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When Adam Scott dropped out of the top 20 in the Official World Golf Ranking between the November Masters of 2020 and the 2021 Sentry Tournament of Champions, he was 40 years of age.
He’d won the Genesis Invitational less than 12 months earlier and a swing that makes grown men drool looked as fluid as ever, but time remains undefeated.
Yes, Jack Nicklaus won the 1986 Masters at 46 years of age and Vijay Singh rose to No.1 in the world for the first time at age 41 professional golf in the 21st century is very much a young man’s game.
You don’t get better after 40; it’s more a matter of who can delay the inevitable slide the longest.
Adam Scott playing his way back into the top 20 in the world at the Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club deserved more fanfare.
As the golf year draws to its close, Scott remains embedded in the top 20; you have to go down to Justin Rose at No.46 in the world to find another 40-something inside the top 50.
To quote Ron Burgundy of ‘Anchorman’ fame, Scott’s season escalated quickly.
Top 10s at the Hero Dubai Desert Classic and WM Phoenix Open were a solid foundation yet in the lead-up to the US Open Scott’s streak of 91 consecutive majors was in danger as he hovered around 60th in the world.
He lost a playoff to Cam Davis at the US Open qualifier but was given a special exemption on the Monday to tee it up at Pinehurst No.2.
But it was a runner-up finish at the Genesis Scottish Open that sent Scott’s season into overdrive.
A tie for 10th at The Open Championship a week later was his first top-10 in a major since the 2019 US Open and then he played his way into the Tour Championship with a tie for 18th at the FedEx St Jude Championship and tie for second at the BMW Championship.
Having done enough to play his way into the DP World Tour Playoffs, Scott ended his year at the DP World Tour Championship where he finished third, his major streak set to reach 94 at the 2025 Masters.
Photo: Richard Heathcote/Getty Images
Ultimately, it took Elvis Smylie three years to become an overnight sensation but the manner of his BMW Australian PGA Championship win at Royal Queensland was proof enough that this is no flash in the pan.
Paired with three-time champion Cameron Smith – whose scholarship he won just five years earlier – Smylie played like a seasoned campaigner and not the 22-year-old who has already seen the struggle that professional golf can be.
Having burst onto the scene as an 18-year-old who very nearly won in his first professional start in Sydney, Smylie saw the golf world open up to the promise of his potential.
Sponsor invites to play a dozen DP World Tour events didn’t yield a single dollar won, quests at Qualifying School also coming up agonisingly short.
But when he turned up to play the WA PGA Championship at Kalgoorlie in October, there was a confident air about Smylie.
Almost 12 months into working with WA-based coach Ritchie Smith, strength and conditioning coach Luke Mackey, physiotherapist Martin McInnes and mental coach Michael Lloyd, the Smylie puzzle suddenly looked completely assembled,
If not for a wayward tee shot on 18 he’d have had the outright lead through 54 holes at the WA PGA; a week later he tamed cyclonic winds at Mandurah Country Club to edge Jak Carter in a playoff to win the WA Open.
It was tangible proof to everyone – including himself – that he has what it takes to win, his composure under immense pressure at RQ a month later an exclamation point that has propelled him instantly onto the DP World Tour with what is effectively a two-year exemption.
It took an eagle at the 72nd hole to deny Stephanie Kyriacou victory at The Amundi Evian Championship in France.
That’s how close the New South Wales star came to joining the exclusive club of Australian major champions in an enthralling final round at Evian Resort Golf Club.
Leading by one through 54 holes, Kyriacou spent much of the final day engaged in a tug-of-war with American Lauren Coughlin.
Yet as the pair went toe-to-toe and Thailand’s Patty Tavatanakit (63) posted 17-under in the clubhouse, it was Japan’s Ayaka Furue (65) who rode a hot putter over the final five holes to finish at 19-under and edge the Aussie by a shot.
Trailing Coughlin by three standing on the 14th tee, Furue dragged herself back into the mix with three straight birdies and then closed it out with an eagle at the 72nd hole, Kyriacou making birdie to claim outright second and her best finish in a major championship.
Read: https://www.golf.org.au/gallant-kyriacou-second-at-evian-championship/
As the back nine unfolded, Kyriacou was fighting to stay within range of Coughlin.
A steady stream of pars kept Kyriacou in contention until she joined Coughlin at 17-under with a silky pitch and birdie from six feet at the par-5 15th.
She took dead aim at the par-3 16th and converted from four feet to take the outright lead at 18-under, one clear of Furue as Coughlin dropped two back with her first bogey in 29 holes.
Kyriacou and Furue arrived at the 72nd tee tied with Tavatanakit at 17-under par.
Furue’s tee shot finished in the first cut just right of the fairway but Kyriacou was forced to lay up after missing in the deep rough left of the short grass.
There was an anxious moment as Furue’s second just cleared the water front of the green before settling 10 feet above the hole, sounding the death knell to Kyriacou’s major aspirations… for now.
As she continues to establish her presence on the LPGA Tour, it was a performance under pressure that confirmed Kyriacou has what it takes to convert the next opportunity that comes her way.
Photo: Olivier Chassignole/AFP via Getty Images
A dominant force on the senior amateur circuit domestically in 2023, Nadene Gole took her winning ways to the world in 2024.
Taking out all Australian state titles and then the Australian Senior Amateur title last year, the Victoria Golf Club member was the first Australian to win the R&A Senior Women’s Amateur Championship in July and then continued her trailblazing ways when she became the first Australian to claim the US Senior Women’s Amateur at Broadmoor Golf Club in Seattle.
Read: https://www.golf.org.au/gole-claims-randa-womens-senior-amateur-and-slice-of-history/
Facing 2022 champion Shelly Stouffer of Canada in the final, it was Gole who jumped out to a small early lead, taking a 1-up advantage with a par on the second hole.
Stouffer quickly levelled the match with a par on the third, but Gole responded by notching the first birdie of the day on the par-4 fourth to reclaim her advantage. A bogey from Stouffer on the seventh allowed Gole to stretch her lead to 2-up.
The match was all tied after ten holes, but after a birdie on the 12th hole to regain the lead, momentum would officially shift back to the Australian on the 13th, who followed up a tap-in par by Stouffer by pouring in an 18-foot slider for par to halve the hole.
Read: https://www.golf.org.au/gole-creates-history-at-the-us-senior-womens-amateur/
Hole wins on 14 and 15 would extend the lead to 3 up, the largest of the match, and one that would not be relinquished.
Kelsey Bennett has ended her year travelling the globe with just rewards by claiming playing rights on the Ladies European Tour (LET). Multiple Australians doing the same at the final stage of Asian Tour qualifying that concluded on the weekend.
Bennett spent the year chasing status through the European circuit’s feeder Tour the LET Access Series, where she won the Hauts de France Pas de Calais Golf Open in September to finish 10th on the Order of Merit.
Earning some LET starts via her finish on the Order of Merit, Bennett returned overseas for Qualifying School after contesting events at home, including the ISPS HANDA Australian Open, in the hope of securing full status and a more certain schedule in 2025.
Played over five rounds in Morrocco, players finishing inside the top-20 would earn status for next season, Bennett bouncing back from a third round of 76 with 67-69 on the final two days to share 19th and guaranteeing her place on the LET in 2025.
Fellow Australians Maddison Hinson-Tolchard (25th), Justice Bosio (57th) and Belinda Ji (101st) fell outside the top-20, while Kiwi Amelia Garvey finished fourth to earn her card on the Tour that will play three straight weeks in Australia starting at the 2025 Australian WPGA Championship held at Sanctuary Cove Golf and Country Club.
There was similar success at the final stage of Asian Tour Qualifying School in Thailand, where Jack Thompson finished in tied fourth and three of his compatriots claimed one of 35 cards available for the 2025 season.
A winner of the final stage two years ago, Thompson headed back to qualifying after playing the 2024 season in Asia and will be joined by the returning Todd Sinnott, who finished in tied 10th with new Asian Tour member Lawry Flynn from Queensland.
Queenslander Brett Rankin one shot ahead of the players earning the final spots with a closing 68 to be tied for 23rd on 11-under.
New Zealand’s Denzel Ieremia also earning status alongside Thompson, who managed four of five rounds in the 60s, including a closing 68.
“To get back is great. I would have liked to have finished today off a bit better, but at the end of the day I got my card back,” Thompson told the Asian Tour’s website.
“Everything’s just been really good. I’ve sort of ended the year playing decently, and I had eight days off just to relax before here because I just played so much. But I mean, it never really disappears like that, so yeah, I’m happy with that.”
On the DP World Tour, Daniel Gale was the lone Australian representative and flew the flag proudly with the new member finishing in a tie for 28th on 4-under-par at the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open.
The adidas PGA Pro-Am Series wrapped up for 2024 with six players finishing tied at the top to head to the festive break with some extra spending money after the Stockland The Gables 2024 Pro-Am.
A field featuring multiple Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia players descended on Lynwood Country Club in Sydney’s west for the two day event where Dillon Hart, Christopher Wood, Josh Armstrong, Samuel Slater, Scott Arnold and James Conran emerged victorious.
Somewhat remarkably, none of the six eventual winners had shared the lead after Round 1, before finishing on a 36-hole total of 3-under 141, with Hart authoring the biggest second round swing by improving his score by five shots for a 68.
HOW THE WINNING ROUNDS UNFOLDED
In windy conditions with penalising rough punishing wayward driving and greens rolling 11-feet on the stimpmeter, it was about minimising mistakes, with all six winners still having their moments during the final round.
For Hart, he mixed five birdies with one bogey, his most important birdie coming at the par-3 17th having dropped a shot two holes earlier, while Wood got off to an up and down start with back-to-back birdies to start the round negated by a double bogey at the fifth. The Queenslander making three birdies on the back nine, including at the 18th to join the winning group.
Armstrong’s length off the tee would have felt like a weapon as he reached the closing stretches, with two par-5s in the last three holes, but the Concord Golf Club member could only manage pars having also bogeyed the 15th.
Queenslander Slater is another with prodigious length, and used it on his way five birdies in his first 10 holes, but the par-5 16th saw him go from 5-under with victory on his own in his sights back to 3-under.
Now spending 40 hours a week in a Pro Shop, Arnold saved his best for last to get a share of the spoils having matched every one of his three birdies with a bogey throughout the final day. Arnold birdieing the 18th for a second day in a row to join the large winners’ picture.
Conran also needed birdie at the last to reach 3-under and victory, with the New South Welshman coming home strongest of the winning six. Double bogey at the sixth was mixed with eight pars on the front nine before Conran made four birdies in seven holes to finish his competitive year.
WHAT THE WINNERS SAID
Scott Arnold: “I think the course in great nick, and it’s set up pretty well for sort of an event like this, so it is pretty scoreable. There was a bit of wind yesterday and a bit of wind today and the pins are a bit tricky so it sort of made scoring a bit tough but I’m really pleased with how I played considering I’m spending 40 hours a week in a shop now and not really doing any practise.”
Josh Armstrong: “Very ready for a break. I feel like I’ve been playing okay. It’s sort of been frustrating because I’ve been making a lot of silly decisions, but definitely a little bit of that yesterday. But I did that up a little today and played pretty solidly all day. I’ve got good memories here. I spend a lot of time out here. I always enjoyed coming back.”
James Conran: “I mean, Lynwood is always enjoyable to play. It’s always in pretty good condition. The greens are pretty true. It’s just been a bit of a bother with the wind the last two days and the heat, but the course presented itself pretty good.”
Dillon Hart: “Just found some form in my swing. Made an adjustment with the coach and yeah, started to find ball striking, which sort of led into some putting stuff that’s come off as well and starting to build a conference with it.”
Samuel Slater: “The big goal for me is actually getting a Tour category for next year. That’s the main thing I’ve been focusing on. So playing these Pro-Ams and playing well in Tour events as well. So hopefully we can get a couple more decent results on the board.”
Christopher Wood: “Definitely nice to have a win in the last event of the year. To be honest, the year’s been a bit slow, but it was nice to sort of play well the last couple of weeks and finish it off here with a win.”
LEADERBOARD RUNDOWN
T1 Dillon Hart 141
T1 Christopher Wood 141
T1 Samuel Slater 141
T1 Josh Armstrong 141
T1 Scott Arnold 141
T1 James Conran 141
T7 Joseph Owen 142
T7 Nathan Barbieri 142
T7 Andrew Richards 142
NEXT UP
The adidas PGA Pro-Am Series is now in its Christmas and New Year break and returns to action on January 3 at Harcourts Langwarrin Pro-Am @ Settlers Run.
He was already a bona fide celebrity at Willunga Golf Club in Adelaide but the golf world couldn’t get enough of Steve Alderson following his emotional victory at a G4D Tour event in Spain.
Affectionately known as ‘Spud’ for his love of chips, Alderson became the first person with autism to win a G4D Tour event, taking out the G4D Tour @ Estrella Damm N.A. Andalucía Masters by an incredible nine strokes.
Yet it was not so much his performance on the golf course that caused people to fall in love with his story, but his emotional post-round speech where he spoke about his struggles with bullying and was interviewed live on The Today Show just hours after finishing his round.
Winner of the Webex All Abilities Players Series event at Willunga in 2023, Alderson returned home to a hero’s welcome and interest from global media organisations.
As he prepared to defend his Willunga win in October, Alderson spoke with golf magazines, radio stations and CNN International, completing an extraordinary two-week period with a second Webex All Abilities Players Series victory at Willunga.
But it didn’t end there.
‘Spud’ won the net event at the G4D Tour Series Finale in Dubai and then made his debut at the Australian All Abilities Championship at Kingston Heath Golf Club in conjunction with the ISPS HANDA Australian Open.
It stands as a pathway or purgatory. Sitting one rung below the promised land, secondary tours the world over are the equivalent of quicksand: The longer you stay there, the harder it is to get out.
Queenslander Cassie Porter had two top-10s and finished 54th in the Race for the Card standings in her rookie season on the Epson Tour in 2023, the primary pathway to the LPGA Tour.
It gave her the grounding to push ahead in her second season, a year in which she broke through with a one-stroke victory at the FireKeepers Casino Hotel Championship in Battle Creek, Michigan.
From that moment forward, Porter was in position to secure one of the 15 cards to the LPGA Tour in 2025 yet wasn’t guaranteed until after the final round of the Epson Tour Championship.
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 tied for 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 on the LPGA Tour next year while those who finish 11-15 earn the Category 15 exemption category.
A third-place finish in the opening event of the season was the ideal start to 2024 for Porter, who had two additional top-10s along with her victory to join fellow Aussies Hannah Green and Gabriela Ruffels as recent graduates of the Epson Tour.
Unheralded. Under-appreciated. Under the radar. Unperturbed. You might win a bet if you ask your golf mate to name the lone Aussie to win on the PGA TOUR in 2024, but Cam Davis is chasing trophies, not public recognition.
Yes, he would have dearly loved a Presidents Cup appearance at Royal Montreal having been part of the Internationals team two years prior, but Davis achieved a special career milestone with a second PGA TOUR title this year at the Rocket Mortgage Classic at Detroit Golf Club.
With putts repeatedly burning the edge of the hole and a lasered second shot into the par-5 14th that somehow dribbled into the water late on Sunday, it looked as though the golf gods would conspire against Davis.
Fellow Australian Min Woo Lee (69) made a back-nine charge to earn a share of the lead at 18-under but made bogey on the final hole when his approach shot finished in the rough behind the green and he was unable to get up-and-down for par.
Davis, too, needed to scramble from the rough on 18 for a 2-under 70 to claim the clubhouse lead at 18-under, Akshay Bhatia’s par miss on the 72nd hole handing a stunned Davis a treasured win.
The fact that it came at the same venue as his first win three years earlier was another element of serendipity for the 29-year-old New South Welshman who now spends the majority of his year in Seattle.
In his winner’s press conference, Davis revealed how at the suggestion of his wife, Jonika, Davis had undertaken two weeks of hypnotherapy in the lead-up to his one-stroke victory.
Read: https://pga.org.au/news/aussies-on-tour-davis-stunned-by-second-pga-tour-title/
Davis was also part of one of the most compelling storylines for Aussies in 2024 after he and Adam Scott faced off in a playoff at US Open qualifying at Springfield, Ohio.
It took three holes for Davis to best one of his childhood heroes, threatening to bring to an end Scott’s streak of 91 consecutive majors.
Scott ultimately received an exemption by the USGA on the Monday of the tournament, his record now standing at 93 majors and counting.
Such was Josiah Gilbert’s performances playing for Auburn University in the NCAA in 2024, there is a tug-of-war taking place in Gilbert’s mind as to which country he will represent during his professional career.
Gilbert’s US college season was highlighted by a historic NCAA Division 1 championship for Auburn, the first in the school’s history,
He was twice named SEC Golfer of the Week and won the Valero Texas Collegiate Individual Champion title. In addition, Gilbert claimed the individual gold medal at the Spirit International where he partnered Kai Komulainen as Australia finished third in the men’s competition.
Born in Queensland, Gilbert grew up in Perth and established himself as one of the state’s most promising juniors.
Early in the COVID pandemic, Gilbert’s American parents decided to return to their home country, in part to help foster their son’s ambitions in golf.
Such has been his success, the 20-year-old dual citizenship holder is now weighing up where to pledge his allegiance.
Photo: Courtesy Auburn University
