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A season wracked early by illness and injury can end on the highest note possible when Brad Kennedy contests the finale to the 2023 Japan Golf Tour, the Golf Japan Series JT Cup in Tokyo.
Currently 25th on the prize money ranking in Japan, Kennedy was the only Australian to qualify for the 30-man tournament worth ¥130,000,000 ($A1.392m).
It was not a position the 49-year-old imagined himself in earlier in the year when he contracted COVID and then had to miss eight weeks due to an injury incurred in his first event of the year.
It wasn’t until the ACN Championship in October where Kennedy began to find his rhythm, his renowned consistency delivering a string of good results.
Following a tied 12th position in that event, he secured three additional top-six finishes in the next four appearances, including a notable joint third in the Japan Open.
These results were pivotal in propelling him into the top 30 and securing his ninth appearance in the JT Cup.
“To be honest, it’s been really tough,” Kennedy said of his 2023 campaign.
“At the start of the year, I got COVID and then I got injured in the first event as well.
“I played a couple of events after that with my injury and then it just got too bad that I took time off and sort of had eight weeks off.
“It wasn’t really until I got back in the second half of the season, sort of from KBC, that I actually felt like I’d started the season. That sort of gave me a limited chance to try and achieve what I wanted to.
“And it was just a bit of a rebuild mentally, physically, trying to get my swing back and not worry too much about the injury and just go play golf again.
“The Japan Open was the real change in the season, where it’s just such a difficult golf course that I knew, just play a little bit smart, stay patient. And my game the week before at ACN had come back, so those two weeks were real keys.
“Since then, I’ve been able to keep those thoughts going, keep the momentum going, and sort of stand here again at the JT Cup.
“You sort of wonder how, but at the same time, it’s great to be here.”
Runner-up to Ryo Ishikawa in the JT Cup in 2019, Kennedy is not put off by his status as the oldest player in the field.
In fact, he believes in a week such as this, it can be to his advantage.
“There’s a great younger generation coming through and I think I’m the oldest by about five years playing this week,” said Kennedy.
“But it’s a tough course, it’s a scorable course and I think it suits my game also.
“And I’ve sort of had success here before. Haven’t won, but I think this has allowed me to make sure that I’m doing the right things and sort of staying relevant.”
Another 49-year-old looking to make this week count is Michael Wright.
Early in the second round, the Queenslander is leading First Stage of PGA TOUR Champions Q School in California.
Due to turn 50 in February, Wright shot 7-under 65 to lead by four shots after Round 1, Victorian Cameron Percy fourth after a round of 70.
There are also LPGA Tour cards up for grabs this week at the six-round LPGA Q-Series.
After narrowly missing out on promotion via the Epson Tour, Robyn Choi will lead the way alongside West Australian Hira Naveed, Victorian Su Oh and Kiwi Amelia Garvey.
Photo: Courtesy JGTO Images
Round 1 tee times AEDT
Japan Golf Tour
Golf Japan Series JT Cup
Tokyo Yomiuri Country Club, Tokyo
11:50am Yuta Kinoshita, Takashi Ogiso, Brad Kennedy
Defending champion: Hideto Tanihara
Past Aussie winners: Paul Sheehan (2004), Brendan Jones (2007)
Asian Tour
Taiwan Glass Taifong Open
Taifong Golf Club, Taiwan
10:15am* Bongsub Kim, Douglas Klein, Chang Tse-yu
2:30pm Poom Saksansin, Hung Chien-yao, Todd Sinnott
3pm Ajeetesh Sandhu, Nicholas Fung, Terry Pilkadaris
Defending champion: Inaugural event
Past Aussie winners: Nil
PGA TOUR
Hero World Challenge
Albany Golf Club, Albany, Bahamas
4:03am Jason Day, Collin Morikawa
Defending champion: Viktor Hovland
Past Aussie winners: Nil
TV times: Live 5:30am-8:30am Friday, Saturday; Live 4am-9am Sunday; Live 3:30am-8:30am Monday on Fox Sports 503 and Kayo.
LPGA Tour
Q-Series
RTJ Magnolia Grove, Mobile, Alabama
12:52am Maddie McCrary, Hira Naveed, Yu Jin Sung
1:25am Trichat Cheenglab, Robyn Choi, Clariss Guce
2:20am Nicole Broch Estrup, Karen Chung, Amelia Garvey (NZ)
2:31am Su Oh, Jiaze Sun, Yuri Yoshida
PGA TOUR Champions
2024 PGA TOUR Champions Qualifying
First Stage Soboba Springs
Soboda Springs Golf Club, California
Round 1 scores
1 Michael Wright 65
4 Cameron Percy 70
T5 Stephen Allan 71
T17 David Bransdon 73
T33 John Wade 75
Legends Tour
Vinpearl DIC Legends Vietnam
Vinpearl Resort Nha Trang, Vietnam
11:20am* Peter Fowler, Niclas Fasth, Do Toan Thang
12:50pm Michael Campbell (NZ), Michael Jonzon, Nguyen Anh Minh
Defending champion: Inaugural event
Past Aussie winners: Nil
Min Woo Lee has suddenly become one of the hottest tickets in world golf, but the young Perth superstar is hellbent on adding to his resume at the ISPS HANDA Australian Open this week.
Min Woo Lee has suddenly become one of the hottest tickets in world golf, but the young Perth superstar is hellbent on adding to his resume at the ISPS HANDA Australian Open this week.
Evidence of his maturity and commitment came as early as Sunday night, soon after he had won the Fortinet Australian PGA Championship.
He fulfilled his winners obligations and carted the trophy around for the social media shots, but he was in bed before midnight.
Then he flew to Sydney the next morning with his head clear and began preparation for this week’s national championship at The Australian and The Lakes.
Not only that, but he said he may skip going to see the singer Post Malone on Wednesday night – one of his favourite acts who he saw in Brisbane – and stick to his tournament routine this week.
The 25-year-old said he learned a lesson about over-celebrating after his win in Macau on the Asian Tour earlier this year.
“Again, work to do this week,” he said today. “My win in Macau I kind of learnt from. I went pretty hard after that win and had Zozo (Championship) the week after, so I thought I didn’t get the best preparation for that week, so I’m learning from those experiences.
“I just had a, I’ll say medium, not quiet, not massive, just right in the middle. Good enough to celebrate but not enough for a hangover, so right in between, and again, ready for this week.”
Lee already has a connection with the public that goes beyond the ordinary; Sunday’s events at Royal Queensland, and especially his chip-in midway through the round and full fist-pumping celebration, only added to his growing fame.
So did his donning of a chef’s hat at the 17th, the party hole at Royal Queensland, channeling his Instagram line of ‘let’s Cook’.
The hat act wasn’t planned.
But he’ll run with it anyway, as you do when you have 364,000 Insta followers.
“I still have to ask my caddie where he got the chef hat on 17 because … I told him before the hole ‘chuck me some balls, I’m going to throw them out after the hole’s done’. And then he gives me the chef’s hat, and I’m like, ‘I’m not wearing this’, and he’s like, ‘go on, wear it’.
“So I ended up wearing it. But it was a shock to me, I didn’t know that it was happening. So, I’ve still got to ask him when he got it.”
Lee has a bit of history at The Australian, which will host the final two rounds this week. Back as far as 2016 he played alongside Jordan Spieth here when Spieth won.
“I was 17 years old, so it was unreal,” he said. “I played with him on the Saturday, obviously when school was done and all the kids got out and the fairways were filled with so many people.
“I didn’t end up playing that good, but it was definitely an experience I can look back on and kind of got caught up in all of it, and as a 17-year-old, you don’t have that big of a crowd, so I really loved that moment and now that I get to play with Jordan, it’s pretty cool, week in, week out.
“I know The Australian golf course is tough, which is probably better for me. I like pretty tough courses, or if it’s easy, it’s nice and easy and I’m playing good golf. So, both of them can help. I’m hitting the ball really well now.”
Lee is now No. 38 in the world and has his sights set on the Olympics in Paris next year. Currently he sits behind Cameron Smith and Jason Day among Australian men in the slot for Games, but he can address that quickly with a win this week.
Of course, he’ll be only one of the two members of his family playing, with Minjee Lee teeing it up as well and chasing her first Australian Open win.
“I get a little pissed off when she wins the week after, because I got the light on me for a little bit and then four days later or like a week later, she’s holding a trophy,” he said.
“We’re happy for each other. We want to only do well and inspire kids and keep playing good golf, so it’s not that bad of a sibling rivalry, but a little petty, from me usually.”
Cameron Davis was standing on the left side of The Australian Golf Club’s driving range back in 2017 preparing for a potential play-off when he learned that he had become the Australian Open champion at just 20 years of age.
Returning to The Australian this week, as well The Lakes Golf Club for the joint men’s and women’s ISPS HANDA Australian Open, Davis reflected on his past success at the 22-time host venue that is the primary site for this week.
“This is my first day back here, so I’m going to go down and do a little bit of practice, but I might have to take a moment to soak up a few memories from that spot,” Davis said Tuesday.
Those memories are ones Davis has utilised in compiling an impressive career to date that has included winning on the PGA Tour and representing the International team at the most recent Presidents Cup.
Struggling with his game for the majority of 2017, Davis used the victory over a stacked field to launch a global career that still has so much to play out in at just 28.
“It’s always so much fun coming back to a place where you’ve got that many good memories, defining moments in your career. This place really kick-started my whole professional career. I would say this is the place that helped me get on the PGA Tour basically,” he said.
Growing up in Sydney’s north and at a number of the city’s golf clubs in the area before finding the two courses he is most closely linked to in Roseville and Monash, Davis knows this week’s venues are as close to a home game as he will get in his national Open.
The Seattle-based Sydneysider confident that the familiar grass types and weather conditions play into his advantage in a field that includes the likes of Cam Smith, Adam Scott, defending champion Adrian Meronk and last week’s winner Min Woo Lee.
“I feel like it’s always really windy here,” Davis said.
“I feel like I’m a pretty good wind player in terms of shaping the ball around and judging wind conditions.
“That’s going to be a huge thing out here, because the greens are a little harder to hold, especially downwind.”
Knowing the conditions is part of the equation towards winning a tournament, with Davis outlining making more birdies than last week at Royal Queensland where he was tied for seventh behind Lee as another key factor.
Lee’s career trajectory much discussed in the days since he became the latest Fortinet Australian PGA Champion, with Davis hoping he is on a similar path himself. One that would get a great boost with a second Stonehaven Cup at ‘The Aussie’.
“I mean, I’m getting a lot of top-10s on the board right now. I feel like the next real step is winning, starting to get some more trophies at home,” Davis said.
“I’m starting to get myself in contention a lot more. I think the more you’re there, obviously the more comfortable you get and the more normal the level of golf that you play to get into that position, the more normal it seems to feel.
“Winning at any level I feel like is the next step, but obviously the ultimate goal is to try and get trophies in the majors.”
An international field of some of the world’s best golfers has descended on The Australian and The Lakes Golf Clubs in Sydney for the ISPS HANDA Australian Open.
The world-first format sees the women, men, and All Abilities playing on the same course, at the same time, for separate trophies. All three of last year’s champions — Adrian Meronk of Poland, Ashleigh Buhai of South Africa and England’s Kipp Popert –are back to defend their titles.
Meronk is set to give a strong defence of his title, following a strong year on the DP World Tour, highlighted by wins at the Italian Open and Andalucia Masters.
A host of Australia’s best men’s golfers will be out to stop Meronk however, with Min Woo Lee hot off his win last week at the Fortinet Australian PGA Championship, and Cam Davis, Adam Scott, Cameron Smith, Lucas Herbert and Marc Leishman all hungry for the title.
Davis has fond memories at The Australian, the site of his breakthrough win at the 2017 Australian Open.
“It’s always so much fun coming back to a place where you’ve got that many good memories, defining moments in your career,” he said.
“I feel like it’s always really windy here. I feel like I’m a pretty good wind player in terms of shaping the ball around and judging wind conditions.
“But I think in terms of consistency, right now I’m probably in the middle of the best run of golf I think I’ve ever played in terms of week after week.”
Major winners Minjee Lee and Hannah Green highlight the women’s field, with a pack of emerging Aussie youngsters out to take down the two stars.
Grace Kim, Stephanie Kyriacou and Gabriella Ruffels are all in form and looking for their breakthrough big win.
Lee was last week awarded her third Greg Norman Medal after an incredible year on the LPGA Tour with wins at the Kroger Queen City Championship, and the BMW Ladies Championship, but an Australian Open is the one she wants.
“I actually feel quite relaxed this week. I thought I would feel a bit more pressure than I usually feel coming to an Aussie open,” she said.
“The Aussie open is always a tough trophy to win, and of course we’re going to add added pressure because we both want to play really well, especially in front of a home crowd in Australia.
“We’ll see how we go.”
Defending champion Kipp Popert will head the strongest field of All Abilities golfers ever assembled in Australia at the ISPS HANDA Australian All-Abilities Championship.
For the first time, the top six players on the World Ranking for Golfers with Disability (WR4GD), representing six different countries, will be in the field for this year’s event.
They will be joined by the top four Australians on the world rankings, headed by Queensland’s Lachlan Wood, who is currently the Australian No.1 and will be contesting the AAAC for the first time.
The Pro-am day is on Wednesday 28/11/2023, 7.30am shotgun (Both courses)
Purchase Practice Day Pass through Ticketek
HOW TO FOLLOW
For live scoring and the latest news visit www.pga.org.au Exclusive content and tournament updates will also be posted regularly on the ISPS HANDA Australian Open and Golf Australia’s social media channels.
Instagram: @ausopengolf @golfaust
Twitter: @AusOpenGolf @GolfAust
Facebook: @AusOpenGolf @GolfAust
Official hashtag: #AusOpenGolf
HOW TO WATCH
The ISPS HANDA Australian Open is live and free on Channel 9HD and 9Now, or Live on Fox Sports, available on Foxtel and Kayo
Round 1: Thursday, 12pm – 5pm (AEDT)
Round 2: Friday, 12pm – 5pm (AEDT)
Round 3: Saturday, 2pm – 7pm (AEDT)
Round 4: Sunday, 2pm – 7pm (AEDT)
RECENT CHAMPIONS
Men:
2022: Adrian Meronk
2021: Not played
2020: Not played
2019: Matt Jones
2018: Abraham Ancer
2017: Cameron Davis
2016: Jordan Spieth
2015: Matt Jones
Women:
2022: Ashleigh Buhai
2021: Not played
2020: Inbee Park
2019: Nelly Korda
2018: Ko Jin-young
2017: Jang Ha-na
2016: Haru Nomura
2015: Lydia Ko
All Abilities:
2022: Kipp Popert
2021: Not played
2020: Not played
2019: Johan Kammerstad
2018:Johan Kammerstad
COURSE RECORD
61, Rod Pampling
COURSE DESIGNER
Clark, Hutchison & Martin (1903) / Jack Nicklaus (1976) / Jack Nicklaus (2013)
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Women:
Hannah Green: 2019 Women’s PGA Champion.
Minjee Lee: Two-time major champion.
Ashleigh Buhai: Defending champion and 2022 Women’s Open Champion.
Grace Kim: LPGA Tour winner and dual TPS Sydney Champion.
Stephanie Kyriacou: Multiple LET winner.
Gabriela Ruffels: Three-time Epson Tour winner, now on LPGA tour.
Jiyai Shin: Two-time major champion.
Men:
Min Woo Lee: 2023 Fortinet Australian PGA Champion, multiple DP World Tour winner and 2023 Macao Open champion
Cameron Smith: 2022 Open Champion.
Cameron Davis: PGA TOUR winner and 2017 Australian Open champion.
Adam Scott: 2013 Masters Champion, 2009 Australian Open Champion.
Robert MacIntyre: two-time DP World Tour winner and 2023 Ryder Cup representative.
Lucas Herbert: PGA TOUR winner, and multiple DP World Tour winner.
Adrian Meronk: Defending champion and four-time DP World Tour champion.
Marc Leishman: Six-time PGA TOUR winner.
All Abilities:
Kipp Popert: Defending champion and multiple G4D Tour winner.
Brendan Lawlor: Multiple G4D Tour winner and first disabled golfer to compete on the DP World Tour.
Lachlan Wood: 2023 WA Open All Abilities Champion.
Cameron Pollard: Multiple state inclusive and All Abilities champion.
Natascha Tennent: Special Olympics World Games Gold Medallist in Berlin 2023.
A decision to delay his Australian Open prep by one day paid off handsomely for home-club favourite Chris Wood at the $40,000 BMD/Bartons Wynnum Pro-Am at Wynnum Golf Club.
Almost 20 years since he joined as a pre-junior, Wood applied all that home-course knowledge to perfection on Monday, finishing one-stroke clear of Gold Coaster Dillon Hart with a round of 7-under 62.
After missing the cut at the Fortinet Australian PGA Championship, Wood would have been forgiven for heading to Sydney early to prepare for the Australian Open but was always ging to honour his commitment to the club that made him an honorary member in 2012.
“It was a pretty easy decision,” Wood said.
“Being a Wynnum boy, I wanted to come back and represent the club and see a lot of familiar faces.
“It was definitely the right decision to make at the end of the day.”
At event presentations, PGA Chair, Rodger Davis, was also on hand to present major sponsor Mick Power with Lifetime Honorary PGA Membership for his investment and service to the golf industry and, in particular, PGA Professionals.
HOW THE WINNING ROUND UNFOLDED
In a star-studded field that boasted legends such as Rod Pampling, Ian Baker-Finch and Terry Price, Wood’s bogey-free round of 62 was highlighted by an impressive run around the turn.
After early birdies at two and three, Wood birdied both nine and 10 and then made eagle at the par-5 12th to edge ahead.
After playing the back nine – his front nine – in 5-under Hart loomed as Wood’s greatest threat.
A dropped shot at the 412-metre par-4 fourth would prove costly in the end, birdies at six and seven leaving Hart just one short of matching the winning score.
WHAT THE WINNER SAID
“It’s always been a goal of mine to win this event outright. It was obviously good in 2018 to win and get my name up there but it’s a bit more special to get the win on your own.
“Playing here a lot, I know the birdie holes and the holes where you’re happy with par.
“Got off to a fairly solid start but a birdie on 10 and eagle on 12 got me going a bit.
“I wanted to birdie holes seven and eight, the short par 4s but didn’t manage to do that. Through the middle of the turn was a big momentum swing.
“The rain we had last week definitely greened up everything. The fairways are always good here, greens were rolling great today and there have been a lot of improvements to the course overall with cart paths and some trees taken out.
“The course is definitely heading in the right direction.
“I probably hadn’t played here since the pro-am last year so it was definitely good to come back and wind back the clock.”
LEADERBOARD RUNDOWN
1 Christopher Wood 62 $7,190
2 Dillon Hart 63 $4,294
T3 Neville Hogan 64 $2,163.33
T3 Simon Tooman 64 $2,163.33
T3 Samuel Eaves 64 $2,163.33
NEXT UP
The adidas PGA Pro-Am Series now heads south to Melbourne for the Victorian PGA Head Club Professional Championship at Woodlands Golf Club on December 4 to be followed by the Eastwood Golf Club Pro-Am on December 5.
The irony is that the character trait that prevented Peewee Moke from forging a career in the NRL is now the driving force in his quest to become a PGA Professional.
A schoolboy star at the famed rugby league finishing school at Endeavour Sports High in Sydney, Moke mixed with future greats of the game as he neared a senior call-up.
He was an Australian Schoolboys representative alongside the likes of Greg Inglis, Kade Snowden and Blake Green and a standout in a Sydney Roosters team led by Jamie Soward that went through the 2004 Jersey Flegg season undefeated.
That next off-season he trained alongside first grade stars such as Craig Fitzgibbon, Luke Ricketson and Anthony Minichiello, yet the NRL debut never came.
Moke found out the hard way that hard work beats talent when talent refuses to work hard.
“Talent got me a long way, but my work ethic was pretty poor when I was young,” Moke admits.
“When you get to the NRL you get really found out if you don’t put in the work and that’s what happened to me.
“I was close at the Roosters. Looking back now, all I really needed to do was to turn up to training and put in my best effort.”
He spent years in lower grade teams attached to NRL clubs at the Roosters, Sharks, Panthers and Bulldogs before a short stint playing bush footy in Temora in the state’s south-west.
Back-to-back ACL injuries at 23 years of age stalled his progress but the dream of playing in the NRL didn’t suddenly end; it simply dissipated over time.
A part-time interest since his days at school, golf became Moke’s competitive outlet.
After completing shifts working security at 5am, Moke would be on the first tee at Moore Park Golf Club in Sydney’s eastern suburbs by 6.30am, four days a week.
He got lessons and such was his passion for the game, he made enquiries about the PGA’s Membership Pathway Program. However, his handicap was not yet at a level where he could apply to begin the MPP.
It was then, with the support and encouragement of his fiancée, that Moke was told of the Golf Performance Program.
A gateway to the MPP, the Golf Performance Program incorporates the first year of Associate study with a golf improvement program designed to get the player’s handicap down to the required level.
Moke only began the program in July but is already displaying the traits necessary to be successful, those same traits that eluded him as a talented teenage footballer.
“Peewee is a great student to have,” says Michael Cooney, a PGA Professional guiding students through the program.
“His professional background in rugby league helps because when gym starts at 7.30, he’s there at 7 o’clock doing extras and he’s finishing half an hour later doing extras. It’s the same with his education and with his golf.
“With everything that he does, there is time, effort and dedication. In that regard, he’s top of the class.”
Given his experience in rugby league and his Samoan heritage, Moke is determined to improve his golf, obtain his PGA qualifications and encourage other Polynesians to take up the game.
“With all of the experience that I have of being in that professional environment, coming up as a junior and knowing the pitfalls that I fell into, I would like to think that if I get the chance to be a coach down the road that I could help a junior coming through and help them to understand what is coming for them,” Moke adds.
“That’s what I see myself doing and I feel like I can help inspire the younger generation.
“Polynesian kids might not feel that golf is an option for them.
“If they see someone such as myself, a golf instructor from a similar background, it might inspire them to take it up.”
For more information on the PGA’s Golf Performance Program click here.
A historic brother-sister double at this week’s ISPS HANDA Australian Open could pave the way for Lee siblings, Minjee and Min Woo, to represent Australia at the 2024 Olympic Games.
On the back of his three-stroke win at the Fortinet Australian PGA Championship on Sunday, Min Woo will climb to No.38 in the Official World Golf Ranking.
That makes him Australia’s third-highest ranked men’s player behind only Cameron Smith (No.18) and Jason Day (21).
While Smith is desperate to don the green and gold for a second time, Day’s Olympic ambition is less clear.
That could open the door for Lee to join Minjee in Paris, big sister a lock given her current Rolex Women’s World Golf Ranking of No.5.
Such are Lee’s prospects of an Olympic debut, he and a select group of players will undergo fittings for Olympic uniforms this week in Sydney, bringing a new sense of reality to what just a few years ago was an impossible dream.
“I think we’re going to get a team fitting tomorrow or next week,” said the newest winner of the Joe Kirkwood Cup, pictured with parents, Soonam and Clara.
“You don’t want to get ahead of yourself and get fitted for something that you’re not in, so yeah, there’s a bit of pressure there, and I like pressure.
“I normally tend to play well when I need to make something or I need to do something to get in a tournament, so I’m really excited for that.
“That would be a true honour, to play for Australia.”
It's @Minwoo27Lee's world and we're all just living in it 🤩#AusPGA pic.twitter.com/iGDDFJZhq5
— PGA of Australia (@PGAofAustralia) November 26, 2023
Given that the four Australian golf representatives for Paris won’t be finalised until well into 2024, Lee knows that he needs to extend his current rich vein of form for as long as possible.
He also knows that there is the very real prospect of being upstaged this week by big sister Minjee.
Currently being shadowed by an ABC film crew for a future episode of Australian Story, Minjee and Min Woo enter the week as two of the standout favourites for the women’s and men’s Australian Opens to be contested at The Australian Golf Club and The Lakes Golf Club.
Already the first brother-sister pair in golf history to win on major world tours in consecutive weeks, such an accomplishment this week would elevate the Lee siblings into all-time great status well before either turn 30.
The pair have already won the Vic Open two years apart while Minjee has made a habit of stealing back Lee family bragging rights.
When Min Woo won the Scottish Open in 2021, Minjee responded with a breakthrough major victory two weeks later at the Amundi Evian Championship.
And when Min Woo won the SJM Macao Open on October 15, Minjee took just seven days to claim her 10th LPGA Tour win at the BMW Ladies Championship in Korea.
“It’s funny, because every time I win it seems like next week she wins, so if you guys want to put some money on my sister winning next week, you’ll probably win,” Lee joked less than an hour after putting out on the 18th green at Royal Queensland Golf Club on Sunday.
“It’s cool. If I win next week or she doesn’t win, it will be nice to have that for the Christmas and for the New Year’s break, have it for a few weeks, that will be nice.
“I’m obviously trying to be as good as I can and she’s one of a kind. She’s a really great golfer and she’s not slowing down.
“She knows she slowed down early in the year but she’s found a way to win again,.
“That’s not a secret to anyone.
“She’s always worked hard and hopefully I can follow in her footsteps and keep winning tournaments.”
And perhaps matching Olympic gold medals.
David Micheluzzi set his sights on the DP World Tour via the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia last season, and after achieving his goal via the Order of Merit the Victorian had to wait until this week to make his debut as a member.
That first start at the Fortinet Australian PGA Championship brought a mixture of emotions, both achievement and frustration, after signing for a Sunday 68 and 8-under par total that left him well 12 shots back of winner Min Woo Lee.
“I think it helped being in Australia. It felt as normal as it could,” Micheluzzi said.
“Obviously we have a really elite field here and didn’t play particularly amazing, just got a bit unlucky.
“I hit it way better than I did last week. I just didn’t hole the putts like I did last week unfortunately. But no, it’s been great.”
The disappointment in his post-final round comments shows just how far the 27-year-old has come, with the rising star of Australian golf not happy just being part of the DP World Tour. Micheluzzi wants to win titles alongside the likes of Lee, Adam Scott and Marc Leishman.
“The first day was really good. If I holed some putts, that could have been, and I made good putts too,” he said.
“Then the next day, it felt like I shot 1-over but I shot 3-under … then yesterday was probably one of the most frustrating days on a golf course I’ve had and I didn’t talk to anybody for about 30 minutes afterwards. Then coming into today, just tried to be as patient as possible.”
“Overall I’m more disappointed than I am happy.”
Now a four-time winner on his home circuit, Micheluzzi gained highly valuable experience throughout 2023, including a major championship debut, while he has also added an important element he believes will lead to success.
Micheluzzi is seeking out an experienced caddie, a role filled by highly rated Benji Brewer, who is the husband of Aussie Ladies European Tour player Whitney Hillier.
“He’s great. He’s so experienced. Even yesterday it was cool that he just let me have my time just to chill out and not talk about the round until I wanted to talk about it. Then we had a good chat,” Micheluzzi said of his looper.
“I think we’re close enough to have the conversation that if I need a kick in the arse, he’ll kick me in the arse and I’ll not take any offence to that.
“This is not a six-tournament deal and see how you go. I’m looking at the next 5 to 10, to 15 (years), to potentially the rest of my career.”
Micheluzzi’s current stage of his career is quite fittingly a model to follow for Sunday playing partner Ben Eccles, who leads the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit, chasing the same pathway as ‘Micha’.
“We were chatting about it today with just what the schedule holds for him and he could get into a couple of International Series events and he’s not going to go because the time just doesn’t work well,” Micheluzzi said.
“I would stay so fresh for just playing this Tour out and he wants to get back to Europe and he’s proven himself.”
One of Australian golf’s most coveted tournaments will continue to call Brisbane home with confirmation that the Fortinet Australian PGA Championship will be played at Royal Queensland Golf Club from November 21-24, 2024.
The 2023 championship that came to a thrilling conclusion on Sunday afternoon with Min Woo Lee’s three-stroke win was the third continuous staging of the tournament at Royal Queensland and fifth overall, the 2024 championship to make it four in succession.
Given the regard for which the golf course is held and Brisbane’s reputation as one of Australia’s favourite tourism and event destinations, PGA of Australia chief executive Gavin Kirkman believes the Fortinet Australian PGA Championship at Royal Queensland is the perfect fit.
“Royal Queensland Golf Club holds a special place in the history of Australian golf, but also fits perfectly with our focus on being innovative and offering the perfect blend of golf and a fun party atmosphere for fans of all ages,” said Mr Kirkman, pictured with, from left, Dr Evelyn Foley (Royal Queensland President), Councillor Krista Adams and Grant Hunt AM (Chair, Tourism and Events Queensland).
“Brisbane also has a proud history yet, at the same time, is a vibrant, evolving city building towards the 2032 Olympics.
“The tens of thousands of golf fans who have visited Royal Queensland this week have shown again that the appetite to experience world-class golf entertainment at the Fortinet Australian PGA Championship in Brisbane continues to grow.
“We couldn’t be more pleased that our players and fans will once again return to Brisbane and Royal Queensland in 2024.”
With the countdown to the 2032 Olympics in Brisbane well underway, Minister for Tourism, Innovation and Sport and Minister Assisting the Premier on Olympics and Paralympics Sport and Engagement, Stirling Hinchcliffe, is thrilled to see one of Australian golf’s showpiece events continue to add to its legacy in Brisbane.
“It’s terrific that Australia’s oldest professional golf tournament will be back at the iconic Royal Queensland course again in 2024,” Minister Hinchcliffe said.
“This prestigious and highly sought after championship title always attracts a world-class field and ensures big galleries are out enjoying the golf and Queensland’s great lifestyle.
“The economic impacts are also great news for our tourism operators with projections that more than 60,000 fans attended this year’s tournament, injecting around $14 million into the state’s visitor economy.”
Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner said the 2024 extension to host the Fortinet Australian PGA Championship is a significant endorsement of Brisbane’s burgeoning major events reputation.
“Brisbane was crowned Australia’s top sporting city this year and, with world-class international tournaments such as the Australian PGA Championship in our jam-packed major events calendar, it’s easy to see why,” Cr Schrinner said.
“We are thrilled to welcome the tournament back to Royal Queensland’s fairways in 2024, in what will be its fourth consecutive year in Brisbane.
“Locals and visitors will once again experience the excitement of this event, which attracts thousands of visitors to the city and delivers millions in economic benefit to Brisbane’s hotels, restaurants and tourism experiences.”
The Australian PGA Championship has an impressive honour roll of past winners, including Cameron Smith (2018-17, 2022), Adam Scott (2019, 2013), and Royal Queensland Golf Club’s own Greg Norman (1984-85).
The Australian PGA Championship is co-sanctioned with the DP World Tour and for the past two years has served as the opening tournament of its season-long Race to Dubai, which will continue in 2024.
Hosting the tournament in Brisbane has been made possible by support and collaboration between the Queensland Government, through Tourism and Events Queensland, and Brisbane City Council, through Brisbane Economic Development Agency.
Photo: Mike Hadnett/PGA of Australia
West Australian Min Woo Lee has enhanced his standing as one of world golf’s most electrifying young players with a three-stroke win at the Fortinet Australian PGA Championship.
Lee bounced back from an early bogey to close out his win with a 3-under par round of 68 and 20-under par total at Royal Queensland Golf Club, Japan’s Rikuya Hoshino (68) showing admirable composure in the final group to snare second at 17-under.
Victorian Marc Leishman, whose 7-under 64 was the best of the last day, birdied his final two holes to claim outright third with Lee’s good friend and fellow West Australian, Curtis Luck, playing the back nine in 4-under for a round of 69 and fourth spot.
“I’ve always thought I could win, but it took a while to get over the hump,” Lee said on the 18th green.
“But two wins in the last month or so, I’m really proud of my team and myself.
“I made it interesting early on and through the middle, but ended up hanging on, so I’m really proud.”
Projected to elevate Lee to a career-high of No.38 on the Official World Golf Ranking, the win is Lee’s second on the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia and third on the DP World Tour
A leader by one after 36 holes and three through 54, Lee’s pitch-in for eagle at the par-5 ninth restored a buffer that had all but disappeared after just one hole on Sunday at Royal Queensland Golf Club.
A second shot at one that speared towards the enormous gallery behind the green led to an opening bogey, world No.138 Hoshino turning a three-shot deficit into just one with birdie.
He joined Lee at 16-under with a follow-up birdie on two before Lee flirted with a hole-in-one on his way to a birdie at the par-3 fourth.
The 25-year-old played another brilliant approach to set up birdie at the par-4 sixth but it was his miraculous chip-in just prior to making the turn that sent shockwaves throughout RQ.
MIN WOO LEE IS HIM! 🦅#AusPGA pic.twitter.com/VM9FLEfs4k
— PGA of Australia (@PGAofAustralia) November 26, 2023
“That was probably the best atmosphere shot I’ve ever hit,” Lee added.
“I’ve had a few chip ins, but at that point it was getting close and I was in a pretty average position after the tee shot. So to chip that in, it was amazing.
“I want to see it straight away. I would like to see it. It was one of the best shots I’ve probably hit.”
He emerged from the tunnel at the par-3 17th with a four-shot advantage and, despite disappointing the fans by missing the green left, made the putt from four feet for par for a reception befitting the sweet-swinging rock star he is quickly becoming.
A second shot into the back bunker on the 72nd hole kept the tension high until the very end, a closing bogey doing little to dull the celebrations of a maiden Joe Kirkwood Cup victory.
Although it didn’t come on the heaving party hole, Joaquin Niemann delivered one of the highlights of the final round with a hole-in-one at the par-3 fourth, holing his 8-iron from 164 metres.
🚨 AN ACE FOR @joaconiemann 🚨#AusPGA | #visitbrisbane pic.twitter.com/CJ5yKkBOrq
— PGA of Australia (@PGAofAustralia) November 26, 2023
More to come
