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West Australian Jordan Doull has won the inaugural Webex Players Series Perth hosted by Minjee and Min Woo Lee at the second playoff hole at Royal Fremantle Golf Club.
Flawless throughout the final round, Doull’s only blunder in a round of 5-under 67 came at the 72nd hole when he flared his second shot right and then three-putted the par-5 18th green.
That opened the door for fellow West Aussie Haydn Barron (68) to birdie the final hole and match Doull’s four-round total of 17-under par.
On the back edge of the green for two, Barron ran an eagle try that would have won him the tournament 10 feet past, coolly stepping up to hole the birdie putt and send the tournament to extra holes.
The pair both made birdie at the first playoff hole with clutch putts from behind the hole, heading back to the 18th tee to do it all again.
Barron was blocked out with his second after hitting into the left rough, Doull able to fashion a shot just short of the green after also hitting out of the trees left of the fairway.
Barron missed his birdie putt from the front left of the green, Doull clinching a breakthrough Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia title in his rookie season with a birdie from 12 feet.
A loss to Jack Buchanan at the second playoff hole at the WA PGA Championship in October was vindication that Doull could compete at this level, his win projected to move him inside the top 10 on the 2024-2025 Order of Merit.
“It was more telling myself that I could compete out here with these guys,” Doull said of his near miss at Kalgoorlie.
“I mean, the second event, you’ve got Q School status, you don’t really know where you sit. You see scores of 17, 18-under and you think, How can I get to that?
“And then going out and actually doing it, you then know that you can do it. That was the big thing coming out of ‘Kal’.”
Paired with girlfriend and joint runner-up at Webex Players Series South Australia, Kathryn Norris, for the first two rounds, Doull was ecstatic to have Kathryn caddie for him over the weekend.
Keeping him calm throughout the back nine and into the playoff, Doull struggled to hold back the tears as the weight of his win finally sank in.
“You dream about this kind of thing your whole life and for it to finally come to a head, you just let it all out,” he said. “I think that’s mainly where it comes from.”
Defying the age-old adage that it is hard to back up a low round with another after shooting 64 in Round 3 – particularly on Sundays – Doull signalled his intent from the outset.
Three back of Rudgeley through 54 holes, the 25-year-old birdied each of his opening two holes to draw within one of the lead.
When Rudgeley dropped a shot at the par-3 third, she was joined on top by Doull, Barron and Jake McLeod at 14-under par.
What shaped as a Sunday shootout with potential for a playoff turned into a one-man procession as the afternoon unfolded.
Barron dropped a shot to halt his momentum, McLeod made a second double-bogey to go with two eagles and three birdies and Rudgeley missed a golden opportunity to make eagle after driving the green at the par-4 15th.
Hooley-DOULLY 🤯
— PGA of Australia (@PGAofAustralia) January 12, 2025
Jordan Doull has a two-shot lead!#WebexPlayersSeries | #TheChaseIsOn pic.twitter.com/4zWeaRQ8Bp
Out on 5-under 31 with a one-stroke lead from Barron and McLeod, Doull reached 18-under and 6-under on his round with a birdie at the par-4 10th.
As others faltered, he remained steady with six pars in succession.
He hit a brilliant approach shot from the left rough into the 16th green yet was unable to convert a birdie chance that may have closed the door on his pursuers.
Barron was left to rue a three-putt par after also driving the green on 15 and then both missed their birdie putts on 16 from the back edge of the green.
A successfully navigated three-foot par on 17 sent Doull to the 72nd hole with a two-stroke buffer as in the group behind Barron and Rudgeley both saw birdie tries slip agonisingly by on the left side of the hole.
The Webex Junior Players Series Perth also required a playoff hole before Krishav Sheth edge Kloden Brown while Steve Alderson made it two on the trot with his 10-shot win in the Webex All Abilities Players Series.
Photo: Cassandra Edwards/PGA of Australia
West Australian legend Brett Rumford played his way into contention and then immediately turned teacher on day three of the Webex Players Series Perth hosted by Minjee and Min Woo Lee.
With a history at Royal Fremantle Golf Club dating back to his days as a 12-year-old junior, Rumford shot 6-under 66 on Saturday to sit just two strokes back of fellow West Aussie Kirsten Rudgeley heading into Sunday’s final round.
Playing partner Anthony Quayle also shot 66 in Round 3 to be tied with Rumford and three others at 12-under par, the pair heading straight to the chipping green for a short game lesson from one of the world’s greatest exponents.
Now spending his time as a PGA Professional teaching out of Wembley Golf Complex, Rumford was happy to share his insights with a player he will be trying to beat in the final round.
“He asked me on the 15th and I said, ‘Yeah, let’s go’,” said Rumford.
“Then we both started to make a couple (of birdies),” added Quayle.
“I was just signing my scorecard thinking, I wonder if he’d prefer to do it tomorrow, because I didn’t want to fill his head with anything.”
Quayle eagerly took up the offer, however, from a short game wizard who he has admired ever since his junior days in Queensland.
“I still remember watching ‘Rummy’ win on tour,” Quayle recalled.
“He won back-to-back DP World Tour events and I remember being a bit of a kid at the time and just thinking, Holy, that guy’s a gun.
“The first time I got to play with ‘Rummy’ was at Queensland PGA and I just loved it. I was just like, This is awesome.”
Having committed to play the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia season rather than continue his career on the Japan Golf Tour, there is much for Quayle to play for on Sunday.
Currently in eighth position, he is the highest-ranked player on the current Order of Merit thanks to his tie for third at the BMW Australian PGA Championship and top-five finishes at both the Victorian PGA Championship and Gippsland Super 6.
With three spots on the DP World Tour up for grabs at season’s end, Rumford is backing his latest student to play his way back onto a major tour sooner rather than later.
“He’s got such a massive game,” said Rumford. “There’s a massive chance he’ll run top three.
“There’s a pathway to Europe and there’s always a pathway from Europe onto the PGA TOUR where his game is going to flourish anyway.
“What the PGA Tour of Australasia have done with the alliance with the DP World Tour, it’s a fantastic incentive for the guys to stay here.”
Given the influence Australian golf is currently having on the world stage, we thought it timely to launch the Australian Golf Power Rankings, a weekly feature that will showcase our best performers throughout the year.
In 2025 we will have a record Australian representation on the LPGA Tour, the likes of Adam Scott, Jason Day, Cam Davis and Min Woo Lee chasing more success on the PGA TOUR, Elvis Smylie will join Jason Scrivener and David Micheluzzi as a member of the DP World Tour, Ripper GC will be out to defend their LIV Golf Teams title and Kelsey Bennett will have a rookie season on the Ladies European Tour alongside Kirsten Rudgeley.
We will have competitors on the Asian Tour, Epson Tour, Japan Golf Tour, LET Access Series, Korn Ferry Tour and even TGL.
Success will come, and this will be the place to keep track of it all.
10. Kelsey Bennett
Finished tied for seventh at the ISPS HANDA Women’s Australian Open and then secured her Ladies European Tour card for 2025 at Final Stage of Qualifying School in Morocco. Was exempt into Final Stage courtesy of her finish on the LET Access Series points list highlighted by a breakthrough win in France in September.
9. Lucas Herbert
Was a colossus for Ripper GC and then converted that form into success on home soil with victory at the Ford NSW Open at Murray Downs. Backed that up with a tie for fifth at the ISPS HANDA Australian Open at Kingston Heath.
8. Minjee Lee
A tie for fourth early in the year was Lee’s only top-five finish in 2024, her first winless season since the Covid-interrupted 2020 season. Despite struggles with the putter and shortened preparation was tied for seventh at ISPS HANDA Women’s Australian Open.
7. Cam Davis
Enjoyed a terrific finish to the 2024 PGA TOUR season on the back of a second victory at the Rocket Mortgage Classic. Was tied for sixth at the BMW Australian PGA Championship and was T13th in his 2025 season-opener at The Sentry in Hawaii.
6. Stephanie Kyriacou
It took an eagle on the 72nd hole to deny the Sydneysider a maiden major title at the Amundi Evian Championship and she closed out 2024 with a tie for seventh at the ISPS HANDA Australian Open and 54th on the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings.
5. David Micheluzzi
Completed an outstanding rookie season by playing his way into the DP World Tour Playoffs and then began his 2025 campaign with a fifth-place finish at the BMW Australian PGA Championship.
4. Elvis Smylie
Potential finally translated into professional victories as Smylie took the Australian summer by storm. Battled ferocious winds and Jak Carter to win the WA Open in a playoff and then stared down Cameron Smith and Marc Leishman to win the BMW Australian PGA Championship, thus securing status on the DP World Tour for the next two years. Currently leads Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit.
3. Cameron Smith
After leading Ripper GC to the team title on LIV Golf in 2024, Smith returned home and did everything but win on the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia. Smith was third at the Queensland PGA and then runner-up at both the Ford NSW Open and BMW Australian PGA Championship.
2. Adam Scott
Finished 2024 as Australia’s highest-ranked male player at No.18 in the world and began his 2025 campaign with a tie for 15th at The Sentry in Hawaii.
1. Hannah Green
Last start was a valiant tie for fourth at the ISPS HANDA Australian Open and enters the new year looking to back up her three-win season on the LPGA Tour in 2024.
The Australian Golf Power Rankings is a subjective list developed with input from members of the Australian Golf media team.
When you’re the only girl in Geraldton who plays golf, finding friends to play with – let alone learn the game with – never enters your mind.
Rachel Campbell grew up the daughter of a PGA Professional, so found her way into golf via that path. She has since discovered since joining the team at Lake Karrinyup Country Club in Perth that many women desire a more collective entry point.
Since taking over the Women’s Introductory Program six years ago, Rachel has introduced 48 women to golf over a 22-week period each year.
Last year, 37 of those women took up the transitional membership offered by the club. Next year’s program, which starts in March, has just six of the remaining 48 spots still available.
Each program consists of six groups of eight women and Rachel believes that it is the shared experience that makes it such a success.
“It’s often safety in numbers,” says Rachel.
“There’s always two or three friends that are doing it together because one won’t do it without the other.
“It’s very social. There’s a lot of chatting that happens in our classes and it’s a pretty relaxed atmosphere, but that’s what they’re there for. They’re there to have some fun, do something with their friends.”
Rachel herself was an outstanding junior golfer who attended New Mexico State University on a golf scholarship before spending time on the Ladies European Tour, Futures Tour in the US and the WPGA Tour of Australasia.
But through offering the group lessons where half the time is spent on course to make ladies feel comfortable and aware of golf etiquette, Rachel is seeing the wider benefits that playing golf offers, even if you don’t carry a scorecard.
“One of the ladies who was in the program my first year in 2019 is now nominating to be on the committee,” says Rachel.
“Six years ago, she didn’t know anyone in the club and had never played golf.
“She said that the program positively transformed her life and that she has ‘found her tribe’ with a passion for golf.
“Some of these ladies will never play a comp. They just want to play nine holes on a Monday morning with their friends and have a coffee.
“There are a group of ladies who now go away on golf trips together who met doing the introductory program.
“They’ll go down to Margaret River; one lady has a boat so they’ll go to Rottnest Island for the day and play the Rottnest Cup. They recently went to Adelaide.
“It’s quite amazing. They didn’t know each other well and now they’ve just formed this nice group.
“Golf’s probably not the highlight – it’s the eating and drinking and a bit of travel along the way – but golf brought them all together.”
PGA Professionals throughout Australia offer introductory group lessons. To find the one nearest to you visit www.pga.org.au/find-a-pga-pro/
She has a general distaste for pizza. “There’s just too much going on. Too many flavours.” Spoiler alert, the death of John Dutton on ‘Yellowstone’ brought her to tears and ‘The Fault In Our Stars’ induces “ugly sobbing” every time.
Slow-walking people frustrate her – both on and off the golf course – yet her temper is at its most frayed in a different sporting arena.
“On the tennis court, I have such a temper. It’s next level, honestly. Even Dad’s like, ‘Wow, Cass, chill.’ And I’m like, ‘No! I am better than this.’ It really gets on my nerves.”
Yes, LPGA-bound Cassie Porter is the cheery, effervescent person you have seen emerge on the WPGA Tour of Australasia and the Epson Tour the past three years, but there is so much more sitting just beneath the surface.
“There’s definitely a real fire there that burns pretty bright all the time,” Porter confesses.
“I want to be the best. I don’t want that to sound bad, but it’s just a mindset thing.”
“It doesn’t matter what she does, she absolutely has to win,” says Porter’s long-time coach, Dan Morrison.
“I’ll play her at darts, no problems at all. I’ll play her at darts any day of the week. But tennis, no, she’s too good.”
With an LPGA Tour rookie season beckoning, Porter begins her 2025 campaign as one of the marquee names at this week’s Webex Players Series Perth hosted by Minjee and Min Woo Lee at Royal Fremantle Golf Club.
It is somewhat new territory for the 22-year-old but the next stop along a path she, Morrison and her family have been plotting for close to a decade.
“Six months to a year in, I had almost a hundred percent faith that I knew where we could go with this,” said Morrison, who first started working with Porter when she was just 14 years old.
“I knew she could make LPGA. It’s one of those things that was blindingly obvious.”
‘I woke up one day and couldn’t walk’
Early in 2020, shortly after coming through the stress of completing her final year of high school, everything that an athletic and energetic Cassie Porter had known came to a frightening halt.
At her parents’ home on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast, Porter woke to searing pain in her hip and back, an ailment that she would undergo 16 MRIs in an attempt to diagnose, a range of diagnoses from different specialists failing to find the solution.
It was an 18-month enforced hiatus from the game at a crucial time in a young player’s development, Porter faced with the possibility that she may never play competitive golf again.
“Every doctor I saw told me something different and I was just getting worse. I was in so much pain,” Porter recalls.
“Certain people weren’t scared to tell me that I would never play golf again and that my career’s probably over.
“I just was like, That’s just not it. That’s not where my journey ends.
“I changed my physio and saw a few doctors that I really wanted to see and within six weeks I was back playing pain-free.”
Working closely with Morrison and physiotherapist Jen McKenzie, Porter slowly and methodically rebuilt her body and her game.
When she returned to competitive golf after almost 18 months away, Porter won the Katherine Kirk Classic and Keperra Bowl in quick succession.
At just 19 years of age, she then made the decision to turn professional.
“My coach and I were basically the only ones in our whole circle that were like, ‘Let’s do it’,” Porter says of her move into the pro ranks.
“It was a pretty bold decision, I won’t lie. It did happen quite quickly. I mean, I didn’t play for 18 months. Suddenly I was playing pain-free and straight out the box, I wanted to turn pro.
“I was house-sitting for my sister at the time. I went down to the beach and just cried for four hours. I knew that if I turned professional then… there’s no going back after that.
“It was that cliff that once you take that step, if you have the right mindset, you’re not going to fall. You’re going to fly.”
‘Potential to be a superstar’
Cassie Porter was 12 years old when she first told people closest to her that she wanted to play the LPGA Tour.
Ten years on – and eight years into the plan she and Morrison devised with the United States as the ultimate destination – that pre-teen declaration has become a reality.
A win at the FireKeepers Casino Hotel Championship last June gave Porter the foundation to finish 10th on the Epson Tour points list and secure that coveted LPGA Tour card.
Playing in Perth this week is partly driven by her goal to be top 80 in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings by year’s end as she and Morrison plot what comes next.
“Yes, we’ve ticked off a very long journey to get to this point, but it’s the beginning of the main story now,” says Morrison.
“We need to keep putting that work in and be able to justify the work we’ve done and get a reward for the path we’ve travelled.
“We just want to make sure that we do ourselves proud and get those results that we know she’s capable of.”
Adds Porter: “I’m absolutely going to be grateful for every second because it’s what I’ve dreamed of since I was 12.
“It’s a dream come true, but I am also not going to take that for granted. I’m going to work hard because there’s a lot of stuff that I want to achieve out there.”
From the emergence of Karrie Webb through to the current crop of major winners in Minjee Lee and Hannah Green, no one has witnessed the emergence of more Aussie talent than WPGA Tour of Australasia CEO, Karen Lunn.
Having known Porter since she was 15 years old, Lunn believes Australia’s latest addition to the LPGA Tour has the foundation to join the greats of the game.
“You can get there too early, there’s no doubt about that, and the stars have got to align for you to reach the pinnacle,” Lunn adds.
“The Epson Tour has been the best thing for her. She’s absolutely ready to go to the LPGA now, where maybe a year ago she wasn’t.
“If Cassie stays healthy and if she keeps enjoying it, I have no doubt she can get to the very top of the tree.
“She’s got the potential to be another superstar.”
A rules blunder four holes from the finish denied Cam Davis a top-10 to start the year as Cameron Smith’s scoring record fell at The Sentry in Hawaii.
Hideki Matsuyama birdied the final hole to finish the week at 35-under par, the PGA TOUR all-time record low for score in relation to par.
Smith had held the record since 2022 when he shot 34-under in a duel with Jon Rahm at Kapalua Resort, Matsuyama setting a new benchmark in claiming a three-stroke victory worth $US3.6 million.
As Matsuyama counted his cash, Davis was left to rue the cost of a rules infraction he and playing partner Will Zalatoris incurred at the par-5 15th.
Zalatoris was first to play the wrong ball with his third shot, Davis subsequently hitting Zalatoris’s ball before the mistake was brought to light prior to both players hitting what would have been their fourth shots.
As a result, Davis and Zalatoris both incurred two-stroke penalties and had to return to the spot where they played their third shots from, both getting up-and-down for bogey.
Davis would drop another shot at the par-4 17th but birdied the par-5 closer for a final round of 4-under 69 to finish at 22-under par and tied for 13th, taking home $US410,000 in an encouraging start to 2025 for the two-time PGA TOUR winner.
Adam Scott birdied all four par-5s in his round of 3-under 70 to finish one back of Davis in a share of 15th with Jason Day tied for 40th after also posting 70 in Round 4.
Photo: Sarah Stier/Getty Images
Results
PGA TOUR
The Sentry
Plantation Course at Kapalua, Kapalua, Maui
1 Hideki Matsuyama 65-65-62-65—257 $US3.6m
T13 Cam Davis 73-64-64-69—270 $410,000
T15 Adam Scott 68-69-64-70—271 $292,000
T40 Jason Day 70-70-68-70—278 $81,000
On the back of securing his PGA TOUR Champions card for 2025, the 2023 New Zealand Open champion, Brendan Jones, has confirmed he will return to Queenstown for his favourite event of the year.
The 104th New Zealand Open presented by Sky Sport tees off at Millbrook Resort in Queenstown between February 27 and March 2.
A fantastic ambassador for both Queenstown and the New Zealand Open, Jones’ 2023 victory in Queenstown came after he survived the cut on the number, and then played “the two best shots of my life” to make crucial birdies on the final few holes helping him claim the title.
Speaking about the New Zealand Open Jones says he “wouldn’t miss it for anything” and is looking to add his name to the Brodie Breeze trophy once again.
“The New Zealand Open is the first event I add to my schedule every year. It’s a fabulous event and not only myself, but every one of the players can’t wait to be part of it.”
“Not only is it the best event of the year in my opinion, but the location and hospitality are something we don’t experience anywhere else in the world.”
Jones, who turns 50 on March 3, the day after the final round at the New Zealand Open, believes the experience and pressure from the PGA TOUR Champions Q-School has helped put him in great shape, both physically and mentally for returning to Queenstown.
“The Q-School process is quite tough and really tests your all-round game. Having had a few injuries this year, it’s been great to see my fitness and mentality back up to the level I want them to be at. Hopefully, these experiences will help me push on at Millbrook.”
Jones also made note of the success that Steven Alker, who is also confirmed to be playing at the New Zealand Open in 2025, has had in recent years on the PGA TOUR Champions and will be hoping to emulate his success.
“Obviously Steve has had a couple of wonderful seasons on the tour and I will definitely be having a few conversations with him in Queenstown. Maybe some of his magic will rub off on me.”
New Zealand Open Tournament Director, Michael Glading is delighted that Jones will be returning, and is also excited to see how he goes next year on tour.
“I think Brendan will do really well on the PGA TOUR Champions as he has the tools in his locker to win again, as he demonstrated so well in Queenstown in recent years,” Glading said.
For more information, please visit nzopen.com
Superstar siblings Minjee and Min Woo Lee hope to uncover and mentor the next generation of Aussie golf stars when the Webex Players Series Perth tees off at Royal Fremantle Golf Club on Thursday.
The pair of Paris Olympians will go from headline act to tournament hosts at the course where they developed their games, eager to share what they have learned about the golf course itself and their paths to the top of world golf.
Minjee, 28, is a two-time major champion with 10 career LPGA Tour wins while Min Woo is entering his second year on the PGA TOUR and whose four career wins include the 2023 Australian PGA Championship and 2021 Scottish Open.
It’s a far cry from their formative years in Perth, yet a major motivator in their decision to take on hosting duties for the first Webex Players Series event in their home state.
“It’s a real privilege for us to be able to host, especially in our home state and obviously at our home club, Royal Fremantle,” said Minjee.
“I’ve been here since I was eight years old, so for a tournament like the Webex Players Series to come to Royal Fremantle is a really big deal.”
Min Woo was a 14-year-old amateur when he played the WA Open for the first time in 2012, a tournament that was won by 18-year-old amateur Oliver Goss.
It is why he is so excited to not only provide a platform for elite amateurs and young professionals, but those who will contest the Webex Junior Players Series over the course of the weekend.
“We were lucky enough to play all the professional events before we turned pro and have that experience before we got to the big stage,” said Min Woo, a three-time winner on the DP World Tour.
“That definitely helped get us to where we are now. I’m really excited to see the juniors playing as well. That’s a new thing that’s been happening and I think a lot of good names will come out of it.
“It’s very inclusive to have all the juniors, men, women and All Abilities playing and definitely what we wanted to be part of promoting.”
A 30-time host of the WA Open and host venue of the 1960 Australian PGA Championship, Royal Fremantle Golf Club will mark its 120-year anniversary in 2025.
With such a storied history and the breeding ground of some of Australia’s greatest golfers, Royal Fremantle General Manager, Lucy Guppy, believes it is a fitting way to commence celebrations in a milestone year for the club.
“Royal Fremantle Golf Club is a club with a very proud history but also one that is committed to providing the best experience for a diverse membership,” Ms Guppy said.
“By having men, women, juniors and All Abilities competitors playing, the Webex Players Series is golf’s most inclusive tournament and we couldn’t think of two more appropriate hosts than Minjee and Min Woo.”
For participants who have never played Royal Fremantle, Min Woo says they can expect a golf course that offers up a mix of scoring opportunities and challenging pars.
“If the ‘Fremantle Doctor’ comes through, it can play windy, but then there’s also a lot of scoring opportunities,” said Min Woo.
“It’s definitely a fun course for everyone. I love coming back here. Make some birdies, but there’s also a few tough holes to get us in that frame of mind for the tough courses on tour.
“It’s a really nice mixture and if the greens are nice, it’s going to be a really good time for everyone who’s playing.”
The Webex Players Series is a playing opportunity for women and men professionals and elite amateurs, competing in the same field for the same prize purse in mixed pairings.
For the final two rounds, they are joined by competitors in the Webex All Abilities Players Series and Webex Junior Players Series.
The tournament runs from January 9-12 and entry is free for spectators all four days.
The final two rounds will be broadcast live on Fox Sports and Kayo from 4pm-7pm Saturday and 2pm-7pm Sunday AEDT.
When Hannah Green began her 2024 campaign, breaking into the world top 10 was a goal she was desperate to tick off.
With a three-win season on the LPGA Tour – a feat not achieved by an Australian since Karrie Webb in 2006 – there were times this year when Green could lay claims to being the best player in the women’s game.
Granted, everyone played second fiddle to Nelly Korda’s seven-win season and Lydia Ko’s Paris gold medal at AIG Women’s Open title was a remarkable run in its own right but there was no question that Green was part of the conversation.
It took just two starts for the West Australian to record her first win of the year at the HSBC Women’s World Championship, storming home to edge France’s Celine Boutier.
Champion's final putt!@hannahgreengolf wins the 2024 @HWWCGolf in style! ✨ pic.twitter.com/FBbTF5JFr0
— LPGA (@LPGA) March 3, 2024
She missed the cut unexpectedly at the Chevron Championship – the year’s first major – but bounced back a week later where she successfully defended her JM Eagle LA Championship title at Wilshire Country Club.
West Aussie golfer Hannah Green has firmed for Olympic selection – defending her JM Eagle Championship title. The 27-year-old with a dream to fend off her closest rival by three strokes | @GolfWestAust @GolfAust @ashnelson08 pic.twitter.com/qLjOuDm2d4
— 10 News First Perth (@10NewsFirstPER) April 29, 2024
A head-to-head with Nelly Korda at the Mizuho Americas Open led to a playoff defeat at the hands of the world No.1, Green climbing to a career high of No.5 in the world and full of confidence headed to her second Olympic Games.
A slight stumble out of the blocks put the now 28-year-old on the back foot but she clawed her way back into medal contention over the following three days.
Hannah Green you did not 😲
— Stan Sport (@StanSportAU) August 9, 2024
↳ Olympic Games Paris 2024. Every Event. Ad-free. Live & On Demand. Biggest Moments in 4K on Stan Sport.#StanSportAU #Paris2024 #Olympics #AllezAUS @GolfAust @AUSOlympicTeam pic.twitter.com/ibvIgNPgJ2
A hole-out for eagle at the par-4 17th in a back nine of 6-under in Round 3 put Green within four strokes of the medals heading into the final day. By the time she began the back nine in Round 4, she was in a tie for third and charging towards Australian Olympic history.
A wayward tee shot on 10 would lead to a double-bogey that would ultimately prove fatal, Green making par at the 72nd hole to finish one shot out of a medal playoff.
Green’s third win for the year came at the BMW Ladies Championship in Korea, making it successive Aussie wins after Minjee Lee’s victory in 2023, and was tied for sixth a week later at the Maybank Championship.
The third winning putt of the year for @hannahgreengolf! 🏆 pic.twitter.com/POJ8G98cTh
— LPGA (@LPGA) October 20, 2024
A second Greg Norman Medal at the PGA Awards was fitting reward for a season in which she finished sixth in the world ranking, seventh on the LPGA Tour Race to CME Globe standings and asserted her place as one of the dominant forces in women’s golf.
Photo: Andrew Redington/Getty Images
In May, Karl Vilips graduated after four years at Stanford University. In October, he wrapped up a 2025 PGA TOUR card.
In the professional golf of today, such an ascension is almost unheard of.
You are supposed to bide your time, pay your dues, do the hard yards on secondary tours and establish your own path to the highest echelons of the sport.
If you make it there at all.
The fact that Vilips was able to convert status on the PGA TOUR of Americas earned through the PGA TOUR U program into a PGA TOUR card inside five months is one of the more remarkable accomplishments of 2024.
That he was a child prodigy who has been seemingly on this path from the days he could first start walking makes Vilips’ story even more compelling.
With father Paul documenting his golfing development in Melbourne, Vilips came to public awareness with two US Kids Junior Golf Championship wins and a Callaway World Junior title.
After spending time in Perth, Vilips made the move to Florida to complete high school where his impressive golf credentials continued to build.
It made him a sought-after commodity by college golf programs, Vilips choosing to join Tiger Woods as a Stanford alumni where he closed out his college career with victory at the Pac-12 Championship.
That result saw Vilips finish 10th on the PGA TOUR U standings to begin his professional life with status on the PGA TOUR Americas.
After two starts on that tour he received a sponsor’s exemption to play on the Korn Ferry Tour.
He finished second in his second start there and won the Utah Championship in just his fifth tournament as a professional.
Those two results alone went a long way to Vilips’ finishing 19th on the 2024 Korn Ferry Tour Points List and earning Rookie of the Year honours.
Vilips returned home to Australia in November to play the ISPS HANDA Australian Open and will likely complete the whirlwind with his maiden start as a member of the PGA TOUR at the Sony Open in Hawaii in January.
