Australian golfer Aaron Townsend competing on the PGA Tour.
Aaron Townsend was born in Newcastle, Australia, on 4 July 1981. He began playing golf at about 11 and reportedly decided around age 15 that he wanted to become a professional. He turned professional in 2003 and developed through the Australian professional circuit, including the Von Nida Tour and PGA Tour of Australasia. Townsend’s game earned him opportunities internationally, with appearances on the Japan Golf Tour, European Tour, European Challenge Tour, Asian Tour, OneAsia Tour and PGA TOUR China. He is a right-handed professional golfer whose career has been centred on tournament play rather than a long-term full-status position on one major international circuit. His first significant professional breakthrough came in 2008, when he won the NSW Open in the Hunter Valley by seven strokes. He followed that result with victory in the 2009 NSW PGA Championship and, after a five-year gap between wins, captured the 2015 Victorian PGA Championship with a decisive bunker shot on the final hole. Townsend also reached The Open Championship in 2012, making his major-championship debut but missing the cut by one stroke. In 2017 he returned to PGA Tour of Australasia qualifying school and led the qualifiers to regain full status. His most recently documented competitive activity includes international and Australasian events, while the supplied provider record identifies his current status as inactive.
Townsend’s first major professional breakthrough was winning the 2008 NSW Open, then a Von Nida Tour event, at The Vintage in the Hunter Valley. The Newcastle-born golfer won by seven strokes with a 17-under-par aggregate of 267. This was reported as his maiden Von Nida Tour victory.
Verified career highlights include three professional wins: the 2008 NSW Open, 2009 NSW PGA Championship and 2015 Victorian PGA Championship. His 2008 NSW Open winning score was 17 under par, 267, with a seven-stroke margin. His 2009 NSW PGA Championship winning score was reported as 21 under par, 259, with a three-stroke margin. His 2015 Victorian PGA Championship winning score was reported as 13 under par, 275, with a one-stroke margin. PGA TOUR records list US$224,933 in PGA TOUR China earnings and 12 of 13 cuts made; this is a circuit-specific figure, not total career earnings.
Winning the 2008 NSW Open by seven strokes was Townsend’s first tour victory and a particularly notable result in his home state. His 2015 Victorian PGA Championship victory was defined by holing a bunker shot on the final hole to win by one stroke. He also made his major-championship debut at The Open Championship at Royal Lytham & St Annes in 2012, finishing two shots over the projected cut after rounds of 70 and 74 and missing by one stroke.