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Brisbane boy Tim Hart took advantage of relatively benign conditions to flirt with the course record on his way to a two-stroke lead at the Queensland PGA Championship at Nudgee Golf Club.
Bogey-free and 7-under through 15 holes, a mental error led to a double-bogey at the par-4 16th. In a sign of growing maturity, Hart responded with a two-putt birdie at the par-5 17th and then produced an exceptional two-putt from the front of the 18th green to sign for a 6-under 66.
That is one shy of the course record jointly shared by 2021 champion Anthony Quayle and Haydn Barron but two better than the winning 72-hole total at Nudgee 12 months ago.
Fellow Brisbane natives Jake McLeod and Chris Wood share second with Andrew Campbell after rounds of 4-under 68 with Queensland amateur Lincoln Morgan, Sydney rookie Harrison Crowe and West Australian Ben Ferguson part of a six-way tie for fifth after posting 3-under 69.
Currently 16th on the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit, Hart birdied his first three holes on Thursday. With the exception of the slip-up on 16, he used a potent combination of power, putts and patience to assume the Round 1 lead.
“It was nice to see the putts go in early, which puts you in a really good headspace and relaxes you more than anything,” said Hart, who holed putts from 20, six and 12 feet to be 3-under through three holes.
“I got to seven (under) through 15 and then made that double-bogey but to finish with a birdie and a good two-putt on the last made me feel a lot better.”
Tied for third at the Tailor-Made Building Services NT PGA Championship in August, Hart is seeing work he is doing away from golf transferring to results on the course.
A prolific winner of pro-ams who is still chasing his first PGA Tour of Australasia title, Hart has found a new perspective that is helping to bring out his best.
“It’s good to see results early in the season,” he added.
“It’s something that I haven’t really done in the past but seeing your name up the top or thereabouts is mentally good for me.
“For me, it’s honestly about staying in the present moment as much as I can because I have let external factors affect my golf and life. Now it’s all about keeping control of what I can inside.”
McLeod matched his opening round from 12 months ago thanks in part to some putting practice last week with good mate and 2021 champion, Anthony Quayle.
A superb up-and-down from the bunker on 18 kept McLeod within two as he seeks to recapture the form that saw him win the Order of Merit in 2018.
“He (Quayle) just noticed straight away that I was really bogged down over the ball,” McLeod said.
“Getting engaged out there at the hole rather than being really stuck over the ball and struggling to take it away. Just getting a bit more external with my thoughts and really seeing that ball drop into the hole.
“That sharpened up my speed a little bit and now I’m starting to make a couple which is good.”
After removing his shoes to play two shots out of the hazard on his way to a bogey at the par-4 first, Crowe closed with an eagle on 17 and birdie on 18 to join the logjam at 3-under.
In his first start as a professional, New Zealand’s Kazuma Kobori dropped a shot on 16 to post 2-under 70, matching reigning Order of Merit champion David Micheluzzi to be tied for 11th.
In his first start back since being diagnosed with Leukaemia, Kiwi Michael Hendry dropped five shots in his final five holes to sign for a 77, three shots outside the projected cut-line.
Photo: Kirsty Wrice/PGA of Australia
A talented pair of golfers including a 2023 DP World Tour winner and an Australian favourite have been added to the field for the Fortinet Australian PGA Championship later this month.
One of Australia’s most distinguished professionals from the past 20 years, Victoria’s Marc Leishman, and New Zealand’s Daniel Hillier, who triumphed at the British Masters this year, have locked in to play at both the PGA at Royal Queensland (November 23-26) and the ISPS HANDA Australian Open at The Australian and The Lakes on (November 30-December 3).
Leishman, a six-time winner on the PGA TOUR and former world No.12, is coming off a strong year in LIV Golf where he had three top-10s, highlighted by a second in Chicago and third in London, to finish 18th in the end-of-season standings.
Although he has contended regularly in both Aussie majors, the 40-year-old is still searching for his first Australian Open and Australian PGA title.
Hillier has been enjoying a breakout year on the DP World Tour, claiming the biggest win of his career at the Betfred British Masters hosted by Sir Nick Faldo which saw his Official World Ranking improve from 265 to a career-best 136.
He finished eagle-birdie-eagle-par at The Belfry to card a final round 66 and had to wait for an hour for confirmation of his victory after an early start.
The two-time NZ Amateur champion has added in another three top-10 finishes to sit inside the top 30 on the 2022/23 Race to Dubai standings.
The new additions for the Summer of Golf on the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia join a star-studded list of starters that includes leading Australians Cam Smith, Cam Davis, Adam Scott, Min Woo Lee and defending ISPS HANDA Australian Open champion Adrian Meronk, of Poland.
Tickets for the Fortinet Australian PGA Championship are available via ticketek.com.
The Fortinet Australian PGA Championship is supported by the Queensland Government through Tourism and Events Queensland, and Brisbane City Council via Brisbane Economic Development Agency.
The growing strength of Australian women’s golf is about to be revealed with up to five players in the mix to reach the LPGA’s season-ending championship in Florida.
With two qualifying tournaments remaining on the schedule – starting with the Toto Japan Championship in Japan from Thursday – three Australians are guaranteed to be teeing it up in the CME Group Tour Championship from 16-19 November in Naples, Florida.
They are Minjee Lee (ranked No. 6 on the points list across the season), Hannah Green (27) and Grace Kim (29), all winners on the tour this year.
That makes this week’s Japan event hugely significant for veteran Sarah Kemp, who is ranked 53rd after one of her best seasons in some time, but who needs to keep herself inside the top 60 to qualify for the tour championship.
Kemp and Stephanie Kyriacou (ranked 71) are the two players who can close out their spots in the $US7 million championship over the next fortnight.
Kemp is playing both Japan and The Annika at Pelican Golf Club in Florida next week in a bid to clinch her place; Kyriacou is skipping this week, but is in the field next week at Pelican knowing that she needs a strong result to leapfrog into the tour championship for the first time.
Queenslander Karis Davidson is ranked 89 and has been home to Australia recently, but is entered for the Pelican event with the knowledge that if she had a high finish, she could potentially leap into the tour championship. Davidson’s card is secured as a top-100 player.
No Australian has ever won the Tour Championship since it began in 2011.
A five-player contingent in the Tour Championship would compare favourably with the two – Green and Lee – who reached the climax of the 2022 season.
Jin Young Ko of South Korea won the event last year, while France’s Celine Boutier is the runaway leader this season, having won four times.
Meanwhile 13 Australians and a New Zealander are teeing it up in the Asian Tour’s Volvo China Open, worth $US1.5 million, this week.
There are three Australians competing in the PGA Tour’s World Wide Technology Championship in Mexico.
PHOTO: Sarah Kemp is on the cusp of a spot in the tour championship on the LPGA. Image: Getty
Tee times ADST
PGA TOUR
World Wide Technology Championship
El Cardonal at Diamante, Los Cabos, Mexico
12:36am David Lipsky, Austin Smotherman, Harrison Endycott
1:20am* K.H Lee, Lucas Herbert, Keith Mitchell
5:10am Andrew Putnam, Austin Cook, Cameron Percy
Defending champion: Russell Henley
Past Aussie winners: nil.
TV Times: Friday, Saurday, Sunday 7:30am on Fox and Kayo. Monday 7am on Fox and Kayo.
LPGA Tour
Toto Japan Classic
Taiheiyo Club Minori Course, Omitama, Ibaraki, Japan
10am* Saiki Fujita, Saki Nagamine, Sarah Kemp
12:01pm Rose Zhang, Ayaka Furue, Hannah Green
Defending champion: Gemma Dryburgh
Past Aussie winners: Karrie Webb (2006)
TV Times: Thursday, Friday, Sunday 1pm on Fox and Kayo. Saturday 1:30pm on Fox and Kayo.
Asian Tour
Volvo China Open
Hidden Grace Golf Club, Shenzhen, China
9:50am* Travis Smyth, Taichi Kho, Miguel Tabuena
10:30am Su Dong, Prom Meesawat, Sam Brazel
10:30am* Li Linqiang, Todd Sinnott, Lawrance Ting
10:40am John Lyras, Zhang Zihong, Doyeob Mun
10:50am Terry Pilkadaris, Hung Chien-yao, Fan Jicheng
11:00am Othman Almulla, Tong Yang, Jack Thompson
11:20am Douglas Klein, Yeongsu Kim, Tang Haizhao
2:30pm Eugenio Chacarra, Scott Hend, Andy Ogletree
2:50pm* Shen Nannan, Andrew Dodt, Itthipat Buranatanyarat
3:00pm* Hak Shun Yat, Kevin Yuan, Xiao Bowen
3:20pm Chen Yilong, Zach Murray, Miguel Carballo
3:50pm Luo Xuewen, Marcus Fraser, Yoseop Seo
4:00pm Ben Campbell (NZ), Zhao Xingyu, Karandeep Kochhar
4:00pm* Tom Power Horan, Jian Chuanlin, Bjorn Hellgren
Defending champion: Zhang Jin
Past Aussie winners: David Gleeson (2002), Scott Strange (2009), Brett Rumford (2013).
TV Times: Thursday, Friday, Saturday 3:30pm on Fox and Kayo. Sunday 3pm on Fox and Kayo.
Japan Golf Tour
Mynavi ABC Championship
ABC Golf Club, Kato, Hyogo, Japan
10:00am Dylan Perry, Azuma Yano, Terumichi Kakazu
10:05am* Taihei Sato, Tomohiro Kondo, Anthony Quayle
10:15am* Tomoyo Ikemur, Akio Sadakata, Brendon Jones
10:50am Naoto Nakanishi, Brad Kennedy, Yujiro Ohori
Defending champion: Mikumu Horikawa
Past Aussie winners: Brian Jones (1989), Brendon Jones (2002).
If John Senden cops a bad break during the Queensland PGA Championship this week in Brisbane, turning to his caddie for sympathy may not help.
If anything, a putt that doesn’t break, a lip he doesn’t clear or a less-than-ideal lie in the rough pales in comparison to what his caddie has been through the past six years merely to carry a bag around Nudgee Golf Club.
Because Senden’s caddie this week is his 19-year-old son Jacob, who six years ago faced the fight of his life when he was diagnosed with brain cancer.
Senden is not making his first start in the Queensland PGA for more than 25 years for ceremonial purposes or to forge memories with his son he feared they would never get to share, but he has a reminder close at hand just how fortunate they are to be doing this together at all.
“There was some time back then when we didn’t know whether he was going to make it,” Senden said on Wednesday.
“Being together this week has definitely been an inspiration for me especially, and for other kids out there watching him grow over the last six years.
“He’s got stronger and stronger every year with great doctors and great medical in the US and also another couple of doctors out here in Australia.
“He’s been looking good and feeling like he needs to take it by the horns now and go and live his life.”
Having graduated from high school in Dallas, Jacob is now taking a year to experience the world before refocusing his attention on further study.
With friends considering their own careers in professional golf, Jacob has not ruled out more caddieing in future but for now will lug the bag for Dad both this week and at next week’s Nova Employment Australian Senior PGA Championship.
And while he might get the odd gentle reminder from Dad about where to stand and how to proceed under certain rules, Jacob brings a unique perspective and infectious attitude that makes any poor golf shot easy to forget.
“You can either see it positively or you can see it negatively and for me, I always saw it in the positive way,” said Jacob.
“Whether it was a joke that I could have died yesterday or could die tomorrow, died and came back to life. I just made it a real build-up moment for me.
“The famous saying is with lemons make lemonade. I use lemons to make lemonade and put some extra sugar in to spice it up a bit more.”
When Jacob was first diagnosed, Senden stopped playing for the first time in his career.
In some ways he is still trying to recapture the form that he had prior to taking 18 months off but is determined to get back to his best.
He will use his career moneylist exemption on the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia to play both the Fortinet Australian PGA Championship and ISPS HANDA Australian Open and sees the next month as a chance to play his way into form that he can take back to the Champions Tour in the US in 2024.
“I want to play as long as I want to,” said Senden, the 2006 Australian Open winner who lost the 1997 Queensland PGA in a playoff to Lucas Parsons.
“I feel like if I’m fit enough to play and the form’s good I’ll keep on trying to go out there and play with the Champions Tour guys in the US.
“I always enjoy playing in Australia. That’s something that has always been a bucket list for me, coming back to Australia and doing the job.
“I feel like the golf courses in Australia are fantastic and I love playing at home.
“Why not come out here and give it your best shot?”
The Queensland PGA Championship tees off from 6.25am AEST Thursday morning at Nudgee Golf Club.
Three of Australia’s most highly-credentialled amateurs have joined the professional ranks ahead of this week’s Queensland PGA Championship at Nudgee Golf Club in Brisbane.
New South Welshman Jeffrey Guan (pictured, centre), South Australian Jack Buchanan (pictured, left) and Victorian Max Charles (pictured, right) will join New Zealand’s Kazuma Kobori in making their debuts as professionals this week on the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia.
Guan and Buchanan were both members of Australia’s Eisenhower Trophy team that finished tied for second in Abu Dhabi two weeks ago and played the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship at Royal Melbourne Golf Club last week.
As fellow Victorian Jasper Stubbs prevailed in a playoff to book his place in The Masters and The Open, Charles finished as the next best Aussie in a tie for fourth.
Charles will be the first to tee off his professional career at 6:52am AEST on Thursday morning with Buchanan (11:06am) and Guan (11:56am) to follow in the afternoon wave.
With the chase for Order of Merit honours now well and truly underway, PGA of Australia Tour Development Manager, Kim Felton, is thrilled to see the trio begin their professional careers on home soil.
“Jeff, Jack and Max have all had wonderful amateur careers and we’re excited to see what lies ahead of them as professionals,” said Felton.
“We have worked hard to develop the pathways that will give our best players the best opportunity to advance to the international stage.
“David Micheluzzi showed last year what is possible with a strong season on the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia and I’ve got no doubt these three will have their eyes on something similar to kick-start their careers.”
Guan was first thrust into golf’s public sphere when he won the club championship at Bexley Golf Club in Sydney at just 14 years of age.
He won the Australian Junior Boys championship in 2021 and 2022 and represented the International team at the Junior Presidents Cup and won the AJGA Junior Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass in 2022.
With three top-10 finishes on the 2022/2023 PGA Tour of Australasia, Guan finished top of the Future Tour Order of Merit, guaranteeing a Tour category once he turned pro.
“I had some really good results in the starts that I was given and I felt like if I could just match up my game to that then obviously I can take that to a higher level and more opportunities would open up,” said Guan.
“That’s how I thought of it and it just clicked in me. It was just that one moment. It wasn’t a thought process over months, it just clicked and all of a sudden I just wanted to play in all the events and try and win as much as I can.”
Based out of Glenelg Golf Club, Buchanan went within a whisker of claiming the Australian Amateur crown in 2022, losing out in a playoff to West Australian Connor McKinney.
He was the South Australian Amateur champion that year and earlier this year finished second at the Pacific Coast Amateur in the US, edged at the second playoff hole by American Tyson Shelley.
In a somewhat perfect way to end his amateur career, Buchanan birdied four of his final five holes in a closing round of 4-under 68 to lift the Australian team into a share of second at the Eisenhower Trophy.
“They were definitely two teams that I wanted to make before I turned pro and I’m pretty happy that I did them,” said Buchanan.
“Last year at the Vic Open I was tied for the lead, up there for the first two rounds.
“That showed me that my game can compete. I may not have finished as well as I wanted to, but then I was thinking that I could turn pro in the next year or two. Just right now worked out as the best time.”
Charles has spent the majority of his time in the US in recent years.
After two years at Midland Community College in Texas – where he finished 15th at the 2019 NJCAA National Championship – Charles joined the golf team at Boise State University in Idaho ahead of the 2020/2021 college season.
In his final year at Boise State, Charles set the school records for 54-hole score, 36-hole score and set the third-lowest single round score while winning medalist honors at the PING Cougar Classic, shooting 68-63-68—197 (19-under).
It was that event, in particular, that convinced Charles that turning pro was a very real possibility.
“It was in the back of my mind throughout the year but then I had a big win in March in Utah where I broke a couple of records,” said Charles, who graduated in May with a Business Management degree.
“That gave myself the approval that I can actually do this and see what comes from it.”
The Queensland PGA Championship tees off on the Kurrai Course at Nudgee Golf Club from 6.25am AEST Thursday morning.
The final two rounds will be broadcast live on both Foxtel and Kayo from 2:30pm Saturday and 12:30pm Sunday AEDT.
Bios
Jeffrey Guan
Age: 19
Home club: The Australian Golf Club
Coach: Glenn Whittle and Gary Barter
Amateur highlights: Silver medallist, Eisenhower Trophy (2023); Cameron Smith Scholarship recipient (2023); AJGA Junior Players champion (2022); Junior Presidents Cup Team Member (2022); Australian Boys Junior champion (2021 and 2022).
Jack Buchanan
Age: 21
Home club: Glenelg Golf Club
Coach: Adrian Wickstein
Amateur highlights: Silver medallist, Eisenhower Trophy (2023); Runner-up Pacific Coast Amateur (2023); South Australian Amateur champion (2022); tied second Australian Amateur Championship (2022).
Max Charles
Age: 23
Home club: Kingston Heath Golf Club
Coach: None
Amateur highlights: T4 Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship (2023); Runner-up Bandon Dunes Invitational (2023); Won Ping Cougar Classic (2023); Quarter-finalist at the British Amateur (2022); Won UC Santa Barbra Collegiate (2021).
Photo: Kirsty Wrice/PGA of Australia
Warren Mercer was crowned PGA Club Professional of the Year, Neil Crafter was inducted into the South Australian Golf Industry Hall of Fame and Barry Linke was recognised for his Excellence in Golf Course Management in a glittering function at the Hilton Hotel in Adelaide.
Close to 250 guests from throughout South Australian golf were on hand to celebrate at the 2023 South Australian Golf Industry Awards Night where clubs and representatives from all over the state were acknowledged for the amazing work being done across all areas of the sport, from administrators to coaches, clubs and athletes.
The Grange Golf Club were the big winners on the night with not only Mercer honoured for his outstanding contribution as the club’s PGA Professional but long-time General Manager Barry Linke awarded for Excellence in Golf Club Management, Course Superintendent Rowan Daymond receiving the Excellence in Turf Management and the club itself being named South Australian Club of the Year.
The awards were presented in four categories: PGA of Australia, Golf Australia, Golf Management Australia – SA, and Turf Management SA (TMSA).
Two of the most prestigious awards presented were the induction of Neil Crafter into the South Australian Golf Industry Hall of Fame and the Service to the Industry Award presented to Lyn McGough of Kooyonga Golf Club.
Apart from his prowess in golf architecture, Crafter has been a stalwart of the game winning both junior and senior events at State and National level during the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s.
Both his father, Brian, and uncle, Murray, were professional golfers, and his sister Jane, turned professional in 1980.
Crafter was presented with his award by fellow Hall of Fame member John Crosby, whilst in attendance he was recognised in front of David Cherry and Bob Tuohy, also current Hall of Fame members.
McGough was recognised for her tireless work in golf over the past 40 years.
McGough is a member of Kooyonga Golf Club where she still represents at the highest level today, playing in their Sanderson Cup Pennant Team, who this year won the competition.
Employed at Mount Osmond Golf Club, McGough has also won a myriad of awards over the past 30 years and has continually been a role model and mentor for women and girls in golf and volunteers hours to the game to this day.
One of the standout award winners on the night was Sophie Hamdorf from Royal Adelaide Golf Club, named the TMSA Graduate of the Year award sponsored by Nuturf. It was a fitting reward for the hours Hamdorf has dedicated to her job and her career, contributing greatly to the continued success of Royal Adelaide.
Murray Bridge Golf Club was awarded the South Australian PGA Legends Pro-Am of the Year for the event held at their club during the summer of 2023 and the Willunga Golf Club was applauded by all attendees for the fantastic effort by all involved in hosting the recent Webex Player Series event on the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia.
The club spent hours on course in the months leading up to the event to prepare the greens and fairways to a level that rivalled some of the best courses in SA.
2023 South Australian Golf Industry Award Winners
PGA Awards
Golf Australia (South Australia) Awards
Golf Management Australia – SA Award:
TMSA Awards
Reigning Order of Merit champion David Micheluzzi is determined to return to his winning ways as he makes his first start of the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia season at this week’s Queensland PGA Championship in Brisbane.
Micheluzzi’s most recent tournament was a tie for 14th at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship at a rain-soaked St Andrews, the dry and fast surfaces of Nudgee Golf Club for the next four days a stark contrast.
The Victorian has experienced a whirlwind year on the back of his three-win season domestically last year, playing in two major championships, making his debut on the PGA TOUR and logging three top-25 finishes on the DP World Tour, where he will be a full-time member in 2024.
With the new DP World Tour season to start at the Fortinet Australian PGA Championship at Royal Queensland Golf Club in three weeks’ time, Micheluzzi is determined to recapture the form that produced one of the most dominant seasons on the PGA Tour of Australasia.
“It doesn’t really matter what event it is, I just want to compete and go out and win,” said Micheluzzi.
“This Tour gave me the platform to go out and play in these events and I feel like it’s the least I can do to come back and play.
“Plus, I like playing tournaments. I did have two-and-a-half months off after The Open but for the next year and a half, I just want to keep playing.”
It’s been just over a year since Micheluzzi won on the PGA Tour of Australasia for the first time, following up his victory at the CKB WA PGA Championship in Kalgoorlie with wins at the Webex Players Series Sydney and NSW Open.
That paved for the way for exemptions into the US PGA Championship and The Open Championship at Royal Liverpool along with PGA TOUR starts at the Memorial hosted by Jack Nicklaus and the AT&T Byron Nelson.
“It was a great experience,” Micheluzzi said of the international exposure afforded him by virtue of his Order of Merit win.
“I feel like from my first major debut to now, I feel like I’ve grown a lot as a golfer, and as a person as well.
“It’s only been six months but as a golfer, it feels like I’ve gotten a lot better which is really nice to see.”
Other notable players in the field this week are current Order of Merit leader Lachlan Barker, two-time PGA TOUR winner John Senden, WA PGA champion Ben Eccles and Webex Players Series South Australia champion Austin Bautista.
The Queensland PGA Championship will also serve as the professional debut for Kiwi Kazuma Kobori, who was the individual winner at the Eisenhower Trophy two weeks ago and who last week finished sixth at the Asia-Pacific Amateur at Royal Melbourne Golf Club.
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: #QLDPGA
HOW TO WATCH
Watch the conclusion to the Queensland PGA Championship live and free on Kayo Freebies, available on Foxtel on Fox Sports.
Round 4: Sunday, 12:30pm-5:30pm AEDT
RECENT CHAMPIONS
2022 Aaron Wilkin
2021 Anthony Quayle
2020 Michael Sim
2019 Daniel Nisbet
2018 Daniel Fox
2017 Daniel Pearce
2016 David Klein
2015 Ryan Fox
COURSE RECORD
Anthony Quayle (65, 2021 Queensland PGA)
Haydn Barron (65, 2022 Queensland PGA)
COURSE DESIGNER
James Wilcher (2021)
PLAYERS TO WATCH
David Micheluzzi, 2022 Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit winner
John Senden, 2006 Australian Open champion
Austin Bautista, 2023 Webex Players Series SA champion
Ben Eccles, 2023 WA PGA champion
Daniel Gale, 2023 NT PGA champion
Lachlan Barker, 2023 PNG Open winner
Louis Dobbelaar, 2023 NZ PGA champion
Harrison Crowe, 2022 NSW Open champion
Two-time PGA TOUR winner John Senden and reigning Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit winner David Micheluzzi are among the big names confirmed for this week’s Queensland PGA Championship in Brisbane.
The championship will be contested at Nudgee Golf Club’s Kurrai Course for the third straight year where Senden will put his class and experience up against the bright young crop of Aussie golfers coming through.
Four of this season’s five winners to date are entered as they look to solidify their lofty positions on the Order of Merit, while Micheluzzi will be making his first start on home soil since his three-win season last year that catapulted the Victorian onto the world stage.
Now playing predominantly on the PGA TOUR Champions – where his best finish this year was a tie for 15th at the Constellation Furyk and Friends earlier this month – Senden is in his fourth decade of tournament golf.
He was runner-up in a playoff to Lucas Parsons at the 1997 Queensland PGA at Gold Coast Country Club and is sure to be a fan favourite this week at Nudgee.
“With his record both in Australia and internationally, there is no question John Senden is one of the greatest golfers Queensland has ever produced,” said State Manager for the PGA of Australia, Broc Greenhalgh.
“As a two-time winner on the PGA TOUR and the Australian Open champion in 2006, John boasts a career resume that most players would gladly take.
“Perhaps the only thing left for John to achieve would be a win in his home city, and I wouldn’t put it past him this week at Nudgee.”
After turning professional in 1992, Senden’s first international win came at the 1995 Indonesia PGA Championship.
He won twice on the Challenge Tour in Europe in 1998 and graduated to the PGA TOUR in 2002.
His first PGA TOUR win came at the 2006 John Deere Classic but had to wait eight years for his second, the 2014 Valspar Championship.
With a 2024 DP World Tour card already in his back pocket thanks to his Order of Merit win last season, Micheluzzi makes his return with two major appearances, two PGA TOUR starts and a tie for 14th in his most recent start at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.
“David really highlighted last season the opportunities on offer to players should they perform well on the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia,” added Greenhalgh.
“The likes of Lachlan Barker, Ben Eccles, Austin Bautista and Daniel Gale all arrive at Nudgee prominent on the Order of Merit and knowing that every week is crucial in the pursuit of points.
“Aaron Wilkin won a thrilling playoff at last year’s championship and I think we can expect something similar this Sunday given the quality of players in the field.”
New Zealand’s Michael Hendry will make an inspirational return to the PGA Tour of Australasia given his leukaemia battle this year, Dimi Papadatos is back after locking up his Korn Ferry Tour card for next year and Queensland amateurs Billy Dowling, Lincoln Morgan and Quinn Croker will have a chance to impress in professional company.
The Queensland PGA field will be finalised on Monday afternoon with 13 spots on offer at pre-qualifying at Nudgee Golf Club.
Australian Kelsey Bennett put the exclamation point on an outstanding rookie season with her best finish of the year at the LET Access Series season finale.
Bennett, Minjee Lee and Jason Scrivener all logged top-10 finishes in a quiet week for golf globally, Bennett’s tie for fourth at the Santander Golf Tour-Zaragoza the pick of them.
It was Bennett’s fourth consecutive top-10 finish and sixth of the season, the 23-year-old from Mollymook on the New South Wales South Coast ending the year sixth in the LET Access Series Rookie of the Year standings.
In finishing 14th on the LET Access Series Order of Merit, Bennett is now exempt into final stage of Ladies European Tour Qualifying School in Morocco from December 16-20.
A week after edging her in a playoff at the BMW Ladies Championship, there was little that Minjee Lee could do stop Alison Lee at the Ladies European Tour Aramco Team Series event at Riyadh Golf Club.
By starting the 54-hole tournament with consecutive rounds of 11-under par 61, Lee smashed the LET 36-hole scoring record on her way to an eight-stroke victory.
With two wins and a runner-up in her previous four starts, world No.4 Minjee Lee continued her phenomenal run of form with a tie for sixth.
It was a welcome return to form for Scrivener at the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters in Qatar.
Without a top-10 anywhere since the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship in January, Scrivener’s 5-under 67 in the final round was one of the best rounds of the day and saw him climb 12 spots into a tie for ninth.
Results
LPGA Tour
Maybank Championship
Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
1 Celine Boutier 70-64-69-64—267 $US450,000
Won in sudden-death playoff
T11 Lydia Ko (NZ) 68-71-65-70—274 $54,591
T17 Hannah Green 64-70-72-71—277 $37,450
T34 Sarah Kemp 69-74-67-70—280 $18,900
T34 Grace Kim 65-72-73-70—280 $18,900
59 Stephanie Kyriacou 70-71-74-73—288 $8,132
DP World Tour
Commercial Bank Qatar Masters
Doha GC, Doha, Qatar
1 Sami Valimaki 67-67-67-69—270 €603,208.88
Won in sudden-death playoff
T9 Jason Scrivener 70-69-69-67—275 €64,697.11
T16 Daniel Hillier (NZ) 65-65-74-73—277 €46,056.77
Ladies European Tour
Aramco Team Series Presented by PIF – Riyadh
Riyadh Golf Club, Saudi Arabia
1 Alison Lee 61-61-65—187 $US71,094
T6 Minjee Lee 63-70-67—200 $13,981.82
T35 Kirsten Rudgeley 69-72-67—208 $3,720.59
Legends Tour
Sergio Melpignano Senior Italian Open
San Domenico Golf, Italy
1 James Kingston 69-70-61—200
T23 Michael Long (NZ) 73-66-70—209
T31 Michael Campbell (NZ) 67-71-73—211
T37 Peter Fowler 71-70-71—212
LET Access Series
Santander Golf Tour – ZARAGOZA
Real Club de Golf La Penaza, Spain
1 Elena Moosmann 67-70-70—207 €6,400
T4 Kelsey Bennett 69-73-70—212 €1,252
T37 Amy Walsh 71-75-73—219 €344
MC Kristalle Blum 75-78—153
MC Victoria Fricot 80-75—155
Photo: Gambito Golf/LETAS
Adam Henwood has run away with the NSW Senior Open at Thurgoona Country Club Resort, cruising to a three-shot win from a fast-finishing Scott Barr.
After starting the final day with a four-shot margin, the Victorian was never really in the chasing pack’s sights at any stage. The three-shot winning margin, in the end, was as close as it ever got after hovering between four and six for most of the final round.
Henwood’s 12-under final score also matched the equal tournament record held by Michael Long (2018) and the inaugural winner in 2017, Grant Kenny.
Queensland’s Scott Barr finished in outright second at nine under after an impressive 68 in the breezy conditions, while a fast-finishing Stephen Allen, Peter Lonard and Peter O’Malley tied for third at eight under.
Henwood, however, was always the man to beat. The Victorian was nerveless on the front nine, barely missing a fairway and rolling in birdies on the 4th, 7th and 8th (courtesy of an imperious approach to tap-in range) to build a fortress around his lead.
Perhaps sensing the moment, Henwood made his first error of the day on the dogleg par four 13th. A poor chip that failed to reach the putting surface, followed by an overly aggressive putt, ended in a double bogey.
The chasers, sadly, couldn’t capitalise on the leader’s mistake. When Henwood promptly birdied the par-five 14th, the order was restored.
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The only other blemish on his card came at the last, and by then, it was all academic anyway, with the title in his grasp.
“I actually played really, really well today,” Henwood grinned. “I’ve been tinkering with a major grip change for a while, and it’s paid off.”
“I was trying not to think about leading, but coming down the last, I asked Tim (his Caddy), am I leading or not? He told me I was by three, but I thought it was five.
“Then I started to think, how do I manage this? Don’t hit that, don’t hit that,” he recalled.
Henwood said the Thurgoona Course would hold a special place in his heart after his breakout win. He admitted the success, probably his biggest, had been a long time coming, and to do it while staring down the challenge of two of his idols in the final group of the day was extra special.
“Yeah, I love the place,” an ecstatic Henwood added. “I didn’t know what to expect coming in, it’s probably my best win,”
“Those two (Lonard and O’Malley) are heroes of mine, and to beat them feels pretty cool.”
