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 ?
Long-time coach and mentor Col Swatton has taken Jason Day back in time to unlock a future he is convinced will feature further major championship success.
Reunited at the start of this year, it is 10 years since Swatton and Day celebrated one of the seminal moments in Australian golf when they fulfilled major championship destiny at the 2015 US PGA Championship at Whistling Straits.
Not only did it mark the summit of a shared journey that began when Day came under Swatton’s watch as a troubled teen attending the Hills International School west of the Gold Coast, it was the centrepiece in a stretch of golf that made Day the best player in the game.
In the decade since, Day’s family with wife Ellie has expanded to five children, he has endured a debilitating back injury and, after parting ways with Swatton in 2020, sought swing changes with a range of coaches and a period where he chose to go solo.
The past decade has also seen Day record runner-up finishes at the PGA Championship (2016) and The Open Championship (2023) and win a further six times on the PGA TOUR, spending 51 weeks as the world No.1.
Now 37 years of age, Day spent the majority of 2022 outside the top 100 but has enjoyed a resurgence, a resurgence Swatton believes can continue by looking back at what made him great in the first place.
“Jase just needs to, in his own words, quiet the noise that he’s been going through for the last three or four years,” said Swatton, who has both Day and rookie Karl Vilips in the field this week at Quail Hollow Club.
“He also needs to get back to the things that have made him great, and I think he’s gotten away from those a little bit in the last three or four years.
“Part of my job and part of my role is to come back in and say, ‘Hey, this is what you did when you were the best player in the world.’ Remind him of that, but also to hold him somewhat accountable to that. To be able to say, ‘This is what you did. We need to get back to that winning formula and allow everything else to fall into place.’”
When the pair combined for major championship glory, Day was a tenacious 27-year-old in the midst of four wins in the space of six events with world golf at his mercy.
The motivating forces may have changed in the decade since, yet Swatton sees the game and a new cause driving him to the best in the sport again.
“Jason’s in a different place now. He’s got five kids; Dash (Day’s eldest) is a very fine golfer in his own right,” said Swatton.
“When you reach the highest of highs and you become the best player in the world, you get to the top of the mountain and you go, OK, that’s great, it smells and looks a little different up here.
“I think Jase wants to set examples and sort of say, ‘This is what your dad did, but also, too, this is who your dad is.’ Set examples, lifetime lessons for his kids.
“I think he wants to prove not only to himself, but to his family, that this is who Jason Day is.
“I’ve definitely seen the signs that I need to see to feel encouraged and I think Jason’s seen the signs that he needs to also feel encouraged.
“Whether it’s this year or not, I definitely think he’s got another (major) in him, if not more.”
Day was at the peak of his powers when he held off world No.1 Jordan Spieth at the 2015 PGA Championship with Swatton on the bag.
With legacy on his shoulders and Lake Michigan sitting ominously to his left, Day delivered a superb tee shot to the heart of the green at the par-3 17th to protect his three-shot advantage.
When Day marked his ball after his birdie putt from 40 feet came to rest a foot from the cup on the 72nd hole, tears began to flow.
Reflecting on that moment, Swatton admitted that he started to become overcome by emotion back in the 18th fairway.
“It is a tough hole to get it done, to be fair. It’s a difficult shot,” Swatton recalled of the par-4 finisher.
“It’s a semi-blind tee shot and the second shot you are hitting to this amphitheatre green with the whole clubhouse in the background and the crowd lining the right side of the fairway.
“I remember Jason turning to me and I’m trying to have this conversation with him. I’m trying to give him the yardage, give him the wind direction, give him everything else and he just said, ‘Tell me where to hit it.’
“It was probably that moment, for the first time all day, that I kind of got a little nervous and I allowed the moment to get a little bit… not out of control, but just envelop us both.
“It was like, you knock it on the green here and you manage the two putt and you’re going to become a major championship winner and win the PGA Championship.
“That’s probably the moment that I kind of allowed it to get maybe a little too much for the both of us.
“That embrace after he knocked that putt in and watching Jase just do the belly cry and sob, there’s nothing better than that.”
Photo: Jamie Squire/Getty Images
Any debate regarding Australia’s in-form golfer was erased when Lucas Herbert completed a five-stroke wire-to-wire win at the International Series Japan.
Two years since his last win on foreign soil – also in Japan – Herbert opened by matching the course record of 9-under 62 and conjured two eagles in his final four holes on Saturday to enter the final round with a share of the lead.
The Ford NSW Open winner last November, Herbert lost the lead early Sunday but only briefly, making eagle on the 72nd hole for a commanding margin of victory.
But Herbert was not the only player in the Power Rankings to enjoy a good week.
Stephanie Kyriacou’s tie for fifth at the Mizuho Americas Open was her second straight top-six finish while Kelsey Bennett returns after a third consecutive top-10 finish on the Ladies European Tour.
This week the focus turns to the second men’s major of the year where there are seven Aussies and Kiwi Ryan Fox in the field for the US PGA Championship.
10. Cameron Smith (Last week: 10)
A tie for seventh in his last start at LIV Golf Korea was the Ripper GC captain’s third top 10 in LIV Golf events in succession. After an uncharacteristic missed cut at The Masters is back on the major stage at this week’s PGA Championship.
9. Kelsey Bennett (New)
Sitting at a career high of 225th in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Ranking courtesy of her third consecutive top-10 finish on the Ladies European Tour. Now sits 15th on the Order of Merit in her rookie season courtesy of her tie for eighth at the Aramco Korea Championship.
8. Marc Leishman (8)
A win at LIV Golf Miami is the high point of Leishman’s season that also includes a tie for sixth at the first event of the year at Riyadh. Currently 10th in the LIV Golf individual standings.
7. Minjee Lee (7)
Bounced back from her withdrawal from the Black Desert Championship with a tie for 15th at the Mizuho Americas Open. That result was Lee’s sixth top-15 finish from nine starts this season.
6. Jason Day (6)
A decade on from his US PGA Championship triumph, Day returns to Quail Hollow this week where he was victorious at the 2018 Wells Fargo Championship. Was a late withdrawal from last week’s Truist Championship but held his spot at No.32 in the Official World Golf Ranking.
5. Hannah Green (5)
Now ranked No.8 in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Ranking after finishing tied for 33rd at the Mizuho Americas Open. Won’t play again until the US Women’s Open at Erin Hills starting May 29.
4. Stephanie Kyriacou (4)
Moved inside the top 40 in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Ranking for the first time on the back of a tie for fifth at the Mizuho Americas Open. Has not finished outside the top 30 in her past six starts and boasts three top-six finishes in that time.
3. Karl Vilips (3)
Spent time working with coach Col Swatton after missing out on a call-up as an alternate for the Truist Championship. The Puerto Rico Open winner is making his US PGA Championship debut this week at Quail Hollow.
2. Min Woo Lee (2)
After a bright start, shot 2-over across the weekend to finish tied for 51st at the Truist Championship. Dropped two spots to 27th on the world ranking as a result.
1. Lucas Herbert (1)
Solidified his place as Australia’s most in-form golfer with a five-stroke win at the International Series Japan. Herbert’s first Asian Tour title was his sixth career win and comes on the back of three top-five LIV Golf finishes this season.
Poring over Rory McIlroy’s past success at Quail Hollow and standing alongside the Masters champion on the range has convinced Elvis Smylie he is ready to take his place among the game’s best at this week’s US PGA Championship in Charlotte.
As the 2024-2025 Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit winner, Smylie was last week granted a special exemption to play the year’s second major championship and the second major of his career.
While hopeful he might receive the same exemption granted to the previous two Order of Merit winners David Micheluzzi and Kazuma Kobori, Smylie’s late call-up necessitated a mad dash to North Carolina.
The Queenslander took to Quail Hollow on Sunday to begin his tournament preparation but is somewhat familiar having watched highlights of McIlroy’s four wins at the venue along with Justin Thomas’s 2017 PGA Championship victory.
That, combined with exposure to the game’s stars since joining the DP World Tour, has the 23-year-old in a positive frame of mind ahead of his first start as a professional in the US.
“I remember watching the 2017 PGA Championship when Justin Thomas won there so I’ve gone back and watched the extended highlights of that year and then also the Wells Fargo Championship (now Truist Championship) the past few years when Rory’s won and Max Homa,” said Smylie.
“I’ve gone back and had a bit of a look and seen the course and it looks amazing.
“I’m really excited to play in America for the first time as a professional. That’s something that I haven’t done yet so to be able to get right into the deep end is going to be really exciting because I feel like that my game has gone to that next level after playing in Europe.”
Smylie’s transition to the DP World Tour was fast-tracked by his victory at the BMW Australian PGA Championship in November.
That win in the co-sanctioned tournament secured a playing category effective immediately, status he used to tee it up in elite company.
Tied for fifth at the Australian Open, Smylie was in South Africa the next week for the Nedbank Golf Challenge alongside the likes of Max Homa, Corey Conners, Will Zalatoris and Masters champion Danny Willett.
Next up was the Hero Dubai Desert Classic, a tournament headlined by McIlroy, Jon Rahm, Tommy Fleetwood and Patrick Reed.
“When I look around and see the names … Rory McIlroy was in the field at the start of the year in Dubai along with Jon Rahm and Adam Scott, world-class players that I’ve grown up watching on TV,” added Smylie, who narrowly missed the cut at The Open last year.
“To be competing against them in the same tournament, I feel like I really do belong.
“I don’t really get overwhelmed too much. I more so think of it as an opportunity to see how good my game is against these guys.”
And while he fully intends to link up with fellow Aussies such as Min Woo Lee, Adam Scott, Cameron Smith and Jason Day for a practice round, Smylie is conscious of not over-doing it before Round 1 tees off.
“My tendency last year playing The Open was wanting to play a lot, just because it’s a major, it’s just really exciting,” Smylie conceded.
“But I’m doing my best at being able to prepare like any other tournament.
“That’s where the experience of having Ritchie (Smith, Smylie’s coach) around will be really beneficial.
“I’d love to play all four rounds of the major. I think that’s a realistic goal for me.
“Once we can get through those first two rounds, then it’s just about really embracing what you’re feeling and just going after it.”
Smylie is one of seven Australians in the field this week alongside Cam Davis, Jason Day, Min Woo Lee, Adam Scott, Cameron Smith and Karl Vilips.
They are joined by Kiwi Ryan Fox following his debut PGA TOUR at the weekend.
Photo: Jason Butler/Getty Images
All four rounds of the US PGA Championship will be broadcast live on Fox Sports 503 and Kayo. Round 1 coverage begins Friday morning at 3am AEST.
An impulse buy on his way to dinner in Korea has proved to be the catalyst to Lucas Herbert’s sixth career win at the Asian Tour’s International Series Japan.
Less than two weeks after a final-round course record 61 at LIV Golf Mexico City, Herbert opened with a 9-under 62 at Caledonian Golf Club using a Yes! C-Groove putter purchased from a second-hand golf shop while in Korea last week.
It is reminiscent of the putter that was lost en route to the 2018 Open Championship and which was never able to be replaced, Herbert finding comfort and confidence in its reunion on his way to a five-stroke win.
Tied for the lead through 54 holes after making two eagles in his final three holes of Round 3, Herbert fell behind early in the final round when Round 3 co-leader Younghan Song made eagle at the second.
The Victorian would soon rein him in with birdies at two, four and five and was never headed from there, making seven birdies and an eagle at the 72nd hole for a round of 7-under 64 and a five-stroke win.
“I was thinking about it down on the 18th green, that finish yesterday really set it up,” Herbert said of his finishing flourish to Round 3.
“It would have been much tougher, I think, to play the group in front, or maybe two groups in front, had I parred in and to try and come back from behind today.
“Being able to tie the lead last night, and sleep thinking that I didn’t have to chase anything down today, was a big factor.
“Very happy with the way I played today, I think it was the low round of the day, so that’s always going to make it hard to beat when you start the day tied for the lead.
“The way I’ve been playing this year, it’s been building to get a win at some point.
“It’s nice to get it done here, especially in Japan, which is one of my favourite places.
“It’s nice to feel like some of the hard work that I put in has paid off. Holding that trophy is a pretty good feeling.”
Herbert’s win highlighted a strong week for Aussies around the world as New Zealander Ryan Fox claimed a breakthrough PGA TOUR title at the ONEflight Myrtle Beach Classic.
A three-time winner on the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia and Order of Merit champion in 2019, Fox chipped in from 50 feet at the first playoff hole to edge Mackenzie Hughes and Harry Higgs.
“I had a really similar line in regulation and missed the putt right,” said Fox, who now earns a spot in this week’s US PGA Championship in Charlotte.
“My caddie, Dean (Smith), said to me, ‘Remember, this doesn’t break that much.’ So I just kind of aimed straight at it, and I hit the spot I wanted to hit.
“To be honest, it never looked like it was going anywhere else, and the rest of it is a bit of a blur from there.”
For the second straight week Stephanie Kyriacou finished strongly to play her way inside the top 10 at the LPGA Tour’s Mizuho Americas Open in New Jersey.
Kyriacou had three birdies in her opening four holes in a final round of 5-under 67 to climb into a tie for fifth, her third top-six finish in her past five starts.
Kelsey Bennett made it three top-10s in succession on the Ladies European Tour with a tie for eighth at the Aramco Korea Championship and New South Welshman Austin Bautista was second at the FBC ZIM Open on the Sunshine Tour.
Results
PGA TOUR
Truist Championship
The Philadelphia Cricket Club (Wissahickon Course), Philadelphia
1 Sepp Straka 63-67-66-68—264 $US3.6m
T34 Adam Scott 68-70-70-68—276 $95,063
T51 Min Woo Lee 69-68-72-70—279 $47,000
T54 Cam Davis 69-69-70-72—280 $44,750
ONEflight Myrtle Beach Classic
Dunes Golf and Beach Club, Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
1 Ryan Fox (NZ) 65-70-68-66—269 $US720,000
MC Aaron Baddeley 72-75—147
LPGA Tour
Mizuho Americas Open
Liberty National Golf Club, Jersey City
1 Jeeno Thitikul 64-73-65-69—271 $US450,000
T5 Stephanie Kyriacou 68-69-73-67—277 $106,039
T8 Hira Naveed 69-69-73-68—279 $69,067
T11 Lydia Ko (NZ) 69-70-70-71—280 $54,071
T15 Minjee Lee 68-71-72-72—283 $41,286
T33 Hannah Green 69-72-75-72—288 $19,749
T41 Gabriela Ruffels 68-73-76-74—291 $14,204
T47 Grace Kim 69-72-75-77—293 $11,476
56 Karis Davidson 72-71-81-77—301 $8,934
MC Sarah Kemp 77-74—151
MC Cassie Porter 72-80—152
MC Fiona Xu (NZ) 85-84—169
DP World Tour
Turkish Airlines Open
Regnum Carya, Antalya, Turkey
1 Martin Couvra 65-66-72-64—267 €416,075.94
T52 Kazuma Kobori (NZ) 72-69-70-70—281 €8,872.21
MC Daniel Gale 67-75—142
MC Danny List 69-78—147
Asian Tour
International Series Japan
Caledonian Golf Club, Japan
1 Lucas Herbert 62-69-69-64—264 $US360,000
T12 Nick Voke (NZ) 71-64-70-70—275 $31,400
T14 Jed Morgan 69-70-66-71—276 $27,700
T23 Travis Smyth 68-67-68-75—278 $19,700
T39 Brett Rankin 72-70-72-67—281 $10,908.33
T56 Todd Sinnott 74-68-71-70—283 $6,800
67 Lawry Flynn 68-70-78-70—286 $5,000
T68 Jack Thompson 71-70-74-72—287 $4,600
MC Michael Hendry (NZ) 71-72—143
MC Wade Ormsby 70-73—143
MC Maverick Antcliff 73-70—143
MC Aaron Wilkin 71-74—145
MC Jack Buchanan 72-74—146
MC Kevin Yuan 70-77—147
MC Scott Hend 73-74—147
MC Denzel Ieremia (NZ) 82-78—160
Ladies European Tour
Aramco Korea Championship
New Korea Country Club, Korea
1 Hyo Joo Kim 70-70-69—209 $US199,509.75
T8 Kelsey Bennett 73-70-72—215 $33,251.63
T55 Maddison Hinson-Tolchard 73-78-72—223 $4,947.84
T55 Kirsten Rudgeley 72-77-74—223 $4,947.84
MC Amelia Garvey (NZ) 78-77—155
MC Momoka Kobori (NZ) 79-76—155
LET Access Series
Super Bock Ladies Open
Vidago Palace Golf, Portugal
1 Sara Brentcheneff (a) 68-69-67—204 ——
T50 Kristalle Blum 72-69-81—222 €273.33
Sunshine Tour
FBC ZIM Open
Royal Harare Golf Club, Harare
1 Luis Carrera 67-66-69-68—270
2 Austin Bautista 67-70-66-71—274
PGA TOUR Americas
Bupa Championship
Club de golf Mexico, Mexico City, Mexico
1 John Marshall Butler 64-70-69-66—269 $US40,500
MC Charlie Hillier (NZ) 69-73—142
MC Grant Booth 73-71—144
Epson Tour
Carlisle Arizona Women’s Golf Classic
TPC Scottsdale (Champions Cse), Scottsdale, Arizona
1 Sophia Popov 64-73-64-69—270
MC Su Oh 72-75—147
Korea PGA Tour
KPGA Classic
Cypress Golf & Resort, Seogwipo
1 Yongjun Bae 8-14-16—38
T15 Changgi Lee (NZ) 2-7-10—19
MC Junseok Lee 4-0—4
MC Wonjoon Lee 1-(-1)—0
MC Sungjin Yeo (-8)-4—(-4)
International Team Captain Geoff Ogilvy will tap into the spirit of Australian icon Peter Thomson as he seeks to end the US team’s almost three-decade dominance of the Presidents Cup next year in Chicago.
A three-time International Team representative and an Assistant Captain in the past four Presidents Cups, Ogilvy has been handed the reins for the 2026 matches to be played at Medinah Country Club in Chicago from September 24-27, 2026.
Ogilvy was only just beginning to make his way as a professional when Thomson led the International Team to a dominant victory at The Royal Melbourne Golf Club in 1998.
With the exception of the tied matches in South Africa in 2003, the star-studded American team has won all 11 Presidents Cups since, Ogilvy looking to sprinkle some ‘Thommo’ magic into a team that continues to grow in identity.
As two major champions who both played out of The Victoria Golf Club, Thomson took a keen interest in Ogilvy’s early development in the professional game.
Some 30 years on, Ogilvy wants to meld some Thomson methodology with modern data analytics to break the US stranglehold.
“He just had a way of making the complicated so simple,” said Ogilvy, the 2006 US Open champion.
“He used to wonder why I made it so complicated. ‘Tee the ball up Geoff and hit it that way. It’s not that hard.’
“When you’re 19 and 20, it’s too simplistic. It is hard to hear that. But now I think back and I’m like, well, 30 years later, he was right. He was spot on. Why am I making it so complicated?
“He was the one captain that we’ve ever had on this team that’s made the job look pretty simple. And he did it with typical ‘Thommo’ class.
“He didn’t make it too complicated and they just went and smashed them.
“An amazing guy. I feel very privileged and lucky that I got to spend a bit of time with him.”
While Thomson (pictured) espoused keeping it simple decades before it became a popular acronym, Ogilvy acknowledges that he can’t purely go on gut instinct.
South African great Ernie Els leant heavily on data analytics as he very nearly engineered an Internationals victory at Royal Melbourne in 2019 and it will be an element Ogilvy uses in the lead-up to the 2026 matches.
“It’s the way the world is now, and you can go either way with that world these days,” said Ogilvy of data analysis.
“It’s easy to get lost in the weeds and the numbers sometimes, but you’re not turning over every stone if you don’t at least have a look at that side of things.
“You’ve got to approach it with, ‘How can I use analytics to make this simpler rather than make it more complicated?’
“You see that with great coaches of footy and of anything, they make the complicated simple.
“We’ll be using it, but I’ll be certainly doing my utmost to not get lost in the weeds.”
A long-time favourite to lead the Internationals when the Presidents Cup returns to the Melbourne Sandbelt that he knows so well in 2028, Ogilvy is refusing to look beyond his first assignment as Team Captain.
“We just want to win this one and then we’ll circle back and see about Kingston Heath,” added Ogilvy, whose course design firm, OCM (Ogilvy, Cocking, Mead), recently completed a redesign of Medinah’s No.3 course that will host the Presidents Cup.
“Maybe if I win, I get another go. Maybe if I lose, I don’t get another go.
“We’re just focused on this one. Let’s start winning this thing first and then we’ll get to Kingston Heath.”
Gold Coast’s Elvis Smylie will make his US major tournament debut after being granted a special exemption to play the US PGA Championship at Quail Hollow in North Carolina from May 15-18.
Smylie’s late addition is his latest reward for winning the 2024-2025 Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit. He follows on from the previous two Order of Merit winners, David Micheluzzi and Kazuma Kobori, who were also granted late exemptions to play the year’s second major.
While it has represented major championship debuts for Micheluzzi and Kobori in 2023 and 2024 respectively, Smylie enters having played The Open Championship at Royal Troon last year.
He earned that spot through Final Qualifying and, although he narrowly missed the cut, has shown since that he is not overawed by the game’s biggest tournaments.
A win in the third event of the season, the Bowra & O’Dea Nexus Advisernet WA Open, was a precursor to the 23-year-old’s stirring victory at the BMW Australian PGA Championship, where he went toe-to-toe with Cameron Smith and Marc Leishman in the final group at Royal Queensland Golf Club.
That win secured immediate status on the DP World Tour where the Golf Australia Rookie Squad member has since accrued three top-16 finishes, including in back-to-back events in his two most recent starts in China.
“I’m really excited for this opportunity,” Smylie said in a post to Instagram.
“Thank you to the PGA of America for the invite and to Chairman, Ian Baker-Finch, and his team at the PGA of Australia for all the help with this process.
“I can’t wait and I’ll see you all at Quail Hollow.”
Smylie’s inclusion takes the total number of Australians to seven, joining 2015 champion Jason Day, 2022 Open champion Cameron Smith, Adam Scott, Cam Davis and 2025 PGA TOUR winners Min Woo Lee and Karl Vilips.
As the reigning Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia champion, Smylie will also be in the field at The Open Championship at Royal Portrush in July.
PGA of Australia General Manager of Tournaments & Global Tour Relationships, Nick Dastey, said: “We’re delighted Elvis has received another opportunity to play against the world’s best players,” said Dastey.
“Our thanks go to the PGA of America for again recognising our Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit with a place in the PGA Championship field.”
It may not have been enough to get her a maiden LPGA tour title, but Steph Kyriacou’s remarkable albatross at the 72nd hole helped her swoop on a second top-10 finish of the year.
Finishing T6 at the inaugural Black Desert Championship presented by Greater Zion earned the Sydneysider a cool US$88,000 and has boosted her to 28th on the Race to the CME Globe standings.
“I just nailed my driver. My second shot was actually a pretty good number. It was 212 metres to the flag and my 5-wood carries like 195, so it just landed short, bounced up,” Kyriacou said of her two on the closing par-5.
“I was just trying to hit on the green to be honest. Then I smoked it and it went in. But like I kind of stopped watching it and everyone was like ‘whoa, whoa, whoa’, and then they cheered. I was like ‘oh, that’s pretty good’.”
Kyriacou was joined in the top 10 by fellow New South Wales pro Grace Kim (T9), who bookended her week with rounds of 65-66 but struggled to score on Friday and Saturday.
Top-10s at the weekend were also recorded by Ripper GC captain Cameron Smith at the inaugural LIV Golf Korea, and Steve Allan on the PGA Tour Champions.
Queenslander Smith finished T7 after shaking off a slow opening round 73, with a 66 and 69 coming home, while Allan’s second-round 65 was the highlight, the Victorian still riding on the momentum of his drought-breaking win a few weeks ago.
PGA TOUR
THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson
TPC Craig Ranch, McKinney, Texas
1 Scottie Scheffler 61-63-66-63—253 US$ 1,782,000
T49 Karl Vilips 65-72-69-70—276 $25,509
T60 Cam Davis 69-67-72-71—279 $21,978
T60 Ryan Fox (NZ) 66-71-70-72—279 $21,978
MC Aaron Baddeley 66-73
MC Harrison Endycott 70-75
LPGA Tour
Black Desert Championship presented by Greater Zion
Black Desert Resort, Ivins, Utah
1 Haeran Ryu 63-67-68-64—262 US$450,000
T6 Steph Kyriacou 71-68-66-67—272 $88,616
9 Grace Kim 65-70-72-66—273 $68,186
T20 Robyn Choi 71-70-70-65—276 $31,630
66 Karis Davidson 70-71-72-76—289 $6,742
MC Gabi Ruffels 75-68
MC Cassie Porter 72-72
MC Hira Naveed 75-70
MC Sarah Kemp 72-76
MC Fiona Xu (NZ) 74-76
WD Minjee Lee 70
Asian Tour
The 44th GS Caltex Maekyung Open Golf Championship
Namseoul Country Club, Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea
1 Doyeob Mun 74-67-70-63—274
T24 Travis Smyth 71-70-76-68—285
T30 Jed Morgan 70-73-71-72—286
T30 Nick Voke (NZ) 69-72-72-73—286
T58 Maverick Antcliff 73-71-73-74—291
T61 Scott Hend 72-71-71-78—292
MC Jun-Seok Lee 75-71
MC Ryan Peake 72-74
MC Won Joon Lee 73-74
MC Sungjin Yeo (NZ) 73-74
MC Aaron Wilkin 76-75
LIV Golf
LIV Golf Korea
Jack Nicklaus Golf Club, South Korea
1 Bryson DeChambeau 65-66-66 US$4,000,000
T7 Cameron Smith 73-66-69 $470,500
T13 Lucas Herbert 71-67-72 $311,250
T34 Marc Leishman 71-75-69 $146,500
T42 Matt Jones 74-74-70 $128,666
54 Danny Lee (NZ) 73-77-78 $50,000
Japan Golf Tour
The Crowns
Nagoya Golf Club Wago Course, Japan
1 Yosuke Asaji 70-72-62-69—273 ¥22,000,000
T17 Brad Kennedy 73-69-65-72—279 ¥1,523,500
T21 Michael Hendry (NZ) 70-72-69-69—280 ¥1,045,000
PGA Tour Champions
Insperity Invitational
The Woodlands Country Club, Texas
1 Stewart Cink 71-66-68 US$450,000
T4 Steve Allan 72-65-70
T11Richard Green 71-73-66
T11 Cameron Percy 70-74-66
T22 Mark Hensby 71-70-70
T28 Greg Chalmers 72-72-68
T40 Rod Pampling 72-72-71
T45 Steven Alker (NZ) 73-68-75
T61 Stuart Appleby 73-78-68
T65 Vijay Singh (FIJI) 73-78-69
69 David Bransdon 75-73-73
PGA Tour Americas
Diners Club Peru Open
Los Inkas Golf Club, Lima, Peru
1 Hunter Wolcott 64-70-66-69—269 US$40,500
65 Grant Booth 73-69-74-70—286
MC Charlie Hillier (NZ) 73-73
Korn Ferry Tour
Tulum Championship at PGA Riviera Maya
PGA Riviera Maya, Tulum, Mexico
1 Bryson Nimmer 71-67-73-68—279 US$180,000
T29 Harry Hillier (NZ) 71-74-73-70—288
T67 Rhein Gibson 78-68-77-76—299
Epson Tour
Reliance Matrix Championship presented by Epson
Spanish Trail Country Club, Las Vegas
1 Yana Wilson 67-72-64-68—271
T26 Amelia Garvey (NZ) 65-74-69-77—285
MC Su Oh 74-73
Jay Mackenzie continued his winning run through regional New South Wales in the adidas PGA Pro-Am Series by claiming a share of the Highlands Pro-Am title with fellow NSW professional Lincoln Tighe on Friday.
A 5-under-par 65 on the Mittagong layout gave Mackenzie and Tighe a two-shot margin over Andrew Evans with Corey Lamb and Cameron Bell a further shot back in a share of fourth.
It’s a third win is as many weeks for Mackenzie who was also victorious at Griffith and Leeton in the Riverina, totalling a combined 25-under-par thanks to five rounds in the 60s.
For Tighe, it was his first adidas PGA Pro-Am Series title since 2023.
Turning point
There was a five-way tie for the lead at Highlands Golf Club until Mackenzie, who started his round on the par-5 14th hole, birdied the short par-4 10th and par-3 12th to move clear of the pack. He finished with seven birdies for the afternoon.
Meanwhile, Tighe, who is working on getting a more dependable swing, finished in a flourish with birdies on his final two holes, the par-3 fourth and par-5 fifth, to capture his share of top of the leaderboard. His round that featured eight birdies.
Quick quotes
Tighe said: “I haven’t been hitting it great but I was really keen to come out here today and have a bit. It’s a bit weird to be that keen to get out so early and play golf. You just miss it when you don’t play. I sort of surprised myself. It was good to have a good round.”
Leading scores
T1 Jay Mackenzie 65
T1 Lincoln Tighe 65
2 Andrew Evans 67
T4 Corey Lamb 68
T4 Cameron Bell 68
T6 Larry Austin 69
T6 Sung Park 69
T6 Neven Basic 69
T9 Arthur Barakat 70
T9 Will Daibarra 70
T9 Daniel Nesbitt 70
T9 Kieran Jones 70
April 24
Martin a cut above at Axedale
Fond memories and some last-minute fine-tuning paved the way for Andrew Martin to claim a one-stroke win at the Symes Motors Axedale Pro-Am at Axedale Golf Club.
Just 20 minutes from his home-town of Bendigo, Martin started brilliantly paired with great mate Marcus Fraser, holding on over the back nine to win with a round of 4-under 65.
Two late bogeys cruelled Alex Edge’s hopes of an adidas PGA Pro-Am Series win, finishing outright second with Bradley Kivimets at 3-under 66.
While he finished well down the leaderboard, Michael Bainbridge delivered one of the day’s highlights, making a hole-in-one at the par-3 11th, just his second hole of the day.
Turning point
Three-under through six holes, it was back-to-back birdies around the turn that ultimately proved the difference.
A birdie at the 335-metre par-4 ninth saw Martin turn in 4-under, pushing out to an even larger advantage with birdie at the 309m par-4 10th.
While that would be Martin’s last birdie of the day – there was a lone bogey at the par-3 14th – it would prove just enough to claim victory.
Quick quotes
“Not quite my home course, but it’s one of my home courses back here,” said Martin.
“It’s been a bit quiet and then to come out and practise for a couple of days and come here and shoot that, that was pretty good.
“I probably played better on my back nine and probably didn’t score as good.
“Knowing the course definitely helps on a few shots. Definitely the more you play here helps but even then, you still sort of can’t get your head around it.
“The course is probably the best I’ve ever seen it. It’s always a pleasure coming back here.”
Leading scores
1 Andrew Martin 65
T2 Alex Edge 66
T2 Bradley Kivimets 66
T4 Marcus Fraser 68
T4 Will Florimo 68
Next up: Belmont Golf and Bowls Club Pro-Am, April 27-28
April 10
Townsend, Mackenzie split Leeton win
A spectacular stretch around the turn has secured Aaron Townsend a share of victory at the two-day Leeton Golf Club SunRice Pro-Am.
On the back of his first adidas PGA Pro-Am Series win of the year at Griffith on Friday, Jay Mackenzie held the Round 1 lead at Leeton courtesy of a 7-under 65 on Saturday.
He began a bogey-free second round of 4-under 68 with seven straight pars, opening the door just enough for Townsend to make a move.
Three bogeys against two birdies in his first seven holes stalled his charge but birdie at the par-5 eighth would prove to be the catalyst for a brilliant finish.
With a round of 5-under 67, Townsend was the first to post 11-under, Mackenzie needing to birdie the last to join him, the pair finishing two strokes clear of Toby Walker (67).
Turning point
As first Townsend and then Mackenzie came through the eighth hole, Mackenzie looked like following up his first win of the season at Griffith with a second at Leeton.
He held a two-stroke advantage after both made birdie at the 468-metre par 5 but it would prove to be a launch pad for Townsend.
It was the first of six birdies in seven holes for the Newcastle native that gave him a one-stroke advantage.
He would hold that until he waited for Mackenzie to finish, who birdied the par-4 18th to claim a share of victory.
Quick quotes
“I’m trying to work a little harder on some putting consistency,” said Townsend.
“It’s been very poor at times. My good is good but my poor is very poor so the last couple of days have been good.
“I still made too many mistakes. I made too many bogeys over the last two days but there was enough good stuff that I’ve enough to take out of that.”
Leading scores
T1 Aaron Townsend 66-67—133
T1 Jay Mackenzie 65-68—133
3 Toby Walker 68-67—135
4 Bryce Hohnen 67-69—136
5 Matthew Millar 66-71—137
April 11
Mackenzie claims first win for 2025
Jay Mackenzie became a winner on the adidas PGA Pro-Am Series for the seventh consecutive year after scoring a four-stroke victory in the B&C Plumbing Griffith Charity Pro-Am.
With just one bogey across the 36 holes at Griffith Golf Club, the NSW professional shot rounds of 68-65 to finish at 9-under-par and secure his first title for 2025 after a mixed campaign on the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia.
Two other Tour regulars, Tim Hart (66-71) and Jye Pickin (71-66), shared second place.
Back travelling in his grandad’s old troop carrier after it had some repairs, Mackenzie set up camp next to the driving range at the Riverina course, giving him easy access to work even more on his game which started to turn around towards the end of the Tour season.
Turning point
After starting the second round two shots from the overnight lead held jointly by Hart and James Gibellini, Mackenzie birdied two of his first five holes to keep him well in touch. However it was a run of three birdies in five holes on the back nine – 11, 13 and 15 – which saw the former WA PGA champion kick clear.
Meanwhile, Hart played the back nine in 2-over and Gibellini faltered with four bogeys on the way back to the clubhouse.
Quick quotes
Mackenzie said: “It’s nice to finally play some good golf. It’s been a while. I’ve been working at it.
“The greens are tricky. You have to chip and putt well around here. I just hit driver on every hole and tried to find the fairways. That was basically my gameplan. Pretty simple really.”
Leading scores
1 Jay Mackenzie 68-65 (-9)
T2 Tim Hart 66-72 (-5)
T2 Jye Pickin 71-66 (-5)
4 Marcus Fraser 68-70 (-4)
T5 Alexander Simpson 69-70 (-3)
T5 James Gibellini 66-73 (-3)
T5 Matt Millar 67-72 (-3)
April 9
Brereton, Walker on top at Yenda
Victorian duo Darcy Brereton and Toby Walker could not be separated on the quirky 12-hole layout, both finishing at 5-under at the Orora Yenda Pro-Am.
With the Tasmanian Open last week, Yenda marks the official start of a long adidas PGA Pro-Am Series, with Walker and Brereton getting off to the perfect start.
Both players did the bulk of their scoring early, taking advantage of the two par-5s on the opening six holes, Walker and Brereton both found themselves 4-under at “the turn”, and certainly the hot players on the course.
Queenslander Dillon Hart fired a bogey free 4-under round to secure solo third ahead of a trio of players tied fourth at 3-under.
Turning point
While Walker was able to keep bogeys off the card coming in, he was only able to make one further birdie at the eighth, the only par-5 on the closing six.
Brereton managed to get it to 5-under with a birdie at the par-3 seventh, but an untimely bogey at the same par-5 eighth Walker managed to birdie dropped the Royal Melbourne member back to 4-under.
With Walker already safely in the clubhouse, Brereton knew he needed to make up a shot coming in to tie, and managed to do just that at the short par-4 11th, the penultimate hole.
Quick quotes
“It was very different to what I’ve been playing recently, but it was a different kind of challenge, which I enjoyed,” said Brereton.
“I think I relished trying to play something a little different and yeah, it was a good test for myself.
“I hit it pretty good. I was in play pretty much off every tee really, apart from maybe the eighth.
“Made a little bit of a messy bogey there, but putted pretty solid.”
“I actually love playing 12 holes,” said Walker. “Being a big bloke, I don’t have to walk around 18-holes to spend five hours out here and it’s a lot more enjoyable. 12 holes is just nice. It was a really good day.
“I’ve just gotten a lot better mentally. I’ve been working with my coach of 14 years, Timmy Wood and it’s just doing the one percenters really well of late.
“Today I just hit driver as hard as I could and just prayed it got a good bounce near the green and I could chip it up and hole a couple of putts.”
Leaderboard scores
T1 Toby Walker 43
T1 Darcy Brereton 43
3 Dillon Hart 44
T4 Andrew Evans 45
T4 Jye Pickin 45
T4 Andrew Kelly 45
March 14
Gill earns first win at Heidelberg
Daniel Gill can look forward to a start in the final event of the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia season with confidence after taking out the De Bortoli Heidelberg Golf Club Pro-Am at Heidelberg Golf Club.
Playing through the morning fog, Gill posted 6-under 66 to claim his first adidas PGA Pro-Am Series win in the final event of the 2024/2025 season.
He can now look forward to taking part in The National Tournament starting March 27 at The National Golf Club and then Qualifying School at Moonah Links in April.
“It feels great,” Gill said of his breakthrough result.
“It was a bit of a nervous wait, but got there in the end.
“I was refreshing the scores non-stop all afternoon but happy to do it.”
Gill finished one shot clear of a trio of regular Tour players, Brady Watt, Aiden Didone and Jayden Cripps all sharing second with rounds of 5-under 67.
Turning point
An opening birdie at the par-5 14th was the ideal start but it wasn’t until Gill got to the front nine that his round gathered momentum.
He birdied the par-3 second and then made three in succession from the par-5 fourth, his final birdie at his second-to-last hole the difference at day’s end.
Quick quotes
“With the fog this morning, it’s obviously harder to see, so I played a bit more cautious than probably what I would have which probably worked out in my favour,” said Gill.
“Laying up a bit more, hit more fairways, hit more greens, holed a couple of putts. Everything just sort of turned out in my favour.”
Leading scores
1 Daniel Gill 66
T2 Jayden Cripps 67
T2 Aiden Didone 67
T2 Brady Watt 67
5 Toby Walker 68
March 6
Choi still the king of Keysborough
He may not play often but when he does Michael Choi is invariably tough to beat at the Bendigo Bank Dingley Village Community – Keysborough Golf Club Pro-Am at Keysborough Golf Club.
With a young family, Choi is now an infrequent visitor to the adidas PGA Pro-Am Series but he continued his love affair with Keysborough with a superb 7-under 66 and two-stroke win.
It is Choi’s third win at Keysborough in the past decade as Jake Hughes (68) settled for second and Toby Walker shot 4-under 69 to snare third.
Turning point
Even par after starting birdie-bogey, Choi’s round gathered momentum around the turn.
He moved into red figures with birdie at the par-5 16th and then peeled off four on the trot from the par-4 18th, closing the deal with further birdies at seven and 10.
Quick quotes
“This course just fits my eye and I enjoy coming out here every year,” said Choi.
“Always just have good vibes when I’m out here so it was nice to get another win under the belt.
“I had a birdie on the first, bogey on the second, and then had a really good patch.
“I think it was like maybe four birdies in a row in the middle of the round and then a couple late.”
Leading scores
1 Michael Choi 66
2 Jake Hughes 68
3 Toby Walker 69
4 Nathan Page 70
T5 Ryan Haywood 71
T5 Daniel Gill 71
T5 Ben Ford 71
T5 Peter Vassiliadis 71
T5 Michael Isherwood 71
T5 Jack Harrison 71
T5 Matthew Griffin 71
Next up
De Bortoli Heidelberg Golf Club Pro-Am at Heidelberg Golf Club on Friday, March 14.
February 28
Page turns it on at Yarrambat
Victorian Nathan Page refused to let an early double bogey hold him back as he completed a commanding victory at the Ray White Doreen Pro-Am at Yarrambat Park Golf Course.
Drawing inspiration from Harrison Crowe’s 9-under 63 in Round 1 at the New Zealand Open that also included a double bogey, Page bounced back from his early stumble to shoot 8-under 64 and win by five strokes.
“I was just taking inspiration from Harry Crowe yesterday with a double and shoot nine (under),” said Page.
Toby Walker, Max Charles, Ed Donoghue and Wade Lowrie shared second at 3-under par but there was no catching Page at the top of the leaderboard.
Turning point: With birdies at his opening two holes, the double bogey at the par-3 fifth dropped Page back to even par. He was back at 2-under with birdies at seven and nine but it was the birdie on 10 and eagle at the par-5 11th that separated Page from the pack. That he backed that up with another eagle just four holes later made it a simple procession to the clubhouse over the closing holes.
Quick quotes
“I wanted to get going early and did, but then I copped a pretty gnarly double bogey down five.
“I was hitting it all right off the tee and managed to get that going and didn’t make any more mistakes, which was good.
“Had the two eagles (on the back nine). They were playing slightly downwind when I played those par 5s, which helped a little bit. Kind of cut the corner. I had 9-iron and sand wedge in and stuck it pretty close.
“Didn’t make too many errors after that fifth hole and was able to bring it home nicely.”
Final scores
1 Nathan Page 64
T2 Toby Walker 69
T2 Max Charles 69
T2 Wade Lowrie 69
T2 Edward Donoghue 69
Next up: Bendigo Bank Dingley Village Community – Keysborough Golf Club Pro-Am at Keysborough Golf Club, Thursday, March 6.
January 22
Gordon takes crown at King Island
A few days out of the shop paid off for Corowa Golf Club PGA Professional James Gordon who claimed the Hewison Private Wealth King Island Pro-Am.
Played across the spectacular Cape Wickham Golf Links and Ocean Dunes Golf Course over two days, the King Island Pro-Am sees Professionals bring a team of amateurs for an unforgettable experience hosted by the team at Air Adventure Golf Tours.
A winner on the adidas PGA Pro-Am Series three years ago at the Leeton Pro-Am, Gordon returned Stableford scores of 39 and 43 points for an 82-point total and seven-point win over Lachlan Wood (75) with Charlie Robbins (74) third.
Turning point
Leading by one point after day one at Cape Wickham, Gordon had a less than auspicious start to Round 2 at Ocean Dunes. Admitting that he “nearly missed my first tee shot of the day”, Gordon dropped a shot on his opening hole but made birdie on 18 and then eagled the par-5 first to build a hefty advantage.
Quick quotes
“The view on every hole is postcard material,” said Gordon of Cape Wickham.
“Every hole is different and what a stunning finish! Wind direction certainly changes the way you play each hole!
“The first hole tee shot (at Ocean Dunes) is daunting when you can see the green 500 metres away sitting on the ocean but another superb golf course with ocean views on nearly every hole. “Very fair for the members and certainly a challenge for the professionals.”
Leading scores
1 James Gordon 39-43—82
2 Lachlan Wood 38-37—75
3 Charlie Robbins 34-40—74
4 Ashley Hall 31-42—73
5 Ryan Lynch 33-39—72
6 Ben Ford 34-36—70
Next up
Melville Glades BYOG Pro-Am at Melville Glades Golf Club, February 6
January 5: Mee’s record-breaking win at Lonsdale Links
Queenslander James Mee will take winning form into the second half of the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia season after claiming the Geelong BMW Lonsdale Links Pro-Am.
A course record round of 8-under-par 62, which included two eagles and six birdies, gave Mee a one-shot victory over Austin Bautista (NSW) and a pair of Victorians, Ashley Hall and Andre Lautee.
It was a nice confidence boost for Mee who will head to this week’s Webex Players Series Perth hosted by Minjee and Min Woo Lee keen to improve on his 93rd position on the 2024/25 Order of Merit.
His only top-20 so far in his rookie season came in his opening event, the PNG Open.
Turning point
With Lautee waiting in the clubhouse after a morning round of 63, Mee needed a fast finish to take the winner’s cheque at Lonsdale. It came across the 11th to 13th holes, where the Queenslander went eagle-birdie-birdie to move to -8 for the day.
A par on his final hole, the par-3 14th, sealed his third adidas PGA Pro-Am Series win.
Quick quotes
“I came down here on Thursday to play these three pro-ams (Settlers Run, Portsea and Lonsdale Links) before the Tour season starts up again. I didn’t finish off too well at the end of last year.
“I wanted to get some reps in after Christmas because I didn’t touch a club for a couple of weeks.
“It all really started for me on my second hole, the 16th, where I hit a driver on a hole I probably wouldn’t go for if I’d known the course. I hit on to about 15 feet and rolled in the putt for eagle. That kickstarted the round.”
Leading scores
1 James Mee 62
T2 Andre Lautee 63
T2 Austin Bautista 63
T2 Ashley Hall 63
T5 Michael Choi 65
T5 Steven Jones 65
7 Matt Dowling 66
Next up
The adidas PGA Pro-Am Series takes a short break before the three-day Hewison Private Wealth King Island Pro-Am at Cape Wickham Links and Ocean Dunes Golf Course on January 19-21.
January 4: Wood wins by one at Portsea
Queenslander Chris Wood enjoyed more success on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula with a one-stroke win at the $40,000 Peninsula Sotheby’s Portsea Celebrity Pro-Am at Portsea Golf Club.
Winner of the 2020 Victorian PGA Championship at Moonah Links, Wood had six birdies and an eagle in his round of 7-under 64 to finish one clear of Victorian Andrew Kelly.
Eager to make a quick start to the new year on the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia, Wood’s win is the ideal preparation for next week’s Webex Players Series Perth tournament at Royal Fremantle Golf Club.
“I generally have a bit more of a break and come out of the blocks pretty slow in the new year,” said Wood.
“I wanted to get the clubs in hand and put a bit of work in and the last couple of days have been nice.”
Turning point
Level with the best of the morning wave with a birdie on 16 and eagle at the par-5 third, Wood made his move around the turn at Portsea Golf Club.
Starting with a birdie at the par-4 sixth, Wood added four more on the trot from the par-5 eighth to race out to 8-under before his lone bogey of the day at the short par-3 12th.
Quick quotes
“I got off to a bit of an adventurous start,” said Wood.
“Teeing off on 16, I hit my tee shot straight into a divot and then hit the next shot about 10 or 15 metres.
“I then chipped in for birdie so it was sort of the golfing gods paying me back there.”
Leading scores
1 Chris Wood 64
2 Andrew Kelly 65
T3 Todd Sinnott 67
T3 Brendan Smith 67
T3 Darcy Brereton 67
Next up
Geelong BMW Lonsdale Links Pro-Am at Lonsdale Links, Sunday, January 5.
January 3: Wright triumphs at Settlers Run
Heading into his second season on the Champions Tour in the US, Wright went bogey free in his round of 6-under 66, two clear of Victorian Jack Harrison (68) as nine players finished tied for third at 3-under par.
Starting with a birdie at his opening hole, the short par-4 17th, Wright methodically went about building his round, closing it out with a sixth and final birdie at the par-5 16th.
Turning point
Level with the best of the morning scores at 3-under through 10 holes, Wright made birdie at the 481-metre par-5 ninth and then picked up a further shot at the par-3 11th to build a handy buffer heading into the final few holes.
Quick quotes
“I started off by hitting it into about 12 feet on the 17th hole and rolled that in, so that was a nice start,” said Wright.
“Managed to put another five (birdies) on the card in patches throughout the round and kept the bogeys off the card. It’s always good to not have a bogey and then to finish with a birdie was nice, too.”
Leading scores
1 Michael Wright 66
2 Jack Harrison 68
T3 Cameron Kelly 69
T3 Tim Walker 69
T3 Michael Choi 69
T3 James Mee 69
T3 Ruben Lal 69
T3 Josh Younger 69
T3 David Micheluzzi 69
T3 Douglas Klein 69
T3 Chris Wood 69
Next up
Peninsula Sotheby’s Portsea Celebrity Pro-Am at Portsea Golf Club, Saturday, January 4.
Jessica Cook and Shane McHenry have earned exemptions into the $100,000 PGA Professionals Championship National Final in November by finishing as the top two in the PGA Professionals Championship of North Queensland.
Contested at Mirage Country Club in Port Douglas, the first PGA tournament played at the facility in more than 20 years, Cook took out the NQ title with an even-par round of 72 that included five birdies to sit alongside five bogeys.
A member of the Australian team at last year’s Women’s PGA Cup in the United States, Cook has recently accepted a role as an Assistant Professional at Mt Coolum Golf Club.
“I really want to make the Australian Team for the PGA Women’s Cup in 2026 and I knew to give myself a chance, I needed to qualify via the National Final,” Cook said.
“Having a place on the team in 2024 was amazing and to represent my PGA and my country was certainly a career highlight.
‘Being the leading qualifier in Norh Queensland has given me a lot of confidence going to the final and although there are several months to prepare, I’ll be focussing my efforts to peak at the right time.”
McHenry, the owner of indoor golf facility Cairns Golf Academy, earned the second national final exemption with a 3-over 75.
The PGA Professionals Championship National Final will be played at Heritage Golf and Country Club with the winner earning a start in the BMW Australian PGA Championship.
The PGA Professionals Championship of North Queensland was supported by event partners Acushnet, CCEP and Club.
Courtesy of his now famous win at the New Zealand Open presented by Sky Sports, Ryan Peake gained winners category status on the Asian Tour, and makes his debut as a Tour member at this week’s GS Caltex Maekyung Open Golf Championship in South Korea.
Peake, who also gained DP World Tour status thanks to his second-place Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit finish, will likely play as much as he can in Asia before that European status comes into effect at the BMW Australian PGA Championship later this year.
It marks the beginning of the next chapter for the left-handed West Australian, whose comeback story of resilience and perseverance has been well documented, and one which is likely to crescendo at The Open Championship at Royal Portrush in July — another spoil from his win at Millbrook.
Peake is joined by a host of his fellow countrymen, including Travis Smyth, and last week’s Legends Tour champion Scott Hend, who his always out to prove he can still mix it with the young guys.
Staying in Korea, the Ripper GC boys are ready to take on the inaugural LIV Golf Korea. The Rippers currently sit third on the season-long team standings, in great position to successfully defend their 2024 title.
The LPGA Tour heads to Black Desert in Utah for the first time, with seven Australians playing, many keen to shake off a lacklustre week at the Chevron Championship. While the PGA TOUR’s CJ CUP Byron Nelson, which has been a happy hunting ground for Australians in the past, heads back to TPC Craig Ranch.
Round 1 tee times AEST
PGA TOUR
THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson
TPC Craig Ranch, McKinney, Texas
10:01pm Ryan Fox (NZ)
10:45pm* Karl Vilips, Cam Davis
11:51pm Harrison Endycott
3:22am* Aaron Baddeley
Recent champion: Taylor Pendrith
Past Aussie winners: Peter Thomson (1956), Bruce Devlin (1969), Adam Scott (2008), Jason Day (2010, 2023), Steven Bowditch (2015).
Prize money: $US 9.9million
TV times: Live Thursday and Friday 9:45pm-9am Fox Sports 503 and Kayo. Saturday and Sunday 10:30pm-8am Fox Sports 503 and Kayo.
LPGA Tour
Black Desert Championship presented by Greater Zion
Black Desert Resort, Ivins, Utah
11pm* Robyn Choi, Sarah Kemp
11:44pm* Cassie Porter
12:06am* Minjee Lee
12:17am* Steph Kyriacou
12:50am Fiona Xu (NZ)
1:01am* Karis Davidson
4:26am* Gabi Ruffels
4:37am* Hira Naveed
5:43am* Grace Kim
Recent champion: Inaugural event
Prize money: $US 3million
TV times: Live Friday 8am-11am Fox Sports 506 and Kayo. Saturday 8am-11am Fox Sports 505 and Kayo. Sunday and Monday 8am-11am Fox Sports 503 and Kayo.
Asian Tour
The 44th GS Caltex Maekyung Open Golf Championship
Namseoul Country Club, Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea
7:52am Junseok Lee
8:03am Ryan Peake
8:36am Jed Morgan
8:58am Sungjin Yeo (NZ)
9:09am Maverick Antcliff
12:41pm Nick Voke (NZ)
1:14pm Wonjoon Lee
1:25pm Travis Smyth
1:58pm Aaron Wilkin
2:31pm Scott Hend
Recent champion: Kim Hong-taek
Past Aussie winners: Mike Clayton (1984)
Prizemoney: KRW1,300,000,000
TV times: Live Thursday, Friday and Saturday 2pm-6pm Fox Sports 503 and Kayo. Sunday 1pm-5pm Fox Sports 506 and Kayo.
LIV Golf
LIV Golf Korea
Jack Nicklaus Golf Club, South Korea
Australasians in the field: Cameron Smith, Lucas Herbert, Marc Leishman, Matt Jones, Danny Lee (NZ).
Recent champion: Inaugural event.
TV times: Live Friday, Saturday and Sunday 7Plus.
Japan Golf Tour
The Crowns
Nagoya Golf Club Wago Course, Japan
Australasians in the field: Michael Hendry (NZ), Brad Kennedy.
Recent champion: Ren Yonezawa
Past Aussie winners: Peter Thomson (1969, 1972), David Graham (1976), Graham Marsh (1977, 1981), Greg Norman (1989), Peter Senior (1993), Roger Mackay (1994), Brendan Jones (2011).
Prizemoney: ¥110,000,000
PGA Tour Champions
Insperity Invitational
The Woodlands Country Club, Texas
Australasians in the field: Steven Alker (NZ), Steve Allan, Stuart Appelby, David Bransdon, Greg Chalmers, Richard Green, Mark Hensby, Rod Pampling, Cameron Percy, Vijay Singh (FIJI)
Recent champion: Scott Dunlap
Past Aussie winners: Nil.
Prizemoney: US$ 3million
TV times: Live Saturday 2:30am-5:30am Fox Sports 505 and Kayo. Monday 5am-8am Fox Sports 507 and Kayo.
PGA Tour Americas
Diners Club Peru Open
Los Inkas Golf Club, Lima, Peru
10:15pm Grant Booth
2:40am Charlie Hillier (NZ)
Recent champion: Stuart Macdonald
Past Aussie winners: Nil
Prizemoney: US$ 225,000
Korn Ferry Tour
Tulum Championship at PGA Riviera Maya
PGA Riviera Maya, Tulum, Mexico
3:30am Rhein Gibson
4:40am* Harry Hillier (NZ)
Prizemoney: US$ 1million
Epson Tour
Reliance Matrix Championship presented by Epson
Spanish Trail Country Club, Las Vegas
1:50am* Amelia Garvey (NZ)
4:50am* Su Oh
Recent champion: Inaugural event
Prizemoney: US$ 250,000
