Want to recieve exclusive news, videos, tournament highlights, golf important tips and more ?
Want to recieve exclusive news, videos, tournament highlights, golf important tips and more ?
Adam Scott showed early signs of a final flurry but it was American Xander Schauffele who was crowned Champion Golfer of the Year at The Open Championship at Royal Troon.
Scott trailed 54-hole leader Billy Horschel by four strokes entering the final round on the back of a round of 5-under 66 on Saturday.
With early birdies at one and three, Scott threatened to make a charge for the Claret Jug that he craves so deeply but bogey at the par-3 fifth quelled much of his forward momentum.
Scott ultimately closed with an even-par round of 71 to finish tied for 10th, fellow Australian Jason Day closing with a round of 3-under 68 to climb into a share of 13th just one shot back of Scott.
Runner-up at the Genesis Scottish Open, Scott is buoyed by a fortnight in Scotland that he hopes will propel him into the Presidents Cup team and a deep run in the FedEx Cup Playoffs.
“After the 10th it was kind of over,” was Scott’s summation. “In the end I was too far back.
“Yesterday gave me a glimmer of hope but it would have had to be a super-hot front nine.
“It was good solid golf. I made a bad swing on 10 and paid the price, made a mess of that.
“It’s hard to really sum up. I played fairly well this week. Didn’t do well in the toughest conditions.
“That’s how it goes.
“There’s still the Presidents Cup to look forward to, hopefully I’m in a good spot to play my way on to that team now.
“That’s kind of the goal through the FedEx Cup upcoming.”
The next assignment for Day is a gold medal at the Paris Olympic Games.
Lamenting not handling the brutal conditions thrown at him better during Saturday’s third round where he fell from a tie for seventh to outside the top 30, Day will head home for a week before joining Min Woo Lee at Le Golf National.
“Troon is a serious test of golf,” said Day.
“I always love coming and playing The Open Championship. It’s just a thrill.
“I just didn’t putt as well as I’d hoped to yesterday and didn’t score well. I played good but
didn’t score well.
“To be honest, I feel like the game is kind of moving in the right direction.
“There’s a lot of good positive things moving out of this week going into Paris.”
The US PGA champion at Valhalla in May, Schauffele was flawless in a final round of 6-under 65.
Starting Sunday one back of Horschel, Schauffele began patiently, picking off five straight pars as others around him found early birdies.
Back-to-back birdies at six and seven saw him enter the fray but it was his birdie on 11 – the only player in the final round to do so at the hole named ‘The Railway’ – sparked his winning run.
He separated himself from the field with further birdies at 13, 14 and 16, burning the left edge of with a birdie putt on the 72nd hole to win by two from Justin Rose (67) and Horschel (68).
Photo: Luke Walker/R&A/R&A via Getty Images
Zach Maxwell will target a win on the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia after bettering a tour-quality field at the $80,000 Optilease Redcliffe Pro-Am.
The Brisbane native and son of PGA Professional Brett Maxwell, Maxwell delivered a stunning start to his second round to take a stranglehold of the two-day tournament at Redcliffe Golf Club.
Established stars converged on Redcliffe for one of the richest tournaments on the adidas PGA Pro-Am Series but Maxwell showed impressive composure to win by one, Nathan Barbieri (65) runner-up for a third time at Redcliffe.
Maxwell began the tournament with a 2-under 69 but played his first five holes in 5-under on Friday, the highlight a hole-in-one at the 134-metre par-3 13th, his fourth hole of the day.
He kept the foot to the floor with a birdie at three and eagle at the par-5 fourth to get to 10-under, enough of a buffer to absorb a bogey at the par-3 seventh and win by one.
“That was really special, especially to have that in a ‘tourny’ round,” said Maxwell.
“I’ve been playing with the Tricolour Concreting guys who have been big supporters of mine for a long time so today was just really special and I’m really grateful.”
HOW THE WINNING ROUND UNFOLDED
Four shots separated Maxwell from Round 1 leader Aaron Pike when Round 2 began but he made quick inroads on the deficit.
He made birdie at his opening hole, the par-5 10th, and then added a second in three holes at the par-4 12th.
The hole-in-one on 13 provided a sudden boost and he backed it up with a third birdie at the short par-4 14th.
Six straight pars through the middle of his round kept Maxwell within reach of the top of the leaderboard before his birdie on three and eagle at four propelled him to the front of the pack.
WHAT THE WINNER SAID
“I have a little rule where when I make a birdie I’m allowed to look at the leaderboard,” said Maxwell.
“It gives some good incentive to keep the ego in check, I guess.
“Coming down the last nine holes, I was looking every hole. That’s the best part about the pro-ams and why it’s such a good pathway onto the tour, you get to create environments and create winning pressure.
“I’ve decided with my team to focus on the Aussie season and to only dabble with Asian Tour Q School.
“Being my first year with full status on the Tour, I’ll be keeping my focus here and also pursuing the Asian Tour Q School in Australia at the end of the year.”
LEADERBOARD RUNDOWN
1 Zachary Maxwell 69-64—133
2 Nathan Barbieri 69-65—134
3 Aaron Pike 65-70—135
T4 Douglas Klein 72-64—136
T4 Matthew Millar 69-67—136
T4 Gavin Fairfax 66-70—136
T4 Nathan Page 68-68—136
NEXT UP
Pacific Golf Club makes its return to the adidas PGA Pro-Am Series schedule on Monday with the Reside Communities Pacific Pro-Am to be followed by the Howeston Pro-Am on Wednesday.
A hole-in-one 40 years in the making made Anthony Choat’s share of victory at the NewGen Caravans Tin Can Bay Pro-Am one to savour at Tin Can Bay Country Club.
A joint winner at Biloela Golf Club two weeks ago, Choat again had company at the top of the leaderboard as Alex Simpson and Josh Clarke matched his total of 7-under 65.
Surprisingly, all three players were in the morning wave, their clubhouse mark unmatched in the afternoon as Harry Goakes, Dean Jamieson and Aaron Maxwell all posted 6-under 66.
Choat had barely signed his scorecard before video of his first ever hole-in-one hit the socials, the 46-year-old raising his arms to the skies when he found his Titleist at the bottom of the cup at the par-3 13th.
“I was playing with Wade Hooper who is probably a foot taller than me,” Choat said.
“He goes, ‘I think that’s gone in.’ He’s calling it on the tee and I can’t see anything.
“I keep walking, walking, walking, Wade gets his camera out and starts filming.
“As soon as I saw it in, it was a massive release because 40 years of golf and none. I’ve had them flying the hole, bounce off the green, spin back, lip out.
“I reckon I can count 10 that should have gone in so to actually have one go in was just huge.”
HOW THE WINNING ROUND UNFOLDED
The 18th hole was Choat’s first and he began with a birdie.
He added two more at two and three but it was two eagles in the space of four holes that provided the backbone to his score.
The first came with a three at the par-5 10th before the long-awaited ace at 13.
Choat birdied 14 to get to 9-under on his round but made double-bogey on his final hole, the par-4 17th.
Like Choat, Simpson began with a birdie at his opening hole, the par-5 eighth, but it was a stretch of four birdies in the space of five holes late in his round that enabled him to match Choat and Clarke at 7-under.
Clarke took a step back with a bogey at his first hole but accumulated eight birdies from that point, six of which came in his final eight holes to also finish at 7-under.
WHAT THE WINNER SAID
“I didn’t really think a win would come from the morning. It was cold and the ground was wet. There was no wind, but I thought we were losing lots of distance with the wet and cold conditions.
“I actually arrived in Townsville with some form and then it quickly dropped off and I really started to doubt myself. Hanging around with a lot of these young players is really good. They talk about their games a lot and it’s a very open forum.
“Through conversations and positivity of some of the young ones, I’ve felt the need to just keep pushing and pushing and it was the second round at Emerald where I really started to find something and I probably haven’t really looked back since.”
LEADERBOARD RUNDOWN
T1 Alex Simpson 65
T1 Anthony Choat 65
T1 Josh Clarke 65
T4 Harry Goakes 66
T4 Dean Jamieson 66
T4 Aaron Maxwell 66
NEXT UP
With a proud history and a record $80,000 in prize money, the Optilease Redcliffe Pro-Am tees off on Thursday with a Tour-quality field to do battle across two rounds at Redcliffe Golf Club.
Converted birdie chances and crucial par saves were the cornerstone as Euan Walters claimed a three-stroke win at the Belle Property Mt Coolum Legends Pro-Am at Mt Coolum Golf Club.
Although a Victorian through and through, Walters has always had an affinity with the putting surfaces in Queensland and found the Mt Coolum greens very much to his liking.
Renowned for its tight fairways, Mt Coolum kept most players in check, Walters picking up six birdies in his round of 4-under 68 to win by three.
Recent PGA Legends Tour winners Simon Tooman and Chris Taylor shared second at 1-under 71 with Mike Harwood with four players a further shot back in a tie for fifth.
It is Walters’ second win of the 2024 season and moves him up to seventh on the Order of Merit.
“The hole looked a bit bigger today and I managed to hit it where I was aiming it, so I think it was just my day,” said Walters.
“There were a couple of tee shots that were pretty ordinary but I loved the greens out there.
“They were true – as most Queensland greens are – and I did manage to put well, which was great.”
HOW THE WINNING ROUND UNFOLDED
One-under through four holes, it took a late surge for Walters to separate himself from the field.
He birdied his third hole – the par-5 sixth – but dropped a shot soon after at the par-4 ninth.
A birdie at the par-3 10th got Walters back in red figures and despite a second bogey at 16, birdies at 15, 17, two and three ensured a comfortable margin of victory.
WHAT THE WINNER SAID
“I putted really well all day,” said Walters.
“It wasn’t all plain sailing, but I’d chip it to 10 foot and then hole the putt for par.
“They kept the round going – I did that a couple of times – and then hit it close to the hole a couple of times and holed those.”
LEADERBOARD RUNDOWN
1 Euan Walters 68
T2 Michael Harwood 71
T2 Simon Tooman 71
T2 Chris Taylor 71
T5 Stephen Woodhead 72
T5 Scott Laycock 72
T5 Marcus Cain 72
T5 Brad Burns 72
NEXT UP
The PGA Legends Tour has a short break before resuming with a two-tournament stint in Toowoomba, starting with the Advanced Electrical Toowoomba GC Legends Pro Am at Toowoomba Golf Club on July 25.
Connor McDade didn’t believe 5-under was enough yet his morning score could not be bettered as five players joined him at the top of the leaderboard at the Maryborough Pro-Am.
McDade was out in the morning wave at Maryborough Golf Club and despite starting with a bogey, recovered sufficiently to shoot 65 and give the afternoon players something to chase.
And chase they did.
Brady Watt, James Marchesani, Ben Henkel, Bailey Arnott and James Conran all got to 5-under but none would surpass it, joining McDade with a share of victory.
“It’s a good bunch of guys to share it with,” said McDade after his second adidas PGA Pro-Am Series win.
“I honestly kind of counted myself out of it a little bit. I saw there were maybe five or six guys that were within a shot with nine holes to play.
“I’m not really sure how 5-under held up, but it did, so I’ll take that for sure.”
HOW THE WINNING ROUND UNFOLDED
Six players ended the day at 5-under but they did so in a variety of ways.
After an opening bogey on three, McDade responded with three consecutive birdies from the fifth hole to get his scorecard heading in the right direction.
Along with birdies at his first and final holes the highlight of Watt’s round was an eagle at the par-4 sixth while Marchesani finished eagle-birdie after finding himself 2-over early in his round.
Conran needed four birdies in his final six holes to join the leaderboard logjam, Arnott had four straight birdies in the middle of his round while Henkel was 6-under through nine holes before also finishing at 5-under.
WHAT THE WINNER SAID
“Kind of just proved to myself again that I can compete out here and compete with some of these players that have played a lot of good golf in their career,” who was the joint winner with Arnott and Henkel at the JET Group Clermont Pro-Am.
“The two wins I’ve had, I’ve been over-par through one hole, so I wasn’t too phased by it. I know that there’s birdies out here, so I just kept doing my thing and saw what happened.
“It’s good to share a win with players such as those guys. They’ve done a lot more than I have in a professional sense… but wouldn’t mind winning an event without Bailey and Ben Henkel there.”
LEADERBOARD RUNDOWN
T1 Connor McDade 65
T1 Brady Watt 65
T1 James Marchesani 65
T1 James Conran 65
T1 Ben Henkel 65
T1 Bailey Arnott 65
T7 Josh Clarke 66
T7 Brett Rankin 66
NEXT UP
Tin Can Bay Country Club hosts the NewGen Caravans Tin Can Bay Pro-Am on Tuesday followed by the $80,000 Optilease Redcliffe Pro-Am starting Thursday.
“The Chase Is On” for the professionals on the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia with a busy schedule of tournaments for the first half of the upcoming 2024/25 season released today.
Starting from the PNG Open in August, 10 tournaments will be contested through to the end of the year, highlighted by the two Australian major championships co-sanctioned by the DP World Tour.
The first Australian events on the 2024/25 calendar will be the Western Australia double in October, beginning in Kalgoorlie at the CKB WA PGA Championship presented by TX Civil & Logistics (October 10-13).
It’s then on to the Mandurah Country Club, the new home for the Bowra & O’Dea Nexus Advisernet WA Open which will celebrate its 100th anniversary when it is played on October 17-20.
The ground-breaking Webex Players Series, featuring its format of men and women on the same course, vying for the same title, will have one event prior to the New Year with the McLaren Vale wine region once again the home of Webex Players Series South Australia hosted by Greg Blewett from October 24-27.
Another five Webex events will come in 2025, including the debut of Webex Players Series Perth hosted by Minjee and Min Woo Lee at Royal Fremantle GC in January.
The Tour then heads east to the Queensland PGA Championship played once again at Nudgee Golf Club in Brisbane from October 31 to November 3.
The NSW Open, offering a boosted purse of $800,000, returns to the schedule with the 2024 edition to be hosted for the first time by the Murray Downs Golf Resort on November 14-17 as the lead-in to the majors.
The BMW Australian PGA Championship will make its fourth consecutive appearance at Royal Queensland in Brisbane (November 21-24) while the ISPS HANDA Australian Open at two of Melbourne’s world renowned Sandbelt gems, Kingston Heath GC and Victoria GC, on November 28-December 1.
The schedule also features a date shift for the Victorian PGA Championship and Gippsland Super 6 which will now be played following the Australian Open in December.
“The Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia is gaining in momentum, mirroring what is occurring with the game of golf in all metrics across Australia,” PGA of Australia CEO Gavin Kirkman said.
“When the Chase resumes in August, our next generation of stars will have their sights on the great opportunities and pathways that exist by being one of the leading players on our Tour.
“We experienced a fantastic 2023/24 season highlighted by Kazuma Kobori’s three victories which led him to our Order of Merit title, the return of some established names to the winner’s circle and the emergence of first-time tournament winners.
“The new season is sure to bring more spectacular golf when we kick off in PNG and then travel into five states including the return of NSW Open with a significant prizemoney boost at a new Tour venue we’re excited to visit.”
Building on the success of its tournament broadcast, which has brought the Tour and its new era of stars onto screens across the country and overseas, Fox Sports and Kayo will be home of the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia. The two majors, the PGA and Open, will also be simulcast on Nine and 9Now. The NSW Open will appear on 7plus.
Challenger Chief Executive, Customer Mandy Mannix said: “We’re excited to begin our second year as naming rights sponsor with the PGA Tour of Australasia.
“Over the past year, in partnership with PGA, we’ve elevated professional golf’s profile and supported a beloved sport that brings joy to older Australians.
“As we embark on another thrilling golf season, we wish all players the best of luck, from seasoned professionals to rising stars, ensuring every swing and every round is a hole-in-one.”
The post-Christmas/New Year schedule of Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia events will be announced in coming weeks.
2024
August 15-18: PNG Open at Royal Port Moresby Golf Club ($200,000).
October 10-13: CKB WA PGA Championship presented by TX Civil & Logistics at Kalgoorlie Golf Course ($250,000)
October 17-20: Bowra & Odea Nexus Advisernet WA Open at Mandurah Country Club ($175,000 min)
October 24-27: Webex Players Series South Australia hosted by Greg Blewett in McLaren Vale wine region. Course TBC ($200,000)
October 31-November 3: Queensland PGA Championship at Nudgee Golf Club ($250,000)
November 14-17: NSW Open at Murray Downs Golf Resort ($800,000)
November 21-24: BMW Australian PGA Championship at Royal Queensland Golf Club ($2 million)
November 28-December 1: ISPS HANDA Australian Open at Kingston Heath Golf Club and Victoria Golf Club ($1.7 million)
December 5-8: Victorian PGA Championship at Moonah Links Resort ($250,000)
December 12-15: Gippsland Super 6 at Warragul Country Club ($200,000)
Danni Vasquez has joined a short list of women to win on the adidas PGA Pro-Am Series with a share of victory at the Biloela Pro-Am at Biloela Golf Club west of Gladstone.
Playing in the afternoon groups, Vasquez and Anthony Choat both shot 8-under 64 to finish one stroke clear of Jay Mackenzie (65) and another women’s PGA Professional in Emma Ash (65).
There has been an influx of women PGA Professionals and WPGA Members playing the Queensland swing of the adidas PGA Pro-Am Series this season, Vasquez the first woman to have a win since Grace Lennon’s joint victory at the Eastwood Pro-Am in Melbourne in 2019.
“Monkey off my back. Finally got a win,” said Vasquez, who was fourth at the Clermont Pro-Am two weeks ago.
“I knew it was coming. I’ve been playing well the last few months, but I just haven’t had everything click in one round. Today it happened.”
It was something of a drought-breaker, too, for Choat, the New South Welshman enjoying his first pro-am success since the Stuart Appleby Cohuna Pro-Am last September.
“I’ve been chopping and changing, trying to get better the last few years and things are starting to stabilise,” said Choat.
“To actually be out there in contention, to be really way under par and to be thinking about only making birdies and trying to shoot 10, 11, whatever under, it’s really, really good.
“I feel really good about my game and have for a while, but it’s nice to actually shoot a good one and get a result.”
HOW THE WINNING ROUNDS UNFOLDED
Playing in the group ahead of Vasquez, Choat went backwards before going forward, making bogey at his opening hole, the par-4 fifth.
He rebounded with birdies at seven and eight before unleashing on the Biloela back nine, peeling off six birdies and three pars for a back nine of 6-under 30.
His ninth and final birdie came at the par-3 second, coming up just short of a birdie on his final hole that would have secured an outright win.
Vasquez had to come up with an up-and-down of her own to match Choat’s score of 8-under.
Unlike Choat, Vasquez was fast out of the blocks with birdie at her first hole, the par-5 fourth.
She added a second at the short par-3 eighth and then eagled the par-5 ninth to head to the 10th tee 4-under par.
There were birdies at 12, 14, 17 and 18 before three closing pars to round out a bogey-free 64.
WHAT THE WINNERS SAID
Danni Vasquez: “I knew because it was my last par 5 of the day, I knew I had to do something but I didn’t put too much pressure on myself. I knew the chip that I had was tough, but I knew if I just landed it on the fringe, it would roll up to a hole-able length. Ended up holing my five-footer which I was very happy about.”
Anthony Choat: “It was an amazing day. I know I’ve been hitting the ball. I haven’t been scoring great, but I knew it couldn’t be too far away. When the putter started to get hot, I was just like, don’t watch a leaderboard. Let’s go make as many birdies as we can.”
LEADERBOARD RUNDOWN
T1 Anthony Choat 64
T1 Danni Vasquez 64
T3 Jay Mackenzie 65
T3 Emma Ash 65
T5 Bradley Kivimets 66
T5 Dean Jamieson 66
T5 Christopher Wood 66
T5 Harrison Wills 66
T5 William Bruyeres 66
NEXT UP
One of the marquee tournaments of the season starts on Wednesday with the $60,000 Ian Weigh Toyota Rockhampton Pro-Am at Rockhampton Golf Club followed by the inaugural Maryborough Pro-Am next Monday.
Victorian David Micheluzzi has taken a big step towards securing his future on the DP World Tour with a runner-up finish at the BMW International Open in Germany.
Just two weeks after leaving the KLM Open in despair at the state of his game, Micheluzzi led after Round 1 at Golfclub München Eichenried in Munich and stayed in the hunt until the very end.
Two strokes back at the start of Round 4, Micheluzzi (68) was unable to rein in Scotsman Ewan Ferguson (68), finishing tied with Englishman Jordan Smith (70) in second spot for his best result in his rookie season.
The 2022/2023 Order of Merit winner on the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia, Micheluzzi has now moved up 63 spots to 57th in the Race to Dubai standings, the top 110 at season’s end to earn full status for 2025.
“It’s amazing how things can change so quickly in this game,” Micheluzzi said in an Instagram post.
“Two weeks ago, after the second round in Amsterdam, I had no idea where things were at and I came third last.
“I wanna say a huge thank you to (caddie) Ben Brewer for putting up with my s***; he is a big reason why things have changed so quickly!”
Birdie
— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) July 7, 2024
Birdie
Eagle
Take a bow, David Micheluzzi! He's in the clubhouse at -16.#BMWInternationalOpen pic.twitter.com/TovGVmz1GC
Producing the type of finish that became commonplace in his three-win season on home soil, Micheluzzi signed off on his best finish on the DP World Tour with a birdie-birdie-eagle finish, his 3-wood to six feet on the last one of the shots of the week.
Travis Smyth led the way for the 19 Aussies in action at the International Series Morocco but it was a Kiwi in Ben Campbell who left with the second Asian Tour victory of his career.
American John Catlin looked to have the title secured when he led by three with three holes to play but Campbell produced a stunning eagle-birdie finish to tie Catlin at 15-under and send it to a playoff.
It would take just one extra hole to decide the outcome, Campbell converting his birdie chance from 10 feet as Catlin missed from a similar range to complete a stunning comeback.
“I didn’t have my best out there today and I just kept saying to Mike (his caddie), I’ve just got to find something and just stay patient,” said Campbell.
“I went flag hunting on 16 and leaked it right, and hit a great bunker shot there. I said to Mike, if I can find a birdie-eagle, you never know. So I did that, and then to hole a putt like that in the playoff, it’s always good.”
A 63 in Round 2 was the cornerstone of Brad Kennedy’s tie for 12th at the Japan Professional Golf Championship while a pair of 66s on the weekend earned Jason Day a tie for 23rd at the John Deere Classic.
Photo: Stuart Franklin/Getty Images
Results
PGA TOUR
John Deere Classic
TPC Deere Run, Silvis, Illinois
1 Davis Thompson 63-67-62-64—256 $US1.44m
T23 Jason Day 69-67-66-66—268 $83,600
MC Harrison Endycott 68-71—139
DP World Tour
BMW International Open
Golfclub München Eichenried, Munich, Germany
1 Ewen Ferguson 67-64-71-68—270 €392,710.62
2 David Micheluzzi 66-70-68-68—272 €199,820.41
T17 Ryan Fox (NZ) 69-71-70-69—279 €29,876.81
MC Sam Jones (NZ) 69-73—142
MC Andrew Martin 72-71—143
MC Tom Power Horan 68-75—143
MC Haydn Barron 70-75—145
MC Jason Scrivener 73-72—145
MC Daniel Hillier (NZ) 73-74—147
Asian Tour
International Series Morocco
Royal Golf Dar Es Salam (Red Course), Morocco
1 Ben Campbell (NZ) 68-70-68-71—277 $US360,000
Won in sudden-death playoff
T5 Travis Smyth 69-69-70-73—281 $74,300
T28 Kazuma Kobori (NZ) 66-77-71-74—288 $16,560
T37 Wade Ormsby 71-75-71-73—290 $12,820
T42 Lachlan Barker 72-74-72-73—291 $10,900
T49 Doug Klein 74-71-72-76—293 $8,433.33
T62 Justin Warren 74-72-79-70—295 $5,800
69 Harrison Crowe 76-70-73-82—301 $4,600
MC Scott Hend 71-76—147
MC Todd Sinnott 78-69—147
MC Jed Morgan 77-70—147
MC Andrew Dodt 73-75—148
MC Maverick Antcliff 74-74—148
MC Deyen Lawson 74-74—148
MC Kevin Yuan 76-73—149
MC Aaron Wilkin 71-79—150
MC Sam Brazel 76-76—152
MC Zach Murray 72-81—153
MC Jack Thompson 76-78—154
MC Marcus Fraser 80-75—155
WD Brendan Jones 80
Ladies European Tour
Aramco Team Series – London
Centurion Club, London
1 Leona Maguire 66-72-73—211 €69,435.75
T42 Momoka Kobori (NZ) 74-76-74—224 €2,368.53
T51 Kirsten Rudgeley 78-73-75—226 €1,706.14
MC Stephanie Kyriacou 71-83—154
MC Whitney Hillier 80-76—156
Japan Golf Tour
Japan Professional Golf Championship
Fuji Country Kani Club (Shino Cse), Gifu
1 Yuta Sugiura 65-66-65-72—268 ¥30m
T12 Brad Kennedy 70-63-70-70—273 ¥3.18m
MC Michael Hendry 68-76—144
LET Access Series
PGA Championship Gothenburg
Albatross GolfKlubb, Sweden
1 Natacha Host Husted 70-72-69—211 €6,400
T10 Kelsey Bennett 71-81-68—220 €1,020
T15 Wenyung Keh (NZ) 72-75-75—222 €840
MC Munchin Keh (NZ) 77-82—159
WD Hanee Song (NZ 80
Hervey Bay Professional Chris Taylor produced two clutch shots when they mattered most to claim the two-day JRT Yeppoon Legends Pro-Am at Yeppoon Golf Club near Rockhampton.
Trailing Brad Burns by four heading into Round 2, Taylor holed a bunker shot for birdie at the par-4 18th to close out his front nine and then holed a putt from off the back edge of the ninth green – his final hole – for a one-stroke win.
With a round of 3-under 68, Taylor was the only player to break 70 on day two, his 4-under total enough to edge Burns (73) by one with David McKenzie (71) outright third at 1-under par.
HOW THE WINNING ROUND UNFOLDED
Strong winds whipping along the Capricorn Coast made conditions challenging for all players in Round 2.
On the back of a 5-under 66 on day one, Burns began his second round from the second tee but after a birdie on six made a double-bogey on seven.
Birdies at 12, 14 and 16 had Burns in prime position to go wire-to-wire only for a bogey, double-bogey finish to open the door for Taylor.
After an early dropped shot at 11, Taylor’s birdie from the bunker saw him make the turn in 1-under, birdies at five and six keeping him within reach of Burns.
A bogey at the par-3 eighth was untimely but not fatal to his chances, his lengthy birdie putt on the final hole enough to clinch victory.
WHAT THE WINNER SAID
“I finished par, bogey, birdie so it was a lucky win in the end,” said Taylor.
“Holed it from off the back of the green there and unfortunately Brad finished bad so take the wins as you can I suppose.
“It was very, very tough out there today. I don’t know how many people broke par today, but I probably think it wouldn’t even be a handful.
“I’m extremely happy with the way I played. Struck the ball nicely and shot 3-under in very windy conditions. Very happy.”
LEADERBOARD RUNDOWN
1 Chris Taylor 70-68—138
2 Brad Burns 66-73—139
3 David McKenzie 70-71—141
4 Euan Walters 69-73—142
5 Andre Stolz 70-74—144
T6 Adam Henwood 72-73—145
T6 Brendan Chant 68-77—145
NEXT UP
The PGA Legends Tour continues to move south down the Queensland Coast with the Bargara Legends Pro-Am starting Monday at Bargara Golf Club.
It was not how he drew it up on the tee but Victorian Nathan Page conjured the birdie he needed on the final hole to claim the 36-hole JRT Group Emu Park Pro-Am at Emu Park Golf Course near Rockhampton.
Winner of the North Queensland Series in May, Page followed up the equal best round of day one with a 5-under 67 in windy conditions in Round 2, his 12-under total enough for a one-stroke victory from Zach Maxwell (66) with James Marchesani (69) third at 10-under par.
In a field full of Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia regulars, Page needed something special on the final hole to edge clear.
Going to what had been a trusty cut off the tee all tournament, Page double-crossed himself and hit his tee shot onto the opposite fairway.
It was a mere blip, however, as he lofted a shot over the trees to two feet and the winning birdie.
“It was good to do it in the moment. It was a good feeling,” said Page.
HOW THE WINNING ROUND UNFOLDED
Beginning his second round from the 17th tee, Page opened with three pars before unleashing a birdie barrage.
He had five birdies in the space of seven holes from the third hole, his momentum disrupted only by a bogey at the short par-4 sixth.
A bogey at the par-4 11th for the second straight day was another step back but a birdie at the par-5 13th and his miracle closer on 16 was all he needed to get the job done.
WHAT THE WINNER SAID
“It was good to back it up today in the bit of wind and shoot 5-under,” said Page.
“Just kind of got my putting going a bit more over the last couple of days than I have this whole trip.
“The mentality kind of shifts a little bit from going low. Just kind of damage control when it’s this windy. I was lucky to stick a few close I guess and make some birdies when I needed to.”
LEADERBOARD RUNDOWN
1 Nathan Page 65-67—132
2 Zachary Maxwell 67-66—133
3 James Marchesani 65-69—134
T4 Lachlan Armour 65-70—135
T4 Lincoln Tighe 66-69—135
T6 Jay Mackenzie 67-69—136
T6 Caleb Bovalina 68-68—136
T6 James Conran 69-67—136
NEXT UP
The adidas PGA Pro-Am Series heads south on its Queensland swing on Saturday for the inaugural Biloela Pro-Am at Biloela Golf Course.
