Peter Senior oldest winner of Australian Open
This weekend at The Lakes saw some colossal upsets. Peter Senior made a sudden and dramatic appearance on the final day of the Australian Open and stole the show with an unbelievable 4-under 284!
The aptly named 53-year-old, who has been a consistent player on the US Champions Tour, managed to best both the weather and the seasoned contenders in the race to the finish.
Severe weather conditions, with winds howling down the fairways with gale-like ferocity, forced organizers to consider a suspension in playing for three hours.
“Obviously there’s nothing we can do to protect anybody other than to get them out of danger,” Tournament Chief Trevor Herden said of the fierce winds. “We have an obligation to the public and the players and then there’s the golf course, which at that point
became unplayable”.
When play resumed, Senior shot a perfect round of even-par 72 that carried him well ahead of the competition.
Brendan Jones, who displayed a strong form for the duration of the tournament, finished just behind the Australian. He lost the Open to Senior by a single stroke!
Cameron Percy came in third, two strokes down. Englishman Justin Rose’s performance, which was hoped to have had shown at least in the final two rounds of the tournament, left a great deal to be desired. He finished tied at the fourth place with a 76, three
strokes behind the winner.
The winner, of course, was ecstatic. Having had kept his composure throughout the round, fighting winds and pressure from the players at his heels a single stroke behind. He was relieved when the game came to an end.
“Winning the PGA a couple of years ago up at Coolum was great, but I tell you what, nothing beats winning right here,” he said after the tournament.
What made this play especially memorable for him, besides being the oldest Australian Open champion, was having his son Mitch caddying for him.
“It doesn’t get any better than this,” Senior said. “We’ve had three years on the Champions Tour where Mitch has caddied for me for the last two years, and we’ve lost three playoffs, so it feels unbelievable to win with him on the bag”.
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