Pete Senior

Pete Senior might appear a little like Methuselah to some of the rising stars of Australian golf with several of them less than a third of his 54 years of age but, nevertheless, they look up to him as the defending Emirates Australian Open Champion.

Walking into the media interview centre at Royal Sydney today, he joked: “I’d booked a courtesy car from the hotel, but it didn’t turn up. They’ve obviously forgotten all about me.”

Of course one of the chauffeur driven Volvo cars was there, just others were waiting for the headline acts of the championship – Adam Scott (world No 2), Rory McIlroy (No 6) and Jason Day who rose seven spots to 11th overnight after his victory in the individual section of the $US8 million World Cup at Royal Melbourne on Sunday.

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Craig Perry

Craig Parry sits in the family room of his split-level home high on a cliff in Sydney’s inner-west and gazes across a massive expanse of the Parramatta River.

It’s 200-metres, and then some more, across to land. Look down and see his swimming pool, then his tennis court and tied up at his private wharf is his 40-foot cruising boat – appropriately named Off Course – that takes him anywhere that takes his fancy.

Not so long ago it was Hamilton Island in the Whitsundays, a distance of 1000 nautical miles and travelling at 21 knots. It took five days, sailing between 5am and 4pm each day before docking to refuel and spend the night.

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No tears, just nice memories

Golf’s oldest living major champion Kel Nagle will, as always for years now, be watching the telecast of The Masters later this week but it will be in unfamiliar surroundings.

He won’t be sitting in his lounge-room that overlooks both sides of the head to the Sydney Harbour where the walls of the room are surrounded by the memories of a lifetime in golf but rather in a nursing home in Sydney’s northern suburbs where the view out the window is far less spectacular.

Kel, now in his 93rd year, hasn’t been in good health for some years now but while the body may be weak, his spirit is oh so willing.

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