David McKenzie – photo Henry Peters
52-year old Australian golfer, David McKenzie, has recorded his best ever finish on the USPGA Tour Champions after producing a final round of 63 at the SAS Championship in Cary in North Carolina.
McKenzie recovered from an early bogey today to produce a closing nine of 6 under 31 to finish just one shot behind American Jerry Kelly
McKenzie’s previous best was when 3rd at the Rapiscan event in early 2018 and the Pacific Links Bear Mountain event in late 2017, the latter of which occurred even before becoming a full member of the Champions Tour.
McKenzie also earned his biggest cheque in professional golf by winning US$184,000 today and moving to 37th on the Charles Schwab Cup money list.
The Victorian won several lesser events during his regular tour career, a runner-up finish at the Australian Masters in 2004 perhaps one of his best finishes in a Australasian Tour event.
He began his career in the over fifties with a top ten finish at the Senior Open Championship at Royal Porthcawl in 2017 and worked his way onto the Champions Tour with a series of a good finish and by earning partial status at the Tour School later that year.
Another of McKenzie’s contemporaries, Rod Pampling, also had a good week when he finished 12th this week while Stephen Leaney, in his first year on the Champions Tour after earning full status at last year’s Tour School, was 56th.
Pampling, a three-time winner on the PGA Tour, was playing just his second event on the Champions Tour courtesy of his career money list standing having also finished 16th two weeks ago on debut, mixing play on both tours at present.
