Australian golfer Peter Senior, winner of last week's Australian Professional Golf Association (PGA) championship in Queensland, has confirmed today that he will compete in next month's New Zealand Open.
Senior, a standout Australian golfer over the past two decades, chalked up his 26th tournament victory with his performance in the Australian PGA when he led from the first day.
The 44-year-old Singapore-born Queenslander confirmed his entry with organisers today for the 87th New Zealand Open at The Grange course in Auckland from January 15-18.
Senior has won more than $8 million in his career including 19 wins on the Australasian Tour, four in Europe and three in Japan.
"It's another good boost for the New Zealand Open to have some one of Peter Senior's calibre enter," tournament director Phil Aickin said.
"He is one of the most successful players on the Australasian Tour during the last 20 years and he showed last week that he is still an extremely fine player.
"Adding Senior to the likes of Nick O'Hern, who was also in excellent form last week, and nine previous winners returning, our field is one of the strongest for some time."
Senior has a long list of outstanding performances to his credit including wins in the Australian Open and Australian PGA in 1989 and last week, two Australian Masters titles in 1991 and 1995, two wins in the co-sanctioned Johnnie Walker Classic and a three-time winner of the now defunct Canon Classic.
He was one of the first Australian players to compete regularly on the Japanese PGA Tour, where he chalked up three tour victories before returning to the European Tour.
His standout wins in Europe included the European Open in 1990 and the Benson and Hedges International in 1992.
"We are still talking to some other Australian players and would expect to see some more top performers enter the tournament," Aicken said.
"As we are the first event of the new order of merit, official entry forms have only recently gone out from the PGA Tour.
"I would expect some further keen interest in the next two weeks."
- NZPA
Sport
