Australians' good showing may be sign of things to come

By Bill Kwon
Special to The Advertiser

Ernie Els held off an Australian challenge, beating young Aaron Baddeley in a two-hole playoff to win the Sony Open in Hawai'i and make it a 2-for-2 start to the PGA Tour season.

Ernie Els, left, of South Africa, said Aaron Baddeley of Australia "is definitely a future star out there," after he defeated Baddeley on the second hole of a playoff at Waialae Country Club. Associated Press

"He's definitely a future star out there," said Els, who sank a 43-foot bomb of a birdie putt at the par-4 10th hole to win.

"I know it is disappointing but he is going to win a lot of tournaments," Els said.

You haven't seen anything yet, according to Robert Allenby, who tied for fourth place with last year's Sony winner Jerry Kelly.

"There are a lot of Aussies over here now," Allenby said. "We're all playing pretty good. We had a few of them up there this week. I think you'll see that more often as the year goes on."

Allenby was one of seven who made the cut of the 13 Australians entering the tour's first full-field event at the Waialae Country Club.

Stuart Appleby, whose final-round 7-under 63 was the tournament low, finished sixth, and Peter Lonard tied for 12th. Also taking home paychecks were Rod Pampling, Scott Laycock and Anthony Painter.

With Baddeley earning the runner-up prize of $486,000 in his first PGA event as a tour member, the Australians collectively took away $1.1 million of the Sony Open's $4.5 million purse.

That's in U.S., not Australian, dollars.

Allenby, who lost to Baddeley by two strokes in the 2001 Australian Open, also sees a big future for his 21-year-old countryman on the American tour.

"He's a good young player. Got a good swing, very confident. You'll see a lot of him this year," said Allenby, considered one of Australia's young guns himself when he won the 1992 PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit at the same age as Baddeley.

The Melbourne native hasn't done so badly himself on the American tour, or at Waialae where he has pocketed $266,794, including $198,000 yesterday, in playing all five Sony Opens.

Allenby said Australia has a good youth golf program, "and it'll get better and better and we'll get more and more on the PGA Tour. I think there's like 16 of us on the tour, second most next to the U.S.," said Allenby, a four-time PGA winner. (There are 19 on the PGA Tour).

"American tour. Is there any other?" he added, as if there was any question as to which tour he had in mind.

Baddeley, though, appears to be the brightest of the Australian hopefuls, based on his 20-hole showdown with the veteran Els, the winner of three major championships.

"He has so much talent," Els said.

Expressing a mixture of disappointment and elation, Baddeley said it felt good to be in contention in his first event. Getting to play with the second-best player in the world and taking him to a playoff will be a confidence builder for the rest of the year, he said.

"I like playing with the best players," said Baddeley, who was born in New Hampshire but moved to the homeland of his parents when he was 2. Even though he has dual citizenship, Baddeley considers himself an Australian first.

"We play tough courses and play under tough conditions. It's always windy down there," said Baddeley in explaining the success of his Australian mates at Waialae.

The next tour stop is the Phoenix Open and Baddeley, Allenby and eight other Australians, including Steve Elkington who didn't play here this week, expect to collect more American dollars.

They expect a g'day there, too.