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Greg Chalmers will no longer think of 13 as an unlucky number after posting 13-under to win his second Australian Open at the The Lakes yesterday, 13 years after his first.
Chalmers held on to beat overnight leader John Senden by a shot, with Tiger Woods a shot further back in third.
It was gripping golf from the best Australian Open field in memory. At one stage any one of 10 could have taken out the title, but it was the gritty little leftie who kept his cool.
Chalmers has at last found the winning post after 285 tournaments on the USPGA tour for two seconds, and just 18 top 10s. It was tough going.
Having spent 2007 and 2008 on the Nationwide tour after losing his ticket, 2011 has been a renaissance year for the 38-year-old.
He’s banked over $1m and finished fifth on the USPGA putting stats. It was his flat stick that got him home yesterday.
The euphoric win was reminiscent of Rodger Davis’ comeback success in the 1988 Bicentennial Classic in Melbourne.
Having tied for second with Paul Azinger behind Nick Faldo for the 1987 British Open at Muirfield, Davis’ life went pear-shaped.
Left skint when his business partner took him to the cleaners, Davis won the $500,000 first prize, huge for those days, and he never looked back.
He won the 1989 NSW Open, 1990 Palm Meadows Cup, 1991 NZ Open and Sanctuary Cove Classic, 1992 Sanctuary Cove Classic, 1998 Mauritius Open, and the 2003 Toshiba Seniors Classic on the US Champions tour, among a host of top 10s.
Hopefully the same success formula will apply for Greg Chalmers.