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The dream of representing his country is about to become a reality as Mitchell Smith prepares to join the PGA of Australia’s Four Nation’s Cup team in Canada.
Smith and reigning PGA Professionals Championship winner Samuel Eaves are the new faces in the PGA team that will be captained by four-time PPC champion Matt Docking and feature Mount Coolum Golf Club’s TJ King for a third time.
Canada is the host nation for the biennial matches between the respective PGAs of Australia, Canada, New Zealand and South Africa, the Aussies out to defend the title they won at Moonah Links in 2023.
A graduate of the PGA’s Membership Pathway Program in 2023 and based at Sanctuary Cove Golf and Country Club on the Gold Coast, Smith has been waiting for the chance to represent on the international stage since golf was readmitted to the Olympic Games.
“Not that I ever thought that I’d play the Olympics, but it’s one of those things where I was like, imagine how cool that would be to actually play golf for Australia,” said Smith.
“It’s not really something that you do too often. It’s always pretty individual in that you go on tour and you represent Australia, but realistically you’re representing yourself more than anything.
“This is the first time I actually tried to get in, so luckily I’ve gone through.
“It’s awesome from the PGA to be able to provide us with a pathway to still be competitive in that aspect because the reality is it’s not the be-all and end-all for us.
“It’s not our career. We’re not trying to make cuts to make money but still being able to go and scratch that competitive itch a little bit is really cool.”
While ready to embrace the opportunity to mix with PGA Professionals from Canada, New Zealand and South Africa, Smith’s focus is very much on a PGA of Australia win.
He has played a half dozen rounds of the course they will be playing at The Pulpit Club at a simulator centre in Cannon Hill in Brisbane and makes no secret of his willingness to come home a winner.
“To be honest, I’m a pretty competitive person by nature,” said Smith, who became a father for the first time a month ago.
“As much as the socialising stuff will be good and I’ll definitely be keen to do that more off the course, but in all honestly, on the course I want to beat everyone.
“I’ve still got that competitive burning in my belly, so first and foremost, want to win and then socialise afterwards.
“I am really looking forward to the team aspect with a good group of fellas going over, so looking forward to being a part of that aspect as well.”
King will be the familiar face for Smith, the pair having come through the Membership Pathway Program at a similar time and played events together on the adidas PGA Pro-Am Series.
The one constant in the PGA of Australia team since the inception of the Four Nation’s Cup, King believes the contacts he has made has helped him back in his role at Mount Coolum.
“With the camaraderie amongst the players, you learn how different PGA associations run their businesses, their pro shops and coaching-wise, just get different ideas from all the other countries,” said King.
“At the end of the day, you want to win as well. During the 18 holes, there’s not much chat, but then afterwards the teams get together, have dinner together and chat.
“It’s awesome to find out how different people are doing the same job in different countries.”
The 2025 Four Nation’s Cup will be played at The Pulpit Club an hour outside Toronto from Tuesday.
Victorian Andrew Martin has claimed a third Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia title after winning a final round war of attrition by one stroke at the Tailor-made Building Services NT PGA Championship.
With 34-degree Top End heat and hot, blustery winds baking out the golf course in real time, Palmerston Golf and Country Club threw everything it had at players over the final 18 holes, 2-under par 69 the equal low round of the day.
New South Welshman Nathan Barbieri was one of four players to shoot 69 on Sunday yet it was not quite enough to haul in Martin, who started the day with a two-shot buffer and did enough with an even-par 71 to hold off Barbieri (11-under) and Jake McLeod (70), outright third at 9-under.
The 41-year-old has now won three times in the past four years, adding to earlier wins at the Webex Players Series Sydney and Victorian PGA Championship but this time with his wife, Rachel, and mother, Robyn, ready to congratulate him beside the 18th green.
“To be fair, I didn’t look at them probably for a reason. I nearly walked past them,” said Martin.
“It’s pretty special. The two times I’ve won, they haven’t been there, even though one was in Victoria, but it was on the other side of the bay.
“It is special to have them here, but my mind was firmly on the golf and trying to hit golf shots today.
“It was a bit of a battle today.”
It was a battle that became a two-man duel midway through the final round,
Bursting out of the blocks with two early birdies, Barbieri quickly emerged as Martin’s greatest threat.
A double-bogey by James Conran at the par-4 fourth were two shots that he would never get back as Barbieri and Martin continued to separate themselves from the field.
An unlikely pitch in for birdie by Barbieri after taking a penalty drop at the par-4 eighth was matched by a 30-foot birdie putt by Martin, who headed to the back nine one-stroke clear at 12-under par.
A par at 10 would be enough for Barbieri to reclaim a share of the lead, Martin unable to get up-and-down for his par after coming up short of the green with his second.
Barbieri lipped out for birdie on 11 and then found himself trailing by one when Martin’s superb approach into the par-4 12th was converted into a birdie from eight feet.
Following matching birdies at the par-5 13th, the pair turned back into the wind for the 197-metre par-3 14th, Martin’s miss on the right edge from short range seeing the pair locked together and four strokes clear with four holes to play.
Martin regained the solo lead when Barbieri missed the fairway left on 15 on his way to a bogey, the pair both dropping shots at the par-3 16th to stay separated by a single shot.
Seeking to break a run of six top-three finishes without a win over the past five years, Barbieri matched Martin’s birdie at the par-4 17th but ran his birdie try from 20 feet four feet past on the final hole, making the one coming back to force Martin to tidy up his par putt from three feet to win for a third time.
“I think it’s just getting better with age as they say,” Martin said of his run of success later in his career.
“I’m probably trusting my game a bit more. You don’t have to do anything too special, you’ve just got to play to what is best for me.
“That’s what I’ve probably done the last couple of years, just really focused on my game, how I play and it’s sort of paying off.”
With his victory, Martin moves to second on the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit with McLeod third and Barbieri fourth. PNG Open winner Cory Crawford retains the No.1 spot after two tournaments.
The next event is the CKB WA PGA Championship presented by TX Civil & Logistics at Kalgoorlie Golf Course from October 9-12.
Final scores
Photograph: Naomi Hill/PGA of Australia
The equal low round of the day has propelled Victorian Andrew Martin to a two-stroke lead ahead of the final round of the Tailor-made Building Services NT PGA Championship at Palmerston Golf and Country Club.
A two-time winner on the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia, at 12-under par Martin heads an eclectic leaderboard that includes Heritage Classic champion James Conran (67), American pair Nate Jordi (73) and Patrick Healy (67) and New South Welshman Nathan Barbieri (69), who is again knocking on the door of a breakthrough professional win.
A 20-year-old hailing from Massachusetts, Jordi began the day with a three-stroke lead, the first time he had made the cut in a 72-hole tournament attracting Official World Golf Ranking points.
A provisional ball after his tee shot on the first flirted with out of bounds was a nervy way to open but Jordi soon settled with a birdie at the par-5 ninth.
He would come under pressure shortly afterwards though, first from Barbieri who eagled the par-5 second and then made birdie at the par-4 third, and then Martin, who went out in 5-under 31 to head to the back nine with a share of the lead.
The 41-year-old from Neangar Park gave that up with a bogey at the par-4 11th but was soon the outright leader again when he hit 6-iron to tap-in range for eagle at the par-5 13th.
In five previous starts at Palmerston, Martin’s lone top-20 finish was a tie for sixth in 2019 yet he believes the twisting nature of the layout plays into his hands.
“I think that’s what probably suits me,” Martin said of the importance of positioning off the tee.
“I’ve just been trying to really give myself more fullish shots in with the wedges.
“I don’t spin the ball a lot in general anyway, so I think when I get those little too close to the green and when the pins are tucked quite close, it makes it tough to do it.
“Then trying to bounce one up can always be a bit tricky and a bit of a guessing game.
“Overall, I think I’ve really played how I wanted to play.”
Martin’s 6-under 65 was matched only by young Victorian Andre Lautee, who was out in the first group of the day in a two-ball with Jarryd Felton, the pair completing their round in just three hours and 10 minutes.
Top 10 at the season-opening PNG Open where he stormed home with 64 in the final round, Lautee was intent on making a big impression on moving day.
“It just shows that one good round can really jump some spots on the leaderboard and change a few things,” said Lautee, who will start the final round five strokes back of Martin in a tie for ninth with West Australian Jordan Doull (68).
“After yesterday, making the cut on the number, I kind of had that in mind, trying to shoot a low one and trying to see how high I can get up on the leaderboard after today and tomorrow.”
Conran will need to find a repeat of what he jokingly referred to as “the miracle at Heritage” to win for a second time on tour inside six months.
Like Martin, he did the majority of his best work on the front nine on Saturday, making a lone birdie and eight pars on the back nine to sit solo second.
“I don’t have a great track record at this course, so it’s nice to put a few good rounds consistently together,” said the 26-year-old from Orange in the New South Wales Central West.
“That just gives me the most confidence.”
The final round tees off at 9:47am AEST on Sunday with the final group of Martin, Conran and Barbieri off at 1:15pm AEST. Live coverage on Kayo Sports and Foxtel starts at 1pm AEST.
Photo: Naomi Hill/PGA of Australia
He missed a chance to win in regulation but Bryce Pickin made it a moment to remember with a stunning playoff victory at the $50,000 NSW/ACT PGA Associate Championship at Tura Beach Country Club.
The New South Wales South Coast gem had provided a worthy challenge all week and it brought the best to the fore in Friday’s final round.
Gold Creek Country Club’s Lachlan Chamberlain surged with a flawless 6-under 67 but would ultimately fall one shot short of the playoff between Pickin and defending champion William Bayliss (Pymble Golf Club).
Undertaking the Membership Pathway Program at Newcastle Golf Club, Pickin took sole ownership of the lead with a birdie at the par-5 16th.
He made par on 17 and headed to the 72nd hole knowing another would clinch his first four-round win as a PGA Associate.
But golf is rarely that simple.
Pickin’s tee shot at the par-5 18th found the penalty area, the resulting bogey seeing both he and Bayliss end the championship at 1-under par and headed for extra holes.
Erring on the side of caution after his earlier mistake, Pickin took 3-wood off the tee as Bayliss hit an iron that found trouble in the trees to the left of the fairway.
Displaying the class that secured the 2024 title, Bayliss recovered brilliantly to position himself greenside on the right of the green and apply the pressure back onto Pickin.
The response was nothing short of spectacular.
Faced with a challenging second shot, Pickin struck a perfectly shaped 5-iron draw around the trees to just six feet from the pin, arguably the shot of the week.
Bayliss applied the pressure with a superb 20-foot birdie putt but Pickin again calmed the nerves to roll in his eagle putt and seal victory in style.
“Why couldn’t I do this earlier in regulation?” Pickin joked.
“I’m just happy I hit the shot I did, stayed composed and got the job done.
“I just stayed patient all week which is what you have to do around this place. Try to hit your shots in the right place and if you’re going to miss, miss on the high sides of the hole.”
Runner-up to Jack Wright in 2023, it was an exceptional title defence from Bayliss, who shot 5-under 68 in the final round to take Pickin to extra holes.
After a shaky start that included a double-bogey at the par-3 fifth, Bayliss peeled off four birdies on the back nine to once again stamp his championship credentials.
It was a fitting finale to a wonderful week that received tremendous support from Tura Beach Country Club staff and members.
The 2026 NSW/ACT PGA Associate Championship will return to Tura Beach Country Club in late August 2026 for another superb showcase of championship golf.
His first made cut in a 72-hole professional tournament will be one to remember for 20-year-old American Nate Jordi, a three-stroke leader at the halfway mark of the Tailor-made Building Services NT PGA Championship.
A young man with a fascinating back story, Jordi overcame early nerves on Friday morning to follow up his 8-under 63 in Round 1 with 3-under 68 at Palmerston Golf and Country Club to be 11-under heading into the weekend.
Using a broomstick for the first time, Sydney’s Jason Hong produced the round of the day, a 6-under 65, to sit in second spot at 8-under with fellow New South Welshman, Nathan Barbieri (67), and Gold Coast’s Jack Munro (68) a further shot back in third.
A top-three finisher three times previously at Palmerston, Brisbane’s Tim Hart (69) is one of six players five strokes back at 6-under par, including Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia winners Cory Crawford (67), James Conran (67), Anthony Quayle (66), Zach Murray (68) and Andrew Martin (68).
Jordi is one of 12 Americans in the field this week, four of whom have made the cut that fell at 1-under par.
Unlike his countrymen, Jordi signed up to the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia Qualifying School last month on a whim, but now finds himself in position for a potentially life-changing week.
Tied 16th at Q School, a win would guarantee Jordi starts in both the BMW Australian PGA Championship and men’s Australian Open later this year, an incredible prospect for someone who only returned to golf last April on the back of a five-month mission trip to Turkey and Cyprus.
“I just felt like the Lord told me to go play professional golf when beforehand I really didn’t know what I was supposed to do,” Jordi said after Round 2.
Admitting that there were nerves as he started the second round with a four-stroke lead, Jordi dropped shots at each of his opening two holes. Belying his inexperience, he responded with six birdies across the rest of his round, unleashing an emotion-charged fist pump when he birdied his final hole.
“I didn’t eat my breakfast this morning, that’s how nervous I was, but I kind of had to settle in,” he added.
“You just can’t get ahead of yourself. I just took my time out there, put some thought into my shots before executing them and thankfully I was able to execute a bunch of shots on the back.
“I knew I needed one more,” Jordi said of the release at his final hole, the par-5 ninth.
“For me, I just needed one more and I got it on that putt and so I was very happy about that.”
Putting a broomstick putter that he borrowed from a friend less than a week ago into his bag, Hong actually carried two putters in Thursday’s opening round.
He felt comfortable enough to ditch the short putter on Friday and made five birdies in the space of six holes around the turn to surge into second.
“I actually putted with two putters yesterday,” said Hong, who had top-four finishes at both the Vic PGA and The Heritage Classic last season.
“I took the 3-wood out of the bag and used two putters just in case. It was my first round with it, so some of the lag putts I used my short putter and then with the short putts, I used the broomstick.
“I think I’ve figured it out now, so I don’t need the short putter anymore.”
Runner-up to Daniel Gale when the NT PGA was last played in 2023, Hart is staying with the aggressive approach that has served him so well in previous trips to Palmerston.
The 36-year-old made three birdies in succession from the 13th hole, including a two at the par-3 14th that has been statistically the toughest hole on the golf course the first two days.
“The first couple of years I came up here, I was a little bit conservative,” said Hart.
“I just thought, you know what, let’s get as close to the green as possible.
“I hit driver on every hole I can. I’ll take the big dog out and just try and get as close to the green.
“I know my hands are pretty good and I’ve got a pretty decent short game so I can make a score.”
In his first tournament back since losing sight in his left eye last year, Jeffrey Guan shot 2-over 73 in Round 2 to miss the cut.
Round 3 will tee off at 10am AEST on Saturday with television broadcast to commence at 3pm on Kayo Sports and Foxtel. The final round will be broadcast from 1pm-6pm AEST Sunday.
Nate Jordi has the lead after Round 2 of the Tailor-made Building Services NT PGA Championship at Palmerston Golf and Country Club.
5.00pm: It looks like our final group for round 3 is locked in – Nate Jordi (-11), Jason Hong (-8) and Nathan Barbieri (-7). Jack Munro is also at -7 thanks to a couple of late birdies led to a 68 in round 2.
4.30pm: Day done for Anthony Quayle who cards a 67 and is in the group tied for fifth at 6-under-par, five behind the lead.
4:20pm: Andrew Martin may be playing his way into the final group on Saturday. With three holes remaining, he’s 7-under-par and in a share of third.
3:50pm: Anthony Quayle made it to 7-under-par with a birdie on the par-5 13th, but handed the shot back straight away on the next hole, the long par-3 14th. That’s his first bogey on day two. He’s in a share of fourth at 6-under-par with three holes remaining.
3.30pm: It’s looking more and more likely that Nathan Jordi (-11) will be the 36-hole leader in NT this year and most definitely in the final group tomorrow.
A bit more on the American here:
Jordi grew up in Menen, Massachusetts and started in golf when he was four. He usually only played around six months each year, with baseball his major focus, until he moved to south Georgia where he teamed up with coach Mike Taylor, who has coached PGA TOUR players Harris English and Lucas Glover.
As a 13-year-old, Jordi won 17 of 21 events on the New England PGA Junior Tour and finished top three in the four others. His grandfather Howard was a big inspiration in his developing years as a golfer.
A keen fisherman, Jordi has worked on a commercial fishing boat based at Rhode Island, catching striped bass and tuna. His favourite sporting teams are the New England Patriots and Boston Red Fox, and he loves a meal of steak and potatoes.
3.15pm: Leaderboard : -11 Jordi (F), -8 Hong (F), -7 Barbieri (F), -7 Martin (9), -6 T Hart (F), -6 Murray (F), -6 Conran (F), -6 Crawford (F), -6 T Wood (F), -6 Quayle (12), -6 Munro (9)
3pm: You can catch the final two rounds of the Tailor-Made Building Services NT PGA Championship on Kayo and Foxtel tomorrow and Sunday.
2:50pm: Jeff Guan update – In his first event back from his serious eye injury, the former Australian amateur star is now at 4-over-par. He’ll need to play his final nine holes in 4-under-par to have a chance of making the cut which looks like coming at even-par. It could possibly be as low as 1-under.
2:45pm: Watch out for Andrew Martin. A multiple Tour event winner, he’s now up to a share of third place at 8-under-par with nine holes left in his second round.
2:20pm: The big move in the afternoon wave is coming from a familiar face, Queenslander Anthony Quayle. One of the pre-tournament favourites, he is 5-under today to be 6-under overall and in a share of fifth with nine holes still to play.
1:32pm: What a first two days for American Nate Jordi in the NT. He has finished his second round and holds a three-shot lead at 11-under-par, following a 63 on Thursday with a 68 today.
Over his two rounds, he has 14 birdies and three bogeys – all while using a yardage book and pin sheet in a pro event for the first time.
Leaderboard : -11 Jordi, -8 Hong, -7 Barbieri, -6 T Hart, -6 Murray, -6 Conran, -6 Crawford, -6 T Wood
1:30pm: It’s a fantastic Friday 65 for Sydney’s Jason Hong, who is now in outright second at 8-under and in the hunt for his first Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia. He’s two back of the lead.
1:00pm: Nathan Barbieri has just finished off a second round of 67 to move to 7-under-par after 36 holes. He’s sitting in equal second place as our afternoon field starts their rounds.
12:50pm: A birdie at the fifth hole for Nate Jordi, who is the first player to double digits under-par. He’s -2 for his second round and three clear of Jason Hong.
12:40pm: Some of our leaders are now back in the clubhouse, among them PNG Open winner Cory Crawford (-6), Zac Murray (-6) and Tim Hart (-6). They are currently three shots from the lead.
12:30pm: Hong enters the chat! A regular on Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia leaderboards last summer, New South Welshman Jason Hong is getting himself in the mix early in Palmerston. He’s 5-under on his day today, 7-under for the week and now just two back of Jordi atop the leaderboard.
12:07pm: American Nate Jordi remains in the lead. While he carded three birdies and three bogeys on his opening nine today, Jordi has made a nice birdie on Palmerston’s par-5 second to increase his lead to three shots at 9-under.
11:25am: A Ballarat golfer in town for next week’s Australian Veteran Golfers Union National Championship has come to the rescue for tournament leader Nate Jordi. The gentleman, happy to have escaped the cold of Ballarat, leant Jordi the battery from his Bushnell rangefinder after the American’s died midway through his front nine. Jordi sought confirmation from rules officials that he was able to change the battery and has promised his saviour a cold beer at the end of his round.
11:06am: After a brilliant up-and-down from the back of the 17th green, Nate Jordi makes birdie at the par-4 18th to turn in even par and one stroke in front. PNG Open winner Cory Crawford is Jordi’s nearest challenger and is 5-under on his round through 12 holes.
10:45am: After getting back to his overnight score of 8-under, Nate Jordi isn’t able to save par from the sand at Palmerston’s par-3 16th and drops a shot. Playing partner and closest challenger Chris Wood makes double however and so Jordi still enjoys a buffer atop the leaderboard.
10:06am: With Nate Jordi coming back to the field, there is now just three shots separating the top 18 players on the leaderboard. Winner of the season-opening PNG Open, Cory Crawford is 2-under on his round and now just two off the lead while Zach Murray and Dylan Gardner have both drawn to within one of Jordi at 5-under.
10:02am: Some stats from Round 1. The front nine played 0.13 under par, the back nine 0.58 over par. At 0.33 over par, the par-3 14th played as the hardest hole on the golf course on Thursday while the par-5 ninth was statistically the easiest, playing to 4.44 in Round 1.
9:45: Our overnight American leader Nate Jordi has dropped two shots early in the second round to come back to the rest of the field. He’s still in the lead at 6-under, but now only by a single shot over Tour winners Zach Murray and Chris Wood, as well as young Queenslander Dylan Gardner.
7:50am: No morning fog to contend with for the early groups in Round 2 of the Tailor-made Building Services NT PGA Championship. Palmerston Golf and Country Club is looking a treat and our overnight leader, American rookie Nate Jordi, will seek to build on his four-shot advantage from 8:50am local time.
7:40am: As the first groups tee off in Round 2, learn more about our overnight leader, Nate Jordi.
6pm: How things stand after day one.
5.40pm: What a round from American Nate Jordi – a bogey-free 8-under-par 63 at Palmerston gives him a four-stroke lead after day one of the Tailor-Made Building Services NT PGA Championship.
Nate turned pro in 2024 and hails from Massachussetts
His closest chasers are Queenslanders Tim Hart and Jack Munro and Q School winner Jimmy Zheng at 4-under-par
5.12pm: We have a new outright leader and he is building a buffer. After birdies at 11, 13 and 15, American Nate Jordi has chipped in for birdie at the par-3 16th. He is now 7-under and three strokes clear with two to play.
Jack Munro, joint leader at 4-under-par
4:35pm: It’s very crowded at the top – 30 players are within two shots of the lead.
4.30pm: We do have some movers in the afternoon groups. American Nate Jordi has joined the leading group at 4-under-par through 12 with Zach Maxwell the next best on-course at -3. We’ve received word that Jordi is a deep sea fishing fan.
3pm: Americans start hot in the afternoon. Two of our new American Tour school graduates have made a good start to their Australian soil debuts. Both Tyler Griggs and Nathan Jordi find themselves at 2-under and just two back of the morning leaders.
2pm: The morning groups are through and some familiar names have risen to the top of the leaderboard, as well as some rookies including Tour school winner Jimmy Zheng.
T1 Jack Munro -4
T1 Jimmy Zheng -4
T3 Jack Tanner -3
T3 Jasper Stubbs -3
T3 Jack Buchanan -3
T3 Scotty Kennon -3
T3 Harrison Crowe -3
T3 Andrew Martin -3
12pm: Early leader Jack Tanner is the leading man in the clubhouse at 3-under, but he has some men on the course ahead of him. Jack Buchanan remains at 4-under after 15 holes, and is joined at the top of the leaderboard by NSW amateur Blake Phillips.
Interestingly, Phillips is a former NT Amateur champion and so knows his way around the golf courses in the Top End.
11am: Our leader Jack Buchanan remains on the charge. He’s 4-under through 13 and just slid his birdie try by on Palmerston’s par-3 fourth.
10am: What a first nine from Jack Tanner. He turns in 5-under-par 30 and with a three-shot margin. Been a big 24 hours for Jack, who is a Gold Coast Suns fan.
Jeff Guan on the 15th at Palmerston in his comeback to professional golf
9.15am: It’s Jack Tanner who has the lead at -3 after six holes, one clear of Louis Dobbelaar. In 2015, Tanner took home medallist honours at the Glenelg Men’s Club Championship as a 14-year-old, becoming the youngest winner in the event’s 88-year history.
8:50am: Croweaters at the top! Lachlan Barker has joined fellow statesman Tanner at the top of the leaderboard at 1-under after a birdie at Palmerston’s 11th and two birdies to start the day.
8:40am: After just missing the fairway on 11 and finding the back edge with his approach, Jeff Guan hit an amazing lag recovery putt to set up another tap-in par.
8:30am: South Australian rookie Jack Tanner has claimed the early lead in the Top End. With a birdie on Palmerston’s tenth hole and two pars to follow, Tanner is currently the only player under par.
8:15am: After just missing the fairway left on his opening hole, Jeff Guan followed with a stunning 6-iron to 20-feet over the trees. His birdie putt just came up short but it is an easy par on the first to get his return to professional golf underway.
7:40am: First groups are off in the 2025 Tailor-made Building Services NT PGA Championship at Palmerston Golf and Country Club. This week sees the return to the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia of Sydney’s Jeffrey Guan, less than 12 months after losing sight in his left eye after being struck by a golf ball during a pro-am on the NSW South Coast.
Guan has been drawn to play with fellow New South Welshman Harrison Crowe and South Australian Lachlan Barker for the first two rounds and will tee off at 8am local time.
Twelve players will start the final round within five strokes of the lead after windy conditions kept scoring in check on day three of the 2025 NSW/ACT PGA Associate Championship at Tura Beach Country Club.
Thursday threw the toughest conditions of the week at the 50 players who made the cut, only five players breaking par which included a superb 4-under 69 from Canberra’s Jacob Davies.
Highlighted by an eagle at the par-5 5th, Davies made birdies at 14, 17, and 18 with just a single blemish on the sixth to make a major move on the leaderboard.
At the top of that leaderboard is Concord Golf Club’s Joe Kim, who started Round 3 with four straight birdies before also succumbing to the strong winds on the run home.
Kim’s 2-under 71 and 1-under total gives him a one-stroke lead from 36-hole co-leader Jordan Garner (75) and Pacific Golf Club’s Campbell Jones, who has shot even-par 73 all three days of the championship.
A total of 12 players will start Friday’s final round within five strokes of Kim and, with coastal winds again expected to buffet Tura Beach, the door is open for a thrilling race to the finish.
First groups teed off at 7am on Friday morning with the lead group of Kim, Garner and Campbell scheduled to head out at 9:24am AEST.
A former junior prodigy from Massachusetts with next to no professional golf experience is the surprise Round 1 leader at the Tailor-made Building Services NT PGA Championship in Palmerston.
Just two shots separated the top 35 players on the leaderboard late into the opening round at Palmerston Golf and Country Club on Thursday before American Nate Jordi stormed home with birdies at 15, 16 and 17 in a bogey-free 8-under 63.
Raised in Massachusetts but now playing out of Pine Forest Country Club in Georgia, Jordi only signed up to the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia Qualifying School at Kinderlou Forest in July as a warm-up for another event yet earned enough status to tempt him Down Under.
He missed the cut at the season-opening PNG Open but has put a four-stroke gap between himself and the rest of the field with what the 20-year-old says is the best round of his life.
“I really didn’t have many expectations going into this,” said Jordi post-round.
“My hopes were to have a good round, to have a lot of fun, to enjoy my time out there because golf’s a sport, it’s supposed to be fun. So that was my only expectation, to go out and have fun.
“This is my only second real event other than PNG; that was my first one. So no, I was very shaky to start, but I made some putts and, trust in the Lord, and he took me the rest of the way.”
That Jordi is in the Northern Territory is remarkable in itself.
As a 13-year-old, he won 17 of 21 events on the New England PGA Junior Tour… and finished top three in the four others.
But when his granddad, Howard Jordi, lost his foot due to diabetes the next year, Jordi’s junior golf career came to an abrupt halt.
“That was the last year actually that my granddad was actually able to be with me on the golf course,” said an emotional Jordi.
“He lost his foot due to diabetes and hasn’t been able to be out there with me.
“It kind of went downhill from there for a while until I met Mike Taylor, who took great care of me and now I’m starting to get back on track a little bit.”
Taylor, the former coach of US Open champion Lucas Glover and five-time PGA TOUR winner Harris English, is based at Sea Island in Georgia.
Prior to finding Taylor, Jordi spent time working on commercial fishing charters out of Newport, Rhode Island and is already booked on a boat for some fishing off the Top End on Monday.
If he can follow up his performance from Thursday over the coming three days, it might be the second big catch of the week.
“To be honest, I’m very golf stupid,” said Jordi, who had never used a yardage book or pin sheet prior to Round 1.
“I really had no idea what this tour even was until I found out that it was a legit tour. And I talked to people, your team has been wonderful and we figured out what time to be there and all that.
“I played my Q School there as a practice round and ended up making it so figured I’d come over here and give it a shot.”
After uncustomary fog lifted mid-morning, temperatures rose to 33 degrees, the building humidity only adding to the challenge of the golf course.
Gold Coast’s Jack Munro posted 4-under in the morning along with Qualifying School medallist Jimmy Zheng, their 67s holding up as the best of the day until Jordi’s late flurry.
Brisbane’s Tim Hart shot 67 in the afternoon to join Munro and Zheng at 4-under in a tie for second, 14 players a further shot back at 3-under par 69.
Round 1 also marked the competitive return of Jeffrey Guan following the tragic accident that left him blind in his left eye less than 12 months ago.
The 21-year-old from Sydney had two birdies, three bogeys and a double-bogey in a round of 74 and will start Round 2 in a tie for 95th.
The golf gods gave him very little and Mother Nature threw a spanner in the works yet Jeffrey Guan was largely content with his return to professional golf on Thursday.
Out in the third group off the day from the 10th tee at the Tailor-made Building Services NT PGA Championship at Palmerston Golf and Country Club, Guan and playing partners were met by an unusually heavy fog.
It added an element the 21-year-old was not expecting ahead of his first professional round since a tragic accident less than 12 months ago that left him blind in his left eye.
“It was weird,” Guan said of conditions on Thursday morning.
“I took out my rangefinder on the first tee and I was trying to laser the tree at the back and then all of a sudden it was only eight metres. I’m like, Oh, okay. That’s a great start.
“It didn’t help that after I hit the ball, I had no idea where it was either. It was a bit of a weird, rough start as well as some unfortunate breaks on the fairways on the early holes, but that’s just golf. That’s just the game. That’s why I enjoy it.”
After missing the fairway just left at the par-4 10th, Guan pierced a gap in the trees with a 6-iron to 20 feet in the first sign that the talent that took him all the way to the PGA TOUR had not left him.
The birdie putt came up just short but a two-putt par was an ideal way to settle the nerves.
He hit a towering tee shot over the trees down the left of the par-4 12th only to have his ball come to rest in a divot in the fairway, his resulting pitch to the fringe of the green and three putts leading to an early bogey.
There were further bogeys at 14 and 15 as he turned in 3-over but clawed one back with a welcomed birdie at the short par-4 fifth.
“It was a great tee shot,” said Guan. “And then I left myself a pretty nice putt. I holed a couple putts before that, so I was feeling good with the putter, and then as soon as that went in, my dad gave me a really big fist pump and said, ‘Here we go. This is the turning point.,”
Playing just his third 18-hole round of golf since the accident, fatigue contributed to a double-bogey at the par-4 eighth but he bounced back with birdie at his final hole of what is likely the most challenging round of golf he has ever played in his life.
“Teeing off the first was genuinely a great feeling,” he added.
“I wasn’t nervous at all from what I predicted the past couple of days, but there was a lot of mistakes out there and heaps of room for improvement.
“I’ll definitely take this as a good heads up for the next couple of days and let’s see if I can shoot a couple under par.
“I’m sort of getting back into the form that I felt prior to the accident. I hit a lot of shots out the middle of the face, mainly off the tee, which probably was the highlight of the day.
“My tee shots were very good, but then I hit some very loose shots towards the end around the greens. That cost me a double and then a couple shots that I could have saved.
“I think I’ve got a good feel of the course now and then with what I’ve done out there today, I know what I need to work on maybe this afternoon or tomorrow morning just to hopefully get that sorted.
“I’m looking forward to it again.”
Gold Coaster Jack Munro and Kiwi Jimmy Zheng posted the best of the morning scores with rounds of 4-under 67 with a total of 20 players within two shots of the lead.
Photo: Monica Marchesani/PGA of Australia
Central Coast product Jordie Garner handled windy afternoon conditions best to produce the round of the day and take a share of the lead at the halfway mark of the NSW/ACT PGA Associate Championship at Tura Beach Country Club.
While the sun was shining the wind blew strongly, keeping the majority of scores in check and with just two shots separating the top seven players on the leaderboard.
Following on from an even-par 73 on day one, Garner turned in 1-over on Wednesday but responded with four birdies and a lone bogey on the back nine, joining Ho-Tae Kim at 2-under through 36 holes.
In his first year of the Membership Pathway Program at Pennant Hills Golf Club in Sydney, Garner is excited to be once again contending in a major event.
“I wasn’t chuffed with my start,” said Garner, who had three bogeys in his first seven holes.
“I’ve been swinging it well so just keep hitting fairways and take advantage of the par 5s.
“Played smart and had a few more putts dropped today which was nice.
“I haven’t been in this position in a tournament since 2019 so I’m looking forward to the next two days.”
Kim, a PGA Associate based at Ryde-Parramatta Golf Club, backed up his 2-under round on Tuesday with an even par 73 in Round 2, also bouncing back after a rough start.
“Had a bit of a rough start with doubling the second hole but from there I battled through the front nine,” said Kim.
“Turned 1-over and then through the back nine, made a couple of pars here and there and then finished strong towards the end, making three birdies in a row on 16, 17, 18.”
Defending champion Will Bayliss (76) is the only other player under par with Round 1 leader Jordy McGarry (78), Campbell Jones (73), Angelo Bourandanis (73) and 2023 champ Jack Wright (74) all at even par.
The cut was set at 10-over-par, with exactly 50 players advancing to the final two days of play.
Round 3 tees off at 8am on Thursday morning with the feature group of Garner, Kim and Bayliss scheduled to tee off at 10:24am.
