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If you follow elite amateur and professional golf, you have likely heard the name John Serhan. A PGA of Australia member for 29 years and the 2022 PGA NSW Coach of the Year – High Performance, the long-time Head Teaching Professional at St Michael’s Golf Club in Sydney has developed a knack for taking promising junior players to the highest level.
His stable includes 2022 Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship winner Harrison Crowe and Sarah Kemp, who at 38 is playing arguably the best golf of her career on the LPGA Tour.
To watch Serhan at a tournament is a tiring experience for the observer, the younger brother of former New South Wales Open winner George Serhan constantly watching and filming his players.
Serhan is often unable to help himself from jumping in as caddie, too.
His commitment to his charges is admirable, and when speaking to his players it becomes clear he is more than just the PGA Professional they trust with their game.
“As a person, probably one of the best blokes I’ve ever met. Easy going and easy to talk to when you need him, almost like a second dad,” says Nathan Barbieri, pictured with Serhan and runner-up at the 2019 Australian Amateur.
Adds Crowe: “He’s rare. He’s extremely selfless. He’s always putting everyone else in front of himself. He’s just a top human being.”
Serhan, too, notes his closeness to students that become like family through the amount of time spent together. However, beyond the personal touch to his coaching that sees Kelsey Bennett suggest he is “like my therapist”, Serhan’s eye for the golf swing and simplistic methods are more than proven.
“I think we have just got a great relationship,” says Crowe.
“We work really well together in just kind of gelling, working through things together, not necessarily him just telling me what I need to do.
“It will always be a two-sided conversation. He’s such a great coach, such a great person.”
Those conversations don’t come via a strict methodology that can so often be the criticism of elite coaches, despite Serhan admitting he does have his preferences. His ability to work with a player’s natural movements is arguably one of his greatest traits.
“It’s about trying to lay a foundation – a good technical foundation – and getting them to play lots of different shots I think is really important,” Serhan says of his philosophy.
“I know there are two trains of thought out there, whether you’re teaching just to play one side all the time. For me, I want to have awareness of the club and be able to move the ball around so they can create shots while they’re out there and it’s more fun when they do that.
“I think it’s important to understand that we are all unique. Obviously we all have systems, we have all preferences in our head that we like. I like to think that actually most of my players look different, because we try and embrace their uniqueness.”
Discussing the importance of club face at impact, attack angles, repeatability and removing any strain on the body to achieve those all-important elements, Serhan’s approach to elite golf revolves around fun. Particularly when it comes to embracing a young player’s enthusiasm, rather than stifling it.
“Just making sure that whatever they are doing is fun, so they’re finding a way to make it fun for themselves, so they are enjoying their practice,” he says of young students.
“Balancing out really the ‘range rats’ to being on course and playing games and setting little targets on course.”
Although Serhan might be best known for his work with the Crowes, Kemps and Bennetts of the world, he approaches the game and teaching in the same way for the St Michael’s members, be they nine or 90, with fun the overall driver.
That includes Kemp who he jokingly calls “an old big kid”.
“Whether they are 17 or 37, I honestly hope the same principles still apply because I believe there is a child within all of us, who wants to get out and muck around and have fun,” he said.
Believing his work with young players, including the St Michael’s junior program that Crowe calls “the best I’ve ever seen”, keeps him young, Serhan’s simplicity in his approach and personable nature is indicative of many PGA Professionals coaching at all levels. And comes down to a simple driving force.
“You want to see good people do well.”
Newly-crowned Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit winner, Kazuma Kobori, has leant on some familiar faces in preparation of this week’s DP World Tour event in India.
Kobori’s exemption category on the DP World Tour – earned through his three-win season in Australia – does not kick in until November.
He is teeing it up at this week’s Hero Indian Open by virtue of a tournament invite and has been granted a second invite to play the ISPS HANDA Championship in Japan next month.
Given the 22-year-old only turned professional the week of the Queensland PGA Championship last November, it is a rapid ascension into the world of professional golf.
One person Kobori has turned to is the man he succeeded as Order of Merit champion, David Micheluzzi.
A dominant force during the 2022/2023 season, Micheluzzi went from a breakthrough win in Kalgoorlie to playing PGA TOUR events and major championships within seven months.
On Sunday, Micheluzzi held the outright lead going into the back nine of the Porsche Singapore Classic on his way to a tie for seventh.
It is his best result on the DP World Tour and made him a valuable source of information when he and Kobori played a practice round with Kobori’s Kiwi countryman Sam Jones and Australian Deyen Lawson on Tuesday.
Kobori also gleaned insights from fellow New Zealander Daniel Hillier when the pair played together at the NZ Open earlier this month and is approaching this week with a nothing-to-lose mentality.
“Obviously very blessed to be here. I’m not a member of the DP World Tour yet so any start I can get is fantastic,” Kobori told DP World Tour Media.
“Right now, I’m not a member, so any start I can get is like a free run until I start my exemption category in November.
“I’m just trying to take it all in and try and figure out how my game translates to this Tour.”
Rather than feeling overawed by teeing it up in a field boasting Rafa Cabrera Bello, Andy Sullivan and Rasmus Hojgaard, Kobori is ready to absorb any learnings on offer.
“It’s inspiring, actually. It goes to show that I have come a wee way since turning professional in November. It’s been a pretty quick journey.
“Just looking forward to learning a lot this week and a few more weeks to come.”
Micheluzzi is not the only Aussie in India this week by virtue of his Order of Merit finish for the 2022/2023 season.
Tom Power Horan, Andrew Martin, John Lyras, Deyen Lawson and Elvis Smylie are all in the field as they seek to establish a foothold on a major tour. West Australian Haydn Barron continues his rookie season after earning his card through Q School.
The Aussie influence has been bolstered this week, too, on both the PGA TOUR and PGA TOUR Champions.
Rhein Gibson advanced from a 4-for-3 playoff at Monday qualifying to play his way into the Texas Children’s Hospital Houston Open while Greg Chalmers matched the day’s best round – 4-under 68 at Bermuda Dunes – to earn a start at The Galleri Classic in California.
This week’s LPGA Tour event, the inaugural Ford Championship in Arizona, also has a strong Australian representation.
Minjee Lee will play her first event in America for the year, joined by HSBC Women’s World champion Hannah Green and seven other Aussies at Seville Golf and Country Club.
Photo: Luke Walker/Getty Images
Round 1 tee times AEDT
PGA TOUR
Texas Children’s Houston Open
Memorial Park Golf Course, Houston, Texas
11:31pm Aaron Baddeley, Josh Teater, Dylan Wu
11:31pm* Taylor Montgomery, Harry Hall, Ryan Fox (NZ)
11:42pm* Cam Davis, Chesson Hadley, Aaron Rai
5:04am Sahith Theegala, Jason Day, Padraig Harrington
6:10am* Victor Perez, Harrison Endycott, Emilio Gonzalez
6:21am Jorge Campillo, Rico Hoey, Rhein Gibson
Defending champion: Tony Finau
Past Aussie winners: Bruce Devlin (1972), Bruce Crampton (1973, 1975), David Graham (1983), Stuart Appleby (1999, 2006), Robert Allenby (2000), Adam Scott (2007), Matt Jones (2014)
Prize money: $US9.1 million
TV times: Live 12am-10am Friday, Saturday; Live 2:45am-9am Sunday, Monday on Fox Sports 503 and Kayo.
DP World Tour
Hero Indian Open
DLF G&CC, New Delhi, India
11:55am Lauri Ruuska, Anant Singh Ahlawat, Haydn Barron
12:05pm Varun Parikh, Sam Jones (NZ), Maximilian Rottluff
12:10pm* Sachin Baisoya, Deyen Lawson, Ricardo Gouveia
12:20pm* Jonathan Goth-Rasmussen, John Lyras, Karan Pratap Singh
12:50pm* John Parry, Daniel Hillier (NZ), Sam Bairstow
1:25pm Dylan Mostert, Aman Raj, Andrew Martin
1pm* Masahiro Kawamura, Frederic Lacroix, Kazuma Kobori (NZ)
5pm Elvis Smylie, Angad Cheema, Freddy Schott
5:10pm Om Prakash Chouhan, Benjamin Follett-Smith, Tom Power Horan
6:20pm Laurie Canter, Gaganjeet Bhullar, David Micheluzzi
Defending champion: Marcel Siem
Past Aussie winners: Nil
Prize money: $US2.25 million
TV times: Live 6:30pm-11:30pm Thursday, Friday; Live 7pm-11:30pm Saturday; Live 5:30pm-10:30pm Sunday on Fox Sports 503 and Kayo.
LPGA Tour
Ford Championship presented by KCC
Seville Golf and Country Club, Gilbert, Arizona
1am Stephanie Kyriacou, Jeongeun Lee6, Emily Kristine Pedersen
1:11am Hye-Jin Choi, Jiwon Jeon, Sarah Kemp
2:06am* Brooke Henderson, Minjee Lee, Ruoning Yin
2:28am* Marina Alex, Gabriela Ruffels, Mao Saigo
6:01am* Peiyun Chien, Robyn Choi, Linnea Strom
6:56am Celine Boutier, Lydia Ko (NZ), Nelly Korda
6:56am* Carlota Ciganda, Hannah Green, In Kyung Kim
7:07am* Pajaree Anannarukarn, Grace Kim, Yani Tseng
7:29am* Aditi Ashok, Karis Davidson, Wei-Ling Hsu
7:40am Mary Liu, Hira Naveed, Liqi Zeng
Defending champion: Inaugural event
Past Aussie winners: Nil
Prize money: $US2.25m
TV times: Live 9am-12pm Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday on Fox Sports 505 and Kayo.
Japan Golf Tour
Token Homemate Cup
Token Tado Country Club, Nagoya
9:20am Daiiku Kataoka, Toshinori Muto, Michael Hendry (NZ)
9:30am Mitsunori Kakazu, Daihiro Nishiyama, Anthony Quayle
9:30am* Ohira Sato, Brad Kennedy, Ryutaro Nagano
2:05pm Taisei Shimizu, Yusaku Hosono, Brendan Jones
Defending champion: Shugo Imahira
Past Aussie winners: Craig Warren (1994), Andre Stolz (2003), Wayne Perske (2006), Brendan Jones (2012, 2019)
Prize money: ¥130,000,000
PGA TOUR Americas
Totalplay Championship
Atlas Country Club, Guadalajara, Mexico
5:25am Paul Chaplet, Tyler Strafaci, Harry Hillier (NZ)
5:35am* Josh Goldenberg, Gabriel Morgan-Birke, Jason Hong
6:15am George Markham, Charlie Hillier (NZ), Travis Vick
Defending champion: Inaugural event
Past Aussie winners: Nil
Prize money: $225,000
PGA TOUR Champions
The Galleri Classic
Mission Hills Country Club, Rancho Mirage, California
Australasians in the field: Steven Alker (NZ), Steve Allan, Stuart Appleby, Greg Chalmers, Richard Green, Mark Hensby, Rod Pampling, Michael Wright.
Defending champion: David Toms
Past Aussie winners: Nil
Prize money: $US2.2 million
TV times: 10am-11am Saturday on Fox Sports 503; Live 7am-9am Sunday; Live 5:30am-9am Monday on Fox Sports 505 and Kayo.
Paralympian Elle Steele and three-time AFL premiership winner Bachar Houli have joined the list of keynote speakers who will share their inspirational stories at this year’s Golf Summit.
While the duo has had great success in their sporting endeavours, it’s their accomplishments outside the sporting setting that have made them leaders in the Australian community.
Their presentations will be a feature of the Golf Summit at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre from October 16-17.
Both Elle and Bachar know what it is like to face adversity in sport, and their presentations will focus on what golf can do to become more accessible and welcoming to people from all walks of life.
Elle describes herself as having a resume like no one else – Paralympian, gold medallist, model, entrepreneur, and mentor.
At just 17, Elle swam for Australia in the 2000 Sydney Paralympics, breaking the 400-metre freestyle national record in the process, and went on to captain a number of Australian swimming teams.
Born with a congenital disability called Arthrogryposis, and Amniotic band syndrome, Elle has had more than 30 surgeries throughout her life and had to relearn to walk multiple times.
Elle’s session at the Golf Summit, will delve into her experiences growing up with a disability, offering insights into challenges faced within the golf industry due to societal attitudes.
Emphasising the need for a “disability revolution” specific to golf, the session will explore themes of equal rights, challenges to stereotypes, and envisions a more inclusive golfing community.
Similar to Elle, Bachar Houli has used his unique experiences in professional sport to become a leader for social and community change in his retirement.
An ex-Richmond Tigers player, Bachar was the first devout Muslim to play AFL at the highest level, already becoming a leader for his community with his first game.
He went on to play 232 games in the AFL, including three premiership wins with Richmond and being named in the 2019 All-Australian team.
In retirement, he has founded the Bachar Houli Foundation, which aims to foster the development of young Muslims and offer a sense of belonging through football development.
Using his own experience, the Bachar Houli Foundation is developing young leaders with the Muslim community.
Both Elle and Bachar are role models for younger members of the community, and through their work, are enring that opportunities for those who look up to them are forever increasing.
The Asia-Pacific region’s premier event welcoming the entire golf industry, tickets for the 2024 Golf Summit are on sale now.
Find tickets HERE.
The Golf Summit is proudly supported by the Melbourne Convention Bureau and the State Government’s National Business Event Program
Rising stars Gabi Ruffels and David Micheluzzi both got a glimpse of breakthrough wins on major tours before coming up just short.
Ruffels had a birdie putt on the 72nd hole to join the playoff at the Fir Hills Seri Pak Championship on the LPGA Tour while Micheluzzi led early on the back nine on Sunday at the DP World Tour’s Porsche Singapore Classic.
In danger of missing the cut late on Friday, Ruffels surged into contention with a third round of 6-under 65, putting her just two shots off the lead heading into Round 4.
When eventual champion Nelly Korda made eagle at the par-5 14th Ruffels trailed by five, clawing her way back within three with birdies at 15 and 16.
With Korda playing in the group ahead, Ruffels was unaware that the American had dropped shots at both 17 and 18.
That gave the Aussie the simple equation of needing to make birdie at the final hole to match Korda and Ryann O’Toole’s total of 9-under par.
The 23-year-old had a good look from around 20 feet but her putt came up just short and left, her tie for third her best LPGA Tour result and a taste of what it takes to win at the highest level.
“Standing over the putt, I did realise that was to get into a playoff,” Ruffels revealed post-round.
“It’s cool. It’s really cool to be in that situation.
“Unfortunately didn’t make the putt, but thought I hit a pretty good putt.
“Not a great start to the year I guess in Bradenton, but worked hard these past couple weeks and I really feel like my game is in a good place.
“Just goes to show this week and excited for the next couple weeks.”
Early strruggles aren't stopping @GabiRuffels 💪
— LPGA (@LPGA) March 24, 2024
BTW, tune in on @GolfChannel for a master class on how to play through some insane wind 🌬️ pic.twitter.com/yBRYE9ih5X
It was a matter of ‘what if’ too for Micheluzzi in Singapore.
A one-stroke leader through 54 holes, Micheluzzi maintained his advantage as he began the back nine at Laguna National Golf Resort Club.
After a par at 10, the Victorian suffered a stroke of misfortune when he was forced to play out sideways from a bunker at the par-3 11th that led to a double-bogey.
Current leader @DavidMicheluzzi is forced to go sideways after an awkward bunker lie 😡#PorscheSingaporeClassic pic.twitter.com/Rct559mGHd
— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) March 24, 2024
He lost his tee shot right at the par-4 12th on his way to a second double-bogey, climbing back into a tie for seventh with birdies at 16 and 18 for his best finish in a DP World Tour event.
Veteran Aaron Baddeley had a one-stroke lead early in Round 2 of the PGA TOUR’s Valspar Championship, bouncing back from a 74 in Round 3 with a 2-under 69 to finish tied 17th.
Photos: Orlando Ramirez/Getty Images (Ruffels), Jason Butler/Getty Images (Micheluzzi)
Results
PGA TOUR
Valspar Championship
Innisbrook Resort (Copperhead Cse), Palm Harbor, Florida
1 Peter Malnati 66-71-68-67—272 $US1.512m
T17 Aaron Baddeley 67-70-74-69—280 $104,020
MC Ryan Fox (NZ) 76-69—145
MC Harrison Endycott 75-73—148
MC Min Woo Lee 74-75—149
DP World Tour
Porsche Singapore Classic
Laguna National Golf Resort Club, Singapore
1 Jesper Svensson 68-73-67-63—271 €392,403.78
T7 David Micheluzzi 67-70-66-73—276 €56,206.07
T29 Jason Scrivener 74-68-68-70—280 €19,504.78
MC Deyen Lawson 70-74—144
MC John Lyras 71-73—144
MC Tom Power Horan 73-71—144
MC Andrew Martin 74-74—148
MC Daniel Hillier 72-74—146
MC Michael Hendry 80-73—153
LPGA Tour
Fir Hills Seri Pak Championship
Palos Verdes Golf Club, Palos Verdes Estates, California
1 Nelly Korda 72-67-67-69—275 $US300,000
T3 Gabriela Ruffels 72-69-65-70—276 $120,026
T27 Karis Davidson 73-69-71-70—283 $15,179
MC Hira Naveed 70-74—144
MC Hannah Green 73-72—145
MC Sarah Kemp 74-74—148
MC Stephanie Kyriacou 75-74—149
MC Grace Kim 73-76—149
MC Robyn Choi 73-77—150
PGA TOUR Americas
Bupa Championship at Tulum
PGA Riviera Maya, Tulum, Mexico
1 Clay Feagler 69-70-74-71—284
T63 Charlie Hillier (NZ) 69-75-80-76—300
MC Harry Hillier (NZ) 74-76—150
MC Jason Hong 78-80—158
Challenge Tour
Kolkata Challenge
Royal Calcutta Golf Club, Kolkata, India
1 Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen 68-65-68-71—272 €44,318.54
T38 Hayden Hopewell 70-71-74-71—286 €1,689.64
MC Connor McKinney 76-69—145
Epson Tour
Atlantic Beach Classic
Atlantic Beach Country Club, Atlantic Beach, Florida
1 Briana Chacon 67-70-69—206 $US45,000
11 Fiona Xu (NZ) 68-70-72—210 $6,091
T55 Amelia Garvey (NZ) 68-74-78—220 $1,149
MC Cassie Porter 73-74—147
MC Su Oh 76-77—153
Champions Tour
Hoag Classic
Newport Beach CC, Newport Beach, California
1 Padraig Harrington 63-67-69—199 $US300,000
T9 David Bransdon 67-69-70—206 $54,000
T15 Steve Allan 71-69-68—208 $26,383
T15 Steven Alker (NZ) 72-67-69—208 $26,383
T27 Richard Green 70-68-71—209 $16,233
T33 Greg Chalmers 72-68-70—210 $12,600
T33 Rod Pampling 68-71-71—210 $12,600
T57 Michael Wright 69-75-72—216 $3,800
T62 Stuart Appleby 76-70-70—216 $2,900
75 John Senden 72-75-78—225 $1,240
WD Mark Hensby 69-69—138
The continued excellence of Minjee Lee and emergence of Min Woo Lee as Australian golf’s next superstar have seen Ritchie Smith earn a seventh nod as Coach of the Year – High Performance at the Western Australian Golf Industry Gala Dinner on Friday night.
Representatives from throughout the WA golf industry gathered at Crown Casino in Perth to recognise outstanding performers across all aspects of the game in 2023.
A record number of rounds at Busselton Golf Club saw Grant Williams named Hilary Lawler WA PGA Club Professional of the Year, Nicole Martino was awarded PGA Management Professional of the Year for her work at The Western Australian Golf Club and Wembley Golf Course’s Andrew Thomas edged a strong list of finalists to be again named Game Development Coach of the Year.
Smith (Royal Fremantle Golf Club, pictured with PGA of Australia CEO Gavin Kirkman) and David Milne (Lake Karrinyup Country Club) were the two nominees for High Performance Coach of the Year, Smith’s stable of players all advancing their development around the world.
Maddison-Hinson Tolchard continued her outstanding college career and made her US Women’s Open debut at Pebble Beach, Hannah Green won a third LPGA Tour title, Ryan Peake enjoyed his best season on the adidas PGA Pro-Am Series circuit and amateurs Abbie Teasdale and Josiah Edwards excelled locally and abroad.
But perhaps Smith’s greatest feat was to oversee a putting change in his star pupil that saw Minjee Lee win twice towards the end of 2023 and return to the top five in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Ranking.
“Sometimes when you have a problem like this you need to make a big change and we got rid of a putter that we won two majors with,” Smith said as he accepted the Greg Norman Medal on Minjee’s behalf last November.
“We looked at the reasons why we had problems from about 15 different angles and we’ve found a formula that we think is going to work.
“So far it has been a good change.”
This past year will also be remembered for the way Min Woo Lee announced himself on the world stage.
He played his way into the final group alongside world No.1 Scottie Scheffler at THE PLAYERS Championship, won on the Asian Tour in record fashion and sent shockwaves throughout Brisbane with his pulsating victory at the Fortinet Australian PGA Championship.
Named in honour of a PGA Professional who had a strong focus in the servicing of his customers, being a mentor to other PGA Professionals and an absolute custodian of the sport, Williams received the Hilary Lawler Club Professional of the Year for the impact he has had at Busselton in a short space of time.
The Head PGA Professional at Busselton since April 2022, Williams has instituted major improvements to tee sheets to cater for the record number of rounds played, a 90 per cent conversion from evaluation lessons to coaching packages sold, a stronger retail offering and a new prepayment policy for group bookings which delivered the club $100,000 in additional revenue.
Thomas was named Game Development Coach of the Year for the second year running not only for the enormity of lessons conducted at Wembley Golf Course but also his visit to Newman to coach indigenous youth at Clontarf Aboriginal College and students at Newman Primary School.
A member satisfaction rating of in excess of 80 per cent highlighted the impact that Nicole Martino had this past year at The Western Australian Golf Club.
As Golf Manager, Martino successfully managed a club calendar of more than 70,000 rounds and various special events, empowered her team with development budgets and worked collaboratively with course, house and admin teams to ensure the best possible member experience.
Two WA legends were honoured for their contribution to the game over many years with Ross Metherell awarded the WA Golf Industry Distinguished Service Award and Stephen Leaney inducted into the WA Golf Industry Hall of Champions.
2023 WA Golf Industry Award Winners
WA PGA Coach of the Year – High Performance
Ritchie Smith, Royal Fremantle Golf Club
WA PGA Coach of the Year – Game Development
Andrew Thomas, Wembley Golf Course
Hilary Lawler WA PGA Club Professional of the Year
Grant Williams, Busselton Golf Club
WA PGA Associate of the Year
Fritz Arnold, Lake Karrinyup Country Club
WA PGA Tournament of the Year
Mitchell and Brown Spalding Park Open
WA PGA Management Professional of the Year – Proudly sponsored by Golf Car World
Nicole Martino, The Western Australian Golf Club
Course Apprentice of the Year – Proudly sponsored by AFGRI Equipment
Beschen Pou, Rockingham Golf Club and Links Kennedy Bay
Course Superintendent of the Year – Proudly sponsored by AFGRI Equipment
Tom Tristram, Secret Harbour Golf Links
WA Golf Industry Distinguished Service Award
Ross Metherell
WA Golf Industry Hall of Champions Inductee
Stephen Leaney
Outstanding Game Development Program of the Year Award
Womens 22 Week Beginner Program at Lake Karrinyup Country Club
Employee of the Year – Proudly sponsored by MiClub
Jessie Krznaric, Royal Fremantle Golf Club
Volunteer of the Year – Proudly sponsored by Bowra and O’Dea
Graeme Durward, Busselton Golf Club
Regional Golf Course of the Year – Proudly sponsored by ADH Club Car
Bunbury Golf Club
Metropolitan Golf Course of the Year – Proudly sponsored by ADH Club Car
Joondalup Resort
Regional Golf Facility of the Year
Karratha Country Club
Metropolitan Golf Facility of the Year – Proudly Sponsored by Golf Car World E-Z-Go
Wembley Golf Course
Outstanding Golf Achievement Award – Proudly sponsored by NGI Insurance
Minjee Lee
Five players shared the honours after Jason Norris let a two-shot lead slip late at the Metro Homes Glenn Joyner Memorial Legends Pro-Am at Thaxted Park Golf Course.
The first staging of the Memorial Pro-Am since the passing of the much-loved Glenn Joyner last August, Glenn’s father Barry and son Brad were part of the pro-am and were on hand to congratulate all five of the winners.
On the back of his win at Flagstaff Hill the day prior, Norris looked set to make it two-from-two when he arrived to the 18th tee at 5-under par.
The South Australian would three-put his final hole, however, for a double-bogey, his 3-under 67 matched by David Crawford, Brad Burns, Tim Elliott and Lucien Tinkler.
HOW THE WINNING ROUNDS UNFOLDED
All five scores of 3-under 67 would come in the afternoon groups and in vastly different fashion.
With a birdie at his opening hole and eagle at the short 206-metre par-4 sixth, Norris was the one to set the early pace.
He pushed out to 5-under on his round with birdies at 10 and 13 but a birdie on 17 wedged between a bogey and double-bogey would restrict Norris to a 3-under total.
Burns had just one bogey in his round of 67 highlighted by an eagle at the par-5 first while Tinkler made his run late, playing the front nine in 4-under 30 after starting his day from the 10th tee.
Elliott had four birdies and a single bogey to match the best score of the day as Crawford earned his first PGA Legends Tour win courtesy of four birdies, an eagle and three bogeys.
LEADERBOARD RUNDOWN
T1 David Crawford 67
T1 Brad Burns 67
T1 Jason Norris 67
T1 Tim Elliott 67
T1 Lucien Tinkler 67
T6 David Fearns 68
T6 Euan Walters 68
T6 Mark Boulton 68
T6 Peter Fowler 68
NEXT UP
The PGA Legends Tour has a short break now before the SA PGA Senior Foursomes Championship at Mount Gambier Golf Club, David McKenzie, Peter Senior and Terry Price among the entries.
A hole-in-one was the highlight of a colourful scorecard as Jason Norris earned a share of victory at the Living Choice Flagstaff Hill Legends Pro-Am at Flagstaff Hill Golf Club in Adelaide’s south.
Norris had five birdies, five bogeys, seven pars and his eagle on 13 in a round of 2-under 70, tied at top spot with playing partner Nicholas Robb (70) and Euan Walters (70).
Tied for 37th at The National Tournament presented by BMW, the final event of the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia season, Norris took pitching wedge at the 128-metre 13th, a shot that would ultimately elevate him into a three-way tie for the win.
“The hole-in-one was fantastic,” said Norris.
“I was actually all over the joint today. I had a lot of bogeys, a lot of birdies and then the ‘one’ to top it off.”
HOW THE WINNING ROUNDS UNFOLDED
Paired together and starting from the fifth tee, the pattern of scoring was established early.
Norris went bogey-birdie-bogey-birdie-bogey-birdie over his first six holes, Robb going about things very differently.
Robb had the one birdie and 10 pars in his opening 11 holes but found himself two back when Norris followed a birdie at 12 with his hole-in-one on 13.
Back-to-back bogeys at 15 and 16 dropped Norris to 1-under on his round and with a one-stroke advantage over Robb.
A birdie on 18 saw Robb draw level, the pair closing out their rounds with matching birdies at the par-5 fourth.
With bogeys at two and three Walters found himself on the back foot early. He birdied four and seven to get back to 1-over but climbed into contention with three birdies in the space of five holes to start the back nine.
WHAT THE WINNERS SAID
Jason Norris: “It was a good day and a good group with Nicholas and a couple of the sponsors from Ray White.
Euan Walters: “We did use to play here a lot in the South Australian Pro-Am circuit so I know the course pretty well.
“It is pretty tight but you do get rewarded for good shots so it’s great to be back here.
“I love this place and I love playing golf in South Australia.”
Nicholas Robb: “It’s great to play with a quality player like Jason. I saw the draw and I was really pleased to see that I was playing with him.
“We know each other from a long way back and when you’re playing with a top-level player like Jase, it certainly helps you to focus a little bit more.
“I just tried to stay calm on the golf course and play the shots the best I could. Two-under and it worked out, which was quite a nice surprise.”
LEADERBOARD RUNDOWN
T1 Jason Norris 70
T1 Nicholas Robb 70
T1 Euan Walters 70
T4 Adam Henwood 71
T4 Michael Long 71
T4 Paul Powell 71
7 Mark Boulton 72
NEXT UP
It will be an emotional day for those on the PGA Legends Tour at Thaxted Park Golf Course on Friday with the first Metro Homes Glenn Joyner Memorial Legends Pro-Am since the passing of Glenn Joyner last August.
One of Australia’s finest golf courses, Cape Wickham Golf Links, is coming to Trackman.
The integration is expected to be available in Trackman simulators starting in the second quarter of 2024, offering golf enthusiasts worldwide the opportunity to virtually play the renowned King Island layout and enhance their skills in a lifelike and engaging environment.
“Trackman is proud to partner with Cape Wickham Golf Links, a true gem in the golfing world,” said Peter Tabor, General Manager Australia and New Zealand at Trackman.
“Our advanced simulation technology aims to authentically capture the essence of this remarkable course, allowing golfers to experience its beauty and challenges in unprecedented detail.”
Thanks to Trackman’s advanced technology, golfers can look forward to experiencing every nuance of Cape Wickham’s layout, from the stunning oceanside holes to the strategically designed fairways and greens that have earned the course its reputation as a top golf destination.
“We are thrilled to collaborate with Trackman to bring the magic of Cape Wickham Golf Links to golfers everywhere,” said Thuan Quach, General Manager at Cape Wickham Golf Links.
“The partnership with Trackman allows us to share the unique beauty and challenges of our course with a global audience, providing an authentic and immersive virtual golfing experience.”
Golfers can look forward to experiencing every nuance of Cape Wickham’s layout, from the stunning ocean-side holes to the strategically designed fairways and greens that have earned the course its reputation as a top golf destination.
Queenslander Quinn Croker will be one of the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia’s rookies to watch in 2024/25 but before then he has his sights on some big amateur events in the United States.
With a sequence of outstanding results in the recently completed Tour season, Croker locked up the Future Tour Order of Merit by a wide margin to secure a Tour card which ensures he can bypass the upcoming Qualifying School at Moonah Links.
A member of Australia’s team at last year’s Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship, Croker made the cut in all nine Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia tournaments he contested, highlighted by a second-place finish at The Heritage Classic in January.
And he finished outside the top 15 in only two events, gaining great experience to take into the next stage of his career and impressing those who saw his game first-hand and on the Fox Sports telecasts.
PGA.org.au caught up with the 21-year-old after his final Tour event as an amateur, The National Tournament, to get some key takeaways on his fantastic season.
What reflections do you have on the 2023/24 season overall?
I enjoyed it this year. It was fun. I played plenty of different tournament and got the chance to go to plenty of different places. It was a good year.
What did you learn most about what life as a touring professional would be like?
Something that sticks out the most is the uncontrollables. There’s so many things you can get mad at or angry at, your feelings towards them, that don’t really matter. You can deal with them after if you have to.
It’s no use getting annoyed about something that doesn’t really matter and then bringing that out on the golf course. You just have to go out and play the 18 holes.
I played a couple of events and realised that ‘my game is kind of there so if I just let it happen it will turn into a good result’. I showed myself that I could play out here and some good golf, not perfect golf, can get it done some times.
What was your favourite event of the season?
I really liked the two events in WA, the Open and the PGA. Joondalup was a really cool course.
Heritage was obviously the best finish, the most I was under-par, and it was good to get used to the TV cameras following me and having to manage my time with some extra requirements. That was a learning curve that week.
Who sticks in your mind as someone who was really enjoyable to play with?
Playing with Griffo (Matt Griffin) in the final round at The Heritage was pretty big. Just being able to have a good chat with him while he’s trying to win a golf tournament. You just can’t chat like two mates walking down the fairway because you still have a job to do, but I really enjoyed his company. He’s a good bloke who knows a lot and is open to helping you. He has so much knowledge.
Also what comes to mind is the Sandbelt Invitational. I played with Geoff Ogilvy the first day and then Nico Colsaerts the next day. To with able to play with them on back-to-back days, and play some pretty good golf in front of them, was really good. I thought ‘wow, I’m playing with a US Open winner and the vice-captain of Europe’s Ryder Cup team’. That was pretty cool.
What’s your plans for the next few months?
We’re going to work pretty hard on my game in the next couple of months and hopefully get some progression then there’s some amateur events in the US that I hope to tap into and play. It’s going to be tough in terms of knowing a schedule.
We’ll try to play as many events as we can over there in their summer and then come home. I think by that time, it might be the start of the new season here so then I might be looking to use the Future card and play a season as a professional on this Tour.
Three late bogeys have relegated David Diaz to a three-way tie for victory at the QUBE Logistics Legends Pro-Am at Aston Hills Golf Club.
The first event in the PGA Legends Tour’s South Australian swing, Scott Ford and Michael Isherwood both posted rounds of 1-under 69 to lead the way in the morning groups.
When Diaz made birdie on the back of a brilliant approach shot into the par-4 18th to go 4-under, those morning scores didn’t look to be anywhere near good enough.
But arguably the toughest stretch of the tight, twisting Aston Hills Golf Club layout would bring Diaz undone, dropping shots at each of his final three holes to finish tied with Ford and Isherwood.
HOW THE WINNING ROUNDS UNFOLDED
Isherwood and Ford were out early on Wednesday, Isherwood starting his round from the third hole, Ford from the sixth.
Courtesy of birdies at six, seven and 10, Isherwood was 3-under through his first eight holes but back-to-back three-putts at 14 and 15 saw him drop back to 1-under.
While Isherwood made his charge early, Ford left his run until late.
He traded a birdie with a bogey at 10 and 11 and after a bogey at one found himself 1-over with two holes to play.
He got back to even par with a birdie at the par-3 fourth and then found the crucial final birdie at the par-5 fifth to match Isherwood’s round.
Diaz signalled his intent early in the afternoon wave, making birdie at his second and third holes.
He moved to 4-under with an eagle at the 274-metre par-4 11th but gave one back at the next, the par-3 12th.
He got back to 4-under with his birdie on 18 but would give up three shots in his final three holes.
WHAT THE WINNERS SAID
Michael Isherwood: “I was 3-under early but with these greens it’s pretty difficult not to have a three-putt at some point. I had a couple of those and hung on for the rest of the way.
“I played here about 30 years ago and it’s a brilliant course. Great condition, beautiful setting but tricky. The fairways, greens, very difficult to keep it in the right position.
“First win on the Legends Tour so very, very pleased.”
Scott Ford: “Lovely golf course. Pleasure to be here.
“You had to golf your ball really well. “Very tricky golf course. Lot of local knowledge needed but I’ve never been here before so I had no idea.
“It all comes down to Terry Price. He’s a great coach.”
LEADERBOARD RUNDOWN
T1 Michael Isherwood 69
T1 Scott Ford 69
T1 David Diaz 69
4 Michael Long 70
5 Jason Norris 71
T6 Shane Johnson 72
T6 Ian Devlin 72
T6 Adam Henwood 72
T6 Steve Conran 72
NEXT UP
The PGA Legends Tour South Australian leg continues on Thursday with the Living Choice Flagstaff Hill Legends Pro-Am at Flagstaff Hill Golf Club followed by the Metro Homes Glenn Joyner Memorial Legends Pro-Am at Thaxted Park Golf Course.
