Aussie veteran Peter Fowler has claimed a place inside the top-10 of a leaderboard that may well have major ramifications on the future of professional golf.

The Jordan Mixed Open at Ayla Golf Club brought together players from the European Challenge Tour, seniors Staysure Tour and the Ladies European Tour, where the final round of the 54-hole event scripted better than tournament officials could have ever imagined.

England’s Meghan McLaren led the field through 36 holes courtesy of matching rounds of 7-under 65 but in the back nine of the third round found herself locked in a tense battle with Dutch Challenge Tour player Daan Huizing.

With players from each of the three tours playing from different tees to preserve the integrity of the challenge presented by the golf course, Huizing and McLaren tied at 14-under par with six holes to play.

Huizing’s three birdies down the stretch earned him a historic two-shot win in the first full-field mixed professional tournament.

“I think it’s a great initiative,” said an elated Huizing. “It was great fun playing in a final group with a Challenge Tour player, a senior tour player and a lady player. It was a great battle.

“It’s a different vibe and very special to be the first winner and I hope it’s something that can be continued in the future.”

Bitterly disappointed not to go wire-to-wire, McLaren was able to console herself in the fact that she figured so prominently in such a significant tournament for golf as a whole.

“It was a great concept but none of us really knew how it would pan out,” McLaren said.

“The way the scores panned out throughout the week showed that it absolutely can work with the right thought process and course set-up if people do the research.

“Female golfers have done ourselves proud this week and it’s been a great environment to be in with all three tours.

“It’s been an honour to be here and it was a great concept and one that I hope can catch on in the future.”

A final round of 5-under 67 moved Fowler up to a tie for seventh to be the best of the Aussies and second of the senior contingent behind Jose Coceres, Richard Green finishing one shot behind fiancée Marianne Skarpnord in a tie for 30th.

Glenn Joyner was the only other Australian in the field, ending the week at even par and tied for 54th.

Jordan Mixed Open
Ayla Golf Club, Aqaba, Jordan
T7           Peter Fowler       68-71-67—206   €11,109
T30        Richard Green    73-70-69—212   €2,813
T54        Glenn Joyner       70-73-73—216   €1,165

Peter Fowler won his first Staysure Tour title in three years as he emerged victorious at the Willow Senior Golf Classic at Hanbury Manor Marriott Hotel & Country Club.

The Australian, now a six-time winner on the European over-50s circuit, started the day in a four-way share of the lead on nine under par and carded his second consecutive round of 69 to finish on 12 under, two strokes clear of Clark Dennis and Gary Orr.

The lead changed hands on numerous occasions throughout the day, with Roger Chapman, Phil Golding, Santiago Luna and Miguel Ángel Martín all staking their claims for the title.

A birdie on the par four 14^th hole proved crucial, however, as Fowler moved one stroke clear of the pack. His fourth birdie of the day, on the 18^th hole, rubber-stamped his sixth Staysure Tour title – his first since the 2015 ISPS Handa Seniors PGA Championship.

“It’s hard work getting your game into shape for you to win,” said Fowler. “There’s lot of younger players coming through and I’m glad I stayed on top today.

“I played with Miguel, and he started birdie-eagle, I knew it would be a tough day. I was just trying to keep my game steady; I only had one bogey which was good. I didn’t see a leaderboard until the 17^th green and I thought a couple of pars would do it – I birdied the last which gave me that two-shot gap. It was a good feeling.”

Fowler, one of the most consistent players on the Staysure Tour, has recorded tied second, third, sixth, eighth and tenth finishes so far this year. He has also finished inside the top ten 21 times in 44 starts since his last victory.

“I pride myself in staying in good shape and being reasonably consistent,” said Fowler. “We all have bad days, but I try and keep those to a minimum. That’s what I try to do all year round.

“If you keep knocking on the door and putting yourself in some sort of position it might jump you up, it makes me feel really good about what I’m working on.”

Chapman, Stephen Dodd, Golding and Martín shared fourth place on nine under par. Gary Wolstenholme carded the lowest round of the day, a six under par 66, to share eight place with James Kingston and Luna.

Peter Fowler is determined to retain the Staysure PGA Seniors Championship title when it returns to the Staysure Tour International Schedule for the first time in three years.

The tournament takes place at the London Golf Club on August 2-5 and the 2015 champion is eager to get his hands on the trophy once again.

The Australian won his fifth title on the over-50s circuit after shooting 12 under par at Close House Golf Club three years ago, securing back-to-back victories following his win at the Acorn Jersey Open a week earlier. Fowler held off the challenge of Gordon Manson to card rounds of 68-67-67-70 to claim the championship by three shots.

Runner-up at the Sharjah Senior Golf Masters presented by Shurooq at the start of the season, Fowler has gone on to record another three top tens this season and is ready to rekindle the memories from 2015 at London Golf Club.

“It’s good to have the Championship back on the schedule and it’s going to be great for the Tour,” he said. “I’m defending champion from the last tournament at Close House, which was good fun.”

The Staysure Tour has continued to grow since 2015 and the challenge will be even tougher for Fowler if he is to lift the prestigious trophy again.

He will be part of a 90-man field, which includes Major winners and Ryder Cup legends such as Paul Broadhurst and Colin Montgomerie, who will battle on the International Course at London Golf Club, a week after the Senior Open presented by Rolex takes place on the Old Course at St Andrews, and he hopes the summer sun will continue to shine when the action gets under way.

“Monty is going to play, which is good. It’s straight after the Senior Open, so I know there’s a few extra guys that are playing. London Golf Club is a good venue so I’m looking forward to playing it,” he said.

“England is having a good summer, so I hope it sticks around for another few weeks. I’ve heard it’s been great for six weeks now, but I hope that it hangs on.”

A late flurry of three birdies in his final four holes has propelled Peter Fowler to a top-three finish at the WINSTONgolf Senior Open on the European Staysure Tour.

Welshman Stephen Dodd led from start to finish to win by six shots from Frenchman Jean-Francois Remesy, Fowler a further shot back in a tie for third at 8-under at the WINSTONlinks Course in Germany.

Top 10 last week at the Swiss Senior Open, Fowler was 1-under through the first nine holes on Sunday before finding his groove over the closing holes, birdies at 15, 17 and 18 earning the Aussie veteran E19,563 to move into eighth position in the Order of Merit.

Mike Harwood enjoyed a consistent week to finish tied for 18th at 2-under with Peter O’Malley’s final round of 75 seeing him end the week tied for 26th.

Kiwi Greg Turner posted 4-over for the week to be tied for 36th while Germany-based Aussie instructor Paul Archbold was a very respectable tied 46th.

On the Champions Tour in the US, a second-round 64 was the highlight for Peter Lonard who recorded a top-25 finish at the Constellation SENIOR PLAYERS Championship in Illinois, his second such result in just two tournaments this year.

David McKenzie’s final round of even-par 72 saw him drop six places to finish in a tie for 54th at 3-under par.

Peter Fowler continues to amaze with his extraordinary play, the 58-year-old losing out in a sudden death playoff at his first European Senior event of 2018 at the weekend.

The first event of the over-50’s circuit was played at the nine-hole Sharjah Golf and Shooting Club in the United Arab Emirates and Fowler was one of three players locked at 12-under par after 54 holes.

He returned to the 18^th tee alongside Thailand’s Thaworn Wiratchant and American Clark Dennis but was eliminated at the first hole of sudden death when he made a bogey five.

Wiratchant and Dennis went another three holes before the Thai star eventually prevailed with a par to Dennis’ bogey.

Fowler set up his run for the title with a second round course record of 64 which put him just two behind with 18 holes remaining.

A final round 69 earned him a spot in the play-off and while he didn’t win he will take plenty of confidence from such a strong start to the season.

Peter Fowler will be the only Australian at the second staging of one of the more unique events on the Staysure Tour.

The Sharjah Senior Golf Masters is played at the nine-hole Sharjah Golf and Shooting Club in the United Arab Emirates, the only Professional event in the world currently played on a nine hole layout.

2018 is the second year the tournament has been staged and after positive reactions from the players last year there is much anticipation ahead of this year’s event.

Fowler was among those who made the trip for the inaugural event in 2017 and will be keen to improve on a T23 finish.

The tournament is the first of the year for the over-50’s circuit in Europe with the next event not played until May at the Senior PGA Championship.

New South Wales based Professional Austin Bautista and adopted New Zealander Peter Fowler share the early lead following the first round of the REBEL Sport NZ Masters at Wainui Golf Club.

Both Bautista and Fowler shot impressive rounds of 5-under 66 on a course that has been unforgiving to others in the field.

Bautista, in just his second year as a Professional, found the course to his liking while posting his early lead.

“It was a good round, I prepared well and the course suits my eye, I like the way it looks,” said Bautista who made just one bogey for the round, coming on the 17^th hole.

“This course is a shapers course, you’ve got to be able to work it both ways, you never get a dead straight shot off the tee especially on the back-9 with those back-to-back par-5’s (13^th and 14^th holes).

“You’re hitting cut, cut and then you go to the next hole and it’s hook, hook so you’ve got to be able to do both.”

He credited his management of the course and a patient putting game for his early lead in the tournament.

“I putted well, I didn’t make a lot of long putts but I definitely stuck it close to about 10 feet and when I got my opportunities I took them,” added Bautista

“I’ll stick to my game plan with the things I’m doing right and the things I didn’t do properly, I’ll obviously be trying to improve them.

“I’m here to win but so is everybody else, so I want to play better tomorrow and keep going.”

A dominant force in the senior’s game, Fowler finished third on the Staysure Tour (formerly the European Seniors Tour) in 2017, but is proving once again he still has what it takes to compete with his juniors.

“To score that in the first couple of weeks of the year is very pleasing, like most of us I don’t think we’ve done much practice, I know I certainly haven’t. It was a nice fresh morning and I think we got the best of it today,” said Fowler, who opened his round at Wainui Golf Club with a birdie.

“I drove the ball well; hit a lot of great iron shots and my putting today was the best it’s been in the last 12 months so I’m pretty happy.”

Given the dry weather New Zealand has endured recently, the course this week is playing hard and fast.

“It’s particulary tricky with the bounces, if you’re a little bit off you can pay a big penalty here off the dry turf, I was lucky enough to land on a lot of the greens,” added Fowler.

When asked how he’d look in the Black Jacket on offer this week, Fowler said he’d have no trouble slipping it on in his adopted country.

“I’d have no problem with that mate, I got my New Zealand citizenship so I could win a game of rugby,” Fowler joked.

Daniel Pearce was the standout performer in the afternoon field; he narrowly missed a birdie chance on the 18^th hole but finds himself outright third after shooting 4-under 67.

It’s a simple game-plan for the 2017 Coca-Cola QLD PGA champion this week at Wainui.

“I played solid all day really, I hit the ball quite nicely and just tried to roll in a few putts,” said Pearce.

“I’m playing aggressive, conservative golf this week I guess you could call it, I’m hitting a lot of irons off tees I think I only hit two, maybe three drivers.

“I’m just trying to get into a position to give myself a shot at the green.” New Zealand’s Michael Hendry, Brad Shilton, Nick Coxon, Campbell Rawson and New South Welshman Ruben Sondjaja are all three shots off the pace shooting 2-under 69.

Round two tees off at 7:30am local time with Austin Bautista off the 1^st tee at 12:45pm and Peter Fowler off the 10^th tee at 12:05pm.

For round one scores, visit pga.org.au.

Peter Fowler didn’t have his best stuff in the final round of the European Senior Tour closer but it would have mattered little as Thailand’s Thaworn Wiratchant posted a stunning 10-under-par 62 to claim his first over-50s title.

Fowler and Wiratchant began the final round tied at 13-under but while the Australian struggled to an outward nine of 40, Wiratchant posted six birdies and a bogey to open a nine-shot lead.

The procession continued on the journey to the clubhouse with Wiratchant adding three further birdies and an eagle to reach 23-under for the week and an eight -shot victory over Ireland’s Mark McNulty.

A tenacious Fowler came home in 2-under to sign for a 74 and a share of third place at 11-under the card.

However, the cheque for €28,536 took his season earnings to €175,752 and for the sixth time in his eight years on the Senior circuit he is among the top-5 money winners.

A five-time winner on the Tour, that statistic is testament to Fowler’s remarkable consistency and work ethic and at the age of 58 he continues to play remarkable golf.

The 2018 Senior Tour schedule is yet to be released but historically kicks off in March.