Golf: PGA winner Senior sets sights on Open

Australian Peter Senior, winner of last week's Australian Professional Golf Association championship in Queensland, confirmed yesterday he would compete in next month's New Zealand Open.

Senior, a standout Australian golfer over the past two decades, chalked up his 26th tournament victory with his performance in the Australian PGA, leading from the first day.

The 44-year-old Singapore-born Queenslander has won more than $8 million in his career, including 19 victories on the Australasian Tour, four in Europe and three in Japan.

"It's another good boost for the New Zealand Open to have someone of Peter Senior's calibre," tournament director Phil Aickin said.

"He has been one of the most successful players on the Australasian Tour during the past 20 years and he showed last week that he is still an extremely fine player.

"Adding Senior to the likes of Nick O'Hern, who was also in excellent form last week, and nine previous winners, is excellent. Our field is one of the strongest for some time."

Senior was one of the first Australian players to compete regularly on the Japanese PGA Tour, where he had three victories before returning to the European Tour.

His standout wins in Europe included the European Open in 1990 and the Benson and Hedges International in 1992.

"We are still talking to some other Australian players and would expect to see some more top performers enter the tournament," Aicken said.

- NZPA