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The golf industry in South Australia celebrated the achievements of the sport at the SA Golf Awards night at the Hilton.
The awards were jointly hosted by Golf Australia, the PGA of Australia, Golf Management Australia and Turf Management SA, and represented an opportunity for golf community to come together and celebrate.
Sandy Creek Golf Club from just south of the Barossa Valley won Club of the Year.
It was a great night for the Warren family with Tim Warren collecting an award for turf management and his daughter Sophie Warren from Glenelg Golf Club picking up the graduate of the year award.
Japan Golf head coach Gareth Jones won coach of the year while Steve Capon of South Lakes Golf Club was club professional of the year.
PHOTO: PGA of Australia CEO Gavin Kirkman addresses the night.
Full list of award winners:
• Girl’s Vardon – Katie Seol of Royal Adelaide GC
• Boy’s Vardon – Malachy Marshall of Kooyonga GC
• Women’s Vardon – Raegan Denton of Royal Adelaide GC
• Men’s Vardon – Billy Cawthorne of Royal Adelaide GC
• Women’s Senior Order of Merit – Christine Trimmer of Glenelg Golf Club
• Men’s Senior Order of Merit – Paul Gregory of The Vines GC of Reynella
• Schweppes GMA Excellence in Golf Club Management – Chris Coulter of Flagstaff Hill GC
• Nuturf TMSA Graduate of the Year – Sophie Warren* of Glenelg GC
• John Deere & Metropolitan Machinery TMSA Excellence in Turf Management – Tim Warren* of Glenelg GC
• PGA SA Coach of the Year High Performance – Gareth Jones of Glenelg GC
• BGC Industrial Cleaning Supplies PGA SA Coach of the Year Game Development – Anne Marie Knight of West Beach Parks Golf Academy
• Coca-Cola Amatil PGA SA Management Professional of the Year – Damian Wrigley of Mount Osmond GC
• PGA SA Club Professional of the Year – Steve Capon of South Lakes GC
• Risk Profilers Health and Safety Award – The Vines GC of Reynella
• Golf Car Solutions MyGolf Deliverer of the Year Award – Steven Capon of South Lakes GC
• SA Volunteer of the Year – Bill Driver of Saddleworth GC
• SA Service to the Industry Award – Barry Linke, recently retired General Manager of The Grange GC
• miclub SA Club of the Year – Sandy Creek GC
Quinn Croker knows he left some money on the table last season.
As he shored up the final phases of his amateur career, Croker made nine starts on the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia, making the cut in each one and finishing inside the top 10 four times, his best result a runner-up finish at the Heritage Classic.
“I don’t know the exact figure, but I know that I did miss out on a little bit of money last year,” Croker reflected.
“Hopefully it just banked up and maybe I’ll be able to get it this year.”
The exact figure was $48,042.76 of prize money not received.
But as Croker prepares to make his professional debut at Webex Players Series South Australia at Willunga Golf Course this week, the 22-year-old views it as an investment he needed to make.
“I finished maybe ninth at the NT PGA and obviously I played solid, but I didn’t feel like I played out of my skin,” Croker said.
“The last finish that really stuck at home for me was The Heritage playing with Matty Griffin and Jak Carter in the final round.
“‘Griffo’ went on to have 23-under that week and I finished second so that made me think that if I play good, there’s definitely an option to winning some of these events.
“That kicked home and that was very confidence boosting.”
A week later Croker won the Australian Amateur Championship at Yarra Yarra Golf Club before embarking on a final international amateur expedition to America that yielded two top-three finishes, including runner-up at the prestigious Southern Amateur.
He advanced through First Stage of Korn Ferry Tour Q School last week and has now set his sights on maximising the Future Tour membership that provides direct entry to the PGA Tour of Australasia this season.
“I definitely feel like I’m ready to be out here,” said the Toowoomba-born Croker.
“It’s just now I’m actually a professional now. I’m not an amateur doing it.
“Even if you’ve proved yourself as an amateur, which I did out here last year, it just feels different now. Now I feel like every shot matters more.
“I know it’s still the same golf shot, it’s still executing what you can, but it feels like it matters more because there’s just that little bit more pressure.”
Crediting his parents for their early guidance, Croker says the move into Brisbane to start working with Chris Gibson at Royal Queensland Golf Club was critical in turning potential into professionalism.
“He really started to push me in the right direction to make sure I was doing things how I should be,” he added.
“Then I was in QAS (Queensland Academy of Sport) and they’ve helped me over the last four years along with Golf Australia. They really dial in what it is to be a professional.
“They’ve been instrumental to where I am now. Hopefully in the next couple of years I’m able to show that it was worth it.”
Webex Players Series South Australia is live on Fox Sports, available on Foxtel and Kayo on Saturday (3pm-6pm AEDT) and Sunday (1pm-6pm AEDT).
Five playoff holes couldn’t split Brad Burns and Andre Stolz before darkness set in and joint winners were declared at the Kent Relocation Group NSW Senior PGA Championship at Cromer Golf Club.
The two prolific winners on the PGA Legends Tour tied at 1-under-par after 36 holes and then had matching pars across the sudden-death playoff, staged on the 351 par-4 eighth hole, before it was agreed they would share the title.
In the quickly fading light, a resolute Burns had forced a sixth hole by draining a five-metre putt.
It was the third PGA Legends Tour win in a row for Order of Merit leader Stolz, who was coming off wins in the ACT Senior PGA Championship and the Cowra Lamb Legends Pro-Am.
Burns made it six victories for 2024, but his first since June.
The duo both posted rounds of 71-68 at Cromer to finish one shot ahead of David Mackenzie (70-70). The Victorian would have made it a three-way playoff had he not bogeyed his second last hole, the par-4 18th.
Lucas Bates had led after an opening round of 68 but dropped to T7 with a 75 on day two.
Meanwhile, Peter Lonard produced the low round of the event in the second round, a 5-under 65, but a 77 on the opening day left him too much ground to make up.
HOW THE WINNERS’ SCORES UNFOLDED
After finishing round one tied for sixth, Stolz began his second round on the ninth hole and Burns on the 18th.
It was Stolz who looked like taking the title outright when he picked up his fourth birdie of the day, at the par-4 sixth, but he dropped back to -1 with a bogey on his last hole, the par-4 eighth.
Burns hit stride with back-to-back birdies at the second and third but put himself into a difficult position with consecutive bogeys at 13 and 14.
However he birdied the par-3 15th, made an up-and-down for par after finding the water on 16, and birdied and his final hole, the par-4 17th, to secure his playoff spot.
WHAT THE WINNER SAID
“That wasn’t bad, was it. First putt I holed all day,” Burns joked after denying Stolz the outright win on the 41st hole.
Stolz said: “We probably shouldn’t have really played that last hole, to be honest. We couldn’t really see. Everyone in the clubhouse was all excited so we thought we’d keep going. It’s a great big boy golf course this one and I was happy to have a chance to try and win.”
LEADERBOARD RUNDOWN
-1: Andre Stolz (Qld) 71-68; Brad Burns (Qld) 71-68
Even: David Mackenzie (Vic) 70-70
+1: Anthony Summers (NSW) 72-69
+2: Peter Lonard (NSW) 77-65; Mark Gibson (Qld) 69-73
NEXT UP
The PGA Legends Tour heads to the Blue Mountains for the Fidelity Capital Group Charity Legends Pro-Am at Springwood Country Club on Thursday and The Blackheath Centenary Year Legends Pro-Am at Blackheath Golf Club on Friday.
The wind that whipped up on the Bellarine only served to inspire Brock Gillard as the Victorian claimed a two-stroke win at the Anglesea Golf Club Pro-Am.
After nursing a soft tissue injury through the winter months, Gillard upped his practice intensity in recent weeks.
While the ball-striking reflected that over the first eight holes, the scores didn’t.
It took until the par-4 14th to snare his first birdie, and then they came in a rush, adding three more at 18, one and two in some of the more difficult conditions.
“The first nine holes, I hit it really, really good and made no birdies,” said Gillard.
“Then the wind got up in my last six holes and I made all my birdies.
“The golf guards… go figure.”
Gillard’s round of 3-under 70 was two better than Legends Tour regular Tim Elliott (72) with Ashley Hall (74) and Ryan Lynch (75) third and fourth respectively.
WHAT THE WINNER SAID
“I felt pretty good the last few days with practise,” said Gillard.
“Been hitting it good. The scores haven’t been relating and today just sort of managed to hold it together and holed some good putts.
“I will definitely be playing the Gippsland swing coming up and then got my eyes on trying to qualify for the New South Wales Open.”
LEADERBOARD RUNDOWN
1 Brock Gillard 70
2 Tim Elliott 72
3 Ashley Hall 74
4 Ryan Lynch 75
T5 Steven Jones 76
T5 Nick Dastey 76
T5 Michael Choi 76
T5 James Briggs 76
NEXT UP
The adidas PGA Pro-Am Series has a short break before resuming with the Gorilla Ladders Box Hill Pro-Am at Box Hill Golf Club on November 1.
Queenslander Mitchell Smith has fired a 5-under 67 on day one of the PGA Professionals Championship National Final to lead by two at the Heritage Golf and Country Club.
With an increased $65,000 prize purse, two spots in the BMW Australian PGA Championship up for grabs, as well as Four Nations and Women’s PGA Cup spots on offer, the 66 vocational members from around the country have plenty to play for this week in Melbourne, and Smith’s campaign is off to a dream start.
Trailing him in second is New South Welshman Daniel Nesbitt at 3-under, with another Sydneysider ,Michael Smyth, tied third with West Australian Scott Barr at 2-under.
Barr will be a player to watch this week, coming off a T21 finish at the CKB WA PGA Championship presented by TX Civil & Logistics.
Australia’s Women’s PGA Cup captain Katelyn Must (Qld) is a further shot back at 1-under, tied with Alexander Simpson (NSW) in fifth.
Coaching out of Sanctuary Cove Golf and Country Club on the Gold Coast as well as The Sim Range in Brisbane, Smith is happy to have made a positive start to his first PGA Professionals Championship National Final.
“I putted really well, that was pretty much just the thing there,” he said. “I holed a lot of putts. That saved me heaps.”
Starting his day on the 12th hole, Smith started with a birdie, however his round peaked later when he backed up a strong birdie on the eighth by eagling the par-five ninth.
“I hit a really good drive, which was actually rare today,” he laughed. “I had a really good group today with Rhys (Granger) who’s a local, so he gave some good lines to hit and yeah, I just managed to flush two in a row and then hold the putt again.”
Being a Queenslander now, Smith says today’s warm weather probably benefited him more than the rest of the field, while his years growing up in Tasmania helped on the putting surfaces.
“Anytime I come down south, I love playing on the bent grass and the soft greens, it’s sort of like coming home a little bit,” he said.
“You get a good roll on the ball, so I always feel like I’ve got a chance of rolling a few putts in and I generally give it a good go.”
Having gone to university straight out of school, 32-year-old Smith has only been a full PGA Member for two years, but says completing the Membership Pathway Program (MPP) was life changing for him.
“Went to Uni and then I was working as a greenkeeper and just podding along basically,” he said.
“The MPP sort of just popped up and I thought, well that’s something that I actually want to do with my life.”
Defending champion Matt Docking shot a 73 to be T11.
Damon Stephenson rattled around Windaroo Lakes golf course the day’s equal-low round, a 66, to seize control of the Queensland PGA Associate Championship today.
Queenslander Stephenson had six birdies, an eagle at the short par-4 eighth hole and a lone bogey in his 7-under round, having started the day in a tie for the lead with Canadian Adam Migur.
Through 36 holes he is 9-under overall and four shots clear of the Melbourne-based Migur at 5-under.
Queenslander Joshua Holbrook also shot a 66 today and leapt into a tie for third at 4-under with Victorian Joel Mitchell (68 today) in the 72-hole event.
Stephenson, 32, played both the WA PGA and the WA Open on the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia this month and his missed cut at Mandurah in the Open meant that he was able to race back to Queensland to compete this week.
“A couple of dramas but I think yeah, maybe a blessing and a curse in hindsight,” he said of his performance in WA. “But yeah, I’ve had a good two weeks been playing pretty solid, pretty consistent. It was good to be back out there on the main tour playing against world-class players really and skills are great for the last two weeks so I feel like that’s made me sort of look at where I need to get to and kind where I’m at now. But it’s been nice come back with the associates being in the mix again, top of leaderboard.”
The quality of players on the main tour has inspired him to get better. ”I mean you see the scores and you realise the quality of play out there, so it is just about getting to that next level. Elvis Smylie shooting 20 or 21 under at Mandurah and Jack Buchanan shooting 20 under the week before. So it is mid-60s every round for four days if you’re going to compete and shooting 2-under or 1-under doesn’t really get it done.”
PHOTO: Damon Stephenson on his way to a 66 today.
A third win in a stellar LPGA Tour season by Hannah Green has put the Australian within touching distance of a No. 1 world ranking for the first time.
Green, the 27-year-old Mt Lawley product won the BMW Ladies Championship in South Korea by a shot to become the first Australian since Karrie Webb in 2006 to win three times in a season on the LPGA Tour.
She joins Nelly Korda and Lydia Ko as three-time winners in 2024.
Green started the week ranked No. 8 in the world but she will likely jump to a new career-high inside the top five when this week’s rankings are released.
“I did not know that about Webby’s statistics,” she said after closing out the victory with rounds of 64-64-70-71. “But yeah, I’ve playing really solid this year. Obviously having two wins and a runner-up and things like that. But I just felt really different this off-season. I felt much more motivated.
“I got married in January. So this has been a very special year. But it helps that I’ve been hitting the ball well, and when the putter goes well, it does go well. So just making sure that I can stay consistent. But I still have four or five more tournaments for the rest of the year, so I want to continue to work hard and have myself in these type of positions.”
France’s Celine Boutier made a determined final-day run with a 66 but Green’s birdie at the 17th hole proved to be the difference.
“It was a crazy finish, I guess,” Green said. “I think I had 127 metres to the pin, and so I hit my 8-iron. The wind was a little bit swirly. It was sometimes into the wind, sometimes from the right. So I wasn’t sure if it was 8-iron but I got lucky with the timing of when I hit my shot.
“I left myself a very difficult putt down the hill, and I guess I was fortunate enough to see Ashleigh Buhai’s putt and she didn’t hit a great putt. So I knew that it was going to be very quick and felt confident even though I was very nervous, and yeah, it went into the middle. So that was really nice, and I knew that gave me the one-shot lead.”
The LPGA Tour has five more events for the season concluding with the tour championship in Florida after which Green will jump on a plane to Melbourne to take her place in the field for the ISPS HANDA Australian Open at Kingston Heath and The Victoria Golf Club.
Meanwhile nine Australians and Kiwis have made it through to the next round of the PGA Champions playoffs, with David Bransdon (third) and Rod Pampling (tied-fifth) showing strong form in Richmond, Virginia over the weekend. The top 54 players advanced, with Michael Wright grabbing the 54th and final place.
Results
PGA TOUR
Shriners Children’s Open
TPC Summerlin, Las Vegas, Nevada
1 JT Poston 64-65-66-67 – 262 $US 1.26 million
T34 Ryan Fox (NZ) 70-69-65-69 – 273 $36,470
MC Aaron Baddeley 70-76 – 144
MC Cam Davis 75-78 – 153
LPGA Tour
BMW Ladies Championship
Seowon Valley Country Club, Seowon Hills, Republic of Korea
1 Hannah Green 64-64-70-71—269 $US330,000
T12 Lydia Ko (NZ) 67-66-71-71—275 $37,438
T33 Minjee Lee 67-73-66-77—283 $13,901
T46 Gabriela Ruffels 72-69-70-74—285 $8,559
T57 Grace Kim 67-71-75-74—287 $6,405
T67 Hira Naveed 70-72-70-78—290 $4,804
DP World Tour
Estrella Damm N.A. Andalucía Masters
Real Club de Golf Sotogrande, Andalucía, Spain
1 Julien Guerrier 62-72-63-70—267 €509,516.60
Won on ninth hole of sudden-death playoff
T43 Daniel Hillier (NZ) 68-69-72-72—281 €15,285.50
WD David Micheluzzi
Asian Tour
Black Mountain Championship
Black Mountain Golf Club, Thailand
1 Michael Maguire 68-64-68-65—265 $US360,000
T4 Ben Campbell (NZ) 68-70-66-64—268 $82,866.67
T7 Nick Voke (NZ) 68-67-69-65—269 $53,000
T33 Aaron Wilkin 66-71-69-69—275 $14,000
T44 Todd Sinnott 64-72-72-69—277 $10,600
T59 Kevin Yuan 65-68-76-71—280 $6,300
MC Douglas Klein 67-72—139
MC Jack Thompson 69-70—139
MC Kazuma Kobori (NZ) 73-67—140
MC Andrew Dodt 70-70—140
MC Justin Warren 70-71—141
MC Jed Morgan 73-69—142
MC Travis Smyth 70-72—142
MC Jordan Zunic 68-74—142
MC Sam Brazel 71-72—143
MC Wade Ormsby 71-74—145
MC Marcus Fraser 73-72—145
MC Deyen Lawson 77-68—145
MC Zach Murray 72-74—146
MC Lachlan Barker 73-74—147
MC Maverick Antcliff 74-75—149
MC Taewook Koh (NZ) 72-80—152
WD Brendan Jones
WD Harrison Crowe
PGA TOUR Champions
Dominion Energy Charity Classic
The Country Club of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia
1 Tim O’Neal 71-67-65—203 $US350,000
3 David Bransdon 70-69-67—206 $165,000
T5 Rod Pampling 74-67-68—209 $80,650
T20 Mark Hensby 72-73-67—212 $26,333
T26 Cameron Percy 71-75-67—213 $19,122
T26 Stuart Appleby 71-71-71—213 $19,122
T37 Steven Alker (NZ) 71-75-69—215 $12,190
T37 Greg Chalmers 67-72-76—215 $12,190
T51 Richard Green 73-76-69—218 $6213
T54 John Senden 72-74-73—219 $6213
T61 Steve Allan 73-78-70—221 $3565
T65 Michael Wright 78-67-77—222 $2875
Challenge Tour
Hangzhou Open
Hangzhou West Lake Golf Club, Hangzhou, China
1 Conor Purcell 63-69-67-67—266 €73,776.16
T54 Hayden Hopewell 67-73-68-75—283 €1,683.02
MC George Worrall 77-68—145
Korean PGA Tour
The Charity Classic 2024
Sulhaewon CC, Republic of Korea
1 Wooyoung Cho 69-67-64—200
T38 Scott Hend 71-67-74—212
MC Sungjin Yeo (NZ) 68-76—144
MC Kevin Chun (NZ) 75-75—150
MC Junseok Lee 76-75—151
MC Wonjoon Lee 76-75—151
Sunshine Tour
Fortress Invitational
Glendower Golf Club, Edenvale, South Africa
1 Robin Williams 64-65-70-67—266
T48 Austin Bautista 70-68-72-76—286
In a dramatic final day at Mandurah Country Club, Elvis Smylie has claimed his first Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia win at the Bowra & O’Dea Nexus Advisernet WA Open in its 100th year and remarkable conditions.
For the second straight week on Tour, extra holes were needed to decide the champion, with Smylie edging out eventual runner-up Jak Carter on the first play-off hole after both were tied at the top at 19-under after 72 holes.
Also playing in the final group, local West Australian hope Curtis Luck finished in solo third one back at 18-under, with Victorian Matias Sanchez fourth at 15-under.
It was all about the final group today however, with all three players trading the lead at various points, and with scoring made difficult on the final day as the rain settled in over Mandurah, no player further back in the field was able to make a charge.
While overnight leader Carter started slow with two early bogeys, both Luck and Smylie started charging early and found themselves tied at the top.
A Carter birdie at six kept him in the hunt, as all three players played the next seven holes in even par. Keeping the friendly golf going, all players birdied 14, Smylie remaining two shots ahead of Carter and one of Luck.
Smylie and Luck made their first bogeys of the day on 16 and 17, Smylie’s lead now cut to one over both his playing partners coming up 18 after multiple delays due to the weather.
Both Smylie and Luck found the green safely with their second shots, but faced lengthy birdie putts which neither would convert, while Carter hit his second to a metre and drained the birdie putt to force the play-off in high winds and intermittent rain.
Heading back down 18, Carter took the honour and leaked his tee shot right finding a bare lie in the trees and some casual water he eventually got relief from, before Smylie piped his first down the right-centre finding the short grass.
A punch into the left greenside bunker was the best Carter could manage, while Smylie stepped up and almost holed his wedge, spinning it to two feet and placing one hand on the Roy Paxton Bowl.
As Carter holed out eventually for bogey, all there was left to do for Smylie was roll in his short putt and make his first Tour win official.
For those who have watched Smylie grow up, this win is a long time in the making, and the Queenslander’s relief as that final putt dropped was evident as he took his cap off and let out a primal scream to the skies.
“It means absolutely everything,” said Smylie. “I’ve been busting my backside out here for the last three years and to be able to get my first win, it means absolutely everything.
“I’m just so grateful and appreciative for all the people that have been by my side since day one, and the people that have me right now, I wouldn’t be in this position without them.”
Speaking to the wedge that sealed his victory, Smylie says he turned to a club that has been faithful to him all week.
“I actually used the exact same club that I used on 16 in the third round to hole-out with. So definitely have some good vibes with the 50-degree wedge at the moment,” he said.
“Hit a nice low flighted wedge shot and I’m not sure exactly where it landed. It’s an elevated green, but obviously hit it to about two foot and really nice knock it in and notch my first win that way.”
With Hannah Green winning on the LPGA tour today, it makes it two worldwide wins for Ritchie Smith coached players on the same day, Smylie revealing that his game has gone to another level under the star West Australian coach.
“It speaks volumes to the quality of coach that Richie is and the amount of great players that he has in his stable is really strong and I really enjoy being in that environment and practising and training with him,” said Smylie.
Coming off a third place finish at the CKB WA PGA Championship presented by TX-Civil & Logistics, Smylie now shoots to the top of the Order of Merit, with Jack Buchanan having a solid week to only drop to second.
Young West Australian Ollie Marsh was the low amateur of the tournament, taking home the prestigious Terry Gale Cup, while NSW’s Lochie Smith made it back-to-back wins in the All Abilities championship.
After escaping from “la-la land” on day one, Andre Stolz turned the Cowra Lamb Legends Pro-Am into yet another PGA Legends Tour victory today.
The 2024 Order of Merit leader made it back-to-back 36-hole wins this week by shooting rounds of 66-65 for an 11-under-par total on the NSW Central West layout to secure a four-shot win over Victorian Adam Henwood (65-70) and fellow Queenslander Chris Taylor (68-67).
HOW THE WINNER’S SCORE UNFOLDED
The ACT Senior PGA winner from Wednesday started round two a shot behind Henwood but proceeded to shoot the low round of Saturday to overcome the overnight leader’s challenge.
Three birdies on the front nine saw him turn in 33 and he then picked up shots at the par-4 10th and 12th holes to seize the lead.
While Henwood played the back nine in +1, Stolz was blemish-free, adding in another birdie on the par-4 17th to seal his 10th PGA Legends Tour title for 2024.
WHAT THE WINNER SAID
Stolz said: “Coming here after Fairbairn I was feeling pretty flat actually and had a slow start on day one. I was hitting it nice but I was a bit in la-la land. Just managed to spark something earlier on the back nine yesterday by knocking a few close.
”It was good fun playing with Adam today. I thought we were going to have one of those days where we’d make eight birdies each. He started on fire but cooled off a bit luckily for me.
“The way we started out I thought we were in for a bit of hustle and bustle all day.
“My short game has been a bit off lately so I’ve been doing a bit of work on it and it’s probably why there’s been a lack of bogeys the last couple of days.”
LEADERBOARD RUNDOWN
-11: Andre Stolz (Qld) 66-65
-7: Chris Taylor (Qld) 68-67; Adam Henwood (Vic) 65-70
-3: Mark Boulton (Vic) 71-68; Euan Walters (Vic) 70-69; Nigel Weldon (Qld) 70-69; Lucas Bates (Qld 70-69
-2: Guy Wall (NSW) 66-74
NEXT UP
The PGA Legends Tour’s next stop is the Kent Relocation Group NSW Senior PGA Championship at Cromer Golf Club on October 21-22. Stolz is the defending champion.
An iconic Queensland restaurant will be recreated overlooking the 18th green at Royal Queensland Golf Club as an exciting new feature of this year’s BMW Australian PGA Championship.
Combining world-class golf with Brisbane riverside venue Tillerman Seafood Restaurant and Bar and prominent restaurateur Andrew Baturo, Tillerman on 18 will redefine the tournament’s off-course experience.
The 52-seat pop-up purpose-built restaurant will deliver a four-course menu comprising some of Queensland’s best and freshest seafood – available across two lunch sittings – over each day of the championship.
As well as enjoying unmatched views over Royal Queensland’s closing hole where the Joe Kirkwood Cup winner will be crowned on Sunday afternoon, all Tillerman on 18 guests will receive complimentary course entry and a reserved grandstand seat at the Dabble Party Hole to utilise pre or post-lunch.
Baturo, who is also a keen golfer, said: “Tillerman is excited and honoured to be pairing up with this year’s BMW Australian PGA Championship at Royal Queensland Golf Club.
“A premium seafood dining experience alongside this prestigious golfing event is a match made in heaven – or Queensland. Same thing really!
“November is my favourite time of the year to play disastrous golf and eat some delicious seafood.
“We can’t wait to see our regulars on the golf course and, of course, meet some new ’soon-to-be’ regulars at the 18th.”
Tillerman on 18 will showcase some of the restaurant’s most popular dishes, cooked to perfection by Tillerman Head Chef, Kevin Gallo.
“Start with blue swimmer crab and finger lime on warm brioche, then move onto your entree of Moreton Bay bug dumplings in our wonderful bisque,” he said.
“For mains, select the crispy-skinned Coral Coast barramundi swimming in Tillerman’s signature Meunière sauce.
“Tillerman on 18 will have everything that Tillerman on the river is known for – amazing, fresh seafood, incredible hospitality, resort-style interiors and, of course, iconic views.”
PGA of Australia Chief Commercial Officer, Michael McDonald said: “We’re always looking to innovate and grow the fan experience at the BMW Australian PGA Championship and we are delighted to welcome Andrew and the Tillerman team who will provide a fantastic dining experience with a real Queensland flavour.
“Whilst the golf is always front and centre, delivering a restaurant at a major event of this level has been high on our priorities for a while now.
“We know that many golf fans are also fans of high-quality dining experiences so Tillerman on 18 is a perfect offering for us.
“With 52 seats per sitting, we expect it to be exclusive experience like no other.”
Bookings for tables of two, four or six can be made across two sittings:
• Lunch Sitting 1: 11:30am – 1:15pm
• Lunch Sitting 2: 1:45pm – 3:45pm
Book your place here: https://premier.ticketek.com.au/shows/show.aspx?sh=pgatill24
Photo: Andrew Baturo with Tillerman on 18 ambassador Katherine Galvin
