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Matching socks saluting Collingwood star Nick Daicos proved to be a lucky charm as Josh Greer and Nathan Barbieri claimed the WA PGA Foursomes Championship at Nedlands Golf Club.
Greer and Barbieri were among a group of four players with the unique sock game but it was Greer and Barbieri who emerged victorious, their round of 5-under 67 enough for a one-stroke win.
Legends Tour pair Andre Stolz and Brendan Chant and close mates Braden Becker and Cameron John were eyeing off a possible playoff after posting 4-under 68, only to be pipped at the post.
Alex Simpson backed up from his share of victory at the Wembley Pro-Am to snare fourth with Jayden Cripps with 2-under 70.
For Sydney’s Barbieri, it was a rewarding first look at the former host venue of the Nedlands Masters.
“It was fun; it was a good day,” said Barbieri, he and Greer paired with Haydn Barron and Ben Ferguson and Jarryd Felton and James Marchesani.
“First time at Nedlands. Everyone was raving about how good it was and I loved it. It’s a little bit dinky but it’s fun. It’s a good track for foursomes, I really enjoyed it.
“We obviously had a really good group with the boys and had a little money game going as well, which kept it interesting.”
The WA swing of the adidas PGA Pro-Am Series continues on Friday with the DJ Di Stasio Transport Kwinana Pro-Am at Kwinana Golf Club.
An eagle and three birdies in his final four holes elevated West Australian legend Brett Rumford to a five-way tie at the GMW & Radlink Wembley Pro-Am.
Straight off the plane after a week at the CJ CUP Byron Nelson tournament in Texas, Rumford was shrugging off jetlag as he played his first seven holes of the adidas PGA Pro-Am Series event in 1-over par.
Birdies at eight, 10 and 11 brought the six-time DP World Tour champion into the mix but it would be the eagle at the par-5 17th and chip-in for birdie on 18 that saw the 46-year-old post 6-under 66 at the Wembley Golf Course Old Course where he now coaches.
He was one of five players to post 66 along with fellow veteran Daniel Fox, Ryan Peake, Brody Martin and Alexander Simpson.
Rumford wasn’t the only player to close out their round with a birdie.
Bogey-free, Fox made his sixth and final birdie at the par-4 14th, Peake made birdie at the par-4 eighth while Simpson needed birdies at both 16 and 17 to also earn a share of victory.
Dillon Hart, Brady Watt and James Marchesani all shared sixth position just one back with rounds of 5-under 67, Deyen Lawson and Josh Greer among the five players to finish tied for ninth at 4-under.
Rumford is partnering with Scott Strange on Thursday for the WA PGA Foursomes Championship to be played at Nedlands Golf Club.
West Australian Minjee Lee is hopeful that the course that sparked her resurgence 12 months ago can again provide the springboard to more major championship success and a possible Olympic medal.
Lee returns to the Upper Montclair Country Club in New Jersey this week for the Cognizant Founders Cup, a tournament that she won in 2022 and lost in a playoff to Jin Young Ko in 2023.
Prior to that week, Lee had not finished inside the top 40 in four starts in the new LPGA Tour season.
She didn’t finish outside the top 20 in the seven starts that followed and went on to win twice before the end of the year.
Although tied for fourth at the Blue Bay LPGA in March, the 27-year-old has missed three of her past four cuts and, with the US Women’s Open just three weeks away, could use a shot pf confidence.
It’s why coming back to a course where she has enjoyed success prior presents a prime opportunity.
“I really love the test of this golf course,” said Lee.
“The rough is always a little bit thicker here and it’s quite tight off the tee.
“I just like the character of the golf course. It’s just a little bit different.
“The more challenging the better. I can picture the shots a little bit better when it’s a little tighter.
“I just kind of like the test of it. The greens are always a little bit faster and trickier.”
3-hole challenge with Special Olympics, @Lexi and @gracekimeyy was a smashing success 💪 pic.twitter.com/zIHILs4aAF
— LPGA (@LPGA) May 8, 2024
A two-time major champion, Lee has now slipped behind Hannah Green as Australia’s top-ranked player on the Rolex Women’s World Golf Ranking.
Lee knows that the coming months of majors and Olympic Games representation will pass her by if she doesn’t find form soon.
“It’s weird how quickly it goes, already in May,” she said.
“Just had our first major and we have four more left in such a short chunk of time.
“They’re going to be my big focus; obviously the Olympics as well. That’s always a really big thing for me as well.”
Lee is among the nine Aussies in the field and begins her tournament at 9:59pm Thursday night AEST.
In their final tune-up before next week’s US PGA Championship, Jason Day, Adam Scott and Cam Davis are teeing it up in the Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow and the Australian contingent is six deep at the Regions Tradition on the PGA TOUR Champions leading into the KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship in two weeks’ time.
Photo: Meg Oliphant/Getty Images
Round 1 tee times AEST
PGA TOUR
Wells Fargo Championship
Quail Hollow Club, Charlotte, North Carolina
1:11am* Jason Day
2:06am* Adam Scott
2:17am* Cam Davis
Defending champion: Wyndham Clark
Past Aussie winners:
Prize money: $US20 million
TV times: Live 9:30pm-8am Thursday; Live 11:30pm-8am Friday; Live 10:30pm-8am Saturday; Live 9:15pm-8am Sunday on Fox Sports 503 and Kayo.
Myrtle Beach Classic
The Dunes Golf and Beach Club, Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
9:56pm* Harrison Endycott
2:14am Aaron Baddeley
2:47am* Ryan Fox (NZ)
Defending champion: Inaugural event
Past Aussie winners: Nil
Prize money: $US4 million
TV times: Live 11:30pm-1:30am Thursday, Friday; Live 6am-7am Sunday; 8am-10am Monday on Fox Sports 505 and Kayo.
LPGA Tour
Cognizant Founders Cup
Upper Montclair Country Club, Clifton, New Jersey
9:26pm Sarah Kemp
9:48pm* Robyn Choi
9:59pm* Minjee Lee
10:10pm* Hannah Green
10:21pm* Gabriela Ruffels
10:32pm* Grace Kim
2:48am Stephanie Kyriacou
3:10am Lydia Ko (NZ)
3:10am* Hira Naveed
3:54am* Karis Davidson
Defending champion: Jin Young Ko
Past Aussie winners: Karrie Webb (2011, 2014), Minjee Lee (2022)
Prize money: $US3 million
TV times: Live 5am-8am Friday on Fox Sports 506; Live 5am-8am Saturday; Live 6am-8am Sunday; Live 5am-8am Monday on Fox Sports 505 and Kayo.
Japan Golf Tour
For The Players By The Players
THE CLUB Golf Village, Gunma
9:28am* Anthony Quayle
12:52pm* Michael Hendry (NZ)
1:25pm* Brad Kennedy
Defending champion: Shintaro Kobayashi
Past Aussie winners: Nil
Prize money: ¥5 million
PGA TOUR Champions
Regions Tradition
Greystone G&CC, Birmingham, Alabama
12:20am Richard Green
12:42am John Senden
12:53am* Mark Hensby
1:04am* Stuart Appleby
1:37am* Rod Pampling
1:59am* Steve Allan, Michael Campbell (NZ)
2:21am Steven Alker (NZ)
Defending champion: Steve Stricker
Past Aussie winners: Graham Marsh (1999)
Prize money: $US2.6 million
TV times: Live 1:30am-4am Friday, Saturday on Fox Sports 505; Live 7am-9am Sunday on Fox Sports 506; Live 7am-9am Monday on Fox Sports 507 and Kayo.
Ladies European Tour
Aramco Team Series Presented by PIF – Korea
New Korea Country Club, Korea
Australasians in the field: Kirsten Rudgeley, Momoka Kobori (NZ)
Defending champion: Pauline Roussin-Bouchard
Past Aussie winners: Nil
Prize money: $US1 million
TV times: Live 4pm-8pm Friday; Live 4pm-7:30pm Saturday; Live 3pm-7pm Sunday on Fox Sports 503 and Kayo.
Korean PGA
KPGA Classic
Golf Zone County Yeongam 45
7:50am Sungjin Yeo (NZ)
9:15am* Wonjoon Lee
12:30pm Kevin Chun (NZ)
2pm Junseok Lee
Defending champion: Inaugural event
Past Aussie winners: Nil
Prize money: KRW 700 million
Epson Tour
Carlisle Arizona Women’s Golf Classic
TPC Scottsdale (Champions Cse), Scottsdale, Arizona
1:28am Su Oh
5:45am Fiona Xu (NZ)
5:56am* Cassie Porter
6:07am* Amelia Garvey (NZ)
Defending champion: Gabriela Ruffels
Past Aussie winners: Gabriela Ruffels (2023)
Prize money: $US400,000
Just seven months ago, Kazuma Kobori left the amateur game with a tremendous record and simple goal, with the Kiwi unable to predict his meteoric rise in the professional ranks that continues with a major debut at next week’s PGA Championship.
Turning pro at the Queensland PGA Championship in November, Kobori’s game had earned global attention in the amateur ranks, yet the now 22-year-old wasn’t getting ahead of himself.
“Starting my professional career in November, I was like, ‘I’m just going to try and keep an Aussie Tour card this year. Maybe grab a top-10 Order of Merit to get me into second stage Q school for Europe’,” Kobori said yesterday.
Doing far more than that, Kobori claimed the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit crown after a dream debut season that means he has a guaranteed DP World Tour card next season, as well as a start at The 152nd Open at Royal Troon.
His achievement of topping the season-long points list on his home circuit was cause for the PGA of America to extend in invite for the year’s second major to be held at Valhalla Golf Club in Kentucky as it did to his predecessor David Micheluzzi last year.
Learning of his invitation upon waking on Tuesday morning, Kobori might still be digesting what has transpired as he prepares to make the journey from Canterbury to Louisville.
“It was pretty unexpected. I got a WhatsApp message this morning (Tuesday) when I woke up at seven and my manager was like, ‘You’re in the PGA’,” Kobori said.
“I knew he was pushing for the invite but because my word ranking’s not quite as good as some of the other players in the world, I didn’t think I’ll get it.”
Making his major debut two months earlier than expected, Kobori’s hot start to life in the play-for-pay ranks no doubt piqued the interest of the PGA of America, so too others with invites extended to DP World Tour and Asian Tour events.
Winning three Webex Players Series events in the space of four weeks on his way to the Order of Merit title, his start at Valhalla will be just the 15th of Kobori’s pro career.
Recent appearances on the DP World Tour, and now the PGA Championship, are offering him a chance to measure his game against the world’s best.
“To be honest, I just want to want to be able to play my game so by the end of the week, I’ll have a really good understanding on where my game compares,” the New Zealander said of his approach to the PGA.
“This is one of four times, I guess you can count the Olympics as well, but very rare occasions where I can play against the best in the world. So I’m going to use this as an opportunity to have a bit of a benchmark to see where I’m at.”
Hoping to “stay out of my own way”, Kobori plans to reach out to experienced compatriot Ryan Fox on the topic of playing a major, and perhaps a practice round, while time spent with DP World Tour winner Daniel Hillier has helped develop an understanding of the next steps up the professional golf ladder.
“Honestly, just spending time around him has probably been the best one,” Kobori said of Hillier.
“He doesn’t really give me advice or anything, and it’s not that I really need it, I just need to be able to see how he operates and then set my standards based on that.
“Playing against good players definitely enables me to set high standards and then that’s been very beneficial for my game.”
Admitting to having few memories of the last PGA Championship at Valhalla in 2014, when Rory McIlroy won his most recent major and Kobori was just three years into his golfing journey, the former Eisenhower Trophy individual winner is attempting to create familiarity and comfort quickly.
His occasional caddie last season, Tyler Wood, will be on the bag and perhaps looking to his boss for the week for inspiration after gaining a Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia card at the recent Qualifying School.
Meanwhile a well-timed round should hold Kobori in good stead ahead of the biggest start of his burgeoning career.
“I actually had a round, or a session, with a sports psychologist today (Tuesday) that I work with, and he just said, honestly, just be a bit more mindful of everything you’re doing,” Kobori said.
“Everything’s just going to be a little bit more, like the crowd’s going to be a bit bigger, the nerves are going to be a bit bigger, so just be a bit more mindful of what you’re doing. Whether it be breathing, your nutrition, your gym work, your practice and all that.
“That was his advice and I’m going to take it on board.”
Kobori joins fellow Australasians Fox, Cam Davis, Jason Day, Min Woo Lee, Adam Scott, Cam Smith and Lucas Herbert, who also received a special invite, in the field for the 106th PGA Championship.
The 2024 PGA Championship is live on Fox Sports, available on Foxtel and Kayo.
Western Australian amateur Adam Baillie has upstaged a host of Tour winners to claim the 2024 South West Isuzu South West Open at Bunbury Golf Club.
The reigning club champion at Lakelands Country Club in Perth’s northern suburbs, Baillie followed up a round of 3-under 69 on Saturday with 5-under 67 on Sunday to finish level with Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia regular James Marchesani (68-68) at 8-under par.
The pair squared off in a playoff where Baillie leant on his superb short game to claim victory, Marchesani having to be content with the winner’s prize purse.
Two strokes off the lead after Round 1, The National Tournament winner Cameron John shot 2-under 70 in the second round to finish outright third at 7-under.
Brady Watt (67) and Scott Strange (69) shared fourth spot at 6-under followed by Braden Becker (69), Marcus Fraser (70) and Zach Maxwell, whose 6-under 66 was the round of the tournament.
Third in the Gosnells Open two weeks ago, Baillie is eyeing off a potential move to the US to attend college.
A member at The Vines Resort, and coached by PGA Professional David Harris and Associate Daniel Hoeve, the 21-year-old is proving to be more mentally resilient of late and needed every ounce of it coming down the stretch.
Playing in the final group with John and fellow WA amateur Zach Capelli, Baillie birdied three of his final five holes to match Marchesani’s two-round total.
The next event on the adidas PGA Pro-Am Series WA swing is the GMW & Radlink Wembley Pro-Am at Wembley Golf Course on Wednesday.
Ripper GC made it back-to-back wins in Singapore but it was an otherwise week of near misses for Aussies around the world.
Cameron Smith and Marc Leishman both finished two shots back of Brooks Koepka at LIV Golf Singapore, their collective efforts elevating Ripper GC to a three-stroke win in the teams event at Sentosa Golf Club.
“I kind of knew all year that we were going to get the ball rolling at some point,” said Smith, who combined with Leishman to win the teams event in a playoff at LIV Adelaide.
“I think internally that we’re the best team out here, and we’re going to be tough to beat when we all have our best stuff.”
Smith and Leishman were not the only Aussies to come within a whisker of individual success.
Queenslander Scott Hend lost out to Englishman Peter Baker in a playoff at the Barbados Legends on the Legends Tour while Stuart Appleby was denied a shot at a maiden PGA TOUR Champions title by weather.
The self-proclaimed “new kid on the block” with a Legends Tour win already to his name, Hend started the final round tied with Baker at the top of the leaderboard.
He held a two-stroke lead after a birdie at the par-4 15th but fell one behind when he made double-bogey at the par-3 16th to Baker’s birdie.
A birdie at the par-5 18th for the third straight day saw Hend join Baker at 10-under to force the playoff, Baker’s birdie at the first extra hole enough to edge Hend.
Appleby was not afforded that opportunity after rain heavily disrupted play at the Insperity Invitational in Houston.
All 36 holes of the scheduled 54-hole event were played on Saturday, heavy rain preventing any play Sunday as Scott Dunlap was declared champion.
Bettering his previous best finish – a tie for third at 2022 Regions Tradition – Appleby said after play on Saturday that he was coming to terms with what it takes to contend again.
“You’d think as you get older you’d just let it come when it comes and whatever doesn’t, it doesn’t,” said Appleby.
“Just try to get out of my own way, just enjoy the playing, go through my routine.
“When I played my best golf I got stuck into one shot at a time and that is something I have not done well enough.
“If I can boil it down to what the top players out here do, which is that, they really isolate a shot a time or putt at a time.”
Min Woo Lee was the best-placed Australian at the PGA TOUR CJ Cup Byron Nelson in Texas, Junseok Lee finished just outside the top 10 at the Asian Tour event in Korea and Jason Scrivener’s tie for 23rd led the Aussies at the DP World Tour Volvo China Open.
Results
PGA TOUR
THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson
TPC Craig Ranch, McKinney, Texas
1 Taylor Pendrith 64-67-63-67—261 $US1.71 million
T24 Min Woo Lee 66-68-66-69—269 $77,425
T30 Adam Scott 69-65-68-68—270 $52,293
T41 Aaron Baddeley 68-67-67-69—271 $33,725
T52 Harrison Endycott 67-66-71-70—274 $22,406
T59 Jason Day 66-70-71-68—275 $21,375
MC Ryan Fox (NZ) 68-72—140
DP World Tour
Volvo China Open
Hidden Grace GC, Shenzhen, China
Event reduced to 54 holes due to lightning storm
1 Adrian Otaegui 67-66-65—198 €356,293.78
T23 Jason Scrivener 70-70-68—208 €19,596.16
T23 Daniel Hillier (NZ) 67-69-72—208 €19,596.16
MC George Worrall 81-65—146
MC Kieran Muir (NZ) 72-80—152
Asian Tour
GS Caltex Maekyung Open
Namseoul Country Club, Korea
1 Hongtaek Kim 69-65-71-69—274 $US227,790.43
Won on the first hole of sudden-death playoff
T11 Junseok Lee 72-67-70-72—281 $15,322.70
T44 Todd Sinnott 74-66-74-74—288 $5,618.83
T56 Brendan Jones 74-68-73-76—291 $4,403.95
T63 Jack Thompson 71-69-75-79—294 $3,416.86
66 Wonjoon Lee 70-69-78-80—297 $3,037.21
MC Travis Smyth 72-72—144
MC Kevin Chun (NZ) 72-72—144
MC Andrew Dodt 74-71—145
MC Justin Warren 74-71—145
MC Kevin Yuan 73-73—146
MC Deyen Lawson 77-70—147
MC Zach Murray 72-77—149
MC Jed Morgan 77-77—154
LIV Golf
LIV Golf Singapore
Sentosa Golf Club (Serapong Course), Sentosa, Singapore
1 Brooks Koepka 66-64-68—198 $US4 million
T2 Cameron Smith 71-65-64—200 $1.875 million
T2 Marc Leishman 67-67-66—200 $1.875 million
T27 Lucas Herbert 67-67-74—208 $180,000
T37 Matt Jones 74-68-70—212 $140,333
T49 Danny Lee (NZ) 72-76-69—217 $60,000
Japan Golf Tour
Chunichi Crowns
Nagoya Golf Club (Wago Cse), Aichi
1 Ren Yonezawa 68-67-67-65—267 ¥22 million
T16 Michael Hendry 68-64-73-71—276 ¥1,622,500
T59 Anthony Quayle 72-70-71-75—288 ¥251,900
MC Brad Kennedy 72-73—145
PGA TOUR Champions
Insperity Invitational
The Woodlands CC, The Woodlands, Texas
Event reduced to 36 holes due to rain
1 Scott Dunlap 65-70—135 $US405,000
T2 Stuart Appleby 69-67—136 $216,000
T4 Steven Alker (NZ) 68-69—137 $145,800
T10 Rod Pampling 67-73—140 $58,050
T19 Richard Green 72-70—142 $28,418
T19 Mark Hensby 72-70—142 $28,418
T31 John Senden 71-72—143 $18,225
Legends Tour
Barbados Legends hosted by Ian Woosnam
Apes Hill Barbados, Saint James, Barbados
1 Peter Baker 67-67-69—203
Won on first hole of sudden-death playoff
2 Scott Hend 68-66-69—203
T21 Michael Campbell (NZ) 69-68-76—213
T28 Michael Long (NZ) 77-68-71—216
T45 Peter Fowler 71-73-76—220
Epson Tour
Casino Del Sol Golf Classic
Sewailo Golf Club, Tucson, Arizona
1 Madison Young 69-65-71—205 $37,500
T20 Fiona Xu (NZ) 69-70-71—210 $2,790
T37 Su Oh 71-73-68—212 $1,541
MC Cassie Porter 71-76—147
MC Amelia Garvey 78-74—152
PGA TOUR Americas
KIA Open
Quito Tenis Y Golf Club, Quito, Ecuador
Event reduced to 54 holes due to inclement weather
1 Thomas Longbella 66-69-65—200 $US40,500
T3 Harry Hillier (NZ) 65-71-67—203
T60 Charlie Hillier (NZ) 72-69-72—213
T71 Jason Hong 72-70-75—217
Three weeks focusing on the flatstick paid immediate dividends for Bathurst’s Dylan Thompson who went bogey-free in his two-stroke win in the Campbelltown Golf Club Pro-Am.
Campbelltown Golf Club drew a field littered with Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia talent but it was Thompson’s 5-under 65 that shone brightest, two clear of James Conran (67) and Josh Armstrong (67).
Seeking his first adidas PGA Pro-Am Series win since the Kew Country Club Pro-Am last August, Thompson credited “countless hours” on the practice putting green with his third career victory.
“I hit it well at Yenda and Griffith but putted very poorly,” Thompson said.
“I’ve spent countless hours putting the past few weeks and it showed today.”
HOW THE WINNING ROUND UNFOLDED
Starting with birdies at one and four, Thompson was quick to establish his name prominently on the leaderboard.
A string of seven straight pars followed with numerous up-and-downs that would prove crucial in the final wash-up.
The 27-year-old moved to 3-under with a birdie at the par-3 12th but it would be the chip in for eagle at the par-5 13th that ultimately proved the difference.
Conran was the early front-runner with four straight birdies from the second hole but back-to-back bogeys at 10 and 11 would halt his momentum.
Armstrong’s challenge came late with birdies at 15 and 16 but he was unable to find the two more he needed to match Thompson’s 5-under total.
WHAT THE WINNER SAID
“No bogeys, made a lot of up-and-downs, chip-in eagle and holed a lot of short putts.
“I didn’t hit it into any bad spots at all. I always had a shot. Fairways and greens pretty much. Three birdies, an eagle, it was pretty straightforward golf really.
“Hopefully a few solid rounds in the Pro-Am Series, a few Monday pre qualifiers, see how that goes. No real goals at the moment, just play as much as I can around coaching and working in the shop.
“Hopefully a few rounds come together and I can finish high enough on the Order of Merit to move along next year.”
LEADERBOARD RUNDOWN
1 Dylan Thompson 65
T2 James Conran 67
T2 Josh Armstrong 67
T4 Andrew Evans 68
T4 Jason Perkin 68
T4 Andrew Richards 68
T4 Soo Jin Lee 68
NEXT UP
The WA swing of the adidas PGA Pro-Am Series starts Saturday with the $40,000 South West Isuzu South West Open at Bunbury Golf Club.
Victorian Daniel Gill has won the Victorian PGA Associate Championship in a playoff after a dramatic conclusion to the final round at Club Tocumwal.
Gill birdied the 18th hole of the Captain’s Course at Tocumwal to post a final round of 3-under 69 and 7-under total.
At that point he held the lead in the clubhouse but with 54-hole leader Baxter Droop (Yarrawonga Mulwala Golf Resort) standing on the 18th tee at 9-under par, it didn’t look like being enough.
Unfortunately for Droop (73) his tee shot at the 72nd hole sailed out of bounds, the resulting double bogey dropping him to 7-under and tied with Gill.
The two players returned to the 18th hole and it was Gill who immediately took the upper hand.
As he found the fairway, Droop’s tee shot finished in the rough left of the fairway. Droop’s second shot came up short of the green but after chipping up to 12 feet was unable to make the putt for par.
Gill hit his approach to 20 feet on the left side of the green and showed great touch to roll his first putt down to just two feet.
With the championship there for the taking, Gill stepped in, holed his putt for par and claimed the biggest win in his two years in the Membership Pathway Program.
“This is my 12th win as a PGA Associate but my first major win,” said a jubilant Gill.
“Being four shots back standing on 17, I knew I had to birdie the last to have a chance but I didn’t think it would lead to a playoff.
“I would like to thank my home club, Peninsula Kingswood, who have been more than accommodating with my playing.
“They have allowed me to go part-time so I can spend more time on my playing career, which I’m very thankful for.”
Gill also paid credit to the team at Club Tocumwal for the presentation of the golf course and hospitality extended by everyone during the week.
“The course has been unreal every year and keeps getting better and better,” he added.
“I played golf as a junior here and so it was something special to take the win.”
The only player without an over-par round all week, Sheradyn Johnson (The National Golf Club) missed the playoff by just one stroke, ending her week with a round of 1-under 71 and 6-under total.
Damon Stephenson (69) and Jack Wright (73) shared fourth spot while Adam Naaman and Adam Migur shared the best score in the final round with rounds of 5-under 67.
Murray River local Baxter Droop has come within a whisker of setting a new course record as he assumed top spot at the Victorian PGA Associate Championship at Club Tocumwal on Thursday.
Completing the Membership Pathway Program under his father, Evan Droop, at Yarrawonga Mulwala Resort just 30 minutes up the Murray, Droop surged to a two-stroke lead with a superb 8-under 64 in Round 3.
That was just one short of the course record at the Captain’s Course but, at 8-under heading into the final round, provides a handy two-shot buffer from 36-hole leader Jack Wright (72).
Sheradyn Johnson (70) is third at 5-under followed by Daniel Gill (68) with Toby Walker (67) and Joseph Hodgson (69) in a tie for fifth at 3-under.
Trailing Wright by seven shots after Round 2, Droop was just 2-under on his round as he made the turn. From there he threw the after-burners to max, making six birdies in his next eight holes with what he claimed was a very simple strategy.
“Just focused on hitting fairways, as cliché as it sounds,” Droop said.
“Spent some time on the range concentrating on my driver and 3-wood to get myself in the best positions off the tee.”
Late on day three it appeared likely that there would be a tie at the top heading into the final round, only for Wright to drop shots at each of his final two holes in his round of 72.
The NSW/ACT Associate champion in 2023, Wright looms as Droop’s greatest threat as he seeks to go two better than his third-place finish in this event 12 months ago.
Although he will start the final round seven shots off the lead, Victorian Associate Noah Best has produced one of the most remarkable performances of the championship.
An opening round of 9-over 81 put Best in a difficult position to make the cut but back-to-back rounds of 5-under 67 will see him start the final round inside the top 10 and in red figures.
Australian Jason Day has credited a shift in mindset for his career resurgence as he prepares to defend his CJ Cup Byron Nelson crown at TPC Craig Ranch in Texas.
It had been five years between Day’s 12th and 13th PGA TOUR career victories and the circumstances were a mix of planets aligning and the golf gods rewarding persistence.
As his caddie wore the name of Day’s late mother on his bib and the final round falling on Mother’s Day, Day held off a fast-finishing Si Woo Kim (63) with a round of 9-under 62 to fast-track his climb up the world rankings.
Twelve months on he is Australia’s No.1-ranked male player, looks set to become an Olympian for the first time at Paris in August and will return to the International team for the Presidents Cup for the first time since 2017.
After years of juggling family life and the struggles through persistent back injuries, Day said that it was a switch in mentality that provided the path forward.
“Playing from more of a position of like love and passion of the game is I think far healthier to play from than having a chip on your shoulder,” Day reflected.
“It’s easy to find motivation when you have a chip on your shoulder because people are talking against you and all that stuff.
“Certain players play well with that, but I feel like that’s a limited period of time where that can happen.”
No one, according to Day, reflects the power of that mindset better than world No.1 Scottie Scheffler.
The winner of four of his past five tournaments – including a second Masters title – Scheffler is not in the field this week as he and wife Meredith await the birth of their first child.
For Day, seeing the apparent ease in which Scheffler is dominating world golf is a reminder of the power of positive thinking.
“There are guys that play from a good position of balance and love,” Day added.
“Looking at Scottie Scheffler right now, he is playing some of the best golf we’ve seen in a long time, probably since the Tiger (Woods) days. He seems like a very well-balanced person.
“It’s very difficult to do. For me personally, I’m just trying to find that balance in amongst professional life and personal life, business and everything this comes along with being a professional golfer.”
There is always more to learn for @JDayGolf.
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) May 1, 2024
His victory last year @CJByronNelson was his first win in five years.
The 13-time TOUR winner has his eyes set on successfully defending his title in Texas. pic.twitter.com/7RZ4J5CuA2
And, as a father of five himself, what advice did Day offer Scheffler for the juggle he is about to begin?
“He’s going to have to adjust a little bit. It took me a year to really adjust to being a father,” Day conceded.
“I could not find my identity in being a father because of how selfish this game can be.
“Once I found that out and I could understand it a little bit more, that’s when I started becoming a better father.
“This is going to be a whole new world that’s going to open up.
“It’s going to be for the better.”
Day is one of five Aussies in the field at the Byron Nelson, a tournament Aussies have enjoyed success in dating all the way back to Peter Thomson in 1956, Thomson’s lone PGA TOUR victory in the US.
Northern Territory golfer George Worrall played his way into this week’s Volvo China Open on the DP World Tour via a two-round pre-qualifying tournament, the tournament making its return to the schedule for the first time since COVID-19.
There are 12 Aussies in Korea for the Asian Tour co-sanctioned GS Caltex Maekyung Open and the Cameron Smith-led Ripper GC team will be gunning for back-to-back team wins at LIV Golf Singapore.
There are five Aussies in the field for the Insperity Invitational on the PGA TOUR Champions and Scott Hend and Peter Fowler join Kiwis Michael Campbell and Michael Long for the first Legends Tour event of the season in Barbados.
Photo: Tim Heitman/Getty Images
Round 1 tee times AEST
PGA TOUR
THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson
TPC Craig Ranch, McKinney, Texas
10:45pm* Jason Day
10:56pm Aaron Baddeley
3:55am Adam Scott
4:06am Min Woo Lee
4:39am Ryan Fox (NZ)
4:39am* Harrison Endycott
Defending champion: Jason Day
Past Aussie winners: Peter Thomson (1956), Bruce Devlin (1969), Adam Scott (2008), Steven Bowditch (2015), Jason Day (2023)
Prize money: $US9.5 million
TV times: Live 9:45pm-9am Thursday, Friday; Live 11pm-8am Saturday; Live 10:30pm-8am Sunday on Fox Sports 503 and Kayo.
DP World Tour
Volvo China Open
Hidden Grace GC, Shenzhen, China
10:20am* Daniel Hillier (NZ)
1:40pm* Kieran Muir (NZ)
2:30pm* Jason Scrivener
3:40pm* George Worrall
Defending champion: Mikko Korhonen (2019)
Past Aussie winners: Scott Strange (2009), Brett Rumford (2013)
Prize money: $US2.25 million
TV times: Live 3pm-8pm Thursday, Friday; Live 3:30pm-8pm Saturday; Live 2pm-7pm Sunday on Fox Sports 503 and Kayo.
Asian Tour
GS Caltex Maekyung Open
Namseoul Country Club, Korea
7:41am Brendan Jones
8:03am Deyen Lawson
8:03am* Kevin Yuan
8:36am Jack Thompson
8:36am* Won Joon Lee
8:58am Justin Warren
9:09am* Kevin Chun (NZ)
9:31am Junseok Lee
1:03pm* Jed Morgan
1:14pm Travis Smyth
1:14pm* Andrew Dodt
1:58pm Zach Murray
2:31pm* Todd Sinnott
Defending champion: Jung Chan-min
Past Aussie winners: Mike Clayton (1984)
Prize money: KRW1,300,000,000
TV times: Live 2pm-6pm Thursday, Friday; Live 1pm-4:30pm Saturday on Fox Sports 505; Live 1pm-5pm Sunday on Fox Sports 507 and Kayo.
LIV Golf
LIV Golf Singapore
Australasians in the field: Cameron Smith, Marc Leishman, Matt Jones, Lucas Herbert, Danny Lee (NZ)
Defending champion: Talor Gooch
Past Aussie winners: Nil
Prize money: $US20 million
TV times: Live from 11:15am Friday, Saturday, Sunday on 7 Plus.
Japan Golf Tour
Chunichi Crowns
Nagoya Golf Club (Wago Cse), Aichi
8:30am Anthony Quayle
12:30pm Brad Kennedy
1:10pm* Michael Hendry (NZ)
Defending champion: Hiroshi Iwata
Past Aussie winners: David Graham (1976), Graham Marsh (1977, 1981), Greg Norman (1989), Peter Senior (1993), Roger Mackay (1994), Brendan Jones (2011)
Prize money: ¥110,000,000
PGA TOUR Champions
Insperity Invitational
The Woodlands CC, The Woodlands, Texas
1:20am Steven Alker (NZ)
1:52am* Richard Green
2:23am Mark Hensby, Rod Pampling
2:44am* John Senden
2:55am* Stuart Appleby
Defending champion: Steven Alker
Past Aussie winners: Nil
Prize money: $US2.7 million
TV times: Live 2:30am-5am Saturday; Live 5am-8am Sunday, Monday on Fox Sports 505 and Kayo.
Legends Tour
Barbados Legends hosted by Ian Woosnam
Apes Hill Barbados, Saint James
Australasians in the field: Michael Campbell (NZ), Michael Long (NZ), Scott Hend, Peter Fowler
Defending champion: Inaugural event
Past Aussie winners: Nil
Epson Tour
Casino Del Sol Golf Classic
Sewailo Golf Club, Tucson, Arizona
12:44am Cassie Porter
1:50am Su Oh
5:56am* Fiona Xu (NZ)
6:40am* Amelia Garvey (NZ)
Defending champion: Gigi Stoll
Past Aussie winners: Nil
Prize money: $US250,000
PGA TOUR Americas
KIA Open
Quito Tenis Y Golf Club, Quito, Ecuador
10:50pm Jason Hong
2:50am Harry Hillier (NZ)
3:30am* Charlie Hillier (NZ)
Defending champion: Toni Hakula
Past Aussie winners: Nil
Prize money: $US225,000
