The Masters- 1998

The US Open- 1994-1995-1997-1999
The British Open 1994-1996-1999-2006
The US PGA- 1999
Best Result at a Major was tied 16th place in the 1997 United States Open

Walking with David Duval at practice in the 2006 British Open	Me and my dad 18th tee at Pebble Beach at 2005 AT&T Pro-Am
Teeing off in the 1995 US Open at Shinnecock Hills.	My second MAJOR- The 1994 British Open- Turnberry, Scotland practice round with 1991 Open winner Ian Baker-Finch and 1991 Open runner-up Mike Harwood and a youthful Robert Allenby
Walking down the 15th fairway 1998 Masters with Greg Norman and Ray Floyd- practice round	Driving from the 7th tee at Augusta National 1998 Masters
Chipping around Augusta National during a practice round	Warming Up on the range
Teeing off from the 2nd hole 1998 Masters Augusta National Golf Club	Splashing from a bunker on Hole #2 First Round- The Masters 1998

Channel 9 Australia followed me at The Masters in 1998 and produced this summary of the weeks event for their weekend Sports Program  *VIDEO*

sportsatmasters from Golf Aus on Vimeo.

* Video* Footage of my 1998 Masters Appearance-

Robert Trent Jones Golf Club, Lake Manassas, Virginia, USA

• The Team with President Gerald Ford	• Meeting President Clinton at The White House

• Watching the flight of a shot	• Discussing a chip shot with partner Mark McNult	• Lining up a birdie putt with partner Craig Parry

                                                         Leading the International Team out for the opening ceremony

My matches at the 1994 Presidents Cup:

1st Round Fourball
Bradley Hughes / Nick Price vs Fred Couples / Davis Love III
Lost 1 Down

2nd Round Foursomes
Did not play

3rd Round Fourball
Bradley Hughes / Craig Parry vs Loren Roberts / Tom Lehman
Won 4/3

4th Round Foursomes
Bradley Hughes / Mark McNulty vs Phil Mickelson / Tom Lehman
Lost 3/2

Singles Match
Bradley Hughes vs Jeff Maggert
Lost 2/1

The 1994 International Team
Back L to R: V.Singh, F Nobilo, F.Allem, R.Allenby, N. Price, S. Elkington
Front L to R: M. McNulty, B.Hughes, C.Parry, D. Graham (Captain), P.Senior, D.Frost, T.Watanabe

1994 PRESIDENTS CUP VIDEO FOOTAGE

I guess it sounds strange for me to nominate my best round ever as being in an event that I didn't actually WIN.

Without a doubt due to horrible conditions my 1st round at The 1993 Victorian Open Championship at Woodlands Golf Club near where I grew up was my finest professional round ever.
I shot an 8 under par 64 on that day in torrential rain and sideways wind in the afternoon when the conditions were even worse than for the morning play.
I believe the second best score that day was a 70 by Mike Harwood in the morning play. So I was the only person to shoot in the 60's that day and had the day's best score by 6 strokes !!
Unfortunately I didn't win the event and finished runner-up to Lucas Parsons but it was still a week to remember.

Raising my hands in disbelief at the way things are going for me during my play at the 1993 Victorian Open Championship	Question/Answer interview with golfer course designer and writer Mike Clayton about the best round of golf he had whitnessed during his career

Mike Clayton interview discussing my first round as one of the most unbelievable rounds he had witnessed throughout his career.

The Australian Masters Golf Tournament has been a very special one for me. It was a tournament I used to watch as a youngster as it was in my hometown of Melbourne each February. 

I caddied in the event for a friend of mine when I was 14 years old and then in 1988 I played my 1st Masters and won the leading amateur at the event. I turned pro soon after.
In 1992 I lead the event by 2 strokes heading into the back nine but fell away into a tie for 4th behind Craig Parry with Greg Norman in 2nd place.
I learned my lesson the following year in 1993 shooting a 7 under par 66 in the final round to this time pass Norman and Parry and tie Peter Senior for the title. I would oust Senior on the 1st playoff hole to win the coveted 'Gold Jacket'.
In 1994 as defending Champion I played the first 2 rounds with Greg Norman, which was a blast. I made the cut and finished around 22nd that year.
In 1996 I was again in the hunt before once again Craig Parry outlasted me at the finish and I was relegated to runner- up this time. It was Parry's third Masters win.
My next appearance was in 1998 which I dominated after shooting a course record 10 under par 63 in the opening round. When the tournament was said and done I had in my possession the 18 hole scoring record- the 54 hole scoring record- the 72 hole scoring record and my second Masters title and gold jacket beating out a top class field of Westwood, O'Meara, Coltart, Brooks along with the great Australian golfers of the time.
Due to my playing commitments in the USA I did not come back to play the Australian Masters again until 2004. The course had been altered slightly and now played as a par 72. Not to be outdone I opened with 64-66 to claim the 36 hole scoring record. (I still currently hold all 18-36-54 & 72 hole scoring records for The Masters).
The weekend play saw me cool off a little but I regained the lead on Sunday when I birdied 15 & 16 but alas a poor decision on club selection on the 18th tee saw me miss the fairway by a yard or so and my ball ended up in a bush they had planted on the side of the fairway. I made a double bogey 6 and lost by 1 stroke finishing 4th. The bush was removed soon after by the club citing it was unfair to be so close to the fairway. I presume what happened to me made the decision an easier choice but it was too late to help my cause.
It is a little sad that The Masters is no longer played at Huntingdale Golf Club where "The Tradition Continued" for 30 years.
Below are some memories from Huntingdale from the non victorious years:

 
1996- Lining up a putt on the final day and walking with playing partner John Daly during the second round action.
I would finish runner-up to Craig Parry

 
2004- Holing my 20 foot putt on 18 in the second round for a 66 and a tournament record 36 hole score of 130- 14 under par
And the media reminder from Monday's papers after my last hole blow up to lose by 1 stroke... wish I had that $175,000 back now !

2011 Las Vegas Classic Club Champion

I recently played the TRGA Las Vegas Classic over the weekend of January 15 & 16 2011. What a fun event!!!

The rules are simple- a player may only use persimmon woods with steel shafts and irons from pre 1980 also with steel shafts. Sand iron with a 56 degree loft is the highest lofted club and a traditional old style putter such as a bulls eye or blade must be used.

The rules of play for TRGA events are designed to speed up play and are based on rules of golf that have been stricken from the rule book over the years and have unfortunately been replaced with 500 pages of too much information. Golf should be simple.
You hit the ball- you find it- you play it again from where it lies....if a situation arises where you can't hit your ball there is a stock standard stroke and distance procedure for dropping the ball back into play
(dropping it over your shoulder) and you move on from there, speeding up play and keeping the rules to a bare minimum so all players can abide by them keeping the competition fair to all with no unnecessary advantage being given.
The 2011 TRGA Classic Club Las Vegas Classic was again played at The Las Vegas National Golf Club.
A course steeped in history from the PGA events held there starting in 1960. The winners list at Las Vegas National reads like a whos who of golf.
Jack Nicklaus- Lee Trevino- Billy Casper- Tony Lema- Doug Sanders- Al Geiberger- Lanny Wadkins- John Mahaffey. an incredible list of victors.
Alas, the technology invasion in golf rendered this little masterpiece of a golf course futile in it's defence against the bomb and gouge style of golf that we see today. The last time a round of the Las Vegas Invitational was played there was 1996 and yet again another terrific course is rendered useless for the world of golf.
It was with this fact in mind that the TRGA Las Vegas Classic was started in 2009.
The TRGA had the foresight to bring a unique tournament back to a classic old golf course complete with persimmon woods and older v groove iron heads. When the course was designed over 60 years ago every tree was positioned perfectly to catch and block an off line drive. Bunkers were strategically placed to make the player shape his tee shots around or away from the trouble areas. Small well guarded greens were designed to reward the well struck approach and give some difficulty to the next stroke if the task was not well executed. With no extra land available at LV National the course is now as it will be forever.
In the Classic Club Event we played the course as it was designed to be played. Positioning with the tee shot was paramount Good shots were generally rewarded and poorer struck shots were sometimes given the penalty they deserved.
It was a tonne of fun to catch up with some people and as fate would have it I was paired with my coach John 'Lagpressure' Erickson in both the first and final round.
It was great fun to play with John again and I was also fortunate to come out this years victor in the event shooting 69-74 to scrape in by two strokes from John who fired a 70-75.
This is golf at it's finest... precision ball striking was necessary to plot your way around the course. The long irons were needed into many par 4 holes and the Par 5 holes were only reachable with two mighty shots with danger lurking for an ill struck persimmon 3 wood second shot.
Hopefully with ongoing commitment from others who are also mystified at the direction golf has taken over the past 10-15 years, the event can grow and grow and possibly other classic courses that have become extinct to tournament golf through no fault of their own, can be added to the rotation for a Persimmon Tour of approximately 10-15 events.
Now that would really be fun......
For more information visit the TRGA website, www.traditionalrulesofgolf.org