Golf: Veteran Peter Senior on course to land Open slot

GOLDEN oldie Peter Senior is on course to grab a place in the Open Championship at St Andrews this July.

An opening three-under-par 69 at the 36-hole international qualifier at Kingston Heath in Melbourne left the 50-year-old joint second overnight with Aaron Townsend, one behind their fellow Australian Ewan Porter.

A 44-strong field – 78 players could have entered – are competing for three spots and Porter, a 27-year-old from Sydney, made the most of benign early conditions with six birdies and two bogeys.

Senior, trying to secure an 18th appearance at The Open and recent winner of the US Champions Tour qualifying school, started with a bogey, but eagled the long seventh and birdied the 14th and 15th.

Meanwhile, Alastair Forsyth's optimism proved spot-on as the Scot made a promising start in today's first round of the Joburg Open.

Forsyth had headed to South Africa feeling buoyed after putting in some hard work on his game with top coach Peter Cowen.

And he came flying out of the traps this morning, picking up four birdies in his first five holes to put himself among the early pacesetters at Royal Johannesburg and Kensington.

Stephen Gallacher, bidding to bounce back after missing the cut in last week's Africa Open, was level-par after his first six holes.

David Drysdale, third in this event last year, was among the later starters today, but Andrew Coltart had to withdraw after missing a flight from America.