Aussies Abroad Weekly Wrap: Senden close again

Star of the show: John Senden produced a superb performance at the John Deere Classic, finishing in outright fourth after a terrific tournament in Illinois. Senden&aposs worst score of the tournament was an opening-day 69 and his seven-under 64 on Friday put him right in contention over the weekend. Ultimately, bogeys from two of his final three holes stopped him finishing higher. It was still a great tournament for Senden, who has five top-10 finishes to his name in 2012. The 41-year-old Queenslander picked up winnings of more than US$220,000 for his efforts. Breakout of the week: Lindsey Wright recorded her best finish since October 2010 as she tied for sixth at the South African Women&aposs Open. The 32-year-old Wright – who was born in England but is an Australian citizen – finished with a score of two over, enough to see her equal with Frenchwoman Julie Greciet and South African Ashleigh Simon at the end of the 54-hole event. Wright was just four shots behind the eventual winner, German Caroline Masson, and she finished with four birdies from her final eight holes to finish strongly. Wright, who tied for second at the 2009 McDonald&aposs LPGA Championship, will hope her impressive performance can give her a lift ahead of a busy second half of the season on the European Tour circuit. Shot of the week: Senden hit plenty of terrific shots at the John Deere Classic and his eagle on the 14th hole of his last round was one of his best. A terrific tee shot landed him on the green before he convincingly converted an eight-foot putt. Tweet of the week: Steve Jones – @stevejones_54 “HOLY S*#%!! Great work @karmichaelhunt !!!! How good is sport!! #AFLTigersSuns” The golfer, who is playing on the OneAsia Tour, reflects on an incredible moment in the weekend&aposs AFL action as Karmichael Hunt slots an after-the-siren goal to give Gold Coast a two-point win over Richmond. What lies ahead: The third major of the year takes place on the men&aposs circuit, with the British Open at the Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club in Lancashire, England, set to be the focus of the golfing world. World No.12 Adam Scott will headline the Aussie assault but our next-best player, Jason Day, has withdrawn from the tournament to spend time with his newborn son. Other golfers to represent Australia in the event will be Senden, Geoff Ogilvy, Aaron Baddeley, Robert Allenby, Marcus Fraser, Greg Chalmers, Nicholas Cullen, Ashley Hall, Brendan Jones, Brad Kennedy and Aaron Townsend. Stuart Appleby and seven of his compatriots will contest the True South Classic in Mississippi while there is no action on either the ladies European Tour or the LPGA Tour, with both Tours to resume on July 26. From the Couch: Golf fans are in for a treat this weekend, with Fox Sports 3 set to show 35 hours of live coverage from the British Open. It all kicks off at 6pm on Thursday evening with 6pm, 10pm and 8pm start times for Friday, Saturday and Sunday respectively. All eight hours of play live on the final day should be exciting viewing, while replays will run across the weekend as well. The True South is also being shown, with play to be broadcast live from 5-8am on Friday through to Monday.