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The over-50s major swing continues this week with the US Senior Open heading to the historic Newport Country Club, with 12 Australasians teeing it up in Rhode Island.
Australian great Graham Marsh is the only past Aussie winner of the event, triumphing at Olympia Fields in 1997. Here is all you need to know about this week’s players, TV times and host venue.
DEFENDING CHAMPION: Bernhard Langer (GER)
PRIZEMONEY: US$4 million
LIVE SCORES: www.pgatour.com/pgatour-champions
TV COVERAGE: The US Senior Open is live on Fox Sports, available on Foxtel and Kayo.
*All times AEST.
Round One: Friday 2am–7am (Fox Sports 505/Kayo)
Round Two: Saturday 2am–7am (Fox Sports 505/Kayo)
Round Three: Sunday 2am–7am (Fox Sports 505/Kayo)
Final Round: Monday 2:30am–7:30am (Fox Sports 506/Kayo)
AUSTRALASIAN PLAYER PROFILES
STEVEN ALKER
Age: 52
The lowdown: With eight PGA TOUR Champions victories, including this year’s Mitsubishi Electric Championship, Alker will be a favourite coming into this week.
The New Zealander sits second on the season long Charles Schwab Cup thanks to five top-five finishes, with his worst astonishingly being a pair of T15 finishes.
Alker was a notable absentee at the KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship, so will be eager to make a positive resumption of his 2024 major season after finishing second at the Regions Tradition.
STUART APPLEBY
Age: 56
The lowdown: A nine-time PGA TOUR winner, Appleby made his living with an incredibly high standard of ball striking and a putter that could catch fire at any moment.
Appelby has had a mixed season so far, but a T14 finish at the KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship thanks to a final round 67 was a strong showing in the year’s first major.
GREG CHALMERS
Age: 50
The lowdown: In his first senior major of the year, the KitchenAid Senior PGA, Chalmers showed flashes of the competitiveness that earned him a pair each of Australian Opens and Australian PGA Championships.
Sharing the lead at various points, Chalmers eventually finished in solo third at the that week after four rounds in the sixties.
Despite falling just short of a full card at qualifying, everyone’s favourite Twitter follow has made a strong start to his senior career through regular qualifying and good finishes.
MATTHEW GOGGIN
Age: 50
The lowdown: Making his senior golf debut, Goggin was a feature in a number of Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia events last season in-between trips to his much-anticipated Seven Mile Beach course which is under construction.
Having successfully qualified for four US Opens throughout his career, Goggin continued that form this year at Fox Den Country Club, in Knoxville.
A former top-50 player in the world, Goggin demonstrated he still has the game to compete at this year’s Webex Players Series Victoria event, where he finished third.
Looking to make the most of his advantage as one of the youngest players in the field, Goggin could be one to keep an eye on at Newport.
RICHARD GREEN
Age: 53
The lowdown: One of the players to truly thrive post turning 50, Green is a regular presence on the PGA TOUR Champions, although the Victorian is still chasing a first victory on the biggest stage for over-50 golfers.
Just missing out in the year’s second major, Green finished runner-up at the KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship, hoping to go one better and tick off that first win with a major this week.
MARK HENSBY
Age: 52
The lowdown: Providing one of the highlights of 2023 when he claimed the Invited Celebrity Classic after his rollercoaster career, Hensby has yet again been a consistent performer so far in 2024.
Hensby had a disappointing finish to the KitchenAid Senior PGA after a lacklustre weekend, but two top-10s in his last two events is positive momentum heading into this week.
RICHARD LEE
Age: 51
The lowdown: Earning his place in the field through the USGA Qualifying event in Oregon in May, Lee was a formidable player on the Australasian, Asian and Japan tours, as well as strong showings in Europe before turning 50.
Now mostly coaching in New Zealand, Lee’s students will likely be cheering him on from Auckland as he chases what could be one of his larger cheques.
MICHAEL LONG
Age: 55
The lowdown: The tall New Zealander who makes his home in Western Australia headed for Europe upon turning 50, before the pandemic altered his plans after winning the Legends Tour qualifying school.
Four times a winner on the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia, Long missed the cut at the KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship, hoping for a better week at Newport.
ROD PAMPLING
Age: 54
The lowdown: A two-time winner on the PGA TOUR Champions, including last year’s SAS Championship, Pampling has long held a reputation as a high quality ball striker with a capability to go very low.
Pampling bounced back quickly from his missed cut at the KitchenAid Senior PGA with a top-five finish at the Principal Charity Classic.
CAMERON PERCY
Age: 50
The lowdown: Percy made his senior debut at the KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship after winning Q-school at 49 but having to wait until his 50th birthday to compete.
Having played four events now, including a third-place finish at the American Family Insurance Championship, Percy is quickly establishing himself on the over-50s circuit.
VIJAY SINGH
Age: 61
The lowdown: Despite being more than 10 years into his senior golf career, the World Golf Hall of Fame member continues to outwork the vast majority of professionals of any age.
A five-time winner on the PGA TOUR Champions, Singh has had two T6 finishes this year, however had an average finish after making the cut at the KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship.
The Fijian still ranks highly for driving distance among the over-50s and that will be a significant advantage this week, however, as always for Vijay, a good result is dependent on the putter.
MICHAEL WRIGHT
Age: 50
The lowdown: A journeyman who epitomises never giving up, Wright’s big moment came with a hole out at Q School to earn his way onto the PGA TOUR Champions.
Wright’s T17 finish at the KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship was his best thus far in the over-50s ranks, and as one of the fresh 50 year olds, Wright is one of the longest drivers on Tour.
A very consistent putter, Wright’s competitiveness and resilience are arguably his greatest attributes at the senior majors.
THE COURSE
One of the most historic clubs in the United States, Newport Country Club in Rhode Island was founded in 1893, and played host to both the first US Amateur Championship, and the first US Open in 1895.
The club hosted the centenary US Amateur in 1995 won by Tiger Woods, and welcomed the US Women’s Open in 2006, and is held in high regard as one of the five founding clubs of the United States Golf Association (USGA).
Endless history aside, Newport Country Club also boasts a serious, and interesting golf course. Originally a Donald Ross design, the course has had a number of remodels and touch-ups throughout the years and will play as a par-70 this week.
Golf architecture enthusiasts (see: Mat Goggin), will especially enjoy this week at Newport, with a classic design back on show that has been largely outgrown by the modern game, with a mixture of interesting raised green complexes and varied bunkering amongst pure playing surfaces.
A close to two-year wait for a win ended in emphatic fashion with Brisbane’s Will Bruyeres taking out the Lunar Mining Emerald Pro-Am at Emerald Golf Club.
Without a victory on the adidas PGA Pro-Am Series since the Northbridge Pro-Am in Sydney in October 2022, Bruyeres backed up a round of 6-under 64 on day one with 7-under 63 in Round 2 and 13-under total.
That was three clear of Tim Hart (66) as Blaike Perkins stormed home with a 63 of his own to snare outright third.
Bruyeres had just one bogey across the 36 holes – the par-3 ninth in Round 2 – but responded with birdies at 11 and 13 to keep the chasers at bay.
“I knew I could make a couple more birdies and just get rid of that mistake,” said Bruyeres.
“It was my only bogey of the tournament so I didn’t really think too much of it to be honest.”
Hunting a sixth straight Onsite Rental Group Mining Towns Series title, Hart moved into top spot with his runner-up finish, now two shots clear of Perkins with three rounds left to play.
HOW THE WINNING ROUND UNFOLDED
Playing in the group ahead of fellow Round 1 co-leaders Hart and Harrison Wills, Bruyeres played the role of the hunted from the very first hole.
An opening birdie gave him a one-shot buffer from Wills yet it was an eagle at the par-5 sixth and two subsequent birdies that set Bruyeres apart.
The bogey on nine was a temporary hiccup, birdies at 11, 13 and 17 enough to close out a comfortable win.
WHAT THE WINNER SAID
“That eagle putt on six was a big turning point for me,” said Bruyeres.
“It just gave me that little bit of leeway, a little bit of breathing room and then I could just fly through the rest of the holes.
“I had a steady start and then just got hot through the middle and then just hit the ball quite nicely the rest of the day and holed a couple putts.
“Nothing else to it. Just a simple day. And a lot of putts holed.”
LEADERBOARD RUNDOWN
1 William Bruyeres 64-63—127
2 Tim Hart 64-66—130
3 Blaike Perkins 70-63—133
4 Jay Mackenzie 69-65—134
5 Jayden Cripps 68-67—135
T6 Nathan Page 68-68—136
T6 Caleb Bovalina 65-71—136
NEXT UP
The Onsite Rental Group Mining Towns Series continues on Wednesday with the JET Group Clermont Pro-Am and then concludes with the two-day Blackwater Pro-Am starting Saturday.
Aussie pair Hannah Green and Minjee Lee have set their sights on Paris after both finished inside the top 25 at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship in Washington.
The champion in 2019, Green closed with a round of 1-under 71 on Sunday at Sahalee Country Club, finishing level with Lee (74) at 4-over for the championship and tied for 24th.
Former Gold Coast high schooler Amy Yang (72) claimed her first major championship by three strokes at the event that marked the end to the two-year Paris 2024 qualification period.
Although the Australian team will not be officially announced until later this week, Green and Lee can now both look forward to another Olympic campaign given they are both inside the top 15 on the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings.
A two-time winner this season, Green will first return home to Perth before heading to France for The Amundi Evian Championship starting July 11.
“Getting the opportunity in Tokyo was an amazing experience,” said Green.
“I’m super excited for Paris to be alongside Minjee as well. Both from Perth and both played junior golf together so it’s really cool for us to both be there. Even her brother (Min Woo Lee) is in the team.
“I think we have really good vibes for the Olympics, and I’m excited to get to Le Golf National.”
Paris will represent Lee’s third straight Olympic appearance, the 28-year-old also excited to share the Olympic experience with her brother for the first time.
“Both of us will be there and it’s kind of nice. I might be watching him maybe on the weekend if I go in a little bit earlier,” said Lee.
“It’ll be pretty exciting to represent our country out at the Olympics and it’s always such a great honour to be able to do that.
“Really looking forward to it.”
Although an Aussie assault never materialised at the Women’s PGA, there were a host of top-10 finishes around the globe.
Mark Hensby (66) produced one of the rounds of the day to climb into a share of third at the Dick’s Open on the PGA TOUR Champions, one clear of fellow Australian Steve Allan (70) who was tied for sixth.
Deyen Lawson finished one shot shy of winner Rahil Gangjee at the Asian Development Tour event in Malaysia and Cameron Smith was the best of the Aussies at LIV Golf Nashville, finishing tied for ninth and nine shots back of winner Tyrrell Hatton.
Photo: Jorge Lemus/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Results
LPGA Tour
KPMG Women’s PGA Championship
Sahalee Country Club, Sammamish, Washington
1 Amy Yang 70-68-71-72—281 $US1.56m
T24 Hannah Green 71-77-73-71—292 $91,079
T24 Minjee Lee 74-72-72-74—292 $91,079
T46 Lydia Ko (NZ) 75-73-76-73—297 $37,675
T46 Gabriela Ruffels 74-74-76-73—297 $37,675
T52 Stephanie Kyriacou 74-69-78-77—298 $29,771
T60 Grace Kim 73-75-77-74—299 $23,969
MC Sarah Kemp 75-76—151
MC Robyn Choi 75-76—151
MC Hira Naveed 82-83—165
PGA TOUR
Travelers Championship
TPC River Highlands, Cromwell, Connecticut
1 Scottie Scheffler 65-64-64-65—258 $US3m
Won on the first hole of sudden-death playoff
T39 Adam Scott 74-67-67-64—272 $85,000
T44 Jason Day 71-70-64-69—274 $63,000
T48 Cam Davis 65-71-69-70—275 $49,286
DP World Tour
KLM Open
The International, Amsterdam, Netherlands
1 Guido Migliozzi 68-69-66-70—273 €396,532.65
T51 Andrew Martin 71-71-70-73—285 €8,363.84
T51 Tom Power Horan 73-66-76-70—285 €8,363.84
MC Haydn Barron 75-69—144
MC David Micheluzzi 81-76—157
MC Sam Jones (NZ) 83-77—160
Asian Tour
Kolon Korea Open
Woo Jeong Hills Country Club, Korea
1 Minkyu Kim 70-66-71-66—273 $US379,650.72
T28 Travis Smyth 72-73-75-68—288 $5,854.22
T51 Brendan Jones 72-71-79-71—293 $3,576.31
63 Jack Thompson 71-73-78-79—301 $2,854.97
MC Kevin Chun (NZ) 71-75—146
MC Junseok Lee 70-77—147
MC Todd Sinnott 69-78—147
MC Wonjoon Lee 70-78—148
MC Kevin Yuan 75-76—151
LIV Golf
LIV Golf Nashville
The Grove, College Grove, Tennessee
1 Tyrrell Hatton 65-64-65—194 $US4m
T9 Cameron Smith 69-65-69—203 $396,875
T18 Marc Leishman 69-69-69—207 $230,000
T40 Matt Jones 71-72-68—211 $134,000
T48 Lucas Herbert 71-73-70—214 $120,000
54 Danny Lee (NZ) 75-73-70—218 $50,000
PGA TOUR Champions
DICK’S Open
En-Joie GC, Endicott, New York
1 Padraig Harrington 68-65-68—201 $US315,000
T3 Mark Hensby 70-67-66—203 $126,000
T6 Steve Allan 65-69-70—204 $71,400
T13 David Bransdon 68-67-71—206 $39,900
20 Cameron Percy 69-69-70—208 $27,720
T21 Rod Pampling 71-70-68—209 $23,888
T29 Michael Wright 68-69-74—211 $15,210
T44 Richard Green 70-68-76—214 $7,980
T65 John Senden 74-73-72—219 $2,327
T70 Greg Chalmers 76-73-72—221 $1,785
Ladies European Tour
Tipsport Czech Ladies Open
Royal Beroun Golf Club, Czech Republic
1 Marta Martin 69-67-63—199 €45,000
T13 Kelsey Bennett 71-70-67—208 €5,490
T33 Kirsten Rudgeley 70-71-70—211 €2,370
T54 Momoka Kobori (NZ) 69-73-72—214 €1,062
T63 Amy Walsh 74-69-73—216 €795
MC Whitney Hillier 73-78—151
Korn Ferry Tour
Compliance Solutions Championship
Jimmie Austin OU Golf Club, Norman, Oklahoma
1 John Pak 64-66-65-70—265 $US180,000
70 Tim Wilkinson (NZ) 69-67-78-78—292 $3,920
MC Aiden Didone 71-74—145
MC Dimi Papadatos 70-75—145
MC Rhein Gibson 73-74—147
MC Brett Drewitt 73-77—150
WD Steven Bowditch 76
Asian Development Tour
PKNS Selangor Masters
Kelab Golf Seri Selangor, Malaysia
1 Rahil Gangjee 66-66-67-73—272 $US30,625
2 Deyen Lawson 69-71-64-69—273 $20,125
T19 Jared Edwards 69-71-74-71—285 $1,869.58
T38 Marcus Fraser 73-71-75-71—290 $1,242.50
MC Lachlan Barker 76-71—147
MC Doug Klein 70-79—149
MC Josiah Edwards (a) 74-82—156
Challenge Tour
Blot Open de Bretagne
Golf Bluegreen de Pléneuf Val André, Pléneuf, France
1 John Parry 64-67-63-68—262 €43,200
T40 Connor McKinney 69-69-69-72—279 €1,620
MC Blake Windred 74-67—141
MC Hayden Hopewell 71-74—145
DQ Jeff Guan 70
Epson Tour
Island Resort Championship
Sweetgrass Golf Club, Harris, Michigan
Event reduced to 36 holes due to rain
1 Soo Bin Joo 67-69—136 $US39,375
T33 Fiona Xu (NZ) 74-67—141 $1,875
T41 Cassie Porter 71-71—142 $1,359
T52 Maddison Hinson-Tolchard 71-72—143 $964
T52 Amelia Garvey (NZ) 70-73—143 $964
PGA TOUR Americas
The Beachlands Victoria Open
Uplands Golf Club, Victoria, British Columbia
1 Frederik Kjettrup 63-64-64-68—259
T22 Harry Hillier (NZ) 64-70-65-69—268
T48 Grant Booth 67-67-72-67—273
MC Karl Vilips 70-71—141
MC Charlie Hillier (NZ) 74-69—143
Legends Tour
OFX Irish Legends
Seapoint Golf Links, Co Louth, Ireland
1 Adilson Da Silva 70-72-67—209
Won on the third hole of sudden-death playoff
T16 Michael Long (NZ) 69-73-73—215
T22 Peter Fowler 73-72-72—217
T28 Scott Hend 78-74-66—218
T36 Michael Campbell (NZ) 72-75-73—220
T43 Peter O’Malley 73-77-72—222
LET Access Series
Santander Golf Tour – AVILA
Naturavila Golf, Spain
1 Helen Briem (a) 70-62-70—202
T14 Hanee Song (NZ) 73-70-68—211
T14 Stephanie Bunque 70-67-74—211
MC Munchin Keh (NZ) 73-73—146
MC Belinda Ji (a) 73-74—147
MC Laura Hoskin (NZ) 75-75—150
MC Wenyung Keh (NZ) 73-77—150
Peter Cooke’s decision to take a week off work and chase the sun in Broome yielded an unexpected victory at the Broome Furnishings – Carpet Paint and Tile Pro-Am at Broome Golf Club.
A veteran of 17 years on Tour, Cooke has recently transitioned into a coaching role at Kooyonga Golf Club in Adelaide.
This trip to Broome was as much a winter break to catch up with long-time friends and supporters yet twin eagles in a course record 9-under 63 in Round 2 was enough to come away with a two-stroke victory in the final event of the adidas PGA Pro-Am Series WA swing.
Three back after an opening round of 2-under 70, Cooke’s 63 for a two-round total of 11-under saw him finish two clear of West Australian rookie Jordan Doull (67) with PGA Legends Tour regular Scott Barr (68) outright third at 8-under.
“Days like today, shooting numbers like this, it does make you think, Should I keep going? Should I have a little crack?” Cooke mused post-round.
“Hopefully I can put my coaching rates up after this week.”
HOW THE WINNING ROUND UNFOLDED
When it comes to course records, time is of the essence.
After two opening pars starting from the 13th tee, Cooke went to work.
He made birdie at the 162-metre par 3 15th, eagled the par-5 16th and then birdied the par-5 17th to be 4-under through just five holes.
Five pars and a birdie at the short par-4 second followed over the next six holes before an eagle at the par-4 sixth elevated Cooke into contention.
A regulation birdie at the par-5 eighth got Cooke into double digits under par and he closed it out with a final birdie at the par-4 11th to establish a new scoring benchmark at Broome.
WHAT THE WINNER SAID
“I’m probably not the longest guy out here, but it is not a course that you can overpower,” said Cooke.
“You’ve got to be pretty straight. You can’t make a lot of mistakes and I think it’s just a tough test.
“You’ve got to have a lot of patience and I think this course has over time, taught me patience.
Nine-under today wasn’t a score that I sort of saw out there but, at the same time, if you keep hitting fairways, you get a lot of wedges into greens, there are low numbers out there.
“Today, things just came together really nicely.”
LEADERBOARD RUNDOWN
1 Peter Cooke 70-63—133
2 Jordan Doull 68-67—135
3 Scott Barr 68-68—136
T4 Braden Becker 70-69—139
T4 Josh Greer 69-70—139
6 Scott Strange 67-74—141
7 Rick Kulacz 72-70—142
NEXT UP
The two-day Lunar Mining Emerald Pro-Am reaches its conclusion on Sunday with the Onsite Rental Group Mining Towns Series to continue on Wednesday with the JET Group Clermont Pro-Am.
Tim Hart’s hopes of a sixth straight Onsite Rental Group Mining Towns Series win have been bolstered by a one-stroke victory at the JET Group Tieri Pro-Am at Tieri Country Club.
One of the most popular stops on the Mining Towns swing, Tieri once again was witness to some spectacular golf, Darcy Boyd and Hart both producing rounds of 9-under 64 across the two days.
The in-form Boyd led by three after his 10-birdie round on day one but it was Hart who finished the stronger, matching Boyd’s 64 in Round 2 for a 14-under total and one-stroke win.
Tied for third at Tieri, James Mee continues to lead at the halfway mark of the Mining Towns Series at 25-under par, one clear of Boyd followed by Blaike Perkins (23-under) with Hart now three back at 22-under.
“You can take one side of the course out of play, just keep it on the planet and then just make a score from there,” said Hart.
“That’s generally what I’ve done for the best part of a decade out here and it’s worked well.”
HOW THE WINNING ROUND UNFOLDED
Trailing Boyd by four, Hart was forced to play catch-up in Round 2 and wasted little time in making his move.
After opening with two pars Hart reeled off three straight birdies from the fourth hole and then added a fourth at the par-5 ninth.
Birdies at 11, 14, 15 and 18 saw Hart play the back nine in 4-under, his closing birdie at the par-5 first rounding out a bogey-free tournament and victory by one.
WHAT THE WINNER SAID
“I’ve found some form with my long game, which is good out here and managed to just take advantage of this course,” said Hart.
“I love it out at Tieri and it was just good to play 36 without making a bogey and just play solid golf.
“I managed to put the foot down early and made a few putts, which I think’s big out here. If you can see it going in really early, you can sort of feed off that.
“I didn’t really hole much yesterday and then a few went in early today, so it just kept going and a couple more just kept going in.”
LEADERBOARD RUNDOWN
1 Tim Hart 68-64—132
2 Darcy Boyd 64-69—133
T3 Blaike Perkins 67-67—134
T3 James Mee 67-67—134
T5 Paul Donahoo 67-69—136
T5 Jay Mackenzie 68-68—136
NEXT UP
The adidas PGA Pro-Am Series continues its cross-country stretch with the 36-hole Broome Furnishings – Carpet Paint and Tile Pro-Am starting Friday with the Mining Towns Series to resume on Saturday with the two-day Lunar Mining Emerald Pro-Am.
In March of this year, Steffi Vogel made the cut in a Ladies European Tour event. If she achieves nothing else in her golf career, that can never be taken away from her.
Yet when she began the PGA of Australia’s Membership Pathway Program straight out of high school, pitting her game against some of the best in the world was the furthest thing from her mind.
“I had no intentions of playing whatsoever,” said Vogel, who grew up playing junior golf at Cobram Barooga Golf Club and began the MPP under PGA Professional Michael MacGregor at her home club.
“I originally did it just to be able to either coach or be in a pro shop.”
For some who enter the MPP, playing is not the No.1 priority.
They see an avenue to be able to build a career within the Australian golf industry but, as Vogel discovered, taking the path to become a PGA Professional does not signal the end of your playing days.
Through weekly PGA Open matches, Vogel found that her game developed so much with regular competition that it fuelled her passion for playing at a high level again.
“Through the Monday matches I started playing really well and I thought maybe I actually do want to play as well on the side,” she added.
Emma Ash was a star junior growing up in Adelaide but recognised early the difficulty in forging a career in golf purely through playing.
A two-time winner of the SA Junior Amateur Championship, Ash appeared destined for the LPGA or Ladies European Tour until her brother’s interest in PGA education opened her eyes to the career paths that were available.
“It was always that I wanted to play, but as I got older and I got more realistic in life. I realised that there probably wasn’t the likelihood of making a career out of playing,” said Ash.
“I thought there was a big gap in coaching, particularly female coaching. From my experience as a player, I was never exposed to a female coach other than Fiona Pike and Anne-Marie Knight.
“I wanted to follow those footsteps and try to provide opportunities for more young girls in that coaching stream.”
After six years of concentrated work in the coaching realm, Ash made a return to the WPGA Tour of Australasia at the start of 2024.
She began with a victory at a rain-shortened Melbourne International and, like Vogel, made the cut at the Women’s NSW Open at Magenta Shores Golf and Country Club.
With her coaching business performing strongly, Ash is able to tee it up without the financial pressures that others may be feeling.
“It just makes it easier. I’m not playing for a cheque each week,” she said.
“I’m playing just because I enjoy the game, just want to have fun and I’m still competitive.”
Vogel, who was sixth at Webex Players Series Murray River and top-30 at the Vic Open, attributes all of the playing opportunities she has enjoyed the past 12 months to her PGA grounding.
“I’m very happy that I went through that direction. I certainly don’t think I’d be here without it,” said Vogel, who also played the Australian Women’s Classic at Bonville in April.
“I definitely recommend it. The assignments take a bit of time but you have plenty of time to do it whilst you’re out here playing.
“It’s good to have something away from playing as well to be able to focus on and to go back to when there are no tournaments.”
A new addition to the Membership Pathway Program is a dedicated ‘Playing’ stream, designed to not only provide qualifications but the foundation needed to mix it with the elite of world golf.
“They’re playing full-time on the LET and it’s good to see what they’re doing with their games,” Ash said of her LET experience.
“I encourage anyone to do the MPP just to give you more opportunities within the sport.”
To express your interest in starting the PGA Membership Pathway Program click here
Karl Vilips’ journey to his professional debut took an unexpected twist this week as he launches the next phase of his career at The Beachlands Victoria Open in Canada.
A recent graduate of Stanford University, Vilips closed out his college career with victory at the 2024 Pac-12 Men’s Golf Championship in May.
That result helped Vilips to finish 10th in the PGA TOUR University ranking and earn conditional status on the Korn Ferry Tour and fully exempt status on the PGA TOUR of Americas.
A member of the Australian team that won silver at the World Amateur Teams Championship last October, Vilips had hoped to use his conditional Korn Ferry Tour status to qualify for this week’s Compliance Solutions Championship in Oklahoma.
As fellow Victorian Aiden Didone played his way into the field with a round of 4-under 68 at the Monday qualifier, Vilips set course for Canada after his round of 1-over 73.
The 22-year-old would soon discover, however, that the best laid plans are not guaranteed in the world of pro golf.
“I played the Monday qualifier for the Compliance tournament in Oklahoma, the Korn Ferry event,” Vilips told PGA TOUR of Americas.
“Didn’t close well, so I didn’t make it.
“Booked a flight out of Dallas, yesterday, mid-morning. So we drove the three hours from Norman to Dallas and got to the airport for an 11:30am flight. Didn’t end up taking off until about 7 so we had to change my flight to Victoria to a later one, which we barely made.
“Ended up getting to the hotel at about 11:35 to midnight and obviously didn’t get to sleep for a little bit.
“My bags didn’t come in, which was just another bonus to the travel day we had.
“I had to pick those up this morning. Was fortunate enough to get tournament organisers to shift my pro-am tee time around to the afternoon so I will be able to play the course and take a look at it.
“It’s been a hectic first week as a pro I would say.”
Vilips was Australia’s highest ranked player on the World Amateur Golf Ranking when he turned professional a fortnight ago.
A strong finish to his four-year stint at Stanford saw Vilips graduate from the amateur ranks No.12 in the world and ready to realise the promise he has displayed since his junior days.
The youngest competitor in Victorian pennant matches at just nine years of age for Southern Golf Club in 2011, Vilips was the gold medal winner at the 2018 Youth Olympics, a two-time Junior Presidents Cup representative and qualified for last year’s US Open.
He is among a host of star amateurs to recently move into the pro ranks including Maddison Hinson-Tolchard, Jye Pickin, Connor McDade, Jordan Doull and Blaike Perkins.
As Vilips makes his pro debut in Canada the eyes of the golf world will be largely trained on Sahalee Country Club in Washington for the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship.
There are a total of eight Aussies in the field including 2019 champion Hannah Green, this week marking the end to the two-year Olympic qualification period for the women’s competition in Paris.
Photo: Martin Dokoupil/Getty Images
Round 1 tee times AEST
LPGA Tour
KPMG Women’s PGA Championship
Sahalee Country Club, Sammamish, Washington
12:05am* Robyn Choi
12:22am Stephanie Kyriacou
12:27am* Gabriela Ruffels
12:33am Grace Kim
1:11am* Hannah Green
6:17am Minjee Lee
6:39am Lydia Ko (NZ)
6:56am* Hira Naveed
7:12am Sarah Kemp
Defending champion: Ruoning Yin
Past Aussie winners: Jan Stephenson (1982), Karrie Webb (2001), Hannah Green (2019)
Prize money: $US10.4 million
TV times: Live 6am-8am Friday on Fox Sports 505; Live 8am-12pm Friday on Fox Sports 503; Live 6am-8am Saturday on Fox Sports 505; Live 8am-12pm Saturday on Fox Sports 503; Live 5am-8am Sunday on Fox Sports 505; Live 8am-10am Sunday on Fox Sports 503; Live 4am-9am Monday on Fox Sports 505 and Kayo.
PGA TOUR
Travelers Championship
TPC River Highlands, Cromwell, Connecticut
12am Jason Day
1am Adam Scott
3:10am Cam Davis
Defending champion: Keegan Bradley
Past Aussie winners: Greg Norman (1995), Marc Leishman (2012)
Prize money: $US20 million
TV times: Live 10pm-8am Thursday, Friday; Live 9:30pm-8am Saturday, Sunday on Fox Sports 503 and Kayo.
DP World Tour
KLM Open
The International, Amsterdam, Netherlands
4pm Sam Jones (NZ)
5pm David Micheluzzi
5:10pm Haydn Barron
8:30pm Tom Power Horan
10pm Andrew Martin
Defending champion: Pablo Larrazabal
Past Aussie winners: Jack Newton (1972), Graham Marsh (1979, 1985), Stephen Leaney (2000)
Prize money: $US2.5 million
TV times: Live 9pm-2am Thursday, Friday; Live 9:15pm-1:30am Saturday; Live 8:30pm-1:30am Sunday on Fox Sports 505 and Kayo.
Asian Tour
Kolon Korea Open
Woo Jeong Hills Country Club, Korea
7:52am Jack Thompson
9:20am* Wonjoon Lee
12:30pm* Kevin Yuan
12:52pm Junseok Lee
1:03pm Travis Smyth
1:25pm* Kevin Chun (NZ)
1:58pm Brendan Jones
2:20pm Todd Sinnott
Defending champion: Seungsu Han
Past Aussie winners: Junseok Lee (2021)
Prize money: KRW1.4 billion
TV times: Live 2pm-6pm Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday on Fox Sports 503 and Kayo.
LIV Golf
LIV Golf Nashville
The Grove, College Grove, Tennessee
Australasians in the field: Cameron Smith, Matt Jones, Marc Leishman, Lucas Herbert, Danny Lee (NZ)
Defending champion: Inaugural event
Past Aussie winners: Nil
Prize money: $US20 million
TV times: Live from 3:15am Saturday, Sunday, Monday on 7 Plus.
PGA TOUR Champions
DICK’S Open
En-Joie GC, Endicott, New York
Australasians in the field: Steve Allan, David Bransdon, Greg Chalmers, Richard Green, Mark Hensby, Rod Pampling, Cameron Percy, John Senden, Vijay Singh, Michael Wright.
Defending champion: Padraig Harrington
Past Aussie winners: Nil
Prize money: $US2.1 million
TV times: Live 2am-4am Saturday on Fox Sports 505; 10am-12pm Sunday on Fox Sports 503; 9am-11am Monday on Fox Sports 503 and Kayo.
Ladies European Tour
Tipsport Czech Ladies Open
Royal Beroun Golf Club, Czech Republic
3:56pm Kirsten Rudgeley
5:24pm Amy Walsh
5:24pm* Kelsey Bennett
8:41pm* Momoka Kobori (NZ)
8:52pm* Whitney Hillier
Defending champion: Diksha Dagar
Past Aussie winners: Nil
Prize money: €300,000
Korn Ferry Tour
Compliance Solutions Championship
Jimmie Austin OU Golf Club, Norman, Oklahoma
10:11pm* Brett Drewitt
10:33pm Steven Bowditch
10:55pm Rhein Gibson
12:12am* Aiden Didone
3:35am Tim Wilkinson (NZ)
3:46am Dimi Papadatos
Defending champion: Jimmy Stanger
Past Aussie winners:
Prize money: $US1 million
Challenge Tour
Blot Open de Bretagne
Golf Bluegreen de Pléneuf Val André, Pléneuf, France
10:20pm Hayden Hopewell
10:30pm Connor McKinney
10:30pm* Blake Windred
10:40pm* Jeffrey Guan
Defending champion: Stuart Manley
Past Aussie winners: Scott Arnold (2015)
Prize money: €270,000
Epson Tour
Island Resort Championship
Sweetgrass Golf Club, Harris, Michigan
11:36pm Fiona Xu (NZ)
11:36pm* Amelia Garvey (NZ)
11:58pm Maddison Hinson-Tolchard
4:46am Cassie Porter
Defending champion: Tsai Ching Tseng
Past Aussie winners: Nil
Prize money: $US262,500
PGA TOUR Americas
The Beachlands Victoria Open
Uplands Golf Club, Victoria, British Columbia
1:20am Charlie Hillier (NZ)
1:30am Karl Vilips
1:40am* Harry Hillier (NZ)
6am* Grant Booth
Defending champion: Jimmy Stanger
Past Aussie winners:
Prize money: $US1 million
LET Access Series
Santander Golf Tour – AVILA
Naturavila Golf, Spain
4:40pm Wenyung Keh (NZ)
5pm Munchin Keh (NZ)
8:40pm* Hanee Song
8:50pm Belinda Ji (a)
9:10pm Stephanie Bunque
10pm* Laura Hoskin (NZ)
Defending champion: Inaugural event
Past Aussie winners: Nil
Prize money: €45,000
Jason Day and Min Woo Lee are poised to make their Olympic debuts after finishing as the leading two Australians at the end of the men’s golf competition qualification period.
The Australian Golf team to represent their country at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games will be formally announced on June 29, the women’s qualification period closing at the completion of this week’s KPMG Women’s PGA Championship.
An absorbing US Open won by Bryson DeChambeau signalled the end to the three-year qualification period for this Olympic cycle for the men’s game. Day and Lee both qualified for the Australian team by virtue of being among the top 59 players eligible for selection on the Official World Golf Ranking.
Day, who was eligible for the 2016 Olympics at Rio de Janeiro but declined for family reasons, is ranked No.24 in the world despite missing the cut at Pinehurst.
It would have required something extraordinary for Lee to be unseated, a tie for 21st solidifying his spot at No.36 in the rankings and a likely Olympic debut.
Day had not publicly declared his Olympic intentions until after The Masters Tournament in April, declaring that if he qualified he would tee it up at Le Golf National.
“I’m looking forward to it. I think I made a bit of a mistake not going down to Rio, even though part of it was family related,” Day said.
“I kind of missed out on that, and I probably should have gone. But if I get the opportunity, I’m looking forward to going.”
Lee has never shied away from his Olympic ambition.
His older sister, Minjee, is on the verge of selection in her third straight Olympics, Min Woo’s qualification paving the way for the pair to join a rich history of siblings to have represented Australia at the Olympic Games.
“I would love to represent Australia. It’s one of the goals I’ve had from the last year or so when the talk started happening,” said Lee, who has confirmed his defence of his Australian PGA Championship defence at Royal Queensland in November.
Marcus Fraser and Scott Hend were Australia’s men’s representatives when golf made its Olympic return in 2016 while Cameron Smith and Marc Leishman competed at Tokyo 2020.
Fraser’s tie for fifth in 2016 is Australia’s best result in the men’s golf competition, Hannah Green’s narrowly missing out on a medal at Tokyo, her tie for fifth Australia’s best result in the women’s competition.
The men’s Olympic golf competition will be staged August 1-4 with the women’s competition to take place from August 7-10.
A first time on sand greens proved the charm for Joseph Owen who shot 62 in the second round to win the 29th Roy Hill Golf Classic Pro-Am by three at Port Hedland Golf Club.
Thanking good mate Brady Watt for enticing him to make the 1,600-kilometre trip north of Perth, Owen came from two strokes back of Round 1 leader Scott Strange with a birdie barrage in the second round.
He had 10 birdies and no bogeys for a two-round total of 16-under par, three clear of Braden Becker (64), Ryan Peake (65) and Jordan Doull (60), who smashed the course record with 11 birdies, an eagle and a single bogey.
New Zealand-born but now a Perth resident who won the 2022 Victorian Amateur, the Lake Karrinyup Country Club member adapted quickly to the vagaries of sand greens for his first adidas PGA Pro-Am Series win.
“This is my first time on sand greens, so I have not had any success,” Owen said.
“It was a new experience and I think I did pretty well.”
HOW THE WINNING ROUND UNFOLDED
Paired with Josh Greer and starting from the third tee, Owen generated early momentum with birdies at three of his first five holes.
He made pars at both eight and nine to enter the back nine 3-under on his round and would be 10-under by the time he walked off the 18th green.
Owen made back-to-back birdies at 10 and 11 and again at 13 and 14 before reeling off three straight from the 16th hole to take control of the tournament.
Becker and Doull both made charges and Peake went 36 holes bogey-free yet it wasn’t enough to rein Owen in.
WHAT THE WINNER SAID
“Yesterday I actually didn’t feel like I hit it that well,” said Owen.
“I putted well on the sand greens from close range so today I thought if I could hit it a little bit better and give myself a few more opportunities, I thought I was a good chance to have a good round. I think I did that.
“I made really good birdies on 16 and 17. I thought those were two pretty tricky holes and to birdie those gave me a good little cushion going into my last three holes.
“That was key.”
LEADERBOARD RUNDOWN
1 Joseph Owen 66-62—128
T2 Braden Becker 67-64—131
T2 Jordan Doull 71-60—131
T2 Ryan Peake 66-65—131
5 Scott Strange 64-68—132
6 Peter Cooke 66-68—134
7 Joshua Greer 66-69—135
8 Brady Watt 69-67—136
NEXT UP
Broome Golf Club hosts the WS6 Invitational on Tuesday in the lead-up to the two-day Broome Furnishings – Carpet Paint and Tile Pro-Am starting Friday while in Queensland the Mining Towns Series continues at Tieri on Wednesday with the JET Group Tieri Pro-Am.
Sydney’s Grace Kim has suffered a heartbreaking playoff defeat to be denied a second LPGA Tour win at the Meijer LPGA Classic in Michigan.
Kim began the final round at Blythefield Country Club with a five-stroke lead, an advantage that had been erased completely by the time she stepped onto the fifth tee.
As American Ally Ewing strung four straight birdies together from the third hole, Kim stumbled out of the blocks with back-to-back bogeys.
She matched Ewing’s birdie on six to retain a share of the lead yet her greatest challengers would emerge from back-nine charges by Lilia Vu and Lexi Thompson.
Vu’s bogey-free 7-under 65 would be the best of the day and allowed her to set the clubhouse mark at 16-under par.
Thompson (68) played the back nine in 4-under to also reach 16-under par as 23-year-old Kim showed impressive composure to stay in contention.
She dropped to 15-under with a bogey on nine but made birdie at the par-5 14th and numerous par saves to arrive at the 72nd hole tied for the lead.
A tee shot into the fairway bunker at the par-5 closer forced Kim to lay up and she had a lengthy putt from the back fringe to win in regulation.
Par for @gracekimeyy on 18 means we've got a playoff coming up!!!
— LPGA (@LPGA) June 16, 2024
Grace, @Lexi and @TheLiliaVu will be teeing it up in a sudden-death playoff shortly 🚨 pic.twitter.com/q1xJq6uBJm
That attempt just missed on the low side to close out a round of 1-oover 73, Thompson’s closing birdie sending all three players back to the 18th tee.
Again, Kim had a putt to win at the first playoff hole with an eagle try from just off the front edge of the green but had to hole a three-footer for birdie to match by both Thompson and Vu.
Power behind @gracekimeyy's second shot of the playoff 💪 pic.twitter.com/r2qacywYCZ
— LPGA (@LPGA) June 16, 2024
At the second playoff hole, Kim needed to hole a six-footer to stay in the playoff but an awkward lie right of the fairway and subsequent lay-up at the third playoff hole – the par-5 fourth – opened the door for Vu to clinch victory by getting up-and-down for birdie from the greenside bunker.
Despite the disappointment of falling just short, Kim acknowledged that it is another step forward in her young career.
“Going the three playoff holes with the Player of the Year last year, two major champions and obviously Lexi just being an icon for women’s golf says a lot about my game I guess,” said Kim, who now moves on to the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship at Sahalee Country Club.
“Obviously didn’t get it done. Yeah, it sucks, but I think I can see myself I guess in the future as well. Just how much I’ve grown.
“It’s only my second year out, and to be in this position it’s, as you can tell, overwhelming.
“All the credit goes to my team to push me this far.
“To get to these opportunities is, you know, unbelievable. To be able to play against these players in certain conditions and playoff for three holes, I think we all know we played some good damn golf.”
Kim wasn’t the only WPGA Tour of Australasia member with a top-10 finish this past week.
West Australian Kirsten Rudgeley continues to build towards a breakthrough win on the Ladies European Tour, finishing tied for sixth at the Ladies Italian Open as Whitney Hillier made an impressive return in her first LET start since last July.
An Aussie charge never materialised at the US Open where Min Woo Lee’s tie for 23rd was the best result, Bryson DeChambeau producing an extraordinary sand save on the 72nd hole to edge Rory McIlroy by a shot and claim his second US Open.
Photo: Raj Mehta/Getty Images
Results
US Open
Pinehurst Resort (No.2 Cse), Raleigh, North Carolina
1 Bryson DeChambeau 67-69-67-71—274 $US4.3 million
T21 Min Woo Lee 73-69-72-71—285 $203,607
T32 Cameron Smith 71-72-72-72—287 $105,775
T32 Adam Scott 70-72-76-69—287 $105,775
T56 Ryan Fox (NZ) 73-72-76-71—292 $43,676
MC Jason Scrivener 74-72—146
MC Jason Day 71-77—148
MC Cam Davis 77-72—149
LPGA Tour
Meijer LPGA Classic
Blythefield Country Club, Belmont, Michigan
1 Lilia Vu 69-70-68-65—272 $US450,000
Won on third hole of sudden-death playoff
T2 Grace Kim 68-65-66-73—272 $234,649
T17 Hira Naveed 69-70-71-68—278 $33,803
T17 Gabriela Ruffels 68-73-68-69—278 $33,803
MC Robyn Choi 73-70—143
MC Minjee Lee 72-78—150
Korean PGA Tour/Japan Golf Tour
Hana Bank Invitational
Namchuncheon CC, Chuncheon, South Korea
1 Takashi Ogiso 67-69-66-68—270 ¥28.02m
MC Anthony Quayle 73-70—143
MC Junseok Lee 71-74—145
MC Matthew Griffin 70-75—145
Ladies European Tour
Ladies Italian Open
Golf Nazionale, Italy
1 Amy Taylor 70-67-69—206 €45,000
T6 Kirsten Rudgeley 66-74-70—210 €8,640
T32 Whitney Hillier 70-71-76—217 €2,499
T45 Amy Walsh 74-69-76—219 €1,504.29
T45 Kelsey Bennett 73-74-72—219 €1,504.29
T62 Momoka Kobori (NZ) 74-72-78—224 €855
Korn Ferry Tour
Wichita Open
Crestview Country Club, Wichita, Kansas
1 Taylor Dickson 64-64-68-65—261
MC Tim Wilkinson (NZ) 71-68—139
MC Rhein Gibson 73-68—141
MC Brett Drewitt 74-68—142
MC Dimi Papadatos 70-72—142
MC Daniel Gale 74-70—144
MC Steven Bowditch 79-75—154
Challenge Tour
Kaskáda Golf Challenge
Golf Resort Kaskáda, Brno, Czech Republic
1 Hamish Brown 64-69-70-63—266 €43,200
T23 Blake Windred 68-70-71-68—277 €2,403
MC Connor McKinney 69-72—141
MC Jeff Guan 69-73—142
MC Tom Power Horan 76-70—146
MC Hayden Hopewell 72-76—148
Epson Tour
Otter Creek Championship
Otter Creek Golf Course, Columbus, Indiana
1 Savannah Vilaubi 67-68-71—206 $US45,000
Won on the second hole of sudden-death playoff
T47 Cassie Porter 73-71-72—216 $1,335
MC Amelia Garvey (NZ) 73-75—148
MC Fiona Xu (NZ) 75-75—150
MC Amy Chu 73-77—150
MC Maddison Hinson-Tolchard 71-79—150
WD Su Oh 78
LET Access Series
Amundi Czech Ladies Challenge
Panorama Golf Resort, Czech Republic
1 Helen Briem (a) 72-68-73—213 ——
T9 Hanee Song (NZ) 69-76-74—219 €1,317.50
T13 Stephanie Bunque 72-72-77—221 €1,147.50
T18 Munchin Keh (NZ) 76-74-72—222 €850
T25 Wenyung Keh (NZ) 78-73-73—224 €684.25
MC Belinda Ji (a) 77-80—157
Legends Tour
Paul Lawrie Match Play
Hanbury Manor Marriott Hotel & Country Club, Hertfordshire
Final
Angel Cabrera def James Kingston 3&1
Quarter-finals
Angel Cabrera def Michael Long 2&1
Bradley Dredge def Scott Hend 2 up
Round 3
Michael Long def Marc Farry 2&1
Scott Hend def Peter Fowler 3&2
Round 2
Michael Long def Michael Jonzon 3&2
Scott Hend def Adilson da Silva 2&1
Peter Fowler def David Gilford at 19th hole
Round 1
Michael Long def Andrew Raitt 1 up
Peter Fowler def Clark Dennis 4&3
Robert Coles def Peter O’Malley 2&1
Scott Hend def Jean Francois Remesy 3&2
