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Laidback, easy-going party vibes will be coming to golf courses and facilities around Australia thanks to a new collaboration between the PGA of Australia, Golf Australia, and Southern Comfort.
Southern Comfort will become the exclusive Brown Spirits provider of the PGA of Australia, Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia and Golf Australia, and the fourth partner to undertake a joint Australian golf partnership which enables brands a simple pathway to partner with Australian Golf’s professional and amateur organisations across a wide range of assets.
The three-year partnership will focus on celebrating and growing the social side of golf, which continues its rapid growth throughout the country.
“This partnership is focused on recruiting new adult players to the game and breaking down barriers for those who may find golf intimidating,” said Oscar Barton, Senior Brand Manager of Southern Comfort.
“It’s also an exciting opportunity to bring Southern Comfort’s ‘King of Leisure Sports’ ethos to the national stage.
“If you can play with a can in hand then Southern Comfort will be there, celebrating easy going sports and good times with mates.
“This partnership offers fans across the nation looking for an oncourse refreshment or a round after their game the opportunity to reach for a SoCo.”
As part of the programming, Southern Comfort Twilight Rounds will be coming to golf courses and facilities across the country this summer.
A perfect social mix of casual golf and refreshing drinks with friends, Southern Comfort Twilight Rounds will be accessible to players of all skill levels, offering a laidback golf experience where the focus is more on good times with friends and less on the scorecard.
From November through to March Twilight Rounds will be available at a variety of golf facilities, including golf courses, mini-golf centres, driving ranges and simulators.
Additional partnership programming will include Southern Comfort activations at Australian golf’s two major tournaments, the Fortinet Australian PGA Championship and the ISPS HANDA Australian Open.
The “Southern Comfort Party Shack” will be located on the liveliest and noisiest hole on the PGA Tour of Australasia, the PGA Championship’s Party Hole at Royal Queensland, which takes place from November 23-26.
Whilst at the Australian Open, Southern Comfort will a roaming activation at The Australian Golf Club.
PGA of Australia Commercial Director Michael McDonald said: “We are excited to have Southern Comfort become part of Australian Golf through a variety of fan-focussed collaborations.
“Twilight Rounds will be open to all and less structured than traditional golf events and will embody the fun, casual side of golf which is increasingly attractive to our newer golf-loving audience.
“The addition of the Southern Comfort Party Shack to the PGA Championship will also further enhance the experience for fans on the party hole, which has doubled in size for 2023, and will offer eight different hospitality suites, new grandstand seating and a dedicated free public precinct.”
Golf Australian General Manager of Commercial Anthony Everard expanded further on the partnership: “Part of our Strategy for Australian Golf is to invite more golfers into the game and to create great golf experiences for everyone who participates.
“More than ever before, golf fans are seeing the game as a fun way to spend quality time with good mates, and that’s where Southern Comfort comes in.
“What they want to achieve perfectly aligns with this vision and we look forward to working with their team to bring their ideas to life.”
More information:
Southern Comfort Party Shack tickets link: https://premier.ticketek.com.au/shows/Show.aspx?sh=PGACLUB23
Follow Southern Comfort on Instagram: @southerncomfortau
Currently leading the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit, Lachlan Barker has a home game like few others at this week’s Webex Players Series South Australia. Given his childhood home sits just a chip shot across Gaffney Road from the 13th green at Willunga Golf Course. We asked Lachy to give us the local’s tour of the McLaren Vale region south of Adelaide.
For the first eight years of my life, I lived at a place called Christies Beach south of Adelaide.
The beach there is pretty spectacular. Witton Bluff is also a great spot to get photos of the coastline and has a walkway that locals and visitors love.
Our neighbour at Christies Beach used to hit golf balls into the net in his backyard. I’d pop my head over to see what he was doing and he’d invite me to come and hit a few.
We moved to Willunga when I was nine to a house just across the road from the golf course.
I didn’t start playing golf straight away; I was too busy riding my push bike with my mates from one end of town to the other.
Willunga was a great place to grow up. Having spent five years at college in America and travelled the last couple of years, I really appreciate the open space we have in Willunga. The freedom we had to move around town with no worries in the world.
That’s something that I now know that I took for granted.
We’d ride five or 10 kilometres to our mate’s place or go foraging in the bushes to find what we could. A country-style upbringing in Willunga was really cool.
When we were about 13, Ben Layton would come to my house – that’s us in the photo as juniors – and we’d jump the fence and go play holes at Willunga every night after school.
Occasionally Ben’s mum would play on a Tuesday and she’d be like, ‘Ben, I saw a patch of divots on the 13th. Isn’t that where you and Lachy go and practice?’ Ben would come over to me and say, ‘We’ve got to be careful with our divots.’
Now, I’d describe Willunga as a very organic town.
Our house shares a boundary with vineyards of one of the local wineries and our property used to be an old almond grove.
Willunga is most famous for its wines and its almonds. It used to be a big almond producer and every year we have the Willunga Almond Blossom Festival.
The McLaren Vale region is known around the world for the wines it produces but everyone in town is growing something and growing it in all the right ways.
The Willunga Farmers Market draws people down from Adelaide every Saturday where you can get everything from apples, local meats, honey, bread, every fruit and vegetable you can poke a stick at and even boutique products such as pate.
If you like your coffee, The Golden Fleece Café is our go-to and if you like something a bit stronger, there are three main pubs in town. Because they’re on the hill, the locals know them as the top pub, middle pub and bottom pub but they’re actually called the Old Bush Inn, the Willunga Hotel and the Alma Hotel.
I’ve got Haydn Barron, Lachy Armour and Josh Greer staying with me this week and I think they’re as excited as I am to have some home-cooked meals.
Mum is an excellent cook but her No.1 dish, in my eyes, is her duck risotto.
I also love any kind of steak and vegetables but I know the boys are looking forward to the duck risotto.
We might have to save that until Saturday night though; make them earn it.
As for the tournament itself, I know everyone at the club and all the members are pumped to have a Tour event at their home course.
I played with the course superintendent a couple of weeks ago and he has got the course looking amazing.
The greens aren’t going to be that quick but a great surface to putt on, just because there is a fair bit of slope. What people don’t realise that is that Willunga is at the base of the Adelaide Hills and there’s still a large influence. From afar it can look flat, but it’s actually on a bit of a slope.
That’s something to keep in mind for the boys who have never played there before; everything runs down the hill, and you might not catch that with your eyes.
It’s easy to put a lot of external pressure on myself, being at my home course, but I’m going to treat it just like any other week.
I’m sure there might be some external things that I’ll be doing away from golf but apart from that, it will be business as usual.
And hopefully a celebration at the clubhouse with the Willunga members on Sunday night.
The PGA Institute is now delivering a range of micro credentials at both the Diploma and Advanced Diploma level.
As the only Registered Training Organisation (RTO) in Australia dedicated to golf, the PGA Institute is dedicated to helping those in the golf industry to upskill and further their career progression.
The PGA Institute regularly liaises with experts to ensure that its curriculum reflects the best practice principles for the business, operational, and management side of the golf industry.
The new micro credentials, small courses in a specific area of study, have been curated from the full course catalogue offered at the PGA Institute, including Diploma of Golf Management, Diploma of Business, and Advanced Diploma of Leadership and Management.
While the PGA Institute already offers flexible study solutions, these new credentials take that a step further. With all options ranging from three to six months, and all under $1000, they are perfect for those who may be put off studying by time commitments and high costs.
Having been created with professional development at their core, these micro credentials are specifically targeted at those who are already in the golf industry looking to build their skills.
In only a few months, employees can take their career to the next level by having these credentials under their belt.
These new micro credentials also allow students to choose a study option that specifically caters to their needs, a particular area they wish to upskill in. This is also designed for clubs and places to play facilities to identify areas of their business where they may benefit from helping staff undertake these short courses.
A full list of the new micro credentials is below:
Diploma Level Micro Credentials
Advanced Diploma Level Micro Credentials
To find out more about the micro credentials click here.
To find out more about the PGA Institute itself click here.
Finlay Bellingham left it late to make his tee time and then did the same down the stretch to earn a share of victory at the Anglesea Golf Club Pro-Am.
A superbly twisting, undulating layout on the Bellarine Peninsula, Anglesea only allowed five players under par on Tuesday, Bellingham taking a break from his day job as the Head Teaching Professional at Keysborough Golf Club to finish on top with Ryan Haywood and Michael Choi.
Encouraged by his playing partners to finish eagle-eagle to steal victory, Bellingham did the next best thing.
He lipped out for eagle on his way to a birdie at the par-5 18th and then eagled the par-5 first to join Haywood and Choi at 2-under 71.
“I actually lipped out on the eagle putt on 18 but then holed the eagle putt on the first which was nice,” said Bellingham.
Haywood and Choi both had five birdies and three bogeys in their respective rounds of 71, Choi bouncing back after a bogey on 17 to birdie the last and finish tied at the top.
HOW THE WINNING ROUND UNFOLDED
Despite having to make the trip from Keysborough to Anglesea on the morning of the tournament, Bellingham made a bright start of his round.
He birdied the par-5 second to kick things off but gave it back at the very next hole.
Birdies at eight and nine saw him make the turn in 2-under but his hopes took a hit when he followed a double-bogey at the par-5 12th with another dropped shot at the par-3 13th.
Yet, after four straight pars and the suggested finish of those in his group, Bellingham conjured what he needed to claim his first win on the adidas PGA Pro-Am Series.
WHAT THE WINNER SAID
“I came straight here from work over at Keysborough. Left there at 10.30 so I was cutting it fine.
“Had a few practice putts and got on to the first tee. Had a birdie on the first, bogeyed the next, got it to 2-under and was pretty solid.
“Made double-bogey on a par-5 which was unfortunate but finished birdie-eagle on my last three holes which got me the win.
“I was looking at the scores and I said to my playing partners that I probably needed birdie-eagle here. They said, ‘Why not just go eagle-eagle?’”
LEADERBOARD RUNDOWN
T1 Ryan Haywood 71
T1 Michael Choi 71
T1 Finlay Bellingham 71
T4 Dylan Higgins 72
T4 Darren Bowman 72
NEXT UP
There is now a short break before the adidas PGA Pro-Am Series resumes on November 3 with the Gorilla Ladders Box Hill Golf Club Pro-Am.
The Webex Players Series is back for 2023/24 and it’s time to welcome a new event at a new location for both the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia and the WPGA Tour of Australasia.
Webex Players Series South Australia hosted by Greg Blewett will be the first of five events this summer where our men and women are on the same course playing for the same title and prizemoney.
It’s the first time a professional mixed gender tournament has been played in SA.
Hosting the Tours for the first time is the Willunga Golf Course, a picturesque council-owned public course, 40 minutes south of Adelaide’s CBD, in the famous McLaren Vale wine region with vineyards adjacent to a number of holes on the back nine and a green fee for the public costs just $40.
The news that Willunga would host a pro event has already led to more rounds compared to what the course would usually expect at this time of year – and the exposure the par-70 layout will get this week is sure to attract even more golfers.
At 5555m for the men and 4845m for the women, it’s definitely on the short side for the professionals, but with well-presented kikuyu fairways bordered by eucalypt trees, irons from the tee will be the play more often than not.
The longest par-4 is the first hole, 391m for the men and 350m for the women, which plays slightly downhill, while the five par-3s vary in length from 115m/94m at the fifth through to 142m/125m at the third.
The par-5 17th stretches out to 548m/465m and could be a key factor in the finish.
TV TIMES
The final two rounds of Webex Players Series South Australia will be broadcast live on Fox Sports through Foxtel and Kayo Sports, with coverage to begin at 3.30pm on Saturday and 1.30pm Sunday AEDT.
HOW TO FOLLOW
For live scoring and the latest news visit www.pga.org.au. Exclusive content and tournament updates will also be posted regularly on the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia’s social media channels.
Instagram: @pgatouraus
Twitter: @PGAofAustralia
Facebook: @PGAofAustralia, @PGATourAus
Official hashtag: #WebexPlayersSeries
HOW TO WATCH
Catch the action of the third and final rounds on Saturday and Sunday, broadcast live, on Foxtel and Kayo Sports.
Round 3: Channel 507 – Saturday, 3.30pm-6.30pm AEDT
Round 4: Channel 503 – Sunday, 1.30pm-6.30pm AEDT
RECENT CHAMPIONS
New event
PRIZEMONEY
$200,000
COURSE RECORD
Men: Tom Bond (63)
Women: Ebony Riordan (72)
PLAYERS TO WATCH
– Lachlan Barker, Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit leader and Willunga local
– Deyen Lawson, winner last week on the Asian Development Tour
– Ben Eccles, 2023 WA PGA champion
– Robyn Choi, Epson Tour member
– Dani Vasquez, 2023 Australian Women’s Classic runner-up
Stuart Beament declared it the perfect course to earn his first PGA Legends Tour win after he broke 60 for the first time to win the Bondi Legends Pro-Am by one stroke.
The nine-hole Bondi Golf and Diggers Club layout is played twice for a total par of 56 and challenged the field of 40 in ways they are not normally accustomed.
The spectacular views, quirky golf holes and windy conditions made the course such a challenge that Beament’s score of 2-over 58 would prove good enough.
“It is the first win and if ever there was a course I was going to do it, this is the one,” said a delighted Beament.
“That’s actually the first time I’ve ever shot in the 50s and, if I was ever going to do it, this is the course I’m going to do it on where the par is 56.”
Beament finished one-stroke clear of a group of five players at 3-over.
HOW THE WINNING ROUND UNFOLDED
Playing alongside Guy Wall in the afternoon wave, Beament dropped shots at two of his opening three holes after starting from the third tee, including a bogey at the fifth, one of only two par-4s on the entire golf course.
After six straight pars a birdie at the par-3 13th would prove the difference, a lone bogey at 15 his only blemish for his remaining seven holes.
Although the scorecard would sour, Grahame Stinson made an extraordinary beginning to his round.
After making par at his opening hole – the par-3 second – Stinson made a hole-in-one at the par-3 third and then followed it up with a birdie ‘2’ at the fourth.
WHAT THE WINNER SAID
“It was one of the most amazing golf courses I’ve ever played.
“It’s amazing that you can shoot 2-over and win a pro-am. That obviously speaks to how difficult the conditions were.
“It’s a course that requires a lot of imagination and a lot of luck.
“Lot of up-and-downs today. I had an up-and-down with a 3-wood on the third-last hole, I had an up-and-down with a lob wedge on the second-last hole.
“I putted pretty well and had a lot of very lucky kicks.”
LEADERBOARD RUNDOWN
1 Stuart Beament 58
T2 Simon Jagot 59
T2 Terry Price 59
T2 Ben Jackson 59
T2 Simon Tooman 59
T2 Martin Peterson 59
NEXT UP
Beament has been drawn to play in the morning field for the $25,000 Fidelity Capital Group Charity Legends Pro-Am at Springwood Country Club on Thursday, October 19.
The “worst tee shot I could possibly hit” somehow provided the spark that Adam Henwood needed to claim victory at the The Links Shell Cove Legends Pro-Am.
The Links Shell Cove south of Wollongong was making its debut on the PGA Legends Tour with players raving not only about the quality of the golf course but the facility as a whole.
The windswept layout would see just three players break par for the day, Henwood’s 3-under 68 securing a two-shot win from Mark McFadden (70) and John Onions (70).
HOW THE WINNING ROUND UNFOLDED
Starting his round from the sixth tee in the morning wave, Henwood was even par through 12 holes as he mixed three birdies in with three bogeys.
Henwood was disgusted with the tee shot he hit at the par-5 18th yet after a stroke of luck was able to salvage a birdie.
He backed that up with an eagle at the par-5 first and then, after a bogey at the par-3 third, finished his round with a birdie at the short par-4 fifth to close out a two-shot win.
WHAT THE WINNER SAID
“I finished pretty strong. I didn’t have a great start – was having a few jiggles here and there and a few extra putts, couple of poor chips.
“I hit probably the worst tee shot I could possibly hit off one hole and got away with it unbelievably and made a birdie.
“I chucked a quick eagle in on the next and then a birdie on the one after that and all of a sudden I was looking not too bad.
“This place is amazing. Incredible property and a great golf course although it was pretty tough out there today.
“It was just one of those days. It was tough, it was a grind and I ground it out pretty well.”
LEADERBOARD RUNDOWN
1 Adam Henwood 68
T2 Mark McFadden 70
T2 John Onions 70
T4 Grahame Stinson 71
T4 Paul Powell 71
T4 David Diaz 71
T4 Robert Mitchell 71
T4 Lucas Bates 71
T4 Scott Ford 71
NEXT UP
Henwood is among a strong field that will next contest the $25,000 Fidelity Capital Group Charity Legends Pro-Am at Springwood Country Club on Thursday, October 19.
In Japan for this week’s PGA TOUR ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP on a sponsor’s exemption, Min Woo Lee has been announced as the latest player on the roster of the TGL presented by SoFi.
A collaboration with the PGA TOUR, TGL is an innovative golf league mixing advanced technology and live action, with Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy among its creators.
Launching in January 2024 with a 15-match regular season then finals, Lee, who won last week on the Asian Tour at the SJM Macao Open, joins the likes of major winners Jon Rahm, Justin Thomas, Justin Rose, Collin Morikawa and compatriot Adam Scott on the TGL roster.
“It’s going to be a team game, I’m not sure what team I am going to be on, I am excited for that,” Lee told Australian media.
“It’s going to be special, you can see that roster, obviously with Tiger and Rory, and most of the top players in the world, which is really awesome. I’m really excited for that; I hope I can show out and play some of my best golf there.”
There will be six teams, featuring 24 players, with four announced to date – New York, Los Angeles Golf Club, Atlanta Drive GC and Boston – and investors include Serena and Venus Williams, Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Fenway Sports Group.
Lee’s place amongst the big name players and in the highly anticipated new league yet another sign of his rising star in world golf.
The West Australian is set to play full-time on the PGA TOUR in 2024, from a likely Las Vegas base, after securing status following his PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP and U.S. Open top-10s this year leading to Special Temporary Membership.
Marking his third professional win, his Asian Tour success last week was the first time the 25-year-old claimed a tournament as the top billed player.
“It’s not easy, there’s not many times where I was the top player in the tournament, there is only a few times that it has happened, but I guess I just learnt from the Aussie events to not get too far ahead of myself,” Lee said.
“I felt like it could come easier, but in a case it came even harder, so I felt like I had to chill out and take a deep breath and in Macao last week, there was a lot of pressure. But the only thing I could do is handle the things I could have done. I just try to do the best I can, and it worked out.”
That is a feeling he will experience again as one of the announced players for the Fortinet Australian PGA Championship and ISPS HANDA Australian Open on the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia. Lee also recently announced as co-host with sister Minjee of the newest Webex Players Series event at their home club of Royal Fremantle in early 2025.
“I feel like Royal Fremantle you can go low, but for four days in a row, it’s pretty darn good,” he joked when asked about repeating last week’s 30-under-par total at the ZOZO.
“If I could do that most of the time, I would be probably the No.1 player in the world.”
Lee will have plenty of company in that class of player in the TGL and on the PGA TOUR, with a stated goal for 2024 of making his first Presidents Cup team. A goal he says was heightened watching the recent Ryder Cup in Italy.
The match play format of that event, and the TGL which sees three players of each team in a match play format over two hours at a purpose-built venue called SoFi Centre in Florida suiting the World No.45 perfectly.
“It seems like everyone and then there’s me,” Lee said of the TGL.
“These guys, obviously major champions and best in the world. I guess a bit of my fun personality and hopefully I can play some good golf there, too. I really like that, like type of format, team event.”
The Australian Golf Industry Council (AGIC) has today unveiled a report that reveals golf provides $3.3 billion in total annual benefits to the Australian community, economy and environment.
The 2023 Community Benefits of Golf in Australia report was commissioned by the AGIC, comprising the key national bodies of the golf industry in Australia, including the PGA of Australia, Golf Australia and the WPGA Tour of Australasia,
It was conducted by SGS Economics & Planning and details the wide-ranging and sizeable benefits of golf through quantified data and a robust methodology.
Headlining the report’s findings are the $3.3 billion in total annual benefits of golf; the growing and deepening participation in all forms of golf; and golf’s estimated annual household expenditure of $10.3 billion.
It also shows that 37 percent of adult Australians – a total of 7.23 million people – say they have visited a golf facility as a non-player.
The health benefits of golf are highlighted by the fact Australian golfers walk 280 million kilometres annually, or the equivalent to more than 7000 laps between the Earth and our moon.
On-course golfers are also happier than those who don’t get outdoors to play the game, rating 7.1 percent higher in subjective health and wellbeing compared to non-round golfers.
“Golf is big, it is different and it is changing, and this report quantifies that statement while providing the necessary, and enlightening, data to help change the perception of golf,” WPGA Tour of Australasia CEO and AGIC Chair Karen Lunn said.
“Golfers are happier and healthier because of this great game, and they are providing significant benefits to their communities and the wider Australian economy and environment through their participation.”
The benefits outlined in the report are partly created by the 3.5 million Australians who play a form of golf – 2.2 million on course, 1.3 million off course – across 1603 places to play around Australia.
These numbers make golf one of the country’s largest participation sports.
Golf’s contribution to the Australian economy is valued at $394 million for businesses and $122 million for industry workers, while the best example of sport’s huge economic impact is the $336 million of benefits provided via golf tourism.
Annually, 1.6 million domestic overnight trips are made by Australians, and another 150,000 international tourists visit, for the purpose of golf, with their spending covering items such as green fees, food, accommodation, and transportation.
“We know golf is huge in Australia and this report provides all the evidence,” PGA of Australia CEO Gavin Kirkman said.
“For the PGA, golf is a sport that provides a livelihood to our members through employment and running businesses where customer experience is of the highest priority.
“But golf is much more than that as this report explains – its social benefits, health benefits and environmental benefits are enormous.”
The report shows an additional 166,000 Australians would be considered physically inactive without golf, saving the health system $49 million, and the physical health benefits for all golfers total $423 million.
Meanwhile, through the physical exercise, social interaction and time in natural landscapes, the annual mental health benefit derived from golf is calculated at $439 million.
“The health benefits of golf are well established, including reduced risk factors for several chronic illnesses. This report adds to other academic research with detailed findings on just how beneficial golf is to the Australian community,” Golf Australia CEO James Sutherland said.
“Golf is different and getting bigger, and with this data showcasing its benefits we hope this continues to encourage more people to engage with our sport, experience our places to play and experience improved health and wellbeing.”
Like every element of society, a key focus for golf in the current day and moving forward is how the game interacts with and helps the environment.
The Community Benefits of Golf in Australia report details an annual environmental benefit of $890 million created by golf.
These benefits include water filtration and purification, flood and stormwater protection, carbon sequestration, urban cooling and significantly higher biodiversity than public parks.
Clearly outlining the significant detail of these benefits, and more, the Community Benefits of Golf in Australia is available at golf.org.au and it is hoped will serve as valuable resource to the industry and reference point for broader conversations about golf and its place and value in for Australian community.
“This report has been a significant undertaking for the Australian Golf Industry Council and it will prove to be of high value moving forward,” Lunn said.
“Golf as a game, lifestyle and its facilities as community hubs, shares undeniable and substantial benefits to Australia and the details found in the report show that in a way and depth that has never previously been available.”
The Australian Golf Industry Council (AGIC) was established in 2006 as a group comprising the key national bodies of the golf industry in Australia, designed to work together for the common good of the game and the industry.
The AGIC includes representatives from PGA of Australia, Golf Australia, WPGA Tour of Australasia, Australian Sports Turf Managers Association, Australian Sporting Goods Association, Golf Management Australia and Society of Australian Golf Course Architects.
South Australian Lachlan Barker will treat a rare home game like any other week on tour after climbing into the top spot on the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit.
Champion Ben Eccles was the big mover at the WA PGA Championship as the chase for Order of Merit points heats up, the 28-year-old Victorian climbing into third place with his five-stroke win in Kalgoorlie.
Victorious at the PNG Open in May, Barker was in the pack of those giving chase to Eccles in Sunday’s final round, shooting 2-under 70 to finish tied for third with New Zealand’s Kit Bittle.
Earning 61 Order of Merit points saw Barker leapfrog both Daniel Gale and Simon Hawkes into first spot ahead of this week’s latest addition to the Webex Players Series, the Webex Players Series South Australia.
Host course this week, Willunga Golf Club, is across the road from Barker’s childhood home, providing the rare opportunity to sleep in his own bed, enjoy mum’s home-cooked meals and walk to the golf course each day.
But despite the unique circumstances, Barker is determined to stick to his routine and extend his advantage in the season-long points race.
“The way I’m going to go ahead and treat it is just like any other week,” Barker insisted.
“I’m sure there might be some external things that I’ll be doing away from golf but apart from that, treating it like every other week.
“Being in routine is when I play my best. Yes, it means a lot, I’m definitely in the points race and points mean a lot at this point but the way to get them is to do the same thing I do every week.
“If I go and treat it differently I don’t see myself getting the result I want.
“No added pressure, treat it like any other week, do my thing.”
Eccles’ sudden elevation into third bears a remarkable similarity to that of last year’s Order of Merit winner and fellow Kalgoorlie conqueror, David Micheluzzi.
After spending more than five years playing in Europe and a year split between the Asian Tour and PGA Tour of Australasia last year, Eccles was close to quitting altogether.
After earning his Australasian Tour card back in April, he and coach Grant Field made the Aussie summer his sole focus.
It yielded the ultimate result with a win that was eight years in the making and which has provided even greater clarity for what is to come.
“I can book all my travel now,” said Eccles, whose Q School category did not guarantee him starts in every event this summer.
“I may not have even gotten into the Australian Open and the Australian PGA and New Zealand Open but this changes a lot.
“It puts me in a position on the Order of Merit that I have wanted to be in for a while.”
The top three on the Order of Merit at the completion of the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia season earn cards on the DP World Tour in 2025. The winner of the Order of Merit also receives a spot in the field at The Open Championship.
Order of Merit through WA PGA Championship
1 Lachlan Barker 235.64 (4)
2 Simon Hawkes 196.21 (3)
3 Ben Eccles 194.42 (3)
4 Daniel Gale 190.00 (1)
5 Chris Crabtree 114.31 (3)
6 Haydn Barron 107.00 (2)
7 Jason Norris 89.00 (2)
7 Connor McKinney 89.00 (2)
9 Michael Wright 83.29 (4)
10 Andrew Campbell 80.58 (4)
Photo: Jarrod Lucas/PGA of Australia
