The first two rounds of the $50,000 54-hole tournament went off without a hitch but an overnight downpour in Outback New South Wales made the sand greens unplayable and forced the cancellation of the third and final round.
At 10-under par through two rounds, that gave Burns a two-stroke win from Ben Jackson with Peter Lonard a further three shots back in third.
Joking that a local farmer has already put up $100,000 for the PGA Legends Tour to return and break the drought again in 2027, Burns was thrilled to once again come out on top.
“I’m three for three out here so I don’t mind the old scrapes. I should be a grader driver,” said Burns, fresh off his trip to America to play the Senior PGA Championship.
A 3-under 68 on day one saw Burns begin Round 2 trailing Matthew McDonald by two strokes.
A dropped shot at his second hole, the par-3 11th, was a step in the wrong direction but Burns responded quickly with a birdie at the 13th.
With Jackson (65) pushing him to the very end, Burns had to birdie his final two holes to shoot 7-under 64 and maintain his status as the king of Cobar.
Quick quotes
“I played great the first day. I actually played probably better the first day than the second day, but I holed a few more putts the second day,” said Burns.
“But look, all kudos to the greenkeepers. They do a fantastic job out here and all the support staff and everything for the tournament. If it wasn’t for them, we wouldn’t be out here in the first place.”
Leading scores
1 Brad Burns 68-64—132
2 Ben Jackson 69-65—134
3 Peter Lonard 68-69—137
T4 Andrew Villinger 69-69—138
T4 David Fahey 70-68—138
T4 Kurt Stegbauer 68-70—138
T4 Peter Senior 69-69—138
T4 Guy Wall 69-69—138
T4 David McKenzie 71-67—138
Next up
Moree Legends Pro-Am, Moree Golf Course, May 7-8
April 30
Peter Woodward conquers Warren’s unique sand and grass mix
Warren Golf Club boasts a unique place within world golf due to its mix of sand and grass greens.
The majority of the six sand greens are found on Warren Golf Club’s front nine, which is Woodward did the bulk of his scoring.
The Portarlington Legends Pro-Am winner made three straight birdies from the sixth hole, shooting 2-under 68 to finish one clear of Wayne Armstrong and Matthew Rogers.
In addition to a practice round the day prior, Woodward tested the sand greens two days out to get the winning edge.
“I played a couple of holes two days earlier on the sand greens, of course, to get used to them,” said Woodward.
“I always find it better when you come out to the country courses, as unique as they are, it’s always good to know what you’ve got out there in front of you.
“I put in that little bit of extra work, and it’s paid off in the end.”
Quick quotes
“I haven’t played many sand greens before,” said Woodward.
“I played one years and years ago in South Australia where Peter Fowler won and I came second and I had a putter that I used there and I had to make the decision whether to use that putter or save it for the next tournament.
“I stuck with my traditional putter because of course we had 12 grass greens but I ended up birdieing two of the sand greens, so it didn’t let me down too badly.
“It’s really quite tricky, the adjustment going from grass to sand, and then obviously you’ve got to go back to the grass to finish off the round. You’ve definitely got two different speeds going on there, that’s for sure.”
Leading scores
1 Peter Woodward 68
T2 Wayne Armstrong 69
T2 Matthew Rogers 69
4 Michael Holden 70
T5 Euan Walters 71
T5 Michael Harwood 71
T5 Matthew McDonald 71
T5 Kurt Stegbauer 71
T5 Mark Boulton 71
STORIES: TONY WEBECK | PGA LEGENDS TOUR