Lonard holes out for win

The pristine Perth weather matched the golf course and the scoring in the first Ladbrokes Legends Tour event played in Western Australia for some years.

The Proweld Constructions Wembley Pro-Am was the first of four tournaments to be contested by the over-50’s players in WA.

Day one saw 64 professionals tee it up including 20 Asian Senior Tour players but it was Australian players Tim Elliott, Peter Lonard, Brad Burns and John Wade who were tied for the lead after superb 4-under par rounds.

Another perfect day for golf saw the leaders score cards get plenty of red on them.

Burns and Wade shooting 2-under 70’s for a 6-under total and a share 5^th place with Victorian Michael Harwood.

Steve Conran posted a 5 under 67 to finish on 7-under the card and 4^thoutright.

Glenn Joyner followed his opening round 70 with a tournament low score of 7-under 65, tying with Tim Elliott in second place for the tournament.

It was former US Tour winner and second year Ladbrokes Legends Tour player Peter Lonard that captured the inaugural Ron Hendrie Memorial Trophy as the winning professional.

Lonard claimed the title in style by holing out on his last hole of the day for an eagle two to win by one shot.

“I hadn’t played here for years and it was great to be back, what a fantastic course and event,” said Lonard.

In regards to his great finish Lonard commented, “It’s always special holing out for eagle, but to do it on your last hole to win by one is pretty cool.”

Peter Lonard is set to be the headline act at the Lincoln Place NSW Senior Open after confirming his entry overnight.

Lonard, 51, will be making his debut in the Championship to be held at Thurgoona Country Club, Albury from October 26th to 28th.

The New South Welshman boasts a playing record of 12 tournament wins including the NSW Open ( 2004), two Australian Masters titles (1997, 2002), three Australian PGA Championships ( 2002, 2004, & 2007), and back-to-back Australian Opens (2003 & 2004).

A two-time President’s Cup player, in 2003 and 2005, Lonard snared the biggest win of his career taking out the PGA Tour’s MCI Heritage Classic at Harbour Town Golf Links in 2005.

Graeme Phillipson, General Manager of Golf at Golf NSW was thrilled to announce Lonard’s inclusion in the tournament. He said the multi-tournament winner was a welcome addition to the Championship.

“Peter is a household name and a massive coup for the tournament. He is a legend of Australian Golf and was arguably one of Australia’s most outstanding players for over a generation.

Also debuting at the 2018 Lincoln Place NSW Senior Open will be two-time Australian Open Champion, Peter Fowler, and West Australian-based Kiwi Michael Long.

Fowler has been impressive on the European Senior ‘Stayesure’ Tour this year and currently sits in 5th place on the money list. A six-time winner in the senior ranks, the highlight of 2018 for the evergreen 59-year-old was a victory in the Willow Senior Golf Classic in August.

The Lincoln Place NSW Senior Open will also mark the debut on the Ladbrokes Legends Tour for Michael Long, who turned 50 at the end of August. The Kiwi, who has represented New Zealand multiple times, is a two-time winner on the Web.com tour and competed on the US PGA Tour from 2002 until 2005. In a sign of how competitive he remains, Long’s last win on the ISPS Handa PGA Tour of Australasia came at the 2016 Victorian Open against a field of much younger players.

Mr Phillpson added the presence of players of the calibre of Long and Fowler would mean whoever is crowned the champion for 2018 will be a very worthy winner.

“We saw a dramatic finish to the Championship last year when Sydney’s Grant Kenny was chased all the way by Peter Senior. With this year’s tournament full of many of the great names of Australian golf, the people of the Murray region are in for another fantastic week,” Mr Phillipson said.

The $100,000 Lincoln Place NSW Senior Open will be played over three rounds at Thurgoona Golf and Country Club, Albury from October 26th to 28th. Entry is free.

Two of Australian golf’s most decorated careers will continue on home soil from February 1 when Robert Allenby and Peter Lonard tee it up at the 2018 Oates Vic Open.

The experienced duo add further depth to the men’s field in 2018 which already boasts the last five male champions and the biggest names from the ISPS Handa PGA Tour of Australasia.

Victorian Allenby is heading back to 13th Beach Golf Links for the second straight year as he continues his hunt for a second Oates Vic Open crown.

Lonard, a nine-time winner on the ISPS Handa PGA Tour of Australasia, joins the Oates Vic Open field for the first time since 2015.

“I think the Vic Open where the girls play and the boys play together is a good concept, it makes sense to me,” Lonard told Golf Victoria.

“I think the actual concept of putting everyone together and perhaps appealing to a wider range of people is a great idea.

“For me, it’s really interesting to see the way the girls practise, the way they approach the game."

In recent weeks Lonard has been sharpening his own game at his home club in Sydney, the notoriously breezy The Lakes Golf Club.

“Through my career I suppose my better golf has been played on firmer, bouncier courses with wind, it just suits the way I like to fly the ball,” said Lonard.

“I think 13th Beach sets up really well and it’s a really good test of golf, particularly when the wind blows.”

After overcoming injury in 2015, Lonard returned to the US and has spent the bulk of the past two seasons on the Web.com Tour.

In his senior circuit debut, Lonard finished third at the Senior Open Championship last July and the 50-year-old hopes to split his time in Europe and on the US Champions Tour in 2018.

“It was good fun seeing a lot of old guys because I played in Europe in the 90s and there was a lot of guys I hadn’t seen in 15 years – same blokes, same villains, same everything,” said Lonard.

“It’s like it’s always been, if I’m in Australia I’ll always try to play what Australia’s got to offer.

“There’s a lot of kids that I don’t know but there’s a lot of blokes still sniffing around. It’s great to see them all.”

Allenby adds to the list of former champions in the 2018 field, but the Victorian remains the only male amateur winner in the tournament’s history after his 1991 triumph at Woodlands Golf Club as a 20-year-old.

That win was the first of 13 career victories on the ISPS Handa PGA Tour of Australasia, the highlight coming in 2005 when Allenby became the first player to win the Triple Crown (the Australian Open, Australian PGA Championship and Australian Masters) in the same year.

Rounds of 70-70-71 saw Allenby narrowly miss the unique 54-hole cut at last year’s event but gave the 46-year-old a good look at 13th Beach in his first appearance at the Oates Vic Open since 1999.

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