American Steve Marino to play in Australian PGA

SYDNEY (AFP) - US PGA Tour player Steve Marino will play in the Australian PGA Championship in Queensland in December, according to tournament officials.

Marino, 29, enjoyed a successful year in his third season on the USPGA Tour playing in 29 events and picking up five top-10 finishes, earning just over 2.16 million US dollars.

His top-10 finishes came at the Sony Open, the Zurich Classic, the Wyndham Championship, the Tour Championship and the Crowne Plaza Invitational, where he narrowly lost in a three-way playoff.

Marino will join three-time major champion Vijay Singh, American dual major winner John Daly and defending champion Geoff Ogilvy in the Australian PGA Championship at Coolum from December 10-13.

The 2009 Australian PGA Championship is the year's final event on the Australasian Tour and OneAsia Super Series.