For the second year running
Jason Day has been recognised, with the Greg Norman Medal, as Australia’s best
performing Tour Professional on the international stage.

Day becomes the only recipient of the coveted award after also winning
the inaugural Greg Norman Medal last year.

2016 has been another stellar year for Day who has
continued to dominate world golf in 2016 emphasised by his holding the top
position on the Official World Golf Rankings continuously since March.

Day’s season was highlighted by three victories. He won the
Arnold Palmer Invitational and the very next week the WGC – World Match Play.
Day’s third victory came four starts and just seven weeks later at THE PLAYERS
Championship.

In his title defence at the PGA Championship, Day finished
runner-up which capped off a fantastic Major season where he finished top-10 in
three of the four.

Day played 20 tournaments on the PGA TOUR in 2016, making
the cut in all but one for 10 top-10 finishes including his wins.

While the World Number 1 took out the Greg Norman Medal he was faced with
strong competition from World Number 7 Adam Scott who won twice on the PGA TOUR
in 2016 after having not missed a cut all season.

Flying the flag for women’s golf and a strong contender for the top
honour was Minjee Lee. After proudly representing Australia at the Rio
Olympics, Lee’s year was also highlighted by recording her third professional
victory at the Blue Bay LPGA in China. This followed a
runner-up finish at the Manulife LPGA Classic in September and her second LPGA
Tour win in April.

The Australian golf industry was once again delighted
to see the strong representation by our Professionals on the world stage,
highlighted by Day’s Greg Norman Medal winning performance.

"2016 has been an excellent year for Australian golf, from
players winning on all the Major tours around the world to our four
representatives flying the Australian flag at the Rio Olympics. Tonight has
been a night to honour them all," said Brian Thorburn, CEO of the PGA of
Australia.

"Jason is yet again a deserving recipient of the Greg Norman
Medal. An excellent ambassador for Australian golf, his performances this year
has ensured he has been the World Number 1 for the majority of 2016 to the
delight of Aussie fans."   

Day, who was unable to attend the evening, appeared via video link with his
mother Dening Day accepting the award on behalf of her son.

"I am incredibly honoured to win the Greg Norman Medal for the second year in a
row," said Day.

"Australian golf is in a great place right now, Adam and
Minjee both had excellent seasons, so to be selected again is a real
privilege."

The Greg Norman Medal Dinner also saw the introduction of a
new honour with a Life Member being elevated to Immortal status.

The inaugural honouree was Peter Thomson, one of Australia’s
all time greatest Professionals.

While his playing prowess has been strongly documented, his
illustrious career featuring five Open Championship victories amongst 89
professional tournament wins has made him a household name for almost 70 years.

However it is his dedication to his Association that had the
greatest impact on the industry. He was Chairman of the PGA for 32 years, which
remains the longest tenure in this PGA’s history.

During his time Thomson was instrumental in establishing
Australia’s most successful pro-amateur teams event the Holden Scramble which
this year celebrates its 25^th anniversary and 1 millionth
participant.

The evening also saw members of the professional golf circuit, corporate world
and golf community gather to celebrate the achievements of both Tournament and
Vocational PGA Professionals.

Complementing the pinnacle awards was the 2016 ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of
Australasia Player of the Year, awarded to Adam Blyth, and the 2016 ALPG Player
of the Year, which was awarded to Stacey Keating.

35-year-old Blyth, from Queensland,
got his season off to a hot start leading the Oates Vic Open into the final
round. A tough fourth round dropped him down the leaderboard but it proved the
perfect learning experience to launch a very successful season.

Blyth recorded his
first win on the ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia this September at the South
Pacific Open Championship in New Caledonia. Just three starts later, he quickly
added a second victory at the NSW Open, in a hard fought fourth round. Adam has
played 12 tournaments this season making the cut nine times.

2016 was a strong year for Keating winning four times on the ALPG tour,
including the Anita Boon Pro-Am, the Bing Lee Oatlands Pro-Am, Brisbane
International and BWAC Yamba Pro-Am. 
These finishes resulted in her winning the ALPG Club Car Series. The
30-year-old Victorian also finished second on the ALPG Order of Merit in 2016.
Keating’s performance also stretched across waters with strong finishes on the
Ladies European Tour in the Tipsport Masters (T2) and World Ladies Championship
in China (T19).

Head Professionals at Charlestown Golf Club, husband and
wife duo Ryan and Janelle Smith received the honour of being recognised as the
2016 PGA National Club Professional of the Year. Continually looking at ways to
develop their Club they focus strongly on servicing their Club members to the
best of their collective abilities on a daily basis. One of their main goals
was to gradually have members become more involved with club activities, in
particular ladies events and the club’s successful junior program. During the
year, their communication to members and staff has been beneficial to the club
through newsletters, promotions and social media. Dedicated to their ongoing
professional development they also ran a highly successful Holden Scramble in
2016.

Taking out the 2016 PGA National Teaching Professional of
the Year award was Richard Woodhouse the renowned Director of Instruction at
the recently opened KDV-Sport Academy of Golf in Queensland, where he works
successfully with both amateur golfers and Tournament Professionals.  After winning his first Queensland Teaching
Professional of the Year award in 2013, Woodhouse also received the honour in
2015. Amongst his best students are two PGA TOUR China players, James Gibellini
and Daniel Nisbet, who recently won the Clearwater Bay Open, in addition to
coaching success with a number of South Korean female professionals. Also
amongst his passions is the coaching of PGA Trainee Professionals and in 2015
he assisted Rick Coleman significantly, leading to Coleman being awarded the
PGA 2015 National Trainee of the Year. Woodhouse always strives for self
development through continuing education and also writes for various publications,
such as Inside Golf and Golf Australia Magazine, where he composed a series of
eight months of instructional articles.

The Greg Norman Medal Dinner, which is proudly supported by the City of Gold
Coast, tees off the PGA’s flagship tournament, the Australian PGA Championship,
at RACV Royal Pines Resort on the Gold Coast from 1-4 December.