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The PGA Legends Tour will return to Western Australia for the first time in four years as the WA swing of the adidas PGA Pro-Am Series reaches new heights again in 2024.
A shift from its traditional June long weekend slot will see the $40,000 South West Isuzu South West Open start the WA stretch this weekend at Bunbury Golf Club.
It marks the beginning of a run of tournaments worth $275,000 with three Legends Tour events added worth a total of $75,000.
The Lyndsay Stephen Cottesloe Invitational will be played in conjunction with the Sanwell Cottesloe Open from May 11-12 and the veterans will play alongside the youngsters again at the inaugural Mitchell & Brown Spalding Park Legends Open.
The $25,000 Busselton Legends Pro-Am will conclude the Legends Tour’s foray in WA, their return helping to further elevate professional golf throughout the state.
“The Legends Tour boasts familiar names that golf fans throughout Western Australia would love to see play in person,” said Loretta Hughes, WA Tournaments and Membership Services Coordinator.
“We’re thrilled that they are able to return this year and that we will have them play alongside the current crop on the adidas PGA Pro-Am Series at both Cottesloe and Spalding Park.”
A few of the names to have committed already to the Legends Tour swing are reigning Order of Merit champion Andre Stolz, current Order of Merit leader Chris Taylor and Australian Senior PGA champion Jason Norris.
The adidas PGA Pro-Am Series stretch has also drawn a host of big names.
DP World Tour winners Scott Strange and Marcus Fraser are both locked in to play the South West Open starting Saturday where they will be joined by Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia tournament winners in Cameron John, Braden Becker, Daniel Fox and Rick Kulacz.
Other notable names who will tee it up during the WA swing include DP World Tour player Jason Scrivener, Korn Ferry Tour player Curtis Luck, Jarryd Felton, James Marchesani and Josh Greer.
“With our own home-grown talent and those making the trip across from the eastern states, the quality of golf we will see over the next month will be exceptional,” added Hughes.
“Our host golf clubs and sponsors have done a wonderful job in growing their events to the point where our top players now see the WA swing as an important part of their schedule.”
The GMW & Radlink Wembley Pro-Am at Wembley Golf Course will follow the South West Open on May 8 to be followed a day later by the WA PGA Foursomes Championship at Nedlands Golf Club.
Now playing the DP World Tour, Haydn Barron has vowed to team up again with good mate Ben Ferguson to go one better than their runners up finish last year to Brett Rumford and Scott Strange.
Barron’s home club, The Western Australian Golf Club, makes a welcome return to the adidas PGA Pro-Am Series for the Toro Australia – TQUIP Pro Am on May 13 before play moves five hours north to Spalding Park Golf Club.
The 2024 Mitchell & Brown Spalding Park Open will be the 50th anniversary of arguably the most popular tournament of the swing, and winner of the WA PGA Tournament of the Year in 2023. It promises to be an unforgettable event with the introduction of the PGA Legends Tour over the three days.
Sun City Country Club will host the Total Tree Services Perth Sun City CC Pro-Am for the second year after a very successful return to the schedule in 2023 where players will be asked to wear yellow as the event will incorporate the club’s Doing It For Jarrod fundraiser.
The Sun City Pro-Am was Lyle’s last professional win, his winning score remains the current course record.
The Urban Quarter Dunsborough Lakes Pro-Am will take place at Dunsborough Lakes Golf Club on May 24 before a two-week break leading into the Bennco Karratha Pro-Am in the state’s north-west.
Recent winner of the WA Regional Golf Facility of the Year and 12 months on from all 18 grass greens being in play, prize money at Karratha has increased again to $35,000, a 300 per cent increase in just two years.
The only sand green course on the WA swing, Port Hedland Golf Club will host the two-day Roy Hill Golf Classic Pro-Am from June 15-16 with the Broome WS6 and Carpet Paint & Tile Broome Pro-Am once again completing the WA leg of the adidas PGA Pro-Am Series for 2024.
Click here for PGA Legends Tour schedule
Click here for adidas PGA Pro-Am Series schedule
West Australian Hannah Green has set her sights on doubling her career win tally after joining an exclusive list of Aussie greats with a fifth LPGA Tour win in Los Angeles.
Playing in the final group with fellow Aussie Grace Kim in defence of her JM Eagle LA Championship crown, Green produced a superb back nine to sign for a Sunday round of 5-under 66 and 12-under total, three clear of Sweden’s Maja Stark (68) with a further three shots to Korea’s Haeran Ryu (69).
It was her third LPGA win inside 12 months and fifth of her career, dating back to her breakthrough KPMG Women’s PGA Championship victory in June of 2019.
The 27-year-old now joins Karrie Webb (41), Jan Stephenson (16), Minjee Lee (10) and Rachel Hetherington (8) as the only Australians with at least five LPGA Tour titles but has no intention of slowing down.
“That’s really cool. Didn’t know that stat,” said Green in her winner’s press conference.
“It’s a great honour to have my name up there along with them.
“Hopefully I keep pushing and try and get into double digits.”
Starting the final round at 7-under, Green was even par through 11 holes before a chip-in for birdie at the par-3 12th impelled her drive to the finish line.
A chip in to extend her lead 🤯@hannahgreengolf is in her element right now 🫣 pic.twitter.com/hnz83ISOgx
— LPGA (@LPGA) April 28, 2024
She backed that up with a birdie at the par-5 13th and then all but wrapped up her second straight victory at Wilshire Country Club with an eagle at the par-5 15th.
A birdie at 16 provided an extra cushion that she savoured on the 72nd hole, in particular.
“I’m really grateful that I’ve been able to step up and win by a few,” said Green, who passed $US5 million in career earnings with the winner’s cheque of $US562,500
“When I chipped in on 12, I felt like I really snagged one there.
“When I made eagle on 15 that kind of sealed the deal.
“I did see that Maja got it to 9-under so I knew what I needed to do but usually I make it really tricky on myself and only win by a shot.”
Victorious at the HSBC Women’s World Championship earlier in the season, it marks just the second multiple-win season of Green’s career. Ranked No.18 in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Ranking at the start of the week, the win also puts Green within reach of locking up a spot at the Paris Olympics in August.
“It’s definitely been on my mind,” said Green, who finished just three shots out of the medals at Tokyo 2020.
“Obviously still have six or seven weeks until the team is announced, so still a lot that can happen between now and then.
“Now that I’ve had two wins in the season, obviously this jumps me close to the top 10 in the world and solidifies my spot, but I don’t want to assume I’m on the team.
“Whatever I do between now and then, I’m just going to try and play my best golf and hope to make that team.”
Good night from Adelaide 🏆#RipperGC #LIVGolf pic.twitter.com/glkdSeSXcG
— Ripper GC (@rippergc_) April 28, 2024
There was an Aussie celebration closer to home, too, with Cameron Smith and Marc Leishman securing victory for Ripper GC in the first ever playoff in the teams event at LIV Adelaide.
After American Brendan Steele claimed individual honours at The Grange Golf Club, Smith and Leishman went out against Louis Oosthuizen and Dean Burmester of Stinger GC in the two-man aggregate format.
Two pars on the second playoff hole would be enough to claim the win, Smith and Leishman joined in wild celebrations by teammates Lucas Herbert and Matt Jones.
Results
LPGA Tour
JM Eagle LA Championship
Wilshire Country Club, Los Angeles, California
1 Hannah Green 67-69-70-66—272 $US562,500
T25 Grace Kim 64-66-76-77—283 $31,864
T39 Sarah Kemp 71-69-71-74—285 $17,644
T57 Karis Davidson 69-71-70-77—287 $9,909
MC Stephanie Kyriacou 75-71—146
MC Minjee Lee 74-72—146
MC Robyn Choi 71-75—146
MC Gabriela Ruffels 76-71—147
MC Hira Naveed 74-78—152
PGA TOUR
Zurich Classic of New Orleans
TPC Louisiana, Avondale, Louisiana
1 Rory McIlroy/Shane Lowry 61-70-64-68—263 $US1,286,050 each
T4 Garrick Higgo/Ryan Fox (NZ) 63-72-65-65—265 $234,181
MC Erik Barnes/Harrison Endycott 67-73—140
DP World Tour
ISPS HANDA Championship
Taiheiyo Club (Gotemba Cse), Gotemba, Japan
1 Yuto Katsuragawa 70-65-65-63—263 €356,625.02
T11 Daniel Hillier (NZ) 68-67-67-68—270 €32,755.56
MC Haydn Barron 70-68—138
MC Kazuma Kobori 69-70—139
MC Anthony Quayle 69-72—141
MC Brad Kennedy 70-72—142
MC Jason Scrivener 72-71—143
LIV Golf
LIV Golf Adelaide
The Grange Golf Club, Adelaide, South Australia
1 Brendan Steele 66-64-68—198 $US4m
T9 Matt Jones 66-68-68—202 $385,500
T9 Danny Lee (NZ) 64-67-71—202 $385,500
T14 Lucas Herbert 73-65-65—203 $275,000
T14 Marc Leishman 67-71-65—203 $275,000
T14 Cameron Smith 68-65-70—203 $275,000
Korn Ferry Tour
Veritex Bank Championship
Texas Rangers Golf Club, Arlington, Texas
1 Tim Widing 62-63-65-63—253 $US180,000
MC Brett Drewitt 67-69—136
MC Rhein Gibson 66-70—136
MC Steven Bowditch 76-68—144
WD Dimi Papadatos 71
Ladies European Tour
Investec South African Women’s Open
Erinvale Country and Golf Estate, Cape Town, South Africa
1 Manon De Roey 69-67-66-72—274 €48,000
T2 Momoka Kobori (NZ) 69-70-68-71—278 €24,000
PGA TOUR Champions
Mitsubishi Electric Classic
TPC Sugarloaf, Duluth, Georgia
1 Stephen Ames 71-64-67—202 $US300,000
T4 Steven Alker (NZ) 65-71-71—207 $108,000
T6 John Senden 67-70-71—208 $76,000
T17 Mark Hensby 72-71-69—212 $28,280
T17 Richard Green 67-72-73—212 $28,280
T26 Michael Wright 74-66-74—214 $17,000
T35 Stuart Appleby 74-72-70—216 $10,460
T35 Steve Allan 69-69-78—216 $10,460
T46 David McKenzie 73-73-72—218 $6,800
66 David Bransdon 73-77-74—224 $2,400
Challenge Tour
UAE Challenge
Saadiyat Beach Golf Club, Abu Dhabi, UAE
1 Rasmus Neergard-Petersen 65-72-70-67—274 €44,752.94
T25 Connor McKinney 69-69-69-75—282 €2,293.59
MC Hayden Hopewell 77-75—152
MC Tom Power Horan 77-76—153
Korean PGA
2024 Woori Finance Championship
Ferrum Club (East-West Cse)
1 Seongjae Lim 70-67-71-69—277 KRW300m
T23 Wonjoon Lee 73-69-73-70—285 KRW13.8m
T44 Kevin Chun (NZ) 69-74-77-70—290 KRW7.26m
T49 Junseok Lee 68-73-74-76—291 KRW6.78m
Epson Tour
IOA Championship
Morongo Golf Club at Tukwet Canyon, Beaumont, California
1 Juliana Hung 64-64-67—195 $US30,000
2 Fiona Xu (NZ) 68-69-67—204 $19,053
T54 Su Oh 71-71-75—217 $797
MC Cassie Porter 74-74—148
MC Amelia Garvey (NZ) 81-74—155
PGA TOUR Americas
Diners Club Peru Open
Los Inkas Golf Club, Lima, Peru
1 Stuart Macdonald 69-66-65-71—271
T18 Harry Hillier (NZ) 68-70-71-71—280
T62 Jason Hong 69-73-77-74—293
MC Charlie Hillier 73-73—146
The five women-strong team who will represent Australia in this year’s Women’s PGA Cup in Oregon in October has been decided today after two days of qualifying at Sandhurst Club.
Queenslander Katelyn Must and Victorian Jenna Hunter made sure they would be on the Australian team, both tied at the top of the qualifying at 5-under after the two rounds.
Grace Lennon from Victoria finished in third place, and previous Australian captain Lisa Jean, who coaches at Royal Canberra finished fourth after 36-holes.
Tied for fifth after today’s round, a playoff was needed to determine who would make up the final spot on the team between Sienna Voglis and Jessica Cook.
Heading back to the first tee of the Champions Course at Sandhurst, Cook pulled her tee-shot left, and struggled from there while Voglis held steady to secure the final spot.
Captain of Australia in the first edition of the Women’s PGA Cup in 2019, Lisa Jean was emotional post-round, relieved she will get another chance to represent her country.
“Full of emotion at the moment. I played pretty bad today, and I knew the scores coming up 18,” she said.
Playing in the final group, a par on 18 would have put Jean into the playoff with Cook and Voglis, a bogey or worse and she wouldn’t be on the team.
“I just stood up and smashed driver, had 105-metres slightly into the wind, clubbed up to 9-iron and hit a great shot to about a metre-and-a-half,” she said.
“I was pretty nervous over the putt, and then just finally hit a really good solid putt.
“I seemed to put it all together when it mattered. I guess all those years on the European Tour paid off!”
Jean and her team mates will be looking to lean on that tour experience again in October, with all of this year’s qualifiers having plenty of past playing experience past.
“We’ve all played on tour, yeah we’re club pros now but I think that being ex-tour players and competitive, we might go alright,” said Jean.
“We’ve got a good team this year, Sienna and I are the originals we call ourselves from the first team. Then Katelyn played in the second Cup two years ago, and Grace and Jenna are just great golfers.”
The Women’s PGA Cup will be held at Sunriver Resort in Oregon from October 1-5 later this year, with Australia up against teams from Canada, Great Britain & Ireland, South Africa, Sweden and the United States.
Photo: Lisa Jean, Sienna Voglis, Katelyn Must and Grace Lennon. Absent: Jenna Hunter.
Presidents Cup Captain Assistant’s Geoff Ogilvy has declared Min Woo Lee a “captain’s dream” as the International Team looks to find ways to counter the might of an American team led by rampant world No.1 Scottie Scheffler.
On the day that Scheffler completed his win at the RBC Heritage to back up his second Masters victory, Ogilvy was announced as one of four Captain’s Assistants by Captain Mike Weir for the biennial matches to be played at Royal Montreal Golf Club from September 24-29. Ernie Els, Trevor Immelman and Camilo Villegas were also named Captain’s Assistants.
In current standings, Lee and Jason Day would be the only two automatic qualifiers from Australia for the 12-man team with Adam Scott and Cam Davis in the frame to either qualify or receive one of six captain’s picks.
It will be the fourth time that Ogilvy has served as a captain’s assistant and the 2006 US Open champion believes the International team is getting ever closer to breaking the stranglehold the US has possessed for the past 26 years.
Key to that may be debutant Lee, whose energy and crowd engagement Ogilvy saw first-hand at the Australian PGA Championship last November.
“I would’ve thought he’d be a captain’s dream bringing in what he brings,” said Ogilvy.
“Everybody saw at home at the PGA last year at Royal Queensland how he can take the crowd along with him. He’s that sort of guy.
“He brings such enthusiasm with an unbelievable game as well. He’s clearly world-class, one of the best young players in the world, but he’s going to bring excitement and the fist pumps and all that sort of stuff.
“When the other players see that, even if they’re not in the same group, the messages get around the golf course. If Min is getting excited and doing his thing, it inspires other groups and other players to do the same thing.
“He’s tailor made for something like this.”
Business dinner in Orlando with Captain @MWeirsy and the boys 🍽️#IntlTeam pic.twitter.com/8j3VXT5rbN
— Presidents Cup International Team (@IntlTeam) March 6, 2024
On the back of his commitment to represent Australia at the Paris Olympics, Day is also set for a return to Presidents Cup competition for the first time since 2017.
Day first qualified for the Presidents Cup at Royal Melbourne Golf Club in 2011 but injuries and form have kept him from participating in the past two matches.
Given his form the past 18 months and experience at the highest level, Ogilvy said that he will be a welcome addition to the 2024 International Team.
“It is great to have him back. It looks like he’s set to be back,” Ogilvy added.
“He brings a lot of experience and in these things, experience is quite important. It’s not everything, but it’s quite important.
“Clearly, he’d be happy to be sent out against anybody. He’s not going to be intimidated playing against anybody.
“His body seems to be back and he seems to have a bit of a lighter sort of feeling on the golf course.
“I think it got a bit heavy for him, but he seems to be in a really good spot.”
As for his own aspirations to potentially captain the International Team at the 2028 Presidents Cup at Kingston Heath Golf Club in his home city of Melbourne, Ogilvy couldn’t hide his interest.
“I’ve thought about it. If I had that job, that would be amazing, obviously,” said the 46-year-old.
“I’d be a captain’s assistant for the next 25 of these if they let me. It’s just such a good week.
“If I got the chance, it’d be amazing. But as long as they keep asking me to come along, I’m going to be happy.”
Photo: Ben Jared/PGA TOUR via Getty
New South Welshman Alex Edge has held off a fast finishing Caleb Bovalina to complete a wire-to-wire win at the 2024 Tasmanian Open at Launceston Golf Club.
Just the second professional winner since Darren Cole in 1992, Edge began the final round with a two-stroke lead, a buffer he increased with birdies at each of his opening two holes.
Given he began the day seven strokes off the lead, Bovalina was not expected to be one of Edge’s strongest threats yet after turning in 4-under surged into contention with an eagle at the par-5 10th to go 6-under on his round.
He would log three straight birdies from the 15th hole in a bogey-free course record of 9-under 63, one shot shy of Edge’s 9-under tournament total.
Bovalina would share second with Kyle Michel (68) as Edge closed out the biggest win of his career with a 3-under 69.
Michel drew to within one with an eagle at the par-5 15th but only briefly, Edge answering with birdie to move two clear with three holes to play.
But rather than his final birdie, Edge pointed to a par at the previous hole as the key moment in a tense final round.
“The previous hole, the tough par 3, we both missed the green and I managed to make my putt and he didn’t,” said Edge, who made a two-foot putt for bogey on the final hole for the win.
“I knew I was a few up then and then he hit a great shot into the par 5. He would’ve had six feet for eagle and I had about 20 feet. I figured that if I holed that, it’d probably be lights out for everyone else, but I didn’t.
“He did and it made it exciting for the finish.”
Bovalina could do nothing but watch on as Edge and Michel went toe-to-toe over the closing holes.
He didn’t consider that he was mounting a genuine charge for the title until he chipped in on 10 to move to 5-under.
“It’s a course that if you hit it straight and keep it on the straight and narrow you can score,” said Bovalina.
“I was 2-under through six and then I birdied seven and eight and when I chipped in for eagle on 10, that’s when I sort of knew I was in for a good day.
“Birdie on 15 – I had maybe like 15 feet for eagle – and then 16 hit a nice shot in.
“Seventeen, I was in the right rough and a bit of a sandy area. Hit a nice shot to six feet and holed the putt and ended up holing a six-foot par putt on the last to keep it bogey free.”
In the Women’s Tasmanian Open, Launceston local Jorjah Bailey produced the round of the tournament to complete a five-stroke win.
Surrounded by family and fellow Launceston Golf Club members, Bailey took a stranglehold on the title with three birdies in her opening five holes, going on to post 3-under 70 for a 2-under total.
Sydney’s Rebecca Zhao (73) was second at 3-over, three clear of Round 1 leader Matilda Miels (75).
It was a dominant win for Cameron Pollard in the Tasmanian Inclusive Championship, his rounds of 76-78 enough for an 18-shot win from Rod Welsh.
The Men’s and Women’s Tasmanian Opens are supported by the Tasmanian Government through Events Tasmania
Australian golf’s biggest showman, Min Woo Lee, is making a new home for himself in a very appropriate place, Las Vegas, but he’s keeping Australia very much on his mind.
Not only is Lee, ranked No.32 in the world, determined to represent his country at the Olympic Games in Paris for the first time, he’s already locked in his Australian PGA Championship title defence at Royal Queensland in November.
Buy your 2024 Australian PGA Championship tickets HERE.
Lee said coming back to Brisbane as the defending champion would be a new experience, but one he’s already looking forward to.
“It was obviously big for me to win a tournament in Australia. Being in front of my friends and family was massive and I love Royal Queensland,” the West Australian said today.
“It’s a course I love playing and I feel like it suits my game pretty good.
“The crowds at Royal Queensland are always awesome. It’s a great vibe that just keeps getting bigger.”
After an awesome Australian summer, where he also contended for the ISPS HANDA Australian Open title before finishing third, Lee is settling in to life in the United States where he has been a guest in American pro Kurt Kitayama’s home when not playing tournament golf as a fulltime member of the PGA TOUR for the first time.
His own home in the “Entertainment Capital of the World” is on the way and will make his move away from Perth even more comfortable, helping his bid to build on a season that he has graded as a B so far.
The clear highlight in eight events has been a T2 finish at the Cognizant Classic in Florida.
“It’s massive to have a place to stay in America and not have to travel all the way back to Australia.
“I do miss Australia and I do miss my friends and family but I think it helps having that home base.”
Lee’s next event will be The CJ Cup Byron Nelson in Texas in early May but the No.2-ranked Australian also has an eye on the Paris Olympic Games in July, with his T22 result at the Masters edging him closer to qualification.
The top 15 in the world and top two ranked players from each country will earn a place in the field at Le Golf National in July.
As it currently stands, Lee and Jason Day (No.22) would be the Australian men’s duo.
“It’s definitely a talking point. Every week I get asked, so it’s in my brain, in my head,” he said of the potential to become an Olympian like sister Minjee.
“I would love to represent Australia. It’s one of the goals I’ve had from the last year or so when the talk started happening.”
The Day Off The Green brought women from across the golf industry together for a day of networking, learning and professional development.
Held as part of Golf Australia’s Women and Girls Month, the Day Off The Green brought women from across the golf industry together for a day of professional development.
Women still make up the minority within the golf industry, and so by providing a space for them to meet others working in the industry and share experiences, the day allowed participants to learn in an environment that recognised their unique challenges.
Held at the PGA Institute in Sandhurst, Australia’s home of golf education, the room was at capacity, with 43 women from across a broad spectrum of the golf industry in attendance.
Guest speakers included Kingston Heath President Nikki McLure, Specialist Trainer Janine Mitchell, Executive Coach Karen Faendrich, Training Specialist Glenn Burbidge and Golf Australia’s Head of Workforce Engagement Claudia Marazita, and each spoke on a unique aspect of working and thriving in the industry.
A big focus of the day was also to provide workshops and content that was able to be transferred back into the workplace.
Specifically Burbridge and Marazita both focussed on practical sessions. How to work in a high performing team, and how to take ownership of your own professional development journey.
Similarly, Faendrich presented on leadership skills, while Mitchell spoke on resilience and confidence in the workplace. McClure’s presentation opened the day and by sharing her journey into the golf industry she provided a relatable and inspirational introduction.
The Day Off The Green concluded with a chip and sip, a casual chance for the women to debrief on a successful day.
Some testimonials from those who attended:
“Thanks for bringing amazing women together and giving us this opportunity to grow and thrive,” Cindy Thang, Marketing Manager at Golf Ball Recycling.
“I found the presenters to be of an extremely high calibre, the content engaging and the chance to network with other like-minded women in the golf industry was invaluable. The workshops covered a lot of valuable content and there were many light bulb moments and self-reflection,” Sylvia Bourne, Membership and events at Keysborough Golf Club.
“Congratulations on delivering a fantastic event yesterday. It was enriching, highly relevant, and enjoyable,” Dayle Marshall, Membership and Communications Manager at The Metropolitan Golf Club.
“My colleague and I thoroughly enjoyed the day and would certainly recommend it to anyone. The speakers were great, particularly Karen Faehndrich. Karen is an inspirational speaker and has had a profound effect on me. To be honest, I am still trying to process her session which was so jammed-packed. Karen is one of the most engaging speakers I have had the privilege to listen to,” Marcelle Doran, Membership and Guest Services Manager, The Rosanna Golf Club.
Reigning Australian PGA champion Min Woo Lee has locked in the defence of his title at Royal Queensland Golf Club in Brisbane from November 21-24.
One of the emerging stars in world golf whose style of play and charisma on and off the course has attracted a massive global fan base, Lee will have his sights on being the first player to defend the Joe Kirkwood Cup since Cam Smith in 2018.
The West Australian scored a memorable three-shot win at Royal Queensland last November, shooting a total of 20-under-par to secure his biggest title on home soil.
Buy your tickets HERE.
Since his PGA success, his fourth victory as a professional, Lee has moved to the United States to play as a full-time member of the PGA TOUR, has improved his world ranking to a career-high of No.31 and is a strong contender for selection in Australia’s Olympic Games golf team for Paris.
The 25-year-old’s 2024 campaign has included a tie for second at the Cognizant Classic in the Palm Beaches.
Min Woo Lee said: “The Australian PGA Championship was a very special event for me last year, seeing a lot of friends, being in contention and then closing the win out on Sunday.
“The crowds at Royal Queensland are always awesome. It’s a great vibe that just keeps getting bigger.
“Coming back as the defending champion is going to be a new experience, but I’m already looking forward to it.”
PGA of Australia CEO Gavin Kirkman said: “It’s a huge boost for the 2024 Australian PGA Championship to have our defending champion Min Woo Lee signed on to compete at Royal Queensland in November.
“Min put on an awesome show last year, showing why he is one of world golf’s biggest drawcards.
“He has that X factor that golf fans here in Australia and overseas love to see and get behind.
“We have already experienced strong early ticket sales for this year’s event and having confirmation from Min that he will be coming back to Royal Queensland should give us another huge boost.”
Minister for Tourism and Sport, Michael Healy said: “This is terrific news, having one of the world’s most exciting and dynamic players in Min Woo Lee, commit to return and defend his Australian PGA title at the historic Royal Queensland course later this year.
“We’re thrilled to be hosting Australia’s oldest professional golf tournament again in 2024, an event that always assembles world-class fields, attracts massive galleries, and further cements Queensland’s reputation as a premier destination for major sporting events.
“Last year’s tournament welcomed over 61,000 people to Royal Queensland Golf Club injecting more than $14 million into the local visitor economy.”
Brisbane Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner said the return of the 2023 champion and rising star is a huge win for local golf fans.
“We are thrilled to welcome Min Woo Lee for another Australian PGA Championship at Royal Queensland later this year,” Cr Schrinner said.
“This event is a major driver for visitation to Brisbane, with more than 61,000 fans attending to watch Lee claim his first Australian PGA victory last year.
“Brisbane is proud to host the Australian PGA Championship once again, with the event to deliver incredible economic support to local Brisbane businesses with hotels, tourism experiences and restaurants set to experience the economic upswing.”
The Australian PGA Championship is supported by the Queensland Government through Tourism and Events Queensland, and Brisbane City Council via Brisbane Economic Development Agency
Australia will have its strongest representation in tournament history with nine Aussies to tee it up at The Chevron Championship starting Thursday night in Texas.
Led by major champions Minjee Lee and Hannah Green, the nine Aussies in the field betters the previous mark by two, achieved in 2003, 2004 and 2019.
Six Aussies played at The Club at Carlton Woods 12 months ago, those numbers bolstered by Gabi Ruffels and Hira Naveed graduating to the LPGA Tour in 2024 and Queenslander Robyn Choi returning after a single season back in 2019.
A two-time major winner, Lee has been paired with defending champion Lilia Vu and current world No.1 Nelly Korda for the first two rounds in what is the marquee group of the opening two days.
Pictured with Stephanie Kyriacou, Grace Kim and Sarah Kemp after her win at the HSBC Women’s World Championship last month, Green tees off at the same time as her fellow West Australian at 4.10am AEST alongside Pajaree Anannarukarn and Hye-Jin Choi.
Buckle up because The Random Club Challenge was quite the rollercoaster with Aussies @Stephkyriacou2 and @hannahgreengolf 😂 pic.twitter.com/oSuUOYDG7u
— LPGA (@LPGA) April 17, 2024
Ruffels first played The Chevron – known then as the ANA Inspiration – back in 2020 as an amateur, where she was tied for 15th on debut.
Still just 23 years of age, Ruffels has finished top-25 in her two starts in the event since turning professional, her last appearance a tie for 25th in 2022.
Fellow LPGA Tour rookie Hira Naveed makes her major championship debut on the back of her runner-up finish at the Ford Championship two weeks ago, a result that saw her climb 542 spots to 106th in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Ranking.
As the Aussie women count down to their first major of the year, there is an enormous Australian contingent this week also on the Asian Tour.
A total of 18 Aussies are in action at the Saudi Open in Saudi Arabia which began on Wednesday afternoon AEST.
Wade Ormsby birdied each of his opening two holes to lead the way early in Round 1 with Harrison Crowe, Jordan Zunic and Maverick Antcliff out in the early groups.
Off the back of their week at Augusta National, Jason Day and Cam Davis will fly the Aussie flag at the $US20 milllion RBC Heritage at Harbour Town Golf Links, the West Australian trio of Haydn Barron, Connor McKinney and Hayden Hopewell are joined by Victorian Tom Power Horan at the Abu Dhabi Challenge on the Challenge Tour and defending champion Mark Hensby is among the 10 Aussies in the field for the Invited Celebrity Classic on the PGA TOUR Champions.
Round 1 tee times AEST
LPGA Tour
The Chevron Championship
The Club at Carlton Woods, The Woodlands, Texas
11:10pm Grace Kim, Leona Maguire, Anna Nordqvist
11:32pm Robyn Choi, Jin Hee Im, Hinako Shibuno
11:43pm* Maria Fassi, Hira Naveed, Megan Schofill (a)
4:10am Pajaree Anannarukarn, Hye-Jin Choi, Hannah Green
4:10am* Nelly Korda, Minjee Lee, Lilia Vu
4:32am Nanna Koerstz Madsen, Stephanie Kyriacou, Polly Mack
4:32am* Gabriela Ruffels, Madelene Sagstrom, Lottie Woad (a)
4:43am Perrine Delacour, Sarah Kemp, Miyu Yamashita
4:54am Aditi Ashok, Karis Davidson, Danielle Kang
Round 2
11:10pm Nelly Korda, Minjee Lee, Lilia Vu
11:10pm* Pajaree Anannarukarn, Hye-Jin Choi, Hannah Green
11:32pm Gabriela Ruffels, Madelene Sagstrom, Lottie Woad (a)
11:32pm* Nanna Koerstz Madsen, Stephanie Kyriacou, Polly Mack
11:43pm* Perrine Delacour, Sarah Kemp, Miyu Yamashita
11:54pm* Aditi Ashok, Karis Davidson, Danielle Kang
4:10am* Grace Kim, Leona Maguire, Anna Nordqvist
4:32am* Robyn Choi, Jin Hee Im, Hinako Shibuno
4:43am Maria Fassi, Hira Naveed, Megan Schofill (a)
Defending champion: Lilia Vu
Past Aussie winners: Karrie Webb (2000, 2006)
Prize money: $US7.9 million
TV times: Live 12:30am-4am Friday, Saturday; Live 4am-8am Sunday, Monday on Fox Sports 505 and Kayo.
Asian Tour
Saudi Open presented by PIF
Riyadh Golf Club, Saudia Arabia
1:20pm Ayoub Lguirati, Douglas Klein, Prince Khalid Saud Al-Faisal (a)
1:30pm Stefano Mazzoli, Lion Park, Lachlan Barker
1:40pm Ye Wocheng, Jordan Zunic, Manav Shah
2pm Ervin Chang, Deyen Lawson, Jared Du Toit
2pm* Prom Meesawat, Jack Thompson, Saud Al Sharif
2:10pm* Harrison Crowe, Agustin Errazuriz, Jeunghun Wang
2:20pm* Lee Chieh-po, Sarit Suwannarut, Kevin Yuan
2:30pm Shahriffuddin Ariffin, Settee Prakongvech, Maverick Antcliff
2:30pm* Wade Ormsby, Rafa Cabrera Bello, Kiradech Aphibarnrat
2:50pm Charlie Lindh, Aaron Wilkin, Tomoyo Ikemura
2:50pm* Denwit Boriboonsub, John Catlin, Travis Smyth
6:10pm Austen Truslow, Issa Abouelela (a), Justin Warren
6:20pm* Angelo Que, Chapchai Nirat, Sam Brazel
6:50pm Steve Lewton, Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano, Jed Morgan
7pm* Daniel Gale, Chang Wei-lun, Rattanon Wannasrichan
7:10pm Jaco Ahlers, Scott Hend, Ratchanon Chantananuwat (a)
7:20pm* SSP Chawrasia, Suteepat Prateeptienchai, Zach Murray
7:30pm* Jbe Kruger, Todd Sinnott, Siddikur Rahman
Defending champion: Denwit Booribonsub
Past Aussie winners: Nil
Prize money: $US1 million
TV times: Live 8:30pm-12:30am Wednesday, Thursday, Friday; Live 9:15pm-12am Saturday on Fox Sports 505 and Kayo.
PGA TOUR
RBC Heritage
Harbour Town Golf Links, Hilton Head Island, South Carolina
11:35pm Jason Day, Eric Cole
11:50pm Cam Davis, Byeong Hun An
Defending champion: Matt Fitzpatrick
Past Aussie winners: Graham Marsh (1977), Greg Norman (1988), Peter Lonard (2005), Aaron Baddeley (2006)
Prize money: $US20 million
TV times: Live 10:15pm-8am Thursday; Live 9:15pm-8am Friday; Live 11pm-8am Saturday; Live 8:45pm-8am Sunday on Fox Sports 503 and Kayo.
Corales Puntacana Championship
Puntacana Resort & Club (Corales Cse), Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
3:21am Harrison Endycott, Parker Coody, Herman Wibe Sekne
Defending champion: Matt Wallace
Past Aussie winners: Nil
Prize money: $US4 million
TV times: Live 10pm-12am Thursday, Friday on Fox Sports 507; 9am-10:30am Sunday; 8:30am-10:30am Monday on Fox Sports 503 and Kayo.
Ladies European Tour
Joburg Ladies Open
Modderfontein Golf Club, South Africa
7:20pm* Emily Price, Jane Turner, Amy Walsh
Defending champion: Lily May Humphreys
Past Aussie winners: Nil
Prize money: €300,000
TV times: Live 9:30pm-12am Saturday; Live 9pm-12am Sunday on Fox Sports 506 and Kayo.
Korn Ferry Tour
LECOM Suncoast Classic
Lakewood National Golf Club (Commander Cse), Lakewood Ranch, Florida
10:12pm* David Kocher, Rhein Gibson, Scott Harrington
10:56pm* John Lyras, Yi Cao, Dillon Board
2:25am* Dimi Papadatos, Tag Ridings, Morgan Hoffmann
3:20am* Trevor Cone, Brett Drewitt, Jamie Lovemark
Defending champion: Scott Gutschewski
Past Aussie winners: Nil
Prize money: $US1 million
Challenge Tour
Abu Dhabi Challenge
Al Ain Equestrian, Shooting & Golf Club, Abu Dhabi, UAE
2:30pm Bailey Gill, Daniel Young, Haydn Barron
2:30pm* Jack McDonald, Albert Venter, Connor McKinney
5:40pm Žan Luka Stirn, Rashid Aljassmy, Hayden Hopewell
7pm* Tom Power Horan, Jamie Rutherford, Lee Slattery
Defending champion: Ricardo Gouveia
Past Aussie winners: Nil
Prize money: €300,000
PGA TOUR Champions
Invited Celebrity Classic
Las Colinas Country Club, Irving, Texas
Aussies in the field: Steve Allan, Stuart Appleby, David Bransdon, Greg Chalmers, Richard Green, Mark Hensby, David McKenzie, Rod Pampling, John Senden, Michael Wright.
Defending champion: Mark Hensby
Past Aussie winners: Mark Hensby (2023)
Prize money: $US2.2 million
TV times: 11am-12:30pm Saturday; 10:30am-12pm Sunday on Fox Sports 503; Live 7am-9am Monday on Fox Sports 507 and Kayo.
PGA TOUR Americas
69th Brazil Open at Rio Olympic Golf Course
Rio Olympic Golf Course, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
7:50pm Jason Hong, Devon Bling, José de Jesús Rodríguez
Defending champion: Inaugural event
Past Aussie winners: Nil
Prize money: $US225,000
It was a Friday evening at the 1987 PLM Open in Sweden. The bus was taking the players back to the hotel and one lone golfer was taking advantage of a long Swedish summer’s light and grinding away on the practice fairway.
Noel Ratcliffe had just missed the cut by eight shots and, with some justification, we wondered what the hell he was doing. There were better times to be had in Malmo on Friday night than hitting balls on the range.
Ratcliffe was 42, and golf on the tour only gets harder over 40. But he loved playing the tour and like most at such a vulnerable age for professional golfers, he was trying desperately to hang on.
The next week we played the Benson and Hedges tournament, one of the most prestigious on the tour, in York and the most remarkable thing happened. The Sunday morning leaderboard was stacked with the big names on the European Tour including Nick Faldo, Bernhard Langer, Jose Maria Olazabal, Jose Maria Canizares and Ian Baker-Finch. Ratcliffe, a shot behind Faldo and two behind the leader, Langer, went out and shot 66 to beat them all. Nine years earlier, he and Neil Coles lost a playoff to Lee Trevino, making his win part redemption and part resurrection.
‘The Rat’ died this week, aged 79, and is remembered by all who knew him as someone who truly loved playing golf. He was, fair to say, the most deliberate player on the tour, which was a high bar given fellow Sydneysider Peter Fowler was out there as well.
He was a late starter to golf but by the very early 1970s ‘Rat’ was one of the very best amateurs in the country and he represented Australia the 1972 Eisenhower Cup in Argentina alongside Tony Gresham (who won the Individual Trophy), Mike Cahill and Terry Gale. It was arguably the finest ever Australian team to play the Eisenhower and they were second behind a great American team which included Ben Crenshaw, Vinny Giles and Mark Hayes.
We are saddened to advise of the passing of Noel Ratcliffe, aged 79.
— PGA of Australia (@PGAofAustralia) April 15, 2024
A two-time winner on the @DPWorldTour and eight-time winner on the @euLegendsTour, Noel was a 47-year member of the PGA of Australia.#PGAProudhttps://t.co/fCtPayYrh1
He turned pro a couple of years later after the Australian PGA changed its rules and sensibly made it easier for the best amateurs to play the tour without going through the charade of spending a year working in a pro shop before being allowed to play professionally.
In 1977, he finally won in Australia, beating David Galloway in a playoff at the South Australian Open at Royal Adelaide. The following season in Europe he beat fellow New South Welshman Chris Tickner in a playoff at the Belgium Open.
Much of his success came as a senior player in Europe where he won eight times and led the money list in 2000. Four other years he was in the top handful of players on the over-50s tour.
Rat had a beautiful long swing, one likely the main reason he played so well as he aged as his contemporaries were losing their flexibility and wondering where all their length had gone.
He was a wonderful man, a great friend and, if you asked, a source of good advice.
We’ll all miss him, even if he did add 15 minutes to all our rounds!
Photo: Matthew Lewis/Getty Images
