AUSTRALIA’S Peter Senior has blown his overnight lead of the Allianz Championship on the US Champions Tour with a 5 over par final round in Florida but should take great heart from his continued overall great form.
Senior had birdied the 18th hole of the second round in Boca Raton to take a 1 stroke lead into the final day of the Champion Tour’s first full event of 2011.
It was the 51 year old’s sixth birdie of the day and went with the seven he shot in the first round.
Unfortunately, the Queenslander couldn’t find even one on the final day, bogeying the 2nd, 3rd and 10th and double bogeying the par five 6th.
He finished with rounds of 66, 67, 77 (210) to be tied for 17th on 6 under.
That was seven strokes behind the winner Tom Lehman (69), who birdied the final hole to break a tie with Jeff Sluman and Rod Spittle.
Lehman, the 51 year old former British Open winner, finished on 13 under to take his third title on the Champions Tour.
Sluman had an eagle opportunity at the par-5 18th but had to settle for a birdie and a 69, while Spittle just missed his birdie putt and finished with a 70.
Russ Cochran (70) and Olin Browne (67) were another shot back at 10 under. Defending champion Bernhard Langer shot a final-round 70 to finish with Senior at 6 under.
Senior was coming off a stellar Australian summer, winning the Australian PGA Championship at Coolum and the Australian Senior Open in Perth.
Hopefully, Senior will put the four bad holes in Florida behind him and see the performance as a great foundation for his second year on the premier US senior golfing circuit.
The next event is The ACE Group Classic at The Quarry in Naples, Florida, beginning Friday (US time).
Aussie Graham Marsh is also a scheduled starter.
Peter Senior Interview: Back in the US and brimming with confidence