Aussie pair Minjee Lee and Hannah Green will fine-tune their preparations for golf’s final Major championship side-by-side having been drawn to play together for the opening two rounds of the Volunteers of America Classic in Texas.
While the rest of the professional golf world is winding down, the leading female players have their sights set on a big finish to 2020 ahead of next week’s US Women’s Open in Texas.
Third at the AIG Women’s Open, Lee is still chasing that elusive first Major win while Green could make it successive years of triumph in the game’s most prized events following on from her KPMG Women’s PGA Championship win last June.
Katherine Kirk and Sarah-Jane Smith are also in action this week and are in the field for the US Women’s Open while Su Oh and Sarah Kemp will be out to finish their year in the best possible fashion.
It’s a case of glory’s last shot for the Australian contingent on the PGA TOUR this week with four teeing it up at the final full-field event of the year, the Mayakoba Golf Classic in Mexico.
Due to make one final appearance at the QBE Shootout alongside Cameron Smith next week, Marc Leishman leads the Aussie assault in Mexico that features another Down Under double, Cameron Percy and Aaron Baddeley to play together alongside South African Branden Grace for the first two rounds.
Queensland’s Scott Hend has begun the Golf in Dubai Championship with a 3-over par round of 75 while New South Welshman Austin Bautista has taken advantage of a European Tour double-up by playing in the South African Open at the Gary Player Country Club in Sun City.
Round 1 tee times (AEDT)
PGA TOUR
Mayakoba Golf Classic
El Camaleon Golf Club, Playa del Carmen, Mexico
11.30pm* Tim Wilkinson, Brian Stuard, Robby Shelton
11.50pm Marc Leishman, Chez Reavie, Satoshi Kodaira
12.30am* Cameron Percy, Aaron Baddeley, Branden Grace
5.20am* Rhein Gibson, Michael Gligic, Aaron Terrazas
Defending champion: Brendon Todd
Past Aussie winners: Nil
Top Aussie prediction: Marc Leishman
TV schedule: Live 6am-9am Friday, Saturday and Sunday; Live 5am-8am Monday on Fox Sports 503
LPGA Tour
Volunteers of America Classic
Old American Golf Club, The Colony, Texas
12.20am Sarah Jane Smith, Julieta Granada, Jackie Stoelting
12.31am Sarah Kemp, Haley Moore, Lauren Stephenson
12.42am* Hannah Green, Minjee Lee, Stephanie Meadow
4.31am* Su Oh, Tillie Claggett (a), Jillian Hollis
5.15am Katherine Kirk, Mi Jung Hur, Bronte Law
Defending champion: Cheyenne Knight
Past Aussie winners: Nil
Top Aussie prediction: Minjee Lee
TV schedule: 11am-1pm Friday on Fox Sports 503; 10.30am-12.30pm Saturday on Fox Sports 503; 10am-12pm Sunday on Fox Sports 507; Live 5am-8am Monday on Fox Sports 503.
European Tour
Golf in Dubai Championship
Jumeirah Golf Estates, Dubai, UAE
Round 2 tee time (AEDT)
6.40pm Scott Hend (+3), Chris Wood, Gavin Green
Defending champion: Inaugural event
Past Aussie winners: Nil
TV schedule: Live 6pm-8pm, 10pm-12am Thursday; Live 5.30pm-10pm Friday and Saturday on Fox Sports 503.
South African Open
Gary Player CC, Sun City, South Africa
5.20pm Austin Bautista, Janne Kaske, Callum Mowat
Defending champion: Branden Grace
Past Aussie winners: Nil
TV schedule: Live 12am-3am Thursday; Live 10pm-3am Friday; Live 10pm-2.30am Saturday; Live 9pm-1.30am Sunday on Fox Sports 503