with Matt “ Duck Man ” Austin

Golf in Australia is going through a Renaissance period . It is booming and Australian golfers have come so far since the heady days in the 80s and 90s when the Shark Greg Norman led the way for Australian golf . Also , other superstars of the day were Ian Baker-Finch , Peter Senior , Geoff Ogilvy , Peter Thompson , David Graham , and Wayne Grady .

Even in the women ’ s game we ’ ve seen champions such as Jan Stephenson and Karrie Webb carry the flag for the Aussies .

The Australian PGA Masters was out at Richmond again in 2023 and the event is the jewel in the crown of the Hawkesbury golfing calendar . It brings out all the big guns of the golfing world including many of the above-mentioned superstars of Australian golf who light up the stage in the 3-day event on the boutique golf course that is the oldest running public golf course in Australia .

This year saw the likes of Peter Lonard , Stephen Allan , Peter Fowler , John Senden , Andre Stolz , Anthony Summers , and Jason Norris go head-to-head in the Nova Employment Australian PGA Senior

Championship to see who would come out as the overall champion .

After a competitive first day we saw Martin Doyle lead the field with a solid -6 from Stephen Allan back in 2nd on -5 and Peter Lonard in 3rd on -4 .

Day two saw a change in proceedings with Jason Norris coming out and shooting a particularly good round of -6 to play his way into contention with Peter Lonard shooting -4 with John Senden and Peter Fowler .

These guys might be the masters of Australian golf but the fire and pride still burns deep within them , and the leaderboard on day two saw Jason Norris in a tie with Peter Lonard leading the field on -8 with Martin Doyle in 3rd on -7 , and John Senden and Stephen Allan back in a tie for 4th on -6 .

This meant that the competition would be hot like the weather which no doubt would have a part to play in the end of this tournament .

Jason Norris shone through in the end with a -6 final round to win by 5 strokes on -14 in a brilliant weekend of golf to beat Peter Lonard and Stephen Allan who were a tie in 2nd on 9 under . Tim Elliott finished

in 4th on -8 from Peter Fowler and John Senden who both finished on -7 in a tie for 5th .

It was a solid result for John Senden who is trying to get back on the US PGA tour , but the spoils of the tournament went to the overall winner Jason Norris who played three brilliant rounds to get his name on the trophy that is occupied by American pair Lee Trevino and Orville Moody as well as renowned locals Peter Fowler , Roger Davis , and Peter Senior .

Jason Norris was cool as ice as he went out in the last group of the day with joint overnight leader Peter Lonard who had a tough day against the ice cool South Australian who now lives in Queensland and led the way with his consistency . He did shoot a three-putt bogey on the 11th that gave the rest of the field hope that they may still have a fighting chance .

It was a fitting way to finish off the tournament shooting -6 and finishing along side 2nd place Peter Lonard . The trophy presentation was even more fitting with the trophy being presented by the brilliant Roger Davis who is Australian golfing royalty and had a best ever tie for 2nd finish in 1987 in the US Open

Jason Norris wins the PGA Masters Championship . Credit : PGA of Australia . Australia

Championship and the Australian PGA Seniors championship winner back in 2015 .

This is a must-see event for 2024 !

Back in 1994 , I think I may have had a hand in Kostya Tszyu and his then girlfriend , Natasha Ankina , marrying and producing two of the most exciting boxers on the Aussie scene since , well , Kostya was throwing leather .

Both Tim and younger brother , Nikita , have inherited their old man ’ s boxing skills , and the pugilistic world is now their oyster .

Let ’ s hark back to ‘ 94 and I ’ ll put you in the picture .

I had taken a break from performing on Vaudeville with my brothers , and spent a few gap years masquerading as a journalist , plying my skills up and down the east coast of Australia .

For the first three months of ’ 94 , I found a gig as relieving editor on the weekly Pioneer News in Mackay and while there I buddied up with a local publican , Bill Duguid , who was also president of the Mackay Rugby League .

Bill , a terrific bloke who has since passed , told me that Penrith Panthers were heading up to Mackay to for a pre-season match against a Mackay representative team .

I told Bill that I had formed a relationship with the club during other “ gap years ” of 1987-91 when I edited the Panthers ’ monthly magazine .

I asked him what sort of crowd he ’ d get to the match , and he explained that Stadium Mackay would be “ jam-packed ” with spectators .

“ Mate , they ’ ll flock into Mackay from everywhere including hundreds and hundreds of miners keen to spend their money ,” he said .

I then asked Bill if Mackay Rugby League would be producing a match program and he said “ no ”.

So , I asked him if I produced a $ 5 “ smick ” program with pen portraits of both teams would I be able to keep the earnings after giving a percentage of the profits to Mackay Rugby League . “ Do your best ,” he replied . I managed to quickly put together the pen portraits of all involved , had 2500 4-page programs printed and organised local girl guides to sell them at the stadium .

That was my “ get rich quick scheme ” number 27 and I immediately conjured up GRQ scheme number 28 .

Throughout the 80s , during a break from filming a sequel to our 1937 hit , A Day at the Races , I used to sneak away to Newtown Police Boys Club to do a bit of fitness training under the great Johnny Lewis .

Johnny also put the polish on boxing luminaries such as Jeff Fenech , Peter Metrevski , Jeff Harding , Shane Knox , Justin Rowsell , Gairy St Clair , Jeff Malcolm , Joe Bugner and most recently , Kostya Tszyu .

I tell Bill that I reckon I could get Johnny Lewis , Kostya and the great boxing commentator , Ray “ Lord of the Ring ” Connelly up to Mackay at the same time as the footy match to put on bit of a show .

“ Tell ya what , with my contacts I can arrange free flights and accommodation - you arrange the boxing demos and a couple of guest-speaking roles and we ’ ll split the profits ,” said my mate .

Anyway , cutting a long story short , I organised a couple of sparring sessions for Kostya and a speaking gig down in Sarina where Ray would interview Johnny and Kostya and host a Q & A .

When I arrived in Mackay , I wondered about the size of the huge gutters but two

days before the Panthers and the boxing mob arrived , it started to rain .

And rain and rain and rain . No-one wanted to venture out in the torrent and that included the miners and their big wages .

Well , they did put on the footy match in absolutely atrocious conditions and around 150 fans braved the weather to turn up . Sold about 30 rain-sodden programs !

GRQ scheme No 27 down the gurgler and so too did GRQ scheme No 28 .

We had to cancel the boxing sparring sessions although we did brave the torrential rain to drive down to Sarina where the venue , which could have accommodated 300 , attracted a small handful of obviously boxing-mad locals .

The Panthers trudged back to Penrith but Johnny , Ray and Kostya and his girlfriend , Natasha , stayed on because Bill arranged a short flight on a seaplane out to St Bees Island for us to spend a couple of days soaking up the belated return of the sunshine .

Our simple but comfortable accommodation was on a beach which nestled under a large , steep hill .

Early on our second afternoon at St Bees , Kostya and Natasha said they were going to climb the hill and asked if we wanted to join them .

Bill , Ray and Johnny just laughed but I , for some unknown reason , agreed to accompany them .

Well , I kept up with them for 20 minutes or so before wilting and telling them to go on ahead and I would catch up .

Well , the only catching up I did was catching my breath – I thought at one stage I was going to cark it - but after 15 minutes rest , my heart rate returned to a

semblance of normality , and I gleefully headed down to the beach .

An hour or so later , Kostya and Natasha returned , sporting beaming smiles and intimated that marriage was on the cards .

Not long after their return to Sydney , the happy couple tied the knot – and in November of that year , they had their first child , Tim .

I ’ ve always pondered about the pair leaving me behind on that bloody hill !

HIGH MARKS : My favourite sporting moment of 2023 ? The Matildas ’ amazing run in the Women ’ s Soccer World Cup . Their performances captured the imagination of their fellow Aussies , much like Australia ’ s II ’ s winning of the America ’ s Cup back in 1983 .

BIG PUZZLE SOLUTIONS FROM P 30

CROSSWORD 1 SUDOKU 1

CROSSWORD 2 SUDOKU 2