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Major season rolls along this week, with the PGA Championship marking the second men’s major of the year. The PGA of America’s showpiece event returns to Valhalla Golf Club in Kentucky for the first time in a decade, and here is all you need to know.
DEFENDING CHAMPION: Brooks Koepka (US)
PRIZEMONEY: US$17.5 million
LIVE SCORES: www.pgachampionship.com
TV COVERAGE: The PGA Championship is live on Fox Sports, available on Foxtel and Kayo.
*All times AEST.
Round One: Thursday 9pm–10am (Fox Sports 503/Kayo) and Thursday 10pm–10am (Fox Sports 505/Kayo)
Round Two: Friday 9pm–10am (Fox Sports 503/Kayo) and Friday 10pm–10am (Fox Sports 505/Kayo)
Round Three: Saturday 10:10pm–9am (Fox Sports 503/Kayo) and Saturday 11pm–8:30am (Fox Sports 505/Kayo)
Final Round: Sunday 10pm–9am (Fox Sports 503/Kayo) and Monday 1:30am–9am (Fox Sports 505/Kayo)
AUSTRALASIAN PLAYER PROFILES
CAM DAVIS
World ranking: 62
Age: 29
Professional wins: Four
Best finish at the PGA: T4 (2024)
The lowdown: Davis returns to the PGA Championship after recording his best ever finish at a major at Oak Hill last year, with the New South Welshman seemingly tailor made for this test.
Finished in a share of 12th at The Masters for his best result so far in 2024, with one or two bad holes the story of the weekend for Davis at Augusta.
Driving has been a strength this year for the PGA TOUR winner, and with long rough and strategy key to success at Valhalla, Davis’ accuracy should hold him in good stead this week.
JASON DAY
World ranking: 19
Age: 36
Professional wins: 19
Best finish at the PGA: Won (2015)
The lowdown: Enters the PGA fresh off a share of fourth last week at Quail Hollow in what was a similar golfing test to what will be presented this week in Kentucky.
A past champion of this event, Day owns nine top-25 finishes at the PGA from 14 starts and is experienced at Valhalla, where he tied for 15th in 2014 following a disappointing final round that dropped him from contention.
Speaking openly about his back issues and how close he came to quitting competitive golf on Fox Sports this week, Day is revitalised since his work with Chris Como and he showed plenty of positive signs at The Masters when T30.
RYAN FOX
World ranking: 58
Age: 37
Professional wins: 17
Best finish at the PGA: T23 (2023)
The lowdown: Fox arrives in Kentucky fresh of his best ever PGA TOUR result at the Myrtle Beach Classic last week, when he shared fourth in a positive sign for his chances this week.
The Kiwi has made five previous starts at the PGA and made four cuts, with his best result coming last year at Oak Hill, while he shared 38th at The Masters last month.
Known for his power off the tee, Fox’s ability to shape the ball, and particularly vary the flight will be a major strength at Valhalla, while his putting has been a standout so far in 2024.
LUCAS HERBERT
World ranking: 90
Age: 28
Professional wins: Four
Best finish at the PGA: T13 (2022)
The lowdown: Herbert’s record at the PGA is his best of the four majors, with the Bendigo boy making four cuts from five starts and a game that seemingly aligns with the typical course setups.
Part of two Ripper GC winning teams this year, Herbert will be hoping the team success translates into some higher individual results and his putting could be the key this week.
Owning plenty of power off the tee and a habit of making birdies in bunches, Herbert is becoming more experienced with the requirements of major championship golf and will want to take full advantage of his special invite here.
KAZUMA KOBORI
World ranking: 437
Age: 22
Professional wins: Five
Best finish at the PGA: Debut
The lowdown: Extended an invite for topping the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit, Kobori plays his first of two major starts this week.
A winner of three Webex Players Series events already in 2024, Kobori’s rise up the professional golf ranks has been meteoric after turning pro in November last year and the young Kiwi is looking forward to a chance to test his game against the world’s best this week.
Facing arguably his biggest test to date in not only the strength of the field but the length of the course, Kobori is a magnificent putter that will hope to get hot on Valhalla’s greens early to give him his best chance at featuring prominently on the weekend.
MIN WOO LEE
World ranking: 36
Age: 25
Professional wins: Four
Best finish at the PGA: T18 (2023)
The lowdown: Confirmed the notion that he is built for majors when sharing 22nd at The Masters despite breaking a finger in the lead up while in the gym.
Lee has only teed it up once since, finishing T24 in Texas but on a big golf course like Valhalla he will like his chances of taking advantage of his power, while also thriving in among the packed crowds.
Has the Olympics and Presidents Cup as big carrots this year, and a good result here would help in both pursuits, however, Lee will be only focused on the Wanamaker Trophy that could be his if he can lift his approach play and putting to compliment his exceptional driving of 2024.
ADAM SCOTT
World ranking: 56
Age: 43
Professional wins: 32
Best finish at the PGA: Third (2018)
The lowdown: Arrives with four straight finishes inside the top-30, including a T22 at The Masters, and with the experience of a share of 15th at Valhalla back in 2014.
Multiple parts of Scott’s game have been the reason for his solid form so far in 2024, particularly driving and putting, with iron play and particularly proximity to the hole the key for the Queenslander’s chances this week.
Has 13 top-25s at the PGA, showing his suitability for the style of play required, with his two third place finishes both coming on venues owning similarities to Valhalla.
CAM SMITH
World ranking: 61
Age: 30
Professional wins: 12
Best finish at the PGA: T9 (2023)
The lowdown: Cracked the top-10 at the PGA for the first time last year and arrives in good form after a second at LIV Golf’s Singapore event behind Brooks Koepka.
Like Herbert, Smith will be buoyed by recent team success and a putter that has continued to prove a serious weapon when presented with quick and smooth greens like the players will enjoy this week.
Was the best of the Aussie contingent at The Masters when sharing sixth, with consistency the primary driver and the likelihood of more birdies on offer this week suiting the Queensland third of three Queensland major winners teeing it up this week.
THE COURSE
Hosting the PGA Championship for the fourth time (1996, 2000, 2014), Valhalla Golf Club was purpose-built for big tournament golf and has delivered great stories and results each time it has welcomed a major.
Undergoing a regrassing to Zoysia in 2021, the fairways will be firmer and faster than previous tournaments here, while small greens, expansive bunkering and creeks running throughout pose plenty of questions for the players on the Jack Nicklaus design.
Able to be stretched to 7609 yards this week, Valhalla typically rewards quality ball strikers and players who are willing to take on risk, with the PGA of America already suggesting some tees could be moved up on shorter par-4s during the week.
Avoiding the 62 bunkers dotted across the course will also be important for the eventual champion who will join Mark Brooks, Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy on the list of PGA winners at Valhalla at week’s end.
HEADLINERS
Scottie Scheffler – 2024 Masters champion and 2023 PGA Championship runner-up
Brooks Koepka – 2023 PGA champion and five-time major winner
Rory McIlroy – Wells Fargo Championship winner and PGA champion at Valhalla
Jon Rahm – Two-time major winner and world No.5
Ludvig Aberg – 2024 Masters runner-up and PGA TOUR winner
Xander Schauffele – Seven straight top-25s in 2024 and 12 top-10s at the majors
Wyndham Clark – 2023 U.S. Open winner
Bryson DeChambeau – T4 2023 PGA Championship and 2020 U.S. Open winner
Viktor Hovland – 2023 PGA Championship runner-up and world No.7
Tiger Woods – Four-time PGA Championship winner
PGA Professional Michael Mosher has forged a career taking golfers on the trip of a lifetime, all underpinned by a very simple business philosophy.
“We take people to the best golfing locations in the world, and we make sure they have a good time doing it,” says Mosher, PGA Professional and Director of Golf at one of Australia’s premier golf travel companies, Teed Up Golf Tours.
From Augusta to every course on The Open Championship rota – and most places in-between – Mosher and his team of staff are dedicated to ensuring that with them, customers can enjoy the golf experience of a lifetime.
Now a thriving business with more than 20 years’ experience, Mosher recalls that the idea behind Teed Up Golf Tours came about largely by chance when he was the Director of Golf at Mount Broughton Golf and Country Club in Bowral.
“A member bought a travel agency business and asked if I could help to organise a trip to The Masters,” he reflects.
“That was in 1999, but in 2004, a friend, who is now my business partner, encouraged me to start running tours as a business full-time.
“We took a risk, but we thought we had found a niche in the market. We did it as a bit of fun; a way to see the world, play some golf and have a good time.”
It is that approach that has sustained Mosher, as Teed Up Golf Tours has expanded from 8-10 person trips, to regularly hosting hundreds of keen golfers on trips to Augusta alone.
“We started small, but when we grew to getting about 40 people on those early trips to The Masters, it became a reality that we had something to work with,” he adds.
“When you step back from it for a moment, it’s really cool.”
Mosher credits much of the business’s success to his willingness to create and maintain strong relationships throughout the industry.
From his playing days when he recalls having to fax fellow players to stay in touch, to now engaging with a network of other PGA Professionals to get the word out about his tours, Mosher is a people person.
That, alongside his engaging personality, has helped to foster a sense of goodwill that continues to benefit the business.
“I really believe that PGA Professionals are very personable people, who want to help,” Mosher adds.
“When I look back on those early days, I was just keeping in touch and being friendly, but it also helped to build a database of people who wanted to be involved later down the line.”
That attitude enhances the experience for golfers on the tours as well, as Mosher and fellow PGA Professionals connect, cater to and care for each member of the touring party.
“These guys are engaging, friendly and want to help,” he says. “We will play with a different group every day of the tour, and it is in our nature to help – whether that is by offering a swing tip, or just talking golf.
“We are all there for the same reason and just love being around the game. Our passion rolls through the trips, and we know the customer feels that, too.”
The quality of golf courses is something that Mosher is meticulous about, wherever in the world Teed Up Golf Tours might be.
“On all of our tours, golfers will play all the best courses that are available,” he explains. “We don’t play average courses. Our motto is that we will drive a long way to play the best golf.”
Something made increasingly possible by his friendly nature of strong golfing network, the list of courses available to Mosher and his clients continues to grow.
“Over the journey, I’ve met a lot of people overseas who have helped us get on to courses I didn’t think was possible,” he says.
“From Pine Valley to Cypress Point and Whistling Straits, you keep building those relationships and more becomes possible.”
Victorian Cameron John has topped one of the strongest fields ever assembled for a one-day event on the adidas PGA Pro-Am Series to claim the Toro Australia – TQUIP Pro-Am at The Western Australian Golf Club.
John’s bogey-free round of 7-under 63 was enough for a one-stroke win over Scott Strange (64) and Alex Simpson (64) with Deyen Lawson (65) outright third having won the 2022 Western Australian Open at the venue.
The 35-player field boasted current DP World Tour players in Jason Scrivener and Haydn Barron, former DP World Tour winners in Strange and Marcus Fraser, WPGA Tour of Australasia players in Whitney Hillier, Jess Whitting and Kathryn Norris and Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia winners in Lawson, Jarryd Felton, Rick Kulacz, Daniel Fox and Braden Becker.
John joined that list of PGA Tour of Australasia winners in March when he took out The National Tournament at The National Golf Club.
For the former 2017 Australian Junior champion who required wrist surgery little more than a year ago, it marked a major breakthrough that he has now backed up with wins at Kwinana and WA Golf Club in the past week.
“It was something that I have wanted to achieve for quite a long time,” said John, who won the 2017 Interstate Teams Matches in a Victorian team that also included David Micheluzzi and Zach Murray.
“Obviously since we’re young and start playing the game, we all want to win at the professional level.
“To get my first Tour win was something special and definitely something that I will cherish for a long, long time.”
HOW THE WINNING ROUND UNFOLDED
Tied for sixth at the Sanwell Cottesloe Open on Sunday, John was out off the third tee on Monday afternoon.
A birdie at his opening hole was an ideal start which he followed up with a birdie at the par-5 sixth.
As the likes of Strange, Simpson and Lawson took front-running positions, John was forced to bide his time.
His third birdie didn’t come until the par-3 11th but then they came in a flurry, picking up shots at five of his next eight holes before closing out a blemish-free round with pars at one and two.
Strange had an eagle at the par-5 eighth in his round of 6-under 64 while Simpson had eight birdies and two bogeys to also earn a share of second.
WHAT THE WINNER SAID
“Really, really good,” John said when asked to sum up his round.
“I had seven birdies and no bogeys. It’s always good when you keep those bad ones off the scorecard.”
LEADERBOARD RUNDOWN
1 Cameron John 63
T2 Scott Strange 64
T2 Alexander Simpson 64
4 Deyen Lawson 65
5 Jess Whitting 66
6 Nathan Barbieri 67
T7 Haydn Barron 68
T7 James Marchesani 68
T7 Jarryd Felton 68
NEXT UP
The adidas PGA Pro-Am Series now begins the northern run of its WA swing with the 50th anniversary of the Mitchell and Brown Spalding Park Open over three rounds starting in Geraldton on Friday.
Jason Day has declared his “game is trending” ahead of this week’s US PGA Championship as Gabi Ruffels logged her best finish yet on the LPGA Tour.
Both Day and Ruffels finished inside the top five respectively on the PGA TOUR and LPGA Tour yet both were distant from the winning score.
Day closed out his Wells Fargo Championship campaign with a 1-under 70 to finish 11 shots back of Rory McIlroy (65) in a tie for fourth while Ruffels was part of one of the most unusual leaderboards ever seen at the Cognizant Founders Cup.
Obviously pleased with a career-best third place finish, at 9-under par Ruffels (71) was 13 shots behind runner-up Madelene Sagstrom (69) who finished two shots back of Rose Zhang (66) at 24-under par.
“Kind of an up-and-down week,” was Ruffels’ summation after a round in which she had five birdies and four bogeys.
“That golf course is kind of like that. Other than Rose and Madelene, everyone was kind of under 10-under.
“There were a lot of bogeys out there and a lot of birdies as well. Just had to hang tough mentally, and I was proud of myself that I did that.”
With the US Women’s Open just two weeks away, Ruffels said it was a strong week in combining her play with her mental game.
“A few things with my swing that I’m working on, I feel like I’m making strides with that with my coach,” she added.
“Just mentally on a golf course like this, just trying to hang tough and just seeing where at that puts you.”
A decade after finishing tied for 15th at the 2014 US PGA Championship, Day will return to Valhalla Golf Club buoyed by his most recent showing.
T4 in Charlotte and game is trending heading into the @pgachampionship 👊🏽 pic.twitter.com/fMiG18nyis
— Jason Day (@JDayGolf) May 13, 2024
A tie for fourth is his best finish since the Genesis Invitational in mid-February as he and coach Chris Como work to bring his ball-striking up to major championship level.
“I’ve had a run over the last month-and-a-half, two months where it’s just been kind of poor,” said Day.
“I’ve been losing a ton of strokes to the field approach to green. Not necessarily on the driver, for instance.
“It’s weird, it’s kind of strange to drive it decently well and to hit it poor coming into the greens. But I feel like some of the stuff we’re working on, I’ll see little snippets of really good stuff.”
It was a week of celebration for our Kiwi compatriots with Michael Hendry earning his first Japan Golf Tour title in nine years and Ryan Fox securing the first top-five finish of his career on the PGA TOUR.
Just 13 months after being hospitalised with leukaemia, Hendry completed one of golf’s most inspirational comebacks with a one-point win in the modified Stableford format of the For The Players By The Players tournament in Japan.
In his first season as a member of the PGA TOUR, Fox had four birdies in his final six holes to climb into a tie for fourth at the Myrtle Beach Classic in South Carolina.
Photos: Andrew Redington/Getty Images (Day); Elsa/Getty Images (Ruffels)
Results
PGA TOUR
Wells Fargo Championship
Quail Hollow Club, Charlotte, North Carolina
1 Rory McIlroy 67-68-67-65—267 $US3.6m
T4 Jason Day 68-67-73-70—278 $880,000
T29 Adam Scott 71-71-73-71—286 $130,500
T38 Cam Davis 70-69-72-77—288 $88,500
Myrtle Beach Classic
The Dunes Golf and Beach Club, Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
1 Chris Gotterup 66-64-65-67—262 $US720,000
T4 Ryan Fox (NZ) 70-66-66-67—269 $147,000
MC Aaron Baddeley 71-70—141
MC Harrison Endycott 66-75—141
LPGA Tour
Cognizant Founders Cup
Upper Montclair Country Club, Clifton, New Jersey
1 Rose Zhang 63-68-67-66—264 $US450,000
3 Gabriela Ruffels 69-72-67-71—279 $201,479
T7 Minjee Lee 70-70-72-69—281 $69,492
T18 Hannah Green 69-71-72-71—283 $33,801
T18 Stephanie Kyriacou 66-79-66-72—283 $33,801
T35 Sarah Kemp 69-72-74-71—286 $15,966
T35 Lydia Ko (NZ) 69-71-75-71—286 $15,966
T46 Grace Kim 68-74-75-70—287 $11,784
MC Robyn Choi 72-75—147
MC Karis Davidson 78-71—149
MC Hira Naveed 75-78—153
Japan Golf Tour
For The Players By The Players
THE CLUB Golf Village, Gunma
Modified Stableford format
1 Michael Hendry (NZ) 14-5-13-6—38 ¥10m
T48 Brad Kennedy 3-6-2-3—14 ¥141,500
MC Anthony Quayle 6-(-3)— – 3
PGA TOUR Champions
Regions Tradition
Greystone G&CC, Birmingham, Alabama
1 Doug Barron 65-72-66-68—271 $390,000
2 Steven Alker (NZ) 69-71-70-63—273 $228,800
T11 Stuart Appleby 71-67-71-70—279 $59,800
T14 Richard Green 73-69-73-66—281 $45,500
T18 Mark Hensby 74-67-70-71—282 $35,555
T37 Rod Pampling 68-76-75-67—286 $14,560
T50 Michael Campbell (NZ) 70-75-75-70—290 $7,800
T52 John Senden 72-76-75-68—291 $6,292
T67 Steve Allan 69-84-69-73—295 $2,548
Ladies European Tour
Aramco Team Series Presented by PIF – Korea
New Korea Country Club, Korea
1 Hyo-Joo Kim 68-70-68—206 $US69,714.75
T27 Momoka Kobori (NZ) 76-71-74—221 $4,587.23
T45 Kirsten Rudgeley 75-74-75—224 $2,378.05
Korean PGA
KPGA Classic
Golf Zone County Yeongam 45
Modified Stableford format
1 Chanwoo Kim 15-8-2-8—33 KRW140,618,722
T7 Kevin Chun (NZ) 9-13-(-5)-11—28 KRW19,124,146
T13 Sungjin Yeo 8-5-1-11—25 KRW13,499,397
T35 Wonjoon Lee 12-6-(-6)-4—16 4,077,942
MC Junseok Lee 5-4—9
Epson Tour
Carlisle Arizona Women’s Golf Classic
TPC Scottsdale (Champions Cse), Scottsdale, Arizona
1 Ruixin Liu 64-72-70-64—270 $US60,000
T17 Su Oh 68-70-72-69—279 $5,302
T21 Fiona Xu (NZ) 70-69-70-71—280 $4,534
T26 Cassie Porter 67-73-75-66—281 $3,737
MC Amelia Garvey (NZ) 76-69—145
Two eagles in a new course record of 8-under 64 propelled New South Welshman Nathan Barbieri to a one-stroke win at the 2024 Sanwell Cottesloe Open at Cottesloe Golf Club.
Two shots back of the course record 7-under 65 set by Curtis Luck and Braden Becker on day one, Barbieri ignited his round with an eagle at the par-5 eighth and then claimed a second at the par-5 17th for a two-round total of 13-under.
Playing on his home course on a rare trip back to WA from the US, Luck (67) held on for outright second with Becker (68) a further shot back in third at 11-under.
After missing out on retaining a full card by the narrowest of margins at The National Tournament in March, Barbieri went on to win Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia Qualifying School in April.
Last week he teamed up with Josh Greer to win the WA PGA Foursomes Championship at Nedlands and is relishing spending an extended period in the winner’s circle.
“I won Q School a couple of weeks ago and I guess that was a bit of a monkey off the back because I’d never really won anything,” Barbieri said.
“Little win the other day with Joshy which was good.
“I had a good feel this week and thought that the course suited me and the greens were awesome so I was able to put two good rounds together.”
HOW THE WINNING ROUND UNFOLDED
Early in Sunday’s second round it appeared Luck would canter towards what would have been a popular win amongst the Cottesloe members.
He began the day with a birdie at the first and an eagle on four to reach 10-under early but a dropped shot at six brought a whole host of challengers into the mix.
Greer birdied three of the first five holes to get to 8-under and was suddenly within one of the lead along with Becker, Barbieri, Jack Pountney and amateur Connor Fewkes.
A long putt for birdie on eight saw Fewkes slip past Luck and get to 10-under before Luck hit back with one of his own to be 10-under at the turn.
Birdies at 10 and 11 got Greer to 10-under where he was joined by Barbieri, the pair now part of a four-way tie at the top with Fewkes and Luck.
Greer’s birdie on 12 gave him a one-stroke edge but it would be Barbieri’s eagle on his penultimate hole that would seal the deal.
In the Lyndsay Stephen Invitational run for the over-50s in conjunction, Jason Norris had rounds of 68-71 to win by seven shots from Tim Elliott and Brendan Chant.
WHAT THE WINNER SAID
“I played the first 14 holes not knowing (the leaderboard) and then I noticed a couple of people watching Josh ahead of me and I always want to beat him,” said Barbieri.
“I looked on the 15th fairway and saw that I was one back of him and Curto was a couple back but with the par-5s still to play.
“I knew I had to push a little bit but not too much because I still had a couple of chances. I chipped it from the left of 16 and then holed a good putt and then eagled the 17th.
“I wasn’t planning on that. I thought a couple of birdies might have done it but that gave me less stress playing the last.
“I honestly didn’t think it would be enough. I thought I might be going down to a playoff with Curto but lucky I guess.”
LEADERBOARD RUNDOWN
1 Nathan Barbieri 67-64—131
2 Curtis Luck 65-67—132
3 Braden Becker 65-68—133
T4 Deyen Lawson 68-66—134
T4 Joshua Greer 67-67—134
T6 Josiah Edwards (a) 68-67—135
T6 Cameron John 66-69—135
NEXT UP
The WA swing of the adidas PGA Pro-Am Series stays in Perth on Monday for another new event, the Toro Australia – TQUIP Pro-Am at Western Australian Golf Club.
A double dose of practice rounds at Two Wells Golf Club in Adelaide paid off handsomely for Simon Pope who claimed the inaugural Cobar Legends Pro-Am on the sand scrapes of Cobar Bowling and Golf Club.
The heavens opened on the eve of the tournament and dumped 50mm of rain 700 kilometres west of Sydney, the equivalent of more than 12 per cent of Cobar’s average annual rainfall.
That forced the closure of the course and the cancellation of Round 1, PGA Legends Tour players conducting chipping competitions in the backyards of their accommodation and partaking in some of Cobar’s social offerings.
Players were able to get on course on Sunday with Pope’s 4-under 67 three strokes better than the rest of the field, Warren Legends winner Adam Henwood snaring second at 1-under 70.
For Pope, getting accustomed to sand greens before leaving Adelaide proved to be the difference on challenging surfaces.
“I had two practice rounds on sand scrapes last week at a course in Adelaide called Two Wells so I did a bit of preparation,” said Pope.
“It was hard trying to judge the speed of the scrapes. Some of them ran on, some of them stopped but I was surprised that I won by three. I was happy with that.”
HOW THE WINNING ROUND UNFOLDED
Drawn to start from the 11th tee on the more difficult part of the golf course, Pope defied convention and burst out to an early lead.
He birdied the 368-metre par-4 12th and the 386-metre par-4 14th before making eagle at the par-5 17th.
As the rest of the field wrestled with par, Pope moved out to 5-under with birdie at the short par-4 fifth, his only blemish coming on his final hole where he made bogey.
WHAT THE WINNER SAID
“I started on the tough part of the course and I thought to myself that if I could get through those holes in maybe 2-under, that’s going to be really, really good because the course gets a lot easier after the first and second hole, which was my 10th.
“I did look at the scoreboard and got a bit nervous so I didn’t really capitalise on the easier holes but a lot of the damage for me came on the harder holes where I made some birdies that were really helpful.
“I just thought that as long as I played good golf tee to green and keep it steady around the scrapes everything will be fine.
“My short game sometimes can be a little dicey so when you’re playing on scrapes you tend not to worry about being too fine with your chipping, you just belt it and get it around the hole.
“I putted well from about 10 feet today. I holed five or six putts from eight to 10 feet which I think would have been the difference.”
LEADERBOARD RUNDOWN
1 Simon Pope 67
2 Adam Henwood 70
T3 Tony Collier 72
T3 Simon Jagot 72
T3 Paul Powell 72
T3 Brad Burns 72
T3 Nigel Weldon 72
NEXT UP
The PGA Legends Tour heads west now for the two-day Mitchell & Brown Spalding Park Legends Open at Spalding Park Golf Club in Geraldton, played in conjunction with the 50th anniversary of the Spalding Park Pro-Am.
A free drop from a stubborn snake helped Curtis Luck set a new course record and earn a share of the lead on day one of the Sanwell Cottesloe Open at Cottesloe Golf Club in Perth.
Enjoying a rare trip home from his commitments on the Korn Ferry Tour in the US and at the course he called home as a junior, Luck and Braden Becker both established a new men’s benchmark as Kathryn Norris set a new women’s course record.
One of the most popular stops on the adidas PGA Pro-Am Series drew a star-laden field not only for the open event but for the Lyndsay Stephen Cottesloe Invitational, a PGA Legends Tour event played in conjunction.
South Australian Jason Norris leads the senior event with a round of 4-under 68 but is three strokes behind both Becker and Luck who set a new course record of 7-under 65 following design changes made by Graham Marsh Golf Design.
Luck had eight birdies in his round of 65 that was aided by an unusual ruling following a wayward tee shot.
“The one tee shot that was in a bit of trouble nestled right in close to a snake,” Luck revealed post-round.
“We tried to get it to move so I could play the shot and the thing was just not budging and ended up staying in the bush that I needed to pretty much stand on.
“Got a nice drop from that which was lucky.
“I haven’t spent a lot of time here over the past seven years which is weird considering I spent pretty much every day here for the first 20 years of my life.
“It’s really nice seeing a lot of familiar faces out there and the home crowds there to watch is awesome.”
In a field boasting current DP World Tour players in Jason Scrivener and Haydn Barron and former DP World Tour winners Brett Rumford, Marcus Fraser and Scott Strange, Becker went bogey-free having gleaned some insight from playing with close friend Cameron John at the WA PGA Foursomes mid-week.
John went on to win at Kwinana on Friday and Becker is hoping to turn their foursomes strategy into his own success on Sunday.
“Playing the Foursomes on Thursday, I learnt a bit of stuff playing with Cam John,” said Becker.
“Obviously we talked about a few things that we should be focusing on, going at flags or going for centre-greens so I kept that in the back of my head.
“I played away from the pins on a few of them and see if I can roll in a couple. I’m good with the putter so if I can give myself half a chance to get things going then we’ll do it that way.”
John is part of a four-way tie for third just one stroke back at 6-under followed by Foursomes champions Josh Greer and Nathan Barbieri and Brett Rumford and Zinyo Garcia, all at 5-under.
While pleased to plunder birdies on Saturday, Becker expects Cottesloe’s coastal setting to throw up some more challenging conditions in the final round.
“I think it might be a bit more like we normally play Cottesloe with the wind in the afternoon so that might be a bit more like we normally like to see it,” he added.
“If we can keep doing the same thing – keep hitting it on the fairway, hit it on the green and hole a couple of putts – we’ll be right back up there.”
Norris is in a tie for 16th after her course-record round of 3-under 69, a mark that could have been one better if not for a lone bogey on the par-4 18th.
Tied for 12th at Kwinana, Norris continued her outstanding recent play with birdies at one, eight, 11 and 16 to be level with Rick Kulacz, Marcus Fraser, Brady Watt, Jordan Doull and John Boulton.
Round 2 begins at 7am AWST with the final group of Becker, Luck and Lachlan Aylen to tee off at 12:40pm.
Victorian Cameron John is starting to make winning a habit, taking out the DJ Di Stasio Transport Kwinana Pro-Am at Kwinana Golf Club on Friday.
Champion at the season-ending National Tournament on the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia, John led after Round 1 before finishing third at the South West Isuzu South West Open a week ago.
He and close friend Braden Becker were tied for second at the WA PGA Foursomes Championship at Nedlands and he carried that form into Kwinana, posting 6-under 66 to win by two in his fourth appearance at Kwinana Golf Club.
West Australian Ben Ferguson built his 4-under 68 on a run of four-straight birdies to snare second, one clear of James Marchesani (69), Scott Strange (69) and Jordan Doull (69), making his professional debut after representing WA at the Australian Interstate Teams Matches earlier in the week.
HOW THE WINNING ROUND UNFOLDED
Paired with fellow professionals Caleb Bovalina and Jose De Sousa and starting from the par-4 eighth, John took just two holes to get into red figures.
He cashed in a birdie at the 505-metre par-5 ninth and then picked up three birdies in the space of four holes from the par-5 12th.
He continued to take advantage of the three-shotters with birdies at 18 and one and, despite a dropped shot at the par-3 third, got back to 6-under on his round with a birdie at the par-3 sixth.
WHAT THE WINNER SAID
“Obviously had a great day with the boys. I was fortunate to play in an all-pro group with guys that I have known for a long time.
“There weren’t too many tricky situations that I got myself into, which was nice. I managed to hit most of the greens and holed a few putts as well.”
LEADERBOARD RUNDOWN
1 Cameron John 66
2 Ben Ferguson 68
T3 James Marchesani 69
T3 Scott Strange 69
T3 Jordan Doull 69
T6 Marcus Fraser 70
T6 Jarryd Felton 70
T6 Brady Watt 70
T6 Andrew Kelly 70
T6 Jason Norris 70
NEXT UP
The adidas PGA Pro-Am Series continues its WA swing at the ever-popular Sanwell Cottesloe Open this weekend at Cottesloe Golf Club.
Cooma’s David Crawford has credited his country upbringing for earning a share of victory at the Warren Golf Club Legends Pro-Am in the New South Wales Central West.
Likely the first professional golf event ever staged on a golf course with 12 grass greens and six sand greens, Warren Golf Club presented the PGA Legends Tour players with a unique playing experience.
Crawford and Victorian Adam Henwood handled the test best, finishing tied at the top with rounds of 1-under 69, one clear of PGA TOUR winner Peter Lonard (70) and Tony Collier (70).
In his second year on the Legends Tour, it served as a reminder of Crawford’s earliest days playing the game.
“It’s a long time ago since I played sand greens; I thought I might have lost the touch,” said Crawford.
“But as soon as I got back onto them it was quite easy to bring back the memories and play them how they’re supposed to be played.
“It was fantastic.”
HOW THE WINNING ROUNDS UNFOLDED
Although they started on opposite sides of the golf course, both Crawford and Henwood did the bulk of their scoring on the front nine.
Henwood was quick out of the blocks with birdies at both one and two, adding a third at the par-5 sixth to be 3-under early in his round.
Bogeys at nine and 10 were offset somewhat by a birdie on 11, a dropped shot at the short par-4 17th dropping Henwood to a 1-under total.
Crawford had to fight back late after starting his round from the 10th tee.
A bogey on 11 and 10 pars in his opening 11 holes had Crawford at 1-over but three birdies in the space of five holes vaulted him to the top of the leaderboard.
The outright win was there for the taking only for Crawford to bogey his final hole, the tough 423-metre par-4 ninth.
WHAT THE WINNER SAID
“It was a great experience,” said Crawford.
“It’s certainly a different golf course to some of the other golf courses that we tend to play on this tour.
“Certainly the back nine was very testing. I basically treated that as though if I could get pars around there and not too damage and then get onto the open paddocks at the back end and pick up a few shots.
“Overall the club and the area was absolutely fantastic.”
LEADERBOARD RUNDOWN
T1 Adam Henwood 69
T1 David Crawford 69
T3 Tony Collier 70
T3 Peter Lonard 70
T5 Peter Jones 71
T5 Guy Wall 71
T5 Brad Burns 71
NEXT UP
The PGA Legends Tour continues its ground-breaking run in western New South Wales with the two-day Cobar Legends Pro-Am on the sand greens of the Cobar Bowls and Golf Club starting Saturday.
Matching socks saluting Collingwood star Nick Daicos proved to be a lucky charm as Josh Greer and Nathan Barbieri claimed the WA PGA Foursomes Championship at Nedlands Golf Club.
Greer and Barbieri were among a group of four players with the unique sock game but it was Greer and Barbieri who emerged victorious, their round of 5-under 67 enough for a one-stroke win.
Legends Tour pair Andre Stolz and Brendan Chant and close mates Braden Becker and Cameron John were eyeing off a possible playoff after posting 4-under 68, only to be pipped at the post.
Alex Simpson backed up from his share of victory at the Wembley Pro-Am to snare fourth with Jayden Cripps with 2-under 70.
For Sydney’s Barbieri, it was a rewarding first look at the former host venue of the Nedlands Masters.
“It was fun; it was a good day,” said Barbieri, he and Greer paired with Haydn Barron and Ben Ferguson and Jarryd Felton and James Marchesani.
“First time at Nedlands. Everyone was raving about how good it was and I loved it. It’s a little bit dinky but it’s fun. It’s a good track for foursomes, I really enjoyed it.
“We obviously had a really good group with the boys and had a little money game going as well, which kept it interesting.”
The WA swing of the adidas PGA Pro-Am Series continues on Friday with the DJ Di Stasio Transport Kwinana Pro-Am at Kwinana Golf Club.
