Senior eyes historic double

Updated December 10, 2012 12:18:23

Golf marvel Peter Senior has switched his attention to this week's Australian PGA Championship as he eyes an historic double.

Having mastered savage winds at The Lakes to become the oldest Australian Open champion, 53-year-old Senior will return to a favourite stomping ground at Coolum believing he can defy the odds once more.

Read the story: Senior masters weather to win Australian Open

No player in more than a century of trying has completed the Australian Open-Australian PGA double on two occasions.

Some of the legends of Australian golf - including Norman Von Nida (1950), Kel Nagle (1959), Peter Thomson (1967) and Greg Norman (1985) - have achieved the rare double act.

Greg Chalmers also pulled it off last year, while Robert Allenby during his triple crown season in 2005 and Peter Lonard in 2004 are others to have gone back-to-back at the Open and PGA in modern times.

But no one has ever done it twice, something Senior has the opportunity to do after first winning the Australian Open and Australia PGA titles back in 1989.

The Queenslander candidly admits he probably would not have raised the Australian Open's Stonehaven Cup for a second time had weather conditions not deteriorated badly on Sunday.

But Senior says his accurate game and percentage plays are ideally suited to Coolum, where he has already won the PGA twice - in 2003 and 2010.

"It is a course that suits me," he said.

"It is fairly tight and the longer hitters don't have a huge advantage at Coolum because you have to lay up short of the water.

"I have more chance of winning around a course like that than any other."

Apart from overcoming wind gusts of more than 80 kilometres per hour on Sunday, Senior conquered world number four Justin Rose down the stretch after seventh-ranked Adam Scott's challenge faltered on the front nine.

"Winning golf tournaments, you need to have a good week at the right time," Senior said modestly.

"Justin Rose and the other guys are great players. Not for one moment do I think I am as good as those guys.

"I've had a good week where I got it done ... if the conditions were good, the really good players would have shone.

"These are the conditions I thrive in, where I just battle it out."

Senior estimated he only missed three fairways in four rounds at The Lakes, while he putted like a demon.

Such consistency will have him in the mix for a fourth PGA Championship when the final event of the year gets underway on Thursday.

Chalmers, though, vowed to mount a stubborn title defence after finishing tied 23rd at the Open, eight shots behind Senior.

"My game is actually in decent shape," Chalmers said after closing with a 77.

"It's hard to tell when the breeze blows this strong but, in all honesty, I saw some really good signs.

"It didn't really come to fruition with this weather, but I'm looking forward to seeing a little less breeze.

"I had a couple of good things that I liked in my golf swing I saw over the last couple of days, when I got to hit some normal shots, so I'm really looking forward to it."

AAP

Tags: golf, sport, coolum-beach-4573, qld, australia

First posted December 10, 2012 12:18:23

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Donald lands historic double

Updated December 12, 2011 11:05:05

Luke Donald was on top of the world in more ways than one after becoming the first player to win the money-list crowns in Europe and the United States.

Rival Rory McIlroy needed to win the Dubai World Championship to deny Englishman Donald the chance of topping the order of merit in Europe but the young Northern Irishman ended up in joint 11th place on 9-under 279 after closing with a 71.

The 34-year-old Donald, who has been at the summit of the world rankings for 27 weeks, had already clinched the US Tour's money-list crown in October.

"I couldn't see Rory's name on the leaderboard but I kind of knew the double was mine by the 13th hole," Donald told reporters after shooting a 66 for 272 to take third place behind Dubai winner Alvaro Quiros of Spain (269).

"I knew I had made history and the last six holes were kind of surreal," added the winner of this year's WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship in Arizona, PGA Championship at Wentworth, Scottish Open in Inverness and Disney Classic in Florida.

"The pressure went away and I was able to enjoy myself, have a few smiles and enjoy the walk. I guess that's what it is all about," added Donald.

McIlroy has been feeling tired and drained after suffering with a viral infection for a couple of weeks and he said this had simply been a tournament too far at the end of a hectic playing schedule.

"I couldn't get anything going when I needed to. I played a nine-hole stretch, the last two on Friday and the first seven on Saturday, in five over par. That's where the tournament got away from me," said McIlroy.

The world number two said he would skip next week's inaugural Thailand Golf Championship, the last event of the season on the Asian Tour.

"I can't wait to have a few weeks off," added McIlroy.

"People telling you what to do and where to go, another flight, more sleeping patterns messed up. Next week would have been a big struggle too.

"The doctor told me last night that no matter how bad I'm feeling now I'd be even worse if I played next week."

As for Donald, he was basking in the glow of a campaign he did not even dare to dream of at the turn of the year.

"It's something you always hope for and believe is possible," he said.

"But doing it and believing it is totally different.

"There were a lot of lean years there for a while when I wasn't winning. You've just got to keep believing that at some point it's going to be your time."

Donald still has next week's Australian Masters to play in before his competitive year is done.

Donald was asked how his father, who died a month ago, would have reacted to his success.

"He popped into my head a few times today especially after the 13th hole," the Englishman replied.

"I just remembered him and I think he would have been very proud of me. I'm sure he would have given me a big hug."

Reuters

Tags: golf, sport, united-arab-emirates, england, united-kingdom

First posted December 12, 2011 06:49:36

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