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The lessons learned from his short stint on the PGA TOUR 20 years ago will fuel Brendan Jones’s rookie season on the PGA TOUR Champions starting Friday.
Jones will make his senior tour debut at the Cologuard Classic just two days after turning 50 having earned a 2025 card at Qualifying School in December.
As torturous as that final day in Arizona may have been, it has provided arguably Australian golf’s most under-rated career with a second shot to make it in America.
Jones had won three of his 15 career Japan Golf Tour titles when he played the then Nationwide Tour in 2004, winning the LaSalle Bank Open on his way to a sixth-place finish on the moneylist.
That secured status on the PGA TOUR for the 2005 season, where Jones admits he lost sight of what had got him there in the first place.
“My game was pretty good then, but I did everything wrong,” said Jones, who finished tied second at the BC Open that season but narrowly missed out on retaining his card.
“I was an absolute novice, a rookie that just thought that you had to do things differently now that you’d made the PGA TOUR.
“I’ve had a lot of years to think about my performances in 2005, 2006. I could have extended my time in the US for who knows how long if I had have just done it my way that I’d done to that point.
“When I got there, I was practising more, I was playing more, and I was just burnt out by May. I was thinking, Well, I can’t take time off because I’m sliding down the moneylist each week. I’ve just got to keep working at it. And for me, that’s not the way I’ve played my best golf.
“If I could go back, I’d change a lot of things about the way I approached it, but going over there now, I’m more experienced.”
As the latest Aussie to join the PGA TOUR Champions, Jones not only brings experience but relative youth to the over-50s circuit.
Although plagued by injuries the past decade, Jones is in the type of physical shape that would be the envy of most 50-year-olds.
He knows that two decades on, his best chance of tasting success in the US against some of the greats of the game may come in his rookie year.
“The Japan Seniors is always a fallback for me but I just thought now’s the time to do something that I probably didn’t see myself doing,” Jones admitted.
“I never had this real desire to play there, but now that I’m 50 and, if I played well, it was an option and now it’s come to fruition.
“It’s exciting again. Getting beat up by these young kids on tour, it’s not a lot of fun when you’ve been one of those guys beating up on the young kids.
“I’m going to be playing with the guys that I watched on TV growing up, which is going to be pretty cool. But also at the same time, I’m a fresh 50 and raring to go.
“These guys have been doing it for years and years and years so it’s going to be fun, The people that I’ve spoken to have said it’s such a fun tour to play.”
Jones is one of 11 Aussies in the field for the Cologuard Classic while we have a four-pronged attack teeing it up at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
The Ripper GC boys are back in action at LIV Golf Hong Kong and Minjee Lee will seek to continue her good form at the Blue Bay LPGA in China.
Photo: Hannah Peters/Getty Images
Round 1 tee times AEDT
PGA TOUR
Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard
Arnold Palmer’s Bay Hill Club & Lodge, Orlando, Florida
11:50pm Min Woo Lee
12:40am Jason Day
1:35am Cam Davis
3:35am Adam Scott
Recent champion: Scottie Scheffler
Past Aussie winners: Rod Pampling (2006), Marc Leishman (2016), Jason Day (2017)
Prize money: $US20m
TV times: Live 11:30pm-10am Thursday, Friday; Live 12am-10am Sunday; Live 11pm-9am Sunday on Fox Sports 503 and Kayo.
Puerto Rico Open
Grand Reserve Golf Club, Rio Grande, Peurto Rico
10:40pm Aaron Baddeley
11:24pm Karl Vilips
Recent champion: Brice Garnett
Past Aussie winners: Nil
Prize money: $US4m
TV times: Live 2am-5am Friday, Saturday on Fox Sports 507; Live 6:30am-9am Sunday; Live 5:30am-8am Monday on Fox Sports 505 and Kayo.
LPGA Tour
Blue Bay LPGA
Jian Lake Blue Bay Golf Course, Hainan Island, China
10:48am Cassie Porter
10:48am* Fiona Xu (NZ)
11:43am* Minjee Lee
3:07pm Karis Davidson
3:51pm Hira Naveed
Recent champion: Bailey Tardy
Past Aussie winners: Minjee Lee (2016)
Prize money: $US2.5m
TV times: Live 3pm-8pm Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday on Fox Sports 503 and Kayo.
DP World Tour
Joburg Open
Houghton GC, Johannesburg, South Africa
3:50pm Danny List
5:30pm* Kazuma Kobori (NZ)
Recent champion: Dean Burmester
Past Aussie winners: Nil
Prize money: ZAR20.5m
TV times: Live 10pm-3am Thursday, Friday; Live 9:30pm-2am Saturday; Live 8:30pm-1:30am Sunday on Fox Sports 503 and Kayo.
LIV Golf
LIV Golf Hong Kong
Hong Kong Golf Club, Fanling, Hong Kong
Australasians in the field: Cameron Smith, Marc Leishman, Lucas Herbert, Matt Jones, Ben Campbell (NZ), Danny Lee (NZ)
Recent champion: Abraham Ancer
Past Aussie winners: Nil
Prize money: $US20m
TV times: Live from 5pm AEDT Friday, Saturday, Sunday on 7 Plus.
PGA TOUR Champions
Cologuard Classic
La Paloma Country Club, Tucson, Arizona
Australasians in the field: Steven Alker (NZ), Steve Allan, Stuart Appleby, David Bransdon, Greg Chalmers, Mathew Goggin, Richard Green, Mark Hensby, Brendan Jones, Rod Pampling, Cameron Percy, Michael Wright.
Recent champion: Joe Durant
Past Aussie winners: Nil
Prize money: $US2.2m
TV times: 6pm-7:30pm Saturday; Live 9am-11am Sunday; Live 8am-11am Monday on Fox Sports 505 and Kayo.
Korn Ferry Tour
Astara Chile Classic presented by Scotiabank
Prince of Wales Country Club, Santiago, Chile
9:55pm* Rhein Gibson
3:52am Harry Hillier (NZ)
Recent champion: Taylor Dickson
Past Aussie winners: Nil
Prize money: $US1m
Epson Tour
Atlantic Beach Classic
Atlantic Beach Country Club, Atlantic Beach, Florida
11:52pm* Robyn Choi
4:16am* Su Oh
5:44am* Caitlin Peirce
Recent champion: Briana Chacon
Past Aussie winners: Nil
Prize money: $US250,000
Louis Dobbelaar has opened up for the first time on the struggles that have plagued him the past two years, the moment he hit rock bottom and why he returns to the New Zealand PGA with more self-belief than at any other time in his career.
Still just 22 years of age, Dobbelaar has endured a dip in the trajectory that had him pointed towards a prosperous career on golf’s international stage following his Wallace Development New Zealand PGA Championship triumph in 2023.
He won the 2016 NZ Amateur at Royal Wellington Golf Club as a 15-year-old, in so doing becoming the youngest winner in the championship’s history.
The trans-Tasman double was complete when Dobbelaar claimed the Australian Amateur in 2021 and, shortly after turning professional that same year, he earned playing rights on the PGA TOUR’s Latin America tour.
Highlighted by a third-place finish at the 2021 Australian PGA Championship, Dobbelaar had four top-five finishes in his first 12 months on the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia and then broke through two years ago with a maiden professional win at Gulf Harbour Country Club.
What happened next is not only a cautionary tale but a reminder of the reality young players accustomed to winning must face.
“You get a bit of a taste of success but what came after that was a little bit of a false sense of where I was at and maybe a bit of complacency,” concedes Dobbelaar.
“When you do have a nice amateur career and you are in contention a lot and you maybe have a few trophies, you just think it’s going to be this slow, constant progression and the graph keeps trending upwards.
“You’ve got to go back a couple steps every now and then. Not that you want to, it’s just all part of it.
“Maybe I have run off a bit of confidence in my past when I’ve been doing well. It’s just been an easy thing to keep doing, but playing poorly took a toll on me mentally.
“I’ve had to really take a step back from my emotions with the game and stand out on the golf course naked to a degree, embarrassing yourself a few times to kind of work through it.
“You’ve got to hit some rock bottoms and ask some hard questions.
“That’s something that can be so hard with your ego on the line.”
‘My head was getting the best of me’
Two key elements conspired to derail the momentum of one of Australia’s most promising young professionals.
Dobbelaar’s physical development convinced him that he had to play the game differently. As the boy matured into a young man, there was a temptation to use his more muscular frame to hit the ball harder. Make the ball fly further.
He also ventured down a path where Dobbelaar evaluated his game by how his swing looked on video, not by how many shots it took to get the ball in the hole.
“A couple of little technical things that I probably hyper-fixated on that probably didn’t need the amount of attention I was giving it,” Dobbelaar reflects.
“That took my focus away from playing good golf.”
In the 12 months after his NZ PGA win, Dobbelaar made 18 starts, missed nine cuts and didn’t have a single top-25 finish.
That trend continued to start the 2024-2025 season, walking off after shooting 81 in Round 2 of the Queensland PGA Championship at Nudgee just six months ago his breaking point.
“My head was getting the best of me. I just couldn’t be present and play golf,” he added.
“I was just all over the shop. I had a couple sit downs with my psychologist (Jonah Oliver) and identified some stuff that actually needed attention.
“I was driving myself nuts and every swing meant more than just a golf score.
“Most guys go through something similar as a pro, but that was the first time I’d ever experienced it with a game that I just love so much.”
‘Believing more than ever’
No longer trading on confidence accumulated as a star amateur, Dobbelaar has sought to build belief to become the professional he has proven he can be.
He has drawn inspiration from the way the past two Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit winners, David Micheluzzi and Kazuma Kobori, have identified and owned who they are as players.
As he prepares to tee it up at Hastings Golf Club on Thursday morning alongside last week’s NZ Open winner, Ryan Peake, and the 2024 NZ PGA champion, Pieter Zwart, Dobbelaar is a believer once again.
“I’m believing more than I ever have,” said Dobbelaar, who was tied for 11th at Webex Players Series Sydney a fortnight ago.
“The last few events, in my eyes, have shown the calibre of player that I think that I am more so than I have probably ever in my career, which is exciting to me.
“Who knows if that means I’m going to play well or not, but I’ve been able to actually do the things that I believe I can do lately, which has been fun.”
The Wallace Development New Zealand PGA Championship tees off at 5:45am AEDT Thursday morning.
Australian Golf has announced the extension of its partnership with BMW Australia for a further term, solidifying the premium automotive leader’s commitment to the growth and promotion of golf in the country.
This extension builds upon the landmark partnership signed in 2022 when BMW became the first joint partner of Australian Golf, a successful collaboration that has seen BMW make significant contributions to the sport.
BMW’s involvement is highlighted by its ongoing title partnership of the BMW Australian PGA Championship for 2024 and beyond, alongside its partnerships with the Australian Open, Australian WPGA Championship, Webex Players Series and Vic Open.
BMW’s investment in Australia’s best golf talent is also evident in their list of current player ambassadors that includes reigning BMW Australian PGA champion Elvis Smylie, major winner Minjee Lee, former Australian PGA champion and PGA TOUR member Min Woo Lee, and LPGA Tour winner Grace Kim.
PGA of Australia and Golf Australia Chief Commercial Officer Michael McDonald recognised BMW’s significant role in the sport’s ongoing success, with significant growth occurring across all aspects of the game.
“BMW’s contribution to Australian Golf has been invaluable and it continues to expand,” he said.
“In 2022, BMW set new ground by becoming the first company to partner with all three national governing bodies – Golf Australia, PGA of Australia and WPGA Tour of Australasia – under the banner of Australian Golf.
“Their dedication and investment into our tournaments, players, members and our fans continue to make a tangible difference, and we are excited to continue this journey together.”
BMW’s involvement in Australian Golf aligns with its broader global strategy to support golf that embody precision, performance, and passion. This partnership also complements the BMW Golf Cup, the world’s largest amateur golf event, which takes place at a BMW dealer level globally and allows customers to compete for a place in the prestigious World Final.
In addition to the BMW Australian PGA Championship, BMW will continue its involvement in several other Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia and WPGA Tour of Australasia tournaments including the Australian Open, along with a range of initiatives across other Australian Golf assets focussed on PGA Members, fans and participants of golf.
Wolfgang Buechel, CEO of BMW Group Australia, emphasized the brand’s commitment to the sport: “BMW is proud to continue its partnership with Australian Golf. Over the years, we have seen firsthand the incredible growth and passion for the sport in Australia.
“This extension reaffirms our commitment to excellence, innovation, and naturing the next generation of golfers, both on and off the course. We look forward to continuing to play a role in elevating Australian Golf to even greater heights.”
Photo: BMW Australian PGA champion Elvis Smylie with Wolfgang Buechel, CEO of BMW Group Australia,
The first of four PGA Institute Emerging Leaders sessions was held today at the PGA Learning Hub in Sandhurst, with 17 attendees gaining valuable communication insights.
The Emerging Leaders program was launched in 2024, and among a number of other offerings, the PGA Institute program is geared towards professional development through interactive workshops designed to empower the next generation of golf industry professionals.
Titled Mastering effective communication, program facilitators Colin Wilson and Chris Tankard from Key Business Advisors took the attendees through what the best forms of workplace communication might look like in their clubs and facilities.
Mitchell Wilson, the Assistant Director of Golf at Kingston Heath, said the workshop was a helpful refresh on some tactics that are often forgotten or overlooked.
“It was great to get out of the office and be with like-minded people and discussing things that affect us day-to-day,” he said at Sandhurst today.
“In the golf industry, not everyone’s there at the same time, so we’re just coming up with a few ways to make sure the message is getting across to all team members.”
Similarly, Devanique Rossouw who is the Swim School Coordinator at Sandhurst Club, is excited to take her learnings from today’s session back to her team.
“I absolutely loved it. It was really insightful,” Rossouw said.
“We learned a lot about communication styles, how to communicate with the team and your upline and your downline.
“Also strategies on how to implement good team culture and how communication plays a role. Communication is key.”
As part of the Golf Australia Emerging Leaders Scholarship Program, two attendees in Andrew Poppins from Sandy Golf Links, and Luke Sillay from The Vintage Golf Club, were fully funded to attend the workshop.
The next PGA Institute Emerging Leaders session, Strategic planning for success will be held in June, with two more later in the year.
There are still places available for the remaining workshops. CLICK HERE to learn more, and CLICK HERE to register.
Ryan Peake’s emotional New Zealand Open triumph not only elevated him in the eyes of the golf world, but also kept alive the chase for the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit.
Current No.1 Elvis Smylie did his hopes no harm with a tie for eighth at Millbrook Resort yet Peake’s victory on the back of top-10 finishes at Webex Players Series events at Cobram-Barooga and Castle Hill has brought top spot within reach.
Hannah Green’s strong early season form continued with a tie for seventh in defence of her HSBC Women’s World Championship title in Singapore as siblings Minjee and Min Woo Lee finished just outside the top 10 in their respective events.
10. Karl Vilips (New)
Has made the cut in each of his first two starts as a PGA TOUR member and is looking increasingly comfortable on the biggest stage. Closed with 72 to earn a share of 39th at the Cognizant Classic to climb back inside the top 250 on the Official World Golf Ranking.
9. Ryan Peake (New)
Winner of the Sandbelt Invitational in December, Peake has carried that form through into 2025 with top-10 finishes at Webex Players Series Murray River and Webex Players Series Sydney before claiming last week’s New Zealand Open. Has risen to a career high of No.432 on the Official World Golf Ranking and is second on the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit.
8. Min Woo Lee (9)
In addition to playing a starring role for his undefeated TGL team, The Bay GC, Lee continues to build consistency into his season on the PGA TOUR. Opening with a tie for 17th at the Hero Dubai Desert Classic, Lee has two top-20 finishes on the PGA TOUR and was tied 11th at the Cognizant Classic thanks to a final round of 4-under 67 that vaulted him 24 spots up the leaderboard.
7. Lucas Herbert (7)
Was prominent early in the week at the New Zealand Open as he set his sights on Elvis Smylie at the top of the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit. A second round of 1-over 73 was all that stopped Herbert making a greater impression, matching rounds of 66 over the weekend elevating the Victorian into a tie for 21st.
6. Jason Day (4)
Returns to action this week at the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill, a Signature Event on the PGA TOUR. Best finish this year is a tie for third at The American Express along with a tie for 13th at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.
5. Adam Scott (3)
Like Day, will tee it up at the Arnold Palmer Invitational this week after skipping the Cognizant Classic. Remains Australia’s highest-ranked male player at No.26 on the Official World Golf Ranking.
4. Minjee Lee (5)
Building on a tied for fourth in her first start of the season, Lee finished strongly across the weekend to earn a share of 11th at the HSBC Women’s Worlds Championship in Singapore.
3. Cam Davis (2)
Tied for fifth at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am prior to missing the cut at the Genesis Invitational at Torrey Pines, Davis makes his sixth start of the year at this week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational. Our most recent winner on the PGA TOUR.
2. Elvis Smylie (6)
Returned to the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia and picked up where he left off with a tie for eighth at the New Zealand Open at Millbrook Resort. A two-time winner this season, Smylie’s top-10 finish puts him one step closer to claiming the 2024-2025 Order of Merit.
1. Hannah Green (1)
Fourth at the Founders Cup, Green staged a strong defence of her HSBC Women’s World Championship title in Singapore. Green bounced back from a 3-over 75 on day one to finish six shots back of Kiwi Lydia Ko in a share of seventh.
The Australian Golf Power Rankings is a subjective list developed with input from members of the Australian Golf media team.
Her face is everywhere this week but Hannah Green wants to make sure her name is up in lights in golf’s showpiece events in 2025 as she defends her HSBC Women’s World Championship title in Singapore.
A happy hunting ground given its proximity to her home in Perth and the results it has yielded in past seasons, Green arrived in Singapore to see her face plastered on posters throughout the city, in the hotel and, of course, at Sentosa Golf Club where she stormed home to win 12 months ago.
It was the first of three LPGA Tour wins on the season for Green who quickly elevated her status to one of the best players in the women’s game.
Acknowledging the seemingly insurmountable lead Nelly Korda has at the top of the Rolex Women’s World Ranking, Green wants to push higher than her current position as world No.6 through a strong season in the majors.
A major championship winner at the 2019 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, the reigning Greg Norman Medal recipient and coach Ritchie Smith are placing a greater emphasis on golf’s greatest events.
“I’m looking to be in contention in major championships,” said the 28-year-old, who visited the SkyPark Infinity pool in a pre-tournament promotion on Tuesday.
“Unfortunately, I didn’t play a lot of weekends last year. Those are the tournaments we try to prepare well the best and I put too much pressure on myself to perform well at those events.
“I’m hoping this year will be a better season in that sense.”
Tied for fourth at the Founders Cup in her last start, Green is also drawing confidence from a return to Sentosa where she not only has a triumph in 2024, but a runner-up finish in 2021 and a tie for sixth in 2022.
“It’s almost like a home event,” added Green.
“This is the same time zone as where I live and only a five-hour flight. It’s the closest LPGA that we have to my home city.
“There’s lots of people that come from Perth that travel up and my husband is also here this week, which is nice.
“There’s lots of good memories in that sense, and the crowds are really good to us here in Singapore.”
Paired with Olympic gold medallist Lydia Ko for the first two rounds, Green is joined in Singapore by fellow Aussies Gabriela Ruffels, Grace Kim, Minjee Lee and Stephanie Kyriacou.
Fresh off inspiring The Bay GC to a TGL win on Tuesday night, Min Woo Lee also has good memories to draw upon at the Cognizant Classic in Florida.
Lee stormed home in the final round at PGA National last year to earn a share of second, three strokes back of Austin Eckroat.
Photo: Andrew Redington/Getty Images
Round 1 tee times AEDT
PGA TOUR
Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches
PGA National Resort (The Champion Cse), Palm Beach Gardens, Florida
4:40am Min Woo Lee
5:13am* Ryan Fox (NZ)
5:46am Karl Vilips
Recent champion: Austin Eckroat
Past Aussie winners: Stuart Appleby (1997), Adam Scott (2016), Matt Jones (2021)
Prize money: $US9.2m
TV times: Live 10:45pm-10am Thursday, Friday; Live 11pm-10am Saturday; Live 10:30pm-10am Sunday on Fox Sports 503 and Kayo.
LPGA Tour
HSBC Women’s World Championship
Sentosa Golf Club (Tanjong Cse), Singapore
11:23am* Gabriela Ruffels
11:59am* Grace Kim
12:18pm Minjee Lee
12:23pm* Stephanie Kyriacou
12:30pm Lydia Ko (NZ), Hannah Green
Recent champion: Hannah Green
Past Aussie winners: Karrie Webb (2011), Hannah Green (2024)
Prize money: $US2.4m
TV times: Live 1:30pm-6:30pm Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday on Fox Sports 505 and Kayo.
DP World Tour
Investec South African Open Championship
Durban CC, Durban, South Africa
8:20pm* Kazuma Kobori
Recent champion: Dean Burmester
Past Aussie winners: Nil
Prize money: $US1.5m
TV times: Live 10pm-3am Thursday, Friday; Live 9:30pm-2am Saturday; Live 8:30pm-1:30pm Sunday on Fox Sports 505 and Kayo.
Korn Ferry Tour
118 Visa Argentina Open presented by Macro
Jockey Club, Buenos Aires, Argentina
9:42pm Rhein Gibson
3:23am Harry Hillier (NZ)
Recent champion: Mason Andersen
Past Aussie winners: Nil
Prize money: $1m
With one lifetime achievement fulfilled off the course in Queenstown on Monday, Lucas Herbert can now turn his sights to achieving others on the course at the New Zealand Open presented by Sky Sport.
Now engaged to girlfriend Erika after popping the question on a hill overlooking Lake Wakatipu, the Ripper GC team member, currently ranked third on the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit, is hunting down the No.1, Elvis Smylie, at Millbrook Resort, starting on Thursday.
Smylie, the BMW Australian PGA champion, comes into the week with a 512-point lead, but he can be overtaken, or alternatively he can secure the title, with 760 points to be awarded to the winner on Sunday.
Another three events remain on the Tour schedule in March, with Smylie and Herbert yet to lock in any further appearances – for now anyway.
Herbert, the 2024 Ford NSW Open champion, would love to tick off three items on his hitlist – winning the NZ Open after coming close in 2020, an event he says still haunts him, earning The Open Championship berth which goes to the victor and claiming the Order of Merit top spot for the first time.
Currently, both Herbert and Smylie don’t have a major on their 2025 schedule – or an Order of Merit title.
“There’s certainly a lot going on this week and to be honest, it’s a week that I’ve looked forward to for a few weeks now, because I knew this challenge would come up,” Herbert said.
“There’s not much I can do about Elvis this week. If he plays well, he’s probably going to put the Order of Merit too far away for any of us to catch.
“If I win I’ll give myself the best chance to obviously win that order of merit. So that’s the main focus.”
Back on his home tour for the first time since the ISPS HANDA Australian Open, Smylie knows he’s a hunted man this week as he tries to consolidate his hold on No.1 or even clinch the OOM title by winning on Sunday afternoon.
“It was a goal of mine at the start of the season last October – to win the order of Merit and the accolades that do come with winning the Order of Merit are quite big.
“Two out of the four majors, potentially more. It’s a dream of mine to play majors. It’s a dream of mine to compete against the best players in the world and to see where my game adds up and I’ve just got to keep playing well and keep giving myself opportunities.
“It’s exciting though to have the opportunity that I have. It’s obviously a position I’ve put myself in by playing great golf over the past seven months. We’ll see what happens this week and let it be.”
Both Herbert and Smylie have back-up plans should the battle for No.1 not be decided this week.
The current leader has targeted the season-ending The National Tournament (March 27-30), while Herbert may line up at the Heritage Classic (March 20-23) should he still be able to clinch top spot.
This week’s event features 18 of the top 20 on the Order of Merit with only Herbert’s Ripper GC teammates Cam Smith (No.2) and Marc Leishman (No.4) not making the trip to New Zealand.
While Smylie and Herbert are favourites to earn the 2024/25 OOM title, there’s still a chance it could go to any player currently inside the top 10 should results go their way.
However plenty of those will drop out of contention without a win at Millbrook.
Photo: NZ Open
After playing tourist for a couple of days, David Micheluzzi was down to business at the NZ Open presented by Sky Sport today and is backing his putting to put him into contention at Millbrook Resort over the weekend.
It’s likely to be the last Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia start for the season for the former Order of Merit champion before he resumes his second campaign as a full-time member of the DP World Tour.
With top-10s already this season at the BMW Australian PGA Championship and Dubai Desert Classic, he sits in a healthy 22nd place on the Race to Dubai standings.
This week’s event, co-sanctioned with the Asian Tour and with an influx of Japan Tour regulars, is his first for 2025 on his home Tour.
“Firstly it’s in Queenstown and it’s probably one of the best places in the world and I just like the golf course,” Micheluzzi said when asked why he’d locked in another trip to the South Island.
“It suits the schedule really well. We don’t really get much off time on the DP World Tour, so this is kind of my off time at the moment and it’s only three hours from home. It just fits well.
“I was playing here no matter what, but when I saw that the winner gets a place in the Open Championship it’s obviously like ‘alright, let’s get into it’.
“The course is always immaculate and I’ve got few of my mates staying with me this week, my girlfriend is here as well and it’s just going to be a fun week I reckon.”
The NZ Open is Micheluzzi’s first tournament since a missed cut at the Qatar Masters at the start of the month but he’s feeling like he’s game is in better shape following some time at home in Melbourne.
Nine holes of practice today on the Coronet course, one of two in operation for the first 36 holes, has added to his confident feeling for the week to come.
“I haven’t played fantastic over the last few weeks, struggling with ball striking a little bit, but it seems to have turned a corner a little bit,” the Victorian said.
“My putting’s really good at the moment. I feel like I’ve got just a good feel. Just everything with my putting just seems really nice at the moment.
“If I give myself a lot of chances, say tee to green, if I’m good, tee to green this week, I’m feeling really comfortable.”
With fine, calm conditions predicted for Millbrook for most of the week, Micheluzzi is tipping a score in the mid-20s under-par will be needed to be in the hunt late on Sunday.
Having first taken the lead of the Webex Players Series Sydney on Friday, Nick Voke rarely looked as if he would allow anyone a chance to genuinely challenge for the trophy on Sunday.
The Kiwi stuck to that script early during the final round before his total control of his own game loosened as Jake McLeod found his.
Matching fellow New Zealander Kazuma Kobori’s winning total of 25-under 12 months earlier, Voke’s final round of 3-under 69 was enough to finish one-stroke ahead of McLeod (66) with Will Florimo (66), Travis Smyth (69) and Tyler Wood (69) sharing third at 18-under.
What became a nerve-wracking finish that was a two-horse race from a long way out, Voke’s stranglehold on the tournament almost slipped through his fingers.
A four-stroke overnight lead grew by one after Voke made birdie at the par-5 first for the fourth straight day before McLeod clawed back that shot with a birdie at the par-3 fourth.
Voke once again stretched the lead to five with birdie at the par-5 fifth yet a mis-directed lay-up and birdie by McLeod led to a two-shot swing at the short par-4 sixth, narrowing the 30-year-old’s lead to just three shots with 12 holes still to play.
McLeod could only match one of Voke’s birdies at eight and nine as the lead moved out to four strokes at the turn, Voke’s advantage back out to five again with a birdie at the short par-4 12th.
A ridiculous putt from the back fringe down over a tier that hit the centre of the flagstick before dropping was Voke’s sixth birdie of the day and perhaps the putt of his life in the tournament wash-up.
“When I walked back to the caddie, I said, ‘Tom (Power Horan), good putt is inside eight feet’,” said Voke.
“He goes, ‘You’re a content guy, surely just hole it, give it a good roll’.
“As soon as I hit it, I was like, Oh, this looks pretty good.”
After the excitement of the following crowd settled, an unflappable challenger in McLeod again stayed in the fight with a birdie of his own from just outside 20 feet and the golden run of Voke took a stumble.
Voke dropped a shot at 14 and McLeod made birdie on 15. After taking iron off the tee at the short 16th, Voke hit his approach left of the green and had to make a putt from five feet to narrowly avoid a double bogey.
The tenacious Queenslander, who has been knocking on the door of a win all season, then converted his birdie chance from 15 feet and, after leading by five with five to play, Voke’s advantage was just one heading to the 17th tee.
“I was five back and I thought I was out of it,” McLeod admitted post-round.
“All of a sudden, coming up the last two I was one back.
“It changed pretty quickly. I’m proud of how I played.”
A superb tee shot gave McLeod another look at birdie at the par-3 17th but his 12-foot putt just slipped underneath the right edge as Voke again needed to make a clutch par save to stay one in front playing the 72nd hole.
With persistent rain dousing the final group as they played the 18t, both players had 78 metres into the par-5 for their third. Voke almost flew his shot into the hole before it released to the back edge as McLeod’s came to rest 15 feet short and right of the hole.
After Voke putted down to a foot, McLeod had a putt to force a playoff, his birdie attempt hanging agonisingly on the right edge, leaving Voke to merely tap in and claim victory.
“Like that bad fart, that just doesn’t go away,” Voke joked of McLeod’s tenacity over the closing stages.
“’Clouds’ is going to be in my nightmares going forward. He was lurking all day and great bloke … I’m sure he’ll get one shortly.”
Suggesting with a smile that he may have peaked too early ahead of the New Zealand Open next week, the affable Voke turned more serious for a moment when asked what it meant to win again after last lifting a trophy in 2018.
“Golf is so hard. You can play a while, you can go through stretches and not win,” the part-time YouTuber said.
“Gosh, that feels good. That’s why you practise as a kid. That’s why you have the late-night range sessions. It’s why you do everything.”
With a flight back home to New Zealand on Monday, Voke was left to ponder the difficulty of transporting his extra piece of luggage as he dried off the champagne sprayed by fellow Iowa State alumni Lachlan Barker and Tyler Wood on the 18th green.
“How am I going to get this to Queenstown?” he asked, holding one of the three trophies handed out for the Webex Players Series Sydney at Castle Hill.
Castle Hill Country Club junior Nicholas Heanes shot rounds of 71-75 on his home course to claim the Webex Junior Players Series Sydney by seven strokes as Lachlan Wood recorded a 10-stroke win with rounds of 70-72 in the Webex All Abilities Players Series Sydney tournament.
The ‘Kiwi Challenge’ are ready to take on the rest of the field as they prepare to re-claim the New Zealand Open title next week at Millbrook Resort
The ‘Kiwi Challenge’, a key feature of the New Zealand Open this year, brings together the nation’s top golfers as they compete against an international field for the Brodie Breeze trophy.
This won’t be an easy task though as the tournament, which will be played for the 104th time, will feature arguably the strongest professional field in recent history.
“The ‘Kiwi Challenge’ is something we have done to support the current generation of Kiwi pros who are not only representing the country around the world, but all desperately want to see the next name on the trophy a Kiwi name,” said Tournament Director Michael Glading.
Millbrook Resort’s picturesque location in Queenstown will be the backdrop for a thrilling week of golf, with the leading players from Asia and Australasia competing for a slice of the NZD $2 million prize purse. Fans are encouraged to come out and support the Kiwi Challenge as they take on the world.
In a move to enhance the spectator experience at the New Zealand Open, all the Kiwi players will feature special caddie bibs featuring the New Zealand flag.
The distinctive bibs, featuring the iconic red, white, and blue design of the New Zealand flag, will allow spectators to quickly spot New Zealand’s top golfers and cheer them on throughout the tournament.
“This is a fantastic way for fans to show their support and recognise the incredible talent representing New Zealand. It’s all about celebrating local players and creating an unforgettable experience for everyone involved,” said Glading.
The Kiwis who are in the field for the 104th New Zealand Open presented by Sky Sport are:
