Golf Australia has announced the Australian team to contest the 2015 Asia-Pacific Senior Amateur Championship to be played at Qingdao Linghai Hot Spring Golf Club in China.
The six-man team to contest the event in 2015 is Sal Ballard (NSW), Gordon Claney (Vic), Ian Frost (Vic), Ian McPherson (WA), Greg Rhodes (Vic) and Barry Tippett (Vic).
Gordon Claney from Victoria is ranked number one on the Australian Men’s Senior Amateur Golf Rankings and has had a stellar 12 months winning the 2014 Australian Men’s Senior Amateur, the 2014 Victorian Senior Amateur and finishing third in the Royal Melbourne Senior Classic.
Fellow Victorian Barry Tippett sits in second place on the rankings, after a number of second place finishes this year including the Lake Karrinyup Senior Classic, WA Senior Amateur, The National Senior Masters and NT Senior Amateur.
Ian McPherson from WA brings a wealth of experience to the team, having represented Australia in the Sanctuary Cove Trophy on numerous occasions. Ian currently sits in third place on the rankings and recently took out the Australian Senior Men’s Match Play Championship in June.
Sal Ballard from Victoria was a semi-finalist in the Australian Men’s Senior Match Play Championship going down to the eventual champion Ian McPherson. Sal has also had a number of top 10 finishes over the past twelve months in the 2014 Australian Senior Amateur, The National Senior Masters and ACT Senior Amateur.
The team also features some fresh faces with Greg Rhodes and Ian Frost both from Victoria joining the team with recent top performances showing they will be valuable assets to the team.
Greg Rhodes won the NSW Senior Amateur, finished runner-up in the Royal Melbourne Senior Classic and 5th place in The National Senior Classic. Ian Frost won the Qld Senior Amateur last month and finished second in The National Senior Classic.
The Asia-Pacific Senior Amateur Championship is played over 54-holes stroke play, and comprises an individual event with the team event in conjunction. In each round, the total of the four lowest scores constitutes the team score for the round. The three-day (54-hole) total is the team’s score for the championship.
The event is organised by the Asia-Pacific Golf Confederation and more information can be found at the following link – http://asiapacificgolf.org/entry-forms/