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Order of Merit leader Andre Stolz has broken free of some indifferent form to claim the inaugural Glenn Joyner Australian Golf Club Legends Pro-Am at The Australian Golf Club.
There wasn’t a dry eye in the house when Joyner triumphed at The Australian Golf Club 12 months ago in the midst of his fight against bowel cancer.
It would prove to be his final win on the PGA Legends Tour, Joyner passing away in August a week shy of his 59th birthday.
In a field boasting household names such as John Senden, Stephen Allan, Ian Baker-Finch and Rodger Davis, it was Stolz who came out on top, the former PGA TOUR winner finishing one clear of Scott Barr and Brendan Chant with a round of 2-under 70.
“I feel honoured to win the inaugural Glenn Joyner Pro-Am against probably the strongest field we’ve had all year,” said Stolz.
“I’ve never had much success around The Australian and, after the way I played last week at Richmond, I wasn’t expecting this.”
Stolz was also full of praise for the presentation of the golf course just two weeks out from the ISPS HANDA Australian Open.
“The course was amazing,” Stolz added.
“Probably the best fairways and slickest greens I’ve ever seen in Australia.
“I just wish I was playing the Australian Open this year.
“Thank you to Simon Jagot for running such a great event and to everyone that has helped me along the way.”
LEADERBOARD RUNDOWN
1 Andre Stolz 70
T2 Scott Barr 71
T2 Brendan Chant 71
T4 Nigel Lane 72
T4 Stephen Allan 72
T4 David Bransdon 72
T4 John Senden 72
NEXT UP
The PGA Legends Tour moves on to the New South Wales Golf Club on Wednesday for the New South Wales Golf Club Legends Pro-Am presented by Porsche Centre Sydney South.
There was no sign of a winning hangover as Jason Norris backed up his Australian PGA Senior Championship win with victory at the Seamless Pymble Legends Pro-Am on Monday.
A five-stroke winner at Richmond Golf Club on Sunday, the one-round sprint at Pymble Golf Club kept things much tighter at the top of the leaderboard.
Playing alongside Peter O’Malley and the team from Seamless, Norris once again leant on the two most important clubs in the bag for a round of 3-under 66 and a one-stroke win.
Victorian David McKenzie (67) shared second spot with Scott Laycock (67) with six players finishing in a tie for fourth at 1-under 68.
“It’s always hard to come back out after a win in a big tournament, to come back to a one day pro-am,” Norris conceded.
“I just had a great group of blokes, playing with ‘POM’ and the major sponsors and just enjoyed the day really and played pretty solid.”
HOW THE WINNING ROUND UNFOLDED
Riding a wave of confidence, Norris once again relied on his work with the driver and putter to come out in front.
With his iron play not quite at his usual high standard, Norris was forced to fall back on the flatstick to stay ahead of the field.
WHAT THE WINNER SAID
“I’ve said to some people that I actually don’t feel like I’m playing that well.
“I’m driving it quite well, my irons are average and my putting’s pretty solid. Driving it well, putting well, that’s most of the game really these days.
“That’s why I’m scoring pretty well I think.
“I drove it very well again today, missed a couple of greens, had a couple of chip-and-putts.
“Didn’t get up-and-down a couple of times but my ball-striking is quite solid and I’m putting pretty well.”
LEADERBOARD RUNDOWN
1 Jason Norris 66
T2 David McKenzie 67
T2 Scott Laycock 67
T4 Brad Burns 68
T4 Brendan Chant 68
T4 Steve Conran 68
T4 Nigel Lane 68
T4 David Van Raalte 68
T4 Perry Parker 68
NEXT UP
The PGA Legends Tour remains in Sydney on Wednesday for the $20,000 New South Wales Golf Club Legends Pro-Am in partnership with Porsche Centre Sydney South at New South Wales Golf Club.
The Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia is in Victoria for a second straight week for the Victorian PGA Championship at Moonah Links starting Thursday.
One of the oldest events on the Australian golf calendar, the Vic PGA celebrated its 100th anniversary last year.
With names on the trophy such as Peter Thomson, Ossie Pickworth, Peter Senior, Stuart Appleby and Marc Leishman, the Vic PGA is a championship many covet on their resume.
Players will be competing for a $250,000 prize fund and will be playing across both the Open and Legends courses at Moonah Links.
Two out of the last three champions will be in the field, with Andrew Martin and Chris Wood looking to become multiple Vic PGA winners.
Defending champion Martin had a positive return to Australian golf last week in Warragul after a few months making the most of overseas exemptions.
Martin defeated Austin Baustista in Round 1 of the match play section at the Gippsland Super 6 before going down somewhat unexpectedly to South Australian rookie Jack Buchanan in Round 2.
After finishing third on last year’s Order of Merit, Martin will spend the majority of 2024 playing on the DP World Tour, and most recently played at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship in Scotland.
The Victorian finished 13th at Warragul Country Club and was a strong contender in the stroke play section.
The Vic PGA champion in 2020, Wood started hot in Gippsland but failed to make it to the match play section on the Sunday, finishing in a tie for 31st.
Wood’s best finish this season is third at the PNG Open and with consistent golf in the last few weeks will be looking to add to his success at Moonah Links.
“The game is heading in the right direction, so hopefully come up with a gameplan this afternoon/tonight and put that in play and see how we go for the week,” said Wood.
“Finishing bogey-bogey on the Saturday (at Warragul) to miss the match-play really stung a bit, but there were a lot of positives out of last week.
“Each year we come back to Moonah the courses are always pretty similar, but I feel its a bit more lusher this year.
“It’s definitely thicker, so its going to be a bit more penalising I feel, so definitely keeping it on the fairway will be a premium.”
HOW TO FOLLOW
For live scoring and the latest news visit www.pga.org.au. Exclusive content and tournament updates will also be posted regularly on the PGA Tour of Australasia’s social media channels.
Instagram: @pgatouraus
Twitter: @PGAofAustralia
Facebook: @PGAofAustralia, @PGATourAus
Official hashtag: #VicPGA
HOW TO WATCH
Watch the final two rounds of the Victorian PGA Championship live and free on Kayo Freebies, and on Fox Sports on Foxtel. Click HERE for Kayo Freebies.
Round 3: Saturday: 4pm-7pm AEDT
Round 4: Sunday, 2pm-7pm AEDT
RECENT CHAMPIONS
2022: Andrew Martin
2021: Blake Windred
2020: Chris Wood (Feb 2021)
2019: Campbell Rawson
2018: Aaron Pike
2017: Damien Jordan
2016: Ashley Hall
2015: Aaron Townsend
COURSE RECORD
Open Course: 62, Jim Herman (2010 Moonah Classic)
Legends Course: 62, Cameron John, Dimi Papadatos (2020 Vic PGA)
COURSE DESIGNER
Open Course: Peter Thomson, Mike Wolveridge and Ross Perrett
Legends Course: Ross Perrett
PLAYERS TO WATCH
David Micheluzzi, 2022/2023 Order of Merit winner
Kerry Mountcastle, 2023 Gippsland Super 6 winner
Andrew Martin, 2022 Vic PGA winner (defending champion)
Chris Wood, 2020 Vic PGA winner
Austin Bautista, 2023 Webex Players Series SA winner
Dimitrios Papadatos, four-time PGA Tour of Australasia winner
Years before Janine Barney obtained her qualifications as a PGA Professional, she was helping to bring women into golf.
A representative hockey player for Queensland and Australia, an ACL injury and motherhood sent Barney looking for a new competitive outlet.
She found it in golf, and soon found friends eager to join her.
The big appeal for her friends was that they had someone other than their partners to guide their initial entry into the game.
“A lot of my friends and former hockey teammates would say to me, ‘Can you teach me to play golf because when I go with my husband we fight’,” Barney recalls.
“That was a common thread, so I started teaching a few of my friends.”
That interaction encouraged Barney to lower her handicap to the point where she could complete the PGA’s Membership Pathway Program, a feat she achieved under Jared Love at Windaroo Lakes Golf Club south of Brisbane in 2017.
She has been a fixture there ever since, creating the ‘Golf Fore Women’ program with the sole purpose of creating a welcoming environment within golf for women to come into.
“I think it’s really important to make them feel welcome,” says Barney.
“I can see them pull up in the car park and I can tell that a lot of the time the poor things just want to get back in the car and go home.
“I make sure that I greet them, I send out an e-mail the night before to confirm that they are booked in and that it is going to be fun.
“You’ve got some women who are confident of doing things by themselves but I think 90 per cent of them are very nervous about turning up for the first time.”
One of those was Janelle Spence, a long-time employee of the PGA who had to overcome her own insecurities to attend one of Barney’s clinics.
Admitting to that sense of fear of embarrassing herself in front of other beginners, Spence is now a regular at Barney’s clinics having connected at a recent Women’s Golf Network event on the Gold Coast.
“Janine had been trying for a number of years to get me along to one of her clinics but I just couldn’t get past that fear of failure,” Spence reveals.
“All of the ladies at the Women’s Golf Network clinic were like me, new to the game and just wanted to whack the ball to get it somewhere.
“Once I saw how nervous they were and how Janine interacted with them to make them feel welcome, I knew my time had come.”
Such is the impact that Barney has had on women through golf, she was recently recognised as one of 2023’s 50 Most Inspiring Women in South-East Queensland by the Courier-Mail.
Yet those who nominated her did so as much for what she had given them away from the golf course as much as their interactions on the golf course.
“The nicest thing that anyone can say to you is that you have changed their lives. And these three ladies said to me that I’d changed their lives,” Barney says of her unexpected recognition.
“They may be new to the area, they didn’t have any friends, they wanted to meet some people, they were feeling lonely, all that sort of thing.
“We started a Messenger group from the clinics and now they go to the driving range together, they go out to dinner together, they go on holidays together, it’s that connection.
“When I started golf I thought it was all about the golf, but it’s not. The golf’s a small part of it. It’s that social connection and making friends.”
Queensland and Australian cricketer Matt Renshaw wants to pair up with fellow left-hander Robert MacIntyre after playing his way into Wednesday’s Pro-Am for the Fortinet Australian PGA Championship at Royal Queensland.
With sporting stars and celebrities lining up to be part of the action next Wednesday with some of the world’s best golfers, Renshaw earned his spot by besting Brisbane Heat teammates Jimmy Peirson and Josh Brown in the final leg of the Australian PGA Sporting Teams Challenge.
Renshaw, Kotoni Staggs (Brisbane Broncos), Charlie Cameron (Brisbane Lions) and Jordan Petaia (Wallabies) will have the extra incentive of bragging rights for their respective codes.
A 7-marker who is a member at both Nudgee and Royal Queensland golf clubs, Renshaw (centre) used a bit of home course knowledge to edge Peirson (left) by a point at Nudgee’s Bulka Course.
He will now rub shoulders with the likes of Cameron Smith, Adam Scott, Min Woo Lee and Cam Davis yet wants a second chance to watch MacIntyre up close.
“My ideal playing partner would be Bob MacIntyre,” said Renshaw.
“I have a soft spot for him, being a lefty, and I was at the Scottish Open earlier this year when he was coming down the stretch.
“I was right in front of the 18th green when he sunk that putt to nearly win it, and that was pretty cool.
“He had the whole Scottish crowd right behind him and cheering him and then, unfortunately, Rory (McIlroy) had to come and spoil the party.
“Either him or Adam Scott.”
As a member at Royal Queensland, Renshaw will at least have a comfortable environment to step into despite the fact that it is not his normal sporting arena.
The 27-year-old has played 14 Tests for Australia and has some experience mixing with professional golf’s elite.
“I’ve played a few times with guys like Jason Scrivener and Jarryd Felton so it’s always a good day when you get to play with a pro.
“I’ve played the Queensland PGA Pro-Am a few times and I might have played the Aussie PGA at Royal Pines a few years ago.
“But Royal Queensland, RQ, it’s a beautiful course and I’m a member there as well so I’m excited to play the Pro-Am.
“Everyone is getting ready for it. I played the 17th yesterday and it’s a really nice hole anyway but I feel like it’s easier with the stands around. It feels like the green is not as undulating, there’s not the big run-off at the back. I said they should keep the stands there all the time.
“It just feels way cooler.”
And it is in the stands where you will likely find Renshaw once Round 1 gets underway next Thursday.
“I didn’t get to go last year because we were away but I was watching on the Sunday with the storm and Cam Smith coming down the straight,” said Renshaw.
“Hopefully I’ll be able to go a few days this year and watch and see how it’s done.”
Tickets and premium experiences for the Fortinet Australian PGA Championship are available via ticketek.com.
The Fortinet Australian PGA Championship is proudly supported by the Queensland Government through Tourism and Events Queensland, and Brisbane City Council via Brisbane Economic Development Agency.
Lucas Herbert will be this year’s Yellow Day Ambassador at the Fortinet Australian PGA Championship when the tournament will again honour Jarrod Lyle and continue the legacy he built in the golfing community.
For the sixth year, the second day of the event – Friday, November 24 – will be dedicated to remembering Jarrod and his achievements on and off the course, with the aim of raising important funds for not-for-profit organisation Challenge to support children with cancer.
Royal Queensland will turn yellow for the day and everyone at the course, and watching on from home, is encouraged to take part.
A winner on both the DP World Tour and PGA TOUR, Lucas was great friends with his fellow Victorian, who passed away from acute myeloid leukemia at age 36 in 2018, and has an on-going ambassador role with Challenge.
His support includes raising awareness of Challenge by wearing the mascot, Leuk the Duck, and spreading the word of the cause at any opportunity where he is given a chance.
“Yellow Day is all about remembering our mate Jarrod, all the positivity he brought to the game of golf, the achievements he had and importantly to continue to raise awareness and much-needed funds for Challenge to support kids with cancer,” Lucas said.
“The second round of the PGA is always a special time for Australian golfers,
“I’d love everyone who comes along to RQ on Yellow Day this year to get involved even more than ever before.
“Get out your yellow shirts, yellow hats, yellow zinc and help us turn the course yellow.”
Lucas said he missed Jarrod’s smile and never-quit attitude.
“Although it’s been five years now since Jarrod passed, he’s still very much in our thoughts and what he gave to all of us, especially young players like me when I was just starting my golf career, is still fresh in our minds.
“Like many others on Tour, I’m proud to have Leuk the Duck with me when I’m practising and out on the course in tournaments.
“Leuk is a reminder of how much Jarrod meant to us and how important it is to help Challenge do what they do for young kids.”
PGA of Australia CEO Gavin Kirkman said: “It’s been incredible to see such wonderful support of Jarrod Lyle and Challenge over the past five Yellow Days with so many players and fans donning yellow.
“Hopefully we can take that support to another level this year as we remember Jarrod once again and honour all that he did for golf and for Challenge.”
To help Challenge continue supporting young cancer victims and their families, visit www.challenge.org.au to donate directly or purchase clothing and pins carrying the Leuk the Duck symbol Jarrod Lyle helped make famous.
Major champions Cameron Smith and Adam Scott have set their sights on success on home soil following top-five finishes in their final international commitments for 2023.
A birdie at the 72nd hole saw Kiwi Ben Campbell edge Smith (68) by a shot at the Hong Kong Open on the Asian Tour while Scott was tied for fifth as old friend Camilo Villegas completed an emotional victory at the Butterfield Bermuda Championship on the PGA TOUR.
ISPS HANDA Australian Open drawcard Stephanie Kyriacou extended her LPGA Tour season by an extra week, her tie for fifth at The ANNIKA enough to squeeze inside the top 60 who qualify for the CME Globe Tour Championship in Florida.
Tied for the lead standing on the 18th tee, Smith’s struggles with his driver over the weekend forced him to lay up at the par-4 finishing hole.
He very nearly jarred his wedge shot for birdie but could only watch on as Campbell (66) drained his 15-footer for birdie to claim his first Asian Tour win and first anywhere since the 2018 NZ PGA Championship.
With the defence of his Fortinet Australian PGA Championship now just a week away, Smith will take the positives from his runner-up finish and tune up for Royal Queensland.
“Pretty poor over the weekend I guess but I hung in there so lots of positives,” said Smith, who struggled with his driver and long irons over the final two rounds.
“Definitely wasn’t the nicest golf to be played over last couple of days, still lots to work on.”
Scott made his return to Bermuda for the first time in a decade with his three-week schedule in Australia very much front of mind.
Scott will tee it up at the Australian PGA, Australian Open and Cathedral Invitational buoyed by his first top-five finish since the Wells Fargo Championship in May.
Scott, who introduced Villegas to the team at L.A.B. Golf who built the Colombian a new putter, shot 67 in difficult conditions in the final round to finish five back of Villegas.
A two-time winner of the Joe Kirkwood Cup and the 2009 Australian Open champion, Scott is heading home with winning on his mind.
“It was really one of the reasons for coming to play was to kind of make sure I’m not rusty when I play at home,” Scott said of his tournament debut in Bermuda.
“I want to play well down there. I want to play well every week, but if I didn’t play great this week, I would have known what to do when I got there and not just guessing.
“I really like where things are at. There’s a lot of good stuff to take out of my game this week and if I play in similar style down there, hopefully I can end up on top.”
Coming into the week 71st in the Race to the CME Globe standings, Kyriacou knew it would take something special to play her way into the $2 million season finale.
Not even after signing for a 3-under 67 was Kyriacou aware of her status but will now join fellow Aussies Minjee Lee (sixth), Hannah Green (28th), Grace Kim (30th) and Sarah Kemp (58th) in the final event of the season ready to let rip.
“You made it there, you’re there for a reason. You might as well go shoot the lights out,” said Kyriacou, who climbed from 71st to 56th with her second top-five finish of the season.
“Today I definitely found it pretty tough. Even before the round started I was quite nervous,” Kyriacou admitted.
“But my caddie kind of just said, ‘You know, it’s another round of golf. Yeah, there is more riding on it, but you’ve played good up until now not thinking about that, so let’s just try to go out there and do it again.’
“I’m pretty proud of myself. Definitely made some clutch pars coming in there.
“It’s great.”
Victorian Richard Green brought his rookie season on the PGA TOUR Champions to an impressive conclusion, tied for fourth at the Charles Schwab Cup Championship as Steven Alker completed a three-win weekend for the Kiwis.
A host of Aussies remain in the hunt for DP World Tour cards at the halfway mark of Final Stage of Q School in Spain.
With 25 cards to be handed out after six rounds, West Australian Hayden Hopewell is the best-placed Aussie through three rounds in a tie for 16th.
Fellow West Australian Haydn Barron is two shots further back in a tie for 34th with Connor McKinney, Elvis Smylie and Justin Warren also still in the hunt.
Results
PGA TOUR
Butterfield Bermuda Championship
Port Royal Golf Course, Southampton, Bermuda
1 Camilo Villegas 67-63-65-65—260 $US1.17m
T5 Adam Scott 65-67-66-67—265 $251,063
T30 Lucas Herbert 66-71-64-70—271 $38,954
T72 Cameron Percy 72-64-73-70—279 $12,870
MC Harrison Endycott 71-70—141
MC Greg Chalmers 77-71—148
LPGA Tour
The ANNIKA
Pelican Golf Club, Belleair, Florida
1 Lilia Vu 67-66-62-66—261 $US487,500
T5 Stephanie Kyriacou 70-65-64-67—266 $124,827
T23 Grace Kim 71-67-69-64—271 $34,952
T31 Lydia Ko (NZ) 67-69-67-70—273 $23,205
T38 Gabriela Ruffels 69-67-71-67—274 $17,726
T57 Sarah Kemp 68-68-73-69—278 $9,653
MC Su Oh 72-74—146
DP World Tour
Nedbank Golf Challenge
Gary Player CC, Sun City, South Africa
1 Max Homa 66-68-69-66—269 €961,124.05
T33 Daniel Hillier (NZ) 72-68-76-71—287 €42,852.07
T39 Jason Scrivener 71-74-76-69—290 €35,069.31
T51 Ryan Fox (NZ) 69-76-70-77—292 €21,566.69
DP World Tour
Qualifying School – Final Stage
Infinitum Golf, Spain
Through three of six rounds. The top 25 after six rounds earn 2024 DP World Tour cards
T16 Sam Jones (NZ) 68-69-70—207
T16 Hayden Hopewell 73-65-69—207
T34 Haydn Barron 67-72-70—209
T69 Connor McKInney 71-69-71—211
T73 Elvis Smylie 73-70-67—210
T83 Justin Warren 78-68-65—211
T116 Matias Sanchez 72-67-76—215
T129 Andre Lautee 73-71-72—216
T129 James Marchesani 75-69-72—216
WD Blake Windred 70-70—140
Asian Tour
Hong Kong Open
Hong Kong Golf Club, Hong Kong
1 Ben Campbell (NZ) 66-64-65-66—261 $US360,000
2 Cameron Smith 63-66-65-68—262 $220,000
T8 Harrison Crowe 65-65-69-67—266 $41,225
T30 Douglas Klein 69-69-69-65—272 $14,225
T42 Zach Murray 70-68-66-69—273 $10,036.36
T42 Scott Hend 70-67-65-71—273 $10,036.36
T42 Travis Smyth 69-68-69-67—273 $10,036.36
T66 Jediah Morgan 67-71-70-69—277 $5,200
T69 Andrew Dodt 66-71-70-71—278 $4,600
MC Todd Sinnott 69-70—139
MC John Lyras 68-71—139
MC Kevin Yuan 71-68—139
MC Jack Thompson 67-73—140
MC Terry Pilkadaris 73-67—140
MC Wade Ormsby 70-71—141
MC Sam Brazel 74-68—142
MC Tom Power Horan 69-74—143
MC Marcus Fraser 73-71—144
MC Shane Kuiti 72-73—145
Japan Golf Tour
Sumitomo Mitsui VISA Pacific Masters
Pacific Club (Gotemba Cse), Shizuoka
1 Shugo Imahira 67-66-65-70—268 ¥40m
T29 Brad Kennedy 67-74-69-70—280 ¥1,252,500
T50 Brendan Jones 70-73-71-71—285 ¥554,666
MC Anthony Quayle 75-75—150
PGA TOUR Champions
Charles Schwab Cup Championship
Phoenix Country Club, Phoenix, Arizona
1 Steven Alker 67-64-65-70—266
T4 Richard Green 69-64-71-66—270
T30 Mark Hensby 75-66-72-72—285
35 Rod Pampling 71-74-74-73—292
Photos: Jason Butler/Getty Images (Smith); Gregory Shamus/Getty Images (Scott)
Twenty-four hours after his place in the tournament was in jeopardy, New Zealand’s Kerry Mountcastle broke through for his first win on the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia at the 2023 Gippsland Super 6 at Warragul Country Club.
It has been a strong debut Tour season so far for the Kiwi, with top-10s at the PNG Open (T10), and the WA Open (T4), but this victory takes his professional career to new heights.
As well as securing Mountcastle a spot in both the Fortinet Australian PGA Championship and the ISPS HANDA Australian Open in the coming weeks, he has now taken over No.1 spot in this season’s Order of Merit standings.
But there was a chance on Saturday that he would not even make it through to the final day with the former New Zealand amateur representative having to survive a 10-man playoff to reach the last 24 who contested the sudden-death medal match-play rounds.
He finished the 54 holes of strokeplay in a tie for 17th at 6-under-par, and then had to get through five opponents on Sunday (a total of 30 holes) on his way to the trophy.
Jye Pickin, Lawry Flynn, Michael Wright, and Jak Carter were Mountcastle’s final-day victims before he faced the formidable Jake McLeod in the final.
“I only just snuck in today through the playoff yesterday, so I kind of came into today just trying to finish as high as I could for the Order of Merit… and all of a sudden I was in the final,” he laughed.
“I was probably more nervous in that (Saturday) playoff than I was at any point today.
“To get into those (the Australian PGA and Open) is massive, because obviously they’re worth the most money and points. It means a lot. I can now plan what I want to do.”
Mountcastle is coached by Dom Azzopardi, coach of Lucas Herbert and Mouncastle’s partner Momoka Kobori, and said the work they’ve put in has changed his game dramatically.
“The major changes happened end of last year, beginning of this year and then I was able to work on them through winter,” he said.
“It’s made my game a lot more consistent what I’ve done with Dom. I don’t have the massive miss off the tee that I used to have and putting and chipping has got a lot better.”
Mountcastle will be heading to Moonah Links for the Victorian PGA Championship next week, but is happy he doesn’t have to worry about qualifying for the week after.
Runner-up Jake McLeod (Qld) played near-flawless golf until the final, and took down the No.1 seed Jarryd Felton (WA) in the quarter-finals.
The McLeod versus Felton match was the pick of the day, with both players finishing at three-under after the six-hole match. Two knockout holes were required, with McLeod eventually making birdie on the second.
A previous PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit winner on the back of his 2018 NSW Open win, McLeod’s finish this week marks a strong return to form, and the pointy end of the leaderboard.
WA amateur Joseph Owen, who made an ace on the 15th hole in round one, made it all the way to the semi-finals before being knocked out by McLeod.
The Lake Karrinyup member, a previous Victorian Amateur champion, battled Jak Carter in the match for third but the South Australian was too strong.
Carter’s third marks his best finish this season, and adds to top-10s at the WA Open, and WA PGA Championship to move him to ninth on the Order of Merit.
The South Australian had a local Warragul member on his bag this weekend, and praised him for his green-reading skills.
Other strong finishes came from Victorian Darcy Brereton, and South Australia’s Jack Buchanan, who both made it to the quarter finals.
In just his second event as a professional, Buchanan shot an incredible 63 in round 3 to start in a strong position on Sunday. He was able to triumph over Andrew Martin (Vic) in his first match, after sitting out round one, but was eventually knocked out by the amateur Owen.
For Brereton. this week marks his best finish as a professional and backs up a tied-12th finish at last week’s Queensland PGA.
Having finished outside the top-eight from the first three rounds, Brereton was victorious over James Grierson (NSW), and the No.2 seed Cameron John (Vic) on his way to the semi-finals. A long Jak Carter putt from off the green on the knockout hole led Brereton’s eventual demise.
Jason Norris used some distraction techniques and an aggressive mindset to triumph at the Nova Employment Australian Senior PGA Championship on Sunday at Richmond Golf Club.
Firing a second straight round of 6-under-par 64 to reach 14-under-par for the week, Norris secured a five-shot win over Peter Lonard and Stephen Allan to join the likes of Lee Trevino, Orville Moody, Peter Fowler, Rodger Davis and Peter Senior on the trophy.
“What an event to win … I’m so excited,” Norris said clutching the trophy and looking at the names to come before him.
“I just saw a name that I was lucky enough to have a lunch with, Billy Dunk. He’s on it a couple of times.
“What an event, anything with ‘Australian’ in front of it is awesome.”
Out in the last group of the day as the joint overnight leader with Lonard, things fell favourably for Norris early when he birdied the par-4 3rd immediately after Lonard made just his second bogey of the week at the short par-3 2nd.
Continuing to press ahead and put some space between himself and the chasing pack, Norris added birdies at the 6th and 7th despite admitting his usually stellar iron play was well below its typical standard.
As the South Australian-born, now Queensland-based Norris was moving deeper into red figures, the man who appeared to be his main challenger was stuck on a 10-hole par streak as Lonard burned the edge of the cup with regularity after finding almost every green with his exemplary ball striking.
The very recently turned 50 Allan, back home from the United States, started to make his move in the group ahead when Norris finally gave some hope to the rest of the field that he was indeed human after all.
A surprising three-putt bogey, also his second for the week, at the 11th offered the slightest glimmer that nerves would get the better of him on the back nine.
Getting the shot back on the next with a mid-range putt, Norris looked relieved before Lonard finally made a birdie at 13 to produce a passionate cheer from the crowd and slight concern for Norris.
“It was very tough, and he started playing really well on the back nine, the normal Pete that we know, he can just sling birdies on every hole coming home,” Norris said of Lonard.
“So I just tried to stick to one shot at a time and just enjoy the day.”
Enjoy he did as Norris pulled away with a hat-trick of birdies starting at the 15th, the former Fiji International winner reaching the 18th tee with a four-shot lead. An advantage that would become five after Allan dropped a shot following a miscue trying to drive the final green and apply some pressure.
Norris stuck with his aggressive approach by taking driver on the 54th and final hole as he continued to distract himself with thoughts of other events to help temper nerves.
“I think a good thing for me is last night I decided to, in the back of my mind, think about the Australian PGA and the Australian Open, just a chance to get into there, this might help my chance,” he said.
“That was a good way to take my mind off this event.”
A brilliant shot to the front edge of the green and a straightforward par was the result, with Lonard resigned to finishing runner-up at the Australian PGA Senior Championship for a third time while Norris was presented with the trophy by past champion and PGA of Australia Chairman Rodger Davis.
“He’s the king isn’t he? What a legend,” Norris said.
“He’s also on the trophy as well. Nice of him to come and celebrate with us. “
Scores: https://pga.org.au/report/?tourn=2223&report=tmresult~season=2023~result=PF~&class=snr
FORMER CHAMPIONS
2022: Richard Green
2021: Guy Wall
2020: Andre Stolz
2019: Peter Senior
Photo: New champion Jason Norris with PGA of Australian chairman Rodger Davis and Nova Employment’s Kerry Spindler
It took low scores, heartache and a 10-man playoff to determine the final 24 players who will battle it out in the medal match-play on Sunday at the Gippsland Super 6.
Many players knew before they teed it up on Saturday that they required something special to avoid the second cut, and that is precisely what rookie professional Jack Buchanan produced.
In just his second event since turning pro following the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship (AAC), the young South Australian fired a near-perfect 63 to not only get himself into the top 24, but into the all-important top-eight.
Buchanan now has an extra advantage, with the top eight, headed by top qualifier Jarryd Felton (WA), getting to sit out the first round of medal match-play tomorrow.
“I knew I needed at least three or four (under) today to make top 24, and then had seven. Just no bogeys, hit it perfectly,” he said.
Buchanan has had a whirlwind few weeks, winning a silver medal as part of the Australian team at the Eisenhower Cup in Dubai before returning home for the AAC a few days later at Royal Melbourne in his last events as an amateur, before turning professional and making his debut at last week’s Queensland PGA Championship.
“It’s been a busy three weeks. But just finding some form now so hopefully can continue that,” he said.
With 10 players for tied 17th at 6-under after 54 holes, a playoff was required to determine who would claim the final eight Sunday spots.
The tough par-3 18th was the decider, with a bustling marquee of spectators behind the green.
Four players made par or better on the first playing to secure their place on Sunday, while six players had to return to the tee.
In the second playing, four players again made par, and agonisingly, two players – Matt Griffin (Vic) and Tyler Hodge (NZ) – bogeyed to miss out by the barest of margins.
The best escape came from veteran Michael Wright whose tee shot the second time around bounced 20 metres off a sprinkler head into a very testing position for an up-and-down. A delicate chip and a fine par-putt kept his chances alive.
Overnight leader Cam John, and Western Australia’s Jarryd Felton tied for the top spot at 13-under after 54-holes, with Felton locking away the No.1 seed for Sunday’s medal match-play on a countback of their Saturday scores.
It was a bogey-free 65 which saw Felton take top spot. Past winner of the New Zealand PGA Championship, the WA PGA Championship, and TPS Sydney, Felton knows how to get it done on a Sunday.
Meanwhile, John, chasing his first Tour win, shot a stress-free 68 to maintain his position inside the top eight.
“It was tricky early, it was quite windy… I felt like it was a typical Melbourne day. It changed probably four or five times,” said John.
“It’s something that I’ve thought about a lot. I’d like to have a 36-hole lead, a 54-hole lead. It just gives me confidence going forward for the rest of the season.
“I feel like I’ve played the holes pretty well that we’ll be playing on (tomorrow), but you never know what you’re gonna get.”
The six-hole medal match-play matches will start with the bottom 16 qualifiers before the top eight join in for round two.
All the action will be broadcast live again on Fox, Kayo and Kayo Freebies with the action kicking off at 2pm.
The top-24:
