Re-positioned Mastercard Masters wide open
BY Bruce Young | Australasian PGA Tour | 2002 MasterCard Masters | Preview | 03 Dec 2002
The Australian Masters has become one of the key events in Australian golf over the years since its inception back in 1979. It has had a series of sponsors with companies such as Ericsson and now Mastercard getting full value for their money as the ’tradition continues.’
This year for the first time in it’s history the event will be played pre-Christmas to accommodate a change in the scheduling of the Australasian PGA Tour, which now incorporates a calendar year, rather than the November through February season, as was the case previously.
When David Inglis and Frank Williams rather audaciously conceived the idea of an Australian version of the Masters in 1979, many wondered just how long that may last especially as a rather unheralded New Zealander in Barry Vivian shot 80 in the last round to win narrowly. In 1980 when won by one of the great players, and guys for that matter, in the game Gene Littler, it was under way in earnest and the list of winners since then reads like a who’s who of modern day Australian golf and in some cases world golf. Twenty-three years down the track it has established itself well and truly in the top echelon of Australian events.
Greg Norman, although he will not be present again this year, has won the event six times and all of those coming in the ten years between 1981 and 1990. Craig Parry is a three time winner, Bradley Hughes and Peter Senior, twice winners, major winners Bernhard Langer, Ian Baker-Finch and Mark O’Meara one apiece and Colin Montgomerie adding his name to the group in February 2001, when last staged.
This year’s field will include the eight time major winner Tom Watson who, even at the age of fifty-three, is competing, when he gets the opportunity to do so, with distinction against the younger guys. This year in addition to winning the Tour Championship on this season’s Seniors Tour and finishing five times runner-up, he has made the cut at both The Masters and the PGA Championship and placed seventh at the Colonial.
Ty Tryon, the eighteen year old who became the youngest player to gain a USPGA Tour card last year at the USPGA Tour School, will be here also. Tryon, who has suffered this year from mononucleosis, a debilitating disease almost akin to Ross River fever in some respects, has played a limited schedule of events in the US this season. Not entitled to play the tour full time until he turned eighteen due to a new enforced rule protecting youngsters and the illness mentioned, he has a medical exemption for 2003 and will be some sort of drawcard you would think. He played in Japan last week finishing 42nd. He played in just six events on the USPGA Tour this season making only one cut in Tampa and just once did he play on the Buy.Com Tour, missing the cut. He is clearly a huge talent given what he has already done but I can’t see him being a factor this week.
Of the leading Australasian players with a more realistic chance, many are in the US at final stage qualifying including Allan, Leaney, Laycock, Goggin, Gow and Long. You may, however, take your pick from the likes of Appleby, Lonard, Moseley, Parry, Scott, Baddeley, O’Malley, Chalmers, Turner, Senden and many more.
As was the case last week (Moseley) and indeed at the Australian Open (Allan) there are many who are considered perhaps fringe dwellers, due to current form or capability, who are quite able to surprise and re-establish themselves near the top of the pecking order in Australian golf. Will that be the case this week or will it be one of the more established players? Let the ’tradition continue’.
