Date: October 24, 2009
Author:

Senior takes four shot lead in final round

Peter Senior has cemented his position as tournament favourite after another blitzing round at Royal Perth for the 2009 Handa Australian Senior Open. Senior had a steady start with an outward nine of two under par following birdies on 4, 7 and 9 dropping only the one shot on the difficult par three 6th hole. He had a flawless back 9 picking up additional birdies on the par fours 11 and 1 to sign for an impressive 68. I m pretty happy with how I played today, said Senior following the round. I drove it really well and had short irons in to the greens that s the key on this course as it s difficult to get it really close. Senior will head into the final round with a commanding four stroke lead but he will have a host of big names hot on his heels. Victorians Michael Clayton and Michael Harwood both had solid rounds of 2 under par but it was fellow Victorian David Good who stole the show with an eagle on the 18th to finish 2 under for the day and sit alongside his compatriots at 3 under for the tournament. Harwood confirmed he was happy with his score but felt he didn t play as well today. “I had a couple of bogeys but I scrambled my way around – I putted better than I did in the first round.” Senior who has spent the last few months playing the European Seniors Tour is familiar with those chasing his lead and knows the tournament is still anyone s for the taking. Mike Harwood has a great short game so the course suits him really well commented Senior, four shots is a decent lead but it s not an insurmountable one. Defending champion Wayne Grady finished 1 under for the day but had a frustrating time on the back 9 with bogey s on the 11th and 14th undoing his efforts for 3 under on the front 9. American Mac O Grady also shot a 1 under par to sit at 2 under for the tournament. The final round of the 2009 Handa Australian Senior Open will commence at 8.15am at Royal Perth Golf Club with the leaders teeing off at 12.00pm. Spectators are welcome and entry is a gold coin donation supporting junior golf.