By mustang6560 on 12/10/12

The Australian Open is billed as the "most prestigious golf championship" Down Under. I'm not trying to challenge its claim, however, a more appropriate description may be the "most interesting" or the "most compelling" or simply the "most newsworthy" golf championship in Australia.

The Aussie Open made news last Friday (in a less than flattering way) with the 'caddie whack' incident — an altercation between Marc Leishman's caddie and James Nitties' caddie. And the tournament finished with an interesting, compelling, and newsworthy bang — Peter Senior, a 53-year-old Champions Tour player, defeated a strong field, which included the likes of Justin Rose and Adam Scott, to become the oldest Australian Open winner ever.

"I really thought these days were over. Golf is such a funny game. One minute you think you are down and the next minute you are up," Senior said.

"I did not play particularly well this week but I got it up and down all week and today was no exception.

"The key to today's round was that I never put any pressure on myself with the putts. The chips and bunker shots were pretty close and were just tap-ins. I really did not have to work hard knocking four and five footers in across the breeze."

The conditions were far from ideal Sunday. The final round was delayed for three hours due to severe weather, which included gale force winds. Third round leader John Senden looked poised to capture his first professional victory since 2006 heading into Sunday, however, the Aussie couldn't handle the conditions and shot a 10-over-82 to finish T18.

My reaction to the news that Peter Senior (who has a very appropriate surname) was, What is a 53-year-old doing winning a golf tournament with young, talented whippersnappers in the field? His victory Sunday reminded me of the 2009 Open Championship when then 59-year-old Tom Watson was battling Stewart Cink at Turnberry. I remember rooting hard for Young Tom to win because it would've been a wonderful story. Peter Senior is younger then Tom was and the Australian Open is no major championship, however, the idea is the same.

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Image via PGA Australia