Two-way tie at Yamba Pro-Am - PGA of Australia

Two-way tie at Yamba Pro-Am


Individual moments of brilliance helped Andrew Campbell and Michael Wright to come from behind and share victory at the two-day Ray White Yamba Pro-Am.

Wind and quick greens added to the challenge at Yamba Golf and Country Club across the two days with Campbell (73) and Wright (75) well back of Round 1 leader Lucas Higgins (66) entering the final round.

Starting his second round with birdies at back-to-back par 5s gave Campbell critical early momentum, an eagle at the par-5 eighth the high point of his round of 4-under 68.

Now based at Coffs Harbour Golf Club, Campbell described the tournament as something of a home game yet didn’t expect to come out on top on Sunday.

“Given how difficult the course was playing, I really didn’t expect to win coming from so far behind,” said Campbell, pictured (centre) with Yamba Head Professional Jamie Corkill (left) and Golf Operations Manager, Chris Durrington (right).

“Playing in the wind is always a good test and starting with two par 5s was definitely helpful in getting off to a good start.

“The eagle on eight was great and then a good up-and-down on 10 enabled me to keep the momentum going for the last couple of holes.”

Runner-up at Blackwater last month, Wright was also surprised to come from so far back to finish alongside Campbell at the top of the podium.

Pleased with his recent run of form, Wright attributed his 6-under par 66 to a hot day on Yamba’s sensational putting surfaces.

“I holed a 15-footer for par on the first hole of the day and that put me in a great mind frame,” Wright said.

“I went on to hole more the 100 feet of putts over the course of the round on greens that were nothing short of superb.”

Like Campbell, it took a shot somewhat out of the ordinary to elevate Wright to the top of the leaderboard.

“The chip-in on the 15th gave me a real boost to get to 5-under and a simple up-and-down on the last for birdie put the icing on the cake,” he added.

Five bogeys and a double-bogey in a round of 4-over 76 saw Higgins drop into a tie for third with Ryan Peake (72-70), Nathan Miller (69-73) and Anthony Choat (71-71).

Yamba continues to be one of the favourite stops on the adidas PGA Pro-Am Series with recent improvements adding to the experience.

Updates have included upgrades to paths and general course maintenance that had the course presented at its very best.

Winner of Regional Tournament of the Year in 2016 and 2017 and Tournament of the Year in 2020, Yamba Golf Club also now boasts three TrackMan simulators that are used for lessons and family-friendly social games on any number of courses from around the world.

The adidas PGA Pro-Am Series stays on the Northern Rivers this week, the next event the Ocean Shores CUB Pro-Am at Ocean Shores Country Club on Wednesday.

Final scores and prizemoney


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