Appleby aims for Australian Open repeat
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In-form Australian Stuart Appleby will compete in next month's Australian Open and attempt to win the coveted title for the second time.
Appleby lifted the Stonehaven Cup in 2001 and having recorded a brilliant victory in the JBWere Masters last weekend, he will head to The Lakes in Sydney full of confidence.
Co-sanctioned by OneAsia and the PGA Tour of Australasia, and with the tournament forming the penultimate leg on the Asia Pacific elite tournament destination for second successive year, the AU$1.5 million (approximately US$1.48 million) event will be played from December 2 to 5.
He is the latest big name player to announce his participation along with compatriots and former winners Aaron Baddeley and John Senden.
Baddeley claimed the title in 1999 as an amateur and successfully defended the title the following year as a member of the paid ranks. Senden had his name etched on the trophy in 2006.
Two of the country's rising stars Michael Sim and Marc Leishman will also compete along with New Zealand's Michael Campbell, winner of the 2005 US Open.
Appleby's victory last weekend was his first domestic title since winning the Australian Open nearly a decade ago.
It was also his second victory of the year as he was victorious in the Greenbrier Classic on the US PGA Tour in August – where he came from seven shots back on the final day with a stunning 59. It marked his ninth success on the US PGA Tour.
Appleby finished runner-up in last year's Australian Open after finishing five shots behind countryman Adam Scott at NSW Golf Club.
"Stuart played exceptionally well last year and will no doubt be hoping to go one better and win this year," said Stephen Pitt, Golf Australia's CEO. "The field is yet another example of how highly the players value the chance to compete for the Stonehaven Cup"
The 39-year-old will join a stellar line up of players at the Australian Open as already confirmed are Scott, five-time winner Greg Norman and Geoff Ogilvy.
Scott is another player on top of his game having claimed the Barclays Singapore Open last weekend.
Americans Fred Couples and John Daly will also bid for honours at The Lakes.
The Australian Open was first played in 1904 and has been won by the biggest names in the game. South African Gary Player has lifted the Stonehaven Cup a record seven times while Jack Nicklaus from the United States has triumphed on six occasions.
The Australian Open will be showcased on OneAsia's television platform with live coverage for four hours a day across all four tournament days, and broadcast to over 260 million homes in more than 40 countries.
Full coverage of the event will be available domestically on Network Ten, as well as internationally on ESPN Star Sports, Jupiter Golf Network, SBS Golf Channel, Fox International, Sky Sports NZ, ESPN3 & America One in the USA, ViaSat & Bloomberg Television among others in Europe.
The Australian Open is a flagship sporting event on the NSW Master Events Calendar developed by Events NSW on behalf of the NSW Government.
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