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The Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia returns to Australian shores this week for the Heritage Classic, the penultimate tournament of the 2024/25 season and a crucial week in the chase for positions on the Order of Merit.
Last year marked the return of the tournament to the Tour calendar after a 10-year hiatus, and it was Victorian Matt Griffin who hoisted the trophy come Sunday.
Opening with an 11-under 61 on the first day last year, Griffin never looked back on his way to posting an astonishing 72-hole total of 24-under par.
Off the back of that win, Griffin’s Order of Merit position in 2023/24 has meant that he is taking up an opportunity on the DP World Tour in Singapore this week, paving the way for a new Heritage Classic winner.
Rain leading up to this week has meant the St. John course at Heritage Golf and Country Club is playing slightly softer so the low scoring is likely to be repeated.
As the Order of Merit battle nears its conclusion, leader Elvis Smylie is back this week to solidify his place at the top and make certain he books himself a place at this year’s Open Championship at Royal Portrush.
Smylie can seal his first Order of Merit title this week if last month’s New Zealand Open champion and OOM No.2, Ryan Peake is not victorious.
A host of players can elevate their standings over the final two weeks on Tour, with the top-three positions still all very much in the balance.
LAST YEAR’S CHAMPION: Matt Griffin
PRIZEMONEY: $225,000
LIVE SCORES: https://pga.org.au/
TV COVERAGE: The Heritage Classic is live on Fox Sports, available on Foxtel and Kayo.
*All times AEDT.
Round 3: Saturday 3pm-6pm (Fox Sports 503/Kayo)
Final Round: Sunday 1pm-6pm (Fox Sports 503/Kayo)
HEADLINERS
Elvis Smylie: 2024 WA Open and BMW Australian PGA Championship winner.
Ryan Peake: 2025 New Zealand Open winner.
Jack Buchanan: 2024 WA PGA and Webex Players Series South Australia champion.
Jake McLeod: 2018 Tour Order of Merit winner.
Phoenix Campbell: Two-time Queensland PGA winner.
Josh Geary: 2025 Vic Open winner.
Anthony Quayle: Two-time Tour winner.
Tyler Hodge: 2025 NZ PGA champion.
As the 36-hole leader, Min Woo Lee was poised to make the biggest step in his professional career at THE PLAYERS Championship this week, but his weekend ended up being a disappointment.
With closing rounds of 78-73, the West Australian eventually finished in a tie for 20th alongside Kiwi Ryan Fox, with Rory McIlroy and JJ Spaun to return on Monday morning for a three-hole playoff to decide the champion.
Lee’s stunning 66 in the second round was the highlight of the week for the Australian contingent, as fellow Aussies Adam Scott, Karl Vilips and Cam Davis all failed to make the cut.
“This is a true test of everything in your game and it’s a great course to play before the Masters, for sure,” Lee told Australian Golf Digest.
“The Masters is right around the corner. Bay Hill last week was the toughest course of the year and (Lee missed the cut) and this week I showed my game is trending in the right direction.”
Victorian Lucas Herbert continued his strong run of form, finishing T14 at LIV Golf Singapore even with a closing 74.
New Zealand’s Ben Campbell finished in solo third as 2023 ISPS HANDA Australian Open winner Joaquin Niemann took home yet another trophy to move to the top of the season standings.
Elsewhere, West Australian Hayden Hopewell notched a top-10 on the HotelPlanner Tour in India, finishing in a tie for seventh.
PGA TOUR
THE PLAYERS Championship
TPC Sawgrass (Stadium Course), Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida
1 *playoff between Rory McIlroy and JJ Spaun to be played*
T20 Ryan Fox (NZ) 72-70-72-70 — 284 $US240,250
T20 Min Woo Lee 67-66-78-73– 284 $240,250
MC Adam Scott 74-72
MC Karl Vilips 72-78
MC Cam Davis 76-80
LIV Golf
LIV Golf Singapore
Sentosa Golf Club, Singapore
1 Joaquin Niemann 67-64-65 — 196 $US4m
3 Ben Campbell (NZ) 68-67-67 — 202 $1.5m
T14 Lucas Herbert 68-66-74 — 208 $287,000
T19 Cameron Smith 67-70-72– 209 $230,000
T32 Matt Jones 72-70-71 — 213 $151,600
T32 Danny Lee (NZ) 68-69-76 — 213 $151,600
T51 Marc Leishman 74-76-72 — 222 $55,000
HotelPlanner Tour
Kolkata Challenge
Royal Calcutta Golf Club, Kolkata, West Bengal, India
1 Joshua Berry 72-62-70-73 — 277 €44,284.37
T7 Hayden Hopewell 69-68-71-72 — 280 €6,444.96
T57 Sam Jones (NZ) 71-72-72-75 — 290 €871.85
MC Haydn Barron 71-74
Epson Tour
IOA Golf Classic
Alaqua Country Club, Longwood, Florida
1 Gina Kim 65-69-68 — 202 $US 33,750
T47 Robyn Choi 70-72-72 — 214 $1,082
MC Su Oh 68-77
MC Caitlin Peirce 72-77
Min Woo Lee’s love affair with TPC Sawgrass suffered a front-nine tiff as the West Australian dropped from contention at THE PLAYERS Championship.
Tied for the lead with American Akshay Bhatia at the start of Round 3, an out-of-sorts went out in 4-over 40, eventually signing for a 78 to fall to a tie for 16th with one round to play.
Just a day after sharing his fondness for a layout that allows him to showcase his creativity, Lee found parts of the course not initially included on the Pete Dye masterplan.
After three pars to start, the 26-year-old’s round began to unravel when he hit a wild tee shot left at the par-4 fifth that came to rest in an unplayable position in shrubbery.
He took back-on-the-line penalty relief some 70 yards across a creek and on an adjacent practice area on his way to a double bogey.
Lee’s tee shot on the next then went way right of the fairway as he made bogey to fall further down the leaderboard.
A ball that hung up in the grass beside a bunker well above his feet at the par-5 ninth was further misfortune that Lee could ill afford, his attempt barely moving the ball as he dropped another shot.
Further bogeys followed at the 11th and 13th and then at the island green of the par-3 17th when he putted from the front fringe to the back fringe, hit a heavy chip and then tapped in from two feet for bogey.
There was one bright moment to end on, holing a putt from outside 25 feet for birdie on the par-4 18th for the second time in three days.
It was as stark a contrast as you could get in ball-striking from one day to the next yet emphasises the challenge presented by one of the game’s most exacting tests.
It was a less dramatic day for Kiwi Ryan Fox who had four birdies and four bogeys in a round of 72 that saw him climb 16 spots and into a share of 33rd.
Photo: Logan Bowles/Getty Images
Australian Min Woo Lee says he is better placed to handle the cauldron of TPC Sawgrass’s Stadium Course after earning a share of the lead at the halfway mark of THE PLAYERS Championship.
Two years after playing his way into the final group alongside world No.1 Scottie Scheffler in his debut appearance, Lee backed up an opening round of 5-under 67 on day one with 6-under 66 to be tied with American Akshay Bhatia at 11-under par.
The pair are one stroke clear of another American, JJ Spaun, with major champions Rory McIlroy and Collin Morikawa and American Alex Smalley tied for fourth at 9-under par.
Lee leant on his 2-iron off the tee to navigate his way around the Pete Dye masterpiece, a course he has already shown a great affinity for.
A birdie at the par-4 10th was the ideal springboard to Round 2, further birdies at 15 and 16 seeing the 24-year-old make the turn in 3-under.
That would be just a precursor to what was to follow as he picked up four birdies in five holes from the par-4 first.
It is familiar territory for the West Australian who believes he has the tools both physically and mentally to finish the job.
Lee was tied for the lead through three holes of the final round in 2023 before hitting a shot into the par-4 fourth that spun back into the water, the resulting triple bogey all but ending his chances.
“Big learning curve. Especially the fourth hole, that’s probably one shot that I regret in my career,” said Lee, whose tie for sixth was his first PGA TOUR top 10.
“It was a wedge that I got steep on and it’s been the narrative for a long time.
“My approach play, I just see the ball flight coming in low and I get a little bit too steep. It’s nice to actually just hit it up in the air and trust it.
“That’s a big part of why I’m getting a little bit better with my approach play.
“A bit more level-headed and a lot of learning between then and now.”
The secret weapon to Lee’s success at Sawgrass this week is a 2-iron that has been a fixture in his bag for a number of seasons.
“If your 2-iron goes 300 yards, it’s pretty good. I just love the club,” said Lee, who would have had the outright lead if not for a closing bogey at the par-5 ninth.
“I can step up on the tee and hit a little draw and if it just gets past some hills and bounces off hills, it goes a long way.
“It can nearly go as far as 3-wood or a driver sometimes if it plugs. Instead, it rolls all the way. It rolls 50, 60 yards sometimes.
“When I hit it good it ends up going a long way. That helps.”
Lee will play a lone hand for Australia across the final two rounds after Adam Scott (72), Karl Vilips (78) and Cam Davis (80) all missed the cut, Kiwi Ryan Fox (70) tied for 49th at 2-under par.
Photo: Richard Heathcote/Getty Images
The chef swapped his spatula for a magic wand as West Australian Min Woo Lee conjured an 18th hole miracle to remain just one stroke off the lead after Round 1 of THE PLAYERS Championship at TPC Sawgrass in Florida.
Hopes for a seventh Aussie victory at the famed Stadium Course were struck an early blow when 2016 champion Jason Day was forced to withdraw with a stomach complaint without hitting a shot.
As he did two years ago on debut, Lee on the other hand showed that he has the stomach for one of golf’s most exacting tests with a fine 5-under 67.
He trails American pair Lucas Glover and JJ Spaun and Colombian Camilo Villegas by one stroke yet it took an escape act Houdini would have been proud of not to drop further behind.
Five-under through nine holes, the 24-year-old was even par for the back when he hit his tee shot way right at the par-4 18th after taking 2-iron.
“Oh my god, what is that,” he lamented.
He then proceeded to bounce his shot from the rough right of the pine straw onto the cart path where it bounced four times before coming to rest in the pine straw just right of the fairway.
As only very few can, Lee then fashioned a punch shot that ran up onto the green and came to rest 22 feet behind the hole less than 10 feet from the water, his par putt falling in on the right edge for a less-than-regulation par.
“Managed to produce the worst swing of the day about 40 yards right of where I wanted to hit it,” Lee said of his tee shot.
“I was just very happy to have a par putt. I literally had no shot.
“That third shot could have easily gone in the water had I just pulled it but used a bit of magic and tried to cut up a pitching wedge out of the pine straw, and it was absolutely perfect.”
Two years ago, Lee played his way into the final group alongside eventual champion Scottie Scheffler as a way of announcing his arrival to the American crowds.
While it may have failed him on the final hole, Lee loves the creativity the Pete Dye layout demands from tee to green.
“I just love this course. It just suits so well,” said Lee, who was tied sixth in 2023 and tied 54th last year.
“I just love playing shots off tees and not hitting driver everywhere. Driver is a weapon of mine, but I love hitting that 2-iron everywhere, and if it’s a little firm, it kind of plays into my hands.
“I just love playing this course.”
A week after his win at the Puerto Rico Open that secured his debut at THE PLAYERS, Karl Vilips is the only other Australian par or better after day one, signing for an even par 72 despite a late double bogey at the par-4 sixth and bogeys at eight and nine.
In his 23rd appearance, Adam Scott dropped shots late at 14, 16 and 18 in his round of 2-over 74 while Cam Davis had just the one birdie at the par-5 16th in his round of 4-over 76.
After more than two decades of facing up to the examination that is TPC Sawgrass, Adam Scott has developed a formula for not just survival but success: Don’t make mistakes.
The 2004 champion of THE PLAYERS Championship has been a constant presence dating back to 2002 with a tournament resume that also includes top-10 finishes in 2005, 2007 and 2017 and six top-20 finishes.
With the late addition of Karl Vilips courtesy of last week’s Puerto Rico Open victory, Scott is one of five Aussies in the field for golf’s unofficial ‘fifth major’.
He is also one of five Australians to have conquered the Pete Dye masterpiece, if at least for one week at a time.
While those who get on its bad side view TPC Sawgrass as a beast, Scott acknowledges the inherent beauty of a layout with no let-up.
“It’s the kind of course where you need a lot of things to go right to be in the mix,” Scott said.
“The penalty is extreme. That’s a trait of Pete Dye golf courses. There’s water everywhere and it’s hard to recover from the water. A couple of visits to the water during the week makes it hard playing catch-up, because then you have to force it and you have to risk.
“It’s there, but if you’re not on it, it’s hard to always post a good number here. Hard to get it in the clubhouse the last three holes.
“Scottie (Scheffler) was the first guy to successfully defend last year, so it’s been challenging for every champion.”
Scott has twice shot rounds of 7-under 65 at golf’s most famous purpose-built theatre – in 2004 and 2016. In his 25th year as a professional, he remains adamant that he can continue to be a force in the sport’s biggest events.
“I don’t think my days are numbered just yet,” said the 44-year-old.
“There’s no signs pointing to that. I still think I have the form to be out here and believe, on my week, I can compete and hold my own.
“I’m enjoying being out here very much. And I say that knowing that it’s not going to last forever.”
While Scott acknowledges his career at the highest level is closer to its end than its beginning, he is excited to see the emergence of a new Aussie star in Karl Vilips.
THE PLAYERS Championship represents the latest step in Vilips’ meteoric rise that has caught the eye of his veteran countryman.
“It’s incredible,” Scott effused. “Understanding where he came from and coming through the college system, I think the college system is just unbelievable these days.
“He’s done an incredible job, even down to doing the YouTube and putting himself out there.
“It’s a different generation than me, for sure, but I know he’s working, he’s got a great team around him, and it’s paying off.
“He’s set himself up for the beginning of what can be an incredible career on the PGA TOUR.”
Elsewhere this week, Ripper GC will defend their teams title at LIV Golf Singapore, the trio of Su Oh, Robyn Choi and Caitlin Peirce are in action on the Epson Tour and West Australians Hayden Hopewell and Haydn Barron are in the field for the Kolkata Challenge on the HotelPlanner Tour.
Round 1 tee times AEDT
PGA TOUR
THE PLAYERS Championship
TPC Sawgrass (Stadium Cse), Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida
11:46pm* Jason Day
12:08am Cam Davis
3:45am Ryan Fox (NZ)
4:07am Min Woo Lee
4:40am Adam Scott
5:13am* Karl Vilips
Recent champion: Scottie Scheffler
Past Aussie winners: Steve Elkington (1991, 1997), Greg Norman (1994), Adam Scott (2004), Jason Day (2016), Cameron Smith (2022)
Prize money: $US25m
TV times: Live 10:30pm-10am Thursday, Friday, Saturday; Live 10:30pm-9am Sunday on Fox Sports 503 and Kayo.
LIV Golf
LIV Golf Singapore
Sentosa Golf Club, Singapore
Australasians in the field: Cameron Smith, Lucas Herbert, Marc Leishman, Matt Jones, Ben Campbell (NZ), Danny Lee (NZ)
Recent champion: Brooks Koepka
Past Aussie winners: Nil
Prize money: $US20m
TV times: Live from 11:30am Friday, Saturday, Sunday on 7 Plus.
HotelPlanner Tour
Kolkata Challenge
Royal Calcutta Golf Club, Kolkata, West Bengal, India
1:15pm* Haydn Barron
5:10pm* Hayden Hopewell
5:30pm Sam Jonez (NZ)
Recent champion: Rasmus Neegaard-Petersen
Past Aussie winners: Nil
Prize money: $US300,000
Epson Tour
IOA Golf Classic
Alaqua Country Club, Longwood, Florida
Australasians in the field: Robyn Choi, Su Oh, Caitlin Peirce
Recent champion: Jessica Peng
Past Aussie winners: Hannah Green (2017), Grace Kim (2022)
Prize money: $225,000
The climb of ‘Koala’ Karl Vilips shows no signs of abating. The former child prodigy is now a PGA TOUR winner in just his third start as a full member.
Including last year’s US Open, the Puerto Rico Open was just Vilips’ fourth start on the PGA TOUR, making him just the 12th player to win in so few starts dating back to 1970.
Not bad for a kid who was still in college less than 12 months ago.
Since graduating from Stanford University, Vilips has won on the Korn Ferry Tour, won on the PGA TOUR, risen more than 1,000 spots on the Official World Golf Ranking and become the first brand ambassador for the Tiger Woods clothing line, Sun Day Red.
He’s also a big mover in this week’s Power Rankings as Minjee Lee continued her stellar start to the LPGA Tour season, Cassie Porter returns after a top-five finish in her second start on the LPGA Tour and Jason Day and Lucas Herbert both log top-10 results.
10. Ryan Peake (9)
Failed to make the cut at the Wallace Development NZ PGA on the back of an emotional NZ Open triumph. With two events left in the season, remains in the hunt for the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit on the back of top-10 finishes at Webex Players Series Murray River and Webex Players Series Sydney.
9. Min Woo Lee (8)
Narrowly missed advancing to the weekend of the Arnold Palmer Invitational but is showing a greater level of consistency in the game’s showpiece events. Returns to one of golf’s great theatres – TPC Sawgrass – where he played his way into the final group on Sunday on debut two years ago.
8. Cam Davis (3)
Shot 80 in the second round in brutal conditions to miss a second straight cut at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. Shapes as one of our best hopes at THE PLAYERS Championship this week at TPC Sawgrass.
7. Cassie Porter (New)
Responded to a missed cut in her LPGA debut with a tie for fourth at the Blue Bay LPGA. Tied for 13th at Webex Players Series Sydney after shooting 63 in the third round at Castle Hill, Porter entered the final round in China in a share of second, just two strokes off the lead. She closed with even-par 72 for a top-five finish and career high of 177th in Rolex Women’s World Golf Ranking.
6. Elvis Smylie (2)
Entered for next week’s Heritage Classic as he endeavours to wrap up the 2024/2025 Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit. Top 10 at the New Zealand Open, Smylie skipped the NZ PGA as he looks ahead to rejoining the DP World Tour.
5. Lucas Herbert (7)
Continues to be the form player for Ripper GC early in the LIV Golf season. Shot 6-under in the final round to finish outright fourth at LIV Golf Hong Kong on the back of a tie for 21st at the New Zealand Open.
4. Jason Day (6)
Reunited with former coach and mentor Col Swatton, Day delivered one of the best rounds seen at Bay Hill in recent years with a superb 64 in Round 2. Finished tied for eighth at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and rose to No.33 in the world ranking.
3. Minjee Lee (4)
Gave younger brother Min Woo Lee something to live up to with numerous chip-ins across the weekend of the Blue Bay LPGA in China. A runner-up finish to Rio Takeda continued her strong early season form that includes a tie for fourth and tie for 11th in four starts.
2. Karl Vilips (10)
Completed a historic rise to claim his maiden PGA TOUR win in just his fourth start at the Puerto Rico Open. Still to graduate from Stanford University 12 months ago, Vilips has climbed from a world ranking of 1,185 last July to be now ranked 106th in the world.
1. Hannah Green (1)
Tied for seventh in the defence of her HSBC Women’s World Championship title in Singapore, Green will next tee it up at the Ford Championship in Arizona from March 27-30.
The Australian Golf Power Rankings is a subjective list developed with input from members of the Australian Golf media team.
Five Australians and one New Zealander are headed to the famed TPC Sawgrass Stadium Course as the best of the best on the PGA TOUR assemble for this week’s THE PLAYERS Championship.
Often dubbed “the fifth major”, THE PLAYERS offers the richest purse on Tour outside the majors, with the winner granted a generous Tour exemption along with a host of tournament invitations.
After his stunning maiden Tour victory at last week’s Puerto Rico Open, Karl Vilips has earned himself a spot in this week’s field alongside 2016 champion, and in-form Jason Day, fresh off a T8 at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
Another past Aussie champion, Adam Scott, will be hoping to recreate his 2004 heroics, while Cam Davis and Min Woo Lee will be looking produce what would be a life-changing week. Kiwi Ryan Fox rounds out the Australasian contingent in Florida.
As the first player to go back-to-back in the event’s history last year, Scottie Scheffler will again be a favourite, while FedEx Cup leader Sepp Straka and last week’s champion from Bay Hill, Russell Henley, will be riding good form into this week.
LAST YEAR’S CHAMPION: Scottie Scheffler (USA)
PRIZEMONEY: US$25 million
LIVE SCORES: https://www.pgatour.com/leaderboard
TV COVERAGE: THE PLAYERS Championship is live on Fox Sports, available on Foxtel and Kayo.
*All times AEDT.
Round 1: Thursday 10:30pm-10am (Fox Sports 503/Kayo)
Round 2: Friday 10:30pm-10am (Fox Sports 503/Kayo)
Round 3: Saturday 10:30pm-10am (Fox Sports 503/Kayo)
Final Round: Sunday 10:30pm-9am (Fox Sports 503/Kayo)
HEADLINERS
Scottie Scheffler: World No. 1 and two-time defending champion
Rory McIlroy: 2019 THE PLAYERS champion
Collin Morikawa: Two-time major champion
Sepp Straka: FedEx Cup leader and three-time Tour winner
Russell Henley: 2025 Arnold Palmer Invitational winner
Jason Day: 2016 THE PLAYERS champion
Karl Vilips: 2025 Puerto Rico Open winner
Karl Vilips made history by winning on the PGA TOUR in his fourth start, and is now headed for The Players Championship, with the West Australian’s efforts just one of the Australian moments to celebrate from a bountiful weekend.
Vilips set the tournament scoring mark at the Puerto Rico Open to claim his maiden title less than a year removed from graduating college (full story on his win HERE), while it was a runner-up finish on the LPGA Tour for Minjee Lee in China.
The older Australian and Kiwi brigade also representing strongly on the PGA TOUR Champions, where Steven Alker claimed another title and Greg Chalmers and Rod Pampling shared third.
For Minjee, her final round charge at the Blue Bay LPGA truly ignited late on the front nine, when the elder Lee sibling seemed to channel her brother Min Woo and his short game.
Mixing three bogeys with one birdie through six holes of the final round playing alongside fellow Aussie Cassie Porter, Minjee chipped in consecutively on the seventh and eighth holes and motioned to call ‘Dr Chipinski’ her brother’s widely used social media nickname.
“I never left,” she said when asked if there was a new Dr Chipinski in the family post round.
Continuing to look more comfortable with her new long putter, Lee added four more birdies on the back nine to finish at 11-under and six back of Japan’s Rio Takeda. Porter recording her best LPGA finish with a solo fourth place after closing with an even par round of 72.
Playing the Cologuard Classic on the senior circuit, Alker closed with a final round 66 to find himself in a playoff with Jason Caron. The Kiwi triumphing on the first extra hole to claim his ninth PGA TOUR Champions crown.
Falling just one short of the playoff, Pampling bogeyed the 17th hole to finish on 11-under, while Chalmers looked the man to beat as the players made their way to the finish.
Leading into the back nine, Chalmers bogeyed the 12th and 14th to fall back before scrambling for a par at the penultimate hole and just missing a 10 foot birdie try at the 18th hole to join the playoff.
“That’s just part of golf sometimes. It’s been a minute since I’ve been in that situation where I’ve had a chance to win an event,” Chalmers said.
“I think the more I can do it, the more comfortable I’ll be and the better I’ll do.”
Similarly flying the flag on the global stage was Jason Day, who was right in the mix late on Sunday at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard.
Two shots back of the lead, Day’s ball found the water at the par-5 16th and eventually the bottom of the cup for a double bogey, with the Queenslander also dropping a shot at the last to share eighth.
Back in action for the first time since Adelaide, the all Australian Ripper GC team shared third place at LIV Golf Hong Kong, with Lucas Herbert the standout in the individual results. The Victorian closing with a 6-under round for a solo fourth place.
PGA TOUR
Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard
Arnold Palmer’s Bay Hill Club & Lodge, Orlando, Florida
1 Russell Henley 72-68-67-70—277 $US4m
T8 Jason Day 76-64-69-74—283 $600,666
T36 Adam Scott 75-72-70-74—291 $96,750
MC Cam Davis 70-80—150
MC Min Woo Lee 78-73—151
Puerto Rico Open
Grand Reserve Golf Club, Rio Grande, Peurto Rico
1 Karl Vilips 65-67-66-64—262 $US720,000
MC Aaron Baddeley 72-75—147
LPGA Tour
Blue Bay LPGA
Jian Lake Blue Bay Golf Course, Hainan Island, China
1 Rio Takeda 69-69-69-64—271 $US375,000
2 Minjee Lee 70-72-68-67—277 $230,318
4 Cassie Porter 69-68-72-72—281 $129,249
T44 Hira Naveed 71-70-76-76—293 $10,529
MC Karis Davidson 73-76—149
MC Fiona Xu (NZ) 74-78—152
LIV Golf
LIV Golf Hong Kong
Hong Kong Golf Club, Fanling, Hong Kong
1 Sergio Garcia 65-64-63—192 $US4m
4 Lucas Herbert 67-66-64—197 $1,000,000
T12 Marc Leishman 70-66-65—201 $312,500
T20 Cameron Smith 69-68-66—203 $202,500
T20 Danny Lee (NZ) 66-71-66—203 $202,500
T35 Matt Jones 69-69-67—205 $145,333
T35 Ben Campbell (NZ) 69-68-68—205 $145,333
DP World Tour
Joburg Open
Houghton GC, Johannesburg, South Africa
1 Callum Hill 69-66-69-62—266 €177,233.16
T3 Danny List 66-73-71-77—287 €1,547.32
MC Kazuma Kobori 70-77—147
PGA TOUR Champions
Cologuard Classic
La Paloma Country Club, Tucson, Arizona
1 Steven Alker (NZ) 69-66-66—201 $US330,000
T3 Rod Pampling 66-69-67—202 $145,200
T3 Greg Chalmers 64-67-71—202 $145,200
T18 Cameron Percy 71-69-68—208 $32,010
T20 David Bransdon 69-70-70—209 $25,828
T20 Mark Hensby 71-68-70—209 $25,828
T20 Matthew Goggin 67-69-73—209 $25,828
T33 Richard Green 75-67-70—212 $13,860
T44 Steve Allan 70-77-67—214 $8,800
T48 Stuart Appleby 70-74-71—214 $7,040
T60 Michael Wright 71-72-75—218 $3,300
T60 Brendan Jones 72-73-63—218 $3,300
Korn Ferry Tour
Astara Chile Classic presented by Scotiabank
Prince of Wales Country Club, Santiago, Chile
1 Logan McAllister 68-70-63-64—265 $US180,000
T57 Harry Hillier (NZ) 71-69-71-70—281 $4,100
MC Rhein Gibson 70-71—141
Epson Tour
Atlantic Beach Classic presented by Access Golf
Atlantic Beach Country Club, Atlantic Beach, Florida
1 Laetitia Beck 71-68-66—205 $US37,500
T13 Robyn Choi 76-71-69—216 $3,868
T54 Caitlin Peirce 78-73-73—224 $1,054
MC Su Oh 81-76—157
Australian Karl Vilips has joined an exclusive club, with the 23-year-old winning the PGA TOUR’s Puerto Rico Open in just his fourth Tour start to become only the 12th player since 1970 to achieve that feat.
Named recently as the first signing to Tiger Woods’ apparel company Sun Day Red and last month as a new member of the Golf Australia Rookie Squad, Vilips entered the final round with the outright lead in Puerto Rico having graduated Stanford University less than 12 months ago.
A winner on the secondary Korn Ferry Tour last year, Vilips was challenged out of the gate on Sunday by Dane Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen as he sought to join the likes of Seve Ballesteros in the four-tournament start winners club on the PGA TOUR.
Birdieing the par-4 third, Vilips then found some magic at the par-5 sixth when holing out his pitch for eagle before two more birdies to close out the front nine in 5-under.
The Australian, who spent parts of his childhood in Melbourne and Perth before completing his schooling in America, truly having to earn his victory on the back nine when he made his only bogey of the final day at the par-4 12th.
As Neergaard-Petersen was in the middle of making six straight birdies from the 10th hole, Vilips first dropped shot, and loss of the lead, seemed to kick the former child prodigy and now Colin Swatton coached player into gear.
“Bogey was pretty careless,” Vilips told Australian media after his win.
“I was pretty frustrated about that with a wedge in the fairway. I was thinking kind of just give myself a bit of a cushion on the leaderboard and then had to just forget about it. It’s already happened, can’t do anything about it and did a good job putting me back in the present.”
Making three consecutive birdies from the 13th, Vilips added another at the 72nd and final hole to reach 26-under and claim a three shot victory over Neergaard-Petersen.
“It’s a dream come true for me and my dad,” Vilips said paying tribute to his father, Paul, immediately after holing his winning putt.
“This is what we dreamed of as a kid.”
Vilips, whose maiden season on the PGA TOUR has been slightly hampered following the discovery of a bulging disk in his back around the time he returned home for a share of 46th at the ISPS HANDA Australian Open, has now secured his playing rights for the next two years.
Setting a tournament scoring record with his 26-under-par total, Vilips will now also receive a start at the PGA TOUR’s showpiece event, next week’s The Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass, as well as the US PGA Championship in May.
Recently moving to Florida and making TPC Sawgrass his base, the Australian will not be as ill-prepared as many might think for his sudden start next week alongside some of the biggest names in the game.
“I just moved there, been at TPC for five months or four months now,” Vilips said.
“I’m going to be getting in late Monday night, so it’s going to be a bit of a short prep, but thankfully it’s my home course so I don’t really need to do too much. Just see how the greens are rolling, how the rough is. I just kind of get in the right mindset for it.”
Mindset has rarely been an issue for Vilips, who has worked relentlessly to become a PGA TOUR winner, with his calm and mostly mild mannered demeanour only cracking occasionally on Sunday. Firstly, when yelling “Come on” as he celebrated his final birdie, and again when speaking of his genuine excitement and realising a dream
“Even just like being in the final group is something I always wanted to do. Being in the final group of PGA TOUR events and then winning, it’s just everything,” he said.
“It makes me incredibly happy to hoist that trophy on the 18th green … It’s everything that I’ve dreamed of and in the moment, you have to kind of just put all that aside and focus on winning. But I’m sure when I’m back in my hotel I’ll just be smiling and calling my friends.”
Part of the phone attention no doubt going to a potential voice message from the icon that created his clothing sponsor, with Tiger one of the names to pop up during the whirlwind post round commitments.
“I caught a glimpse of it saying something and I’ll have to get back to it. I’ve been bombarded with texts and I’m so grateful for the support, but I’ll have to look back at it after this.”
