The winner of 13 tournaments worldwide became eligible for seniors tour golf when he turned 50 in June and he almost triumphed on debut, finishing in equal second at the Paul King Memorial at Wynnum.

Today, he shot a 5-under-par 67 at Brookwater Golf and Country Club to finish one ahead of Andre Stolz (Qld) and Euan Walters (Vic).

The Gold Coast professional, once ranked as high as No.101 on the Official World Golf Ranking, is about to head back to the Japan Golf Tour where he hopes to add to his three career titles.

He’s currently ranked 51st on the Japanese money list for 2024.

HOW THE WINNER’S ROUNDS UNFOLDED

Kennedy set up his round with a run of four birdies in five holes on his opening nine, the back nine at Brookwater.

He moved to 5-under for the day on the par-4 second before handing back his first shot of the day at the par-3 fifth.

With Stolz and Walters, playing on the other side of the course, closing to within a shot, the two-time New Zealand Open champion made a crucial birdie at the par-5 eighth.

WHAT THE WINNER SAID

“I hadn’t played here for about 15 years so I was just trying to find my way around. There were a couple of tee shots that I wasn’t sure about so I was having to laser from tees to the corners.

“I played great today, only missed one green so it was a good day.

“This will be my last pro-am for a while. It’s back to Japan where the focus is on getting another win and hopefully I can stay on that tour next year.”

LEADERBOARD RUNDOWN

67: Brad Kennedy (Qld)

68: Andre Stolz (Qld), Euan Walters (Vic)

70: David Crawford (NSW), Scott Ford (NSW)

71: Nigel Lane (Qld), Tony Collier (Vic)

NEXT UP

The Legends will tackle the 36-hole Centenary Legends Pro-Am at neighbouring Wolston Park Golf Club and Gailes Golf Club will on Thursday and Friday before a Townsville double next week at Rowes Bay (August 12-13) and Tropics (August 15-16).