Casey heads field for co-sanctioned MasterCard Masters
IN: News | Australasian PGA | MasterCard Masters (2006) | Preview | 21 Nov 2006
For the twenty eighth consecutive year, Huntingdale Golf Club, one of Melbourne's famed Sandbelt golf courses, plays host to the MasterCard Masters.
The big difference in the event this year is that it has been co-sanctioned for the first time with the European Tour, arguably giving strength to the field more especially by the inclusion of one or two of the best players in Europe, Paul Casey and Justin Rose.
Rose is better known as a USPGA Tour player these days but in Paul Casey the European Tour has on display one of their trump cards and a man who has moved to another level in 2006. Casey is currently the leading ranked player in the field at number 15, an improvement of 37 places in 2006 courtesy of his victories at the Volvo China Open, the Johnnie Walker Championship and the HSBC World Match Play Championship.
In his press conference today Casey talked about his love for the Huntingdale layout as he had last year. He finished 5th last year albeit seven shots from the Robert Allenby and Bubba Watson playoff but clearly enjoys the venue for this week's event. Casey has shown a desire to play often outside his own comfort zone by taking his game to the world. He has had much success in China and indeed Australia in addition to that he has recorded nearer to home.
Australia has been good to Casey with a victory and runner up placing at the now defunct ANZ Championship earlier this decade and he arrives here this week with the prospect of adding his eighth European Tour title this week. He comes off a last start 8th at the HSBC Championship in Shanghai and deserves to be the favourite although local fans might see it differently.
Stuart Appleby will have many local fans watching his progress this week and after a solid week at last week's Australian Open he appears ready to improve what has been an average record at Huntingdale. Two wins on the USPGA Tour make him the most successful player on the USPGA Tour in 2006 who is at this event. He was third last week after looking a possible winner with a few holes to go and at his previous start finished 10th at the Tour Championship.
Robert Allenby's last win was at this very event twelve months ago when he edged out Bubba Watson at the first extra hole to win the Masters for the second time. In the meantime Allenby has played very well for much of this year and last Sunday after a slow start to the final round at the Australian Open he rattled home with a final round of 67 suggesting that he is over the shaky start he made earlier in the week.
Michael Campbell arrives in Melbourne after a rather ordinary week in Hong Kong but he can be forgiven given in that he twisted an ankle in a pre tournament mishap. By all accounts he is okay to play this week and with a good record at Huntingdale it might be better to consider his two previous starts in China when second and third. He has travelled more miles than Christopher Columbus this year but appears ready for one last effort before heading home to the New Zealand Open next week.
John Senden comes off arguably his greatest victory last week, given that it was his national open. He has always been a class player but with a PGA Tour win to his credit this year and last week's heroics he will arrive in Melbourne in a great frame of mind. It is always hard to back up after a win of nay sort let alone one of such significance but he has a liking for Huntingdale having finished fourth last year.
Peter Lonard and Nathan Green are better value at longer odds given their records at Huntingdale (Lonard has won the event twice and O'Hern a regular placegetter). Both were on the fringe of contention last week and their games will be better for the week at Royal Sydney. A win by either player would not be a surprise.
Justin Rose is in Melbourne after a year which has seen him get very close to his first win on the USPGA Tour. A precocious talent earlier in his career it took longer than some imagined it might for Rose to realise his latent talent but now that he has he is beginning to, he is likely to become something very special. Rose finished fourth in Japan last week behind Harrington, Woods and Katayama. If he was able to repeat that performance then he might be very much in the thick of things on Sunday.
There are many others including the likes of Nathan Green, 2004 winner Richard Green, a resurgent Steve Bowditch, Mattie Goggin, Gavin Coles and the Americans Will Mackenzie and Kevin Stadler.
There will be much discussion this week regarding the relative merits of co-sanctioning between various tours in Australian events but this event and concept is important for the Australasian Tour and very importantly for the survival of the New Zealand Open next week in Auckland. The two events are important for each other.
