliott’s 4-under 30 led after day one, Boulton moving one clear at the completion of Round 2 when he followed up 31 in Round 1 with 30 on day two to be 7-under entering the final round.
A bogey by Elliott at the first and then birdie by Boulton at two extended his advantage to three strokes, pars all the way home good enough to hold off Elliott for a two-stroke win.
Turning point
Falling three strokes back early in the final round, Elliott reignited his championship hopes with back-to-back birdies at three and four to draw within one of Boulton.
But bogeys at five and seven either side of a birdie at six prevented Elliott from making further inroads, two closing pars not enough draw level.
Quick quotes
“The course is just fantastic,” said Boulton.
“The setting’s just so relaxing. The course is testing – narrow fairways, firm greens – it’s a test of golf. Got to get the putts rolling but if you get all those right, it’s a pleasure to not necessarily beat this course, but play well here.
“You’ve got to keep it within the parameters of the fairway because if you go beyond the fairway, it’s in the trees.
“You’ve got to hit good shots to hold the greens and then putt well.
“I had a couple of good days doing that and it’s all come good at the end.”
Leading scores
1 Mark Boulton 31-30-33—94
2 Tim Elliott 30-32-34—96
T3 Gregory Smith 35-32-31—98
T3 Jason Norris 31-36-31—98
T5 Grahame Stinson 33-33-34—100
T5 Brad Burns 35-34-31—100
Next up
Centenary Legends Pro-Am, Gailes Golf Club & Wolston Park Golf Club, July 31-August 1
July 22
Tim Elliott flashes home to win Bargara
Four birdies in the space of five holes has propelled Victorian Tim Elliott to a one-stroke win at the Bargara Legends Pro-Am at Bargara Golf Course near Bundaberg.
A recent winner of the PGA Professionals Championship of Victoria at Portsea Golf Club, Elliott timed his run at Bargara to perfection, making three straight birdies from the par-4 first and then adding a fourth in quick succession at the par-3 fifth.
Having started his second round from the ninth tee, Elliott closed out Round 2 with three pars on the trot for a round of 6-under 65 and 3-under total for the 36 holes.
Medallist at Qualifying School at the start of the year, Trenerry (68) had opportunities to match Elliott’s 3-under total but made pars at all seven of his final holes.
Turning point
Three-over entering day two after 74 in Round 1, Elliott was 2-under on his round but still on the wrong side of par for the tournament through 10 holes on Tuesday.
The birdie at the par-4 first would signal the start of his charge to the clubhouse, playing his last eight holes in 4-under to edge one clear of Trenerry.
Quick quotes
“I was looking at the scoreboard, but I looked at the scoreboard at Hervey Bay and hit the lead there by one or two shots and then crashed,” said Elliott.
“I said, ‘I’ve got to stop looking at the leaderboard.’ So when I started making the birdies, I thought, Do not look at that board.
“I played pretty good yesterday, but I putted terribly. I got to 1, 2-under, and then I started three-putting. I had like four three-putts and just got scared of the putts.
“I had the clubface open but sort of straightened that up a bit and went out today and started to hole a few and kept holing them.”
Leading scores
1 Tim Elliott 74-65—139
2 Leon Trenerry 72-68—140
T3 Chris Taylor 67-74—141
T3 Mark Boulton 70-71—141
5 Terry Price 74-68—142
6 David Crawford 69-74—143
July 20
After 50 years Peter Senior still at it
Almost 50 years since his first professional win, Peter Senior is at it again, joking that his latest victory was a long time coming.
Four strokes back of Nigel Weldon at the start of Round 2 of the Urangan Smash Repairs Fraser Coast Classic, the ageless legend made three straight birdies late on day two for a round of 4-under 66 and a three-stroke win at Hervey Bay Golf and Country Club.
A winner on the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia across five different decades starting with the 1979 South Australian Open, Senior has made just five starts on the PGA Legends Tour and added to his Hervey Bay triumphs in 2019 and 2022.
“I haven’t won anything for ages, so it was nice to actually pop my head up and win,” said Senior.
Turning point
Brought back into the mix when Nigel Weldon started Round 2 with a double-bogey at the par-3 second, Senior himself took time to make forward progress.
As Weldon gave up two more shots at the par-4 fifth, Senior began his round with four straight pars and his first birdie at 13 was wedged in between bogeys at 12 and 14.
A run of three birdies in the space of four holes starting at the par-4 16th put Senior in contention, the 65-year-old closing it out with three birdies on the trot at four, five and six for the second straight day.
Quick quotes
“The first round I was 3-over at one stage and birdied the same three holes to finish as I did today, so it was nice to finish like that,” said Senior.
“The course played very difficult. The greens are probably not as good as they have been because of all the bad weather that they’ve had, but the course always plays difficult.
“Scoring’s always pretty hard to come by, and it was very nice to come out and play well today.
“Just remembered how to play for a change.”
Leading scores
1 Peter Senior 70-66—136
T2 Douglas Gardner 70-69—139
T2 Brad Burns 71-68—139
T2 Tim Elliott 68-71—139
T2 Matthew Rogers 71-68—139
T2 Leon Trenerry 71-68—139
Next up
Bargara Legends Pro-Am, Bargara Golf Course, July 21-22
July 17
Burns wins on debut at Isis
Two trips around the nine-hole Isis Golf Club left a big impression on Brad Burns who shot 6-under 64 to win the Jabb Mining Isis Legends Pro-Am.
The first time that the PGA Legends Tour has visited Isis Golf Club 40 minutes south of Bundaberg attracted a field of 45 Professionals with a familiar name coming out on top.
Already a six-time winner this season, the four-time Order of Merit winner went 2-under on his first time around the Isis layout before closing with three birdies in his final five holes to finish two strokes clear of Lucien Tinkler (66).
Turning point
After starting his day with a birdie, Burns picked up just one more in his next nine holes.
He moved to 3-under with a birdie at the par-4 11th but it was his back-to-back birdies at 14 and 15 that gave Burns the winning edge.
Quick quotes
“You’ve got to drive it very nicely out there. I drove it very well and putted pretty well as well,” said Burns.
“The course is fantastic out there. The greens are just a pleasure to putt on. It’s amazing that they’re actually done by all voluntary labour.
“I’ve driven past here quite often; I’ll stop a little bit more often now.”
Leading scores
1 Brad Burns 64
2 Lucien Tinkler 66
3 Grahame Stinson 67
T4 Matthew Rogers 68
T4 Mark Boulton 68
T4 David Crawford 68
STORIES: TONY WEBECK | PGA TOUR