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Golf World Monday: Peter Senior turns back clock in Australia

Mon, 10 Dec 2012 14:32:00 GMT

From the December 10 issue of Golf World Monday:

For all the oomph of golf's youth movement, veterans continue to have days when the numbers on a birth certificate have nothing to do with those on a scorecard. Few occasions have been sweeter for an elder golfer than the one enjoyed yesterday by Peter Senior, who at 53 scored an age-defying victory over a field of young bucks in the Australian Open at The Lakes in Sydney.

Photo by Getty Images

On a day when play was suspended for three hours because of winds gusting up to 50 miles per hour, the crafty Senior outclassed the field with an even-par 72 to win his second Australian Open 23 years after his first and become -- by far -- the oldest golfer to win his venerable championship, surpassing Peter Thomson, who was 43 when he won in 1972.

"It doesn't get any better than this," said Senior, the broomstick-putter wielding player who has lost three playoffs on the Champions Tour.

Always known as a sound ball-striker, the affable Senior, with son Mitch as his caddie, was steady as others struggled in the strong winds including third-round leader John Senden (82), Adam Scott (76), Geoff Ogilvy (77) and Justin Rose (76).

Just two years ago, when he was 51, Senior proved his game still had some horsepower when he won the Australian PGA. Senior is five months older than Sam Snead was when he triumphed at the 1965 Greater Greensboro Open, setting a PGA Tour record of 52 years, 10 months and 8 days.

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Video: Left-handed par save a "once-in-a-lifetime" shot for Pavin

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 18:05:00 GMT

It's not every day that you practice left-handed 8-iron shots from next to a tree root.

How about executing it on Sunday while tied for the lead, seeking your first Champions Tour victory?

You have to watch the video to truly appreciate Corey Pavin's spectacular par save on Sunday. He called it a "once-in-a-lifetime" shot, and Mark Calcavecchia said it was the best shot he's ever seen.

Photo by Stan Badz/PGA Tour

Pavin hit his tee shot on the par-3 14th hole into the woods to the left, right off the cartpath. He calmly flipped his 8-iron and chipped it to within five feet.

Enough explaining--watch the clip below (scroll to the 0:35 second mark).

--Stephen Hennessey

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Couples survives Cook, Westchester CC for major win

Mon, 22 Aug 2011 13:28:00 GMT

HARRISON, N.Y. -- It doesn't matter the era or the tour, wind plus final-round pressure equals interesting.

Unless you're a golfer trying to figure out the former, or survive the latter. In that case, a different description, something salty, might be called for.

Both variables were in play Sunday during the final round of the Constellation Energy Senior Players Championship at Westchester CC, particularly for the last group of John Cook, Fred Couples and Peter Senior. They had completed seven holes when dangerous weather caused a suspension of nearly two hours. Upon returning to the course at 1:45 p.m., the wind had kicked up.

Photo by Chris Trotman/Getty Images

The breeze was nothing of epic proportions, mind you, but on an old-style layout whose hard holes are very hard, gusts of up to 20 miles per hour were more than strong enough to heighten the challenge. Couples eventually solved it the best, defeating Cook with a birdie on the third playoff hole. It was a hard-earned victory for Couples, in just his second tournament since having most of the summer off because of his chronically bad back.

Long putters rule the day at Westchester

Thu, 18 Aug 2011 22:58:00 GMT

HARRISON, N.Y. - It might be a bad month for stocks, but it is shaping up as a good one for long putters.

Four days following Keegan Bradley's victory at the PGA Championship - the first at a men's Grand Slam event by a golfer using a long putter - the broomstick model figured prominently during the first round of the Constellation Energy Senior Players Championship Thursday at Westchester CC.

Jeff Sluman (65) and Gary Hallberg and Peter Senior (66s) all wielded long putters to top the leader board in the final major of the season on the Champions Tour, the circuit where Charles Owens first popularized the model, causing others to adopt it more than two decades ago.

It was in 1989 that Orville Moody, whose struggles on the greens sabotaged his outstanding ball-striking on the PGA Tour, used a long putter to win the U.S. Senior Open. That same year, in Australia, Senior, following the lead of Scot Sam Torrance, began using one Down Under, winning four titles. "I putted really well and won a few events, and all of a sudden everybody was on to me, [saying] 'It should be banned, it's cheating,' all this sort of stuff," Senior said. "But I've putted badly with it as well. There's no recipe for good putting. You've still got to work out the line. You've got to hit it well."

There is no disputing, though, that the method can calm nerves.

"Frankly, on and off since I've been about 17, I've struggled with the yips," Sluman admitted. "I could kind of feel them coming back this year. I've played some good tournaments earlier in the year that with a little better putting might have been an even better result."

Sluman has putted cross-handed and with a belly putter. But his brother had been trying to convince him for 15 years to switch to a full-fledged long putter. At the Outback Steakhouse Pro-Am earlier this year, Sluman finally made the leap. Ranked 48th in putting average on the Champions Tour in 2010, he is currently ranked 11th this season.

"My thinking from six feet and in now is [that] I'm surprised if I miss," Sluman said. "Frankly, before, I was surprised if I made them. It was not a lot of fun when the left hand was fighting the right hand at impact. That's not really good for your career out here."

Senior has stuck with a long putter in competition since he first adopted it, but for years after switching he practiced with a conventional putter so he would be prepared if golf's governing bodies ever banned the broomstick. "For 10 years I heard they were going to get rid of it," Senior said, "so I just kept practicing with the short one."

When he first started using a long putter, Senior anchored it under his chin, the way Torrance did, using a 46 Â¿-inch shaft. "I'm down to 45 now," Senior said. "I used to putt like Sam Torrance, and then I forgot which chin I put it on. I had to shorten it a bit and put it on my chest. And it's worked out pretty well since then."

Neither Senior nor Sluman believes the models will be outlawed at this juncture, even after Bradley making history with one in a regular major. "Eventually, somebody was going to do it," Senior said of Bradley's historic win. "It was going to happen."

"There's a chance of everything happening, but I don't know why [there would be a ban]," Sluman said. "You can still miss with it. Until everybody is winning every tournament with that type of putter ..."

But it is shaping up as another week when someone might just win another major with one of them.

-- Bill Fields

Monday Qualifier: Seve Ballesteros Was Often Imitated, But Never Duplicated

John Strege — Mon, 09 May 2011 04:00:00 GMT

Seve Ballesteros passes on, but his influence on golf is as large as ever.

Champions Tour: David Eger and Mark McNulty Win In A Playoff

AP — Sun, 24 Apr 2011 21:00:00 GMT

Mark McNulty and David Eger shot a final-round 61 and defeated Kenny Perry and Scott Hoch in a playoff.

Champions: Allianz Championship: Lehman Wins By One

AP — Sun, 13 Feb 2011 23:00:00 GMT

Tom Lehman birdied the final hole to beat Jeff Sluman and Rod Spittle by one.

Champions Tour: Hallberg Gets First Win In Style

AP — Sun, 03 Oct 2010 22:00:00 GMT

Gary Hallberg's record-setting 61 in the final round gave him a one-shot win over Fred Couples and the first Champions Tour title of his career.