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The Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia gets back into action this week, with the CKB WA PGA presented by Civil TX & Logistics returning to Kalgoorlie Golf Course and the ‘Gold Capital of Australia’.
The second event of the season after Will Bruyeres claimed the PNG Open, the WA PGA kick-starts a two-week swing in Western Australia and a run of nine events in 10 weeks as players seek not just titles, but the rewards on offer via the Order of Merit that will again offer pathways overseas, including to the DP World Tour.
Bruyeres has made the trip to the oasis-like fairways and greens set amongst the red dirt of the region, and will be joined by the likes of past champions Ben Eccles, Dimi Papadatos, Jarryd Felton and Brett Rumford.
Meanwhile, players have returned from overseas, with Haydn Barron back home in WA after his rookie season on the DP World Tour, Cameron John fresh off his challenge for the Alfred Dunhill Links in Scotland and Jasper Stubbs, Ryan Ang and Connor Fewkes all teeing it up following the Asia-Pacific Amateur in Japan.
DEFENDING CHAMPION: Ben Eccles (Victoria)
PRIZEMONEY: $250,000
LIVE SCORES: www.pga.org.au
TV COVERAGE: The CKB WA PGA presented by TX Civil & Logistics is live on Fox Sports, available on Foxtel and Kayo.
*All times AEDT.
Round 3: Saturday 4pm-7pm (Fox Sports 503/Kayo)
Final Round: Sunday 2pm-7pm (Fox Sports 503/Kayo)
THE COURSE
Designed by Graham Marsh on the site of an old garbage dump, Kalgoorlie Golf Course came into existence in 2010 after the concept had been in planning for almost a decade. Kalgoorlie-born Marsh went on to create a uniquely Australian layout.
The natural red dirt, native trees and brush present on the site before the course remain a strong feature, and potential hazard, surrounding the undulating fairways and elevated greens that present a range of short game options and treachery if the wrong choice is made.
Measuring more than 6,700 metres from the back tees, the par-72’s red dirt bunkers standout visually and as part of the challenge, while the closing three-hole stretches to both nines provide plenty of excitement.
On the front nine, a dogleg left par-4 of 365 metres at the seventh is followed by a long uphill par-3 before the testing par-4 ninth, where Eccles holed a bunker shot on the final day in 2023 to ignite his charge.
To close out the back nine, the par-4 16th features one of the native trees in the fairway as an added hazard, while the par-3 17th will again offer up a car for the first player to record a hole-in-one over the weekend. The final hole is a journey of more than 528 metres that includes a dramatically three-tiered green.
HEADLINERS
Ben Eccles – 2023 WA PGA champion
Will Bruyeres – 2024 PNG Open winner
Dimi Papadatos – Four-time Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia winner
Cameron John – 2023 winner of The National Tournament
Jak Carter – Sixth on the 2023 Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit
Jake McLeod – Former Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit winner
Jasper Stubbs – 2023 Asia Pacific Amateur Championship winner
Brett Rumford – Six-time DP World Tour winner
Haydn Barron – DP World Tour player
Tom Power Horan – Three-time Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia winner
A practice round with Adam Scott and a spot in the field at one of world golf’s most feted championships will mark the perfect way for Victorian Phoenix Campbell to farewell the amateur ranks.
The Queensland PGA champion at Nudgee last year and winner of the Master of the Amateurs in January, Campbell will play this week’s Japan Open as an amateur before making his professional debut at the Bowra & O’Dea Nexus Advisernet WA Open at Mandurah Country Club next week.
With an honour roll that boasts Seve Ballesteros, Isao Aoki, Craig Parry and Hideki Matsuyama, the Japan Open is renowned for the challenge it presents.
The famed Tokyo Golf Club will be no different this week, Scott’s guidance in a Wednesday practice round an ideal introduction to what Campbell can expect a Japan Open to throw at him.
Although thrilled to share the experience with Scott, it is not the first time that Campbell has been inside the ropes with the 2013 Masters champion.
“I have met him. I was actually the carry-boarder for the Masters at Huntingdale in 2015,” Campbell shared.
“I met him on the tee, which was the first time I met him. I’m sure he won’t remember that, but I’ll remind him.”
The top Aussie at last week’s Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship, Campbell is one of three young Australians who will turn professional in the coming weeks.
The 2023 Asia-Pacific Amateur champion, Jasper Stubbs, makes his pro debut at this week’s WA PGA Championship in Kalgoorlie to be followed by Campbell at the WA Open and finally Quinn Croker at Webex Players Series South Australia the week after.
For Campbell, it represents a chance to create a shared experience in relatively familiar surrounds.
“It’s been a long time coming,” said Campbell, who has a two-year exemption on the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia by virtue of his win at Nudgee.
“I’ve been preparing the last six to 12 months at least to make the switch. I’m looking forward to doing it on home soil where I feel comfortable and excited to get underway.
“We’ve been overseas the last three months travelling together, so we’ve gotten to know each other really well.
“It’s cool to do it with your peers and know that there’s other people coming along for the ride with you.”
Min Woo Lee will have 19 fellow Australians trying to deny him a successful defence of his SJM Macao Open title on the Asian Tour, David Micheluzzi is the lone Aussie in the field at the FedEx Open de France at Le Golf National and Hannah Green and Minjee Lee resume their LPGA seasons at the Buick LPGA Shanghai event in China.
Round 1 tee times AEDT
PGA TOUR
Black Desert Championship
Black Desert Resort, Ivins, Utah
2:02am* Aaron Baddeley
2:08am Ryan Fox (NZ)
5:35am* Tim Wilkinson
Defending champion: Inaugural event
Past Aussie winners: Nil
Prize money: $US7.5 million
TV times: Live 3:30am-11am Friday, Saturday; Live 8am-11am Sunday, Monday on Fox Sports 503 and Kayo.
LPGA Tour
Buick LPGA Shanghai
Qizhong Garden Golf Club, Shanghai, China
12:26pm Hira Naveed
1:10pm Hannah Green
1:21pm Minjee Lee
Defending champion: Angel Yin
Past Aussie winners: Nil
Prize money: $US2.1 million
TV times: Live 2pm-7pm Thursday, Friday on Fox Sports 503; Live 2pm-7pm Saturday, Sunday on Fox Sports 505 and Kayo.
DP World Tour
FedEx Open de France
Le Golf National, Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, France
6:55pm David Micheluzzi
Defending champion: Ryo Hisatsune
Past Aussie winners: Greg Norman (1980), Robert Allenby (1996)
Prize money: $US2.1 million
TV times: Live 10:30pm-3:30am Thursday, Friday; Live 10pm-2:30am Saturday; Live 9:30pm-2:30am Sunday on Fox Sports 503 and Kayo.
Asian Tour
SJM Macao Open
Macau Golf and Country Club, Macao, China
9:35am* Deyen Lawson
9:40am Nick Voke (NZ)
10am Jack Thompson
10:15am* Maverick Antcliff
10:30am Marcus Fraser
10:40am Andrew Dodt
10:50am Justin Warren
11am Aaron Wilkin
11:10am Lachlan Barker
2:30pm* Jordan Zunic
2:35pm Brendan Jones
2:45pm Min Woo Lee
2:55pm Wade Ormsby
3pm* Kevin Yuan
3:05pm Jed Morgan
3:10pm* Zach Murray
3:15pm Scott Hend
3:20pm* Todd Sinnott
3:25pm Doug Klein
3:35pm Denzel Ieremia (NZ), Sam Brazel
3:40pm* Harrison Crowe
Defending champion: Min Woo Lee
Past Aussie winners: Kane Webber (2006), David Gleeson (2008), Scott Hend (2013, 2015), Min Woo Lee (2023)
Prize money: $US1 million
TV times: Live 4pm-8pm Thursday, Friday; Live 3pm-7pm Saturday, Sunday on Fox Sports 507 and Kayo.
Ladies European Tour
Wistron Ladies Open – Taiwan
Sunrise Golf and Country Club, Chinese Taipei
10:12am* Kirsten Rudgeley
Defending champion: Inaugural event
Past Aussie winners: Nil
Prize money: $US1 million
Japan Golf Tour
Japan Open
Tokyo Golf Club, Saitama
8:55am* Brad Kennedy
9:05am* Michael Hendry (NZ)
1:55pm Adam Scott
2:05pm Phoenix Campbell (a)
Defending champion: Akuryu Iwasaki
Past Aussie winners: Craig Parry (1997), Paul Sheehan (2006)
Prize money: ¥210 million
PGA TOUR Champions
SAS Championship
Prestonwood CC, Cary, North Carolina
Australasians in the field: Steven Alker (NZ), Steve Allan, Stuart Appleby, David Bransdon, Greg Chalmers, Richard Green, Mark Hensby, Rod Pampling, Cameron Percy, John Senden, Michael Wright.
Defending champion: Rod Pampling
Past Aussie winners: Rod Pampling (2023)
Prize money: $US2.1 million
TV times: Live 5am-8am Saturday on Fox Sports 507; Live 5am-8am Sunday, Monday on Fox Sports 503 and Kayo.
Challenge Tour
Hainan Open 2024
Sanya Luhuitou GC, Donghai Bay, China
2:35pm* Hayden Hopewell
4:05pm* George Worrall
Defending champion: Ricardo Gouveia
Past Aussie winners: Nil
Prize money: $US500,00
Korean PGA Tour
Baeksong Holdings-Asiad CC Busan Open
Asiad Country Club, Korea
9:10am Changgi Lee (NZ)
10:40am* Junseok Lee
1:30pm* Kevin Chun (NZ)
1:40pm Wonjoon Lee
1:40pm* Sungjin Yeo (NZ)
Defending champion: Eom Jae-woong
Past Aussie winners: Nil
Prize money: KRW1 billion
Sunshine Tour
Vodacom Origins of Golf – Wild Coast
Wild Coast Sun Country Club, Port Edward, South Africa
Australasians in the field: Austin Bautista
Defending champion: Pieter Moolman
Past Aussie winners: Nil
Prize money: R2 million
Major championship winner Cameron Smith will complete a four-week stretch of Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia tournaments by confirming his place in the field at the 2024 ISPS HANDA Australian Open.
Set to play the Queensland PGA, NSW Open and BMW Australian PGA Championship, Smith will then head to Melbourne’s famed Sandbelt and the Kingston Heath and The Victoria Golf Clubs for the Australian Open, which once again combines men, women and all abilities on one stage.
Smith will be chasing his first Stonehaven Cup in his 12th appearance at his national Open from November 28 – December 1.
A three-time winner of the Australian PGA Championship and victor of the 150th Open Championship at St Andrews, Smith has been a huge supporter of the Australian Open throughout his career, with his closest call coming in 2016 when he lost out in a play-off to Jordan Spieth.
“I think most people would know how much I want to win an Australian Open, so I am looking forward to challenging for the Stonehaven Cup again this year in Melbourne,” Smith said.
Enjoying a year highlighted by team success with his Ripper GC side, Smith has a long history on the Melbourne Sandbelt, with the 31-year-old claiming the adidas Australian Amateur title in 2013 at Commonwealth Golf Club and taking out medallist honours the previous year at Woodlands Golf Club.
Also teeing it up on the Melbourne Sandbelt in 2019 as part of the Presidents Cup and at the first Australian Open played with the new format in 2022 at Victoria and Kingston Heath, Smith has long been a fan favourite at home and around the world.
His loyal band of followers, often imitating his signature look, will no doubt come out in force again this year after record crowds were on hand in 2023 when the Wantima Country Club product finished in a tie for 17th.
Smith joins the likes of fellow Australians Min Woo Lee, Cam Davis, Hannah Green and defending champions Joaquin Niemann and Ashleigh Buhai in the field at Kingston Heath and Victoria, where the men’s event will be co-sanctioned by the DP World Tour and the women’s tournament the feature of the WPGA Tour of Australasia schedule.
“Cam has been a tremendous supporter of not just the Australian Open, but Australian golf, so we are very much looking forward to him returning home for a month of tournaments,” Golf Australia CEO James Sutherland said.
“Having Cam join the already announced players is extremely exciting for everyone involved as we prepare to watch some of the best players in the world on some of the best courses in the sport, all watched by the best fans in golf.”
The presence of Smith an exciting prospect for the people of Victoria according to the government.
“Victoria’s reputation as the sporting capital of Australia continues to grow and having star players like Cameron Smith here for the Australian Open will help draw strong visitation to our state,” Minister for Tourism, Sport and Major Events Steve Dimopoulos said.
“Golf is worth about $1 billion per year to the Victorian economy and attracting world-class players to showcase our Sandbelt courses on the world stage will be a huge driver for our visitor economy.”
The 2024 ISPS HANDA Australian Open will be broadcast on Fox Sports and Kayo, as well as the NINE Network, while applications to volunteer at the event are now open.
Tickets for the ISPS HANDA Australian Open are available now via Ticketek.
Former World Deaf Golf champion Jack McLeod hopes to break down barriers for deaf people within golf when he joins the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia as an exempt player this week.
A graduate of the Qualifying School staged at Moonah Links in April, McLeod joins defending champion Ben Eccles, DP World Tour rookie Haydn Barron, former winners Brett Rumford and Jarryd Felton and 2023/2024 tournament winners Cameron John and Kerry Mountcastle at the CKB WA PGA Championship at Kalgoorlie Golf Course starting Thursday.
It is a remarkable moment for the 28-year-old who was born profoundly deaf and received his first Cochlear implant when just 11 months old.
McLeod received a second implant for his left ear at the age of 11 and since then has lived a life largely unencumbered by his inability to hear without assistance.
A talented soccer player growing up on Sydney’s northern beaches, McLeod chose to pursue golf as a career, first trying his hand at greenkeeping before undertaking the PGA of Australia’s Membership Pathway Program.
He became a full Vocational Member of the PGA in 2023 and had been working as the Assistant Professional at Mona Vale Golf Club before dedicating himself to playing full-time this year.
It was only at the insistence of Mona Vale Head Professional, Gerard Kelly, that McLeod entered Q School. He finished tied 17th at First Stage and then tied 29th at Final Stage to earn status for the 2024/2025 season.
“The last thing I want is to be five years down the track going, I wish I gave it a go, but that week was so stressful,” McLeod said of his Q School experience.
“I thought I was gone after 12 holes in the last round (of Final Stage).
“One of the boys came up and asked if I’d made par on the last and I said, ‘Yeah, that’s me done’.
“He goes, ‘No, you’re in. You’re on the same score as me. You’re in’.
“It didn’t sink in until a couple of days later that I was like, Wow. I’ve got a Tour card. I’m a Tour player.”
To his playing partners this summer, McLeod will present as just another competitor.
With his implants connected to the external units that sit behind his ears, McLeod has 95 per cent hearing in his right ear and 42 per cent hearing in his left.
Background noise is an issue when he works in the Mona Vale pro shop and when he takes them off – in the shower, swimming at the beach and to sleep – he is completely deaf.
Somewhat ironically, the only time McLeod has played golf without his implants was when he played the World Deaf Golf Championship for the first time in 2012… and won by 13 strokes.
“A week before we went my coach said, ‘We’re going to spend every afternoon after school on the golf course without them on’,” McLeod recalled of his first experience playing golf in complete silence.
“It was so different. So different. You lose your balance a little bit, but I think it’s more so relying on feel to know if you’ve hit a good shot.
“And obviously it’s peaceful. You can have a car drive past you and not hear a thing.”
McLeod has played two PGA Tour of Australasia events in the past 18 months through the Associate program prior to attaining his full PGA qualifications and made the cut at the 2021 Queensland Open.
Since obtaining his Tour card, he has played extensively on the adidas PGA Pro-Am Series, registering top-five finishes at Teven Valley and Ocean Shores and was runner-up at Ballina in August.
It has instilled a sense of confidence that he can enter his rookie season knowing his best golf is more than good enough to compete with the elite of Australian golf.
“At Q School I was going down there to have a crack, whereas after the last couple of results I’ve had, I’m starting to feel more confident that I can play with these guys,” said McLeod.
“The mentality sort of changed a little bit. Now it’s gone from hoping to make cuts to now wanting to win.
“That’s a different mentality I’ve got to have.”
His primary goal this season will be to retain his card, but McLeod knows that he represents something more.
“Just being an example of what we can achieve is a big thing,” he added.
“Losing one of your senses is pretty hard. And I think hearing is probably one of the bad ones that you can lose because you’ve got to communicate.
“Being an example would be a good title to have. We’re all ambassadors in our own right. We’re all trying to promote golf together; we just don’t quite get the recognition that we deserve.”
That might be about to change.
A trip to Mataranka, in the red dirt south of Katherine in the Northern Territory, has come up trumps for the sport of golf and the students at Mataranka School.
In his years as a PGA Professional in Darwin and Queensland, Darwin head pro Kurt Watts has never been moved so much as he was by this four-hour trip south from the NT capital for a set of school clinics.
The clinics came about after Mataranka School applied and succeeded in winning a Sporting Schools grant via Sport Australia, aimed at increasing sports participation. The school wanted to follow it through with some golf clinics, and as it happened, GA’s Relationships Manager in the NT, Brodie Morcom, had previously dropped a MyGolf kit at the school.
GA has run clinics in Katherine before but never so far south as tiny Mataranka, where three days of clinics took place under the watch of GA’s Sam Wright and Watts at the end of term three. Almost 20 children of all ages from five to 18 took part.
For Watts, it was not only an eye-opener but highly rewarding.
“It was an opportunity for us to expose golf to kids who might have never get the opportunity,” he said. “It was a pretty cool experience, that’s for sure.”
Watts and Wright found a level of keenness that was off the charts, and a glimmer of knowledge of the sport, in particular Tiger Woods. “I said to this kid, ‘you’re seven or eight, how do you know Tiger Woods’?”
There was also some talent on show. “There are some gifted athletes,” said Watts. “We asked them to duplicate what we were doing and they were like ‘no worries’. Twenty minutes into the session, they’re loving it.
“I think contact is important. From a holistic perspective, it’s above and beyond golf. Some of these kids are in off stations or farms, some of them are from indigenous communities, and having that contact with us makes a difference.
“I think it was a massive success. It was the most rewarding school trip I’ve done. I’ve done my fair share – probably 25 different Sporting School grants over the last five years – and this was by far the most rewarding.
“I don’t think any of those kids, regardless of demographic, would have had the opportunity to access golf as a sport.”
The clinics at Matarenka are set to continue in 2025.
Two of the rising stars of Australian golf will take their talents to the game’s biggest stages in 2025 after an enthralling end to the Korn Ferry Tour and Epson Tour seasons in the US.
Entering the Korn Ferry Tour Championship in 18th position with 30 PGA TOUR cards on offer, Vilips responded to a nervy 75 in Round 1 with rounds of 70-71-70 to finish tied 20th and end the year 19th on the points list.
It continues a remarkable rise for the former child prodigy who grew up in Melbourne before moving to Perth and who only graduated from Stanford College in June.
He collected an exemption on the PGA TOUR Americas at the completion of his college career through the PGA TOUR University Ranking yet made just two appearances before taking a step up to the Korn Ferry Tour.
Affectionately known as ‘Koala Karl’, Vilips posted top 15 finishes in each of his first four Korn Ferry Tour starts, culminating in a victory at the Utah Championship.
Porter’s grip on one of 15 LPGA Tour cards was far less tenuous entering the Epson Tour season finale.
Starting the week 11th in the Race For The Card standings, Porter had to dig deep to hold hopefuls at bay.
A 5-under-par round of 66 in Round 3 elevated Porter from 42nd to 22nd on the Tour Championship leaderboard, a 2-under 69 in the final round enough to end the week 17th and claim the 10th of the LPGA Tour cards on offer.
By moving inside the top 10, Porter receives the Category 9 exemption category while those who finish 11-15 earn the Category 15 exemption category.
“I am actually really struggling to believe it,” said Porter.
“Even when I finished on 18, I had no idea… In my brain, I was like, Oh, there’s no way I’m making top 10. Obviously, I’m so excited for top 15, but I was like, there’s no chance.
“As things progressed, we moved up into 10 and I’m stoked. I can’t believe it. Hopefully it sinks in soon.
“I’ve dreamed about this since I was a little girl, so for it to be real so soon, I’m stoked.”
A member of the Golf Australia Rookie Squad, the highlight of Porter’s second season on the Epson Tour was her breakthrough victory at the FireKeepers Casino Hotel Championship in June.
The 22-year-old from the Sunshine Coast turned professional in 2021 and in 2022 won the Melbourne International on the WPGA Tour of Australasia.
Elsewhere this week, 50-year-old Brad Kennedy was tied for third at the CAN Championship in June, Greg Chalmers was outright third at the Constellation Furyk and Friends on the PGA TOUR Champions and Maverick Antcliff’s tie for seventh was the best of the Aussies at the typhoon-affected Mercuries Taiwan Masters.
Results
PGA TOUR
Sanderson Farms Championship
The Country Club of Jackson, Jackson, Mississippi
1 Kevin Yu 66-66-66-67—265
T11 Ryan Fox (NZ) 67-66-68-69—270
MC Tim Wilkinson (NZ) 74-73—147
MC Aaron Baddeley 73-77—150
DP World Tour
Alfred Dunhill Links Championship
Old Course St Andrews, St Andrews, Scotland
1 Tyrrell Hatton 65-68-61-70—264 €739,482.05
T12 Kazuma Kobori (NZ) 70-70-67-65—272 €64,502.72
T19 David Micheluzzi 64-70-70-69—273 €50,023.79
T25 Daniel Hillier (NZ) 63-69-70-72—274 €39,366.54
T43 Sam Jones (NZ) 67-71-67-71—276 €20,444.50
T54 Cameron John 62-68-74-73—277 €13,919.66
MC Daniel Gale 68-74-66—208
MC Kade McBride 69-69-71—209
MC Brett Coletta 69-68-73—210
MC Jordan Zunic 70-69-71—210
MC Matt Jones 72-70-71—213
MC Lachlan Barker 76-68-71—215
MC Matthew Griffin 76-73-69—218
MC Jak Carter 75-78-66—219
Asian Tour
Mercuries Taiwan Masters
Taiwan Golf and Country Club, Chinese Taipei
1 Jbe Kruger 68-71-69—208 $US200,000
T7 Maverick Antcliff 73-71-68—212 $25,000
T13 Andrew Dodt 71-69-74—214 $13,000
T26 Todd Sinnott 74-71-72—217 $8,800
T31 Scott Hend 71-73-74—218 $7,716.67
T37 Jed Morgan 69-73-77—219 $6,880
T42 Brendan Jones 69-75-76—220 $6,450
47 Kevin Yuan 71-74-78—223 $5,900
MC Deyen Lawson 72-76—148
MC Aaron Wilkin 72-76—148
MC Zach Murray 74-74—148
MC Jack Thompson 75-76—151
MC Sam Brazel 74-77—151
MC Justin Warren 73-78—151
MC Harrison Crowe 81-75—156
Japan Golf Tour
ACN Championship Golf Tournament
Miki Golf Club, Hyogo
1 Takumi Kanaya 68-68-65-63—264 ¥20m
Won in sudden-death playoff
T3 Brad Kennedy 67-71-63-66—267 ¥5.2m
MC Michael Hendry (NZ) 75-73—148
Ladies European Tour
Aramco Team Series Presented by PIF – Shenzhen
Mission Hills Resort (World Cup Cse), China
1 Celine Boutier 66-68-66—200 $US67,970.25
T26 Kelsey Bennett 70-71-71—212 $5,256.37
T37 Kirsten Rudgeley 71-72-72—215 $3,262.57
Korn Ferry Tour
Korn Ferry Tour Championship
French Lick Golf Resort (Pete Dye Cse), French Lick, Indiana
1 Braden Thornberry 71-72-70-66—279
T20 Karl Vilips 75-70-71-70—286
Epson Tour
Epson Tour Championship at Indian Wells
Indian Wells Golf Resort (Players Cse), Indian Wells, California
1 Heather Lin 67-63-71-67—268
T13 Amelia Garvey (NZ) 66-68-71-68—273
T17 Cassie Porter 70-70-66-69—275
MC Fiona Xu 73-72—145
Challenge Tour
D+D REAL Czech Challenge
Royal Beroun Golf Club, Beroun, Czech Republic
1 Benjamin Follett-Smith 63-62-63-64—252 €43,200
MC Hayden Hopewell 68-68—136
MC Connor McKinney 73-67—140
LET Access Series
Iberdrola Calatayud Ladies Open
Gambito Golf Calatayud, Spain
1 Ellie Gower 73-65-68—206 €7,200
MC Laura Hoskin (NZ) 78-75—153
PGA TOUR Champions
Constellation FURYK & FRIENDS
Timuquana Country Club, Jacksonville, Florida
1 Rocco Mediate 67-66-71—204 $US315,000
3 Greg Chalmers 69-69-68—206 $151,200
T10 Steven Alker (NZ) 70-68-70—208 $46,620
T15 Rod Pampling 68-70-71—209 $35,700
T34 Stuart Appleby 70-73-69—212 $12,642
T45 John Senden 70-68-77—215 $7,770
T50 David Bransdon 79-68-69—216 $6,090
T53 Steve Allan 73-75-69—217 $5,145
T65 Michael Wright 76-76-69—221 $2,327
T65 Cameron Percy 72-74-75—221 $2,327
Sunshine Tour
SunBet Challenge hosted by Sun Sibaya
Umhlali Country Club, Ballito, South Africa
1 Luke Jerling 66-66-68—200
MC Austin Bautista 75-74—149
Jasper Stubbs and Quinn Croker will make an immediate switch to concentrating on their professional golf careers after finishing the Asia Pacific Amateur Championship in Japan today.
And the leading Australian at Taiheiyo Club Gotemba, Phoenix Campbell, won’t be far behind once he completes his Japanese double.
One of the men Stubbs beat in last year’s playoff at Royal Melbourne, China’s Wenyi Ding, gained redemption by claiming the 2025 Asia-Pacific Amateur title with a 12-under-par total, proving why he was the highest-ranked player in the world amateur rankings coming into this week.
Four consecutive rounds of 67 gave the 19-year-old, who is heading for the DP World Tour, a one-stroke margin over countryman Ziqin Zhou.
Stubbs will be the first of this year’s Australian AAC contingent to play as a professional. He faces 16 hours of flight time to reach Western Australia and the resumption of the 2024/25 Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia after finishing his title defence in a share of 32nd place at 5-over-par.
Meanwhile, Croker will tackle the first stage of Korn Ferry Tour Qualifying School in Florida in the United States from October 15-18 before taking up the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia membership he earned by winning the Future Tour category last season.
The reigning Australian Amateur and Queensland Amateur champion closed with his best round of the week in Japan, a 2-under 68, to be 1-over overall and tied for 19th.
Campbell ended up in a share of 13th at 2-under after closing with a 68.
The only Australian with a chance of securing the title heading into the final day, Campbell’s victory chances disappeared when he dropped three shots late in the third round which concluded Sunday morning.
Campbell has just one tournament left to play as an amateur, the Japan Open at Tokyo Golf Club this week, before he too switches over to the professional ranks. Campbell will take up the two-year exemption available to him courtesy of his win at the Queensland PGA Championship last year.
The Victorian’s debut as a pro will come at the 100th WA Open, starting on October 17 at Mandurah Golf and Country Club.
“To finish as the top Aussie is a nice achievement,” Campbell said.
“There’s a bit there to work on for next week but, overall, I’m pretty pleased with the week.”
Stubbs’ first event as a professional is now just four days away in much different surroundings than he’s encountered in a very wet Japan this week – the CKB WA PGA Championship in Kalgoorlie.
“I never really felt like I could get anything going,” the Victorian said of his title defence.
“As soon as I’d make a couple of birdies, I’d give them straight back, and that’s how the whole week sort of went.
“It’s been a cool week trying to defend. Unfortunately, not the week I was hoping for, but still a special week.”
Just off the pace from day one, Croker was keen to finish his second AAC on a high and he achieved that with a closing 68 that lifted him inside the top 20.
“You definitely don’t want to leave Japan and not finish under-par in at least one round,” the Queenslander said.
“It was good to finish off the way I did. It could have been anything out there. There were a lot of putts that could have gone in and I could have finished off really special but it wasn’t to be.
“Obviously I wanted (the week) to be slightly better but I’ll take that for the first time in Japan.”
His first Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia event as a professional will be Webex Players Series South Australia in Willunga.
The 2025 Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship will be played in Dubai from October 23-26.
Australian scores
-2: Phoenix Campbell (Vic) 71-66-73-68
+1: Quinn Croker (Qld) 70-70-73-68
+1: Tony Chen (Vic) 71-69-71-70
+5: Jasper Stubbs (Vic) 72-71-71-70
+5: Connor Fewkes (WA) 74-71-71-69
+6: Billy Dowling (Qld) 72-69-74-71
+14: Lukas Michel (Vic) 71-76-73-74
Lisa Jean has declared that her playing days are over after leading the PGA of Australia team to a third-place finish at the Women’s PGA Cup at Sunriver Resort in Oregon.
Just two strokes ahead of the Great Britain and Ireland team when the final round began, Jean (68), captain Katelyn Must (70) and Grace Lennon (71) contributed to the team’s 4-under total in Round 3 to end the week 12 strokes clear of the British and Irish team.
Lennon (2-over) and Must (3-over) both finished inside the top 10 in the individual standings as the US team won for the third time and Canada finished second.
Jean was emotional after the round, confirming that it would be her last competitive round at this level.
“I told the girls this morning at breakfast that I was going to retire officially after this event,” said Jean.
“My body’s just been through the mill with the hard work, trying to play and practice with injuries.
“I just went out there today and thought, You’re just going to have to go for it.
“Hit the ball really well, made a lot of really good putts. It actually felt like some of my game used to be like, which was nice.”
After a great start with birdies at two and five, Jean was square with the card by the turn due to dropped shots at seven and nine.
Digging deep as she prepared to sign off, Jean made birdie at 10, 12, 15 and 17 before making bogey on the final hole.
More than the way she played, Jean said such an event was the perfect place to bring her playing days to an end.
“It’s been an amazing experience,” she added.
“Having played in 2019, I knew what it was going to be like, so I really wanted to be back here with the girls.
“We’ve got amazing women in the PGA of Australia so really wanted to be back here.
“It’s been a great experience and everyone’s been so welcoming and friendly and we’ve had a lot of fun.”
Must had three birdies and two bogeys in producing her best round of the week while Lennon matched her even-par round of the day prior to finish the individual standings in a tie for fifth.
Final team scores
1 USA -14
2 Canada -2
3 Australia +14
4 GB & Ireland +26
5 Sweden +54
6 South Africa +62
Grace Lennon delivered one of the rounds of the day to keep the Australian team in third place with one round to play at the Women’s PGA Cup at Sunriver Resort in Oregon.
Lennon’s grounding on the sandbelt courses of Melbourne came in handy during a windswept second round at the Meadows Course, her round of even-par 71 bettered by only one player.
Captain Katelyn Must (75) and Jessica Cook (79) were the other contributing scores for Australia in Round 2 to hold onto third by two shots from Great Britain and Ireland.
The PGA of America team will take a six-stroke lead into the third and final round from Canada, who opened up a 16-shot lead to the Aussies.
Lennon credited countless rounds at Kingston Heath for being able to handle the tricky conditions, making just two late bogeys to go with birdies at holes five and seven.
It has put Lennon in fifth position in the individual standings and given her team a chance to finish on the podium on Saturday.
“Obviously a little bit nervous on the first tee, wanting to play well, but settled into the round pretty well,” said Lennon.
“I was playing with a couple of great players from the United States and Canada, so I felt like it was a great opportunity to watch and learn a little bit from them as well as play my own game.
“I felt reasonably comfortable in the wind because I played a lot back home at Kingston Heath in windy conditions.
“I just tried to stay as patient as possible and hit shots that I felt comfortable with. I drove the ball really well today so I was in the fairway quite a lot of the time, which was a big help.
“Looking forward to the last round tomorrow and playing with another couple of really solid players.
“Enjoying every minute of being out here and enjoying my time with the team.”
Like Lennon, Must made a solid start to Round 2 before dropping shots late.
She made back-to-back bogeys at eight and nine and also dropped shots at 14 and 16 for a 4-over 75.
The final round begins at 4am AEDT Sunday with Lennon to tee off in the final group at 5:39am.
Defending champion Peter Lonard went back-to-back but had company at the top of the leaderboard of the Hahn Shelly Beach Legends Pro-Am.
Back at the course where he played his first ever round of golf, Lonard shot 2-under 69, a score that was matched by Scott Barr, David McKenzie and first-time winner Ken Druce.
Winner of the 1999 Victorian Open in a more than decade-long career playing on Tour, Druce now specialises in golf-specific fitness training along with his role as a Teaching Professional at Royal Sydney Golf Club.
The 52-year-old was thrilled to earn his maiden PGA Legends Tour win amongst such distinguished company.
“I haven’t won anything for about 20 years. It’s nice to be tied with that sort of calibre of player, too,” said Druce.
For Lonard, it was another happy memory to add to a long list at Shelly Beach.
“I actually played my first game of golf of my life here,” said Lonard.
“My grandparents lived up here, so I loved the area, loved the whole vibe of the course and the clubhouse.
“I suppose you play better when you’re in a happy place.”
The top nine on the leaderboard were separated by just two shots, the quartet of winners finishing a couple clear of David Van Raalte (71), David Diaz (71), Nigel Lane (71) and Mike Harwood (71).
HOW THE WINNING ROUNDS UNFOLDED
Out in the morning groups, Druce was the first to post 69.
It was a strong start too, picking up two birdies in his opening four holes after starting his round from the par-5 15th.
Druce was 4-under on his round after further birdies at five and nine but dropped shots late at holes 12 and 13 to set the mark for the afternoon groups.
Lonard was even par through 13 holes of his round before picking up birdies at 14 and 15 to sign for 2-under.
McKenzie needed to birdie his final hole – the par-4 12th – to also finish at 2-under while Barr had just the one bogey at the par-4 second, birdies at 15, eight and nine enough to join the logjam at 2-under.
WHAT THE WINNERS SAID
“You’ve got to drive it really straight and hit a lot of good shots,” said Lonard.
“The wind was up a little bit today – nor-easter I think it was – so the course was quite a good test.
“Of course, it was in magnificent condition. The greens were fantastic and it was good fun.”
“I got to 4-under quite early and dropped a few coming home on a couple of tough holes,” said Druce.
“Overall I was very happy.”
LEADERBOARD RUNDOWN
T1 Ken Druce 69
T1 Peter Lonard 69
T1 Scott Barr 69
T1 David McKenzie 69
T5 David Van Raalte 71
T5 David Diaz 71
T5 Nigel Lane 71
T5 Michael Harwood 71
NEXT UP
The PGA Legends Tour heads to the South Coast of New South Wales on Monday for the two-day Sapphire Coast Legends Pro-Am to be followed by the Mollymook Senior Masters at Mollymook Golf Club.
