The 54-hole event is the first PGA of Australia-sanctioned tournament to be played in PNG since 2019, the 2020 Morobe Open and PNG Open both canceled due to the travel restrictions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The SParms PGA Legends Tour has a proud history of tournaments in the Pacific region and 35 senior professionals will tee it up from Thursday.
For Senior and Burns, it represents an opportunity to create some new memories in PNG.
One of the greats of Australian golf, Senior estimates that it is more than 30 years since he last played in PNG and was excited to see the presentation of the Lae Golf Club layout.
“The course here at Lae is as good as I remember it from when I was here in the 1980s,” Senior said.
“It’s playing long after the recent rains and will be a good test.”
A four-time SParms PGA Legends Tour Order of Merit winner, Burns has been a semi-regular visitor to PNG over the years and has enjoyed considerable success.
He set a new course record of eight-under 63 at the Morobe Open in 2000, a tournament he won seven years later.
With all of his experience, Burns joked with local media upon arrival that he was going to play his cards close to his chest.
“We don’t divulge too much and are trying to keep our past experiences from coming up over the past decade a big secret,” Burns said.
Joining Burns and Senior in one of the richest events on the calendar are players such as Glenn Joyner, Lucien Tinkler, Guy Wall, Mike Ferguson and Chris Taylor.
With such wonderful support from the host club, Legends Tour Coordinator Andy Rogers expects to see the tournament continue to build in the years to come.
“Chris and Brad have been pretty good to the guys and told them how good it is here and what to expect,” Rogers said.
“They’re spear-heading the charge to get more golfers here and I’m sure if everything goes well this year – and it will – we will get more players up here in years to come with even stronger fields.”
Play will begin at 8am on Thursday. Click here for the Round 1 draw.