Senior to headline Queensland Open

BY iseekgolf.com | Von Nida Tour | 2006 Queensland Open | General | 10 Oct 2006

The field for this month’s Von Nida Tour Roadcon Group Queensland Open Championship is taking shape with the Australasian Tour’s greatest prizemoney winner, Peter Senior, the star attraction.

Senior, whose titles include the Australian Open Championship, two Australian PGA Championships, two Australian Masters Championships, two Johnnie Walker Classics and three Canon Challenge events, has been an outstanding supporter of Queensland golf. His appearance at the Ipswich Golf Club from October 26th to 29th is yet another reflection on the contribution he provides to local events and he is sure to be a factor when the tournament reaches its final stages.

Earlier this year, Senior moved past Peter Lonard to regain the mantle as the leading career money winner on the Australasian PGA Tour, taking his total earnings on that tour alone to more than AUD$3.6 million. Senior has played sparingly in Europe this season but has played in several of the Sunshine Tour’s pro am series and has performed well.

Twelve months ago at the Ipswich Golf Club, Senior reeled off a final round of 65 to put the upmost pressure on Brad McIntosh, who held onto win with Senior in second place.

Senior will be joined in the field by another of Queensland’s golfing success stories in Terry Price, who will return from Mallorca in Spain where he will play the last full field European Tour event of the season. Price has played just one event to date on the 2006 European Tour after breaking his leg in a rather bizarre accident in England in August of 2005. Price was caught by a retractable washing line while doing his domestic duties between events and it has been a long road to recovery. He has played several Sunshine Tour pro am events in recent weeks to ready himself for Europe and the upcoming Australasian Tour season and has performed well on occasions.

The 45-year-old Price, who was born in Rockhampton but now lives at Hope Island on the Gold Coast, has won the Queensland Open on two previous occasions and has been twice the Queensland PGA Champion so has plenty maroon blood in his veins.

Also teeing it up at the Ipswich Golf Club will be Gold Coast golfer Brad Kennedy, who just a month ago secured his biggest cheque in professional golf when he finished third behind Adam Scott and Ernie Els at the lucrative Singapore Open.

Kennedy was perhaps a little unfortunate that the final round was called off in rather controversial circumstances. Rain delays suggested the final round might have to carry over until Monday but even though all players were on the course and well into their rounds a decision was made to reduce the tournament to 54 holes. Kennedy had a gap separating himself and the fourth placed player at the time and was keen for play to continue to see if he might have been able to chase the leaders. Still he earned US$183,000 for his week. Kennedy is currently in 6th place on the Asian Tour money list.