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Reigning champion David Micheluzzi can achieve a slice of history not seen in more than 30 years after taking over as interim No.1 on the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit.
With a minimum of four tournaments necessary to be eligible for the Order of Merit, Micheluzzi is effectively leading the way, Fortinet Australian PGA champion Min Woo Lee unlikely to add to his two tournaments to date.
Thanks to his tie for fifth at the Heritage Classic on Sunday, Micheluzzi has moved past Ben Eccles into second on the standings to earn a shot at a rare slice of history.
The last person to win consecutive Order of Merit crowns was Rodger Davis in 1990-1991, Micheluzzi putting himself in the mix thanks to stellar performances in four of five starts this season.
Starting with a runner-up finish to Phoenix Campbell at the Queensland PGA Championship followed by victory at the Victorian PGA, Micheluzzi now has three top-five finishes in limited starts.
As the 2022/2023 champion, Micheluzzi will soon embark on his maiden season on the DP World Tour so will have limited opportunities to add to his points tally.
A three-time winner on Tour last season, Micheluzzi is entered into the $1.9 million New Zealand Open, which may be his final shot at defending his title.
With a tie for second at The Heritage Golf and Country Club, South Australian Jak Carter has moved into interim third behind Micheluzzi and Eccles and in the frame for one of the three DP World Tour cards.
Those currently inside the top 10 who are playing this week at Webex Players Series Murray River are Eccles, Carter, Heritage Classic winner Matthew Griffin, Austin Bautista and Kerry Mountcastle.
Order of Merit (after Heritage Classic)
1. Min Woo Lee 1,044 (2)
2. David Micheluzzi 359.40 (5)
3. Ben Eccles 353.30 (10)
4. Adam Scott 326.67 (2)
5. Marc Leishman 314.93 (2)
6. Jak Carter 298.11 (10)
7. Lachlan Barker 273.94 (11)
8. Austin Bautista 273.73 (10)
9. Kerry Mountcastle 267.28 (11)
10. Matthew Griffin 249.46 (8)
New South Welshman Jordan Zunic has become the 17th Australian to qualify for this week’s Final Stage of Asian Tour Qualifying School after advancing at First Stage in Thailand.
Zunic and New Zealand’s Nick Voke were the only Australasian players to move on from the two sites that hosted First Stage last week and will now play the five-round Final Stage in Thailand starting Tuesday.
Zunic shot 66 in the final round at Phoenix Gold Golf Bangkok to finish in a tie for 15th to qualify for Final Stage on the number.
A total of 19 players advanced from Grand Prix Golf Club, Voke comfortably inside the number all week, shooting rounds of 67-67-66-68 to finish tied for sixth.
After a brilliant start, Cam Davis finished in a tie for 30th at the PGA TOUR’s Sony Open in Hawaii.
His career-best round of 8-under 62 gave him the lead after Round 1 but couldn’t sustain it, closing with a 1-under 69.
The first event of the 2024 Korn Ferry Tour season is underway in the Bahamas with mixed results for the Aussies in the field.
Rhein Gibson is one stroke off the lead after a 7-under 65 in Round 1 but John Lyras had an unfortunate start to his Korn Ferry Tour career, disqualified after a rules infraction on his first hole.
Believing his approach shot to the 10th green had found a penalty area, Lyras dropped a second ball. Before he could play that ball, his playing partners found his original ball in play.
He then picked up his second ball and proceeded to play the original when his second was now the ball in play.
“Amazing what happens when you’re super excited and anxious all together,” Lyras said in an Instagram post.
“You make stupid and quick decisions that can cost you so much, everything you worked for.”
Asian Tour
Qualifying School (Final Stage)
Round 1 draw
Springfield Royal Country Club, Thailand
11:20am* Harrison Crowe, Liu Yanwei, Jesper Kennegard
11:40am Nathan Barbieri, Jose Toledo, Rikard Karlberg
3:20pm Julius Kreutzer, Shae Wools-Cobb, Mahbubul Islam
3:40pm Jin Cheng, Lachlan Barker, Xuewen Luo
3:50pm* Rakhyun Cho, Natipong Srithong, James Mee
4pm* Sam Brazel, Harshjeet Singh Sethie, Yuta Sugiura
4:10pm Hanmil Jung, Filip Lundell, Max Charles
Lake View Resort and Golf Club, Thailand
11am Toyokazu Fujishima, Gaurav Singh, Andre Lautee
11am* Wooyoung Cho, Nick Voke (NZ), Tomoharu Otsuki
11:10am Cao Senshou, Joshua Wirawan, Jake Hughes
11:10am* Ye Wocheng, Evan Peterson, William Bruyeres
11:20am Jeff Guan, Sungyeol Kwon, Lin Chuan-tai (a)
11:40am* Yubin Jang, Douglas Klein, Stefano Mazzoli
12pm Jakkanat Inmee, Denzel Ieremia (NZ), Minhyeok Yang
3:10pm Akshay Sharma, Jordan Zunic, Sam Broadhurst
3:10pm* Christofer Rahm, Liu Enhua, Peter Wilson
3:30pm* Lawry Flynn, K.P. Lin, Faisal Salhab
3:40pm* Tirawat Kaewsiribandit, Maverick Antcliff, Mikiya Akutsu
3:50pm Justin Warren, Bai Zhengkai, Moojin Cho
Results
Qualifying School Section E
Grand Prix Golf Club (Composite Cse), Kanchanaburi, Thailand
1 Sungjin Noh 68-64-70-64—266
T6 Nick Voke (NZ) 67-67-68-66—268
T20 Will Florimo 72-70-67-64—273
T20 Kevin Chun (NZ) 68-67-70-68—273
T42 Jake McLeod 69-72-66-70—277
T62 Sam Howse (a) 71-69-73—213
T69 Brian Lee (NZ) 72-67-76—215
T80 Stefan Tuionetoa 70-75-73—218
T83 Daniel Park 77-72-70—219
94 Scott Adams (NZ) 75-74-77—226
97 Darshan Shivalkar (a) 80-81-73—234
WD Grant Lewis (a) 76-73—149
Qualifying School Section F
Phoenix Gold Golf Bangkok (South & West Cse), Bangkok, Thailand
1 Kento Yamawaki 69-66-69-62—266
T15 Jordan Zunic 66-72-71-66—275
T26 Josh Younger 70-68-72-67—277
T36 Doeun An 67-73-72-70—282
WD Zach Maxwell 76-71-69—216
PGA TOUR
Sony Open
Waialae Country Club, Honolulu, Hawaii
1 Grayson Murray 69-63-64-67—263 $US1.494 million
T30 Cam Davis 62-70-70-69—271 $44,750.83
DP World Tour
Dubai Invitational
Dubai Creek Resort, Dubai, UAE
1 Tommy Fleetwood 66-69-63-67—265 €387,213.68
T14 Ryan Fox (NZ) 70-70-68-68—276 €33,254.82
T36 Daniel Hillier (NZ) 72-69-73-70—284 €16,399.64
Korn Ferry Tour
The Bahamas Great Exuma Classic at Sandals Emerald Bay
Sandals Emerald Bay Golf Club, Great Exuma, Bahamas
Round 1 scores
T3 Rhein Gibson 65
T31 Charlie Hillier (NZ) 70
T52 Brett Drewitt 71
T124 Curtis Luck 77
129 Dimi Papadatos 80
DQ John Lyras
It was all about Matt Griffin this week, as the Victorian opened with an incredible 11-under 61, and never looked back on his way to hoisting the trophy at this year’s Heritage Classic.
Starting his final round five shots clear of nearest challenger Jak Carter, Griffin had shots to work with, but made sure of the win with a clinical final round 3-under 69, to finish at an unbelievable 24-under par.
Griffin’s day started with a bogey on the first, and as Carter birdied the second, and eagled the fourth, it looked like the trophy could be in the balance.
As Carter’s tee-shot found the water on nine though, and subsequent birdie chances slid by, his chances of catching Griffin were all but gone.
Seven shots back at the beginning of Sunday’s conclusion, Queensland amateur Quinn Croker made a late charge, making three birdies on his back nine, his efforts good enough to grab a share of second with Carter at 18-under.
There was simply no catching Griffin though, with birdies at 11, 12 and 14, the Victorian stretched his lead as the amount of holes left in the day became smaller.
As he walked down the final fairway with kangaroos bounding along ahead of him, Griffin had a six shot lead, and could comfortably soak up the atmosphere as the sun set on a magical week in the Yarra Valley.
“It was nice to play really well through that middle stretch of the round, and those birdies on the early part of the back nine kind of took it away from everyone else,” said Griffin.
The win this week marks Griffin’s first since his triumph at the 2016 New Zealand Open, where a then younger player surely didn’t think his next trophy would be an eight years away.
“I’d had a number of wins in a short period of time, so I think that was win number probably five in about six years,” he said of his 2016 win.
“It’s funny, they kind of happen and then you have the big break.
“I’ve had two runs of missing seven cuts and five cuts in a row, you’re only human so you start to doubt whether you’ve still got it and you’re getting a bit older.
“It’s a big confidence boost that I can still beat these guys, and to do it comfortably as well is even better.”
After Griffin’s final putt dropped, and he’d shaken hands, the first person he looked for was his young son Jack.
“Since I was a young kid watching golfers win tournaments and their kids run out, it’s a dream that you have, so to have Jack be able to be here is super, super special,” he said.
Carter’s 2-under 70, and Croker’s 4-under 68, were both strong closing rounds in their own right, but completely overshadowed by their playing partner.
“No, because I was marking his scorecard,” Croker laughed when asked if he thought he was a chance to catch Griffin today.
Tied second marks amateur Croker’s fifth top-15s, four of them top-10s, on the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia this season, the professional setting seeming to bring out the best in the young Queenslander.
Carter’s strong week at the Heritage moves him into sixth position on the Order of Merit (OOM), but with Min Woo Lee, Adam Scott and Marc Leishman ahead of him unlikely to play the required amount of events to qualify, he essentially sits third.
“I’m coming for ’em,” Carter warned to those ahead of him on the season long points race.
“Really, really happy with that, obviously.
“Looking forward to the rest of the season.”
The return of the Heritage Classic to the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia was a resounding success, and players will now doubt be looking forward to a return to The Heritage Golf and Country Club in 2025 and 2026.
Victorian Matt Griffin has had an afternoon to remember at the Heritage Golf and Country Club, firing a new course record 11-under 61 on the St John course to lead the Heritage Classic after day one.
The 40-year-old made sure of the course record too, bettering David Bransdon’s long-standing record of 8-under 64 from the 2013 Heritage Classic by three shots.
Griffin made the turn at a respectable 3-under but was evidently only just warming up.
He proceeded to make an astonishing eight birdies in a row on the back nine, his hot streak only coming to an end when his beautifully executed shot from the greenside bunker on 18 pulled up a foot short of the hole.
Had it gone in, Griffin would have matched the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia record for most consecutive birdies of nine, set by James Nitties at the 2019 Vic Open.
“It’s been a crazy couple of weeks,” Griffin said.
“My wife and I bought a house a couple of weeks ago, we’re getting the old house ready for sale, doing a whole heap of stuff.
“My wife always says I play well when there’s chaos going on around me and today proved that.”
Not only a course record, 11-under is Griffin’s personal best, also by quite a margin.
“I’ve always had this thing where I’ve shot eight (under) a number of times,” he added.
“I’ve never been able to go beyond eight and I did by three today.
“I’ve played here a lot; I played the tournaments when they used to be here.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve had a course record so it’s nice to do it at a great club.”
Many players took advantage of the relatively benign conditions on Thursday, with 16 players at 5-under or better heading into Round 2.
One of those players, West Australian Josh Greer who’s sits solo second behind Griffin, might be the only player ever to feel unlucky after shooting 10-under.
Had Greer finished half an hour earlier, that course record would have been his, if only briefly.
“I had a one-foot putt on the last for 10-under,” Greer shared.
“Jack Buchanan came up to me and goes, ‘You’re going to hole that and you’re still going to be one behind the lead’.”
Similarly to Griffin, time away from golf over the break has been the secret ingredient to Greer’s low scoring upon the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia’s return.
“I took three weeks off; I needed it,” he said.
“I was pretty stressed after those last few events. I wasn’t playing too good.”
Six players sit in a tie for third at 7-under, including recent Australian Senior PGA champion Jason Norris.
The fine weather is set to continue on Friday, with warm weather forecast for day two of the Heritage Classic. The morning players look likely to have the most favourable conditions.
Aussies Jordan Zunic and Josh Younger are in position to play their way into the Final Stage of Asian Tour Qualifying School at the halfway mark of First Stage in Thailand.
The pair are among 11 Australians currently in action across the two qualifying sites, Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia regular Nick Voke the best of the four Kiwis through two rounds.
Zunic and Younger are both playing in Section F at Phoenix Gold Golf Bangkok in Thailand’s capital while Queenslanders Sam Howse and Jake McLeod are both inside the top 60 heading into Round 3 in Section F being played at the Grand Prix Golf Club’s Composite Course in Kanchanaburi.
Zunic opened with a fine 4-under 66 in Round 1 but dropped to 2-under for the week with a 2-over 72 in Round 2. Younger went the other way on day two to join Zunic in a tie for 19th, the Victorian posting a 2-under 68 on the back of an even-par 70 in Round 1.
There are currently 17 Australians already exempt into the five-round Final Stage starting January 16 with a further 40 places being held for qualifiers from the final two First Stage tournaments.
Elsewhere this week, the withdrawal of Aaron Baddeley leaves Cam Davis as the sole Australian representative at the PGA TOUR’s Sony Open at Waialae Country Club in Honolulu while Kiwis Ryan Fox and Daniel Hillier make their first appearances for 2024 at the DP World Tour’s inaugural Dubai Invitational.
Asian Tour
Qualifying School Section E
Grand Prix Golf Club (Composite Cse), Kanchanaburi, Thailand
Round 2 scores
T9 Nick Voke (NZ) 67-67—134
T13 Kevin Chun (NZ) 68-67—135
T45 Brian Lee (NZ) 72-67—139
T52 Sam Howse (a) 71-69—140
T56 Jake McLeod 69-72—141
T60 Will Florimo 72-70—142
T77 Stefan Tuionetoa 70-75—145
T88 Scott Adams (NZ) 75-74—149
T88 Grant Lewis 76-73—149
T88 Daniel Park 77-72—149
100 Darshan Shivalkar (a) 80-81—161
Round 3 draw AEDT
11:30am Peter Badawy, Stefan Tuionetoa, Phuripon Namkang
12pm* Scott Adams (NZ), Grant Lewis (a), Daniel Park
12:20pm Will Florimo, Anshul Patel, Othman Raouzi
12:30pm Wanxi Sun (a), Clayton Tribus, Jake McLeod
12:40pm* Darshan Shivalkar (a), Zhao Zeyu
4:10pm Bongsub Kim, Kevin Chun (NZ), Gaurav Singh
4:30pm Nick Voke (NZ), Papito Gonzalez, Joachim Altonen
4:40pm* Junghyun Um, Jean Bekirian, Brian Lee (NZ)
4:50pm* Chunghoon Ha, Oscar Zetterwall, Sam Howse (a)
Qualifying School Section F
Phoenix Gold Golf Bangkok (South & West Cse), Bangkok, Thailand
Round 2 scores
T19 Jordan Zunic 66-72—138
T19 Josh Younger 70-68—138
T36 Doeun An 67-73—140
T84 Zach Maxwell 76-71—147
Round 3 draw AEDT
11am Zach Maxwell, Abhinav Lohan, Chen Wei-sheng
3:30pm Yash Majmudar, Josh Younger, Shaurya Binu
3:40pm Jordan Zunic, Sangpil Yoon, Liu Yen-Hung
3:45pm* Robbie Busher, Doeun An, Harshjeet Singh Sethie
Round 1 tee times AEDT
PGA TOUR
Sony Open
Waialae Country Club, Honolulu, Hawaii
10am Cam Davis, David Lingmerth, Justin Suh
Defending champion: Si Woo Kim
Past Aussie winners: Bruce Crampton (1969), Brett Ogle (1994), Cameron Smith (2020)
TV times: 4am-2:30pm Friday, Saturday; 7:30am-2:30pm Sunday; Live 5am-12pm Monday on Fox Sports 503 and Kayo.
DP World Tour
Dubai Invitational
Dubai Creek Resort, Dubai, UAE
4:14pm* Rory McIlroy, Ryan Fox (NZ)
5:03pm Daniel Hillier (NZ), Tom McKibbin
Defending champion: Inaugural event
Past Aussie winners: Nil
TV times: Live 6:30pm-11:30pm Thursday, Friday; Live 7pm-11:30pm Saturday; Live 7:30pm-11:30pm Sunday on Fox Sports 503 and Kayo.
Lachlan Barker is back on course this week in the Yarra Valley for the Heritage Classic, looking to further bolster his strong Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit (OOM) standing.
Barker is sixth on the season-long standings, but is effectively third because Min Woo Lee, Adam Scott, and Marc Leishman, ahead of him, are unlikely to reach the required four tournaments to qualify for OOM status.
The top-three placed players on the OOM standings at season’s end receive status on the DP World Tour, a huge prize for Aussie players looking to take the next step in their careers.
“It’s huge! It’s why I’m here this week,” said Barker of his decision to play the Heritage Classic ahead of the Asian Tour qualifying school beginning in Thailand next Tuesday.
“I’m flying to Thailand midnight on Sunday, and I’ll only get one very brief practice round. That’s how big the DP World Tour carrot is.”
His first professional win at last year’s PNG Open kick-started Barker’s season, and with a couple of top-10s at the NT PGA and WA PGA, he has been able to hold his strong position on the OOM.
“It’s my second season on tour, my first one I experienced all the emotions, some good, some bad,” he said.
“I struggled to keep my card and went back to qualifying school, but this season it’s been the opposite.
“I feel like I belong.”
This week marks the return of the Heritage Classic to the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia schedule, its first playing since 2013, and Barker is excited to have it back.
“I love this place, my first ever Aussie junior was here at The Heritage and I fell in love,” he said.
“It was my first big tournament as a kid and I played well, so look out!”
After playing in the final stages of Asian Tour qualifying school, Barker is coming straight home to play in the Webex Players Series Victoria at Rosebud, making sure he is not missing any opportunity to gain OOM points.
“You can’t hide from it, I mean we’re all trying to get it,” Barker said of the DP World Tour status.
“I’m missing Webex Players Series Murray River, but I am playing every single other event.
“When the season finishes, we’ll see where we stand.”
The Heritage Classic kicks off tomorrow, and despite heavy rainfall in recent days, the St. John course at The Heritage Golf and Country Club has dried out remarkably.
The final two rounds will be broadcast live on Foxtel and Kayo, from 4pm-7pm on Saturday and Sunday.
Kyle Michel defied driving rain to birdie his final two holes to earn a share of victory with Brad McLellan at the Geelong BMW Lonsdale Links Pro-Am at Lonsdale Links.
While McLellan banked his birdies before the weather turned foul, Michel was forced to play catch-up.
The pair both finished the day with rounds of 2-under 68, along with Ryan Lynch (69) the only three players in the field to break par.
PNG Open champion Lachlan Barker (71) and Victorian Andrew Kelly (71) were tied fourth at 1-over par, one clear of Jose De Sousa (72) and Jack Murdoch (72).
HOW THE ROUND UNFOLDED
Starting from the fifth tee, Michel bogeyed each of his opening two holes. He got back to even par with birdies at 13 and 14 and then moved into red figures with a birdie at the par-4 17th.
He dropped back to even par again with a bogey on 18 but took advantage of the par-5 third and short par-4 fourth to match McLellan’s score of 2-under.
McLellan began his round from the ninth tee and quickly made an impression on the leaderboard.
Three birdies on the trot from the par-5 11th and a fourth at the tricky par-4 16th had him 4-under through seven holes.
The weather turned not long after, McLellan only faltering at the 18th and fourth holes on his way into the clubhouse.
WHAT THE WINNERS SAID
Kyle Michel: “I got off to a bit of a slow start, starting bogey-bogey, but managed to claw it back with a couple of birdies right before the really bad weather came in this afternoon.
“Managed to hold it together and knew that I had a couple of easier holes coming in and managed to finish off with a couple of birdies to get to 2-under.”
Brad McLellan: “I started on the ninth hole today and had a couple of pars to start. Birdied 11, 12, 13 and 16 and was just hanging on from there.
“The weather started to get pretty wild at about 16. It was raining sideways for most of the rest of the round so had a couple of bogeys coming in but managed to hold it together.”
LEADERBOARD RUNDOWN
T1 Kyle Michel 68
T1 Bradley McLellan 68
3 Ryan Lynch 69
T4 Lachlan Barker 71
T4 Andrew Kelly 71
NEXT UP
The adidas PGA Pro-Am Series resumes on Monday, January 15 with the PK Community Foundation Pro-Am on the North Course at Peninsula Kingswood Country Golf Club.
The decision to restrict his Christmas break has paid off handsomely for Chris Wood with a two-stroke victory at the 2024 Harcourts Langwarrin Pro-Am at Settlers Run Golf & Country Club in Melbourne.
Setting a new tournament low, Wood’s round of 7-under 65 was two strokes to the better of Brock Billard (67) and Brett Coletta (67) with a group of five players finishing a further stroke back at 4-under.
The Victorian PGA champion at Moonah Links three years ago, Wood has come out of the Christmas break with intent for the second half of the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia season.
With the season to resume next week at the Heritage Classic, the Brisbane native will take confidence from a win built on the work he has put in since the ISPS HANDA Australian Open.
“I had a week off after the Aussie Open and I wanted to come out and play well in these pro-ams and get off to a good start into the second half of the season,” said Wood.
“I didn’t get off to a great start last year for the second half of the season so I wanted to pull my finger out and not have such a long break.
“Put the work in and obviously it has paid off today.”
HOW THE WINNING ROUND UNFOLDED
Starting his round from the 14th tee, it was not until midway through his round that Wood began to make an impression on the leaderboard.
A birdie at his opening hole was encouraging and he followed it with a second two holes later at the par-5 16th.
Three pars preceded a dropped shot at the par-3 second but birdies at four, six and seven put him in contention for his first adidas PGA Pro-Am Series win since victory at his home club in November at the Bartons/BMD Wynnum Pro-Am.
A birdie at the par-5 ninth saw Wood draw level with Gillard’s morning total of 5-under, pulling clear with further birdies at 10 and 13.
WHAT THE WINNER SAID
“It was a round that I kept building on as the round went on.
“I didn’t really get off to a great start but just stayed in the round and capitalised on the holes that I should have birdied and made some good pars.
“Playing this event the past three or four years, the scoring hasn’t really been that great.
“That is obviously a testament to how tough the course can play, generally.
“It is a long course so with a round like today it’s going to give me a lot of confidence for next week and the weeks to follow.”
LEADERBOARD RUNDOWN
1 Christopher Wood 65
T2 Brock Gillard 67
T2 Brett Coletta 67
T4 William Bruyeres 68
T4 Ben Wharton 68
T4 Darcy Boyd 68
T4 Andre Lautee 68
T4 Andrew Kelly 68
NEXT UP
Next stop on the adidas PGA Pro-Am Series is the Geelong BMW Lonsdale Links Pro-Am at Lonsdale Links.
He’s a last-start winner. He begins the new year ranked No.19 in the world, making him the highest-ranked Australian male golfer on the planet.
He returns to Kapalua for the tournament formerly reserved for the past season’s champions for the first time in five years, yet Jason Day wanted to make a change.
Not to the swing that he has meticulously reconstructed with coach Chris Como to alleviate the back injuries that plagued his career, but to his wardrobe.
Gone is the athletic look adorned with the Nike swoosh; in its place a baggier, looser fit that the cool kids are now fond of.
For a 36-year-old father of five, it may appear on the surface as the beginnings of a mid-life crisis. But Day is adamant that his new clothing partnership with Malbon Golf will not only enhance his status in the fashion stakes but continue his upward trajectory on the Official World Golf Ranking.
“I’m just looking for a bit of a change and this is it,” Day told PGATOUR.com’s Sean Martin.
“I’m more interested in having a more relaxed, loose-fitting type of clothing, especially out here because, obviously, the clothes that you see now these days, everything’s very athletic looking. And there’s nothing wrong with that.
“There’s nothing worse than when you’re playing golf and you put a sweater on or something like that and it just feels so restrictive. You’re restricting your swing.”
Please Welcome Jason Day to #TeamMalbon@JDayGolf pic.twitter.com/ZKEirWhvmg
— Malbon Golf (@MalbonGolf) January 2, 2024
A regular at The Sentry from 2015 to 2019 during which he rose to No.1 in the world, Day begins his 2024 campaign in a vastly different position to the one he found himself just 12 months ago.
Having fallen as low as 175th in late 2022, Day was 115th in the world when he played his first event for 2023, a tie for 18th at The American Express.
He followed that with four consecutive top-10s, building towards his first PGA TOUR win in five years at the AT&T Byron Nelson.
Day’s final tournament for 2023 was a winning one, partnering with Kiwi Lydia Ko to win the Grant Thornton Invitational, albeit unofficial.
So while he embraces a new look to start 2024, Day will be eager to continue the career resurrection that began a year ago.
Day is one of two Aussies in the field for the PGA TOUR’s first event of the new season, Cam Davis earning his spot in the $US20 million Signature Event by virtue of his top-50 finish on the 2023 FedEx Cup.
Round 1 tee times AEDT
PGA TOUR
The Sentry
Plantation Course at Kapalua, Kapalua, Maui
7:15am Akshay Bhatia, Nick Taylor, Cam Davis
8:03am Erik van Rooyen, Jason Day, Corey Conners
Defending champion: Jon Rahm
Past Aussie winners: Steve Elkington (1992, 1995), Stuart Appleby (2004, 2005, 2006), Geoff Ogilvy (2009, 2010), Cameron Smith (2022)
TV times: Live 4:30am-2pm Friday, Saturday; Live 5am-12pm Sunday, Monday on Fox Sports 503.
Photo: Courtesy Malbon Golf
A late decision to add his name to a star-studded field has paid off handsomely for Darcy Boyd at the Peninsula Sotheby’s Portsea Celebrity Pro-Am at Portsea Golf Club.
The first adidas PGA Pro-Am Series event for 2024 was also Boyd’s first since rolling his ankle and having to withdraw during the final round of the WA Open at Joondalup Resort in October.
Such was his limited preparation – which included marrying long-time partner Danni Vasquez on December 9 – Boyd didn’t consider that good play in the club comps back home warranted entry into the $40,000 event.
With Tour winners such as Tom Power Horan, Matthew Griffin, Austin Bautista and Zach Murray teeing it up alongside AFL stars Christian Petracca and Angus Brayshaw, NRL star Ryan Papenhuyzen and TV and radio personality Andy Lee, it was Boyd who stole the show with a clutch par putt on the final hole for a round of 7-under 64.
“I was umming and aahing whether to come down because it was my first event and I hadn’t really played any competitive golf for three months,” Boyd revealed after securing his first adidas PGA Pro-Am Series win.
“I’d been playing all right at home but I wasn’t sure whether I should come back and compete against such a solid field to start.
“It’s paid dividends.”
HOW THE WINNING ROUND UNFOLDED
After fellow New South Welshman Lucas Higgins set the morning mark with a round of 6-under 65, Boyd burst out of the blocks.
Par at the opening hole was followed by four straight birdies to suddenly draw within two of the lead with 13 holes still to play.
Birdies at eight and 11 saw Boyd draw level with Higgins but the pair soon had company, Power Horan also posting a score of 6-under 65.
Power Horan saw a birdie try slide by on his final hole to stay at 6-under as Boyd traded a birdie on 13 with a bogey on 14.
A brilliant approach to eight feet to set up birdie at the par-4 17th would prove crucial, Boyd rolling in the four-footer for par on 18 to send his wife and caddie into raptures.
Darcy Boyd for 64 and the win at the @Portseagolfclub Celebrity Pro-Am
— PGA of Australia (@PGAofAustralia) January 3, 2024
And…… this happens with his wife of just a few weeks Danni watching on#adidasPGAProAmSeries pic.twitter.com/BVAbrAIz0m
WHAT THE WINNER SAID
“I actually had pretty good speed control today and I was conscious of the fact that it might get away from me after the hole,” Boyd said of his winning putt.
“Still blasted it through a bit but I putted well inside six feet all day.
“I was on a bit of a roll this year. Got my Tour card and life was going well. Made the cut at the WA Open and was going well in the fourth round and then rolled my ankle on the left side and didn’t play for three months.
“That was pretty heartbreaking considering I committed fully to golf this year. I gave up my job and we’ve been travelling and trying to play as much as we could. I felt like I was starting to kick some goals.
“It’s not an over-use injury, it’s not something that you really see coming, it was just a bit unlucky.
“This one is pretty special to get it done, first one back out of the blocks.
“Danni’s a superstar. She was so good today, she was so positive. It’s pretty easy to put things in perspective when you’ve had some bad luck over the last 18 months.”
LEADERBOARD RUNDOWN
1 Darcy Boyd 64
T2 Lucas Higgins 65
T2 Tom Power Horan 65
T4 Aiden Didone 66
T4 Cameron John 66
T4 Michael Wright 66
T4 Matt Jager 66
NEXT UP
The adidas PGA Pro-Am Series moves up into Melbourne on Friday for the 2024 Harcourts Langwarrin Pro-Am at Settlers Run Golf & Country Club.
