Victorian Open begins professional year
BY Bruce Young | Australasian PGA Tour | 2010 Victorian Open | Preview | 06 Jan 2010
The Victorian Open has the honour of leading the professional golfing world into the new decade when the 2010 version of the event begins on Thursday morning at the Spring Valley Golf Club in Clayton South in Melbourne’s south east.
The course was established in the late 1940’s by Vern Morcom the son of the legendary Mick Morcom who was responsible for the interpretation for much of Alistair Mackenzie’s vision in the region.
The Spring Valley Golf club’s layout has long been considered a hidden gem amongst the courses of Melbourne’s sandbelt although it played host to this event for the first time in 2009 and its quality as tournament layout was there for all to see.
Local Ashley Hall won the event then, defeating Craig Scott and Scott Laycock by two shots, adding the Victorian Open title to his 2007 Victorian PGA title.
As it was in 2009 this Victorian Golf Association event is now under the umbrella of the PGA Tour of Australasia and any monies won count towards the all important 2010 money list and the One Asia benefits a good standing on that can bring.
This year’s event is played a month earlier and as a consequence the field is stronger than that assembled in 2009. The five winners of State Championship events in late in 2009 are in the field, namely Michael Curtain (WA Open), Andrew Bonhomme (WA PGA), Steven Bowditch (QLD PGA), Aaron Townsend (NSW PGA) and Leigh McKechnie (NSW Open).
They are joined by the defending champion, Hall, recent Champions Tour graduate, Peter Senior, Nationwide Tour players Stephen Allan, Adam Bland, Ewan Porter, David McKenzie and Jarrod Lyle and Japan Golf Tour players, Paul Sheehan, Chris Campbell and Brad Andrews amongst others.
Amongst the leading amateurs in this Victorian Golf Association event, Kieran Pratt, Jordan Sherratt, Daniel Beckmann, Jin Jeong and Luke Bleumink stand out but are not alone in the race for amateur honours.
