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A course-record round of 8-under 62 has earned South Australian Jack Buchanan a second victory of the season at the Webex Players Series South Australia hosted by Greg Blewett at Willunga Golf Course.
Ten strokes off the lead after 3-over 73 on day one and five back when he teed off on Sunday, Buchanan played his final 48 holes in 17-under par for a 14-under total.
After a wait of more than an hour, it would prove to be more than enough, finishing three clear of Victorian Phoenix Campbell (64), Hunter Valley’s Corey Lamb (68) and Kathryn Norris (69), who chipped in for birdie on the final hole to cap the best week of her young career.
Norris and overnight leader Brett Rankin (73) both made steady starts playing in the final group before faltering around the turn.
Norris made bogey at both nine and 10 as Rankin made double-bogey at 10 and bogey on 11.
Fast out of the blocks with consecutive birdies at one and two and an eagle from 15 feet at the par-5 fourth, Buchanan soon gained the ascendancy.
Playing six groups ahead of the final group, the 22-year-old kept the foot to the floor.
Despite a dropped shot at eight, he made the turn in 5-under and then added another birdie on 10.
Jack Buchanan claims victory at the 2024 @Webex Players Series @southaustralia after setting a new course record 🏆#WebexPlayersSeries pic.twitter.com/udvwvQB2zw
— PGA of Australia (@PGAofAustralia) October 27, 2024
He assumed the outright lead with a birdie on 13 to get to 13-under, only to fall back to 12-under with a three-putt bogey at the par-3 14th.
It would be just a slight stumble as Buchanan responded with birdies at 15 and 16 to reach 14-under, making two superb par saves on both 17 and 18 to set a mark that would remain unmatched.
It is Buchanan’s second win in three weeks on the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia, his win a fortnight ago at Kalgoorlie proving crucial down the stretch at Willunga.
“I think it made a huge difference,” Buchanan said of the confidence he gained from his win at Kalgoorlie.
“I said to my caddie, Patty, on 16 after I hit that iron shot, I said, ‘Kal’s made a big difference to me.’
“Just a little bit of self-belief and knowing that you can actually do it when you need to.”
Conceding that he was not in the best frame of mind when he bogeyed four of his final six holes on Thursday to be 10-strokes off the lead going into Round 2, Buchanan knew he needed a good start to the final round to be any hope.
“Five shots back, I didn’t really know,” added Buchanan, who now moves into top spot on the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit.
“I said to my caddie, if we start off hot, you never know. That’s kind of what I did and just ran with it.
“I wasn’t overly happy (after Round 1) to be fair. Just a couple of three-putts. I feel like I lost my concentration a bit but hit it flawless since then.
“Just strived to play as good as I could every day.”
Two weeks after his historic G4D Tour win in Spain, Steve Alderson made it consecutive Webex All Abilities Players Series South Australia victories at Willunga, finishing three strokes clear of Wayne Perske with Tom Ryan one shot further back in third.
“I had a lot of local people wanting me to do well and just back up what I did in Spain,” said Alderson.
“I just didn’t want to crash and burn and just be like a one-hit wonder basically.
“It was quite tough coming down the stretch for me. My brain was in overload. I found it hard to hold back the tears on the last couple of holes, but had a big enough lead which helped to just to get the job done.”
In the Webex Junior Players Series South Australia event, Kooyonga Golf Club’s Malachy Marshall added to his SA Boys’ Order of Merit win with a seven-stroke victory over Billy White.
Queenslander Brad Burns defied a bad back to become the inaugural winner of the B&C Plumbing Griffith Legends Pro-Am today.
He toured the Giffith Golf Club layout in three-under-par 68 to score a three-stroke win and earn his second PGA Legends Tour title for October.
Worried about how his back was feeling, Burns was concerned about his ability to finish the 18 holes. But the worst of the pains only arrived with five holes remaining and by that time he had established a handy advantage.
WA’s Peter Mitchell and Queensland’s Peter Brown shared second spot at even-par.
HOW THE WINNER’S SCORE UNFOLDED
Burns played front nine in 3-under 33, picking up birdies at the second, eighth and ninth.
He birdied the par-3 11th before his only bogey for the day at the long par-4 12th.
WHAT THE WINNER SAID
Burns said: “It was very tricky out there. The greens are quite small and firm but absolutely pure.
“This is one of the finest courses in country New South Wales. The superintendent here does a great job.”
LEADERBOARD RUNDOWN
68: Brad Burns (Qld)
71: Peter Brown (Qld); Robert Mitchell (WA)
72: Guy Wall (NSW); Christopher Taylor (Qld); Brendan Chant (WA); Grahame Stinson (NSW); Michael Harwood (Vic)
73: Mark Boulton (Vic)
NEXT UP
The PGA Legends Tour stays in country New South Wales for the Deniliquin Legends Pro-Am presented by Edward River Council at Deniliquin Golf Club on Tuesday.
Adapting to parenthood and a new putter has put Brett Rankin in position for a drought-breaking victory at the Webex Players Series South Australia.
The Queenslander had five birdies in a bogey-free round of 5-under 65 to reach 11-under, one shot clear of Kathryn Norris (64), Ben Eccles (65), Chris Fan (68) and Jake Meenhorst (69).
Norris matched Cory Crawford for the round of the day and will play alongside Rankin in the final group, seeking to join Hannah Green, Sarah Jane Smith and Min A Yoon as women to have won a Webex Players Series event.
She will first have to hunt down Rankin, who made birdies at 10, 12 and 17 to edge ahead as he seeks a second Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia victory to go with his 2019 NT PGA Championship win.
Winner of the World Sand Greens Championship at Binalong Golf Club last month, Rankin was top six at both the PNG Open and WA PGA Championship thanks in part to a new LAB putter that has been in the bag for the past six months.
“I really struggled the last two seasons with the putter and then last year was a bit of a process of adapting to having a newborn,” said Rankin, who had wife Nicole and daughter Dakota in the gallery on Saturday.
“It was just trying to find the right times to practise, how much time I could practise. Some tournaments I felt like I was a bit underdone and then I just really struggled with the mental aspect of the putting.
“I made a significant change around March this year. I’ve gone to an arm-lock (grip) and a LAB putter and it’s done wonders.
“I’m picking up about 2.5 shots per round putting and it shows. That’s 10 shots and I’m shooting 10 to 15-under every tour event now.
“Ball-striking, I’ve been pretty strong for a few years now, but the putting is definitely the turning point for me.”
Like Rankin, Norris has added confidence to her ability to fly the flag for the WPGA players entering the final round.
Not only that, after a career-low 64, she has belief that her game is good enough to beat the boys on Sunday.
“If I play like I did today and hole some putts, which obviously is tricky out there, I can definitely be in the mix,” said Norris, who caddied for her partner Jordan Doull in the final group at Kalgoorlie a fortnight ago.
“It’s obviously there. See how I handle it and see what goes my way.
“I’m sure a lot of the girls will be cheering me on because it is hard work. We don’t hit it that far. And even with our head starts, we’re still struggling to keep up with the men.
“I’m sure I’ll have some backing.”
A high five to cap off an eagle finish 🦅#WebexPlayersSeries | #TheChaseIsOn pic.twitter.com/wOIFf4XOKM
— PGA of Australia (@PGAofAustralia) October 26, 2024
The 2023 champion at Kalgoorlie, Eccles re-entered the conversation with a stunning finish.
After turning in 3-under, Eccles dropped a shot at the par-4 15th but holed a 12-footer for birdie at the par-3 16th and then chipped in from just short of the green for eagle at the par-4 18th for a 65 and just a one-stroke deficit.
“I feel pretty good about where I’m at,” said Eccles.
“Head’s in a good space so it was nice to play obviously that way and finish that way.
“The game felt pretty good all day to be honest.”
Willunga local and defending champion Steve Alderson (75) has a two-stroke lead in the Webex All Abilities Players Series SA event while Billy White (72) and Malachy Murphy (72) share a four-stroke lead over the field in the Webex Junior Players Series SA tournament.
The final round will be broadcast live on Fox Sports and Kayo from 1pm-6pm AEDT on Sunday.
Kiwi pair Kerry Mountcastle and Jake Meenhorst have surged to the top of the leaderboard at the halfway mark of the Webex Players Series South Australia at Willunga Golf Course.
Mountcastle (pictured) became the latest player to match the course record of 7-under 63 while Meenhorst came home with five birdies in his final seven holes for a 6-under 64 to join his countryman at 9-under par.
They have a one-stroke lead from Round 1 leader Chris Fan (69) and last year’s runner-up Andrew Campbell (67) with Quinn Croker (66), Jasper Stubbs (68) and veteran Matt Millar (65) a further shot back in a tie for fifth.
A total of 52 players made the cut of 1-under, Kathryn Norris the best of the four WPGA Tour players who advanced to the weekend at 4-under.
Winner of the Gippsland Super 6 last summer, Mountcastle is a familiar face on the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia while Meenhorst is kick-starting his professional golf career having spent four years at the University of Tennessee.
Starting Round 2 on the back nine, Mountcastle had the course record at his mercy when he went out in 6-under 28.
He holed a putt from eight feet to begin with a birdie on 10, converted from six feet at 11, holed 20-footers for birdie at both 14 and 15 and then stiffed his approach into the par-4 16th to make it three straight.
With his wedge-game dialled in, Mountcastle hit his second shot to 18 to three feet for his sixth birdie but traded two bogeys with three birdies on his back nine to post 7-under.
“Finally hit a few good golf shots,” said Mountcastle, who has finished tied 33rd and tied 35th the past two weeks.
“I’ve been close the last couple of weeks. Hit some good shots but then followed up with some really bad ones.
“Just haven’t been able to get anything going but managed to capitalise on those good golf shots today.”
Just two Kiwis leading the charge in @southaustralia 🤩🇳🇿#WebexPlayersSeries | #TheChaseIsOn pic.twitter.com/Bh0cBtKOyJ
— PGA of Australia (@PGAofAustralia) October 25, 2024
Playing on the same limited category that Mountcastle used to great effect 12 months ago, Meenhorst is seeking to make the most of every opportunity.
He made the cut at last week’s WA Open and now finds himself in a share of the lead in his fourth start for the season.
“It was kind of a little monkey on the back, missing some cuts out here,” Meenhorst said of making the cut at Mandurah Country Club.
“Once I got the first one, I feel like I kind of belong out here now.
“It’s been pretty awesome posting some good numbers this week.”
Conceding last year’s runner-up finish to Austin Bautista was the one that he let get away, Campbell again finds himself in position to push for a maiden PGA Tour of Australasia title.
One-under through 16 holes on Friday, Campbell pulled to within one of the lead with two closing birdies and is now ready to take advantage of the chance that eluded him a year ago.
“One of the biggest takeaways for me was I just learned how to win a golf tournament, even though I didn’t,” said Campbell.
“Lots of good memories and I’ve definitely grown a lot as a golfer in a year’s time from going through that.
“Just going to keep putting myself in position and I know something will come my way soon.”
Norris only narrowly missed the cut at her home club a week ago and could have been within one of the lead if not for costly double-bogeys each of the first two days.
“You feel like you should be birdieing most of the holes and then it just gets you every now and then,” Norris said.
“You just so quickly can make a mistake and all of a sudden it bites you.
“Just trying to iron out the mistakes and take my pars when I need to and then cash in on the other holes.
“Definitely into the weekend, just play steady and wait for the opportunities to arise.”
The main field will be joined by competitors in both the Webex All Abilities Players Series and the Webex Junior Players Series on Saturday, a junior to join two pros in each of the final 12 groups.
The final two rounds are broadcast live on Fox Sports and Kayo with Round 3 coverage to begin at 3pm AEDT and the final round 1pm on Sunday.
Photo: David Brand
With the PGA Legends Tour’s biggest and richest tournaments looming, Peter Lonard is in ominous form.
After sharing top spot at both Shelley Beach and Sapphire Coast earlier this month, the three-time Australian PGA champion fired a 7-under-par 62 to claim today’s Blackheath Centenary Year Legends Pro-Am in the NSW Blue Mountains.
Lonard’s round included eight birdies in a warning shot to his fellow over-50s that he is ready for the $150,000 NSW Senior Open at Thurgoona, starting on November 1.
He finished two clear of Victorian David McKenzie.
HOW THE WINNER’S SCORE UNFOLDED
In the afternoon field, Lonard’s steady three-par start at Blackheath Golf Club was followed by a run of seven birdies in his next nine holes.
Four straight pars ended any chance of posting a 59 to match what the Sydneysider achieved last year at Rich River, but he did manage a closing birdie to finish off a back nine of 30.
His only bogey was thanks to a three-putt from around seven metres at the seventh.
WHAT THE WINNER SAID
“It wasn’t my greatest moment. I think my playing partners nearly fainted. I thought it was the end of my day at that stage but we got going again,” Lonard said of his sole dropped shot.
“It was a good day. The course was in magnificent condition.”
LEADERBOARD RUNDOWN
-7: Peter Lonard (NSW)
-5: David McKenzie (Vic)
-4: Anthony Summers (Vic)
-3: Nicholas Robb (NSW); Mike Harwood (Vic); John Wade (Vic), Mark Boulton (Vic)
-2: Chris Taylor (Qld); Adam Henwood (Vic)
-1: Guy Wall (NSW)
NEXT UP
The PGA Legends Tour welcomes two new events – the B&C Plumbing Griffith Legends Pro-Am at Griffith Golf Club on Sunday and Deniliquin Legends Pro-Am presented by Edward River Council at Deniliquin Golf Club on Tuesday.
Photo: Peter Lonard with club professional Darrin Walden
American Richard Gilkey and Queenslander Terry Price produced the only under-par rounds at Springwood Country Club to share top spot at the Fidelity Capital Group Charity Legends Pro-Am.
They finished on 1-under-par 68, giving Gilkey his first win since 2020 and Price his second title for 2024.
With aspirations to play PGA TOUR Champions, Gilkey is a huge fan of the PGA Legends Tour with this result helping to ensure he has playing rights again next year.
“I’d love to keep coming here until I can’t walk and play this Tour. It’s a great Tour,” he said.
The joint winner at Hurstville on Wednesday, Stuart Ford (NSW), was part of a group of four players who finished T3 at 1-over-par.
HOW THE WINNERS’ SCORES UNFOLDED
Playing in the morning wave, Gilkey tackled the back nine first and offset birdies on the 11th and 15th with bogeys on 14 and 18.
Two birdies and a bogey followed on the front nine to have him well placed in the clubhouse watching what would happen with the afternoon field.
Price made a fast start, picking up a shot on his first hole, the short par-3 sixth. However, bogeys at seven, 11 and 13 had him at 2-over-par through his first 10 holes.
The recovery started with a three on the par-4 16th and he added in birdies on the second and fourth to make his way under-par for the day.
WHAT THE WINNERS SAID
Gilkey said: “This feels great. It’s been four years I think since my last win so I was kind of wondering ‘do I still have it’. This course is really tough. There’s no gimme holes out there. You can’t get loose and I played solid.”
Price said: “It was tricky out there today but I’m a bit surprised that score has been good enough considering what Andre Stolz did here last year which was a fantastic score. I had more like 4-under or 5-under in mind.”
LEADERBOARD RUNDOWN
-1: Terry Price (Qld); Richard Gilkey (USA)
+1: Mark Gibson (NSW); Mark Boulton (Vic); Guy Wall (NSW); Stuart Ford (NSW)
+2: John Wade (Vic); David McKenzie (Vic); Brad Burns (Qld); Andre Stolz (Qld); Mark Tickle (Qld); Peter Lonard (NSW); Steven Aisbett (NSW)
NEXT UP
The PGA Legends Tour’s Blue Mountains double continues with The Blackheath Centenary Year Legends Pro-Am at Blackheath Golf Club on Friday.
Photo: Richard Gilkey, sponsor Chris Crawley and Terry Price
Coolangatta-Tweed Heads Golf Club Associate Jack Wright has a date with Cameron Smith after his two-stroke win at the Queensland PGA Associate Championship at Windaroo Lakes Golf Club.
Nursing a one-shot advantage heading into Thursday’s final round, Wright held the likes of Adam Migur (69), Damon Stephenson (73) and Joel Mitchell (71) at bay with a near faultless 3-under 70 and 12-under total.
As champion, Wright is now exempt into next week’s Queensland PGA Championship at Nudgee Golf Club where Smith will play the first of four events this summer on the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia.
Although focused intently on closing out the win at Windaroo Lakes, Wright conceded that pre-round his thoughts turned momentarily to the possibility of sharing the stage with the 2022 Open champion.
“At the start it definitely was,” Wright admitted.
“I just was very grateful to get the job done over the good players that were chasing me today.”
Seeking to add to his win at the 2023 NSW/ACT PGA Associate Championship, Wright surged to the lead with a superb 7-under 66 in Round 3.
With his nose in front, the second year Associate knew that minimising bogeys would be just as important as plundering more birdies.
Birdies at two of his opening three holes was the ideal start, staying ahead of the field with eight straight pars.
Back-to-back birdies at 12 and 13 further extended his advantage, enough so that his bogey on 14 would be just a minor inconvenience.
The son of long-time Queensland PGA Professional John Wright, Jack said a home state title is the highlight of his time in the Membership Pathway Program to date.
“Winning your home state championship is definitely sweeter,” said Wright.
“Obviously winning New South as your first win and getting that off the board was one of the best feelings ever. But to win your home state is probably one of my biggest goals in the program.”
New South Welshman Chris Fan has equalled the Willunga Golf Course course record to take a two-stroke lead at the Webex Players Series South Australia.
Playing in one of the final groups of the day, Fan navigated the cool, gusty winds to post 7-under 63 and establish a two-stroke lead from rookie Jasper Stubbs (65), 2023 runner-up Andrew Campbell (65) and wily veteran Jason Norris (65).
Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit leader Elvis Smylie (66) is one of four players at 4-under, picking up from where he left off at the WA Open a week ago to be well positioned heading into Round 2.
The top of the leaderboard is new territory for Fan, however, who has a best finish of tied for 20th at the Queensland PGA Championship 12 months ago.
His Thursday 63 was one shy of his career best of 62 set in Round 2 of The Heritage Classic in January, building on the work he has done with coach Ben Paterson at Avondale Golf Club in Sydney.
🚨 EQUAL COURSE RECORD ALERT 🚨 #WebexPlayersSeries | #TheChaseIsOn pic.twitter.com/QjtNhzJ7QD
— PGA of Australia (@PGAofAustralia) October 24, 2024
Two-under through nine holes, Fan made four birdies in five holes after making the turn, taking advantage of the par-5 17th with a final birdie to be the first to reach 7-under.
“I felt like I’d hit some really good shots on the front nine. It was nice to see those putts start to drop on the back nine,” Fan said.
“Once you get into that sort of rhythm where you keep giving yourself opportunities, you sort of think they’re bound to fall eventually.
“As long as I keep trying and doing my best, I’ll be happy with myself.”
Tied for second one shot back of Austin Bautista last year, Campbell prepped for his second crack at Willunga with a round at Royal Adelaide Golf Club on Wednesday.
It proved to be a good approach as he went bogey-free to once again be in the frame for a maiden PGA Tour of Australasia title.
“I did change my game plan to last year, just a couple holes,” he admitted.
“I’m attacking a little bit more, but with the wind conditions, you’ve just got to keep it on the short stuff around here.
“You’d love to hit driver as much as possible, but realistically, it’s not that type of course.
“Put it in position and keep yourself out of trouble.”
A total of 36 players finished the first day in red figures, Jordan O’Brien (69), Danni Vasquez (69) and Kathryn Norris (69) the best of the WPGA Tour of Australasia players in Round 1.
It was yet another encouraging start for Smylie, who shrugged aside the mental fatigue from last week’s breakthrough win to once again occupy a spot near the top of the leaderboard.
“There’s still messages that are coming through from last week, so it’s definitely nice to wake up to that,” said Smylie.
“But I know that there’s still a job to do. Everyone starts from square this week and I’ve got off to a really good start. Six birdies, two bogeys for 4-under and really liking the course.”
Round 2 tees off at 7:30am local time Friday with the final two rounds to be broadcast live on Fox Sports and Kayo.
Photo: David Brand
In an incredibly close final day at Heritage Golf and Country Club, Samuel Eaves has broken through to capture his first PGA Professionals Championship National Final title.
With a 3-under 69 final round, and 9-under total, Eaves was the champion by three shots, this win a long time coming for the Queenslander, who has finished second and third at this championship in the past.
Courtesy of his win, Eaves takes home the winner’s share of the $65,000 prize purse, as well as a spot in next month’s BMW Australian PGA Championship, and a place on the Australian team heading to the Four Nations Cup next year.
Sharing second at 6-under was four time champion Matt Docking, and overnight leader Mitch Smith. With a closing birdie, Docking forced a playoff for the second place on offer in the BMW Australian PGA Championship and place on Australia’s Four Nations Cup team, which he subsequently won.
Finishing just outside the playoff at 5-under in fourth was West Australian Scott Barr, with Queenslander Brenton Fowler fifth at 4-under, and Sydneysider Alexander Simpson sixth at 3-under.
In the inaugural WPGA Professionals Championships , Katelyn Must was the winner with a 3-over total over the three days at Heritage.
With scores of 71-76-72, Must’s consistency proved the key to her win over runner-up Grace Lennon who finished at 10-over.
As the leading two women of the week, 2024 Australian team members Must and Lennon will be heading back to the Women’s PGA Cup in 2026.
Must finished in a tie for 16th overall, while Lennon finished in a tie for 34th.
After eight holes today, all four players in Eaves’ final grouping were tied at the top, the former Warwick Professional turned Real Estate Agent admitting he was battling with his game early in the round.
“I had no idea where we were all sitting, I never looked at the leaderboard once all day,” said Eaves. “I just played golf and there was a stretch there from five through to 11 where I didn’t hit it very well.
Climbing the steep hill to Heritage St. John’s 12th hole must have got the blood pumping that Eaves’ needed, as he proceeded to make three birdies in a row, before a perfect hybrid set up an eagle on the par-5 15th which really separated him from the pack.
“It just came out of the screws,” he said. “It actually turned over a little bit left on me and it was between the flag and the bunker and I’m like, ‘that’s not where I wanted it, I wanted it on the other side’, but yeah, it was just lovely.”
Three pars coming in was all Eaves needed to secure the win, before a few of his fellow PGA Members could run onto the 18th green and drown him in champagne.
Having qualified and played in every BMW Australian PGA Championship since it has been held at Royal Queensland, Eaves is extremely excited to head back to the event next month.
“I’m over the moon, can’t believe it, and I play really well around Royal Queensland,” he said.
“I’m a golf fan who gets to be inside the ropes with no pressure or expectations on me to do anything, and I get to go and have the most fun for a week.
“I’m not here to keep a tour card or go places in golf. I’m here to just enjoy golf as much as I can and that’s why I play so good, because I’ve got so much freedom.”
Having lost his father less than 12-months ago, Eaves says it was hard not to think of the man who had such an influence on his golf while playing today, and knows how proud he would be of him.
Jack Wright conjured a sensational third-round 66 to surge into the lead on day three of the Queensland PGA Associate Championship at Windaroo Lakes Golf Club.
Wright, the Associate Professional at Coolangatta-Tweed Heads Golf Club, had six birdies and an eagle to vault into the outright lead at 9-under par.
His nearest challenger is midway leader Damon Stephenson at 8-under, the midway leader having a quieter day with a 74.
Canadian Adam Migur and Victoria’s Joel Mitchell are in the next group at 6-under.
Runner-up to Riley Taylor last year, Wright ignited his round with an eagle at the par-5 third hole and made three more birdies on the front side, and another three on the back to post 7-under for the day.
Jack Wright is the son of Maroochy River PGA Professional John Wright; his brother Mackenzie is also a PGA Professional at Maroochy and they grew up in pro shops.
He learned the game in rural Victoria and then moved to Yamba in New South Wales when his father was posted there some years ago. His father is his only coach.
Earlier this year won the biggest single-day prize cheque in Associates history at Royal Queensland, and he has been a prolific winner in Associates events over the past two years, including the NSW championship last year.
“I probably just hung patient,” he said. “All week I felt like I’ve been playing well, and things weren’t going my way for two days. I felt like ‘my time will come’ and it definitely came today.”
Wright and Stephenson have been dominant at this level in 2025, and Wright is anticipating a great head-to-head contest. “I’ve got a lot of respect for Damon,” he said. “Great player. I can’t wait to test myself against him out there.”
