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A day after playing second fiddle to Andre Stolz, American Perry Parker triumphed by a single stroke at the Blackheath Legends Pro-Am.
A regular visitor to Australia to play the PGA Legends Tour, Parker has returned in good form after a month at home in the US.
He was part of a three-way tie at Springwood last Thursday but his round of 3-under 66 proved good enough at Blackheath Golf Club in the Blue Mountains.
With a host of big events coming up, Parker is thrilled to see the hard work paying off so suddenly.
“I went home for about a month and really worked on some things,” said Parker.
“I changed my driver; I went back to my old driver, my (TaylorMade) SIM driver. Changed putters and I think the practice that I put in is really paying off.”
HOW THE WINNING ROUND UNFOLDED
Parker made the best possible start in pursuit of his first win on the PGA Legends Tour in almost a year.
He hit driver, 7-iron to 20 feet at the par-5 first and proceeded to roll the putt in for eagle.
He gave one stroke back with a bogey at the next but birdies at the remaining par 5s – four and 10 – and eight straight pars to finish proved too much for the rest of the field.
West Australian Brendan Chant made eagle at the par-5 10th in his round of 2-under 67 to earn a share of second with Murray Lott, Martin Peterson and Grant Kenny.
WHAT THE WINNER SAID
“I played really good. I started off with an eagle – driver, 7-iron and made about a 20-footer – and just played really solid.
“Only made one bogey and played the par-5s in 4-under so that was really a key for me. Just parred everything else so it was just a really solid round.
“Totally different golf course than last year. Last year it was under water, this year it was really firm.
“A lot of the shots into the green were very firm, you had to really think about where you were going to land your iron shots in front and let it bounce up.
“I’m very excited to play Thurgoona (NSW Senior Open) and Richmond (Nova Employment Australian PGA Senior Championship) and excited for the rest of the year.
“We’ve got a great schedule so it’s great to be back and I’m looking forward to having some good results.”
LEADERBOARD RUNDOWN
1 Perry Parker 66
T2 Brendan Chant 67
T2 Grant Kenny 67
T2 Murray Lott 67
T2 Martin Peterson 67
NEXT UP
PGA TOUR Champions player David McKenzie and former Australian Open champion Stephen Allan are among the big names who will tee it up at the $120,000 NSW Senior Open at Thurgoona Country Club Resort starting Friday.
Minjee Lee took another step towards her ultimate goal of world No.1 and created a unique slice of history by winning the BMW Ladies Championship in Korea.
Lee narrowly missed an opportunity to chip-in for the win on the 72nd hole at Seowon Valley Country Club but needed just one extra hole to edge American Alison Lee and claim the 10th LPGA Tour title of her career.
The 27-year-old very nearly holed her approach shot in the playoff, calmly rolling home her three-foot birdie putt for the win after Lee had missed her birdie try from 10 feet.
Her second LPGA Tour win in her past four starts, Lee’s win came a week after younger brother Min Woo Lee shot 30-under par in winning the Macao Open on the Asian Tour.
It is the first time in golf’s history that a brother and sister have won on major international tours in successive weeks.
The West Australians won the Scottish Open and Amundi Evian Championship two weeks apart in 2021 while Canberran siblings Chris and Nikki Campbell both won in Japan a year apart from each other in 2005 and 2006.
In the immediate aftermath of his most recent triumph, Minjee conceded that she drew inspiration from the manner of Min Woo’s win in Macau.
“Obviously it was great to see Min Woo win,” said Minjee.
“I follow him every single event. I mean, I’d never say it to his face but he plays really well and I’m always really proud of him.
“Sure, it was a little motivation.
“I feel like I’ve been working up to this one and really building on this win.”
The win held particular significance for Lee as she became just the third Australian behind Karrie Webb and Jan Stephenson to win 10 times on the LPGA Tour and she did so in the homeland of her parents.
Lee’s grandmother was in the gallery on Sunday and had some simple words of encouragement for her two-time major-winning granddaughter.
“She gave me a cuddle and just said, ‘You did so well’,” said Lee.
“That’s about it, because everything was a bit hectic.
“Out of all the places, Korea was always at the top of my list because my parents are Korean and I have a heritage to Korea.
“This one is special, especially having all of my family and extended family and friends coming out to cheer for me today.
“It was really cool to see them on the sidelines when I was walking down.”
As Minjee was winning in Korea, Min Woo all but locked up a PGA TOUR card for 2024 with a top-10 finish at the ZOZO Championship in Japan.
Kick-started by holing his approach shot for eagle at the par-4 first, Min Woo shot 65 in the final round to earn a tie for sixth as he seeks to turn Special Temporary Membership into a full card next season.
“The result’s actually really good,” said Min Woo, who admitted to not having his best stuff all week.
“A lot of pressure getting my card and trying to play well but I feel like there’s some in the tank still and hopefully I can end the year really well.”
Richard Green almost made it back-to-back wins for Aussies on the Champions Tour, going down to Harrison Frazar in a playoff at the Dominion Energy Charity Classic in Virginia.
Green was the first to post 11-under but then had to watch on as Frazar birdied his final hole to match him.
The pair returned to the par-5 18th where Frazar’s birdie edged the Aussie left-hander.
Results
PGA TOUR
ZOZO Championship
Accordia Golf Narashino CC, Chiba, Japan
1 Collin Morikawa 64-73-66-63—266 $US1.53m
T6 Min Woo Lee 69-73-67-65—274 $275,188
T12 Cam Davis 67-70-69-70—276 $178,500
T21 Aaron Baddeley 68-74-70-68—280 $73,610
T41 Adam Scott 70-73-71-69—283 $27,710
LPGA Tour
BMW Ladies Championship
Seowon Hills at Seowon Valley Country Club
Gyeonggi-do, Republic of Korea
1 Minjee Lee 64-69-71-68—272 $US330,000
Won on the first hole of sudden death playoff
3 Lydia Ko 67-69-69-69—274 $147,030
T22 Hannah Green 69-70-69-72—280 $22,471
T34 Grace Kim 72-72-69-70—283 $13,665
T41 Stephanie Kyriacou 68-73-73-70—284 $10,256
T59 Sarah Kemp 69-76-71-72—288 $5,992
DP World Tour
Estrella Damm N.A. Andalucía Masters
Real Club de Golf Sotogrande, San Roque, Andalucia, Spain
1 Adrian Meronk 72-68-66-66—272 €602,907.98
T19 Daniel Hillier (NZ) 70-66-75-69—280 €40,227.64
T52 Ryan Fox (NZ) 71-71-71-73—286 €12,856.13
T59 Jason Scrivener 69-68-72-79—288 €10,107.57
Ladies European Tour
Hero Women’s Indian Open
DLF Golf and Country Club, Gurgaon, India
1 Aline Krauter 69-68-68-68—273 €56,812.35
T31 Momoka Kobori (NZ) 74-72-73-74—293 €3,582.97
MC Hanee Song (NZ) 76-76—152
MC Stephanie Bunque 77-77—154
PGA TOUR Champions
Dominion Energy Charity Classic
The Country Club Of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia
1 Harrison Frazar 65-71-69—205
Won on the first hole of sudden death playoff
2 Richard Green 67-69-69—205
T13 David McKenzie 72-70-69—211
T25 Steven Alker (NZ) 71-71-73—215
T35 Stuart Appleby 75-70-71—216
T35 Rod Pampling 73-69-74—216
T53 Mark Hensby 78-70-72—220
LET Access Series
Calatayud Ladies Open
Gambito Golf Calatayud, Spain
1 Hannah Screen 69-69-73—211 €6,400
T6 Kelsey Bennett 70-74-72—216 €1,200
MC Amy Walsh 75-76—151
MC Kristalle Blum 81-75—156
MC Victoria Fricot 86-74—160
Photo: Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images
Even though he expects to win every golf tournament he enters, Austin Bautista was shocked when he came from behind in the final round today to clinch the inaugural Webex Players Series South Australia hosted by Greg Blewett.
A sensational closing nine of 6-under-par 29 at Willunga Golf Course, plus some late mis-steps among the other chief contenders trying to seal their biggest career win, saw Sydney’s Bautista emerge as a one-shot victor at 11-under, his second Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia title.
The 26-year-old’s 64 with eight birdies matched the low round of the day and followed opening rounds of 65-71-68.
Overnight leader Andrew Campbell (NSW), Josh Greer (WA) and Corey Lamb (NSW) shared second position and will have plenty of “what-if” stories.
A self-confessed “bad swing” from Campbell on the par-3 14th saw his ball cannon into the trees and out of bounds into a neighbouring McLaren Vale vineyard leading to a double-bogey, dropping him from the lead.
Greer was steady for much of the afternoon in just his third event as a professional, but couldn’t birdie the last hole after managing a three on each of the first three days, while Lamb suffered a cruel end on the 18th, making a bogey from 50m short of the green with his tee shot when a par would have forced a playoff.
Meanwhile, Bautista was “having a back nine”, fist-pumping his way to four birdies in the last six holes, not knowing where he stood on the leaderboard until he finished.
“Golf is just wild. I’ve missed so many cuts I’ve thought about quitting,” Bautista, who failed by a shot to play the last 36 holes in the Tour’s two WA events this month, said.
“I’ve always been confident in my game and I think I can win every week. Sometimes I do, sometimes I don’t.
“If I make putts and get on roll, it just feels like a video game.”
An enthralling final round began with Campbell in front by one, but he was soon overtaken by Lamb who birdied three of his first four holes to grab a two-shot advantage.
By the time they reached the turn, the duo had been joined in a four-way tie at the top by Sam Brazel (NSW), who pitched in for an eagle on the ninth, and Kade McBride (Qld), who played the front nine in just 30 strokes.
McBride was the first to drop away with a three-putt bogey on the 14th followed by a double-bogey on 15 ending his charge, although he still posted a 66 to tie for sixth with Victorian James Marchesani (65) and Brazel (69) who couldn’t keep his momentum going.
Veteran Queenslander Michael Wright (66) was outright fifth.
The only woman to make the weekend play, Queenslander Robyn Choi, closed with a one-under-par 71 to finish equal 19th at -4 for the tournament, and will head home as the new Willunga women’s course record holder after a 67 on day one.
CKB WA PGA winner Ben Eccles had another good Sunday, posting a 64 to also finish at -4, while local favourite Lachlan Barker (73) ended the week tied for 36th at 1-under.
Next up
The Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia will have a week off before the Queensland PGA Championship at Nudgee Golf Club (November 2-5), while the next Webex Players Series event will be in honour of Jarrod Lyle at Cobram-Barooga on the Murray River (January 18-21).
All-Abilities
The host club’s Steven Alderson claimed a one-shot victory in the Webex All-Abilities Players Series event, holding off Lachlan Wood, who was seeking three straight wins after back-to-back titles in Western Australia.
Alderson led Wood by six shots after Saturday’s play but followed an opening round 69 with a 77, while the Hervey Bay professional closed with a 72.
“I’ve always wanted to be a professional golfer and to get the chance to play in an event like this one has been a big thrill,” he said.
Juniors
An outstanding 2-under-par 68 gave 12-year-old Katie Seol from Royal Adelaide the victory in the 36-hole Webex Junior Players Series event.
The South Australian junior squad member, who started the final round six shots behind after an opening 79 and was playing in front of her Korean grandparents, birdied two of her final four holes to only miss out on matching Robyn Choi’s course record by one stroke.
She finished the two rounds on +7, one ahead of Glenelg’s Kade Bryant (76-72).
The only place to see the Challenger PGA Tour of Australia is on Fox Sports through either Foxtel or Kayo Sports.
Final scores: https://pga.org.au/tournament/?tourn=1205&season=2023&class=aus
After a windy day at Willunga, four professionals chasing their first win on the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia filled the top four spots on the leaderboard to set up a final day showdown at the inaugural Webex Players Series South Australia hosted by Greg Blewett.
Coffs Harbour’s Andrew Campbell ended up as he started the third round, with a one-shot lead at 10-under-par, after posting an even-par 70, despite the setback of immediately losing his advantage with a messy double-bogey on the par-4 first hole.
A group of three players, one shot behind, contains Corey Lamb (66) and Josh Greer (69), who are in the early stages of their pro careers, as well as Josh Clarke (70) who has one top-10 finish on Tour
On a congested leaderboard, 11 players are within four shots of Campbell, who thinks it will take a score much better than he managed today to earn his first title after two top-10s already in the 2023/24 season.
“The aim tomorrow is to start fast and then improve from there,” the 33-year-old said.
“We’re going to have to shoot four to six (under-par) to really close it out.
“What I’ve been doing for my whole life is to get into positions like this.
“I got off to a bad start and got myself back in it so I’m proud of the way I played and held myself together today.”
Clarke, who could have tied Campbell at the top had he not missed a birdie putt from inside two metres on the final hole, is feeling similar excitement about his foray into Tour tournament contention – and the extra attention that goes with being amongst the leaders.
“I’ve never been in a spot like this before,” the 30-year-old said.
“I loved having the crowd walking around, the cameras and all that type of stuff is pretty cool.
“This is why we get up early in the morning and hit thousands and thousands of balls.”
Willunga is Lamb’s debut on Tour for 2023/24 after a wrist injury he sustained the week before the WA Open kept the Hunter Valley professional away from the Tour’s events in Western Australia.
Not wanting to risk having to withdraw after paying for flights to Perth, he stayed at home and that decision is paying dividends on a layout that reminds him off the course where he learned the game, a nine-hole course at Branxton.
“I had a game of golf and woke up the next morning with a real bad pain,” the 22-year-old said of his pre-WA mishap.
“There was nothing more than bruising. I had a few days off. The doctor said ‘whenever it feels good, it’s right to go’. I waited for as long as possible, but I’m happy to get back out there.”
After a difficult first season on the PGA Tour of Australasia, Lamb’s first taste of being on the leaderboard came in this year’s NSW Open where he ended up in a tie of eighth after closing with a 66.
“My first year (on Tour) was horrendous. I think I made two cuts,” he said.
The other significant moves from back in the pack in round three came in the morning from Queensland duo Aaron Pike and Dillon Hart who jumped into the top 10 with rounds of 66, equalling Lamb for low rounds of the day.
They are joined at 6-under-par in South Australia’s first mixed gender professional tournament by the only woman to make the weekend play, Epson Tour member Robyn Choi, who made a hot start with two birdies in her first four holes but couldn’t do better than par from then on, eventually signing for an even-par 70.
Order of Merit leader Lachlan Barker turned in a 1-under 70 to be 4-under for the tournament and the leading South Australian on the course where he learned the game.
– Another hometown favourite, Steve Alderson, leads the 36-hole All-Abilities event after a 1-under 71, four shots ahead of Cameron Pollard and six clear of Lachlan Wood.
Known as Spud to his mates, Alderson mixed in three birdies with two bogeys.
– Kooyonga’s Malachy Marshall (73) leads the way in the elite juniors competition by two shots from Hunter Whetstone (The Grange) and Rebecca Hardy (Glenelg).
The only place to see the final round of Webex Players Series South Australia is on Fox Sports through either Foxtel or Kayo Sports.
Image: Andrew Campbell and Josh Clarke meet up on the first tee at Willunga Golf Course before round three.
Taking some time off the PGA Legends Tour to work on his game paid off for Andre Stolz who streeted the field at the Fidelity Capital Group Charity Legends Pro-Am in the NSW Blue Mountains.
Stolz shot a 6-under-par 63 at the Springwood Country Club to win by a massive seven shots from Darryl Purchase, Perry Parker and David Fearns.
The runaway victory was a warning shot to the rest of the Legends regulars that one of their best players is finding form ahead of the $120,000 NSW Senior Open at Thurgoona later this month and the $150,000 Nova Employment Australian Senior PGA Championship at Richmond (November 10-12).
HOW THE WINNING SCORE UNFOLDED
Stolz reeled off four straight birdies to end the front nine and after parring the short par-4 10th, added in another two birdies on the 11th and 12th holes. His two bogeys for the day came off “perfect tee shots” on the par-4 fifth and 16th.
WHAT THE WINNER SAID
“I decided I was going to skip a couple of events and have a couple of days off,” Stolz said.
“We’ve got a big stretch of tournaments coming up so I went down to Federal Golf Club in Canberra and did some really good quality work.
“It was nice to turn up fresh and I was really keen to play today.
“I also had a practice round yesterday and did a lot of really good homework. There were a few putts today that when I got up there I knew where they were going to break.
“I’m really happy to have some good form going with what’s coming up.”
LEADERBOARD RUNDOWN
-6 (63): Andre Stolz
+1 (70): Darryl Purchase; Perry Parker; David Fearns
+2 (71): Shane O’Brien; Rhett McIvor; Rolan Baglin
NEXT UP
Monday will see the PGA Legends Tour visit the Fairbairn Golf Club for the TLE Fairbairn Legends Pro-Am.
Andrew Campbell’s pursuit of a maiden Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia victory gained momentum today when he seized a one-shot lead at the Webex Players Series South Australia hosted by Greg Blewett.
After sitting one stroke behind overnight leader Josh Clarke, the Coffs Harbour-based professional negotiated a tricky afternoon breeze and cooling conditions at Willunga to shoot a 4-under-par 66 to take his 36-hole total to 10-under 130.
Four dropped shots in three holes during his front nine was bad news for Sydneysider Clarke, but he bounced back late in the day and was content with his 68.
A shot further back are rookie Perth pro Josh Greer (68-64) and Jay Mackenzie (69-63), who lives just a little further up the coastline from good friend Campbell at Lennox Head.
Completing a Northern New South Wales trio in contention for the inaugural Webex Players Series SA title, is the 2016 Hong Kong Open champion, Sam Brazel from Lismore, who turned in a second-round of 65 to jump to fifth alone at -7.
With two top-10s in the first four events of the 2023/24 Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia season and a regular winner in this year’s adidas PGA Pro-Am Series, Campbell was among the favourites coming into this week.
His second round featured six birdies, including two in his final three holes to take the outright lead, with the only slip-up coming with a double-bogey on the par-4 10th hole.
A lifelong Sydney Northern Beaches resident until making the move to Coffs Harbour just prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, Campbell knows clinching his first Tour title still requires plenty of work over the weekend, but the way he handled the most testing conditions of the week so far in the McLaren Valley was a good sign.
“It definitely was a little bit tougher today,” Campbell said. “The breeze was up which was making the harder holes harder and some of the easier holes a little bit easier.
“I’m very pleased to go out there and back up yesterday’s score with another nice one today.
“I had a bit of a whoopsie on 10 and it was nice to claw that back.”
Clarke’s run of bogey, double-bogey, bogey from the fifth to seventh holes threatened to undo his great work from Thursday, but he gathered six birdies in his last 11 holes to fix the damage.
“Started fast, finished fast. Overall I’m content with where I’m at,” he said.
A former WA PGA champion, Mackenzie is known as one of the more laidback players on Tour.
He matched the Willunga course record with a morning 7-under 63, largely thanks to a run of seven birdies in nine holes midway through his round, to move to 8-under for the tournament.
“I didn’t know that was the course record so that’s cool,” the 24-year-old said.
“I made a lot of putts in the middle of the round which set it up.
“It’s a pretty short course here. That sort of helps me because I don’t hit the ball that far.”
Mackenzie had company at the top of the leaderboard at lunchtime when Greer, in just his third event as a professional, birdied the par-4 18th thanks to a perfectly struck 60-degree wedge to around a metre to complete a 6-under 64.
The 22-year-old earned his Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia card in March when he finished in a tie for eighth at the Qualifying School at Moonah Links and has made a promising start to his pro career.
“I probably had a few more nerves at the first (event as a professional). Being at my home course, you’re expected to do well,” said Greer, who ended up in a tie for 11th at his pro debut in the WA Open at Joondalup.
“It probably taught me that you don’t have to hit it good to score good. I actually played pretty terrible but scored okay.”
Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit leader Lachlan Barker (SA) is safely into the weekend after rounds of 69-68 to sit seven shots from the lead at 3-under, two behind the only woman to make the halfway cut, Queenslander Robyn Choi, who climbed inside the top 10 with a 2-under 68.
Jack Wright (Qld) produced the first hole-in-one at a Tour event at Willunga, using a pitching wedge to ace the 122m par-three 16th, while Zach Maxwell (Qld) added his name to the equal course record holders with a 63 that followed an opening 75.
South Australia’s first mixed gender professional tournament will add in two extra events at the weekend, with All-Abilities players and elite juniors joining the field.
The leading group will tee off at 1.25pm (SA time).
The only place to see the final two rounds of Webex Players Series South Australia is on Fox Sports through either Foxtel or Kayo Sports.
Image: Coffs Harbour’s Andrew Campbell tees off during round two of Webex Players Series South Australia hosted by Greg Blewett
The coveted Golf Club of the Year was just one of five awards bestowed upon Nudgee Golf Club at the 2023 Queensland Golf Industry Awards at the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre on Thursday night.
A total of 460 guests from all areas of the golf industry gathered to celebrate the year’s best performers and another impressive year of growth for the game of golf in Queensland.
Cameron Smith’s coach, Grant Field, was again acknowledged as the Coach of the Year (High Performance) while The Brisbane Golf Club’s Asha Hargreaves was named Coach of the Year (Game Development).
But it was a night of celebration for Nudgee Golf Club in Brisbane’s northern suburbs.
In addition to receiving the Golf Club of the Year, Nudgee General Manager Darren Richards was named PGA Management Professional of the Year, outgoing president Paul Rigby received the Board Member of the Year award, recently departed Assistant Superintendent Scott McComas received the Assistant Superintendents Recognition Award and Course Superintendent Peter Culross won the Superintendents Environment and Safety Excellence Award.
Given what the club and its members have had to endure for the past decade with the compulsory acquisition of 10 per cent of its land for the widening of the Gateway Motorway and subsequent construction of two new golf courses, Richards said it was recognition that everyone at the club played a part in.
“Tonight caps off what has been a period of great transition for Nudgee Golf Club in a way we could not have imagined,” said Richards.
“Our members have been extremely patient as the Nudgee Golf Club Board navigated a challenging time that has, ultimately, given us two new golf courses and enabled us to become the home of the Queensland PGA Championship.
“I am proud to accept my award as PGA Management Professional of the Year but I am even more proud of Paul Rigby being acknowledged as Board Member of the Year, the Recognition Award given to our former Assistant Superintendent Scott McComas and for Peter Culross receiving the Superintendents Environment and Safety Excellence Award.
“It is through their tireless efforts and the contribution of every single staff member that Nudgee Golf Club can proudly accept our recognition as Golf Club of the Year.”
Another club to leave with multiple awards was Oxley Golf Club.
Known for its innovative ways in which it has engaged not only its golfers but members of the community, Oxley General Manager Aaron Muirhead received the Distinguished Manager Award and Course Superintendent Glenn Beauclerc the recipient of the Superintendents Achievement Award.
Justice Bosio and Quinn Croker were named Female and Male Amateur Golfer of the Year respectively and journalist David Newbery’s four decades of contribution to the coverage of golf saw him receive the Services to Golf honour.
Award winners
2023 PGA Queensland Coach of the Year – High Performance: Grant Field
2023 PGA Queensland Coach of the Year – Game Development: Asha Hargreaves
2023 PGA Queensland Club Professional of the Year: Christopher Graham (Ocean Shores CC)
2023 PGA Queensland Management Professional of the Year: Darren Richards (Nudgee GC)
2023 Tournament of the Year: Wynnum Pro-Am
2023 Metropolitan Tournament of the Year: Redcliffe Pro-Am
2023 Regional Tournament of the Year: Rockhampton Pro-Am
2023 Legends Tournament of the Year: PNG Senior Open
2023 Golf Course Turf Apprentice of the Year Award: Ethan Vickery (Rowes Bay GC)
2023 Golf Course Assistant Superintendents Recognition Award: Scott McComas (Nudgee GC)
2023 Superintendents Achievement Award: Glenn Beauclerc (Oxley GC)
2023 Superintendents Environment and Safety Excellence Award: Peter Culross (Nudgee GC)
2023 Superintendents Industry Recognition Award: Darryl Edwards (Burleigh GC)
2023 Golf Club Staff Member of the Year: Suzanne Walker (Twin Waters GC)
2023 Golf Club Board Member of the Year: Paul Rigby (Nudgee GC)
2023 Golf Club of the Year: Nudgee Golf Club
2023 Distinguished Manager Award: Aaron Muirhead (Oxley GC)
2023 Male Amateur Golfer of the Year: Quinnton Croker
2023 Female Amateur Golfer of the Year: Justice Bosio
2023 Junior Female Amateur Golfer of the Year: Sarah Hammett
2023 Junior Male Amateur Golfer of the Year: Harry Takis
2023 Volunteer of the Year: Rob Bailo (Maleny GC)
2023 Golf Club of the Year (Under 400 Members): Bulimba Golf Club
2023 Golf Supplier of the Year: CPR Group
2023 Services to Golf Award: David Newbery
2023 Junior Golf Program of the Year Award: Keperra Country Golf Club
Photos: Kurt Thomson
Ballina’s Jay Mackenzie and Perth rookie professional Josh Greer share the clubhouse lead midway through the second round of the Webex Players Series South Australia hosted by Greg Blewett.
A former WA PGA champion, Mackenzie matched the Willunga course record with a 7-under 63 to move to 8-under for the tournament.
He had company at the top of the leaderboard when Greer birdied the par-4 18th to complete a 6-under 64.
One shot behind in third place is the 2016 Hong Kong Open champion, Sam Brazel (NSW), who defied a troublesome ribs issue to turn in a second-round of 65.
Overnight leader Josh Clarke (-7) is on-course this afternoon, while Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit leader Lachlan Barker (SA), who attracted the biggest gallery this morning, is safely into the weekend after rounds of 69-68 to sit at 3-under.
The leading woman is Queensland’s Robyn Choi who climbed inside the top 10 with a 2-under 68.
Queenslander Jack Wright produced the first hole-in-one at a Tour event at Willunga, using a pitching wedge to ace the 122m par-three 16th.
The only place to see the final two rounds of Webex Players Series South Australia is on Fox Sports through either Foxtel or Kayo Sports.
Photo: Jay Mackenzie at Willunga Golf Course today
Scores: https://pga.org.au/report/?tourn=1205&season=2023&report=tmscores~season=2023~params=P*2ESC02~
Sydney’s Josh Clarke started the inaugural Webex Players Series South Australia presented by Greg Blewett with a joint course record seven-under-par 63 to seize the lead after day one at Willunga today.
Struggling for form so far on the 2023/24 Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia, Clarke found his putting touch to roll in seven birdies at the picturesque McLaren Vale layout, one shot better than fellow New South Wales pro Andrew Campbell and Victoria’s James Marchesani.
Campbell eagled his final hole, the par-5 ninth, where he hit his eight-iron approach to inside two metres, while Marchesani narrowly missed a mid-length birdie putt on the 18th that would have given him a share of the course record with Clarke and the former solo holder, South Australian Tom Bond.
Fresh off a family holiday at Hamilton Island after picking up a minor ankle issue at the WA Open, three-time Tour winner Matt Griffin (Vic) is part of a three-way tie for fourth with Dillon Hart (Qld) and Austin Bautista (NSW) at 5-under.
Playing in their state’s first mixed gender professional tournament, Jak Carter and Jack Thompson are the leading South Australians at 4-under.
In the fourth year of his professional career, Clarke came into this week on the back of a missed cut at the WA PGA Championship at Kalgoorlie and a tie for 65th at the WA Open at Joondalup.
“That’s the best I’ve hit it for a while,” the 30-year-old, who is based at Lynwood in Sydney’s north-west, said.
“I’ve had 18 months of pretty average golf to be honest, but I’m slowly turning the corner which is nice.
“It’s a pleasant surprise that the putter is starting to co-operate.”
Campbell’s presence on the leaderboard isn’t so much of a surprise with the Coffs Harbour-based professional already recording two top-10s this season.
His goal is to turn this “awesome start” on a course that reminds him of where he grew up, Warringah Golf Club in Sydney, into his first Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia victory.
“I’ve been out here long enough. I know what I’ve got to do,” he said.
“My golf is getting better and better so ‘winning’ is the aim. I know I can win and I’m here to win.
“Having played well in pro-ams leading up to this has certainly given me a lot of confidence.”
Marchesani was another player carrying some good momentum to Willunga after tying for seventh at Kalgoorlie last week.
“The form has been trending in the right direction,” he said after his bogey-free round.
“I made a good run early on the front nine on Sunday (at the WA PGA) which I knew I had to to catch Benny (Eccles) and made a bogey which probably halted that push.
“The game’s felt nice the last few weeks so it was nice to get off to a good start today.”
The Willunga women’s course record of 72 was beaten by three players in the morning field – Emma Ash (NSW), Kathryn Norris (WA) and Grace Lennon (Vic) – who posted 1-under 69s.
They were then trumped in the afternoon wave by the 3-under 67s from Claire Shin (NSW) and Robyn Choi (Qld), who are in a share of 13th.
Fresh back from playing on the Epson Tour in the United States where she narrowly missed her LPGA Tour card, Choi took a conservative approach to her Willunga debut.
“Today overall was steady golf. I didn’t get myself into too much trouble. The course is pretty tight, so I tried to play conservative off the tee,” she said.
“The course is playing narrow but also playing short. If I hit my drives well then it was a good opportunity for me to approach with my wedge which always helps a lot.”
Challenger PGA Tour Order of Merit leader and hometown favourite Lachlan Barker birdied the last to end the day at 1-under, while the unlucky story of the day came from Victorian Brett Coletta who was -6 with two holes left only to double-bogey the par-5 17th and then drop another shot at the last after his approach shot hit the pin and rebounded to the edge of the green.
The only place to see the final two rounds of Webex Players Series South Australia is on Fox Sports through either Foxtel or Kayo Sports.
Day one scores: https://pga.org.au/report/?tourn=auto&class=aus
Matt Docking has claimed the PGA Professionals Championship National Final by one-shot, chasing down TJ King with a near perfect five-under 67 on the final day.
The Head Professional from Royal Hobart only managed to hit the lead on the 15th hole, but made clutch putts on 16, 17 and 18 to deny King a chance to wrestle the lead back.
Now a four-time champion of the PGA Professionals Championship, Docking continues to find his best form at the right time.
“It was probably one of my best ball-striking days I can remember,” he said.
Docking could laugh about it after the round, but after missing a number of short putts, and holing some longer ones, he had an interesting new name for his putter.
“I started calling it Katy Perry on the back nine,” he joked, referring to her song, ‘Hot and Cold’.
“I just kept plugging away. I felt if I could put some pressure on him (King), he might make an error, and an opening came in the back nine and away we went.
“I feel for TJ coming runner-up last year and again this year, but at the same time I’m ecstatic to win, especially with everything I’ve had going on lately.”
He was emotional coming down the 18th, and noted in his acceptance speech that keeping his mind focussed on the golf was a struggle.
Docking’s two daughters have special needs, and with limited schooling in Tasmania, a move to Victoria was needed, he notes “to give them the best chance to succeed in life”.
He is leaving Royal Hobart in the coming weeks, taking up a role at Murray Downs and the family are moving to Swan Hill. Although sad to be leaving Hobart, Docking is optimistic for this new chapter for his family.
As Docking noted, this makes it two runner-up finishes in consecutive years for Queensland’s TJ King.
King held the lead for 50 holes, but shaved the edge on one too many putts today, finishing with a one-under 71 and nine-under total, one behind Docking.
As the top two finishes, Docking and King both receive spots in the Fortinet Australian PGA Championship, with both stating their excitement at getting back to the event and the chance to play with some of the world’s best.
Full scores can be found here.
