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| 2007 Tasmanian Senior Open |
| Devonport Golf Club February 16-18, 2007 |
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| Tasmanian Senior Open Champion Michael Leedham with Runners Up Tony Kennings and Doug Thorp. |
| Four legends of Senior Golf - "Whippy" Wellington, Tony Kennings, Chris Coats, Doug Thorp. |
| Vern Scott hits another precise iron shot |
| Tony Mazzone practices his putting before his excellent runner up finish |
| Queenslander Geoff Burke hits cleanly to the 18th green |
| Queenslander Norm Way returned to Order of Merit golf with a 9th placing |
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Leedham Leads the Way in Tasmanian Senior Open Michael Leedham confirmed his favourite status by leading from start to finish in the Amateur Championship of the 2007 ANZ Tasmanian Senior Open. His 5 shot victory followed rounds of 72 and 71 on the tight and demanding Devonport golf course which featured magnificent greens. The Senior Open was an Australian Senior Order of Merit event with Leedham collecting 100 points for victory in a strong field that contained golfers from every state of Australia. A three way tie for second place was shared by a trio of well travelled interstate players: Tony Mazzone (SA), Doug Thorp (QLD) and Tony Kennings (NSW). All three received 92 AUSOOM points. The Open was a joint amateur and profesional event and Leedham finished 4th overall behind professional golfers David Good, Craig Owen and Garry Merrick. Notable professionals in the field included Terry Gale, Randall Vines, Mike Ferguson, Elliot Booth and Bob Shearer. Round one saw Leedham as the joint leader with NSW golfer Tony Kennings (72) and a one shot lead over Alex Cleave (WA). Defending champion Doug Thorp (QLD) was one shot further back on 74. Tony Mazzone (SA) made up the top 5 with his opening round of 75. |
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Like all good golf tournaments the final round had its share of theatre. Michael Leedham, who had hit out of bounds during round one, repeated the effort with another out of bounds on the third hole of his final round. This surprise was matched and perhaps “topped” by Doug Thorp’s quadruple bogey 8 on the 12th. Then Tony Kennings, who had reached the tournament lead playing the 9th hole, hit the wrong ball and recorded a triple bogey 7. Lot's of hard luck stories!
Tasmanian veteran Max Robison had the best round of the tournament with a brilliant closing round of 70. In the pre-tournament practice event Robison had shot an even more impressive 68, a score matched by WA champion golfer, Alex Cleave. Following steady rounds of 73 and 76 in the event proper Cleave eventually finished in 5th place on 149. Three golfers shared 6th place and collected 76 valuable Order of Merit points. They were current Order of Merit leader Denis Dale (NSW), rookie senior player Vern Scott (QLD) and local star Duncan Grant (TAS). They all improved with lower scores on day two for a 36 hole total of 151. Making up the top ten places in equal 9th were Max Robison (TAS), Jack Parker (NSW) and Norm Way (QLD). It was great to see Norm Way return to Order of Merit golf following an absence caused by injury. All senior golfers are competing for Order of Merit points which will lead to selection in an Australian team for the inaugural Australia versus New Zealand Challenge. This Ryder Cup style format event will be played at Sanctuary Cove Golf Club in July, 2007. |
