Scott to lead Aussie field at Johnnie Walker Classic
IN: News | Australasian PGA | Johnnie Walker Classic (2006) | General | 12 Oct 2005
World No. 7 and defending champion Adam Scott will be part of a strong Australian challenge at the 2006 Johnnie Walker Classic in Perth. Scott will be joined by Mark Hensby, Nick O'Hern, and Peter Lonard, all top 50 ranked players, at the Vines Resort from February 9-12. The Australian contingent will have to contend with the likes of current US Open Champion, Michael Campbell and seven-time winner of the European Order of Merit, Colin Montgomerie, at Asia-Pacific's premier golf event.
Featuring the biggest prize money in Australian Golf this season of £1.25m (AUD$2.9m), with a first prize of £208,333 (AUD$475,000), the Johnnie Walker Classic is presented by Johnnie Walker, the world's leading Scotch whisky brand and will not only feature the Australian players but will attract many of the leading European and Asian players to Perth.
Adam Scott has taken over the mantle as Australia's leading player and will generate huge interest at the Vines. Scott won this year's Johnnie Walker Classic in Beijing in a field containing five of the world's top 12 players. He won again recently taking the Singapore Open by a whopping seven strokes from Lee Westwood. The 25-year-old Scott is the youngest player in the world's top 10 and has won titles on all of the world's major tours. The last of his three US Tour wins came at the 2004 Players Championship.
"It's really very special for me to be defending my Johnnie Walker Classic title on home soil, especially at the Vines - one of my favourite courses," said Scott, announcing his confirmation for the tournament from San Francisco this week. "It'll be great being back with so many of Australia's leading players."
Mark Hensby, ranked 30th in the world, has made great strides over the past two years winning in the US and Europe. Last year, he had a stellar year in the US winning the John Deere Classic and finishing in the top 10 a further nine times. This year, he won his first European Tour title closing with a 65 to win the Scandinavian Masters in a playoff. Hensby has saved his best efforts in the US in 2005 for the majors tying for fifth at the US Masters and for third at the US Open. He recently made his debut in the Presidents Cup and will be looking to make an impression on home soil this summer.
If there is a player due for a win, it must be Nick O'Hern. The West Australian left-hander has been a runner-up five times on the European Tour over the past three seasons. The most recent of these finishes was in the Heineken Classic at Royal Melbourne early in the year when he was beaten on the fourth hole of a playoff by Craig Parry. Currently ranked 35 in the world, O'Hern posted 11 top-10 results last year on the European Tour. This year, he made a splash in America beating Tiger Woods in the second round of the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship and advancing to the quarter-finals. O'Hern has won on the Australasian Tour before - at Coolum in Queensland in 1999.
Peter Lonard, ranked 40, has been a dominant figure in Australian golf over the past five years and is carving out a reputation for himself in the US. Lonard has won seven events in Australia since 2000, including the past two Australian Opens. He also won the Australian PGA Championship last year. A tremendous ball-striker, Lonard clinched his maiden US Tour title this year at the MCI Heritage. He switched from his usual long putter before that event to a short one, fired an opening 62 and went on to victory.
Already confirmed for the Johnnie Walker Classic are US Open Champion and world #15 Michael Campbell, former world #1 and seven-time winner of the European Order of Merit and the current leading European Tour money winner, Colin Montgomerie, world #22 Thomas Bjorn and six-time major winner Nick Faldo.
"The 2006 Johnnie Walker Classic is shaping up to be a fantastic showdown of the best in Australian golf challenging themselves against a world-class field of International golfers," said Ben Anderson, Global Brand Director for Johnnie Walker. "We welcome these four talented Australians to our event, all of whom embody the message at the heart of our brand - "Keep Walking". We look forward to some truly inspirational golf in Perth".
The Johnnie Walker Classic is sanctioned by the European, Asian and Australasian Tours.
Source - Johnnie Wallker
