The 38-year-old Allenby has now won back to back tournaments, having beaten Henrik Stenson in a 3 hole playoff last week at the Sun City Challenge in South Africa. His previous Australian PGA titles came in 2000, 2001 and 2005.

“When you start with the lead all you have to do is to hold it and don’t do anything stupid,” said Allenby .

“I did what I had to do from the first hole to the last hole…I had some very, very tough competitors behind me and I had a lot of respect for them. So I tried to just pace myself, I tried to hit as many fairways as I could, I tried to hit as many greens as I could… That’s what I did all day, I just felt totally in control on every shot.”
Allenby certainly stuck to his game plan in a near flawless display on Sunday. He posted five birdies in a clinical display of pure ball striking ability, and despite several players getting to within a stroke of his lead during the final round, he always seemed to be in control. His third birdie of the day at the 12th gave him some breathing room, and he drove that advantage home with two further birdies on the par-five 15th and par-four 17th .
“It’s a nice feeling to win in that fashion,” Allenby told reporters after his victory. “It’s always nice to come down the last with a four-shot lead. I was pretty consistent but to do it under the gun in the final round, that’s pretty special.”

Another reason this win was so special for Allenby was the fact that this is his first win on home soil after losing his mother Sylvia last year to cancer. Allenby has been wearing pink shirts in the final rounds of all events he has played in this year in honor of Sylvia, and having the opportunity to win twice and dedicate the wins to his mother was an incredibly emotional experience for the popular Victorian:

“It’s nice to win with the pink shirt on, that’s for sure,” Allenby said before being overcome with emotion. “This year pink was always my last-day shirt and it was always in honour of my … sorry…Pink is in honour of my mother. Throughout the year I’ve had a couple of chances to win a couple of tournaments in America and in Europe and just haven’t come through because I’ve let too many emotions get in the way of things.”

“It’s been a very tough year but to come out on top last week and this week has been absolutely fantastic. It’s definitely going to be fantastic for my career, it’s just the little bit that’s been missing and I just want to say thanks – and dad I love you.”

7/12/09| Adam Scott confirmed his comeback to form in emphatic fashion with a 5 stroke victory yesterday at the 2009 Australian Open at the New South Wales Golf Club in La Perouse, NSW.

Battling a resurgent Stuart Appleby, a tough layout and most importantly, the demons within after his worst ever year on the US PGA Tour, Scott shot even par on Sunday to achieve a lifelong dream of winning his national Open.

The day didn’t start all that well for Scott, who led by 2 from Appleby overnight. He three-putted the first for a bogey while Appleby birdied to leave both players tied for the lead at 14 under. However, Scott showed that he wasn’t fazed by the bogey, knocking it in close on the next hole for a birdie.

After leading by as many as 7 shots after 12 holes, Scott had a small blip, giving Appleby a look in with bogeys at the 13th, 14th and 16th holes to lead by just 3 strokes with two to play. But the Queenslander held his nerve with a regulation par-3 at the 17th before finishing in style with a birdie at the last hole to get back to even par for the day and seal his first professional victory on home soil.

“I’m so proud to be a national champion of your own country,” an elated Scott said of his maiden professional win at home.

“It’s the pinnacle really. Just thinking of the names that (are) on there (the Stonehaven Cup) … I’m so happy to be on there and (it’s) something I will treasure forever.”