Harwood wins in playoff

Mike Harwood wins the Peaches Fruit Market Senior Masters in a playoff over Richard Backwell.

After two rounds at the Midlands Golf Club in Ballarat, Harwood and Backwell finished regulation play tied on 9-under the card.

Harwood emerged victorious after sinking a 15ft birdie putt on the second playoff hole.

A stellar field of senior professionals competed in the first Ladbrokes PGA Legends Tour event of 2019 including Peter Senior, Peter Fowler, Terry Price and Peter O’Malley.

O’Malley carded a 5-under 67 in the first round to be one shot clear of a trio of players; Harwood, Backwell and Shaquill Mongol of the U.S.A.

Cooler conditions greeted the players on day two which set up expectations for good scoring which soon came to fruition with David Fearns carding a 7-under 65.

Ferns’ round which included nine birdies and two bogeys gave him a two round total of 5-under 139 and the clubhouse lead.

Unfortunately for Fearns, Harwood and Backwell continued their good form and with Peter O’Malley falling a little short on 7-under 137 it went to the 18^th for the playoff.

Backwell had his chance the first time missing from 5 feet for the title and he could only watch as Harwood holed the 15 foot putt the second time around.

Harwood praised the condition of the course and the organisation that saw the field complete their rounds in under four and a half hours.

Players move on to Yarrawonga now to contest the Victorian Senior PGA Championship at Black Bull and then the Victorian Senior Open at Yarrawonga Mulwala Resort.

The Peach’s Fruit Market Victorian Senior Masters concluded Saturday with John Onions recording the first win of the 2018 Ladbrokes Legends Tour season at Midlands Golf Club in Ballarat.

Round one was hampered by a storm that hit the golf course around 4:00pm and caused a two hour delay.

The morning field had no such problems and New South Welshman Brett Dwyer set the early pace with a 1-under par 71.

A round of 3-under 69 including five birdies saw Michael Harwood post the best score of the first round, this was then equalled by 2017 Ladbrokes Legends Tour Order of Merit champion Brad Burns.

Burns managed six birdies in his round but a bogey on his 16^th hole cost him the outright lead.

Round two welcomed players with a beautiful windless morning, Martin Peterson in his second year on the Tour carded 1-under 71 to be the leader in the clubhouse at 3-over the card before the afternoon field began their second round.

The scoring got hot just like the weather in the afternoon with Terry Price shooting 6-under 66, David Hill and Peter Woodward had 5-under 67 and Mike Harwood’s 4-under 68 gave him a total of 7-under 137.

But John Onions’ return to form saw him shoot 8-under 64 to go with his first round 2-under 70 to be 10-under the card and win by three shots.

Onions said his game finally clicked with all aspects coming together to have six birdies and an eagle.

The course was immaculate and Onions was able to take advantage of the perfect greens.

The Ladbrokes Legends Tour is at RACV Goldfields today.

The Ladbrokes Legends Tour tees off the 2018 season this week at Midlands Golf Club in Ballarat.

70 Senior Professionals will compete for the Peach’s Fruit Market Victorian Senior Masters starting on Australia Day, 26 January, for a prize purse of $30,000.

Headlining the event will be Peter Senior one of Australia’s most prolific tournament winners having taken out all three Australian major titles most recently the 2015 Australian Masters.

Senior is joined by defending champion Steve Conran, 2003 New Zealand Open winner Terry Price and five-time winner on the European Tour Mike Harwood.

The Senior Masters is a 36 hole event finishing on Saturday when the players will then head up the hill to RACV Goldfields to play a one day pro-am alongside many RACV Members.

The Victorian Senior Masters is a great opportunity for local golfers to walk the fairways with these golfing icons and see how they manage their way around two of Ballarat’s golf courses.

For a complete entry list and tee times, visit pga.org.au.

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