aus Archives - Page 88 of 288 - PGA of Australia

Lee facing friendly fire at Aus PGA


Min Woo Lee will renew a junior rivalry more than a decade old in his quest to win a maiden Fortinet Australian PGA Championship at Royal Queensland Golf Club on Sunday.

On a day in which enormous galleries flooded the fairways to witness his dream pairing with Adam Scott, the 25-year-old West Australian used an up-and-down for birdie from left of the green at the pivotal par-4 12th to come home in 3-under 32 for a round of 5-under 66.

His 17-under total puts Lee within reach of the 72-hole tournament record of 22-under par and three strokes clear of Japan’s Rikuya Hoshino (64) and fellow West Australian Curtis Luck (66).

Although Luck is two years Lee’s senior, the pair played countless junior events together growing up in Perth.

Although Luck’s path to the final group on the Sunday of a major Australian championship has been more circuitous, Lee admitted that such a prospect was always part of the plan.

“We obviously didn’t dream about this… we did dream about it, but it came pretty quick,” said Lee, who has three professional wins to his name.

“We played junior stuff every week back in the day.

“We both have potential to be the best players in the world so I wouldn’t put it (playing in the final group together) past us.

“A really, really good friend and hopefully we can both play good.”

Winner of the 2016 WA Open as an amateur – Lee finished tied 52nd – Luck has recent form on a Sunday to call upon.

In September, he shot 66 in the final round to finish second at the Korn Ferry Tour’s Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship – a tournament he won in 2020.

The 27-year-old will need all that and more to pull back the four-shot head-start he is affording his former junior adversary but, given his bogey-free round on Saturday, will start the final round full of belief.

“I could have shot, I feel like 8 or 9 (under) today, so absolutely not,” Luck responded when asked whether he was too far back.

“Man, I hit it close a lot out there. I had a lot of putts seem to go over the edge and it was kind of similar yesterday.

“I feel like I played very, very well today.”

The only player to win the US Amateur and Asia-Pacific Amateur in the same year, Luck’s professional progression has stalled at times.

A Sunday showdown with one of the hottest young players in world golf might be just what Luck needs to turn his fortunes around.

“I think we all knew that he was going to be good. He’s always been a bit of a stud,” Luck said.

“I’ve just been dealing with the ebbs and flows of golf. Had a couple of rough years and seems to be coming back up again.

“I’ve definitely played events where everything’s looked great, so I’m just going to obviously back myself off that experience and just try and get out there tomorrow and hopefully get it done.”

With established stars such as Adam Scott (71), Marc Leishman (67) and Cam Davis (68) all at least six strokes back, the greatest threat to a West Aussie win looms in the form of Japan’s Rikuya Hoshino.

Ranked No.138 in the world, Hoshino has won five times on the Japan Golf Tour since 2018 but had not seen anything like the par-3 17th party hole at Royal Queensland.

“It was the most exciting moment of my life,” said Hoshino, who had six birdies in a back nine of 6-under 29 on Saturday.

“It is my first time to visit Australia and the atmosphere at 17 is great.”

Hoshino’s 7-under 64 was the equal best round of the day, matched by Scotland’s Connor Syme and Kiwi Michael Hendry, who made a four-footer for par on Friday to squeeze inside the cut-line and will now start the final round in a tie for 14th.


For many, a Friday afternoon in Noosa is the perfect end to the working week. For Lucas Herbert, being witness to a Noosa sunset on a Friday evening 12 months ago was one of the more dispiriting moments of his career.

Herbert teed off in the first group on Friday of the 2023 Fortinet Australian PGA Championship as the official ambassador for Yellow Day, a colourful tribute to the late Jarrod Lyle designed to raise awareness and much-needed funds for Challenge to continue to help the families of children battling cancer.

The Leuk the Duck badge has been a permanent fixture on the Victorian’s golf cap ever since Lyle’s passing five years ago, yet a back injury forced Herbert to quit halfway through his second round of the 2022 championship at Royal Queensland.

One year on, after rounds of 66-68, Herbert is in a tie for fourth at 8-under and just four strokes off the lead held by Min Woo Lee (66).

As defending champion Cam Smith left Royal Queensland after a Friday 78 fighting back tears having missed the cut by nine strokes, Herbert was reflecting on the disappointment he felt in checking out early a year ago.

“I said to ‘Pughy’ (caddie Nick Pugh) walking up 18, I was like, ‘Geez, we’re in a much better place than we were this time last year’,” said Herbert, who will tee off with Curtis Luck and Spaniard Joel Moscatel at 10:54am AEST on Saturday.

“I think we were 2-over at that point as well. It wasn’t a nice feeling to be driving home even earlier than Friday afternoon last year.

“It’s never fun to deal with injuries and I was very frustrated Friday night sitting at home up in Noosa.

“It’s nice to sort of look back on that and see how far we’ve come and touch wood, very injury free and my body’s moving really nicely.”

On the surface, the 6am tee time on Friday seemed to catch Herbert napping.

He dropped a shot at the short par-4 12th and then made double-bogey on 14 to be 3-over through his first five holes.

The reality was that the 27-year-old careened off the back edge after driving the green on 12 and, after missing the fairway on 14, failed to get up-and-down for bogey.

He cast that aside with a birdie at the par-5 15th and then played the front nine – his back nine – in 5-under 31 to sign off on 36 holes of golf with a share of the lead.

Lee, Scott and Lyras would all pass him by day’s end yet Herbert is content with the position he finds himself as he chases a maiden Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia title to go with his three DP World Tour wins and single PGA TOUR victory.

“There’s still a lot of golf to play, so definitely a good opportunity,” said Herbert, winner of the ISPS HANDA Championship in Japan in April.

“I’ve been in some good opportunities before and haven’t capitalised the way I wanted to.  At some point if I keep doing that, I’m going to capitalise on one of them.

“I know the way I play golf and when I do get a sniff of the lead, I’m pretty good at converting it.

“I know that if I give myself a sniff on Sunday enough times, it’ll happen.”


Australian golf’s superstar in waiting, Min Woo Lee, will go toe-to-toe with our only Masters champion Adam Scott in a tantalising final group on Saturday at the Fortinet Australian PGA Championship.

Lee leant on his exceptional short game on Friday to conjure par saves at each of his final three holes to post a second round of 5-under 66 and 12-under total at the halfway mark at Royal Queensland Golf Club.

Scott, who matched Cameron John’s 65 for low round of the day, looms large in outright second, one stroke clear of Sydney’s John Lyras (67) who has a three-shot buffer from Lucas Herbert (68), Curtis Luck (67) and Round 1 leader, Spain’s Joel Moscatel (71).

Luck delivered the first hole-in-one at the Southern Comfort Party Hole, the celebrations somewhat muted given he holed a gap wedge from 124 metres at 8.56am.

A late move of the cut-line from 1-under to even par saw 80 players advance to the weekend, necessitating groups of three for the final two rounds.

That will see Lyras join Lee and Scott in the final group with Herbert, Luck and Moscatel to play in the penultimate group in Round 3.

Such is the age gap between the pair, Lee was a skinny teen from Perth watching on TV at the Junior Interstate Series when Scott won The Masters at Augusta National in 2013.

Through an introduction by South Australian Wade Ormsby, the pair have become friends in recent years, sharing dinners when Scott tees it up on the DP World Tour.

That will count for nothing on Saturday as Lee endeavours to solidify his stature as one of world golf’s hottest young stars and Scott tries to prove that, at 43 years of age, his days of winning tournaments are far from over.

“It’s amazing. Only a few years ago I was dreaming to be in this spot, especially to play with ‘Scotty’,” said the 25-year-old Lee, who spent Thursday night at Post Malone’s Brisbane concert.

“It seems only like a few years ago I was in the Interstate Series watching him winning the Masters. It is cool to have him as a friend and play in the final group.

“Anywhere you are in the final group of any tournament, it’s a pretty good achievement, so hopefully I can keep it going.”

Given he turned professional before Lee turned two, Scott has seen enough to know that winning a Saturday showdown doesn’t win you trophies.

In a bogey-free round in which he lipped out with his tee shot for albatross on the par-4 12th and then lipped out again for eagle with the subsequent putt, Scott displayed the peerless ball-striking that has made him such a perennial contender for more than 20 years.

“I don’t really know what happened, but that’s a nice way to make an easy three there and keep the round going,” Scott said of his near miss on 12.

“My striking feels better than it has been, feeling a bit more comfortable and also doing what I want it to do a bit more often.

“That’s very pleasing for me, good for the confidence too going into the weekend.

“Someone’s going to have a good score out there; it may as well be me.”

Ranked 763 in the world, Lyras is the odd man out in Saturday’s final group but is ready to embrace the moment.

He played his way into a pairing with Lee at Royal Queensland 12 months ago and, with four top-five finishes on the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia in the past two years, is ready to meet the moment.

“That would be remarkable, I’d love that,” said Lyras, who finished 45 minutes before the cut moved to bring an additional 17 players into the final two rounds.

“I tell you what, I played with Min Woo last year, Round 3, it doesn’t work by just sitting there and letting things come to you.

“There’s a point where you’ve got to step on it a bit and see how much you can take from the golf course.

“I plan on doing a better job of that tomorrow and just being overall more aggressive and more trusting in the game.

“You’re never going to play good golf by being ultra conservative with your game-plan or thought process.”

The greatest casualty on Friday was defending champion Cameron Smith, who fought back tears after signing for a 7-over 78 to miss the cut by nine strokes.


Before there was the excitement of Adam Scott and Min Woo Lee charging to the top of the leaderboard as Cam Smith plummeted, Curtis Luck had the early highlight of day two at Royal Queensland.

Reaching the Fortinet Australian PGA Championship’s Southern Comfort Party Hole 17th , Luck was not having the sort of day that would likely see his name up in lights with an opening bogey at the 10th and another two holes later.

That “rough start” was quickly forgotten when a gap wedge found its way to the bottom of the cup at 17 for an ace that inspired three more birdies and a 67.

The West Australian’s 8-under total places him in a share of fourth with Lucas Herbert and first round leader Joel Moscatel, the trio four back of the 36-hole leader.

“It was a pretty good number for what we were trying to do,” Luck said of his ace. “I mean, on that hole, the only thing you’re thinking is obviously don’t go long.

“Once I saw it land, I was pretty confident that it was going to stick pretty close … pretty electric stuff.”

On the bag for Luck this week is Duane Smith, husband and regular looper for Sarah Jane Smith, with the pair’s son Theo the lucky recipient of the hole-in-one ball from Luck, who reflected on a recent misstep when he also had a one-week only guest caddie.

Chasing promotion to the PGA TOUR via the Korn Ferry Tour points race, Luck brought in coach Craig Bishop as his caddie for the Albertsons Boise Open in late August only to miss his tee time. A crucial misreading that hurt his chances of finishing inside the top-30 and earning a card on main US circuit.

The mishap having something of silver lining with Luck and Bishop able to spend more time working on his game together before setting himself for a competitive trip home.

“It was just like a brain fart obviously. I just misread my tee time … But yeah, I mean, obviously getting to do a bit of work with Bish in Boise was big and then I spent 10 days in Perth getting the head right and seeing Bish before I came here.”

That time getting his head right clearly paid off for the former US Amateur and Asia-Pacific Amateur winner who will now look to embrace his artistic play over the weekend on an increasingly tricky Royal Queensland layout.

Luck’s tee time error perhaps well and truly forgotten if he could secure playing rights on the DP World Tour with a win either this week or next, with his wedge play that brought his Friday highlight the likely propelling factor.

“My putting’s always probably my best attribute. I’m a good chipper. I think one of the things I’ve done better this year compared to previous years is my driving’s improved considerably … My wedge play this week particularly has been unbelievable.

“I’ve come here and I’m like, ‘actually, I’m wedging it amazingly. Let’s keep it up’.”


Order of Merit leader Andre Stolz has set a new benchmark for prize money on the PGA Legends Tour with a one-shot win at the Col Crawford BMW NSW Senior PGA Championship at Cromer Golf Club in Sydney.

Victorious at the $25,000 event at Roseville two days prior, Stolz was the only player under par across the 36 holes at Cromer, his scores of 70-69 enough to edge Scott Barr by a shot.

With the winner’s cheque for $5,400, Stolz became the first player to accumulate $100,000 in prize money in a single season, a target he set for himself at the start of the season.

“A lot of people were asking at the start of the year how much can you make on this tour,” said Stolz.

“At the start of the year I said we had nearly 80 events and I was sure that there would be at least one or two guys cracking the 100 for the year.
“No one has cracked the 100k on the Legends Tour ever so I had that as one of my goals.

“Unfortunately I didn’t play that good at the Senior Open or Australian Senior PGA but I set in my mind that I would crack the 100 before the end of this stretch before we have a break and go to Queensland.”

Leading by one after a round of 5-under 66 in Round 1, Barr shot 74 in Round 2 to finish at level par, one clear of Neil Sarkies (72) and Mark Boulton (70).

HOW THE WINNING ROUND UNFOLDED

With the tree-lined Cromer layout with perched greens playing to its most challenging, Stolz began the second round four strokes back of Barr.

He dropped a stroke further back with a bogey on 13 but responded with a birdie at the next.

After six-straight pars Stolz then made his move with three birdies on the trot, establishing enough of a buffer that a double-bogey at the par-4 seventh was not fatal to his hopes.

WHAT THE WINNER SAID

“It’s a tough course anyway. Heavily tree-lined, quite demanding. The pin placements the first day were extremely tricky, tucked pretty good over some bunkers and things. Fortunate that we got some rain overnight after the first round so at least the greens were a little bit more receptive on day two.

“To be honest, I’m playing pretty well for the most part but just throwing in a little bit of rubbish every now and again which has been frustrating.

“Sometimes that makes you play a little more cautiously and focus hard on each shot.

“That’s something I’m pretty happy about with my game. Just the fact that we’ve had a lot of golf on and haven’t been able to do any quality practice on a range to tidy things up. You’ve just got to play with what you’ve got and at the moment and that’s what I’ve been doing the last few weeks.”

LEADERBOARD RUNDOWN
1          Andre Stolz      70-69—139
2          Scott Barr        66-74—140
T3        Neil Sarkies      69-72—141
T3        Mark Boulton  71-70—141
T5        Nigel Lane       72-70—142
T5        Mark Gilson     73-69—142
T5        Nicholas Robb 72-70—142

NEXT UP
The PGA Legends Tour completes its swing through Sydney with the Elanora Legends Pro-Am at the pristine Elanora Country Club on Friday.


Royal Queensland is something of an odd golf course, certainly in terms of week-to-week professional golf and what players in Europe and the United States have grown used to.

The fairways are generously wide and with a few exceptions (the 14th hole – one of the few retained from the old course- is one particularly narrow fairway) difficult to miss.

The opening tee shot in any big event always involves some nerves, but no one is fearing the tee shot off the first at RQ.

It’s a free hit much like the opening drive at Royal Melbourne or St Andrews and not a place anyone is likely to mess up their day before it’s barely started.

As a rule, golf pros fall on the side of embracing the concept of equity of punishment and detest that two similar shots might finish up with wildly different results.

Ben Crenshaw, one half of the finest modern-day architectural firm once suggested: “Golf would not be a mystery if there were not instances of two different outcomes on the same shot”.

I’m sure the twice Masters champion would argue attempts to make the game “fair” lead to sanitised holes, devoid of quirk and nuance, something which was the essence of the original game in Scotland.

So much of what we see is golf between lines with all the trouble down the sides of holes.

Of course, the great lesson of The Old Course in St Andrews is there is trouble on a direct line to the hole.

Players can hit “perfect” drives into bunkers in the middle of the fairways but the measure of a shot should always be its position relative to the next one.

The holes with bunkers in the fairways at RQ are, for me at least, the most interesting to observe and players – and caddies – wrestle with the options and the width sees approach shots played from wildly different parts of the fairways.

The greatness of St Andrews and Royal Melbourne is that shots from one side of the holes can be so different from the shots from the opposite side of the fairway and there are few better ways to make the game interesting for the members who play the course every week.

One player who comes from a country where narrow fairways are more the rule than the exception is the 21-year-old Osaka-based Japanese, Ryo Hisatsune.

He came to the Australian PGA last year from Spain where he’d finished seventh in the European Tour School and finished second, a good enough result to guarantee his employment pretty much in 2024.

He’d played his way to exemptions on the Asian Tour as well as his home circuit but by winning the French Open in September, he put himself on the edge of this new top 10 in Europe exemption with the reward of a PGA Tour card in the United States.

Sure, Tiger Woods by winning the 1997 Masters at the same age was instantly exempt on every tour in the world but Hisatsune physically played his way to those exemptions by playing all five tours and earning his way. (Which is not to suggest Tiger didn’t earn his way – he clearly did that and more.)

Hisatsune played well enough in Dubai last week to guarantee his place on the American Tour and, back at RQ yesterday, he was around in 66 with a single bogey on the third hole.

In the 1980s when Jumbo Ozaki, Tommy Nakajima and Isao Aoki were dominating Japanese golf, their tour was almost as big, prizemoney wise, as the tour in America.

Few, as a consequence, felt the need to travel outside of their own country. The Americans weren’t much different and if we’d had forty tournaments for a million dollars a week it’s a reasonable assumption most Australians would have stayed home as well.

Instead, our equivalents of the great Japanese triumvirate – Greg Norman, David Graham, and Graham Marsh – collected frequent flier miles like 27-handicappers collect double-bogeys.

It’d be fair to say Australian pro golfers have travelled, out of necessity, pretty well and Japanese, out of not having to, less so.

One staggering recent example was at the Dunlop Phoenix tournament a couple of weeks ago in Miyazaki where a local amateur, Yuta Suguira, beat one of the strongest Japanese Tour fields, including this year’s PGA and US Open champions Brooks Koepka and Wyndham Clark.

If anyone had been paying attention to Suguira at the Asian Amateur at Royal Melbourne a month ago they could have watched the Japanese star, but only on the first two days because he missed the halfway cut.

Hisatsune is one who clearly relishes the travel and whilst the week is still young it’d be a surprise if he wasn’t in the middle of it come Sunday afternoon because if he’s proved anything in the 12 months since last year it’s that he can play a wide variety of golf courses.

Few though will be as wide as Royal Queensland. Or as interesting.

Author Mike Clayton led the redesign of Royal Queensland with John Sloan and Bruce Grant in 2006

Photo: Ryo Hisatsune on day one of the 2023 Australian PGA Championship (Getty Images)


The most significant crowds and attention were on the marquee groups on day one of the Fortinet Australian PGA Championship yet three young Aussies gave a glimpse into generation next at Royal Queensland Golf Club.

As the likes of Min Woo Lee, Cam Smith and Adam Scott strolled 18 holes followed by a throng of fans, Sydneysider John Lyras, West Australian Connor McKinney and Queensland youngster Elvis Smylie shone brightly on an overcast and humid morning in Brisbane.

Out with a pair of Michaels in Sim and Hendry in the morning wave, Lyras experienced something of a roller-coaster ride on his way to a 6-under 65 that put him in third alone at the end of the day. His up-and-down round somewhat reflective of his year to date.

“It’s nice to be back in Brisbane,” Lyras said. “It’s been a long year and just nice to get back amongst the Aussie crowds and the vibes.

“I’ve been injured and a bit of sickness here and there, so it’s just been just on the back foot, no real momentum. I’ve played a lot of good golf but then a lot of stretches of really bad golf. I just want to try and put some rounds together this week.”

Mixing his time on the Asian Tour and in America where his girlfriend lives and he attempted to Monday qualify for tournaments during the year, Lyras recently found himself in contention through 54-holes in China before a final round 81.

The St Michaels Golf Club member acknowledged the pressure of staying focused on the tournament at hand when there are greater rewards on offer, such as the pathways offered by the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia to this week’s co-sanctioning DP World Tour.

“I’ve had a really tough time trying to keep in the present and just focus on the golf that week. But they’re the challenges that you’ve got to deal with,” Lyras conceded.

“It was really hard, just trying to keep playing golf, play day by day and wake up with the same motivation every day even though you knew that something bigger and better is, what the goals you have in mind.

“You’ll see them and they’re coming closer pretty quickly.”

Similarly looking to use a strong finish in the local Tour’s richest event to propel him towards playing rights overseas after missing out at the recent DP World Tour school is Elvis Smylie.

Once again striding the fairways with Royal Queensland course designer Mike Clayton as caddie, Smylie opened with a four birdie, one bogey 68 to sit tied for 15th on a congested leaderboard heading into day two.

“Obviously I’m very familiar with RQ. I’ve played this golf course a lot of times and having played since ‘Clayts’ redesigned the course, so having a bit of an inside scoop’s always nice,” Smylie said. “I’m just very familiar with the course and it just brings a sense of being very comfortable around there.”

A regular presence on leaderboards in Australia, Smylie has yet to truly find his feet overseas as a professional.

The 21-year-old is, however, more than comfortable among the calibre of players that caused Clayton to suggest it is the best field assembled on these shores in decades on social media.

“It definitely makes me feel pretty good about myself knowing I’m surrounded by guys like that that I’ve looked up to since a young age,” Smylie said.

“But I’m wanting to obviously mix with them and learn as much as I can from them, but as well, I want to beat them. I want to test my game against theirs and see what areas I need to improve against Adam or Cam and guys like that.”

Smylie confident enough in his game if a head-to-head battle was to eventuate he would be well-quipped enough to potentially change his career trajectory with victory.

“Without a doubt,” he said when asked if he can beat the bigger names.

“It’s not an arrogance feeling, it’s just more of a silent confidence. I’m just going about my business nicely and just plodding along and just doing what I can control and let the rest just unfold nicely.”

One of the last men in on Thursday, McKinney joined the fray with four back nine birdies.

His bogey-free 66 puts him in a share of fourth, three shots back of Moscatel with the pair both carrying the same DP World Tour category after missing a card at the final stage of qualifying school two weeks ago.


Min Woo Lee heads the list of Aussie superstars yet it is unheralded Spaniard Joel Moscatel who sits atop the leaderboard after day one of the Fortinet Australian PGA Championship at Royal Queensland.

When Lee signed for a 7-under 64 it showed that the 25-year-old had brought his growing stature within the game back to home soil but Moscatel matched Jed Morgan’s 2021 course record of 8-under 63 to lead by one.

Sydney’s John Lyras (66) is outright third and one clear of a group of six players at 5-under including Adam Scott, Lucas Herbert, Connor McKinney, Sam Brazel, Scotland’s Connor Syme and Ryo Hisatsune of Japan.

Defending champion Cameron Smith endured a frustrating start with a round of 2-over 73 while DP World Tour stars Adrian Meronk (68) and Robert MacIntyre (69) returned under-par rounds after their early starts on Thursday morning.

A 25-year-old, who cites Spanish legends Seve Ballesteros and Jon Rahm as his idols, shrugged off the disappointment of missing a DP World Tour card by one shot at Qualifying School last week to lead a star-studded field.

While he now has guaranteed status on the secondary Challenge Tour in Europe next year, Moscatel knows what a win this week in the co-sanctioned event would mean.

“I just try to play but yes, obviously it’s life-changing for sure, for sure, coming from a satellite tour,” said Moscatel.

“But we’ll see. Step by step.

“In the Spanish Open, one of my best friends was leading at one point. He finished the first day third and you always think like he’s going to win, but there’s a lot of golf to play and a lot of good players, so it can happen any way.”

Headed for the PGA TOUR in 2024, Lee displayed the type of golf that saw him post 30-under in winning the Macao Open on the Asian Tour just a few weeks ago.

Playing with Smith and MacIntyre, Lee took until just his third hole to make birdie and added a second immediately afterwards at the par-4 13th.

After making the turn in 2-under, Lee picked off two further birdies at one and two, holed a 35-footer from the front of the green for birdie on five and then closed out a back nine of 5-under 31 with a birdie at the par-5 ninth.

“I was actually pretty nervous, which I haven’t really felt in a while, just before the round, but that’s usually good for me,” said the world No.45.

“I’d rather not get too comfortable. But I felt really good out there and it’s awesome to have such a big crowd, especially at 6 o’clock in the morning.

“It was solid. I’m happy they came and supported us.”

Tied fifth in his most recent start on the PGA TOUR, Scott was 1-over through his first five holes but made five birdies in the space of six holes around the turn to bring his hopes of a third Joe Kirkwood Cup roaring back to life.

A bunker lesson with Aussie veteran Brett Rumford on Wednesday paid dividends on Scott’s final hole, the 43-year-old getting up-and-down from the greenside bunker on nine for a closing birdie and round of 5-under.

“I think that was when I was truly waking up, maybe about 7,” Scott said of his charge in the midway part of his round.

“It happens. You’ve just got to keep making good swings at it and doing what you’re doing.

“I’m just happy to have played a solid round and starting on the right foot anyway.”

After two early birdies, Herbert used a run of four straight birdies from the 12th hole in the afternoon wave to put his name in the frame after Round 1.

“I feel like it was a tough day out there,” Herbert said.

“It was just good to get the round off to a good start. You look at the board and Min’s out there at 7-under and I saw another score at 8-under as well. If you don’t make a birdie in the first few holes it can feel like you’ve got to start pushing a bit harder, because you feel like you’re so far behind.

“I put a good score on the board, I think we’re fourth or fifth or something like that after we’ve walked off the course at least, so that gives me a lot of confidence going into the rest of the week.”

Herbert is in the first group off the 10th tee at 6am on Friday morning while Lee, Scott and Smith will play in the afternoon wave.

The Fortinet Australian PGA Championship is live on Nine and Fox Sports, available on Foxtel and Kayo.

Tickets for the Fortinet Australian PGA Championship are available from ticketek.com.au


Min Woo Lee has scored a superb win at the Fortinet Australian PGA Championship at Royal Queensland.

The West Australian shot a final-round 68 for an overall score of 20-under 264, three shots better than Japanese runner-up Rikuya Hoshino.

4:25pm: Rikuya Hishino had this to say about finishing runner-up.

I would like to congratulate Min Woo on his amazing play. This was my first time playing a tournament in Australia and my first time being here, and I had a lot of fun playing in front of such big crowds.

It was a lot of fun to be able to compete with the stars of the world and try to win the championship. I was very sharp and achieved a good result, so I’ll do my best to win next week as well.

4:20pm: The stats on the Min Woo Lee victory.

  • Third DP World Tour win in his 82nd appearance
  • Second Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia and DP World Tour victory on home soil, following on from his 2020 ISPS HANDA Vic Open success
  • His last DP World Tour victory, at the abrdn Scottish Open, was two and 138 days ago
  • The fourth Australian winner of this event since it was first played on the DP World Tour’s Global Schedule in 2016, joining Nathan Holman (2016), Cam Smith (2018, 19 and 22) and Adam Scott (2019)
  • This is his second 54-hole lead on the DP World Tour. He converted at the 2020 ISPS HANDA Vic Open and finished runner-up at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship in in January, 2023
  • His second win in the space of four worldwide starts after his SJM Macao Open victory on the Asian Tour
  • He takes the lead the Race to Dubai Rankings in Partnership with Rolex on 500 points
  • First Australian win on the DP World Tour since Lucas Herbert claimed the ISPS HANDA – CHAMPIONSHIP in Japan in April 2023
  • 141st win by a player from Australia on the DP World Tour

4:16pm: Min Woo on that eagle on 9 which is the highlight to remember from this year’s champion

I think that was probably the best atmosphere shot I’ve ever hit.  I’ve had a few chip ins, but at that point it was getting close and I was in a pretty average position off the tee shot, after the tee shot, so to chip that in, it was amazing.  I want to see it straight away.  I would like to see it.  It was one of the best shots I’ve probably hit.

4:15pm: Our winner Min Woo Lee had this to say straight after his win:

I’ve always thought I could win, but it took a while to get over the hump.  But two wins in the last month or so, I’m really proud of my team and myself.  I made it interesting early on and through the middle, but ended up hanging on, so I’m really proud.

4:10pm: Our third placegetter Marc Leishman is one to watch for the ISPS HANDA Australian Open next week. He closed with a 64 today.

Yeah, I’ve been playing well most of the year.  I definitely think if I can play well and get the putter hot, there’s no reason why I can’t come away with a victory.  But there’s a lot of good players as well, so you’ve got to play good and get the breaks and hopefully no one else goes crazy.

4:04pm: Min Woo Lee is your Joe Kirkwood Cup winner for 2023, finishing at 20-under-par to claim his second Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia victory.

Rounding out the top three – Japan’s Rikuya Hishino (-17) and Victoria’s Marc Leishman (-16).

2:36pm: Best round of the day belongs to Victorian Todd Sinnott, who has climbed into a share of seventh with a Sunday 65.

2:09pm: Birdie on 12 for Min Woo Lee for the third time this week and, at 21-under, his lead is now four with six to play.

1:47pm: Side note, Jed Morgan also chipped in on nine and let out an almighty fist pump when he won the 2021 championship in record fashion. He and Nick O’Hern’s 22-under tournament low is now in the firing line.

12:48pm: Lee (19-under) and Hoshino (16-under) trade birdies at the par-5 seventh and the lead remains three. Connor Syme is next best at 14-under with Joaquin Niemann fourth at 12-under.

12:11pm: Bogey for Hoshino at six and Min Woo Lee’s lead is back out to two.

11:30am: HOLE-IN-ONE! Chile’s Joaquin Niemann makes an ace at the 164-metre par-3 fourth. He rockets up into outright sixth and just five strokes off the lead.

11:25am: Scotland’s Calum Hill currently has the low round on course. Winner of the Cazoo Classic in 2021, Hill is 5-under through 11 and is in a tie for eighth at 9-under.

11:22am: Rikuyu Hoshino has burst out of the blocks with two birdies to join Min Woo Lee at 16-under par and tied for the lead. Hoshino has won five times on the Japan Golf Tour since 2018 and is currently ranked No.138 in the Official World Golf Ranking. In short, can play.

11:07am: A two-shot swing on the very first hole for our final group and Min Woo Lee’s lead is cut from three to one. Game on.

10:16am: The Bobby Mac charge has hit a hurdle. A double-bogey on 10 has sent the Scotsman tumbling down to a share of 42nd with seven holes to play.

9:10am: It may not rival a William Wallace-style charge just yet but Scottish star Robert MacIntyre is moving on Sunday. MacIntyre has birdied two, four, five and seven to be 4-under through 8 and up into a tie for 20th.

8:15am: If the morning groups are anything to go by, we are going to see some low numbers for the final round of the Fortinet Australian PGA Championship. There have already been 13 birdies at the par-4 first, defending Australian Open champion Adrian Meronk began his final round with two straight birdies and West Australian Hayden Hopewell has moved into a tie for 27th with birdies at both one and two.

Curtis Luck (3rd at -13): Man, I hit it close a lot out there.  I had a lot of putts seem to go over the edge and it was kind of similar yesterday.  I feel like I played very, very well today.  5-under does not seem that crazy, but I’m happy with it nonetheless.

Cam Davis (T7 at -9): I have played some very clean golf.  I came off about a month of kind of taking it easy and not playing too much, so to turn around and get everything back and get all my tournament juices going and hit good shots when the targets are small, it’s been fun.

Marc Leishman (T7 at -9): You never know what can happen.  We all want to win it.  So if I can play like I did today and get a hot putter, get off to a good start, you never know what might happen.  Hopefully I can just play good, finish as well as I can and see how it goes.

Connor Syme (T5 at -10) Yeah, it was a good day.  I didn’t actually feel that great to be honest, this morning.  I felt good mentally but I just didn’t feel my swing was quite there on the range.  So I just kind of tried to manage my golf ball better.  Obviously it was a little bit easier today in terms of the breeze, it was pretty windy yesterday afternoon, but yeah, I’m pretty pleased. Well, really pleased with 7-under.  It obviously depends on the leaders, but I’m in a good spot.

Adam Scott (4th at -11): Well, it wasn’t really my day.  I couldn’t really get it going and unfortunately I missed a putt on 12 and then bogeyed 14 and 16 and had a rough run coming in there.  So the momentum really changed and Min had a couple of birdies and we went from being quite close to I’m a long way back now.  So, I’ve got a lot of work to do tomorrow but maybe all the putts will go tomorrow.

4:50pm: Some quotes from our leaders after Round 3:

Min Woo Lee (Leading at -17): I again played pretty solid.  A couple of mistakes but that happens.  But overall, pretty happy with the way I went today. Tomorrow’s just another day and hopefully I can keep going.  I can just control what I can do and if someone goes out there and shoots low, hopefully I’ve finished the day happy with the way I played.

4:00pm: We’re done for the day. -17 Min Woo Lee; -14 Rikuya Hoshino; -13 Curtis Luck; -11 Adam Scott; -10 Connor Syme; -10 Lucas Herbert; -9 Joaquin Niemann; -9 Marc Leishman; -9 Cameron Davis; -9 Joel Moscatel

3:50pm: Last group tomorrow will be Min Woo Lee, Rikuya Hoshino and Curtis Luck.

3:45pm: The day is done at the Southern Comfort Party Hole and it ends with a Viking clap started by Min Woo Lee. It’s the place to be tomorrow if you want to mix in plenty of music, cheers and fun with your golf.

3:40pm: Curtis Luck birdies the last for a bogey-free 66 to move to -13 and outright third. Playing partner Lucas Herbert shot a 69 to get to -10 but that’s seven from the lead at the moment.

3:35pm: A couple of bogeys has dropped Adam Scott back to -11, six behind Min Woo Lee.

3:30pm: A fantastic back nine of 29 has lifted Japan’s Rikuya Hoshino into outright second at -14, three behind Min Woo Lee who shows no signs of backing up with three birdies of his own on the back nine.

3:20pm: Among the latest into the clubhouse – Cam Davis (68) at -9, Marc Leishman (67) at -9 despite having a ball stuck in the tree on 14, Joaquin Niemann (67) at -9

3:05pm: The Southern Comfort Party Hole is about to greet our final two groups. The 17th is no snack, playing as the fourth hardest hole of the day with eight birdies and 16 bogeys

2:55pm: Some info on our leading overseas player Rikuya Hoshino who is threatening to upset the Aussie party. He’s a former world No.64 who is now ranked No.138. He’s had five victories on the Japanese Tour, the last coming in 2021……and he’s now tied for second in the 2023 Australian PGA

2:45pm: Leaderboard update: Min Woo Lee -15, Adam Scott -13, Rikuya Hoshino -12, Curtis Luck -12, Connor Syme -10

2:00pm: Lets have a look at a couple of other moves today – leftie Lawry Flynn has just climbed into T10 with three consecutive birdies to get to -7. Rookie pro Jeff Guan had five birdies in his last six to post a 67.

1:50pm: Scotland’s Connor Syme has just finished off the equal low round of the day – a bogey-free 7-under 64 – to move into fifth place at -10. He’s the leading non-Australian.

1:48pm: Leaderboard update: Min Woo Lee -14, Lucas Herbert -11, Curtis Luck -11, Adam Scott -11

12:53pm: More fun Frank Kennedy facts. Now 18 years of age, Kennedy made the cut in his first event on the DP World Tour, the 2021 Hero Open at Fairmont St Andrews. He was just 15 years of age.

12:30pm: As the lead groups near the end of the front nine, worth keeping in mind how hard the back nine is playing. Halfway through Round 3, six of the eight hardest holes on the golf course are on the back nine. Ten (4.311), 14 (4.273) and 18 (4.247) are the three hardest holes for the week thus far.

12:13pm: SCORE CHECK! After making a three-footer for par to stay just inside the cut-line last night, Kiwi Michael Hendry has posted 7-under 64 this morning and is now tied for seventh.

11:32am: With a birdie at the first, Min Woo Lee extends his lead to two from Adam Scott and John Lyras, who also made birdie at the opening hole.

11:30am: Qualifying is happening right now for this afternoon’s World Long Drive competition to take place on the 1st tee at 4pm AEST. The top eight from the 19 qualifiers will advance to the final.

8:52am: It’s all about opportunity. Michael Hendry and Haydn Barron were two of the beneficiaries when the cut moved late from 1-under to even par on Friday. Hendry has turned in 4-under to be T21 while Barron is 3-under through 8 to be T31.

8:40am: For those playing along at home, we’ve got some special guests here at Royal Queensland broadcasting live for The Today Show.

8:12am: Did you know that the Southern Comfort Party Hole has its own playlist? Join the party and listen to the songs that will be greeting players all day today and tomorrow.

7:32am: Was this the shot of the day in Round 3?

7:30am: Round 3 is up and running and we’re already seeing plenty of birdies among the early groups.

6:10pm: Final cut comes at even-par, sending 80 players through to Saturday

6pm: Looks like being a big field tomorrow. Cut line is back at even-par which currently gives us 81 players.

5:40pm: Nice little fight back late in the day from overnight leader Joel Moscatel, who has ended the day with an even-par 71 and a share of fourth at -8. That’s the last change to the leaderboard for Yellow Day.

5.34pm: Something to watch tomorrow. Sydney’s John Lyras likes to play aggressive golf. He’ll start round three at 10-under, two shots behind leader Min Woo Lee.

I tell you what, I played with Min Woo last year, round 3, it doesn’t work by just sitting there and letting things come to you.  There’s a point where you’ve got to step on it a bit and see how much you can take from the golf course.  Obviously, you pick your chances right and you pick your battles.  I plan on doing a better job of that tomorrow and yeah, just being overall more aggressive and more trusting in the game.  You’re never going to play good golf by being ultra conservative with your game plan or thought process.

5:26pm: And a birdie from Jack Murdoch puts the cut back at -1 which is bad news for those 16 players

5:00pm: The cut line has just moved from -1 to even-par which is great news for 16 players including Rod Pampling, Haydn Barron, Lachlan Barker, James Marchesani, Adam Bland and Michael Hendry

4:45pm: Adam Scott’s 65 matched the low round of the day from Cameron John. He had this to say:

It’s always nice to have a bogey-free round, that’s always nice.  I probably haven’t had many of them this year. I feel like my swing from the tee to the green is feeling better than it has for a while and that’s a nice thing for me.

4:40pm: A quote from Cam Smith – “Australia has been so good to me…there’s no reason to perform like that…unacceptable.

4:22pm: A very emotional Cam Smith met with the media after he finished with a three-putt and a round of 79. At +9 for the event, he is well outside the cut line of -1 and will not be playing at RQ at the weekend.

4:20pm: Min Woo Lee has backed up his opening round of 64 with a 66 to be 12-under-par and in the clubhouse lead late on Yellow Day at Royal Queensland. He’s one ahead of Adam Scott.

3:45pm: Adam Scott has finished off a classy 65 on Yellow Day to be in the clubhouse on -11 after 36 holes. Playing partner Cam Davis is still in touch at -6 (68-68) while Adrian Meronk (68-73) has just made the weekend at -1.

3:15pm: It’s Min Woo Lee back on top after a birdie on 15. He’s the first man to -12. Adam Scott is -11 and then three shots to Herbert, Luck and Lyras

3:05pm: Our reigning ISPS HANDA Australian Open champion Adrian Meronk is on the cut line at -1 with three holes left. One slip-up and the Pole may be absent for the weekend.

3pm: An update on our overnight leader, Joel Moscatel from Spain. He’s +1 for the day after 8 holes and is now four behind Adam Scott and Min Woo Lee.

2:50pm: The low round of the day has come from Melbourne’s Cameron John who shot a 65 to climb into a tie for sixth at the moment. He spoke to the media about some help he’s been receiving from some of our Tour’s most experienced professionals.

I spoke to Michael Sim a little bit last week.  I was fortunate enough to play with him.  Marcus Fraser, I played golf with him a few weeks ago and I just picked both their brains just as much as I could.  I probably annoyed them a bit, but that’s all right.

2:20pm: Cam Smith Cut Watch: It looks like it’s all over for the defending champion – a double-bogey on 10 and he’s blown out to +6. That’s a tie for 139th

2:10pm: What a shot from Adam Scott who hits the pin with his tee shot at the short par-4 12th. The birdie puts him on top of the 2023 leaderboard for the first time. Smith -11, Lee -10.

1:50pm: Cam Smith Cut Watch – A ball into the penalty area led to a bogey six on the gettable par-5 ninth, leaving our defending champion at +4 and in a tie for 124th. Cut line currently on -1.

1:45pm: It’s a great showdown on a sunny Friday afternoon between two of Australia’s best, Min Woo Lee and Adam Scott. They’re trading birdies and now stand alone at 1 and 2 on the leaderboard. Lee -11 and Scott -10.

1:15pm: Min Woo Lee back in front alone. -3 for his first seven holes and he’s now -10.

12:53pm: New joint leader – Adam Scott with a two-putt birdie on the 7th. He’s -4 for the day and has caught Min Woo Lee at -9

12:51pm: Big finish from Brisbane leftie Lawry Flynn who birdied three of his final four holes to jump to a tie for 13th at -5

12:50pm: Round of the day so far comes from Victoria’s Cam John – a 6-under 65 with eight birdies and one bogey. He’s just two behind our leader Min Woo Lee on a breezy Brisbane afternoon.

12:40pm: Cam Smith Cut Watch: Just one birdie in 23 holes so far leaves the defending champion at +3 and four shots away from the current cut line of -1

12:30pm: WA’s Curtis Luck wasn’t thinking about a hole-in-one when he stepped onto the tee at the Southern Comfort Party Hole this morning. But that’s what happened 🙂

I mean, on that hole, the only thing you’re thinking is obviously don’t go long … you just want to knock it somewhere, obviously hopefully around the pin but keep it somewhat towards the middle of the green

12:20pm: Our reigning Challenger PGA Tour Order of Merit champion David Micheluzzi (68-68) is safely inside the top 10 and enjoyed his pairing with fellow Victorian Lucas Herbert, who he has played against since they were kids, and Kiwi Daniel Hillier

We’re all good mates and especially like feeding off each other as well.  When one makes a birdie, it feels like we’re all making birdies.  I don’t think I’m playing with either of them tomorrow, which is unfortunate, but it’s been good.

12:10pm: Another player to have a good first two days was Spain’s former Ryder Cup player Rafa Cabrera Bello…two 68s in the bank

This is my 18th season as a pro and it’s not often I get to visit two new cities in two weeks – that’s what made me want to come here. I’ve enjoyed it every time I have been in Australia. It’s far to get to, but once you’re here, it’s cool.

12:05pm: Lucas Herbert had a chat to the media after his 68. Here’s what he had to say about Yellow Day and remembering Jarrod Lyle

It’s pretty nice to walk off the last in the tie for the lead with being the ambassador for Yellow Day and seeing everyone wearing so much yellow out here.  I saw a couple of the boards yesterday that were blue have turned yellow and a lot of stuff like that.  I think the tournament’s done a great job.  We do a great job to honour Jarrod’s legacy and obviously raise awareness and raise funds for the Challenge Foundation.

Noon: New leader…..Fresh off a Post Malone concert, Min Woo is cooking again. Two birdies in his first three holes and he’s the first player to -9

11:55am: Cam Smith Watch: Three pars to start leaves him at +2 and three shots outside the current cut line of -1

11:45am: Make that four at -8 with hole-in-one man Curtis Luck finishing with a 67 for the day.

11:40am: -8 is now the home of three leaders – Lucas Herbert who is done for the day, Min Woo Lee who is on the third and Joel Moscatel who is warming up for his second round

11:30am: Fun fact: Our joint leader Lucas Herbert is the only player in the top 50 on the leaderboard to have a double-bogey in his second round

11:10am: Also done for the day are David Micheluzzi (66) who is now -6, Marc Leishman (69) to get to -5 and our Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit leader Ben Eccles (69) to also be -5

11:05am: The morning groups are starting to roll into the scorers and it’s Lucas Herbert who is probably the happiest of all – a 68 has him as the joint leader with Spain’s Joel Moscatel at 8-under-par. The hot man on the course is Cam John who is -6 for the day and now only one back.

10:30am: Lucas Herbert joins the lead…-5 for his second nine with the par-5 ninth hole to come.

10:15am: Great bounce back from Yellow Day Ambassador Lucas Herbert. After being +3 for the day through five holes, he’s now -2 for round two and just one behind the leader who is still Spain’s Joel Moscatel, who tees off at 12.40pm

9:30am: Best round on the course today belongs to Dillon Hart who is -4 through 8 to jump to T20, while former US Open champ Geoff Ogilvy is making a strong bid to play on the weekend. He’s -3 with five holes left to move to even-par (T73)

9:15am: Leaderboard: Moscatel -8, Lee -7, Eccles -6 (10), Strange -6 (7), McKinney -6 (6), Lyras -6

8:54: Bang! The first hole-in-one at the Southern Comfort Party Hole has happened. Curtis Luck has aced the par-3 17th. He’s now T6 at 5-under. Club of choice: Gap wedge.

8:25: Rookie WA pro Connor McKinney has been making his mark in his first season on Tour. He’s just climbed into a share of third on -6 with a birdie on the 12th

8:05am: Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit leader Ben Eccles has brought his great form to RQ. He’s -2 through six holes today to be -5 overall and in a tie for fifth.

7:50am: Former Hong Kong Open champion Sam Brazel has birdied the first to move to a tie for third, just two from the lead. The NSW pro was T7 here last year so he could be a sneaky chance.

7:40am: Unfortunately our Yellow Day Ambassador is off to a rough start. Lucas Herbert dropped three shots in two holes but just bounced back with a birdie on the par-5 15th. He’s now -3 overall.

7:30am: Here’s what our pre-tournament favourite Cam Smith had to say about his round yesterday. He may need a 67 today to make it through to the weekend.

‘‘It was frustrating, upsetting. I really couldn’t get anything going. I couldn’t get it close enough to the hole. I felt like I would have a half-decent shot, and it would go to 30 or 40 feet, and I would never really have a chance at birdie. It was just crappy.

7:15am: Also going well today is Kiwi Daniel Hillier, who was battling jet lag at the start of the week but is -2 today to move into the top 20 at -3

7:10am: Some early morning reading on our website today includes Mike Clayton’s look at the course he helped to re-design and an emerging Japanese star in Ryo Hisatsune.

Clayton: Wide fairways suiting a widely travelled Japanese star

7am: It’s a cloudy, windless morning here at Royal Queensland and it’s a long-time local favourite who has made the first move on the leaderboard with “Rocket” Rod Pampling joining the group at 5-under thanks to two birdies to start his second round.

Thursday

5:20pm: The group at -5 has grown by two with WA rookie Connor McKinney and Sam Brazel making it a list of six players in a tie for fifth, three from the lead. And that’s it for leaderboard changes for round one at RQ.

5:00pm: Good moves late in the day from a couple of Aussie Sams – Brazel and Eaves who are -4 as we head into the final hour of play on day one.

4:50pm: Hardest hole today – the 456m par-4 14th, averaging 0.295 over par. The easiest: The fun short par-4 12th – averaging 3.609 including three eagles

4:34pm: Out on the practice putting green after his round was Victorian Lucas Herbert – 5-under for the day but a couple of short misses were still on his mind. He’s content with his position after day one.

I put a good score on the board. I think we’re fourth or fifth or something like that, after we’ve walked off the course at least. So that gives me a lot of confidence going into the rest of the week.

4:15pm: The only man left with a realistic chance to threaten the lead is WA’s Scott Strange who is -5 with three holes remaining. Three birdies will do it. 🙂

2:15pm: Marc is on the move. Leishman now at -5 and the best of the afternoon contingent, three from the lead and in a tie for fifth

1:50pm: Our first-round leader Joel Moscatel Nachshon has some Spanish countrymen who have helped to inspire him as he makes his way in the professional ranks.

Obviously Seve.  I’ve got Pablo Larrazabal from my club, I can learn a lot from him too.  But yeah obviously a lot.  John Rahm for sure.  I played one DP World Tour event, I think was two years ago, the Spanish Open as an amateur and I could play with him and it was amazing.  He was so friendly, he was so nice.  All these guys obviously are inspiration for me.

1:45pm: After a first round of 68, Chile’s Joaquin Niemann was asked about playing in Australia:

They enjoy watching golf here.  The fans are amazing. 

1:30pm: Scotland’s Connor Syme banked a 66 this morning to be T4 as we head deeper into round one. He’s already landed one title in Australia – the 2016 Australian Amateur Championship.

Yeah, it’s brilliant to be back.  We don’t get to do this often or the opportunity doesn’t around as much as probably we would like.  But yeah, it’s so cool to be back and obviously some good memories from down here, for sure.

1:11pm: Best of the afternoon rounds so far – at 3-under – our reigning Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit champion David Micheluzzi, Victoria’s Marc Leishman and a Queensland favourite Rod Pampling.

1:05pm: Scotland’s Bob MacIntyre finished with a 69 to be six behind at the moment. Here’s his thoughts on his first visit to the Southern Comfort Party Hole – the 17th.

It’s a good laugh.  It’s a bit different playing with music, but just as long as the beat’s not dropping when you’re standing over that 3-footer for the par.  But no, it’s good fun.

12:55pm: Little bit of info that one of our men on the ground has found out about our leader – He hits it a long way and very high, according to one of the caddies in his group. His short game was on song today.

12:40pm: Jed Morgan has company as the RQ course record holder. Spain’s Joel Moscatel Nachson has just finished off a 63 to be one ahead of Min Woo Lee at the top of the leaderboard. John Lyras third at -6.

12.20pm: Min Woo Lee was happy to see the crowds make it to his early morning tee-off time.

I was actually pretty nervous, which I haven’t really felt in a while, just before the round, but that’s usually good for me.  I’d rather not get too comfortable.  But I felt really good out there and it’s awesome to have such a big crowd, especially at 6 o’clock in the morning.  It was solid.  I’m happy they came and supported us.

12:11pm: Five birdies in a row for Moscatel Nachson – he’s now at -8 with a one-shot lead.

12:02pm: Playing his first DP World Tour event, Spain’s Joel Moscatel Nachson has joined the lead at -7….but he has three holes left. Known as Joey, he may be about to leap to the top.

11:53am: Cam Smith has plenty of work to do tomorrow in the defence of his title after an opening round of +2. He was a frustrated man post-round is out on the driving range sorting out a couple of issues.

11:47am: It’s been a busy hour of media conferences as our leaders finished their morning rounds. Min Woo Lee is relaxing in the clubhouse after a 64 including eight birdies and a bogey. Adam Scott (-5), Connor Syme (-5) and John Lyras (-5) round out the best scores before noon

9:51am: Min Woo is cooking in the Queensland sun. A birdie on five and the West Australian is -5 and the outright leader with four holes to play in his opening round.

9:47am: A fourth birdie on the trot has put Scottish golfer and former Australian Amateur champion Connor Syme within one of the lead. Syme won the 2016 Aussie Amateur at Yarra Yarra, a tournament that also featured countryman Robert MacIntyre.

9:45am: Leaderboard is looking lit. Lee, Niemann, Smylie and Lyras lead at -4, Cam Davis now joining Adam Scott, Anthony Choat and Irishman Mark Power at -3.

9:15am: John Lyras is on a heater. He has five birdies in his past six holes to join Elvis Smylie and Min Woo Lee on top at -4. A bogey at the par-3 fourth has dropped Adam Scott to -3.

9:11am: And then there were three. Early leader Elvis Smylie joins Adam Scott and Min Woo Lee at -4, Chilean Joaquin Niemann and Sydney’s John Lyras the next best at -3.

8:48am: Three birdies on the trot for Adam Scott to move to 4-under thru 11 and 1 stroke clear of Min Woo Lee and Elvis Smylie.

8:42am: ALERT! ALERT! With a birdie at the par-4 first, Adam Scott is the outright leader at -3.

8:23am: Untidy end to Adrian Meronk’s front nine, the reigning Aus Open champ making double on 16, birdie on 17 and a bogey on 18 to turn in even par.

8:20am: Two-time champion Adam Scott is tied for the lead. Scott birdied 15, 16 and 18 to turn in 2-under, tied with Elvis Smylie (thru 9), Min Woo Lee (thru 8), Brett Coletta (thru 6) and Jordan Zunic (thru 5).

7:33am: Fun Frank Kennedy facts. His father was Nick Faldo’s former manager. He is just 18 years of age. He turned pro after finishing runner-up to Christo Lamprecht at The Amateur Championship in June. Had legendary caddie Fanny Sunesson on the bag when he won the Lytham Trophy.

7:28am: There’s an early leaderboard logjam. Elvis Smylie, Adrian Meronk, Min Woo Lee, Alex Fitzpatrick, Harrison Crowe, Brett Coletta, Jordan Zunic and Frank Kennedy all at 2-under early.

7:24am: Egg and bacon roll update: Exceptional. But get in quick.

6:43am: Could today be the day we get a hole-in-one on the Southern Comfort Party Hole?

6:38am: Difficult start for the defending champ. Cam Smith bogeys his opening hole and is +1 through two holes.

6:28am: Hot start for Queenslander Elvis Smylie. With course designer Mike Clayton on the bag, Smylie has birdied his opening two holes to take an early one-stroke lead from playing partner Jack Thompson and Englishman Alex Fitzpatrick.


Scottish Ryder Cup star Robert MacIntyre is back for a second tilt at the Joe Kirkwood Cup but this time arrives for the Fortinet Australian PGA Championship as one of the tournament favourites.

Ranked No.56 on the Official World Golf Ranking, the 27-year-old is in Australia for the next fortnight of Australian majors with trophies and ranking points high on the priority list as he kicks off his 2024 DP World Tour season down under.

MacIntyre is hoping to rise six or more places on the ranking by year’s end to secure an invite to next year’s Masters, where he finished T12 on debut in 2021 and shared 23rd last year.

“I get to see family and I’m chasing top-50 in the world. If I can achieve that in the next two weeks, I get in The Masters come April, so, I’ve got a lot to play for,” MacIntyre, who has family in Melbourne, said.

“There’s a lot on the line and I also get to see some family within that. For me, the biggest thing is getting to Augusta come April.”

Missing out on taking golf’s most treasured drive down Magnolia Lane this year, MacIntyre is determined to return after a year where he placed in the top 20 11 times and made his first Ryder Cup appearance on Luke Donald’s victorious European team.

“For me it’s plain and simple – win a golf tournament. I think if I win this week, it’ll be very close,” he said of his World Ranking aspirations.

“I’ve played it (The Masters) twice now and I see it in my eyes.

“One of my life goals was to play the Ryder Cup and win the Ryder Cup. I achieved that. I’ve got another few goals, but one of them is win a green jacket and I think I can do it.”

MacIntyre will be up early Thursday morning, the two-time DP World Tour winner starting his Kirkwood Cup challenge off Royal Queensland’s 10th tee alongside defending champion Cameron Smith and Min Woo Lee at 6:10am local time.

Similarly chasing a Masters spot via the world rankings at the end of 2023, and the second half of Australian golf’s big title double, Adrian Meronk will get the field underway in the group ahead of MacIntyre in a threesome with Adam Scott and Cam Davis.

Winner of the 2022 ISPS HANDA Australian Open, Meronk missed out on the Ryder Cup team despite three wins on the DP World Tour during the circuit’s 2023 season, including his Stonehaven Cup triumph in Melbourne when he played alongside Scott in the final round.

“Every year I’ve been progressing and improving my ranking, getting Ws all over the world,” said Meronk, who will make his 100th start on the DP World Tour this week.

“It’s been an amazing ride and I know it’s only the beginning for me.”

Currently No.48 on the world ranking, Meronk will be looking to solidify his place and earn a second trip to Augusta, Georgia for the first full week in April after debuting in 2023 and failing to make the weekend.

Aussies Lee and Davis are also around the all-important top-50 bubble, with the 2017 Australian Open winner sitting 44th and Lee one spot further back, the quality of the field at Royal Queensland and in Sydney next week providing ample opportunity to ensure they also return to Augusta.

“It’s going to be very exciting over the next few years,” Davis said Wednesday.

“I’d love to be a part of that sort of group that starts getting a few more trophies on the board and up those world rankings and getting some majors coming our way.”


Headlines at a glance

Related Content

Day chips in three times at The American Express
Trenerry tops Legends Tour Q School
Tour Tip: How Green found the right putter fit
Aussies on Tour: Scrivener makes change for 2025
Media Centre