Print this page  |  Close Window

By Brett Avery
PGATOUR.COM Contributor

VERONA, N.Y. -- There's a big circle around October 3 on John Senden's calendar.

John Senden during the Turning Stone Resort Championship (WireImage)

RELATED

• Senden's player page • Senden's 2007 results • Senden's 2007 stats

That's the day he's scheduled to return home to Brisbane after nine long months on the PGA TOUR. He can't wait for all the hugs from family, a lengthy dose of home cooking and nearly five weeks of Australian springtime away from competitive golf.

Senden will not step off the flight in Queensland as a conquering hero, the way he did last year after winning the John Deere Classic. His tie for third in this week's Turning Stone Resort Championship is his best showing of the season, a 15-under-par 273 total leaving him three shots behind winner Steve Flesch.

But the 36-year-old Senden will walk into Brisbane's airport on an even higher plane than 2006: Tantalizingly close to finishing the year within the top 50 in the Official World Ranking and top 30 in the PGA TOUR's money list.

"Last year was the John Deere win, and at the end of the year, the Australian Open win, two very different events and the highlights of my career," Senden said. "This year, I've played less consistent but had higher finishers, hence being higher up in the money."

Senden went into the week No. 50 in the world and picked up a few crucial spots by shooting a day's-best 67 at Atunyote Golf Club in the week's windiest conditions. A bogey at the 177-yard 16th, where he missed the green to the right and couldn't run down a scrambling 11-foot par putt, eventually cost him a tie for second with Michael Allen at 268. But seven birdies on the day, including three straight from No. 8, helped him jump over 14 players in the last round.

"I'm very happy," Senden said after finishing nearly 90 minutes ahead of Flesch, whom he trailed by nine starting the round. "He was at 19 (under), and I was at 10, so I probably needed to shoot nine or 10 under to catch him."

Senden caught enough rewards, though, even if he didn't cradle the inaugural tournament's trophy. A $348,000 check puts him at nearly $1.78 million this season, 39th on the money list and eclipsing the career-best $1.65 million he made on TOUR last year.

His Turning Stone performance comes six weeks after he tied for fourth in the PGA Championship at Southern Hills CC, only the third time he made the cut in a major. That week specifically, and the season in general, stamp him as yet another talented Aussie worthy of a Grand Slam title.

"It is the biggest thing for this year," Senden said with a broad smile. "The PGA was a great week for me because I haven't had much experience in majors. But I'm getting closer toward competing well in them and that's the goal."

Senden knows goals. As a 20 year old back in Queensland, training for the day he'd turn pro, he vowed to make the PGA TOUR by 2000, then a decade away. He worked his way up in steps: Australian Tour, Asian Tour, the Challenge circuit in Europe, the PGA European Tour and finally, in 2002, success in the TOUR's Qualifying Tournament.

"I had the goal set, it's just a matter of working in the right direction to get there," Senden explained. "A lot of guys come out and they don¹t have a five-year plan, a 10-year plan to know where they're going. If they can put everything into perspective and say, 'I want to work hard to get in this position,' eventually they¹re going to get there.

"It's like in your own life: You want to do things, you want to have a family. Same goals, just a different principle."

The PGA Championship realized two goals: Top finish in a major and an exemption into the Masters. Senden first viewed Augusta National GC on television as a kid and vowed he wouldn't step on the property until he was a player.

"That's a dream come true for me," he said. "Now it's best for me to prepare for Augusta so I'm really ready by taking the week before off so I'm not all hyped up in the moment."

John Senden during The Barclays (WireImage)

Senden has one more start on TOUR this season, next week's Viking Classic in Madison, Miss. A victory or second-place finish could push him into the top 30, with the promise of exemptions into the U.S. and British Opens. Sticking in the global top 50 would clinch those two starts as well as spots in the rich World Golf Championships.

At the moment, though, Senden can be excused for looking past Mississippi to the date circled on his calendar. He and wife Jackie have a 3-year-old son, Jacob, who has spent far more time in their Dallas home than in Australia.

"The difficult part is he's missing out on being close to his cousins and the rest of the family growing up," Senden said. That is probably one of the downfalls of being over here. And my wife is very supportive -- she's a trooper -- but she probably misses home more than I do. She's back (in Dallas) madly packing and looking forward to some time off from America as well."

While his brethren in the U.S. wind down and take their break in November and December, Senden will gear up for next season. He'll resume playing at the HSBC Champions in China, which actually begins the 2008 European calendar in November, then compete in the three biggest events in his native land: Australian Masters, PGA and the defense of his Open title in mid-December.

Playing at home is special for Senden, as it is for all the Australians. The years he spent on the European tour "helped me attain and keep my card in America." But it is the U.S. that has given him the opportunity to climb to the highest echelon in the world. Sharing that success back home is one of the game's most appealing rewards.

"Every year, I seem to improve as a golfer, as a person," he said. "I handle bigger situations better."

And that makes everyone back home mighty proud.