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He did it three times this year on the US PGA Tour and now former Australian Open champion Stephen Allan has played his way into the field for this week’s Australian PGA Championship at RACV Royal Pines Resort on the Gold Coast.
Allan was one of six players to earn a start at Royal Pines in Monday pre-qualifiers conducted at Lakelands Golf Club and Keperra Golf Club in Brisbane, Allan shooting 64 at Keperra to finish one shot clear of Troy Moses with Maroochy River’s Shae Wools Cobb snaring the third spot with a round of 67.
New Zealand’s Fraser MacLachlan led the way at Lakelands with a superb round of 6-under 66, Andrew Campbell and Sam Eaves also earning a tee time on Thursday after finishing one shot further back.
It’s fitting reward for Eaves, the PGA Professional at Warwick Golf Club, who finished third at the recent PGA Professionals Championship at Hamilton Island, his runner-up finish in that event two years ago earning him a start at the 2017 Australian PGA Championship where he played all four rounds.
A spot in the field at the Australian PGA is nothing new for Allan who rose more than 600 places in the Official World Golf Rankings a fortnight ago due to his tie for 16th at the Emirates Australian Open.
Winner of the Australian Open in 2002, Allan qualified to play the John Deere Classic and BArbasol Championship in consecutive weeks in July and made his third appearance on the PGA TOUR in 2019 when he qualified to play The Military Tribute at The Greenbrier.
After missing the cut at Royal Pines in 2015, Allan returned to the Gold Coast last year where he finished tied for 56th, a third round of 77 preventing him from making an even stronger impression.
With the six qualifying positions determined the field for the Australian PGA Championship is now finalised, headlined by 2013 champion Adam Scott, two-time defending champion Cameron Smith and two-time US PGA TOUR winner Cameron Champ.
Exciting Aussie youngsters Min Woo Lee, Zach Murray and Maverick Antcliff will be eager to claim a tournament co-sanctioned with the European Tour while the likes of former Open Champion Stewart Cink, England’s David Howell, course-record holder Ross McGowan and Spain’s Alejandro Canizares adding to the international flavour.
Pre-Qualifying Results
Keperra Golf Club
Stephen Allan 64
Troy Moses 65
Shae Wools Cobb 67
Lakelands Golf Club
Fraser MacLachlan 66
Andrew Campbell 67
Sam Eaves 67
