Peter Senior has seized the outright lead at the NSW Senior Open after firing a solid four-under par 68 in the second round of the NSW Senior Open.
The ageless 58-year-old kept his card bogey-free today in a stellar display of shot making despite the early rain that made conditions a little difficult for the rest of the field.
“I played pretty solidly today; I didn’t have any bogeys, I kept it out of trouble and holed a couple of putts,” Senior said.
It was a good score, 68. Any time you break 70 around a golf course you feel like you’ve played OK.
He was especially pleased with his ability to keep his round going despite a couple of back issues.
“I’m fighting a few issues with the body, but I’ve kept it going.”
“The most important thing around this course is to keep it in play, and I did that again today,” he said.
Despite holding a tidy lead, Senior believed that there was a low score to be had on the impressive Thurgoona layout if someone could get their putter running hot.
“Somebody can go out there and shoot 65 if they get the putter going,” he said. “The greens are so good. They are a little hard to read in places, there are a few subtle breaks. Otherwise, the course is faultless.”
The other overnight leaders didn't fare quite as well as Senior. Thornliegh's Grant Kennywas the best, carding a bogey free 69 to match his first round three under par effort to be a shot behind the Queenslander. Victorian Glenn Joyner posted a one under par 71 to fall into a tie for third alongside fellow Victorian Peter Woodward, while Narrandera's Craig Warren dropped to 14th after a disasterous five-over 77.
It was Woodward who produced the round of the morning, a five under par 67 to vault up the leaderboard and into a share of third. The Victorian carded six birdies and a solitary bogey in his effort, including a blemish-free front nine for a four under 32.
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The tournament’s headline act, Ian Baker-Finch, had no trouble finding his game in the morning field either despite the cold start to the round.
Baker-Finch got to within three of the leader, Senior, after an impressive start with birdies on the 4th 5th and 6th holes to vault into red figures for the tournament.
two more birdies on the 10th and 11th had the 1991 Open Champion at four under par and alone in second place.
A Bogey on the 13th, then a disastrous double bogey on the last after hitting his tee shot out of bounds saw Baker-Finch drop into a tie for sixth place with playing partner, Terry Price.
When asked about how happy he was with his second round, despite the final hole snafu, Baker-Finch was relaxed.
“Not with the last hole,” he smiled. “But overall, I’m happy.”
“It’s been a lot of fun, the course is great. 73 -70 I'll be somewhere around the top 10 – 15 tomorrow, it should be good fun,” Baker-FInch grinned.
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