Peter Senior / The Daily Telegraph
Veteran Aussie, 53 year-old Peter Senior won the Emirates Australian Open, leaning on his broomstick in the gale force winds. Peter achieved his win shooting par in the last round to win by one shot at -4 under par. In second place was Brendan Jones at -3 under par, also another of the Broomstick brigade. If you have ever had any doubts about the advantage gained from using a Broomstick, this tournament was a glaring example of the advantage in windy conditions. It was plain to see that both players were standing steady on the greens over their putts, anchored to the ground before stroking the ball. Peter said after his round;
” These are the conditions I thrive in, if the conditions were good, the really good players would have shone this week,”
Peter becomes Australia’s oldest winner of the Stonehaven Cup, surpassing the great Peter Thomson, who won as a 43-year-old in 1973.
Cameron Percy was in third place at -2 under par with world number four Justin Rose finishing tied in fourth place with Kieran Pratt and Kim Felton. Justin Rose struggled with the putter in the terrible conditions, so bad were the winds that play had to be suspended for over three hours. The howling wind blew over a television tower and a marquee got crushed during the mayhem, which finished in near darkness, Justin Rose summed it up;
” It was like a day-night match, I’ve never played a hole with shadows from a spotlight.”
