It&aposs been a year of mixed results for John Senden but the Queenslander returned to his ball-striking best on Sunday at the McGladrey Classic to finish in a tie for fourth at Sea Island in Georgia. And it&aposs given him a helpful confidence boost ahead of the Emirates Australian Open – his only Australian appearance – in a fortnight. “I&aposm in next week&aposs Mayakoba and leading up to the Australian Open Championship. Heading home for that. So this has given me a fair bit of confidence to go home and play well in Australia. Senden has fond memories of the Rose Bay layout – his Australian Open victory came at Royal Sydney Golf Club in 2006. The weekend&aposs result was his best since the 2012 John Deere Classic and bodes well ahead of the OHL Classic in Mexico before Senden returns to Australia to play the Emirates Australian Open. “You know, got off to a rough start in regards to my ball striking. I didn&apost hit my greens, but I made a couple of real good saves and held it together through nine holes, and then I started to sort of try to be patient with myself on the middle of the Back 9 it started to turn around,” Senden said. Senden sparked his round with a birdie at No. 14, then holed a 23-foot putt for eagle on the par-5 15th. He then followed with a birdie on No. 16 to reach 12 under and climb within two shots of the lead on a day where names near the top of the leaderboard seemed to revolve on a constant basis. “So a bit of a rally on the last few holes to finish inside the top 10, and I was happy with my performance and where I finished,” he added.
Author: Golf Australia