PGA SENIORS AT RICHMOND
BY LAWRENCE MACHADO
A trio of famous golfers named Peter head the star-studded field for the $50,000 Australian PGA Seniors Championship which wraps up this Saturday, November 7 at the Richmond Golf Club.
Peter Lonard, last year’s runner-up Peter O’Malley and Hornsby’s Peter Fowler are the top players at this annual championship, won last year by Peter Senior, who is not competing at the three-day event.
The event is sponsored by Bendigo Bank. Lonard, 53, is the most successful golfer in this 81-man field, having won three Australian PGA titles, two Australian Opens and two Australian Masters since turning pro in 1987.
Lonard will need all his experience on the European PGA and Senior Tours to overcome one of the strongest fields for the championship, first played here in 2013.
O’Malley, 55, the runner-up at the inaugural Dubai Desert Classic at the first grass course in the Middle East in 1989, is regarded as one of the most accurate players in the game. He has the rare distinction of winning the Australian Junior, NZ Amateur, NZ Open and NZ PGA championships.
Fowler, also known as Chook, won the Australian Open in 1983 and has always proved to a handful in competitions, with one of his best wins being the 1989 World Cup with Wayne Grady.
Richmond Golf Club’s Operations Manager Craig Hodgen said the event is the highlight of their calendar.
“The course is looking fantastic and definitely fit for a legend. The greens are running fast and true. We can’t fault the work of our greenkeepers, it’s outstanding given we had catastrophic bushfires and flooding in the Hawkesbury earlier in the year.
“We are ready and geared up for a fantastic, Covidsafe 2020 event.”
Richmond has been confirmed as the host of the Australian Seniors Championship until 2022.
According to Andy Rogers, the co-ordinator for the PGA of Australia Legends Tour, this championship will be a fitting finale to the string of competitions in the Blue Mountains.
“We have seen some exciting and memorable golf played here over the last few years,” he said.
Details: www.pga.org.au
