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Adam Henwood capitalised on a “bizarre” round that included an albatross and eagle in a three-hole stretch to capture the New Era Technology Easts Legends Charity Pro Am in Maitland.
A round of 5-under 66 gave the Victorian a one-shot margin in his second SParms PGA Legends Tour victory for 2023 following on from a win at The Stirling Golf Club in South Australia.
HOW THE WINNING ROUND UNFOLDED
Starting his day on the 12th hole, Henwood grabbed birdies in three of his first four holes but it was when he arrived at the 464m par-5 fourth that his round really came to life.
He holed his seven-wood second shot from 207m to a tight pin position for a rare albatross, then slipped up with a bogey on the fifth, before sensationally chipping in for a two after a long drive on the 305m par-4 sixth.
At one point, he’d just had just 16 putts in 13 holes.
A bogey on the final hole didn’t end up being costly.
WHAT THE WINNER SAID
“It was a comedy. It was a very strange round. I had an albatross and an eagle in a three-hole stretch,” Henwood said.
“I drove it like a champion but couldn’t get an iron anywhere near the green and had a couple of chip-ins as well.
“It was a bizarre round. I probably couldn’t play worse but I couldn’t drive it better and couldn’t chip better.
“It all added up to 66 and a win so I couldn’t be happier about it.”
LEADERBOARD RUNDOWN
-5: Adam Henwood
-4: Andre Stolz, Grahame Stinson, David Fearns
NEXT UP
The Legends are heading to the NSW Central Coast for the Wyong Legends Pro-Am at Wyong Golf Club tomorrow (Wednesday) followed by the Magenta Realty Legends Pro-Am at Magenta Shores on Thursday and the Shelley Beach Legends Pro-Am at Shelley Beach Golf Club on Friday.
It was a Sunday of seconds for Australian golfers competing around around the world, with a total of five runner-up finishes in tournaments in Asia and the United States.
Minjee Lee and Travis Smyth were second in Asia – Lee losing a playoff on the Korean LPGA Tour, while Smyth came close to repeating as champion on the Asian Tour at the Yeangder TPC in Chinese Taipei.
Curtis Luck produced his best showing of 2023 to end in a three-way tie for second in the Korn Ferry Tour event, the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Classic, to boost his chances of grabbing a PGA TOUR card, while Robyn Choi recorded a T2 in the Epson Tour’s Murphy USA El Dorado Shootout.
In the LIV Golf event in Chicago, Marc Leishman showed a return to form to finish equal second – his best LIV result – one shot behind America’s Bryson De Chambeau.
In the Hana Financial Group Championship, home star Lee Da-yeon outlasted Lee with a birdie on the third extra hole at Bear’s Best Cheongna Golf Club, forcing the world No.7 to settle for her second runner-up finish in the KRW1.5 billion event. Thailand’s Patty Tavatanakit was the first player to be eliminated during the three-way playoff at the par-four 18th after she posted a bogey.
The title might have been Lee’s on the next hole, but the West Australian missed a short par-putt to send the playoff to the third extra hole where Da-yeon ultimately prevailed with a superb 20-footer to claim her eighth title of her KLPGA Tour career.
Da Yeon, Lee, and Tavatanakit closed with 69, 70, and 68, respectively earlier in the day, finishing at the top of the leaderboard on matching eight-under-par 280 totals for the tournament.
Smyth was bidding to become the first player to successfully defend the Yeangder TPC title, but ended up falling three strokes short as Thailand’s Poom Saksansin triumphed on 24-under-par after closing with a 6-under 66 at the Linkou International Golf and Country Club.
Smyth finished with a bogey-free 67, while Douglas Klein was the next best Australian in a tie for ninth at 16-under.
“I love this place and I think this course likes me as well,” Smyth said.
“I hit in the trees a couple times and got some lucky kicks back into the fairway and that sort of thing.
“It’s funny, you know, because I came here before I won and I hated it. I played terrible.”
In Ohio, Luck climbed from 13th after the third round to a share of second place with a closing 67 to be four shots behind the winner, American Norman Xiong,
Luck’s next stop will be the season-ending Korn Ferry Tour Championship on October 5-8 where PGA TOUR cards will be awarded to the top 30 finishers on the end-of-season points list.
He has climbed to 47th position in the Korn Ferry standings, while fellow Aussie Rhein Gibson missed the cut in Ohio and dropped from 29th place to 36th. Brett Drewitt, who failed to qualify for the weekend play by a single shot, will come into the finale in 39th.
Robyn Choi’s runner-up finish in Arkansas lifted her to 16th place on the Epson Tour points standings, in sight of the top 10 who gain LPGA Tour cards at the end of the season, with two tournaments remaining.
In the LIV Golf event in Chicago, former Australian PGA champion Jed Morgan had a share of the lead after the first round of 5-under but fell away to a tie for 37th place.
Leishman, who shot 66, took second-place points via a better final-round score than Anirban Lahiri, who shot 69.
“Just really enjoying the golf at the moment,” Leishman said. “Happy with the week.”
DP World Tour
Cazoo Open de France
Le Golf National, Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, France
1 Ryo Hisatsune (JPN) 66-69-69-66—270 €518,780.37
T64 Min Woo Lee 69-69-78-75—291 €7781.71
MC Ryan Fox (NZ) 75-68
MC Daniel Hillier (NZ) 72-71
MC Blake Windred 74-76
Asian Tour
Yeangder TPC
Linkou International Golf and Country Club, Chinese Taipei
1 Poom Saksansin (THA) 68-66-64-66—264 $US135,000
2 Travis Smyth 65-67-68-67—267 $82,500
T9 Douglas Klein 69-68-67-68—272 $14,487.50
T27 Jack Thompson 67-66-70-75—278 $6600
T43 Terry Pilkadaris 71-70-72-68—281 $4181.25
T47 Josh Younger 66-71-74-71—282 $3675
65 Tom Power-Horan 68-71-76-73—288 $2100
MC Kevin Yuan 73-69
MC Jack Murdoch 72-71
WD Nick Voke (NZ) 73
Japan Golf Tour
Panasonic Open Golf Championship
Onotoyo Golf Club, Hyogo
1 Tomoharu Otsuki 69-66-67-66—268 ¥20,000,000
T34 Adam Bland 68-72-70-71—281 ¥540,000
MC Dylan Perry 69-74
MC Andrew Evans 72-72
MC Brad Kennedy 74-70
MC Brendan Jones 74-72
Korean LPGA Tour
Hana Financial Group Championship
Bear’s Best Cheongna, Incheon
1 Lee Da-yeon (KOR) 280
T2 Minjee Lee 280
Korn Ferry Tour
Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship
Ohio State University Golf Club (Scarlet Cse), Columbus, Ohio
1 Norman Xiong (USA) 69-67-71-67—274 $US270,000
T2 Curtis Luck 72-70-70-65—278
MC Brett Drewitt 74-72
MC Rhein Gibson 74-76
MC Dimi Papadatos 77-75
Epson Tour
Murphy USA El Dorado Shootout
Mystic Creek Golf Club, El Dorado, Arkansas
1 Natasha Andrea Oon (MYS) 67-70-69—206
T2 Robyn Choi 67-73-69—209
T47 Hira Naveed 75-73-74—222
MC Cassie Porter 73-77
DQ Amelia Garvey 72-81
Champions Tour
PURE Insurance Championship
Pebble Beach Golf Links, Monterey Peninsula, California
1 Thongchai Jaidee (THA)70-65-67—202 US$345,000
T5 Steven Alker 68-69-70—207
T11 Rod Pampling 70-70-70—210
T35 Mark Hensby 72-73-71—216
T41 John Senden 70-71-76—217
T41 Richard Green 68-78-71—217
MC Stuart Appleby 76-72
MC David McKenzie 76-76
Australia has completed an undefeated final day to claim the Four Nations Cup for the first time at Moonah Links on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula.
Trailing the PGA of South Africa team by just half a point through the opening two days, PGA of Australia captain Scott Laycock rallied his troops with a simple message on the eve of the final fourball matches: Win both and we can’t lose.
Facing the PGA of Australia International team for the third day of competition, TJ King and Jayden Cripps both recorded convincing wins in their singles matches as Laycock and Brad McLellan each grabbed half a point with halved matches.
With South Africa securing only 1.5 points in their morning singles against the PGA of New Zealand, that gave Australia a one-point lead moving into the afternoon fourballs.
Sticking with the same combinations that yielded two wins against New Zealand the day prior, Laycock and McLellan wrapped up a full point with a dominant 6&5 win over Lee Owens and Mostyn Farmer.
That put Australia two points ahead with three matches still on course, King and Cripps closing out a win for the home nation with a 2&1 win over David Tapping and Gavin Coyle.
The only member of the team who played 12 months ago in South Africa, King finished the week with five points from six matches and is now undefeated in six singles matches across both stagings of the Four Nations Cup.
“It’s hard to say but it feels pretty cool. Bloody cool,” said King, who sealed the win with a par putt on the 17th hole.
“Especially after last year and coming up one short… but to do it with these boys, this week is just unreal.
“We knew we had to come out and win convincingly and to not lose a match on the last day is pretty special.”
After completing their victory, Laycock and McLellan joined King and Cripps on the 12th hole to lend moral support for the final stretch.
Two holes earlier, it was Cripps who delivered the putt that turned momentum the way of the home side.
“We were square through nine holes and on 10 Jayden holed a 10-foot par putt to keep it square,” said King.
“We really rode off the back of that. Won 12 and then a couple more holes straight after that so that was definitely the change in momentum right there.
“You can build just as much momentum from halving a hole as you can from winning a hole with a birdie.
“That definitely worked for us.”
With the see-sawing nature of the match ahead, South Africa held out hope heading into the back nine of their matches against New Zealand that they could draw level on the points tally with two wins of their own.
They needed King and Cripps to win only half a point to be a chance but ultimately lost both of their matches to finish third, New Zealand surging into second spot with a 4.5-point haul on the final day.
The focus now for King turns to the PGA Professionals National Championship at The Heritage Golf and Country Club from October 17-19 and a top-two finish that would earn a third Four Nations Cup berth.
Final standings Total W H L
Australia 12.5 11 3 4
New Zealand 11.0 10 2 6
South Africa 9.5 9 1 8
Australia International 3.0 2 2 14
Caption: The victorious PGA of Australia team of Jayden Cripps, TJ King, Scott Laycock and Brad McLellan. Photo: Monica Marchesani
Aussie pair Rhein Gibson and Brett Drewitt have two weeks to lock up 2024 PGA TOUR cards as the race for the Korn Ferry Tour’s top 30 approaches its climax.
Gibson, Drewitt, Curtis Luck and Dimi Papadatos are all in the field for this week’s Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship in Ohio, a tournament that Luck won three years ago.
The third of four Korn Ferry Tour Finals events, there are implications for every player in the field.
The top 30 at the completion of the Korn Ferry Tour Championship in two weeks’ time earn PGA TOUR status for next year, an increase on 25 from past years.
With two events left to play, Gibson is in 29th position while Drewitt is 32nd on 746.624 points, less than eight points behind 30th-placed Wilson Furr.
When he was victorious at the Astara Golf Championship in Colombia in February, Gibson moved to third on the season-long points list.
He solidified that position with a tie for 10th two months later at the Astara Chile Classic but has had just two top-10 finishes since, the most recent a tie for 10th at the NV5 Invitational in July.
Drewitt’s position has also slid since his blistering start to the season.
The New South Welshman had four top-four finishes in his first six starts of the year, his best a second-place finish at the Veritex Bank Championship in April.
He has missed 15 of 17 cuts since, however, with a best finish in that time a tie for 47th at the Visit Knoxville Open.
For Luck and Papadatos, the immediate concern is to lock in their status on the Korn Ferry Tour in 2024.
The top 75 at the end of this week advance to the Tour Championship and secure full status for 2024, Luck (61st) and Papadatos (64th) seemingly comfortably inside that number.
Elsewhere this week, Travis Smyth defends his Yeangder TPC title on the Asian Tour, Minjee Lee is chasing a maiden win on the Korean LPGA Tour at the Hana Financial Group Championship and six Aussies are teeing it up at Pebble Beach for the PURE Insurance Championship on the Champions Tour.
For Smyth, the return to Linkou International Golf and Country Club sees fond memories accompany a strong season to date.
The 28-year-old Sydneysider has six top-20s with a best finish third at the World City Championship in Hong Kong, a result that earned him a maiden start at The Open Championship at Royal Liverpool.
“All the memories of the win have come flooding back this week,” said Smyth.
“I played nine holes and remembered every shot I hit on the back nine in the final round last year.
“It’s really good to be back and have no lock down situation like last year. We are free to roam the city and go out to restaurants, so I am really looking forward to this week.
“It was a great boost to my confidence,” he said of his win last year.
“It did me a world of good. I have had a solid season; got off to good start in Saudi; I have played solid in The International Series; I played my first Major this year, thanks to the Hong Kong event; had a bunch of top 10s and a lot of solid play. I am happy with where the game is at.”
Runner-up in 2021, Lee is out to make amends after missing the cut at the Hana Financial Group Championship a year ago.
It is the fourth time she has played the event which comes with the added pressure of being sponsored by one of her personal sponsors.
“There’s going to be extra pressure as you always want to win a tournament where your sponsor is involved,” said Lee, who won her ninth LPGA Tour title a fortnight ago at the Kroger Queen City Championship.
“As a LPGA player, we do not have too many opportunities to play and have a chance to win here in Korea.
“But having said that, the level of competition on the KLPGA is indeed very strong and it certainly measures up to the LPGA.
“As for myself, I’m coming in with a lot more confidence and I hope to show that winning form again this week.”
Round 1 tee times AEST
DP World Tour
Cazoo Open de France
Le Golf National, Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, France
4.20pm* Tom Kim, Ryan Fox (NZ), Guido Migliozzi
9.10pm Rasmus Hojgaard, Jorge Campillo, Daniel Hillier (NZ)
9.20pm Robert MacIntyre, Min Woo Lee, Victor Perez
9.20pm* Gunner Wiebe, Alfredo Garcia-Heredia, Blake Windred
Defending champion: Guido Migliozzi
Past Aussie winners: Greg Norman (1980), Robert Allenby (1996)
TV times: 9.30pm-2.30am Thursday on Fox Sports 503; Live 9.30pm-2.30am Friday on Fox Sports 507; Live 9.30pm-2am Saturday on Fox Sports 507; Live 9pm-2am Sunday on Fox Sports 507 and Kayo Sport.
Asian Tour
Yeangder TPC
Linkou International Golf and Country Club, Chinese Taipei
9.10am Suteepat Prateeptienchai, Alex Ching, Kevin Yuan
9.20am Jeev Milkha Singh, Terry Pilkadaris, Pawin Ingkhapradit
9.30am* Travis Smyth, Chan Shih-chang, Gaganjeet Bhullar
9.40am Natipong Srithong, Chen Yi-tong, Jack Thompson
10am Harrison Gilbert-Wong, Rahil Gangjee, Jaewoong Eom
10.20am KP Lin, Tom Power-Horan, Wang Wei-hsuan
1.45pm* Mardan Mamat, Huang Chi, Jack Murdoch
1.55pm* Josh Younger, Ben Leong, Kao Teng
2.25pm* Ajeetesh Sandhu, Chapchai Nirat, Ben Campbell (NZ)
2.45pm* Settee Prakongvech, Douglas Klein, Lin Yung-lung
2.55pm Dodge Kemmer, Lien Lu-sen, Nick Voke (NZ)
Defending champion: Travis Smyth
Aussie winners: Travis Smyth (2022)
Japan Golf Tour
Panasonic Open Golf Championship
Onotoyo Golf Club, Hyogo
8.35am Taiki Yoshida, Akio Sadakata, Brendan Jones
9.05am Shintaro Kobayashi, Yosuke Tsukada, Brad Kennedy
12.20pm* Aoki Takano, Shinji Tomimura, Andrew Evans
12.30pm Kota Kaneko, Ren Yonezawa, Adam Bland
1.40pm Dylan Perry, Kazuya Koura, Shiso Go
Defending champion: Taiga Semikawa
Past Aussie winners: Nil
Korean LPGA Tour
Hana Financial Group Championship
Bear’s Best Cheongna, Incheon
12pm Ye Won Lee, Ji Young Park, Lydia Ko (NZ)
12.10pm Su Ji Kim, Da Som Ma, Minjee Lee
Defending champion: Su Ji Kim
Past Aussie winners: Nil
TV times: Live 3pm-6pm Thursday on Fox Sports 503; Live 3pm-6pm Friday on Fox Sports 507; Live 2pm-5pm Saturday on Fox Sports 507; Live 2pm-5.30pm Sunday on Fox Sports 507 and Kayo Sport.
Korn Ferry Tour
Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship
Ohio State University Golf Club (Scarlet Cse), Columbus, Ohio
9.40pm* Roger Sloan, Nicholas Lindheim, Brett Drewitt
10.02pm* Rhein Gibson, Taylor Dickson, Chris Gotterup
2.20am* Chan Kim, Spencer Levin, Dimi Papadatos
2.42am Norman Xiong, Jared Wolfe, Curtis Luck
Defending champion: David Lingmerth
Past Aussie winners: Curtis Luck (2020)
TV times: Live 5am-8am Friday, Saturday, Sunday on Fox Sports 503; Live 5am-8am Monday on Fox Sports 505 and Kayo Sport.
Epson Tour
Murphy USA El Dorado Shootout
Mystic Creek Golf Club, El Dorado, Arkansas
10.52pm* Katherine Smith, Amelia Garvey (NZ), Nataliya Guseva
3.33am Cassie Porter, Minji Kang, Alana Uriell
3.44am Yue Ren, Kristen Gillman, Robyn Choi
3.44am* Hira Naveed, Natasha Andrea Oon, Pinyada Kuvanun
Defending champion: Britney Yada
Past Aussie winners: Hannah Green (2017)
Champions Tour
PURE Insurance Championship
Pebble Beach Golf Links, Monterey Peninsula, California
12.32am Mark Hensby, Wes Short Jr
12.54am* Ernie Els, John Senden
1.16am Richard Green, KJ Choi
1.49am* Steven Alker (NZ), Dan Forsman
5.06am Notah Begay III, Stuart Appleby
5.06am* Rod Pampling, David McKenzie
Defending champion: Steve Flesch
Past Aussie winners: Nil TV times: Live 8am-11am Saturday, Sunday on Fox Sports 503; 1pm-2.30pm Monday on Fox Sports 505 and Kayo Sport.
Both Ryan Fox (NZ) and Scott Hend produced sparkling back nines to claim victories on the DP World Tour and European Legends Tour respectively.
Fox shrugged off an early triple-bogey in the final round to claim an emotional BMW PGA Championship triumph at the storied Wentworth Club in London.
Two birdies to close out a front nine of 1-over 36 turned momentum his way, a final birdie on the 72nd hole completing a back nine of 6-under 31, a final round of 5-under 67 and a one-stroke win from Englishmen Aaron Rai (68) and Tyrrell Hatton (66).
“I’m immensely proud,” said Fox, who had wife Anneke and daughters Isobel and Margot present to help celebrate.
“It’s such an iconic tournament. I know Michael Campbell has won around here when it was the match play event and to add to that history here and create some of my own is very special.
Scott Hend, in his Legends Tour debut, launched an extraordinary back nine charge to win the WINSTONgolf Senior Open in Germany.
One-over through the first four holes of the final round to find himself five back, it looked unlikely that Hend would make it consecutive wins by Aussies on the back of Richard Green’s victory in 2022.
Six birdies in a row saw Hend climb up the leaderboard however, and just a month after turning 50, Hend’s final round of 6-under 66 and 10-under total ensured he started the next phase of his career in perfect fashion.
“I had some pretty high expectations coming out here and I knew the guys were very solid players”, he said.
“It’s a new start to the career at 50.”
Cam Davis had a solid week at the Fortinet Championship on the PGA Tour, finishing third. While Kristalle Blum also had a strong week on the LET Access Tour in France, finishing tied-fifth.
PGA TOUR
Fortinet Championship
Silverado Resort (North Cse), Napa, California
1 Sahith Theegala 68-64-67-68—267 US$1,512,00.00
3 Cam Davis 68-68-65-70—271 US$579,600.00
T30 Lucas Herbert 63-75-71-72—281 US$42,532.00
MC Geoff Ogilvy 76-68
MC Harrison Endycott 70-74
MC Aaron Baddeley 73-73
MC Cameron Percy 70-76
MC Greg Chalmers 72-75
DP World Tour
BMW PGA Championship
Wentworth Club, Virginia Water, Surrey, England
1 Ryan Fox (NZ) 69-68-66-67—270 €1,435,857.57
T7 Adam Scott 71-69-67-68—275 €217,912.50
T14 Min Woo Lee 71-67-69-70—277 €121,625.58
T25 Jason Scrivener 68-73-70-68—279 €85,306.83
WD Daniel Hillier (NZ) 77
Japan Golf Tour
ANA Open
Sapporo Golf Club (Wanatsu Cse), Hokkaido
1 Hideto Tanihara 68-69-66-67—270 ¥20m
MC Andrew Evans 75-69—144
MC Adam Bland 73-75—148
MC Dylan Perry 72-80—152
WD Brendan Jones 77
Ladies European Tour
VP Bank Swiss Ladies Open
Golfpark Holzhäusern, Switzerland
1 Alexandra Forsterling 66-66-66—198 €45,000
T54 Kirsten Rudgeley 73-71-72—216 €1,032
MC Hanee Song (NZ) 72-74—146
MC Momoka Kobori (NZ) 71-75—146
Korn Ferry Tour
Simmons Bank Open for the Snedeker Foundation
The Grove, College Grove, Tennessee
1 Grayson Murray 68-67-70-66—271
T26 Curtis Luck 69-71-73-67—280
T63 Brett Drewitt 68-72-71-76—287
MC Rhein Gibson 75-70—145
MC Dimi Papadatos 76-80—155
Challenge Tour
Open de Portugal at Royal Óbidos
Royal Óbidos Spa & Golf Resort, Vau Óbidos, Portugal
1 Marco Penge 65-68-69-70—272 €40,000
MC Blake Windred 70-76—146
Epson Tour
Guardian Championship
Capitol Hill Golf Club, Prattville, Alabama
1 Cydney Clanton 63-68-68—199 $US30,000
T16 Robyn Choi 72-65-69—206 $3,004
T24 Cassie Porter 70-67-71—208 $2,133
T29 Amelia Garvey (NZ) 68-70-71—209 $1,756
T29 Hira Naveed 68-70-71—209 $1,756
LET Access Series
Hauts De France Pas De Calais Golf Open
Golf Saint Omer, France
1 Lejan Lewthwaite 71-69-68—208 €6,400
Won in sudden death playoff
T5 Kristalle Blum 71-67-72—210 €1,402
T7 Wenyung Keh (NZ) 72-73-66—211 €1,264
T17 Munchin Keh (NZ) 72-71-72—215 €686
MC Amy Walsh 75-78—153
Champions Tour
Sanford International
Minnehaha Country Club, Sioux Falls, South Dakota
1 Steve Stricker 62-66-66—194
T12 Richard Green 68-67-67—202
T18 Rod Pampling 67-68-68—203
T29 Stuart Appleby 66-67-72—205
T46 David McKenzie 66-71-71—208
T52 John Senden 67-74-68—209
Legends Tour
WINSTONgolf Senior Open
WINSTONgolf, Vorbeck
1 Scott Hend 70-70-66—206
T18 Michael Long 74-68-73—215
T36 Jason Norris 71-74-74—219
48 Peter Fowler 80-73-72—225
Australian Scott Hend launched an extraordinary back nine charge to win the WINSTONgolf Senior Open in his debut tournament on the Legends Tour in Europe.
One-over through the first four holes of the final round to find himself five back in Germany, it looked unlikely that Hend would make it consecutive wins by Aussies on the back of Richard Green’s victory in 2022.
Eight players had a genuine chance to lift the trophy over the final few holes but an incredible run of six birdies in a row got Hend over the line in dramatic fashion.
The Queenslander caught fire from the 12th hole to stand on the par-5 18th tee with a one-shot lead from playing partner Phillip Archer.
Hend’s 15-foot birdie effort for seven straight grazed the edge of the hole, leaving Archer with an eight-footer to force a playoff.
The Englishman, who lost in a five-hole playoff to Green at WINSTONgolf last year, lipped out to once again fall agonisingly short.
His closing 67 contained just one dropped shot and six birdies, although only one of those came on the back nine at the 12th.
Just a month after turning 50, Hend’s final round of 6-under 66 and 10-under total ensured he started the next phase of his career in perfect fashion.
“To win on any Tour is great” Hend said.
“I had some pretty high expectations coming out here and I knew the guys were very solid players.
“Unfortunate for Phillip to miss that putt on the last green not to have a playoff, but it feels great to get a win under the belt.
“It’s a new start to the career at 50.”
As is often the case when a player enjoys a hot streak such as Hend experienced late on Sunday, it was the putter that proved the difference, Hend effectively predicting what was to come.
“I didn’t look at the leaderboards until the 12th tee and I said to my caddie, ‘We’ve got to pretty much birdie in to have a chance here,’” said Hend.
“Fortunately enough, we came close to that and it was good enough to get over the line.
“For the first 45 holes or so I really didn’t hole any putts and the last seven holes I hit it inside 12 feet and made the putts.
“On 18 I got a bad lie of the tee shot and made a par unfortunately, but I can’t complain with six birdies in the last seven.”
Photo: Phil Inglis/Getty Images
Birdies at each of his final four holes has elevated Australian Cam Davis into a tie for second heading into the final round of the Fortinet Championship in California.
A PGA TOUR winner two years ago at the Rocket Mortgage Classic in Detroit, Davis fired a 7-under 65 at Silverado Resort to trail American Sahith Theegala by two strokes with one round left to play, level with Justin Thomas (65), Matt Kuchar (65) and SH Kim (69) at 15-under par.
Tied for sixth through 36 holes after consecutive rounds of 4-under 68, Davis was holding his spot inside the top 10 before unleashing a late charge up the leaderboard.
A birdie from 12 feet at the par-4 sixth was Davis’s only birdie of the front nine but he began the back nine in style, almost holing his wedge shot into the par-4 10th, tapping in from just four inches to move to 2-under.
His stellar wedge play continued when he hit his approach from 84 yards inside three feet at the par-4 13th but that would be just a taste of what was to come.
The 2017 Australian Open champion two-putted for birdie from 36 feet at the par-5 15th, holed a 15-footer for birdie on 16, hit his tee shot to eight feet to set up birdie at the par-3 17th and got up-and-down from the greenside bunker for a final birdie at the par-5 18th and a back nine of 6-under 31.
Having played his way into the second-to-last event of the FedEx Cup Playoffs with three consecutive top-10s, Davis is revelling the opportunity to play without pressure in the relaxed California vibe.
“If I was fighting for position for next year still, it would be a very different mindset to what I’ve currently got,” Davis admitted.
“It’s nice playing with a little less stress on keeping your job and a little more focus on improving your game and working on some things that you’ve been working on behind the scenes.
“I just think the overall vibe for the tournament for me is a little more enjoyable than stressful, which it normally is for me.
“I love coming here, I love the weather right now, I love how the course is playing. It’s a really nice week.”
Round 1 leader Lucas Herbert bounced back from a 75 in Round 2 with a 71 on Saturday to sit in a tie for 28th in his first start back since The Open.
In his debut on the seniors circuit, Scott Hend is tied for third going into the final round of the WINSTONgolf Senior Open in Germany while Kiwi Ryan Fox is three shots from the lead and in a tie for fourth at the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth.
Seven birdies and an eagle in his round of 5-under 67 elevated Adam Scott into a tie for 17th through three rounds, tied with Min Woo Lee as best Australian at 9-under par.
Photo: Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images
Melbourne’s Caleb Bovalina has cashed a winner’s cheque in his first start on the adidas PGA Pro-Am Series, edging out Jak Carter at the first playoff hole at the Murray Bridge Pro-Am.
One back of Carter and PNG Open champion Lachlan Barker at the start of the second round at Murray Bridge Golf Club, Bovalina needed to produce something special to force the tournament to extra holes.
After back-to-back bogeys at 12 and 13, Bovalina got back to within one with a birdie at the par-3 14th but took until the final hole to draw level, draining a lengthy birdie putt on 18 for a round of 1-under 67 to tie Carter at 1-under for 36 holes.
His flatstick again came to the fore at the first extra hole, sealing a maiden pro-am victory with yet another birdie on 18.
Hailing originally from Cobram on the Murray River but now based out of Commonwealth Golf Club, Bovalina was somewhat stunned to have won in his very first attempt.
“I’ve had a pretty cool week. First time here and played some solid golf,” said Bovalina, the first player to win a pro-am on debut since Lawry Flynn at Maroochy River Golf Club in 2021.
“I had my ups and downs – I made a couple of silly bogeys this afternoon – but a nice putt on 18 to get into the playoff and then a nice one to win.
“I only turned pro four months ago at Q School and this is actually the first pro-am that I’ve played.
“This will always sit pretty high up.”
Bovalina turned professional after obtaining status on the PGA Tour of Australasia at Q School at Moonah Links in April.
He teed it up at the recent DP World Tour First Stage of Qualifying School at Rosebud Country Club and felt right at home at Murray Bridge.
“I love playing country tracks. It tends to suit me quite well,” he added.
“I tend to hit it quite straight so I knew that would be at a premium this week.
“The greens were fantastic. I’m used to playing on fast greens so touch was vital around here.”
Bovalina will next head to Western Australia in the first week of October to attempt to pre-qualify for the WA Open and has entered the WA PGA Championship at Kalgoorlie.
Close friends Carter (68) and Barker (69) finished second and third respectively with Peter Cooke (68) and Anthony Choat (68) rounding out the top five.
Victorian Mark Boulton had to endure an afternoon of fingernail nibbling before claiming a fourth PGA Legends Tour win at the Watsons Leisure Centre Legends Classic at Coffs Harbour Golf Club.
Coffs Harbour members and sponsors went all out as they welcomed the Legends Tour to their course for the first time, the warmth of the reception matched by the presentation of the golf course.
A rookie with three wins to his name already, Boulton posted 3-under 67 in the morning wave and then had to wait. And wait. And wait.
In a field boasting greats of Australian golf such as Lonard, Mike Harwood and Terry Price, Boulton held little hope that his round of five birdies and two bogeys would be enough by day’s end.
When Lonard got to 3-under through eight holes, Boulton’s hopes faded even further.
Yet the two-time Australian Open champion was unable to find the go-ahead birdie and when he dropped a shot three holes from home, the door opened for Boulton to snare win No.4 of the season.
“I’m stoked. I played pretty good but wasn’t sure whether that was going to be good enough,” Boulton conceded.
After two weeks in Papua New Guinea playing in vastly different conditions, Boulton revelled in the condition of the Coffs Harbour layout, finding the quick greens very much to his liking.
“Total contrast,” Boulton said of the change from PNG. “We had some wet conditions and then super dry conditions and then coming here, the conditions were just pure.
“It took some adjusting to the greens here but overall, this is how golf courses probably should be. It was impeccable, really enjoyed it.
“I was pretty conscious of how I putted today and it paid off by making five birdies. That was the clincher, I think.”
Lonard’s 2-under 68 was the only other score under par on Friday with Peter Jones (71) taking outright third after dropping three shots on his final two holes.
The PGA Legends Tour moves further north on the New South Wales North Coast to Yamba for the two-day Findex Yamba Legends Pro-Am starting Saturday.
Hervey Bay Associate Lachlan Wood has survived the marathon of 36-holes a day for four days to be crowned the 2023 Coca-Cola Pampling Plate champion.
Facing off against Indooroopilly first year Associate Dylan Knox in Thursday’s 36-hole final at Caboolture Golf Club, Wood stayed true to the game-plan that had served him well all week to triumph 3&2.
The lead changed hands on no less than six occasions throughout the final, Knox unable to get the putts he needed to drop to keep pace with Wood in the latter holes.
A winner of All Abilities tournaments in Australia and New Zealand and a two-time winner on the adidas PGA Pro-Am Series this year, Wood was doubtful to play as late as last week.
Forced to endure more than 30 operations after his left leg was shattered in 44 places in a car in which he was a passenger at 16 years of age, Wood cannot sustain the physical toll of 36 holes a day without a cart.
Granted an exemption to use a cart this week, Wood revealed that he would not have teed it up at the start of the week without it.
“I can possibly walk 36 holes, but it would ruin me for days,” said Wood, who was top 10 at the inaugural G4D Open in London earlier this year.
“I would be in so much pain, unable to work, unable to just do day-to-day life things after it. It just wouldn’t be worth it.
“That’s why I put in the exemption to get the cart with my injuries. They’re not getting any better, they’re only getting worse and for me this is the most feared event on the calendar to have to play.
“I was probably not playing this a week ago and now to be standing here with the trophy is a really good feeling.”
A daily routine that began at 4.30am each day put Wood in a position to compete, his strategy on the golf course ideally suited to the vagaries of matchplay.
“Pretty much against everyone I played I was hitting 7-irons when they were hitting wedges,” he said.
“I was hitting 2-irons off tees when they were hitting drivers. Here at Caboolture, that’s just what you’ve got to do. You’ve got to control your ball.
“Didn’t try to play anyone else’s game, just played my own game all day. And if it’s good enough, it’s good enough and if it’s not, it’s not.
“It worked this week.”
Making the trip from his home in Ipswich each day, Knox stayed in the fight for as long as possible before a frustrating day with the flatstick ultimately proved his undoing.
One-down through nine holes, Knox had the match back square after 18 and was 1 up with seven holes to play.
Wood then unleashed a superb finish to take four of the next five holes to secure the title with two holes to play.
“I just couldn’t get the speed today. They felt a little bit slower in some areas so maybe the wind influenced that a little bit,” said Knox.
“Lachy’s a good player so it was a tough one.
“We were going back and forth with a couple of birdies and a couple of par saves but I had a couple of bad lies and the wind started to pick up a bit. A couple of time I thought I’d picked the perfect club but it wasn’t, so that got in my head a little bit.
“I think the mental strain I’ve experienced doing this for the first time was tough.”
Now in its 19th year, Marge Pampling was on hand to present Wood with the Pampling Plate, Wood grateful for everything that Rod and the Pampling family have done to create such a prestigious tournament among PGA Associates.
“Huge thank you to Rod for what he has done for us,” said Wood.
“It’s an experience like no other. You learn more about yourself in this than in any other event because you get more tired, you get more exhausted, it brings the worst out in every single person to a degree.
“Trying to keep your lid on when you’re absolutely, physically exhausted is a whole skill in itself.
“This event has been designed really well and the prizemoney we get to play for is really appreciated.”
In the playoff for third and fourth, defending champion Dylan Gardner (Pelican Waters) edged Haydn Garner (Headland) 3&1.
