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The first major championship of the year is upon us, with 89 players descending on Augusta National Golf Club for the 88th Masters Tournament, including six Australians.
Seeking to become just the second Australian to have the green jacket draped on their shoulders, Cameron Davis, Jason Day, Min Woo Lee, Cameron Smith and amateur Jasper Stubbs join 2013 champion Adam Scott in Georgia.
With the eyes of the golfing world on The Masters, here is all you need to know to follow the action.
DEFENDING CHAMPION: Jon Rahm
PRIZEMONEY: $US18 million (expected to be same as 2023)
LIVE SCORES: www.masters.com
TV COVERAGE: The Masters Tournament rounds are live on Fox Sports, available on Foxtel and Kayo, as well as 9GemHD and 9Now.
Fox Sports 503 will be a dedicated Masters channel this week, while featured holes and groups will be shown on Kayo, Fox Sports 505/506 and 9Now.
*All times AEST.
Par-3 Contest: 5am – 7am Thursday (Fox Sports 503/Kayo/9Now)
Round One: Featured groups 11pm Thursday – 5am (Fox Sports 503/Kayo/9Now);Regular coverage Friday 5am – 9:30am (Fox Sports 503/Kayo/9GemHD/9Now)
Round Two: Featured groups 11pm Friday – 5am (Fox Sports 503/Kayo/9Now);Regular coverage Saturday 5am – 9:30am (Fox Sports 503/Kayo/9GemHD/9Now)
Round Three: Featured groups 12am Sunday – 5am (Fox Sports 503/Kayo/9Now);Regular coverage Sunday 5am – 9am (Fox Sports 503/Kayo/9GemHD/9Now)
Final Round: Featured groups 12am Monday – 4am (Fox Sports 503/Kayo/9Now);Regular coverage Monday 4am – 9am (Fox Sports 503/Kayo/9GemHD/9Now)
ROUND ONE TEE TIMES (AEST)
Cameron Davis: 1:18am (Friday)
Jason Day: 3:24am (Friday)
Min Woo Lee: 12:06am (Friday)
Adam Scott: 3:12am (Friday)
Cameron Smith: 12:54am (Friday)
Jasper Stubbs (a): 11:00pm (Thursday)
AUSTRALIAN PLAYER PROFILES
CAMERON DAVIS
World ranking: 62
Age: 29
Professional wins: Four
Best finish at The Masters: 46th (2022)
The lowdown: Making his second Masters start, Davis returns after a year away from Augusta National when he managed his best ever finish at a major with a T4 at the 2024 U.S. PGA Championship.
Making the cut in his one appearance, Davis is now a fixture, and winner, on the PGA TOUR and has the ball striking prowess to succeed at The Masters.
Sharing 21st in his last start, the Seattle-based Sydneysider has a best finish of T18 at the Arnold Palmer Invitational so far this year and is chasing a second Presidents Cup spot in 2024.
JASON DAY
World ranking: 21
Age: 36
Major wins: One (2015 U.S. PGA Championship)
Professional wins: 19
Best finish at The Masters: T2 (2011)
The lowdown: Returning to the winners’ circle on the PGA TOUR and finishing runner-up at The Open in 2024, Day arrives in solid form with three top-10s already to his name so far this year.
Long considered a player purpose built for Augusta, Day, who has made nine cuts in 12 starts, nearly joined the exclusive club of winning The Masters on his first try when he was joint second in 2011 behind South Africa’s Charl Schwartzel.
Rebuilding his game with Tiger Woods’ former coach Chris Como after years of back injuries, Day still has the high ball flight best suited to MacKenzie’s design, while his putting is among the best in the game when on.
MIN WOO LEE
World ranking: 32
Age: 25
Professional wins: Four
Best finish at The Masters: T14 (2022)
The lowdown: After a stellar summer at home, where he won the Australian PGA Championship and was third at the Australian Open, Lee will arrive well rested after a break following the PGA TOUR’s ‘Florida Swing’, albeit nursing a finger which he fractured in a weights session.
Sharing second at the Cognizant Classic last month, Lee’s ‘It’ factor will no doubt be on show again this week, as it was on debut two years ago when the West Australian equalled the front nine tournament scoring record of 30.
Boasting major championship pedigree from sister Minjee, Min Woo missed the weekend last year but has shown an early aptitude at the majors, where he has five finishes in the top-10 from six starts.
ADAM SCOTT
World ranking: 53
Age: 43
Major wins: One (2013 Masters)
Professional wins: 32
Best finish at The Masters: Win (2013)
The lowdown: Never discount a winner at Augusta, and that is certainly the case with Scott who broke the Aussie duck 11 years ago in the rain.
The Queenslander recorded dual top-10s at the Australian PGA and Australian Open before winning the Cathedral Invitational to end 2023, with Scott finishing in the top-20 five times already this year.
Tied for 14th in Texas last week, Scott is making his 23rd Masters appearance, a record that has included 20 made cuts including the last 14 straight. In addition to his green jacket, the former World No.1 has nine other results better than T25 over his tremendous Masters career.
CAMERON SMITH
World ranking: 68
Age: 30
Major wins: One (2022 Open Championship)
Professional wins: 12
Best finish at The Masters: T2 (2020)
The lowdown: A proven performer at the majors, the winner of the 150th Open’s biggest question heading into this week is his health after a bout of food poisoning cruelled his final prep last week.
Physically on the improve, Smith became the first player to shoot four rounds in the 60s at The Masters only to be trumped by Dustin Johnson in 2020 for the title. Winning his own major two years later, the Queenslander’s short game is his ace in hole this, and every, week.
Missing out in a play-off a few weeks back, Smith has already developed a strong Masters resumé with seven made cuts from seven starts and four top-10s to his name. Beware the wounded golfer!
JASPER STUBBS (a)
World ranking: 1410
Age: 22
Professional wins: None
Best finish at The Masters: Debut
The lowdown: The fourth Australian winner of the Asia-Pacific Amateur, Stubbs punched his Masters (and Open) ticket last year at Royal Melbourne with a steely play-off win to follow in the recent footsteps of Harrison Crowe.
Getting the awe of a first visit out the of the way earlier in the year, Stubbs will stay in the Crows Nest early in the week before settling into some off site accommodation, with making the cut the first goal for the low amateur at the Australian Open.
Has gained plenty of experience playing alongside the pros on the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia this past season, and will attempt to glean as much as possible from Cam Smith during a scheduled Wednesday practice round.
THE COURSE
As it has done 87 times before, Augusta National Golf Club welcomes The Masters this week to its golf course that is known the world over.
Opened in 1933, the host venue was designed by Dr Alister MacKenzie and Bobby Jones with tournament golf front of mind and has been regularly updated to challenge the modern day player.
In preparation for this year’s tournament, 10 yards have been added to the sweeping dogleg left par-5 second hole that makes it the longest hole on the course at 585 yards. Interestingly, every hole at Augusta is listed at five yard increments with the par-72 totalling 7555 yards for 2024.
Immaculate condition of the overseeded ryegrass fairways and bentgrass greens, as well as surrounding flowers, are par for the course where the three holes known as ‘Amen Corner’ are always crucial come Sunday afternoon.
Comprising the 520-yard par-4 11th (White Dogwood), 155-yard par-3 12th (Golden Bell) and the 545-yard par-5 13th (Azalea), the famous trio have seen green jackets won and lost over the years.
Ball striking is at a premium at Augusta National, where Nick Price (1986) and Greg Norman (1996) hold the course record of 63 (nine-under).
HEADLINERS
Jon Rahm, 2023 Masters champion
Scottie Scheffler, World No.1 and 2022 Masters champion
Brooks Koepka, Five-time major winner and 2023 runner-up
Tiger Woods, Five-time Masters champion and 15-time major winner
Wyndham Clark, 2023 U.S. Open winner
Hideki Matsuyama, 2021 Masters champion
Rory McIlroy, Four-time major winner
Jordan Spieth, Three-time major winner
Dustin Johnson, Two-time major winner and 2020 Masters champion
Xander Schauffele, World No.5 and 2019 Masters runner-up
Phil Mickelson, Six-time major winner and 2023 runner-up
Min Woo Lee has revealed that he is recovering from a badly-timed broken finger as he prepares to play the Masters this week, but Cam Smith is fit and ready to go after a weekend in bed with food poisoning.
Some of the Australian group of six have had more medical episodes than would be considered ideal ahead of the first men’s major of 2024, but a bunch of them practised together at Augusta National on Tuesday and they pronounced themselves ready to go on Thursday.
Lee is still croaky after a bout of flu and could not practise on Monday, and Smith almost fell into the tributary of Rae’s Creek that runs along the 13th hole on Tuesday, not hurting himself but causing a tad of embarrassment as he tumbled down on slippery rocks.
Lee’s injury – a broken ring finger on the right hand – was the shock of the day and the Perth star admitted that he had been suffering “a lot of anxiety” about the injury.
He did it by dropping a dumb bell on his hand in weight training 10 days ago. “I was just doing like a side bridge glute thing and it was literally my last rep, last set thing, and I like threw the dumb bell down and somehow clipped my right ring finger.
“Yeah, so I went to the doctor. Went to the doctor and I thought it was okay because I could move it. It was just red. I thought it would be fine. Then they came in and said, you’ve broken it.”
But the 25-year-old, who still has the hand bandaged, was surprised how quickly he had recovered.
“You know, I hit my first shot for the last week on Friday, so hit my first full driver,” he said. “Honestly, it’s actually amazing how fast the recovery was. It was bruised, still swollen, but not actually that painful which is really strange.
“Somehow recovering very good, so icing and elevating as much as I can. Yeah, I guess it wasn’t the best prep, and I go the flu two days ago.”
Lee has been back in the gym in recent days, but nowhere near the offending equipment. “Every time I looked at that 20 pound dumb bell, yeah, gave it a death stare.”
As for Smith, who withdrew after a round of the LIV Golf tournament in Miami last weekend, he is back on his feet at least.
“Yeah, a bit of food poisoning at the start of last week and probably just tried to do a little bit too much and body just kind of shut down on me,” he said. “Spent the weekend in the bed, which wasn’t the greatest preparation, but I was just saying that today is probably the first day where I feel like I’ve got a little bit of energy. I’m sure I’ll be pretty cooked tonight. At least I could get around and feel okay.”
The incident at Amen Corner was not ideal either for the 2022 Open champion, who has a good record in the Masters.
“I didn’t try to jump, I just tried to get on a couple of rocks, and I had metals in my right shoe and I slipped,” he said. “A bit of comedy for the crowd there.
“The only thing I was thinking as I was going down was not to get wet, so I managed to actually do all right. I think my glove was — I had to throw my glove out and my shoes were a bit wet, but that’s about it.”
Lee said Augusta remained “my favourite place in the world”, and he had the benefit of pracising with some old hands on Tuesday – Adam Scott, Smith and Jason Day joined him. “These three guys are one of the best guys out here, so, it’s always nice to play with guys that are open to giving me information and if I ask, they would help me,” he said.
“Yeah, obviously they’re great golfers so just looking on the them and watching them play, it’s amazing.”
Day is set to play his first two rounds at Augusta National alongside five-time winner Tiger Woods this week. Amateur Jasper Stubbs is drawn to play with past winner Zach Johnson and Canadian Corey Conners.
PHOTO: Min Woo Lee and Adam Scott get to work at Augusta National on Tuesday. Image: Getty
AUSSIE TEE TIMES FOR ROUND ONE
(Local times followed by AEST)
9am/11pm Thursday Jasper Stubbs (with Zach Johnson, Corey Conners)
10.06am/12.06 am Friday Min Woo Lee (with Rickie Fowler, Patrick Cantlay)
10.54am/12.54am Friday Cameron Smith (with Wyndham Clark, Viktor Hovland)
11.18am/1.18am Friday Cam Davis (with Camilo Villegas, Denny McCarthy)
1.12pm/3.12am Friday Adam Scott (with Sam Burns, Cameron Young)
1.24pm/3.24am Friday Jason Day (with Tiger Woods, Max Homa)
The PGA Legends Tour will break new ground with events in Cobar and Warren next month in what is hoped to provide a further boost to the growth of golf in western New South Wales.
Two-time Australian Open winner Peter Lonard will headline the field when the Legends Tour dips its toes into sand scrapes at Warren Golf Club on May 9, the course boasting 12 grass greens and six sand greens.
Two days later, the Legends Tour will converge on the 18 sand greens at Cobar Bowls and Golf Club for the $25,000 Cobar Legends Pro-Am.
It is new territory for PGA-sanctioned pro-ams that had not previously been further west than Dubbo, Warren a further hour west from the regional hub and Cobar two hours beyond Warren.
The events are part of a push by PGA Professional and Regional Manager for Golf NSW and Jack Newton Junior Golf, Gary Begg, to grow the game in remote communities.
Now in his third year covering an area of some 560,000 square kilometres, Begg has been the driving force behind surges in player numbers of both juniors and women.
The number of engaged juniors has skyrocketed from just one to now 160 and the number of women playing has grown from five to 80.
Begg believes that the next step to feed a growing passion for the game is a showcase of top-class professional golf on their home courses.
“The new general manager at Cobar asked how to promote the golf and bowling club and I suggested holding a professional event,” said Begg, a PGA Member since 1982.
“It’s a great way to promote the facility and a great experience for the members.
“People will often come in from all throughout the region for it so it’s a great economic boost to the town as well.”
In addition to assisting clubs with grant applications and accounts, Begg travels the countryside conducting ‘Come and Try’ days for juniors and adults.
The impact on juniors and women in particularly has been significant, providing an influx to regional clubs that they have never previously possessed.
“There was one junior golfer at Warren when I started going out there three years ago to conduct free ‘Come and Try’ days,” Begg added.
“The club didn’t expect much of a reaction but my attitude was that if we got one person to show up, they’ll be one further ahead.
“They advertised it and 35 kids turned up to that first one and it’s been like that ever since.
“I travel around holding clinics for women and what we have seen is that at the end of the program, a lot of them have joined golf clubs.
“They’ve started off with the clinics, they like it, so they keep going.
“As a result, we’re seeing an increase in membership, which is great.”
With golf now taking a stronger foothold in these remote communities, Begg has no doubt that a showcase of professional golf will see those numbers continue to build in the years to come.
“I think it’ll have a huge impact. I think it’s going to bring the next generations through of watching players, watching professionals play and create a big buzz around the town,” said Begg.
“It’ll be great for accommodation for the town, for the economies that have really struggled over the years. They’d had some pretty ordinary years out in the far west and something like this will really, really boost their economy.
“It will also promote golf to the next generation about what they can do if they work hard or just want to be involved in the game in future.”
The Warren Golf Club Legends Pro-Am will be held on Thursday, May 9 with the Cobar Legends Pro-Am to be held at the Cobar Golf and Bowls Club on the weekend of May 11-12.
There are limited amateur spots still available in both fields. To book a spot call the respective club.
Rising Australian amateur Jasper Stubbs is experiencing Masters week for the first time, and nothing has disappointed him yet.
Victorian Stubbs, 22, is in the field this week as the Asia-Pacific champion from 2023, and he is soaking up the atmosphere at what will be his first professional major.
“I think, coming to Augusta, it’s obviously always spoken highly about how perfect it is, and I think it definitely lives up to that expectation,” he told media today in a pre-tournament press conference.
“Magnolia Lane with the flowers out is an amazing sight. I think the crowds is the thing that’s going to be the biggest eye opener for me that’s going to be different to any other week that I’ve ever experience.’’
Stubbs visited Augusta National in February, playing three days in a row to scope out the course.
But he knows this week is a different beast, with the crowds, with family in tow, and the nerves and expectations.
Since learning last December that he would play the 2024 Masters he has done his best to find places to practise which mimic the amazing slopes of Augusta, “basically finding the biggest slope as you can find on any golf course you go to because it comes close, but it doesn’t compare to here”.
Part of that was at the Australian Golf Centre in Melbourne. “At the Australian Golf Centre, which is the home of the Golf Australia High Performance Program down in Melbourne — we have a driving range, and it’s got lots of slopes that you can just hit range balls off, which was awesome for this week, obviously being one of the slopiest weeks of the year.
“I was practising all kind of different slopes, as big as I could find them. Then, yeah, just trying to hit different shots off that, which was a pretty cool experience to be able to do that at home.”
Augusta National will present a challenge for him but there is a familiarity in it as well, with the hard, fast greens and the Alister MacKenzie stamp being comparable to Royal Melbourne and other Melbourne sandbelt courses.
“Once you’re on the greens, Royal Melbourne and Augusta are pretty close in how fast you can get a downhill putt and how much they break,” said Stubbs.
“So it’s pretty good to have played a lot of golf there, and I’ve got a bit of knowledge, I guess, from playing there.”
Stubbs practised with Cam Davis on Monday and hopes to join Cameron Smith for a round before Thursday’s opening round.
It is quite the experience for a young man who grew up in Gippsland in Victoria’s west, moving to Melbourne and joining Peninsula Kingswood Country Club, breaking into Golf Australia’s HP programs.
Today he was asked by the media about the arrival of his invitation from Augusta National, and it is a story worth retelling.
“It was a very special moment,” he said. “I opened it — I waited for my parents to get home from work, and we opened it all together as a family. There were five of us in the room at the time. We were FaceTiming my brother, who was out of the house at the time.
“We all shared that family moment together, and it was a lot of screaming and cheering that it was finally here. And that’s when it sunk in. And, yeah, we didn’t do too much of a celebration that night, but obviously the next couple of weeks was the holidays, so, yeah, we celebrated pretty heavily.”
This week his first task is to make the cut. Beyond that, it’s about competing.
“I wouldn’t say it’s an expectation, but it’s definitely something that I’m striving towards to do,” he said. “I’m not here to make up the numbers. I think Dad’s been telling me, everyone in the field this week’s got a chance to win, so I’m keeping that in the back of my mind at all times.”
PHOTO: Jasper Stubbs samples the Augusta National bunkering in Monday’s practice round. Image: The Masters
A par save on the final hole has secured Andre Stolz the South Australian PGA Senior championship double at Mount Gambier Golf Club south of Adelaide.
After teaming up with David Crawford to claim the Senior Foursomes title on Saturday, Stolz held off a fast-finishing David McKenzie to win the two-day MG Plasterers and Steeline SA PGA Seniors Championship.
Trailing Tony Collier by one after an opening round of 5-under 67, Stolz prevailed despite driving rain throughout the back nine of the final round.
A birdie at the par-4 17th would prove crucial as he left himself a nervy putt for par on the final hole to round out a 3-under 69 and 8-under total.
“I hit a great second shot into 18. All those uphill shots – it’s uphill, into the wind and into the rain,” said Stolz.
“They were playing crazy long all day, so I thought I needed to take the extra club.
“I hit a perfect shot – I was actually surprised that the crowd wasn’t clapping – but then I realised that meant it was up the back of the green.
“The downhill putts this week have been so much slower than last year. It nearly went in on the way past so I was surprised how far it went past but it all worked out good.”
McKenzie began his final round with three straight birdies on his way to a 5-under 67 – the best of the day by two strokes – in conditions he described as less than ideal.
“It was like playing a British Open at Royal Porthcawl last year, except the wind was probably 40km/h lower,” said McKenzie.
“I made a lot of putts today that I didn’t yesterday and the conditions were much harder, so it jumped me a few spots up the board.”
Adam Henwood snared spot with rounds of 69-70, Peter Senior a further stroke back in fourth with matching rounds of 2-under 70.
HOW THE WINNING ROUND UNFOLDED
Starting the day one back, Stolz dropped a shot at the par-4 second in his second round.
It would be his only dropped shot for the 36 holes, bouncing back immediately with a birdie at the par-4 third.
He added a second at the par-4 fifth but a less than cooperative putter restricted Stolz to a string of eight straight pars.
A birdie putt finally dropped at the par-4 13th, his closing birdie on 17 ultimately proving the difference.
WHAT THE WINNER SAID
“It was a frustrating couple of days with the putter, to be honest.
“I missed quite a lot of opportunities with the putter but I had good control with my irons and driving it in the fairway was key.
“I love this golf course. Made a special trip to come down here – like a lot of us have – but I absolutely loved this golf course last year so I was keen to come back.
“I had a lot of good practice in the weeks leading up to it so I was confident coming down that I would play well.”
LEADERBOARD RUNDOWN
1 Andre Stolz 67-69—136
2 David McKenzie 70-67—137
3 Adam Henwood 69-70—139
4 Peter Senior 70-70—140
5 John Onions 70-71—141
T6 David Diaz 71-71—142
T6 Guy Wall 71-71—142
T6 Simon Pope 69-73—142
NEXT UP
There is a month-long break in the PGA Legends Tour schedule now before it resumes with two brand new events, the Warren Golf Club Legends Pro-Am (May 9) at Warren Golf Club followed by the Cobar Legends Pro-Am at Cobar Golf and Bowls Club (May 11-12) in western New South Wales.
Players from six separate nations will take on Australians hoping to shore up their status on the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia when the Final Stage of Qualifying School begins at Moonah Links on Tuesday.
A total of 36 players advanced from two sections of First Stage played across the Open and Legends courses at Moonah Links last week and are now joined by 24 players who finished between 51st and 100th on the 2023/2024 Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit.
West Australian Joseph Owen was exempt into Final Stage due to his finish on the Future Tour Order of Merit last season while Singapore’s Ryan Ang and Argentinian Segundo Oliva Pinto have been issued amateur exemptions for a total field of 66 players.
Ang (pictured) was 11th at the Australian Men’s Amateur Championship in January while Oliva Pinto has spent five years playing college golf in the US, firstly for the University of North Carolina Wilmington and most recently the University of Arkansas.
Justin Quiban of the Philippines already boasts top-10 finishes on the Asian Tour while Canadian amateur Dustin Franko is another recent college graduate from The University of Hawai‘i at Hilo.
Congratulations to the 36 players advancing to the 2024-25 Final Stage Qualifying School at Moonah Links next week!
— PGA of Australia (@PGAofAustralia) April 5, 2024
Final scores: https://t.co/x31wjbjXFB pic.twitter.com/kmboLdeGm9
Along with four Kiwis, American Matt Siporin completes the league of nations, the mini tour veteran in the US successfully navigating First Stage of Q School to pursue full status for the 2024/2025 season.
In addition to the international contingent, there are a host of familiar Aussie names also eager to secure playing opportunities for the coming season.
Amateurs Jordan Doull (WA), Jye Pickin (NSW), Connor McDade (VIC), Ben Henkel (VIC), Tyler Duncan (QLD), Ryan Swann (QLD), Siddharth Nadimpalli (VIC), Blaike Perkins (QLD), Harry Goakes (VIC) and Dominic Brettkelly (NZ) can all kick-start their journey into the professional ranks while others, such as Lincoln Tighe, Nathan Barbieri and Denzel Ieremia are out to enhance their category positions.
Twelve months ago, New Zealand amateur Kazuma Kobori was Q-School medallist, going on to win three times in his rookie season to claim the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit.
All four rounds of Final Stage will be played at the Moonah Links Open Course with Round 1 to tee off at 8am Tuesday morning.
The top 30 finishers will earn Full Tournament Membership of the PGA of Australia and be placed in a Tournament Exemption Category.
Those players finishing beyond 30th place and ties, who complete 72 holes at Final Stage, will be eligible for Full Tournament Membership of the PGA of Australia, however, they will not hold an exemption category for the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia.
All players who play 72 holes of the Final Stage will earn a pro-am exemption category and be eligible to enter adidas PGA Pro-Am series events.
Adam Scott completed a tidy warm-up for the Masters tournament with a top-15 finish in Texas today, but all eyes will be on an ill Cameron Smith as the players head for Augusta.
Scott closed with a 70 in the Valero Texas Open which left him tied-14th overall in his first appearance in that event in six years.
The 43-year-old will attend the champions’ dinner hosted by Jon Rahm this week at Augusta National with eyes on another green jacket.
He is the first and only Australian winner of the Masters, having beaten Angel Cabrera in a playoff in 2013.
This week will mark his 23th appearance at Augusta National, a streak that began in 2002.
Meanwhile Smith’s withdrawal from the LIV Golf event in Miami after one round with an unspecified illness has put a scare into his camp so close to the first major of 2024.
The Queenslander has been top-10 in four of his seven starts in the Masters, including a runner-up finish in 2020, and he would be one of the favourites this week assuming he is fit and well.
He played just one round in Miami, shooting a 3-over 75 and then withdrawing, and LIV management did not make any comment about his illness.
Australia has six competitors at the Masters – Scott, Smith, Jason Day, Min Woo Lee, Cam Davis and amateur Jasper Stubbs.
Elsewhere none of the Australians competing in the LPGA Tour’s matchplay championship in Las Vegas reached the top 8 with Minjee Lee faring best in a tie for 15th.
Marc Leishman enjoyed a good week at LIV Golf Miami finishing tied-fourth.
PHOTO: Adam Scott driving on his way to a top-15 finish in Houston today. Image: Getty
RESULTS
PGA TOUR
Valero Texas Open
TPC San Antonio (Oaks Cse), San Antonio, Texas
LPGA Tour
T-Mobile Match Play
Shadow Creek, Las Vegas, Nevada
LIV Golf
LIV Golf Miami
Trump National Doral, Miami, Florida
*Smith withdrew with illness after round 1 and Campbell substituted in for rounds two and three
Korn Ferry Tour
Club Car Championship
The Landings Golf & Athletic Club (Deer Creek), Savannah, Georgia
Amateurs from Queensland and Western Australia have had section wins in the First Stage of the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia’s Qualifying School at Moonah Links.
Ryan Swann, from the Pacific Golf Club in Brisbane, topped Section A, played on the Legends Course, by two shots after a closing with a 5-under-par 67 to be 9-under for the 54 holes, two clear of fellow amateur Harry Goakes (Victoria), West Australian professional Adam Brady and Victorian pro Caleb Bovalina.
Brady surged home with the day’s low round, a 6-under 66.
In Section B on the Open Course, amateur Jordan Doull, from the Mt Lawley Golf Club in Perth, posted a 4-under-par 68 to catch the overnight leader, Queensland professional Zac Maxwell (72). The duo finished on 8-under, three ahead of Victoria’s Lachlan Aylen, who had the section’s low round of Friday – a 5-under 67.
With his place in next week’s Final Stage in jeopardy, Victorian amateur Connor McDade produced a bogey-free 4-under 68 on the Open Course to move on despite starting with a 77 which left him in a share of 35th on Wednesday.
He finished a tie for eighth at 1-under and was one of three members of the Australian team at last year’s Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship at Royal Melbourne to be among the 18 players from their section to qualify for final stage.
Jye Pickin (NSW) shared fifth at 3-under, while Victoria’s Max Charles, who turned pro after a T4 finish at the Asia-Pacific, claimed a share of 15th at +1.
In Section A, the 18 qualifiers included the first-round leader Konrad Ciupek (T9 at 2-under) and recent Riversdale Cup champion Blaike Perkins who birdied his final hole to finish one shot inside the cut line in a tie for 16th at even-par.
The 72-hole Final Stage of Qualifying School, which has a confirmed field of 66 starters, gets underway on Tuesday with the top 30 finishers to earn Full Tournament Membership of the PGA of Australia and be placed in a Tournament Exemption Category.
Those players finishing beyond 30th place and ties, who complete 72 holes at Final Stage, will be eligible for Full Tournament Membership of the PGA of Australia, however, they will not hold an exemption category for the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia.
All players who play 72 holes of the Final Stage will earn a pro-am exemption category and be eligible to enter adidas PGA Pro-Am series events.
Photo: WA amateur Jordan Doull
TGL presented by SoFi, the new team golf league that includes Australians Min Woo Lee and Adam Scott, will appear on Fox Sports in Australia when its inaugural season begins in January next year.
Backed by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy’s TMRW Sports, TGL presented by SoFi consists of six teams of PGA TOUR superstars competing in a progressive, fast-paced form of team golf within the custom-built SoFi Center, a 250,000 square foot, steel-supported venue on the campus of Palm Beach State College in Florida.
Scott will be lining up for the Boston Common team that includes McIlroy, while Lee has committed to the TGL but has yet to be allocated to a team.
The TGL will add to the list of golf events available live or on demand on Fox Sports Australia via Foxtel and Kayo Sports. It is also home to the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia and the best international golf including the PGA TOUR, The Masters, PGA Championship, US Open, The Open, Presidents Cup, Ryder Cup and LPGA Tour.
“Golf is truly a global game and as we plan the launch of TGL presented by SoFi in 2025, we’re focused on expanding TGL’s global footprint. We’re starting with media rights partnerships across three strong golf markets: Australia, Japan, and South Korea. We’re energised by the enthusiasm from these partners and the momentum we’re seeing in additional markets around the world,” said Mike McCarley, CEO and founder of TMRW Sports.
Additional media partners and markets being added as the league approaches its debut in January 2025, which will be broadcast by ESPN in the U.S.
What is the TGL?
TGL will launch on the first three Tuesdays of January 2025, starting with Tuesday, January 7 in primetime on ESPN and ESPN+ in the U.S.
The SoFi Center is an unprecedented, tech-infused arena for golf and will create an intimate and unique “greenside” fan experience with 1500 seats wrapping around TGL’s field of play, which at nearly 100 yards long and 50 yards wide is almost the size of a football field.
Within TGL’s competitive matches, the integration of the league’s technology mix starts with teams teeing off in the ScreenZone from real grass tee boxes to play custom-designed, virtual holes projected onto a 3,000-square-foot screen (64’x46’), more than 20 times larger than a standard golf simulator screen (144 square feet, 16’x9’).
Once teams are inside approximately 50 yards they will transition to live action and finish each hole within TGL’s GreenZone, a 22,475-square-foot short game complex that transforms between holes.
The GreenZone will use advanced technology to make each hole a unique challenge for the teams, including its 41-yard-wide turntable that rotates the green and three bunkers to change approach angles and using nearly 600 motorized actuators as part of Full Swing’s Virtual Green technology embedded under the synthetic putting surface to morph its topography.
TGL’s technology mix allows for every shot to be broadcast live, teams playing within a 40-second shot clock, all players being mic’d, delivery of advance shot data, and other broadcast enhancements. To learn more about TGL and the six teams, competitive format, and technology, visit TGL’s Explainer Page.
The TGL teams
Team brands and community-building activities for TGL’s six inaugural teams will continue to be unveiled this year, as will the season schedule and other fan-centric elements. Each TGL team is comprised of four PGA TOUR players and will have three players compete in each match:
Atlanta Drive GC: Led by Arthur M. Blank, AMB Sports and Entertainment (Atlanta Falcons, Atlanta United, PGA TOUR Superstores). Team Roster: Justin Thomas, Patrick Cantlay, Billy Horschel, and Lucas Glover
Boston Common Golf: Led by John Henry, Tom Werner, Mike Gordon, and Fenway Sports Group (Boston Red Sox, Liverpool FC, Pittsburgh Penguins, RFK Racing). Team Roster: Rory McIlroy, Keegan Bradley, Adam Scott and fourth team member to be announced.
Jupiter Links Golf Club: Led by Tiger Woods’ TGR Ventures and David Blitzer (Philadelphia 76ers, New Jersey Devils, Cleveland Guardians, Washington Commanders, Crystal Palace FC, Real Salt Lake). Team Roster: Tiger Woods and remaining roster to be announced.
Los Angeles Golf Club: Led by Alexis Ohanian, Seven Seven Six, Serena Williams, and Venus Williams; as well as limited partners the Antetokounmpo brothers, Alex Morgan, Servando Carrasco, Michelle Wie West, and Tisha Alyn. Team Roster: Tommy Fleetwood, Sahith Theegala, Collin Morikawa, and Justin Rose
New York Golf Club: Led by Steven A. Cohen (New York Mets), Cohen Private Ventures. Team Roster: Rickie Fowler, Xander Schauffele, Matt Fitzpatrick, and Cameron Young.
TGL San Francisco: A group led by Avenue Sports Fund with Marc Lasry, Stephen Curry; as well as limited partners Andre Iguodala and Klay Thompson. Team name and roster: To be announced.
Additional committed TGL players: Wyndham Clark, Max Homa, Tom Kim, Min Woo Lee, Shane Lowry, and Kevin Kisner.
Australian Adam Scott has added this week’s Valero Texas Open and skipped his customary pre-tournament visit to Augusta National to recapture the confidence needed to win The Masters for a second time.
The 2013 Masters champion is returning to TPC San Antonio for the first time since 2018 and for just the fourth time in his career, calling on his memories from his triumph in 2010 to finalise his preparation for next week’s tilt at Augusta National.
Top 10 at the WM Open in Phoenix, Scott missed the cut at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and was tied for 45th at THE PLAYERS in his two most recent starts on the PGA TOUR.
That is in part the reason for being in Houston this week in favour of a reconnaissance mission to a course he now knows as well as anyone.
“Most years I do,” Scott said of a visit to Augusta National prior to tournament week.
“I don’t have tons of time just to float up there and I thought it wasn’t the big priority for me leading into this Masters.
“I think I can go in there at this point feeling pretty comfortable and should be confident that I know the golf course well enough on a couple practice rounds Tuesday and Wednesday.
“Things are always changing not only with the PGA TOUR schedule, but with where my game is at, with what’s going on around me and trying to balance everything and make the best decisions.
“I equally like playing in Houston, I’ve won in Houston as well and I’ve won here, but you just can’t play every week.
“You’ve got to just make kind of gut decisions on really what you need. I’m happy that this time it’s worked out that I’m back here at Valero.”
Admitting that The Masters is front of mind, Scott is conscious that winning form is good form.
Without a win since his victory at the Genesis Invitational in 2020, the 43-year-old believes his game is in a place that a second Texas Open triumph is well within reach exactly 100 years since Joe Kirkwood Snr became the first Australian to win the event.
“As much as we all think about next week, I’m here, I want a good result,” said Scott, who was tied for 23rd in his title defence in 2011.
“I’d like to win a trophy, that’s still what I’m trying to do out here. It’s been a long time since I
have lifted a trophy.
“I feel like my game is in that place where it could turn any week. It’s all there, I need to somehow put myself in that position and make a putt at the right time and get back in that spot.”
On the LPGA Tour, the T-Mobile Match Play is underway at Shadow Creek in Las Vegas.
In a new format this year, the top 65 and ties after 36 holes of stroke play will advance to a third strokeplay round, after which the top eight will contest the match play section on the weekend.
Aussie No.1 Minjee Lee has started well to be tied for sixth late in her opening round, Gabi Ruffels (72) and Stephanie Kyriacou (73) tied for 18th and tied for 33rd respectively.
Photo: David Cannon/Getty Images
Round 1 tee times AEDT
PGA TOUR
Valero Texas Open
TPC San Antonio (Oaks Cse), San Antonio, Texas
12:04am* Brian Harman, Matt Fitzpatrick, Adam Scott
12:48am David Lipsky, Dylan Wu, Ryan Fox (NZ)
1:32am Harrison Endycott, Kevin Dougherty, Alex Welch
4:46am* Martin Laird, Aaron Baddeley, Zac Blair
Defending champion: Corey Conners
Past Aussie winners: Joe Kirkwood Snr (1924), Bruce Crampton (1964), Adam Scott (2010), Steven Bowditch (2014)
Prize money: $US9.2m
TV times: Live 11:30pm-7am Thursday; Live 11:15pm-7am Friday; Live 1am-8am Sunday, Monday on Fox Sports 503 and Kayo.
LPGA Tour
T-Mobile Match Play
Shadow Creek, Las Vegas, Nevada
Round 1 scores
1 Sei Young Kim 66
T5 Minjee Lee 2-under thru 14
T9 Lydia Ko 71
T18 Gabriela Ruffels 72
T33 Stephanie Kyriacou 73
T90 Sarah Kemp 80
Defending champion: Pajaree Anannarukarn
Past Aussie winners: Nil
Prize money: $US2m
TV times: Live 9am-12pm Friday; Live 8:30am-11:30am Saturday on Fox Sports 505; Live 8am-11am Sunday on Fox Sports 503; Live 8am-11am Monday on Fox Sports 505 and Kayo.
LIV Golf
LIV Golf Miami
Trump National Doral, Miami, Florida
Australasians in the field: Cameron Smith, Marc Leishman, Lucas Herbert, Matt Jones, Danny Lee (NZ)
Defending champion: Bryson DeChambeau
Past Aussie winners: Nil
Prize money: $US20m
TV times: Live from 4:15am Saturday, Sunday, Monday on 7Plus.
Korn Ferry Tour
Club Car Championship
The Landings Golf & Athletic Club (Deer Creek), Savannah, Georgia
10:10pm* Brett Drewitt, Max McGreevy, Tain Lee
10:20pm Austin Smotherman, Dimi Papadatos, Jeff Overton
3:46am Curtis Luck, Tommy Gainey, Henrik Norlander
3:46am* Rhein Gibson, Sean O’Hair, Chris Petefish
Defending champion: David Skinns
Past Aussie winners: Nil
Prize money: $US1m
