MELBOURNE — Australian veteran Peter Senior upstaged his younger rivals to win a third Australian Masters Sunday, 20 years after donning his last gold jacket at Huntingdale in Melbourne.
Senior fired a final round three-under-par 68 to finish eight-under and beat American amateur Bryson DeChambeau and compatriots John Senden and Andrew Evans by two shots.
Former US Masters champion and two-time Australian Masters winner Adam Scott was fifth at four-under par after a final round of 69.
At 56, Senior became the oldest player to win the title, eclipsing 50-year-old American Gene Littler’s victory in 1980.
Senior also won the tournament at Huntingdale in 1991 and 1995.
It was the veteran’s 34th professional win and follows his triumph at the Australian Open in 2012.
“You don’t expect to win these events any more,” Senior said.
“I’m over the moon to win this tournament. The (Australian) Open a few years ago (2012) and the PGA before that (in 2010), all over 50 years, that’s a big thing for me.”
Senior started the day with a share of third place and held a three-shot lead with three holes to play before bogeying the 17th.
Evans also dropped a shot on the tricky par-5 17th to end a two-hole birdie run and then also bogeyed the last to deliver the title to Senior.
Scott, who led after the first two rounds, finished on four under after an up-and-down final round.
The 35-year-old picked up five birdies but had a costly double-bogey on the par-5 seventh and another bogey on the par-3 15th to sign for a two-under-par 69.
The former world No. 1 faced an uphill task after he blew out with a six-over 77 in Saturday’s third round.
Jang, Kerr share LPGA lead
Rookie Jang Ha-na and veteran Cristie Kerr shared the lead after Saturday’s third round of the LPGA Tour Championship, while Lydia Ko and Park In-bee took their fight for world No. 1 into the final round of the season.
South Korean Jang shot a three-under par 69 while American Kerr fired 66 to stand level at 13-under 203, two strokes ahead of New Zealand teen Ko and American Gerina Piller.
Top-rated Ko fired a 69 while South Korea’s Park shot 67 to stand on 207 with Japan’s Ai Miyazato in a share of eighth, one stroke behind France’s Karine Icher and Americans Brittany Lincicome and Lexi Thompson.
If Park can win the title, she would overtake Ko for the world No. 1 ranking and capture the season points title.
The two are also very close for the Player of the Year award, Vare Trophy for season low scoring average and the season money crown, those prizes as well coming down to Sunday’s last round.
Ko, 18, won last year’s Tour Championship to capture the points crown for a record $1.5 million payday and has an eye on repeating both feats Sunday.
Jang, the 36-hole co-leader, birdied the second hole and took bogey at four but made her charge on the back nine, with birdies at 11, 12 and the par-5 14th sandwiched around a bogey at unlucky 13.
She eagled the par-5 17th but a closing bogey dropped her back level with Kerr for the top spot.
Ko’s bogey-free day saw her strike on the back nine with birdies at 10, 15 and 17.
Park went two-under on the front nine and birdied two of the first three holes on the back nine before a bogey at 13. She bounced back with birdies at the par-3 16th and par-5 17th to tighten her fight with Ko. — Agencies
