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Twelve months ago, Sarah-Jane Smith was lauded for beating the boys. This year, the greatest threat to her Webex Players Series Murray River mantle may come from an expanded women’s presence.
The second in five Webex Players Series events on the 2023/2024 Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia schedule, this year’s Murray River tournament is the third in succession at the Old Course at Cobram Barooga Golf Club.
To this point it has been a tournament dominated by the women, Hannah Green’s world-first triumph in 2022 followed up by Smith in 2023.
But if the boys hope to end that trend in 2024, they will first have to contend with a larger and deeper field of players from the WPGA Tour of Australasia.
Last year’s field featured 34 women professionals and four amateurs. Smith is thrilled to see that number grow to 60 this week with players from Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Thailand, Scotland, South Africa, Northern Ireland and England adding an international flavour.
“The rest of the world has been really desperate to come back here,” said Smith.
“Once they opened up Q School to everybody, that made a lot of people very happy. To be able to come down and do Q School and get into the Aussie summer of golf… a lot of people have missed it from their schedule.
“The Thai girls that come out onto the LPGA Tour are teeny-tiny but hit it a million miles and shoot low every time they go out.
“I think we’re going to see a lot of really good finishes from a lot of girls this season.”
Live on Fox Sports, available on Foxtel and Kayo
This year’s event is also rich in family ties.
Confined to dad duties with son Theo last year, Smith’s husband Duane is back on the bag this week while newlyweds Darcy Boyd and Danni Vasquez Boyd will play their first tournament as husband and wife.
The three Kiwi Keh sisters, Wenyung, Munchin and Siyi, are all in the field, siblings Momoka and Kazuma Kobori and Kevin and Celina Yuan will face off as will Thai sisters Peerada and Tunrada Piddon.
Rounding out the family affair is Barooga local Steffanie Vogel and her father Terry, the Cobram Barooga course superintendent hoping to use intimate knowledge of the layout to claim bragging rights in the Vogel household.
For Duane Smith, the opportunity to contribute to a successful defence would only add to their happy memories at Cobram Barooga.
“It was so strange dropping her off on the Sunday,” recalled Duane, who only arrived back at the course when Sarah Jane had three holes left to play in the final round.
“It was a very strange day, but a great day.
“We had family organised every week to come and help with Theo, except for this week.
“This was the only one. We spent a lot of time at the local playgrounds.
“That last day, Theo fell asleep in the back seat so I just drove around for a couple of hours. I was getting updates from everyone back home.”
Given her playing career was at something of a crossroads, Smith hopes to draw on the memories of that week and go back-to-back, with a little help from hubby.
“This week I get to ditch the buggy and I get my caddie back,” joked Smith.
“The year didn’t end up being great but it couldn’t have been a more satisfying way to start the year. It proved that we were on the right track with what we were doing with Grant (coach Grant Field) and we needed it in so many ways.
“It definitely feels nice to be back, and I love this golf course.
“Sometimes you go to a course and remember all the bad places you might have hit shots but I have a lot of good memories here.
“Being back here, there are a lot of nice memories from that week.”
Entry is free all four days for spectators and coverage on Fox Sports and Kayo is 4pm-7pm Saturday and 2pm-7pm Sunday.
Three of New Zealand’s leading players have confirmed they will return to play the 103rd edition of the New Zealand Open at the Millbrook Resort in Queenstown.
Daniel Hillier, Steven Alker and Ben Campbell have confirmed they will be teeing it up from February 29-March 3 after outstanding 2023 seasons on their respective tours.
Finishing second overall in the 2023 Charles Schwab Championship standings for the PGA TOUR Champions, in which he picked up another two victories, Alker will return home for the 2024 New Zealand Open.
Having played in many New Zealand Opens since the start of his career, Alker is hoping to claim the one victory that would mean the most to him, his national crown.
“The reception and support the fans gave me when I played at Millbrook last year was unreal. It was quite unexpected, and really amazing to have so much support, something I won’t forget,” said Alker.
“It’s the one tournament we all want to win. Of course there are the Majors and the big titles internationally, but there’s something special about having your name on your national title.
“It’s one of my goals for 2024.”
Another player making his mark on the world stage is Hillier.
He has just completed his first year on the DP World Tour, racking up four top-10 finishes including a memorable win at the Betfred British Masters at The Belfry. Hillier finished 30th on the overall DP World Tour Order of Merit for 2023, and earned the prestigious Challenge Tour ‘Graduate of the Year’ crown.
“I’m really looking forward to coming home and seeing not only the family, but some friendly faces in the crowd. It’s quite a buzz when you rock up to the first tee and recognise all of the home support,” said Hillier.
“The New Zealand Open is always a great event in Queenstown, and I know there are lots of talented Kiwi golfers trying to get their hands on the title. Hopefully I can peak at the right time.”
After his maiden Asian Tour victory at the Hong Kong Open, Queenstown’s Ben Campbell will return to his hometown to have another ‘run’ at the New Zealand Open.
Campbell’s victory late last year saw him take on 2022 Open champion Cam Smith, winning by just one shot with the last putt of the tournament.
“We’re thrilled to have Ben return to Queenstown. He’s always been a great supporter of the tournament and we were delighted to see him pick up a well-deserved victory at the Hong Kong Open,” said Tournament Director Michael Glading.
“Ben has always had the goods to make it on the world stage, and we’re now seeing the fruits of his labour. He finished runner-up at the 2023 New Zealand Open, and let’s not forget his fantastic performance leading into the playoff back in 2017 when Michael Hendry won.”
Speaking about his love affair with the New Zealand Open, Campbell has always wanted to have his
name on the Brodie Breeze Trophy. Having come close twice, he’s hoping it’s third time lucky.
“Since I started playing golf and made it my career, I’ve always had the goal of winning the New Zealand Open. To have my name alongside some of the greats of golf in this country would be the highlight of my career,” he said.
“Absolutely I am coming back to Queenstown. I got close in 2017, and again last year, so here’s hoping I can lift the trophy in March.”
New Zealand’s No.1-ranked player Ryan Fox, is still finalising his 2024 playing schedule, which means his entry cannot be confirmed at this time.
“This year is my big chance in terms of attempting to retain my PGA TOUR card, and that could compromise my ability to play in this year’s New Zealand Open,” said Fox.
“Notwithstanding this, I will do all that I can to play in the New Zealand Open, as it is one of my favourite tournaments of the year.
“I admire how the organisers have grown such a quality event on our own shores.”
Golf enthusiasts can watch the 103rd New Zealand Open presented by Sky Sport between February
29 and March 3 at Millbrook Resort or via the live broadcast on Sky Sport 6 in New Zealand and on Fox Sports and Kayo in Australia.
Reigning champion David Micheluzzi can achieve a slice of history not seen in more than 30 years after taking over as interim No.1 on the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit.
With a minimum of four tournaments necessary to be eligible for the Order of Merit, Micheluzzi is effectively leading the way, Fortinet Australian PGA champion Min Woo Lee unlikely to add to his two tournaments to date.
Thanks to his tie for fifth at the Heritage Classic on Sunday, Micheluzzi has moved past Ben Eccles into second on the standings to earn a shot at a rare slice of history.
The last person to win consecutive Order of Merit crowns was Rodger Davis in 1990-1991, Micheluzzi putting himself in the mix thanks to stellar performances in four of five starts this season.
Starting with a runner-up finish to Phoenix Campbell at the Queensland PGA Championship followed by victory at the Victorian PGA, Micheluzzi now has three top-five finishes in limited starts.
As the 2022/2023 champion, Micheluzzi will soon embark on his maiden season on the DP World Tour so will have limited opportunities to add to his points tally.
A three-time winner on Tour last season, Micheluzzi is entered into the $1.9 million New Zealand Open, which may be his final shot at defending his title.
With a tie for second at The Heritage Golf and Country Club, South Australian Jak Carter has moved into interim third behind Micheluzzi and Eccles and in the frame for one of the three DP World Tour cards.
Those currently inside the top 10 who are playing this week at Webex Players Series Murray River are Eccles, Carter, Heritage Classic winner Matthew Griffin, Austin Bautista and Kerry Mountcastle.
Order of Merit (after Heritage Classic)
1. Min Woo Lee 1,044 (2)
2. David Micheluzzi 359.40 (5)
3. Ben Eccles 353.30 (10)
4. Adam Scott 326.67 (2)
5. Marc Leishman 314.93 (2)
6. Jak Carter 298.11 (10)
7. Lachlan Barker 273.94 (11)
8. Austin Bautista 273.73 (10)
9. Kerry Mountcastle 267.28 (11)
10. Matthew Griffin 249.46 (8)
New South Welshman Jordan Zunic has become the 17th Australian to qualify for this week’s Final Stage of Asian Tour Qualifying School after advancing at First Stage in Thailand.
Zunic and New Zealand’s Nick Voke were the only Australasian players to move on from the two sites that hosted First Stage last week and will now play the five-round Final Stage in Thailand starting Tuesday.
Zunic shot 66 in the final round at Phoenix Gold Golf Bangkok to finish in a tie for 15th to qualify for Final Stage on the number.
A total of 19 players advanced from Grand Prix Golf Club, Voke comfortably inside the number all week, shooting rounds of 67-67-66-68 to finish tied for sixth.
After a brilliant start, Cam Davis finished in a tie for 30th at the PGA TOUR’s Sony Open in Hawaii.
His career-best round of 8-under 62 gave him the lead after Round 1 but couldn’t sustain it, closing with a 1-under 69.
The first event of the 2024 Korn Ferry Tour season is underway in the Bahamas with mixed results for the Aussies in the field.
Rhein Gibson is one stroke off the lead after a 7-under 65 in Round 1 but John Lyras had an unfortunate start to his Korn Ferry Tour career, disqualified after a rules infraction on his first hole.
Believing his approach shot to the 10th green had found a penalty area, Lyras dropped a second ball. Before he could play that ball, his playing partners found his original ball in play.
He then picked up his second ball and proceeded to play the original when his second was now the ball in play.
“Amazing what happens when you’re super excited and anxious all together,” Lyras said in an Instagram post.
“You make stupid and quick decisions that can cost you so much, everything you worked for.”
Asian Tour
Qualifying School (Final Stage)
Round 1 draw
Springfield Royal Country Club, Thailand
11:20am* Harrison Crowe, Liu Yanwei, Jesper Kennegard
11:40am Nathan Barbieri, Jose Toledo, Rikard Karlberg
3:20pm Julius Kreutzer, Shae Wools-Cobb, Mahbubul Islam
3:40pm Jin Cheng, Lachlan Barker, Xuewen Luo
3:50pm* Rakhyun Cho, Natipong Srithong, James Mee
4pm* Sam Brazel, Harshjeet Singh Sethie, Yuta Sugiura
4:10pm Hanmil Jung, Filip Lundell, Max Charles
Lake View Resort and Golf Club, Thailand
11am Toyokazu Fujishima, Gaurav Singh, Andre Lautee
11am* Wooyoung Cho, Nick Voke (NZ), Tomoharu Otsuki
11:10am Cao Senshou, Joshua Wirawan, Jake Hughes
11:10am* Ye Wocheng, Evan Peterson, William Bruyeres
11:20am Jeff Guan, Sungyeol Kwon, Lin Chuan-tai (a)
11:40am* Yubin Jang, Douglas Klein, Stefano Mazzoli
12pm Jakkanat Inmee, Denzel Ieremia (NZ), Minhyeok Yang
3:10pm Akshay Sharma, Jordan Zunic, Sam Broadhurst
3:10pm* Christofer Rahm, Liu Enhua, Peter Wilson
3:30pm* Lawry Flynn, K.P. Lin, Faisal Salhab
3:40pm* Tirawat Kaewsiribandit, Maverick Antcliff, Mikiya Akutsu
3:50pm Justin Warren, Bai Zhengkai, Moojin Cho
Results
Qualifying School Section E
Grand Prix Golf Club (Composite Cse), Kanchanaburi, Thailand
1 Sungjin Noh 68-64-70-64—266
T6 Nick Voke (NZ) 67-67-68-66—268
T20 Will Florimo 72-70-67-64—273
T20 Kevin Chun (NZ) 68-67-70-68—273
T42 Jake McLeod 69-72-66-70—277
T62 Sam Howse (a) 71-69-73—213
T69 Brian Lee (NZ) 72-67-76—215
T80 Stefan Tuionetoa 70-75-73—218
T83 Daniel Park 77-72-70—219
94 Scott Adams (NZ) 75-74-77—226
97 Darshan Shivalkar (a) 80-81-73—234
WD Grant Lewis (a) 76-73—149
Qualifying School Section F
Phoenix Gold Golf Bangkok (South & West Cse), Bangkok, Thailand
1 Kento Yamawaki 69-66-69-62—266
T15 Jordan Zunic 66-72-71-66—275
T26 Josh Younger 70-68-72-67—277
T36 Doeun An 67-73-72-70—282
WD Zach Maxwell 76-71-69—216
PGA TOUR
Sony Open
Waialae Country Club, Honolulu, Hawaii
1 Grayson Murray 69-63-64-67—263 $US1.494 million
T30 Cam Davis 62-70-70-69—271 $44,750.83
DP World Tour
Dubai Invitational
Dubai Creek Resort, Dubai, UAE
1 Tommy Fleetwood 66-69-63-67—265 €387,213.68
T14 Ryan Fox (NZ) 70-70-68-68—276 €33,254.82
T36 Daniel Hillier (NZ) 72-69-73-70—284 €16,399.64
Korn Ferry Tour
The Bahamas Great Exuma Classic at Sandals Emerald Bay
Sandals Emerald Bay Golf Club, Great Exuma, Bahamas
Round 1 scores
T3 Rhein Gibson 65
T31 Charlie Hillier (NZ) 70
T52 Brett Drewitt 71
T124 Curtis Luck 77
129 Dimi Papadatos 80
DQ John Lyras
It was all about Matt Griffin this week, as the Victorian opened with an incredible 11-under 61, and never looked back on his way to hoisting the trophy at this year’s Heritage Classic.
Starting his final round five shots clear of nearest challenger Jak Carter, Griffin had shots to work with, but made sure of the win with a clinical final round 3-under 69, to finish at an unbelievable 24-under par.
Griffin’s day started with a bogey on the first, and as Carter birdied the second, and eagled the fourth, it looked like the trophy could be in the balance.
As Carter’s tee-shot found the water on nine though, and subsequent birdie chances slid by, his chances of catching Griffin were all but gone.
Seven shots back at the beginning of Sunday’s conclusion, Queensland amateur Quinn Croker made a late charge, making three birdies on his back nine, his efforts good enough to grab a share of second with Carter at 18-under.
There was simply no catching Griffin though, with birdies at 11, 12 and 14, the Victorian stretched his lead as the amount of holes left in the day became smaller.
As he walked down the final fairway with kangaroos bounding along ahead of him, Griffin had a six shot lead, and could comfortably soak up the atmosphere as the sun set on a magical week in the Yarra Valley.
“It was nice to play really well through that middle stretch of the round, and those birdies on the early part of the back nine kind of took it away from everyone else,” said Griffin.
The win this week marks Griffin’s first since his triumph at the 2016 New Zealand Open, where a then younger player surely didn’t think his next trophy would be an eight years away.
“I’d had a number of wins in a short period of time, so I think that was win number probably five in about six years,” he said of his 2016 win.
“It’s funny, they kind of happen and then you have the big break.
“I’ve had two runs of missing seven cuts and five cuts in a row, you’re only human so you start to doubt whether you’ve still got it and you’re getting a bit older.
“It’s a big confidence boost that I can still beat these guys, and to do it comfortably as well is even better.”
After Griffin’s final putt dropped, and he’d shaken hands, the first person he looked for was his young son Jack.
“Since I was a young kid watching golfers win tournaments and their kids run out, it’s a dream that you have, so to have Jack be able to be here is super, super special,” he said.
Carter’s 2-under 70, and Croker’s 4-under 68, were both strong closing rounds in their own right, but completely overshadowed by their playing partner.
“No, because I was marking his scorecard,” Croker laughed when asked if he thought he was a chance to catch Griffin today.
Tied second marks amateur Croker’s fifth top-15s, four of them top-10s, on the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia this season, the professional setting seeming to bring out the best in the young Queenslander.
Carter’s strong week at the Heritage moves him into sixth position on the Order of Merit (OOM), but with Min Woo Lee, Adam Scott and Marc Leishman ahead of him unlikely to play the required amount of events to qualify, he essentially sits third.
“I’m coming for ’em,” Carter warned to those ahead of him on the season long points race.
“Really, really happy with that, obviously.
“Looking forward to the rest of the season.”
The return of the Heritage Classic to the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia was a resounding success, and players will now doubt be looking forward to a return to The Heritage Golf and Country Club in 2025 and 2026.
Victorian Matt Griffin has had an afternoon to remember at the Heritage Golf and Country Club, firing a new course record 11-under 61 on the St John course to lead the Heritage Classic after day one.
The 40-year-old made sure of the course record too, bettering David Bransdon’s long-standing record of 8-under 64 from the 2013 Heritage Classic by three shots.
Griffin made the turn at a respectable 3-under but was evidently only just warming up.
He proceeded to make an astonishing eight birdies in a row on the back nine, his hot streak only coming to an end when his beautifully executed shot from the greenside bunker on 18 pulled up a foot short of the hole.
Had it gone in, Griffin would have matched the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia record for most consecutive birdies of nine, set by James Nitties at the 2019 Vic Open.
“It’s been a crazy couple of weeks,” Griffin said.
“My wife and I bought a house a couple of weeks ago, we’re getting the old house ready for sale, doing a whole heap of stuff.
“My wife always says I play well when there’s chaos going on around me and today proved that.”
Not only a course record, 11-under is Griffin’s personal best, also by quite a margin.
“I’ve always had this thing where I’ve shot eight (under) a number of times,” he added.
“I’ve never been able to go beyond eight and I did by three today.
“I’ve played here a lot; I played the tournaments when they used to be here.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve had a course record so it’s nice to do it at a great club.”
Many players took advantage of the relatively benign conditions on Thursday, with 16 players at 5-under or better heading into Round 2.
One of those players, West Australian Josh Greer who’s sits solo second behind Griffin, might be the only player ever to feel unlucky after shooting 10-under.
Had Greer finished half an hour earlier, that course record would have been his, if only briefly.
“I had a one-foot putt on the last for 10-under,” Greer shared.
“Jack Buchanan came up to me and goes, ‘You’re going to hole that and you’re still going to be one behind the lead’.”
Similarly to Griffin, time away from golf over the break has been the secret ingredient to Greer’s low scoring upon the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia’s return.
“I took three weeks off; I needed it,” he said.
“I was pretty stressed after those last few events. I wasn’t playing too good.”
Six players sit in a tie for third at 7-under, including recent Australian Senior PGA champion Jason Norris.
The fine weather is set to continue on Friday, with warm weather forecast for day two of the Heritage Classic. The morning players look likely to have the most favourable conditions.
Aussies Jordan Zunic and Josh Younger are in position to play their way into the Final Stage of Asian Tour Qualifying School at the halfway mark of First Stage in Thailand.
The pair are among 11 Australians currently in action across the two qualifying sites, Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia regular Nick Voke the best of the four Kiwis through two rounds.
Zunic and Younger are both playing in Section F at Phoenix Gold Golf Bangkok in Thailand’s capital while Queenslanders Sam Howse and Jake McLeod are both inside the top 60 heading into Round 3 in Section F being played at the Grand Prix Golf Club’s Composite Course in Kanchanaburi.
Zunic opened with a fine 4-under 66 in Round 1 but dropped to 2-under for the week with a 2-over 72 in Round 2. Younger went the other way on day two to join Zunic in a tie for 19th, the Victorian posting a 2-under 68 on the back of an even-par 70 in Round 1.
There are currently 17 Australians already exempt into the five-round Final Stage starting January 16 with a further 40 places being held for qualifiers from the final two First Stage tournaments.
Elsewhere this week, the withdrawal of Aaron Baddeley leaves Cam Davis as the sole Australian representative at the PGA TOUR’s Sony Open at Waialae Country Club in Honolulu while Kiwis Ryan Fox and Daniel Hillier make their first appearances for 2024 at the DP World Tour’s inaugural Dubai Invitational.
Asian Tour
Qualifying School Section E
Grand Prix Golf Club (Composite Cse), Kanchanaburi, Thailand
Round 2 scores
T9 Nick Voke (NZ) 67-67—134
T13 Kevin Chun (NZ) 68-67—135
T45 Brian Lee (NZ) 72-67—139
T52 Sam Howse (a) 71-69—140
T56 Jake McLeod 69-72—141
T60 Will Florimo 72-70—142
T77 Stefan Tuionetoa 70-75—145
T88 Scott Adams (NZ) 75-74—149
T88 Grant Lewis 76-73—149
T88 Daniel Park 77-72—149
100 Darshan Shivalkar (a) 80-81—161
Round 3 draw AEDT
11:30am Peter Badawy, Stefan Tuionetoa, Phuripon Namkang
12pm* Scott Adams (NZ), Grant Lewis (a), Daniel Park
12:20pm Will Florimo, Anshul Patel, Othman Raouzi
12:30pm Wanxi Sun (a), Clayton Tribus, Jake McLeod
12:40pm* Darshan Shivalkar (a), Zhao Zeyu
4:10pm Bongsub Kim, Kevin Chun (NZ), Gaurav Singh
4:30pm Nick Voke (NZ), Papito Gonzalez, Joachim Altonen
4:40pm* Junghyun Um, Jean Bekirian, Brian Lee (NZ)
4:50pm* Chunghoon Ha, Oscar Zetterwall, Sam Howse (a)
Qualifying School Section F
Phoenix Gold Golf Bangkok (South & West Cse), Bangkok, Thailand
Round 2 scores
T19 Jordan Zunic 66-72—138
T19 Josh Younger 70-68—138
T36 Doeun An 67-73—140
T84 Zach Maxwell 76-71—147
Round 3 draw AEDT
11am Zach Maxwell, Abhinav Lohan, Chen Wei-sheng
3:30pm Yash Majmudar, Josh Younger, Shaurya Binu
3:40pm Jordan Zunic, Sangpil Yoon, Liu Yen-Hung
3:45pm* Robbie Busher, Doeun An, Harshjeet Singh Sethie
Round 1 tee times AEDT
PGA TOUR
Sony Open
Waialae Country Club, Honolulu, Hawaii
10am Cam Davis, David Lingmerth, Justin Suh
Defending champion: Si Woo Kim
Past Aussie winners: Bruce Crampton (1969), Brett Ogle (1994), Cameron Smith (2020)
TV times: 4am-2:30pm Friday, Saturday; 7:30am-2:30pm Sunday; Live 5am-12pm Monday on Fox Sports 503 and Kayo.
DP World Tour
Dubai Invitational
Dubai Creek Resort, Dubai, UAE
4:14pm* Rory McIlroy, Ryan Fox (NZ)
5:03pm Daniel Hillier (NZ), Tom McKibbin
Defending champion: Inaugural event
Past Aussie winners: Nil
TV times: Live 6:30pm-11:30pm Thursday, Friday; Live 7pm-11:30pm Saturday; Live 7:30pm-11:30pm Sunday on Fox Sports 503 and Kayo.
Lachlan Barker is back on course this week in the Yarra Valley for the Heritage Classic, looking to further bolster his strong Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit (OOM) standing.
Barker is sixth on the season-long standings, but is effectively third because Min Woo Lee, Adam Scott, and Marc Leishman, ahead of him, are unlikely to reach the required four tournaments to qualify for OOM status.
The top-three placed players on the OOM standings at season’s end receive status on the DP World Tour, a huge prize for Aussie players looking to take the next step in their careers.
“It’s huge! It’s why I’m here this week,” said Barker of his decision to play the Heritage Classic ahead of the Asian Tour qualifying school beginning in Thailand next Tuesday.
“I’m flying to Thailand midnight on Sunday, and I’ll only get one very brief practice round. That’s how big the DP World Tour carrot is.”
His first professional win at last year’s PNG Open kick-started Barker’s season, and with a couple of top-10s at the NT PGA and WA PGA, he has been able to hold his strong position on the OOM.
“It’s my second season on tour, my first one I experienced all the emotions, some good, some bad,” he said.
“I struggled to keep my card and went back to qualifying school, but this season it’s been the opposite.
“I feel like I belong.”
This week marks the return of the Heritage Classic to the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia schedule, its first playing since 2013, and Barker is excited to have it back.
“I love this place, my first ever Aussie junior was here at The Heritage and I fell in love,” he said.
“It was my first big tournament as a kid and I played well, so look out!”
After playing in the final stages of Asian Tour qualifying school, Barker is coming straight home to play in the Webex Players Series Victoria at Rosebud, making sure he is not missing any opportunity to gain OOM points.
“You can’t hide from it, I mean we’re all trying to get it,” Barker said of the DP World Tour status.
“I’m missing Webex Players Series Murray River, but I am playing every single other event.
“When the season finishes, we’ll see where we stand.”
The Heritage Classic kicks off tomorrow, and despite heavy rainfall in recent days, the St. John course at The Heritage Golf and Country Club has dried out remarkably.
The final two rounds will be broadcast live on Foxtel and Kayo, from 4pm-7pm on Saturday and Sunday.
Kyle Michel defied driving rain to birdie his final two holes to earn a share of victory with Brad McLellan at the Geelong BMW Lonsdale Links Pro-Am at Lonsdale Links.
While McLellan banked his birdies before the weather turned foul, Michel was forced to play catch-up.
The pair both finished the day with rounds of 2-under 68, along with Ryan Lynch (69) the only three players in the field to break par.
PNG Open champion Lachlan Barker (71) and Victorian Andrew Kelly (71) were tied fourth at 1-over par, one clear of Jose De Sousa (72) and Jack Murdoch (72).
HOW THE ROUND UNFOLDED
Starting from the fifth tee, Michel bogeyed each of his opening two holes. He got back to even par with birdies at 13 and 14 and then moved into red figures with a birdie at the par-4 17th.
He dropped back to even par again with a bogey on 18 but took advantage of the par-5 third and short par-4 fourth to match McLellan’s score of 2-under.
McLellan began his round from the ninth tee and quickly made an impression on the leaderboard.
Three birdies on the trot from the par-5 11th and a fourth at the tricky par-4 16th had him 4-under through seven holes.
The weather turned not long after, McLellan only faltering at the 18th and fourth holes on his way into the clubhouse.
WHAT THE WINNERS SAID
Kyle Michel: “I got off to a bit of a slow start, starting bogey-bogey, but managed to claw it back with a couple of birdies right before the really bad weather came in this afternoon.
“Managed to hold it together and knew that I had a couple of easier holes coming in and managed to finish off with a couple of birdies to get to 2-under.”
Brad McLellan: “I started on the ninth hole today and had a couple of pars to start. Birdied 11, 12, 13 and 16 and was just hanging on from there.
“The weather started to get pretty wild at about 16. It was raining sideways for most of the rest of the round so had a couple of bogeys coming in but managed to hold it together.”
LEADERBOARD RUNDOWN
T1 Kyle Michel 68
T1 Bradley McLellan 68
3 Ryan Lynch 69
T4 Lachlan Barker 71
T4 Andrew Kelly 71
NEXT UP
The adidas PGA Pro-Am Series resumes on Monday, January 15 with the PK Community Foundation Pro-Am on the North Course at Peninsula Kingswood Country Golf Club.
The decision to restrict his Christmas break has paid off handsomely for Chris Wood with a two-stroke victory at the 2024 Harcourts Langwarrin Pro-Am at Settlers Run Golf & Country Club in Melbourne.
Setting a new tournament low, Wood’s round of 7-under 65 was two strokes to the better of Brock Billard (67) and Brett Coletta (67) with a group of five players finishing a further stroke back at 4-under.
The Victorian PGA champion at Moonah Links three years ago, Wood has come out of the Christmas break with intent for the second half of the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia season.
With the season to resume next week at the Heritage Classic, the Brisbane native will take confidence from a win built on the work he has put in since the ISPS HANDA Australian Open.
“I had a week off after the Aussie Open and I wanted to come out and play well in these pro-ams and get off to a good start into the second half of the season,” said Wood.
“I didn’t get off to a great start last year for the second half of the season so I wanted to pull my finger out and not have such a long break.
“Put the work in and obviously it has paid off today.”
HOW THE WINNING ROUND UNFOLDED
Starting his round from the 14th tee, it was not until midway through his round that Wood began to make an impression on the leaderboard.
A birdie at his opening hole was encouraging and he followed it with a second two holes later at the par-5 16th.
Three pars preceded a dropped shot at the par-3 second but birdies at four, six and seven put him in contention for his first adidas PGA Pro-Am Series win since victory at his home club in November at the Bartons/BMD Wynnum Pro-Am.
A birdie at the par-5 ninth saw Wood draw level with Gillard’s morning total of 5-under, pulling clear with further birdies at 10 and 13.
WHAT THE WINNER SAID
“It was a round that I kept building on as the round went on.
“I didn’t really get off to a great start but just stayed in the round and capitalised on the holes that I should have birdied and made some good pars.
“Playing this event the past three or four years, the scoring hasn’t really been that great.
“That is obviously a testament to how tough the course can play, generally.
“It is a long course so with a round like today it’s going to give me a lot of confidence for next week and the weeks to follow.”
LEADERBOARD RUNDOWN
1 Christopher Wood 65
T2 Brock Gillard 67
T2 Brett Coletta 67
T4 William Bruyeres 68
T4 Ben Wharton 68
T4 Darcy Boyd 68
T4 Andre Lautee 68
T4 Andrew Kelly 68
NEXT UP
Next stop on the adidas PGA Pro-Am Series is the Geelong BMW Lonsdale Links Pro-Am at Lonsdale Links.
