Steve Elkington to play at Mastercard Masters
IN: News | Australasian PGA | MasterCard Masters (2003) | General | 07 Oct 2003
Steve Elkington will end a five-year absence from Australian tournament play by competing in the 2003 MasterCard Masters. Elkington, the last Australian to win a major title, will make his long-awaited return at Huntingdale Golf Club from December 4-7.
Elkington has not played in Australia since the 1998 Presidents Cup at Royal Melbourne where he played a leading role in the International Team's crushing victory over the US. Elkington's 2003 season was interrupted by shoulder surgery in July, but he is planning a busy return to tournament golf later this year.
In anticipation of his trip, Steve commented, "Melbourne is one of the best places to play golf in the World. It's been too long since I last played in Australia and I am looking forward to returning. The Masters is an event with great tradition and Huntingdale is a great venue. Things have fallen into place nicely with this trip back home. Annie (8) and Sam (6) are now at an age where they want to learn more about Australia and the place I'm from. With the recuperation from surgery obviously I haven't played much this year but things are progressing nicely and I got the all clear to start hitting balls again last Wednesday. It will be good to play the Masters and PGA at the end of the year to test things in a competitive environment".
His victory at the 1995 US PGA Championship represents the last time an Australian took home a major trophy. He fired a closing 64 at Riviera in Los Angeles to force a playoff with Colin Montgomerie and then wasted no time clinching his first major by holing a 25-foot birdie putt on the first extra hole.
Elkington's record in the US is very impressive with 10 PGA Tour victories to his credit since 1990. He is a two-time winner of the Players Championship (1991, '97) and the Doral-Ryder Open (1997, '99). He also won the Vardon Trophy in 1995 for the lowest scoring average on the US Tour.
After suffering from a series of injuries and ailments during 2000 and 2001, he rebounded last year to tie for second in the British Open at Muirfield. He finished with a 66 to tie eventual champion Ernie Els, Thomas Levet and Stuart Appleby before bowing out on the final hole of a four-hole playoff.
Elkington won the 1992 Australian Open at the Lakes in Sydney and the 1981 Australian Amateur Championship. Born in Inverell, NSW, he attended the University of Houston in the early 1980's. He lives in Texas with his wife, Lisa, and their two children, Annie and Sam.
The MasterCard Masters was first played in 1979 and occupies a leading place on the Australasian Tour. Greg Norman has won the title on six occasions while Craig Parry is the next most prolific winner with three victories. Prominent winners from overseas have included Bernhard Langer, Mark O'Meara and Colin Montgomerie.
Source - IMG
