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A historic brother-sister double at this week’s ISPS HANDA Australian Open could pave the way for Lee siblings, Minjee and Min Woo, to represent Australia at the 2024 Olympic Games.
On the back of his three-stroke win at the Fortinet Australian PGA Championship on Sunday, Min Woo will climb to No.38 in the Official World Golf Ranking.
That makes him Australia’s third-highest ranked men’s player behind only Cameron Smith (No.18) and Jason Day (21).
While Smith is desperate to don the green and gold for a second time, Day’s Olympic ambition is less clear.
That could open the door for Lee to join Minjee in Paris, big sister a lock given her current Rolex Women’s World Golf Ranking of No.5.
Such are Lee’s prospects of an Olympic debut, he and a select group of players will undergo fittings for Olympic uniforms this week in Sydney, bringing a new sense of reality to what just a few years ago was an impossible dream.
“I think we’re going to get a team fitting tomorrow or next week,” said the newest winner of the Joe Kirkwood Cup, pictured with parents, Soonam and Clara.
“You don’t want to get ahead of yourself and get fitted for something that you’re not in, so yeah, there’s a bit of pressure there, and I like pressure.
“I normally tend to play well when I need to make something or I need to do something to get in a tournament, so I’m really excited for that.
“That would be a true honour, to play for Australia.”
It's @Minwoo27Lee's world and we're all just living in it 🤩#AusPGA pic.twitter.com/iGDDFJZhq5
— PGA of Australia (@PGAofAustralia) November 26, 2023
Given that the four Australian golf representatives for Paris won’t be finalised until well into 2024, Lee knows that he needs to extend his current rich vein of form for as long as possible.
He also knows that there is the very real prospect of being upstaged this week by big sister Minjee.
Currently being shadowed by an ABC film crew for a future episode of Australian Story, Minjee and Min Woo enter the week as two of the standout favourites for the women’s and men’s Australian Opens to be contested at The Australian Golf Club and The Lakes Golf Club.
Already the first brother-sister pair in golf history to win on major world tours in consecutive weeks, such an accomplishment this week would elevate the Lee siblings into all-time great status well before either turn 30.
The pair have already won the Vic Open two years apart while Minjee has made a habit of stealing back Lee family bragging rights.
When Min Woo won the Scottish Open in 2021, Minjee responded with a breakthrough major victory two weeks later at the Amundi Evian Championship.
And when Min Woo won the SJM Macao Open on October 15, Minjee took just seven days to claim her 10th LPGA Tour win at the BMW Ladies Championship in Korea.
“It’s funny, because every time I win it seems like next week she wins, so if you guys want to put some money on my sister winning next week, you’ll probably win,” Lee joked less than an hour after putting out on the 18th green at Royal Queensland Golf Club on Sunday.
“It’s cool. If I win next week or she doesn’t win, it will be nice to have that for the Christmas and for the New Year’s break, have it for a few weeks, that will be nice.
“I’m obviously trying to be as good as I can and she’s one of a kind. She’s a really great golfer and she’s not slowing down.
“She knows she slowed down early in the year but she’s found a way to win again,.
“That’s not a secret to anyone.
“She’s always worked hard and hopefully I can follow in her footsteps and keep winning tournaments.”
And perhaps matching Olympic gold medals.
David Micheluzzi set his sights on the DP World Tour via the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia last season, and after achieving his goal via the Order of Merit the Victorian had to wait until this week to make his debut as a member.
That first start at the Fortinet Australian PGA Championship brought a mixture of emotions, both achievement and frustration, after signing for a Sunday 68 and 8-under par total that left him well 12 shots back of winner Min Woo Lee.
“I think it helped being in Australia. It felt as normal as it could,” Micheluzzi said.
“Obviously we have a really elite field here and didn’t play particularly amazing, just got a bit unlucky.
“I hit it way better than I did last week. I just didn’t hole the putts like I did last week unfortunately. But no, it’s been great.”
The disappointment in his post-final round comments shows just how far the 27-year-old has come, with the rising star of Australian golf not happy just being part of the DP World Tour. Micheluzzi wants to win titles alongside the likes of Lee, Adam Scott and Marc Leishman.
“The first day was really good. If I holed some putts, that could have been, and I made good putts too,” he said.
“Then the next day, it felt like I shot 1-over but I shot 3-under … then yesterday was probably one of the most frustrating days on a golf course I’ve had and I didn’t talk to anybody for about 30 minutes afterwards. Then coming into today, just tried to be as patient as possible.”
“Overall I’m more disappointed than I am happy.”
Now a four-time winner on his home circuit, Micheluzzi gained highly valuable experience throughout 2023, including a major championship debut, while he has also added an important element he believes will lead to success.
Micheluzzi is seeking out an experienced caddie, a role filled by highly rated Benji Brewer, who is the husband of Aussie Ladies European Tour player Whitney Hillier.
“He’s great. He’s so experienced. Even yesterday it was cool that he just let me have my time just to chill out and not talk about the round until I wanted to talk about it. Then we had a good chat,” Micheluzzi said of his looper.
“I think we’re close enough to have the conversation that if I need a kick in the arse, he’ll kick me in the arse and I’ll not take any offence to that.
“This is not a six-tournament deal and see how you go. I’m looking at the next 5 to 10, to 15 (years), to potentially the rest of my career.”
Micheluzzi’s current stage of his career is quite fittingly a model to follow for Sunday playing partner Ben Eccles, who leads the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit, chasing the same pathway as ‘Micha’.
“We were chatting about it today with just what the schedule holds for him and he could get into a couple of International Series events and he’s not going to go because the time just doesn’t work well,” Micheluzzi said.
“I would stay so fresh for just playing this Tour out and he wants to get back to Europe and he’s proven himself.”
One of Australian golf’s most coveted tournaments will continue to call Brisbane home with confirmation that the Fortinet Australian PGA Championship will be played at Royal Queensland Golf Club from November 21-24, 2024.
The 2023 championship that came to a thrilling conclusion on Sunday afternoon with Min Woo Lee’s three-stroke win was the third continuous staging of the tournament at Royal Queensland and fifth overall, the 2024 championship to make it four in succession.
Given the regard for which the golf course is held and Brisbane’s reputation as one of Australia’s favourite tourism and event destinations, PGA of Australia chief executive Gavin Kirkman believes the Fortinet Australian PGA Championship at Royal Queensland is the perfect fit.
“Royal Queensland Golf Club holds a special place in the history of Australian golf, but also fits perfectly with our focus on being innovative and offering the perfect blend of golf and a fun party atmosphere for fans of all ages,” said Mr Kirkman, pictured with, from left, Dr Evelyn Foley (Royal Queensland President), Councillor Krista Adams and Grant Hunt AM (Chair, Tourism and Events Queensland).
“Brisbane also has a proud history yet, at the same time, is a vibrant, evolving city building towards the 2032 Olympics.
“The tens of thousands of golf fans who have visited Royal Queensland this week have shown again that the appetite to experience world-class golf entertainment at the Fortinet Australian PGA Championship in Brisbane continues to grow.
“We couldn’t be more pleased that our players and fans will once again return to Brisbane and Royal Queensland in 2024.”
With the countdown to the 2032 Olympics in Brisbane well underway, Minister for Tourism, Innovation and Sport and Minister Assisting the Premier on Olympics and Paralympics Sport and Engagement, Stirling Hinchcliffe, is thrilled to see one of Australian golf’s showpiece events continue to add to its legacy in Brisbane.
“It’s terrific that Australia’s oldest professional golf tournament will be back at the iconic Royal Queensland course again in 2024,” Minister Hinchcliffe said.
“This prestigious and highly sought after championship title always attracts a world-class field and ensures big galleries are out enjoying the golf and Queensland’s great lifestyle.
“The economic impacts are also great news for our tourism operators with projections that more than 60,000 fans attended this year’s tournament, injecting around $14 million into the state’s visitor economy.”
Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner said the 2024 extension to host the Fortinet Australian PGA Championship is a significant endorsement of Brisbane’s burgeoning major events reputation.
“Brisbane was crowned Australia’s top sporting city this year and, with world-class international tournaments such as the Australian PGA Championship in our jam-packed major events calendar, it’s easy to see why,” Cr Schrinner said.
“We are thrilled to welcome the tournament back to Royal Queensland’s fairways in 2024, in what will be its fourth consecutive year in Brisbane.
“Locals and visitors will once again experience the excitement of this event, which attracts thousands of visitors to the city and delivers millions in economic benefit to Brisbane’s hotels, restaurants and tourism experiences.”
The Australian PGA Championship has an impressive honour roll of past winners, including Cameron Smith (2018-17, 2022), Adam Scott (2019, 2013), and Royal Queensland Golf Club’s own Greg Norman (1984-85).
The Australian PGA Championship is co-sanctioned with the DP World Tour and for the past two years has served as the opening tournament of its season-long Race to Dubai, which will continue in 2024.
Hosting the tournament in Brisbane has been made possible by support and collaboration between the Queensland Government, through Tourism and Events Queensland, and Brisbane City Council, through Brisbane Economic Development Agency.
Photo: Mike Hadnett/PGA of Australia
His coach calls him Australia’s best part-time golfer. Given what he and his family have been through this year, Sam Eaves also has claims as this country’s best full-time dad.
Eaves tees off alongside Geoff Ogilvy and American Julian Suri at 6.19am on Sunday in the final round of the Fortinet Australian PGA Championship. It’s no given, but he is hoping that his next game of golf will be at City Golf Club in Toowoomba next Saturday for his birthday.
Because little wins mean so much right now.
Like the four-footer Eaves made to stay alive in the playoff at Monday qualifying for the PGA Championship at Wynnum Golf Club.
Or the 10-footer he made at the second playoff hole that meant, come Thursday, he would join the likes of Adam Scott, Min Woo Lee and Cameron Smith in contesting a golf tournament worth $2 million.
But this is not about money.
It’s about a golfer who had to care for his three children – including a newborn daughter named Josephine – when his wife Kimberly was diagnosed with lymphoma, just nine days after giving birth.
For Sam, a PGA Professional now living in Toowoomba, west of Brisbane, golf quickly became an afterthought.
As specialists scrambled to uncover why Kimberly had unbearable back pain, couldn’t raise her right leg and could barely lift her left arm above shoulder height, Sam juggled his baby daughter and two boys aged 3 and 9.
Golf? Sam barely had time to tie his shoes.
“I couldn’t really function some mornings,” Sam shares.
“I’d just get out of bed and be like, I don’t even know how to cook breakfast or pack the kids’ lunch. I don’t know what to grab first. Do I grab them a sandwich or what are we having for breakfast?
“How do you deal with it? I don’t know, mate, because you don’t really know what’s ahead.
“You just deal with it in two-hour blocks at a time.
“What are we doing for the next two hours? I could not think more than a couple of hours ahead at a time.”
With support from family, Sam pushed through each day, taking a different kid on a daily excursion to the chemist to try and provide some relief for Kimberly in between bouts of chemotherapy.
Having come five weeks premature, ‘Josie’ didn’t leave hospital for two weeks. By that time, her mother was back in hospital for her first round of chemotherapy.
Sam hasn’t worked since but, eight weeks ago, when Kim’s final cycle had been completed, he planted a seed of playing in the Australian PGA Championship.
It’s one of the few tournaments he plays… and he plays them well.
When Jed Morgan won the 2021 championship in record fashion in January 2022, the Eaves family banked $11,490 courtesy of Sam’s tie for 17th.
Last year, as Cameron Smith was anointed the king of RQ, Sam finished tied for 18th to collect another $22,440.
Yes, making the cut mattered on Friday, but the yellow cap he played in on Yellow Day in support of Challenge suddenly meant more than the cheque he will collect on Sunday night.
In a year in which his brother and caddie this week, Andrew, had a Stage 3 melanoma successfully cut out of his left groin and the family cat was hit and killed by a car, a spot in the field at RQ gave something Sam and the entire Eaves family craves more than anything else right now: Hope.
“Six or eight weeks ago now, I said to Kim, ‘Hey, what do you reckon about pre-qualifying for the Australian PGA?’” Sam says.
“Do some practice, have a hit with the members at City Golf Club and hit some balls in the backyard in the net.
“Just have something to look forward to and have a bit of a purpose.
“I don’t really feel any butterflies or anything because I’m just here for fun.
“I don’t have to win money or do any of that. I am just a golf fan playing golf inside the ropes and I feel just so lucky to be here.
“It’s just pure enjoyment.”
Yet, as his dad savoured a rare moment of joy, Sam was reminded in a text from Kimberly what matters most right now.
“It was ‘Very nice finish there, my love. We’re all super proud, except for Campbell who just has the shits that you can’t answer your phone while playing.’
“Typical three-year-old.”
Despite now being in their 40s, Marc Leishman and Adam Scott continue to leave no stone unturned as they seek to improve and potentially author an unlikely victory at the Fortinet Australian PGA Championship.
For Scott, it was a short game chat/lesson with Brett Rumford, while for Leishman it was the experienced eyes of career-long coach Denis McDade.
“I actually played well all year. My putter was not great early in the year and Denis came over and worked it out in about 10 minutes,” Leishman said.
“My putter wasn’t aiming where I thought it was. From 10 feet my putter was aiming about two inches left of the hole, which is not conducive to making putts when your good putts are not going where you think they should be.”
The putts were going where they should during a Saturday 67 that took the Victorian into a share of seventh, however that is eight shots back of 54-hole leader Min Woo Lee on 17-under, with Leishman needing some help to finally end his Australian drought.
“You never know what can happen,” Leishman said. “If I can play like I did today and get a hot putter, get off to a good start, you never know what might happen.”
A long-time visitor to Queensland for family holidays, Leishman’s record in the Sunshine State suggests there may be some truth to his joke that the heat helps an ageing body.
Making his 14th PGA start, Leishman owns nine top-25s, including a second behind close friend Cam Smith in 2018.
“When I first started playing in Queensland, I didn’t enjoy putting on Bermuda and all the different grasses, but now I love it,” he said.
“Hopefully I can use my experience tomorrow, make everything and give the boys something to think about.”
Scott will be thinking much the same after an even par third round where his putter failed to convert the multitude of chances the Queenslander’s iron play continued to present.
“It wasn’t really my day. I couldn’t really get it going and unfortunately, I missed a putt on 12 and then bogeyed 14 and 16 and had a rough run coming in there,” Scott said.
Unlike Leishman, Scott has the benefit of previous triumphs in his homeland’s biggest events to draw on. So too Cam Davis, whose top level experience belies his 28 years of age.
Signing for a 68 on Saturday alongside Leishman, Davis is seeking to follow his own come-from-behind example when he broke on to the scene at the 2017 Australian Open.
“Early on in my professional career I was drawing off that week pretty much every tournament I played in. I know I can do it when the pressure’s on,” Davis said.
“I’m trying to get a more recent memory of lifting a trophy over here.”
Although they will have their work cut out for them, the experienced trio will also have next week’s ISPS HANDA Australian Open. That event certainly now the focus for Cam Smith.
Spending significant time on the practice facilities Saturday, Smith will also take solace from wise words from Leishman.
“We’ve all missed cuts before and that is very disappointing when you do it, particularly in an event that you love so much and have had success in the past,” he added.
“But I think in the long run it’ll be good for him, just to know that it can happen.
“I know he’ll knuckle down and he’ll be better for it next week.”
Before there was the excitement of Adam Scott and Min Woo Lee charging to the top of the leaderboard as Cam Smith plummeted, Curtis Luck had the early highlight of day two at Royal Queensland.
Reaching the Fortinet Australian PGA Championship’s Southern Comfort Party Hole 17th , Luck was not having the sort of day that would likely see his name up in lights with an opening bogey at the 10th and another two holes later.
That “rough start” was quickly forgotten when a gap wedge found its way to the bottom of the cup at 17 for an ace that inspired three more birdies and a 67.
The West Australian’s 8-under total places him in a share of fourth with Lucas Herbert and first round leader Joel Moscatel, the trio four back of the 36-hole leader.
“It was a pretty good number for what we were trying to do,” Luck said of his ace. “I mean, on that hole, the only thing you’re thinking is obviously don’t go long.
“Once I saw it land, I was pretty confident that it was going to stick pretty close … pretty electric stuff.”
On the bag for Luck this week is Duane Smith, husband and regular looper for Sarah Jane Smith, with the pair’s son Theo the lucky recipient of the hole-in-one ball from Luck, who reflected on a recent misstep when he also had a one-week only guest caddie.
Chasing promotion to the PGA TOUR via the Korn Ferry Tour points race, Luck brought in coach Craig Bishop as his caddie for the Albertsons Boise Open in late August only to miss his tee time. A crucial misreading that hurt his chances of finishing inside the top-30 and earning a card on main US circuit.
The mishap having something of silver lining with Luck and Bishop able to spend more time working on his game together before setting himself for a competitive trip home.
“It was just like a brain fart obviously. I just misread my tee time … But yeah, I mean, obviously getting to do a bit of work with Bish in Boise was big and then I spent 10 days in Perth getting the head right and seeing Bish before I came here.”
That time getting his head right clearly paid off for the former US Amateur and Asia-Pacific Amateur winner who will now look to embrace his artistic play over the weekend on an increasingly tricky Royal Queensland layout.
Luck’s tee time error perhaps well and truly forgotten if he could secure playing rights on the DP World Tour with a win either this week or next, with his wedge play that brought his Friday highlight the likely propelling factor.
“My putting’s always probably my best attribute. I’m a good chipper. I think one of the things I’ve done better this year compared to previous years is my driving’s improved considerably … My wedge play this week particularly has been unbelievable.
“I’ve come here and I’m like, ‘actually, I’m wedging it amazingly. Let’s keep it up’.”
Order of Merit leader Andre Stolz has set a new benchmark for prize money on the PGA Legends Tour with a one-shot win at the Col Crawford BMW NSW Senior PGA Championship at Cromer Golf Club in Sydney.
Victorious at the $25,000 event at Roseville two days prior, Stolz was the only player under par across the 36 holes at Cromer, his scores of 70-69 enough to edge Scott Barr by a shot.
With the winner’s cheque for $5,400, Stolz became the first player to accumulate $100,000 in prize money in a single season, a target he set for himself at the start of the season.
“A lot of people were asking at the start of the year how much can you make on this tour,” said Stolz.
“At the start of the year I said we had nearly 80 events and I was sure that there would be at least one or two guys cracking the 100 for the year.
“No one has cracked the 100k on the Legends Tour ever so I had that as one of my goals.
“Unfortunately I didn’t play that good at the Senior Open or Australian Senior PGA but I set in my mind that I would crack the 100 before the end of this stretch before we have a break and go to Queensland.”
Leading by one after a round of 5-under 66 in Round 1, Barr shot 74 in Round 2 to finish at level par, one clear of Neil Sarkies (72) and Mark Boulton (70).
HOW THE WINNING ROUND UNFOLDED
With the tree-lined Cromer layout with perched greens playing to its most challenging, Stolz began the second round four strokes back of Barr.
He dropped a stroke further back with a bogey on 13 but responded with a birdie at the next.
After six-straight pars Stolz then made his move with three birdies on the trot, establishing enough of a buffer that a double-bogey at the par-4 seventh was not fatal to his hopes.
WHAT THE WINNER SAID
“It’s a tough course anyway. Heavily tree-lined, quite demanding. The pin placements the first day were extremely tricky, tucked pretty good over some bunkers and things. Fortunate that we got some rain overnight after the first round so at least the greens were a little bit more receptive on day two.
“To be honest, I’m playing pretty well for the most part but just throwing in a little bit of rubbish every now and again which has been frustrating.
“Sometimes that makes you play a little more cautiously and focus hard on each shot.
“That’s something I’m pretty happy about with my game. Just the fact that we’ve had a lot of golf on and haven’t been able to do any quality practice on a range to tidy things up. You’ve just got to play with what you’ve got and at the moment and that’s what I’ve been doing the last few weeks.”
LEADERBOARD RUNDOWN
1 Andre Stolz 70-69—139
2 Scott Barr 66-74—140
T3 Neil Sarkies 69-72—141
T3 Mark Boulton 71-70—141
T5 Nigel Lane 72-70—142
T5 Mark Gilson 73-69—142
T5 Nicholas Robb 72-70—142
NEXT UP
The PGA Legends Tour completes its swing through Sydney with the Elanora Legends Pro-Am at the pristine Elanora Country Club on Friday.
Royal Queensland is something of an odd golf course, certainly in terms of week-to-week professional golf and what players in Europe and the United States have grown used to.
The fairways are generously wide and with a few exceptions (the 14th hole – one of the few retained from the old course- is one particularly narrow fairway) difficult to miss.
The opening tee shot in any big event always involves some nerves, but no one is fearing the tee shot off the first at RQ.
It’s a free hit much like the opening drive at Royal Melbourne or St Andrews and not a place anyone is likely to mess up their day before it’s barely started.
As a rule, golf pros fall on the side of embracing the concept of equity of punishment and detest that two similar shots might finish up with wildly different results.
Ben Crenshaw, one half of the finest modern-day architectural firm once suggested: “Golf would not be a mystery if there were not instances of two different outcomes on the same shot”.
I’m sure the twice Masters champion would argue attempts to make the game “fair” lead to sanitised holes, devoid of quirk and nuance, something which was the essence of the original game in Scotland.
So much of what we see is golf between lines with all the trouble down the sides of holes.
Of course, the great lesson of The Old Course in St Andrews is there is trouble on a direct line to the hole.
Players can hit “perfect” drives into bunkers in the middle of the fairways but the measure of a shot should always be its position relative to the next one.
The holes with bunkers in the fairways at RQ are, for me at least, the most interesting to observe and players – and caddies – wrestle with the options and the width sees approach shots played from wildly different parts of the fairways.
The greatness of St Andrews and Royal Melbourne is that shots from one side of the holes can be so different from the shots from the opposite side of the fairway and there are few better ways to make the game interesting for the members who play the course every week.
One player who comes from a country where narrow fairways are more the rule than the exception is the 21-year-old Osaka-based Japanese, Ryo Hisatsune.
He came to the Australian PGA last year from Spain where he’d finished seventh in the European Tour School and finished second, a good enough result to guarantee his employment pretty much in 2024.
He’d played his way to exemptions on the Asian Tour as well as his home circuit but by winning the French Open in September, he put himself on the edge of this new top 10 in Europe exemption with the reward of a PGA Tour card in the United States.
Sure, Tiger Woods by winning the 1997 Masters at the same age was instantly exempt on every tour in the world but Hisatsune physically played his way to those exemptions by playing all five tours and earning his way. (Which is not to suggest Tiger didn’t earn his way – he clearly did that and more.)
Hisatsune played well enough in Dubai last week to guarantee his place on the American Tour and, back at RQ yesterday, he was around in 66 with a single bogey on the third hole.
In the 1980s when Jumbo Ozaki, Tommy Nakajima and Isao Aoki were dominating Japanese golf, their tour was almost as big, prizemoney wise, as the tour in America.
Few, as a consequence, felt the need to travel outside of their own country. The Americans weren’t much different and if we’d had forty tournaments for a million dollars a week it’s a reasonable assumption most Australians would have stayed home as well.
Instead, our equivalents of the great Japanese triumvirate – Greg Norman, David Graham, and Graham Marsh – collected frequent flier miles like 27-handicappers collect double-bogeys.
It’d be fair to say Australian pro golfers have travelled, out of necessity, pretty well and Japanese, out of not having to, less so.
One staggering recent example was at the Dunlop Phoenix tournament a couple of weeks ago in Miyazaki where a local amateur, Yuta Suguira, beat one of the strongest Japanese Tour fields, including this year’s PGA and US Open champions Brooks Koepka and Wyndham Clark.
If anyone had been paying attention to Suguira at the Asian Amateur at Royal Melbourne a month ago they could have watched the Japanese star, but only on the first two days because he missed the halfway cut.
Hisatsune is one who clearly relishes the travel and whilst the week is still young it’d be a surprise if he wasn’t in the middle of it come Sunday afternoon because if he’s proved anything in the 12 months since last year it’s that he can play a wide variety of golf courses.
Few though will be as wide as Royal Queensland. Or as interesting.
Author Mike Clayton led the redesign of Royal Queensland with John Sloan and Bruce Grant in 2006
Photo: Ryo Hisatsune on day one of the 2023 Australian PGA Championship (Getty Images)
The most significant crowds and attention were on the marquee groups on day one of the Fortinet Australian PGA Championship yet three young Aussies gave a glimpse into generation next at Royal Queensland Golf Club.
As the likes of Min Woo Lee, Cam Smith and Adam Scott strolled 18 holes followed by a throng of fans, Sydneysider John Lyras, West Australian Connor McKinney and Queensland youngster Elvis Smylie shone brightly on an overcast and humid morning in Brisbane.
Out with a pair of Michaels in Sim and Hendry in the morning wave, Lyras experienced something of a roller-coaster ride on his way to a 6-under 65 that put him in third alone at the end of the day. His up-and-down round somewhat reflective of his year to date.
“It’s nice to be back in Brisbane,” Lyras said. “It’s been a long year and just nice to get back amongst the Aussie crowds and the vibes.
“I’ve been injured and a bit of sickness here and there, so it’s just been just on the back foot, no real momentum. I’ve played a lot of good golf but then a lot of stretches of really bad golf. I just want to try and put some rounds together this week.”
Good looking leaderboard after round one 🤌#AusPGA | #visitbrisbane | #thisisqueensland
— PGA of Australia (@PGAofAustralia) November 23, 2023
Mixing his time on the Asian Tour and in America where his girlfriend lives and he attempted to Monday qualify for tournaments during the year, Lyras recently found himself in contention through 54-holes in China before a final round 81.
The St Michaels Golf Club member acknowledged the pressure of staying focused on the tournament at hand when there are greater rewards on offer, such as the pathways offered by the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia to this week’s co-sanctioning DP World Tour.
“I’ve had a really tough time trying to keep in the present and just focus on the golf that week. But they’re the challenges that you’ve got to deal with,” Lyras conceded.
“It was really hard, just trying to keep playing golf, play day by day and wake up with the same motivation every day even though you knew that something bigger and better is, what the goals you have in mind.
“You’ll see them and they’re coming closer pretty quickly.”
Similarly looking to use a strong finish in the local Tour’s richest event to propel him towards playing rights overseas after missing out at the recent DP World Tour school is Elvis Smylie.
Once again striding the fairways with Royal Queensland course designer Mike Clayton as caddie, Smylie opened with a four birdie, one bogey 68 to sit tied for 15th on a congested leaderboard heading into day two.
“Obviously I’m very familiar with RQ. I’ve played this golf course a lot of times and having played since ‘Clayts’ redesigned the course, so having a bit of an inside scoop’s always nice,” Smylie said. “I’m just very familiar with the course and it just brings a sense of being very comfortable around there.”
A regular presence on leaderboards in Australia, Smylie has yet to truly find his feet overseas as a professional.
The 21-year-old is, however, more than comfortable among the calibre of players that caused Clayton to suggest it is the best field assembled on these shores in decades on social media.
“It definitely makes me feel pretty good about myself knowing I’m surrounded by guys like that that I’ve looked up to since a young age,” Smylie said.
“But I’m wanting to obviously mix with them and learn as much as I can from them, but as well, I want to beat them. I want to test my game against theirs and see what areas I need to improve against Adam or Cam and guys like that.”
Smylie confident enough in his game if a head-to-head battle was to eventuate he would be well-quipped enough to potentially change his career trajectory with victory.
“Without a doubt,” he said when asked if he can beat the bigger names.
“It’s not an arrogance feeling, it’s just more of a silent confidence. I’m just going about my business nicely and just plodding along and just doing what I can control and let the rest just unfold nicely.”
One of the last men in on Thursday, McKinney joined the fray with four back nine birdies.
His bogey-free 66 puts him in a share of fourth, three shots back of Moscatel with the pair both carrying the same DP World Tour category after missing a card at the final stage of qualifying school two weeks ago.
Min Woo Lee heads the list of Aussie superstars yet it is unheralded Spaniard Joel Moscatel who sits atop the leaderboard after day one of the Fortinet Australian PGA Championship at Royal Queensland.
When Lee signed for a 7-under 64 it showed that the 25-year-old had brought his growing stature within the game back to home soil but Moscatel matched Jed Morgan’s 2021 course record of 8-under 63 to lead by one.
Sydney’s John Lyras (66) is outright third and one clear of a group of six players at 5-under including Adam Scott, Lucas Herbert, Connor McKinney, Sam Brazel, Scotland’s Connor Syme and Ryo Hisatsune of Japan.
Defending champion Cameron Smith endured a frustrating start with a round of 2-over 73 while DP World Tour stars Adrian Meronk (68) and Robert MacIntyre (69) returned under-par rounds after their early starts on Thursday morning.
A 25-year-old, who cites Spanish legends Seve Ballesteros and Jon Rahm as his idols, shrugged off the disappointment of missing a DP World Tour card by one shot at Qualifying School last week to lead a star-studded field.
While he now has guaranteed status on the secondary Challenge Tour in Europe next year, Moscatel knows what a win this week in the co-sanctioned event would mean.
“I just try to play but yes, obviously it’s life-changing for sure, for sure, coming from a satellite tour,” said Moscatel.
“But we’ll see. Step by step.
“In the Spanish Open, one of my best friends was leading at one point. He finished the first day third and you always think like he’s going to win, but there’s a lot of golf to play and a lot of good players, so it can happen any way.”
Headed for the PGA TOUR in 2024, Lee displayed the type of golf that saw him post 30-under in winning the Macao Open on the Asian Tour just a few weeks ago.
Playing with Smith and MacIntyre, Lee took until just his third hole to make birdie and added a second immediately afterwards at the par-4 13th.
After making the turn in 2-under, Lee picked off two further birdies at one and two, holed a 35-footer from the front of the green for birdie on five and then closed out a back nine of 5-under 31 with a birdie at the par-5 ninth.
“I was actually pretty nervous, which I haven’t really felt in a while, just before the round, but that’s usually good for me,” said the world No.45.
“I’d rather not get too comfortable. But I felt really good out there and it’s awesome to have such a big crowd, especially at 6 o’clock in the morning.
“It was solid. I’m happy they came and supported us.”
Tied fifth in his most recent start on the PGA TOUR, Scott was 1-over through his first five holes but made five birdies in the space of six holes around the turn to bring his hopes of a third Joe Kirkwood Cup roaring back to life.
A bunker lesson with Aussie veteran Brett Rumford on Wednesday paid dividends on Scott’s final hole, the 43-year-old getting up-and-down from the greenside bunker on nine for a closing birdie and round of 5-under.
“I think that was when I was truly waking up, maybe about 7,” Scott said of his charge in the midway part of his round.
“It happens. You’ve just got to keep making good swings at it and doing what you’re doing.
“I’m just happy to have played a solid round and starting on the right foot anyway.”
After two early birdies, Herbert used a run of four straight birdies from the 12th hole in the afternoon wave to put his name in the frame after Round 1.
“I feel like it was a tough day out there,” Herbert said.
“It was just good to get the round off to a good start. You look at the board and Min’s out there at 7-under and I saw another score at 8-under as well. If you don’t make a birdie in the first few holes it can feel like you’ve got to start pushing a bit harder, because you feel like you’re so far behind.
“I put a good score on the board, I think we’re fourth or fifth or something like that after we’ve walked off the course at least, so that gives me a lot of confidence going into the rest of the week.”
Herbert is in the first group off the 10th tee at 6am on Friday morning while Lee, Scott and Smith will play in the afternoon wave.
The Fortinet Australian PGA Championship is live on Nine and Fox Sports, available on Foxtel and Kayo.
Tickets for the Fortinet Australian PGA Championship are available from ticketek.com.au
