The last time Craig Parry was at the famed Carnoustie Golf Course he came within a shot of joining a playoff at one of the most brutal Open Championships ever.

The two-time PGA TOUR winner played in the final pairing with France’s Jean van de Velde in 1999 and had a front row seat to one of the great collapses in the game’s history.

The Frenchman stood on the 18th tee with a three shot lead but made an adventurous triple bogey on the final hole to fall into a playoff.

Parry, meanwhile, had found trouble of his own on the back nine with a triple bogey seven at the 12th hole and a double bogey six at the difficult 17th.

While seemingly out of it already at the time, the two holes were ultimately costly for Parry who was eventually T4 alongside Angel Cabrera, one shot out of a three man playoff won by Paul Lawrie.

However, Parry will have a chance to put those memories behind him when he is one of four Australians to tee up at the Senior Open Championship which returns to Carnoustie this week.

Peter Fowler, Peter O’Malley and the in form Mike Harwood are also in the field for what is expected to be a tough test in Scotland this week.

One of five Majors on the over 50’s circuit, the Senior Open is the only one played outside the US and, for Fowler in particular, represents a great opportunity.

The Sydney native has been one of the European Senior Tour’s premier players over the past six years and while he has had moments of brilliance in the US based Majors he is far more comfortable in Europe.

O’Malley, too, will fancy his chances this week as his arrow straight driving and laser like iron play will be a big advantage on a course where the rough is punishing.

But the dark horse among the Australians might be Mike Harwood who has shown some good form this past month.

He has posted sub-70 scores in three of his last six rounds and played steady golf to be T10 and T12 at his last two starts.