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Australian journeyman Bryan Wearne and youngster Cameron Bell have shared the trophy at this year’s PGA Professionals Championship of Victoria at Keysborough Golf Club.
Both players finished with matching scores of 2-under 71, one shot ahead of defending champion Grace Lennon who finished alone in third amongst Victoria’s best Vocational PGA Professionals.
Based at X-Golf Preston, Bell made a fast start, with three birdies in a row starting on the 15th. He gave all three shots back after making the turn however, before he saved the day with two late birdies.
Starting on the 10th, Wearne, from Growling Frog, was 2-over through nine holes before finding four birdies on his second nine. If not for a solitary bogey on the par-4 sixth hole, the trophy would’ve have been his alone.
While Wearne and Bell took the top prize, the top-15 players at Keysborough have won their way to the $70,000 National PGA Professionals Final at Heritage Golf and Country Club in October.
Full list of qualifiers:
It came with some unexpected nerves yet Will Florimo’s breakthrough adidas PGA Pro-Am Series victory at the Reside Communities Pacific Pro-Am could not have been more fitting.
Playing at Pacific Golf Club where he is a member and has played pennants in the past, Florimo shot 4-under 68 to edge another outstanding field by a single stroke, Edward Donoghue, Dylan Gardner and Brett Rankin sharing second with rounds of 3-under 69.
Florimo earned status for the upcoming Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia season at Qualifying School in April and will start his campaign at PNG next month buoyed by a maiden win at his home club.
Despite the familiarity of the venue, Florimo admitted that he arrived at the course with a sense of expectation.
“I said to my wife this morning, I was actually a little bit nervous playing at home, which was weird,” he said.
“Obviously I’ve had a big year with Q School both here and Asia and obviously my first proper starts the last few weeks.
“This was probably the first one that I’ve actually had a little bit of jitters driving here this morning, so awesome to actually get it done.”
HOW THE WINNING ROUND UNFOLDED
A birdie at the par-4 fourth was the ideal way for Florimo to start his round but he was back to level par one hole later after a dropped shot at five.
Five straight pars followed before Florimo unleashed a back-nine birdie barrage.
He made three straight birdies from the par-5 11th and closed out a back nine of 5-under 31 with two further birdies at 17 and 18.
Conscious of where he stood on the leaderboard playing his final hole – the par-3 third – Florimo hit his tee shot to the meaty part of the green, a three-putt bogey shaving his advantage to a single shot.
WHAT THE WINNER SAID
“It was playing different to probably what it normally does with how firm and ridiculously fast it is out there,” Florimo said.
“I felt like I knew where I needed to leave it to a lot of those trickier pins. Even 18, I played as a three-shotter par 5. I know that pin, that’s our pennant pin where it was, so I knew where I had to leave the wedge shot and left it 10 feet under the hole.
“Those sorts of ones was where I felt like I had a bit of an edge.”
LEADERBOARD RUNDOWN
1 Will Florimo 68
T2 Edward Donoghue 69
T2 Dylan Gardner 69
T2 Brett Rankin 69
T5 Deyen Lawson 70
T5 Michael Sim 70
T5 Cameron John 70
NEXT UP
The adidas PGA Pro-Am Series stays in Brisbane on Wednesday for the Howeston Pro-Am at Howeston Golf Course before moving on to Windaroo Lakes on Thursday and Virginia on Friday.
Adam Scott will celebrate his 45th birthday with a 25th consecutive appearance at The Open Championship after finishing in a tie for 10th at Royal Troon.
American Xander Schauffele became the first male player since Brooks Koepka in 2018 to win two major championships in the same year with what he described as the “best round I’ve played”, a bogey-free 6-under 65 earning a two-stroke win to go with his US PGA Championship triumph at Valhalla in May.
Four back at the start of the final round, Scott drew to within two with early birdies at the first and third holes but a bogey at five stalled his hopes of a Sunday charge.
He would lament a poor swing on 10 tee that resulted in a second dropped shot, his even-par 71 enough to clinch a top-10 finish and secure an exemption into the 153rd Open Championship at Royal Portrush from July 17-20, 2025.
Scott has played every Open Championship since his debut at St Andrews in 2000 shortly after turning professional and will enjoy a dual celebration as his 45th birthday falls on the eve of Round 1.
While disappointed that he was unable to mount a charge deep into the final round, Scott reflected on a productive fortnight in Scotland that included a runner-up finish at the Genesis Scottish Open.
“Yesterday gave me a glimmer of hope, but it would have had to be a super- hot front nine,” Scott conceded after the sixth top-10 finish of his Open career.
“I made a bad swing on 10 and paid the price, made a mess of that.
“It’s hard to really sum up. I played fairly well this week. Didn’t do well in the toughest conditions. That’s how it goes.
“There’s still the Presidents Cup to look forward to. Hopefully I’m in a good spot to play my way on to that team now.
“That’s kind of the goal through the FedEx Cup upcoming.”
Final thoughts from @AdamScott after another great week at #TheOpen. pic.twitter.com/9PFme74VmM
— PGA of Australia (@PGAofAustralia) July 21, 2024
Fellow Queenslander Jason Day regained much of the ground he lost in Round 3 with a 3-under 68 to finish in a tie for 13th while Kiwis Daniel Hillier (72) and Ryan Fox (67) also finished inside the top 25.
Scott wasn’t the only Australian to end the week inside the top 10.
Sarah Kemp closed with a round of 70 to be tied seventh at the LPGA Tour’s Dana Open in Ohio and Grant Booth matched his best result on the PGA Tour of Americas with a tie for eighth at the Bromont Open in Quebec.
Photo: Stuart Franklin/R&A/R&A via Getty Images
Results
The Open
Royal Troon, Troon, Scotland
1 Xander Schauffele 69-72-69-65—275 €2,846,593.60
T10 Adam Scott 70-77-66-71—284 €291,576.89
T13 Jason Day 73-68-76-68—285 €228,339.66
T19 Daniel Hillier (NZ) 76-71-68-72—287 €161,949.75
T25 Ryan Fox (NZ) 73-73-76-67—289 €114,430.00
MC Kazuma Kobori (NZ) 73-76—149 €11,340.46
MC Min Woo Lee 71-80—151 €9,458.04
MC Elvis Smylie 76-75—151 €9,458.04
MC Jasper Stubbs (a) 80-72—152 ———
MC Michael Hendry (NZ) 74-78—152 €8,034.74
MC Cam Smith 80-74—154 €8,034.74
PGA TOUR
Barracuda Championship
Tahoe Mountain Club (Old Greenwood Cse), Truckee, California
MC Jason Scrivener 9-0—9
MC Aaron Baddeley 2-(-1)—1
MC Tim Wilkinson (NZ) 1-(-4)— -3
LPGA Tour
Dana Open
Highland Meadows Golf Club, Sylvania, Ohio
1 Chanettee Wannasaen 66-65-66-67—264 $US262,500
T7 Sarah Kemp 68-67-69-70—274 $38,232
T33 Grace Kim 71-68-73-67—279 $11,160
MC Hira Naveed 71-73—144
MC Robyn Choi 73-70—143
MC Sarah Jane Smith 71-72—143
MC Karrie Webb 76-73—149
MC Su Oh 76-76—152
WD Stephanie Kyriacou 74-74—148
Ladies European Tour
Dutch Ladies Open
Hilversumsche Golf Club, Netherlands
1 Jana Melichova 70-68-67—205 €45,000
T21 Momoka Kobori (NZ) 68-75-70—213 €3,684
T52 Kelsey Bennett 71-72-75—218 €1,067.14
T64 Whitney Hillier 72-72-78—222 €765
MC Amy Walsh 72-75—147
Korn Ferry Tour
Price Cutter Charity Championship
Highland Springs Country Club, Springfield, Missouri
1 Matt McCarty 65-67-65-66—263
T15 Karl Vilips 67-70-67-66—270
MC Brett Drewitt 71-68—139
MC Curtis Luck 69-70—139
MC Dimi Papadatos 72-71—143
MC Rhein Gibson 66-77—143
MC Steven Bowditch 76-74—150
PGA TOUR Americas
Bromont Open
Golf Chateau-Bromont, Québec
1 Ryan Burnett 67-65-64-62—258 $US40,500
T8 Grant Booth 66-67-65-67—265
MC Harry Hillier (NZ) 67-70—137
MC Charlie Hillier (NZ) 74-70—144
Epson Tour
Twin Bridges Championship
Pinehaven Country Club, Guilderland, New York
1 Lauren Stephenson 66-66-72—204 $US35,625
T17 Amelia Garvey (NZ) 75-70-68—213 $2,925
T26 Maddison Hinson-Tolchard 73-70-71—214 $2,206
MC Fiona Xu (NZ) 76-75—151
Challenge Tour
Euram Bank Open
GC Adamstal, Ramsau, Austria
1 Frank Kennedy 65-66-65-71—267 €43,200
MC Blake Windred 68-72—140
MC Hayden Hopewell 71-70—141
MC Jeff Guan 75-69—144
Adam Scott showed early signs of a final flurry but it was American Xander Schauffele who was crowned Champion Golfer of the Year at The Open Championship at Royal Troon.
Scott trailed 54-hole leader Billy Horschel by four strokes entering the final round on the back of a round of 5-under 66 on Saturday.
With early birdies at one and three, Scott threatened to make a charge for the Claret Jug that he craves so deeply but bogey at the par-3 fifth quelled much of his forward momentum.
Scott ultimately closed with an even-par round of 71 to finish tied for 10th, fellow Australian Jason Day closing with a round of 3-under 68 to climb into a share of 13th just one shot back of Scott.
Runner-up at the Genesis Scottish Open, Scott is buoyed by a fortnight in Scotland that he hopes will propel him into the Presidents Cup team and a deep run in the FedEx Cup Playoffs.
“After the 10th it was kind of over,” was Scott’s summation. “In the end I was too far back.
“Yesterday gave me a glimmer of hope but it would have had to be a super-hot front nine.
“It was good solid golf. I made a bad swing on 10 and paid the price, made a mess of that.
“It’s hard to really sum up. I played fairly well this week. Didn’t do well in the toughest conditions.
“That’s how it goes.
“There’s still the Presidents Cup to look forward to, hopefully I’m in a good spot to play my way on to that team now.
“That’s kind of the goal through the FedEx Cup upcoming.”
The next assignment for Day is a gold medal at the Paris Olympic Games.
Lamenting not handling the brutal conditions thrown at him better during Saturday’s third round where he fell from a tie for seventh to outside the top 30, Day will head home for a week before joining Min Woo Lee at Le Golf National.
“Troon is a serious test of golf,” said Day.
“I always love coming and playing The Open Championship. It’s just a thrill.
“I just didn’t putt as well as I’d hoped to yesterday and didn’t score well. I played good but
didn’t score well.
“To be honest, I feel like the game is kind of moving in the right direction.
“There’s a lot of good positive things moving out of this week going into Paris.”
The US PGA champion at Valhalla in May, Schauffele was flawless in a final round of 6-under 65.
Starting Sunday one back of Horschel, Schauffele began patiently, picking off five straight pars as others around him found early birdies.
Back-to-back birdies at six and seven saw him enter the fray but it was his birdie on 11 – the only player in the final round to do so at the hole named ‘The Railway’ – sparked his winning run.
He separated himself from the field with further birdies at 13, 14 and 16, burning the left edge of with a birdie putt on the 72nd hole to win by two from Justin Rose (67) and Horschel (68).
Photo: Luke Walker/R&A/R&A via Getty Images
He counted himself out after signing for a 66 yet Australian Adam Scott will start the final round just four shots off the lead at The Open Championship at Royal Troon.
As 36-hole leader Shane Lowry came back to the fold with back-nine struggles on his way to a 6-over 77, those out early cashed in on the benign conditions to rocket up the leaderboard.
Scott was among those, climbing an astonishing 44 places with a round of 5-under 66 to be in a tie for 10th at even par.
American Billy Horschel (69) made bogey and English qualifier Daniel Brown (73) double-bogey on the final hole to make the margin manageable, Horschel the outright leader through 54 holes at 4-under.
It was a margin Scott had assumed would be insurmountable when he finished hours earlier.
“I’m probably not going to be in the mix, let’s be honest,” was the 2013 Masters champion’s honest appraisal. “I’m likely seven to nine shots behind, I would guess.
“If I am, then that’s a bonus, but I’m going to need wind and everything to be in my favour to kind of be in the mix.
“You can’t really complain about 66, but when you’re so far back, you kind of need every one possible.
“I think I got what I deserved out there. I played some fairly good golf and didn’t make too many errors.”
Two birdies out of the blocks was the ideal start for Scott as Royal Troon provided a window for the early groups to make an impression on the leaderboard.
He made a two at the par-3 fifth and a fourth front-nine birdie at the par-4 seventh to go out in 4-under 32.
His lone bogey at 15 was wedged between birdies at 14 and 16 as rain made conditions challenging for the later groups.
Runner-up a week ago at the Genesis Scottish Open and runner-up at Royal Lytham in 2012, Scott earned himself a Sunday sleep-in with the knowledge that his best golf in the final round might be enough to win the Claret Jug.
“To win golf tournaments, not many guys are winning not playing very well,” said the 44-year-old.
“To beat all these players, you have to be there, and a few guys every week are on doing that. The rest are making up the numbers.”
Tied for seventh at the halfway mark, Jason Day was one of many players to struggle in the rainy afternoon.
While fellow Queenslander Scott started with two birdies, Day began his day with two bogeys but birdied the par-5 fourth and the treacherous ‘Postage Stamp’ eighth to be even par through nine.
But, like so many around him, the back nine bit hard as Day came home in 5-over 40 for a round of 5-over 76 and tie for 33rd.
There were mixed fortunes, too, for the two Kiwis who made the cut, Daniel Hillier (68) climbing 39 spots and into a tie for 15th as Ryan Fox (76) dropped into a tie for 70th.
Photo by Luke Walker/R&A/R&A via Getty Images
Jason Day has produced the equal low-round of the day on Friday at Royal Troon, a 3-under 68, to sneak inside the top-10 after 36-holes at the 152nd Open Championship.
Runner-up last year at Royal Liverpool, Day is 1-under for the Championship, six shots back of leader Shane Lowry.
The rest of the Australian contingent struggled on day two, with Adam Scott unable to keep things going from his positive start, carding a 6-over 77 today to slip into a share of 54th, just inside the cut-line.
Also unable to find the game he had on day one was Min Woo Lee, who’s 9-over 80 today means the West Australian will unfortunately not feature in the weekend play at Troon.
Trio of Elvis Smylie, Jasper Stubbs and Cam Smith all improved on day two, but it was a long way back from their tough starts, and all have missed the cut.
Stubbs, who’s exemptions from winning the Asia-Pacific Amateur have now come to a close, can hold his head high. Bouncing back today from his 9-over start, with a 1-over 72.
3-under on his front-nine, Stubbs looked like he might be able to claw himself back, however it was not to be. The young Melbourne amateur will undoubtably take endless lessons away from his week at Troon regardless.
A strong contender for the highlight of Day’s second round may well be the fact that he did not have a single blemish on his card. Three birdies and 15 pars is a scorecard many would have taken at the start of the day.
“I played really nice today and I’d like to play like that over the next two days, but I’ve just got to kind of take it one shot at a time,” said Day.
Day made back-to-back birdies on holes two and three to start the day but had to wait until hole 13 for his next, and final birdie, unlikely in itself.
“It was tough conditions yesterday, but this morning it sat down for us — it was still a little bit windy out there, but it sat down for us through 12 holes, kind of,” he said.
“Then, yeah, it was nice birdieing on 13 out of the rough there, then just kind of nice and steady.”
Although happy to be in contention at the halfway mark, Day acknowledges that the weekend at a major championship is a different challenge completely.
“It’s going to be difficult,” he said.
“We’re going to have rain tomorrow from what the forecast is. I know the wind is going to be a little bit down because of the rain, but once you’re dealing with that type of element, the ball starts to kind of square off everywhere.
“Then we’re back to some wind on Sunday, so it’s just like you kind of just wake up and take it as you’re going along the round because the guys in the morning won’t have better weather conditions than what I’ll have or vice versa. We might turn around.
“So just kind of try to get myself in contention on Sunday, and then anything happens on Sunday.”
The 152nd Open Championship is live onFox Sports, available on Foxtel and Kayo.
Australasian scores:
T7 Jason Day -1
T38 Ryan Fox (NZ) +4
T54 Daniel Hillier (NZ) +5
T54 Adam Scott +5
MC Kazuma Kobori (NZ) +7
MC Min Woo Lee +9
MC Elvis Smylie +9
MC Michael Hendry +10
MC Jasper Stubbs (a) +10
MC Cameron Smith +12
(Photo by Luke Walker/R&A/R&A via Getty Images)
Zach Maxwell will target a win on the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia after bettering a tour-quality field at the $80,000 Optilease Redcliffe Pro-Am.
The Brisbane native and son of PGA Professional Brett Maxwell, Maxwell delivered a stunning start to his second round to take a stranglehold of the two-day tournament at Redcliffe Golf Club.
Established stars converged on Redcliffe for one of the richest tournaments on the adidas PGA Pro-Am Series but Maxwell showed impressive composure to win by one, Nathan Barbieri (65) runner-up for a third time at Redcliffe.
Maxwell began the tournament with a 2-under 69 but played his first five holes in 5-under on Friday, the highlight a hole-in-one at the 134-metre par-3 13th, his fourth hole of the day.
He kept the foot to the floor with a birdie at three and eagle at the par-5 fourth to get to 10-under, enough of a buffer to absorb a bogey at the par-3 seventh and win by one.
“That was really special, especially to have that in a ‘tourny’ round,” said Maxwell.
“I’ve been playing with the Tricolour Concreting guys who have been big supporters of mine for a long time so today was just really special and I’m really grateful.”
HOW THE WINNING ROUND UNFOLDED
Four shots separated Maxwell from Round 1 leader Aaron Pike when Round 2 began but he made quick inroads on the deficit.
He made birdie at his opening hole, the par-5 10th, and then added a second in three holes at the par-4 12th.
The hole-in-one on 13 provided a sudden boost and he backed it up with a third birdie at the short par-4 14th.
Six straight pars through the middle of his round kept Maxwell within reach of the top of the leaderboard before his birdie on three and eagle at four propelled him to the front of the pack.
WHAT THE WINNER SAID
“I have a little rule where when I make a birdie I’m allowed to look at the leaderboard,” said Maxwell.
“It gives some good incentive to keep the ego in check, I guess.
“Coming down the last nine holes, I was looking every hole. That’s the best part about the pro-ams and why it’s such a good pathway onto the tour, you get to create environments and create winning pressure.
“I’ve decided with my team to focus on the Aussie season and to only dabble with Asian Tour Q School.
“Being my first year with full status on the Tour, I’ll be keeping my focus here and also pursuing the Asian Tour Q School in Australia at the end of the year.”
LEADERBOARD RUNDOWN
1 Zachary Maxwell 69-64—133
2 Nathan Barbieri 69-65—134
3 Aaron Pike 65-70—135
T4 Douglas Klein 72-64—136
T4 Matthew Millar 69-67—136
T4 Gavin Fairfax 66-70—136
T4 Nathan Page 68-68—136
NEXT UP
Pacific Golf Club makes its return to the adidas PGA Pro-Am Series schedule on Monday with the Reside Communities Pacific Pro-Am to be followed by the Howeston Pro-Am on Wednesday.
On a day where few players managed to go under-par and stay there, Adam Scott is the best-placed Australian after the opening day of the 152nd Open Championship at Royal Troon.
Just five shots back from leader Daniel Brown, the Queenslander is in a share of 11th after a 1-under 70, still feeding off the timely vein of form which saw him finish runner-up at the Genesis Scottish Open a week ago.
Just a shot back from Scott is Min Woo Lee in a tie for 18th, who shrugged off a slow start by birdieing three of his last four holes to post an even-par 71. Lee’s fellow Australian Olympic team member, Jason Day, is a further two shots back in a share of 42nd after a 2-over 73.
Open debutants Elvis Smylie (76) and Jasper Stubbs (80) struggled on the opening day, leaving some work to do if they are to achieve their shared goal of playing the weekend. Smylie showed fight, playing his last four holes in 3-under.
The Open Champion in 2022, Cam Smith was out of sorts, matching Stubbs’ 9-over 80, the Queenslander with his work cut out for him if he wants a chance of becoming a two-time winner of the Claret Jug this week.
Last season’s Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit winner, Kazuma Kobori – who was granted his Open Championship berth for holding that very title – held his nerve to finish with a 2-over 73 and head up the four-strong New Zealand contingent alongside Ryan Fox.
Scott didn’t waste any time providing some highlights for the early morning crowd at Troon, holing his greenside bunker shot on the first for an unlikely birdie to start his day.
A birdie at the “Postage Stamp” eighth and one more at the par-4 15th constituted Scott’s full catalogue of day one highlights, in a round he himself described as “fairly uneventful”.
“It was pretty solid,” was Scott’s concise summary of his round.
“The wind change kind of made the back nine play tough even though it was downwind. I hadn’t really played in that wind and made a couple of errors,” he added, after dropping shots at 13 and 16.
“My game is finally in some decent shape where I feel like I’m controlling the ball well. That’s what you need to do out here, especially if you’re going to give yourself a lot of chances.”
Asked post-round about his runner-up finish to Robert MacIntyre at the Genesis Scottish Open, Scott reflected that above-all it was great preparation for this week.
“Sure, I was slightly disappointed, but Bob made great putts 14 through 18 coming home,” he said.
“I was pleased to be in contention because the fact of the matter is that’s the first time I’ve contended this year.
“My game felt a lot better tee to green. For the first time really in four years or so I’ve had some confidence in some form going into a major.”
The 152nd Open Championship is live on Fox Sports, available on Foxtel and Kayo.
Australasian scores
T11 Adam Scott -1
T18 Min Woo Lee Ev
T42 Ryan Fox (NZ) +2
T42 Jason Day +2
T42 Kazuma Kobori (NZ) +2
T69 Michael Hendry (NZ) +3
T96 Daniel Hillier (NZ) +5
T96 Elvis Smylie +5
T145 Jasper Stubbs (a) +9
T145 Cameron Smith +9
(Photo by Stuart Franklin/R&A/R&A via Getty Images)
First, let’s address the elephant in the room. Michael Hendry is not Australian. This weekly preview is titled, ‘Aussies on Tour’.
Like high-achieving Kiwis such as Phar Lap, Russell Crowe and Crowded House, we’d love to claim him, but there are few prouder New Zealanders than Michael Hendry.
Yet as a regular on the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia since 2006 and a four-time winner on our Tour, there is a connection we have with Hendry that we share with other Kiwis that cannot be denied.
That connection was never felt deeper than last May when Hendry posted to Instagram that he would have to forfeit his place in the 151st Open Championship at Royal Birkdale having been diagnosed with leukaemia.
On the eve of that Open he spoke about the two motivations driving him to win the fight for his life; his family and the chance to play The Open again.
“I want to be the guy that beat it."
— PGA of Australia (@PGAofAustralia) July 18, 2023
An emotional check in with Michael Hendry after being forced to withdraw from @TheOpen due to a leukaemia diagnosis.https://t.co/vRmzK8FYnt
Six months ago he revealed that he had entered remission and that he would take up the offer made by The R&A to play the 152nd Open at Royal Troon, an offer that he said played a pivotal role in his recovery.
“To have the correspondence from The R&A come back and say, ‘We’d love you to attend at Royal Troon if you are healthy enough to do so’, was a huge motivator for me. I think it had a huge impact on my recovery,” Hendry told The R&A Media at Troon.
“To have another opportunity to play The Open is amazing, considering how sick I was.”
“I don’t want to speak too soon but things are looking really positive.”
— PGA of Australia (@PGAofAustralia) January 19, 2024
Michael Hendry has opened up about his latest diagnosis, his exemption to @TheOpen and adding to Jarrod Lyle's legacy, via @TonyWebeck.#WebexPlayersSeries @Webex @golfnewzealand_ https://t.co/vNGGKNtz38
Winner of the Vic Open in February 2023, Hendry was in some of the best form of his career immediately prior to his life-altering diagnosis.
He was tied for sixth at his beloved New Zealand Open, tied for fourth at the NZ PGA Championship a week later and then runner-up at the World City Championship in Hong Kong, a result that earned him an exemption into the 2023 Open.
Two weeks later he was rushed to hospital and subsequently told that he had acute myeloid leukaemia, the same diagnosis that befell the late Jarrod Lyle.
It re-framed Hendry’s entire existence yet it was always family and golf that drove him forward.
Last November, he returned to the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia and made the cut at the Queensland PGA Championship.
His form and fitness has been building ever since, to the point where he won for a second time on the Japan Golf Tour in May, almost a year to the day that he was told of his life-threatening condition.
So you’ll excuse us, for this week only, we claim Hendry as one of our own.
“It feels a bit surreal to be honest, just by being here it feels like I have won the lottery,” added Hendry, who is in the third group out at 3:57pm AEST on Thursday.
“These are the things to live for, so if you find yourself in a bit of strife – either physical or mental health – just keep going because the next day can be better.”
Elsewhere this week, Australia’s greatest major champion makes a rare appearance at the LPGA Tour’s Dana Open.
A week out from captaining the Australian Olympic golf team, Karrie Webb is teeing it up alongside fellow veteran Sarah Jane Smith and the new generation of Aussie stars, led by Amundi Evian Championship runner-up Stephanie Kyriacou.
College star Karl Vilips makes his second start on the Korn Ferry Tour in Missouri and Jason Scrivener and Aaron Baddeley fly the Aussie flag at the PGA TOUR’s Barracuda Championship played under a modified Stableford format.
Photo: Oisin Keniry/R&A/R&A via Getty Images
Round 1 tee times AEST
The Open
Royal Troon, Troon, Scotland
3:57pm Michael Hendry (NZ)
4:08pm Daniel Hillier (NZ)
4:19pm Min Woo Lee
4:30pm Adam Scott
4:41pm Jasper Stubbs (a)
8:04pm Elvis Smylie
9:20pm Ryan Fox (NZ)
10:26pm Jason Day
11:59pm Cameron Smith
1:05am Kazuma Kobori (NZ)
Defending champion: Brian Harman
Past Aussie winners: Peter Thomson (1954, 1955, 1956, 1958, 1965), Kel Nagle (1960), Greg Norman (1986, 1993), Ian Baker-Finch (1991), Cameron Smith (2022)
Prize money: $US17 million
TV times: Live 3:30pm-5:30am Thursday, Friday on Fox Sports 503; Live 7pm–10:35pm Saturday on Fox Sports 505; Live 10:30pm-5am Saturday on Fox Sports 503; Live 6pm-4am Sunday on Fox Sports 503 and Kayo.
PGA TOUR
Barracuda Championship
Tahoe Mountain Club (Old Greenwood Cse), Truckee, California
12:40am Tim Wilkinson (NZ)
1:24am* Jason Scrivener
6:39am* Aaron Baddeley
Defending champion: Akshay Bhatia
Past Aussie winners: Geoff Ogilvy (2014), Greg Chalmers (2016)
Prize money: $US4 million
TV times: Live 7am-10am Friday, Saturday, Sunday; Live 8am-11am Monday on Fox Sports 505 and Kayo.
LPGA Tour
Dana Open
Highland Meadows Golf Club, Sylvania, Ohio
9:15pm Robyn Choi
10:10pm Stephanie Kyriacou
10:32pm Karrie Webb
10:43pm Sarah Kemp
3:21am Hira Naveed
3:26am* Grace Kim
4:05am Su Oh
4:21am* Sarah Jane Smith
Defending champion: Linn Grant
Past Aussie winners: Rachel Hetherington (2002)
Prize money: $US1.75 million
TV times: Live 4am-7am Sunday on Fox Sports 505; Live 3am-6am Monday on Fox Sports 507 and Kayo.
Ladies European Tour
Dutch Ladies Open
Hilversumsche Golf Club, Netherlands
4:41pm* Kelsey Bennett
5:03pm Whitney Hillier
5:36pm Momoka Kobori (NZ)
5:36pm* Amy Walsh
Defending champion: Trichat Cheenglab
Past Aussie winners: Corinne Dibnah (1993), Stephanie Kyriacou (2021)
Prize money: €300,000
Korn Ferry Tour
Price Cutter Charity Championship
Highland Springs Country Club, Springfield, Missouri
9:55pm* Rhein Gibson
10:06pm* Dimi Papadatos
10:50pm Brett Drewitt
11:12pm Curtis Luck
3:37am* Steven Bowditch
5:05am* Karl Vilips
Defending champion: Pierceson Coody
Past Aussie winners: Anthony Painter (1998), Cameron Percy (2014)
Prize money: $US1 million
PGA TOUR Americas
Bromont Open
Golf Chateau-Bromont, Québec
11:10pm Grant Booth
11:20pm Harry Hillier (NZ)
3:40am* Charlie Hillier (NZ)
Defending champion: Inaugural event
Past Aussie winners: Nil
Prize money: $US225,000
Epson Tour
Twin Bridges Championship
Pinehaven Country Club, Guilderland, New York
10:30pm* Fiona Xu (NZ)
3:19am* Amelia Garvey (NZ)
4:03am* Maddison Hinson-Tolchard
Defending champion: Jenny Bae
Past Aussie winners: Sarah Jane Smith (2008), Breanna Elliott (2015)
Prize money: $US237,500
Challenge Tour
Euram Bank Open
GC Adamstal, Ramsau, Austria
3:50pm Jeff Guan
4pm Blake Windred
4:20pm* Hayden Hopewell
Defending champion: Casey Jarvis
Past Aussie winners: Nil
Prize money: €270,000
Two-time runner-up Nathan Barbieri believes he has unlocked a winning formula ahead of the $80,000 Optilease Redcliffe Pro-Am at Redcliffe Golf Club starting Thursday.
The two-day event is one of the richest on the adidas PGA Pro-Am Series schedule and has drawn a field to match.
Winners on the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia such as Brad Kennedy, Deyen Lawson, Jordan Zunic and Daniel Gale have all returned from international tours to tee it up alongside established names including defending champion Michael Sim, Marcus Fraser, Matthew Millar, Sam Brazel and Aaron Pike and stars of tomorrow including Barbieri, Lawry Flynn and Cameron John.
Barbieri was just months into his professional career when he finished second to Doug Klein at Redcliffe in 2021.
Wins seemed a matter of formality, but it has taken the New South Welshman almost three years to find a formula for success.
Following the heartbreak of failing to retain full playing rights at the season-ending tournament at The National, Barbieri chose to attend Qualifying School a fortnight later to potentially improve his status.
He won, and although not an official tour event, claims it as his first as a pro.
“I count it as a win, I got paid for it,” he said on Wednesday.
It may prove to be a significant moment in his career, given not only did it solidify his place in the biggest events of the coming season but showed what it took to win as a professional.
And he didn’t stop there.
On a stint playing the Pro-Am Series in Western Australia, Barbieri teamed up with Josh Greer to win the WA PGA Foursomes Championship, edged Curtis Luck at the Cottesloe Open and shot 7-under to win the Sun City Pro-Am.
“It was a monkey off the back,” Barbieri admitted.
“Everyone believes they can do it and then once you do it, it’s a great feeling.
“It’s just the confidence it builds for yourself. You know you can do it and you just keep pushing.
“I was playing well at Cottesloe and then I sort of stalled a bit and I honestly said, ‘I’m not letting this happen again.’
“I’ve had it too many times. I just said in the back of my mind, I don’t want this to happen again. I just need to do this. I need to finish it off and get a win.”
Full of confidence in his game, Barbieri also arrives at Redcliffe with good thoughts about the golf course.
He fired matching 65s to finish one back of Sim last year and said the test that the course provides feeds into the way he likes to play the game.
“You’ve got to hit every shot, for sure,” said Barbieri, part of the John Serhan coaching stable.
“There’s nine holes right-to-left and nine left-to-right and there are a couple of tricky greens that are elevated.
“I just find it really enjoyable to play. You can get some low numbers and the field this year is as good as a Tour event so it should be good.”
Given the quality of field and that the start of the 2024-2025 season is now less than a month away, Barbieri is viewing this year’s Redcliffe Pro-Am as a platform to build on over the course of the year.
“I wasn’t going to originally go to Q School but sort of took a chance and backed myself and it came out good,” said Barbieri, who has entered to play the PNG Open from August 15-18.
“Hopefully this season’s a good one, maybe grab a couple wins and push for that Order of Merit spot.”
