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He will join rare company when he tees it up in an all-Aussie pairing in Round 1 of the Fortinet Championship on Friday morning, but Aaron Baddeley is determined to look ahead.
Paired with Greg Chalmers and Geoff Ogilvy, the 42-year-old this week becomes just the sixth Australian to log 500 starts on the PGA TOUR, a list that Baddeley assumed would be longer.
With 565 appearances, Steve Elkington leads the way for Aussies in the USA, followed by Stuart Appleby (551), Jim Ferrier (528), Robert Allenby (525) and Bruce Crampton (513), Baddeley chalking up No.500 at Silverado Resort 23 years, six months and one week since his first at the 2000 Honda Classic.
It’s an extraordinary accomplishment that secures his place in PGA TOUR history, but a four-time winner who admits he has under-achieved on the golf course wants more.
Much more.
“I feel like a lot of my best years are ahead of me,” said Baddeley, who has been working with American instructor Mike Adams for the past two years.
“I feel like where my game is at, the simplicity of it is only going to get better.
“I’ve definitely got goals that I can still achieve – and this is not like a ‘wishy’ thing; I feel like it’s right there, ready to go.”
When Baddeley joined the PGA TOUR as a 21-year-old rookie ahead of the 2003 season, he was ready to go.
Already a two-time winner of the Australian Open, Baddeley had played 21 PGA TOUR events before obtaining his card via the secondary Korn Ferry Tour in 2002.
In his first start as a full member at the 2003 Sony Open, Baddeley lost in a playoff to reigning Open champion, Ernie Els, who made a 55-foot birdie putt at the second extra hole to deny the young Aussie.
“I felt like I knew a lot of the TOUR already because I’d been playing PGA TOUR events for three years so it didn’t feel like my first event, if that makes sense,” he recalled.
“When I got to Hawaii I was confident and ready to go play.
“I fully expected to beat Ernie on that last day, especially when he hit it left off the tee on 10. I was like, Oh, I’ve got a real chance here.
“And then he made that 50-footer… I still remember that.”
It would be three years before Baddeley became a PGA TOUR winner for the first time at the Verizon Heritage at Hilton Head, his most recent victory coming at the Barbasol Championship in July 2016.
For one who won his national Open as an 18-year-old amateur and turned professional to great fanfare, it is a somewhat underwhelming record until you consider life in its totality.
He and wife Richelle celebrated their 18th wedding anniversary this year and have six children, some of whom are stoking dad’s enthusiasm for the game with their own growing interest.
“I feel like I’ve under-achieved, definitely, with what I expected and the goals that I had set,” said Baddeley, who becomes just the 151st player in history to play 500 PGA TOUR events.
“Life-wise, I feel like I’ve exceeded all my expectations. My family, my kids, my wife – I couldn’t be more at peace and joyful off the golf course.
“Even now at 42, it’s never difficult for me to go out and practise and to grind and to try and get better.
“My boys love the game as well so I spend a lot of my time practising and playing with them at home.
“There are definitely some days where I think I’ll take the day off and then they’re like, ‘Dad, can we play nine holes?’ And I’m like, ‘Sure, let’s go.’
“It’s a lot of fun to be able to play and practise with them. It makes it easy to keep the fires stoked and wanting to get better.”
Baddeley is not the only Australian to chalk up a milestone this week.
After celebrating his 50th birthday last month Queenslander Scott Hend will make his debut in the senior ranks at the WINSTONgolf Senior Open on the Legends Tour, a tournament won last year by fellow Aussie Richard Green.
Green is in South Dakota for the Champions Tour’s Sanford International while Adam Scott, Min Woo Lee and Jason Scrivener are in London for the DP World Tour’s showpiece event, the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth.
Round 1 tee times AEST
PGA TOUR
Fortinet Championship
Silverado Resort (North Cse), Napa, California
12.06am* Ricky Barnes, Kevin Yu, Harrison Endycott
12.50am Lucas Herbert, Martin Laird, Andrew Landry
5.27am Aaron Baddeley, Greg Chalmers, Geoff Ogilvy
5.49am Nick Hardy, Mackenzie Hughes, Cam Davis
6.33am Cameron Percy, Robby Shelton, Vince Whaley
Defending champion: Max Homa
Past Aussie winners: Nil
TV times: Live 12am-11am Friday on Fox Sports 505; Live 7am-11am Friday on Fox Sports 503; Live 1.15am-8am Saturday on Fox Sports 505; Live 8am-11am Saturday, Sunday, Monday on Fox Sports 503.
DP World Tour
BMW PGA Championship
Wentworth Club, Virginia Water, Surrey, England
5.50pm Adam Scott, Tom Kim, Billy Horschel
6.40pm Daniel Hillier (NZ), Oliver Wilson, Grant Forrest
7pm Marc Warren, Victor Dubuisson, Jason Scrivener
10pm Ryan Fox (NZ), Min Woo Lee, Pablo Larrazabal
Defending champion: Shane Lowry
Past Aussie winners: Rodger Davis (1986), Mike Harwood (1990)
TV times: Live 5.30pm-3am Thursday, Friday; Live 5pm-3am Saturday; Live 5pm-2.30am Sunday on Fox Sports 503.
Japan Golf Tour
ANA Open
Sapporo Golf Club (Wanatsu Cse), Hokkaido
8.15am* Yoshiri Ishizuka, Tomofumi Ouchi, Dylan Perry
12.40pm Yasumasa Nagano, Mikumu Horikawa, Brendan Jones
1.20pm Taichi Kimura, Akio Sadakata, Adam Bland
1.30pm Atomu Shigenaga, Jigan Serizawa, Andrew Evans
Defending champion: Tomoharu Otsuki
Past Aussie winners: Graham Marsh (1979), Kurt Barnes (2011), Brendan Jones (2016)
Ladies European Tour
VP Bank Swiss Ladies Open
Golfpark Holzhäusern, Switzerland
5.17pm* Momoka Kobori (NZ), Amandeep Drall, Linda Osala
8.25pm* Louise Duncan, Kirsten Rudgeley, Marianne Skarpnord
9.09pm Hanee Song (NZ), Charlotte Liautier, Natalie Armbruester
Defending champion: Liz Young
Past Aussie winners: Nil
TV times: 1pm-3pm Saturday on Fox Sports 503; Live 11pm-2am Saturday on Fox Sports 505; 11am-1pm Monday.
Korn Ferry Tour
Simmons Bank Open for the Snedeker Foundation
The Grove, College Grove, Tennessee
10.06pm* Brett Drewitt, Wilson Furr, Cody Blick
10.27pm* Jeremy Paul, Joe Highsmith, Dimi Papadatos
10.38pm Grayson Murray, Curtis Luck, Quade Cummins
3.11am* Rhein Gibson, Kris Ventura, Xinjun Zhang
Defending champion: Brent Grant
Past Aussie winners: Cam Davis (2018)
TV times: Live 3am-7am Friday on Fox Sports 503; Live 3.30am-6am Saturday, Sunday, Monday on Fox Sports 503.
Challenge Tour
Open de Portugal at Royal Óbidos
Royal Óbidos Spa & Golf Resort, Vau Óbidos, Portugal
5.50pm* James Allan, Habebul Islam, Blake Windred
Defending champion: Pierre Pineau
Past Aussie winners: Dimi Papadatos (2018)
Epson Tour
Guardian Championship
Capitol Hill Golf Club, Prattville, Alabama
10.55pm Min A Yoon, Amelia Garvey (NZ), Pinyada Kuvanun
3.13am* Robyn Choi, Gigi Stoll, Savannah Vilaubi
3.24am* Clariss Guce, Cassie Porter, Yue Ren
3.35am* Hira Naveed, Kaitlyn Papp Budde, Alena Sharp
Defending champion: Maria Torres
Past Aussie winners: Nil
LET Access Series
Hauts De France Pas De Calais Golf Open
Golf Saint Omer, France
5.15pm Erika De Martini, Sara Berselli, Munchin Keh (NZ)
4.30pm* Tina Mazarino, Thalia Martin, Kristalle Blum
5.10pm* Wenyung Keh (NZ), Luisa Gudert, Martina Flori
5.30pm* Tia Teiniketo, Teresa Diez Moliner, Amy Walsh
Defending champion: Momoka Kobori
Past Aussie winners: Nil
Champions Tour
Sanford International
Minnehaha Country Club, Sioux Falls, South Dakota
1.54am Rod Pampling, Kirk Triplett, Scott McCarron
2.05am Paul Goydos, Stuart Appleby, David Duval
3.08am* David Branshaw, Dan Forsman, John Senden
3.39am* Richard Green, David McKenzie, Hank Kim
Defending champion: Steve Stricker
Past Aussie winners: Nil
TV times: Live 6am-8am Saturday, Sunday, Monday on Fox Sports 503.
Legends Tour
WINSTONgolf Senior Open
WINSTONgolf, Vorbeck
5pm Simon Khan, Peter Fowler
5.21pm Patrik Sjoland, Scott Hend
5.21pm* Elisabeth Esterl, Jason Norris
7.27pm* Michael Long (NZ), Joakim Haeggman
Defending champion: Richard Green
Past Aussie winners: Terry Price (2012), Richard Green (2022)
Two-time Australian Open champion Aaron Baddeley has declared his intention to return home and compete in this year’s ISPS HANDA Australian Open in Sydney.
Speaking on a media call this morning to mark his 500th PGA TOUR appearance at this week’s Fortinet Championship in California, Baddeley said he was looking forward to playing in the Open for the first time since 2016 when he finished in a tie for fourth behind the winner, American Jordan Speith.
This year’s event, from November 30 to December 3, will be played at The Australian and The Lakes golf clubs, just down the road from where an 18-year-old Baddeley burst onto the golf scene with his memorable win as an amateur in the 1999 Australian Open at Royal Sydney.
He backed up a year later, now as a professional, to successfully defend his title at Kingston Heath.
“I’m planning to come down and play the Australian Open,” Baddeley said today.
“I’m excited to get back, and it’s nice that it’s in December, so it’s past some of the fall events here.
“I’m excited to be coming back and playing.”
Baddeley enjoyed a career resurgence on the PGA TOUR in the 2022/23 season and will undoubtedly be a threat back home in Sydney.
Having been as high as 16 on the world rankings, and as low as 836 as recently as 2022, the 42-year-old, playing on a past winner’s exemption, picked up three top-10 finishes this year to earn a place in the FEDEX Cup Playoffs.
He is now ranked 224th in the world and will join an Australian Open field that already includes Cam Smith, Min Woo Lee and Lucas Herbert.
Baddeley will become only the sixth Australian to play 500 PGA TOUR events, joining Steve Elkington, Stuart Appleby, Jim Ferrier, Robert Allenby and Bruce Crampton.
A two-round total of 16-under par has seen Deyen Lawson defend his Border Open title by five strokes at cluBarham Golf and Sports Club in Barham.
A winner of the adidas PGA Pro-Am Series event in Deniliquin earlier in the week and runner-up to Aaron Wilkin at the recent Asian Development Tour in Vietnam, Lawson gave no one else a look in as he claimed the 66th edition of the Border Open.
A round of 9-under 64 on day one gave the Gold Coast-based Victorian a three-stroke lead heading into Round 2, matching the best score of the day with a 7-under 66 to win by five from rookie Nathan Page (66).
Lawson’s lone bogey of the tournament at the par-3 12th on Sunday briefly gave the chasing pack hope but he closed out a commanding title defence with three straight birdies from the 14th hole.
“To make three in a row when they were starting to push was really solid,” said Lawson.
“I hit a couple of good wedge shots into a foot and a couple of feet, which is one of the things I’ve been working hard on.
“I knew if I just kept playing solid and hit a couple of good wedge shots then I would be OK.”
With his WA Open championship defence less than a month away, Lawson is seeing the hard work he has done with coach Darrell Brown transfer to low scores and good results.
“That’s the thing with golf, when you do put the hard work in it doesn’t necessarily translate into results so it feels really good to go back-to-back,” he said.
“I’m more focused on the process more than anything. But obviously when you get good scores and results it makes the hard work worth it.”
Adding to the opportunity to shoot low scores, Lawson praised the presentation of the golf courses in both Deniliquin and Barham for rewarding good play.
“The condition of the courses is really good so you tend to score well if you play well,” he added.
“There are some really gettable par 5s so if you can get it going you can go quite low.”
The adidas PGA Pro-Am Series completes its Murray River run with the inaugural Murray Bridge Pro-Am over two days, starting Thursday.
Brad Burns had to wrangle a troublesome putter and a fast-finishing Scott Barr to complete a wire-to-wire win at the $80,000 Port Moresby Legends Classic in Papua New Guinea.
A six-stroke leader at the start of the final round, all signs pointed towards a Burns procession at Royal Port Moresby Golf Club.
A former four-time winner of the PGA Legends Tour Order of Merit, Burns discovered early that he would not have things all his own way.
After missing the PNG Senior Open a week prior, Barr applied pressure from the outset.
Two three-putts on the front nine kept Burns in check as Barr found birdies easy to come by but it was at the 14th hole where the tournament was almost turned on its head.
Barr’s chip-in moved him to 5-under on his round and when Burns three-putted again, the two-shot swing reduced the lead to just one.
A timely birdie at the par-5 15th increased Burns’s buffer and when Barr found the creek with his tee shot on 18, the winner was effectively decided.
“I just lagged the last putt up as close as I could so I wouldn’t three-putt again,” said Burns, whose 1-over 73 final round and 6-under total was enough for a three-stroke win.
“I’m over the moon.”
Tied for third at the PNG Senior Open a week ago, the win moves Burns ahead of Andre Stolz on the Order of Merit as he admitted to feeling the pressure of being the hunted on Sunday.
“I was a bit nervous actually,” Burns conceded.
“I had three three-putts on the day so I didn’t putt very well but Scotty has had a couple of chip-ins.
“He was 5-under after 14 and playing great but just wobbled a little bit coming home.”
Barr’s 2-under 70 was equal to the best of the day and secured outright second, four shots clear of Grahame Stinson (74) in third with Stolz (72), Murray Lott (74) and Brendan Chant (74) all tied for fourth.
The PGA Legends Tour returns to Australian shores this week for the inaugural Watson Leisure Centre Legends Classic at Coffs Harbour Golf Club on Friday.
Minjee Lee gave it her best guess and then played a brilliant approach at the second playoff hole to clinch the Kroger Queen City LPGA Championship in Cincinnati.
Leading by two at the start of the final round, Lee (71) saw a five-stroke lead evaporate under a back-nine charge by England’s Charley Hull (69), Lee having to hole a clutch par putt from five feet at the 72nd hole to extend the tournament to a playoff.
Hull very nearly holed an improbable birdie putt from beside the grandstands at the back of the green at the first playoff hole at Kenwood Country Club, Lee two-putting for a matching par to book a second additional trip down 18.
Lee and Hull both found the left rough with their tee shots and after Hull played her approach to just outside 10 feet to the right of the hole, Lee went to work.
Given the firmness of the fairway and the putting surface, the 27-year-old played a pitching wedge from 145 metres that skipped up, rolled out and came to rest just two feet from the hole.
“I had like 145 metres to the pin, but you have to land it like 25 yards short of the green because I was also coming out of the rough,” Lee explained in her winner’s press conference.
“You can’t really predict how far it’s going to run so it was just a guesstimate.
“I just was like, Oh, it’s probably going to run this much, so I just need to put it on a good line and it’ll probably just roll up there.
“It was just really trusting that it was going to come out the way I thought it was going to come out and that it was going to roll all the way to the pin.”
Chasing a ninth LPGA Tour title, Lee extended her advantage with birdies at the second, seventh and eighth holes on Sunday.
Her two at the par-3 eighth put her four strokes clear, a lead that would balloon to five with just eight holes to play.
A double-bogey at the par-5 12th gave Hull a sliver of hope, hope that she converted into a share of the lead with three straight birdies from the 14th hole.
Lee was unable to find the final birdie she needed to separate herself again but stayed in the fight long enough to earn a fifth career playoff appearance.
“After that putt (at the 72nd hole) I just told myself, Let’s go and win this one,” said Lee, who lost a playoff to Jin Young Ko at the Cognizant Founders Cup earlier in the season and is now 2-3 in playoffs in her career.
“Obviously at Founders with Jin Young, that playoff didn’t go my way so this one I really wanted to make it go my way.”
Queenslander Anthony Quayle narrowly missed out on the playoff needed to decide the winner at the Shinhan Donghae Open in Korea.
Tri-sanctioned by the Japan Golf Tour, Asian Tour and Korean PGA Tour, Quayle was one back at the start of the final round but was never able to bridge the gap.
A wayward second shot that forced Quayle (69) to take a drop led to a bogey at the par-5 13th yet the 29-year-old continued to push.
A superb approach from the rough at the par-4 15th went unrewarded, a closing birdie at the par-5 18th bringing Quayle up into a tie for third and two shots out of the playoff won by Guntaek Koh (68).
Kiwi Ryan Fox and Min Woo Lee both finished inside the top 10 at the Horizon Irish Open on the DP World Tour, Richard Green fired a Sunday 65 to finish tied for eighth at the Ascension Charity Classic on the Champions Tour and Amy Walsh and Kelsey Bennett logged top-10s at the LET Access Series Rose Ladies Open in England.
Results
LPGA Tour
Kroger Queen City Championship
Kenwood Country Club (Kendale Cse), Cincinnati, Ohio
1 Minjee Lee 67-69-65-71—272 $US300,000
T36 Gabriela Ruffels 69-69-74-72—284 $11,262
T41 Stephanie Kyriacou 71-72-73-69—285 $8,681
T41 Lydia Ko (NZ) 68-73-72-72—285 $8,681
T55 Sarah Kemp 72-71-73-71—287 $5,571
MC Grace Kim 71-75—146
MC Karis Davidson 77-71—148
MC Su Oh 76-75—151
DP World Tour
Horizon Irish Open
The K Club, Straffan, Co. Kildare, Ireland
1 Vincent Norrman 68-71-70-65—274 €951,046.98
T3 Ryan Fox (NZ) 71-69-66-70—276 €266,293.15
T7 Min Woo Lee 71-67-69-70—277 €129,566.17
T12 Daniel Hillier (NZ) 68-71-70-69—278 €88,531.29
T54 Jason Scrivener 69-68-76-71—284 €17,902.06
MC Adam Scott 73-70—143
Japan Golf Tour/Asian Tour/Korean PGA
Shinhan Donghae Open
Sky72 Country Club (Ocean Cse), Incheon, South Korea
1 Guntaek Koh 69-66-66-68—269 $US188,666.67
Won in sudden death playoff
T3 Anthony Quayle 65-70-67-69—271 $53,234.57
T19 Travis Smyth 70-69-67-69—275 $11,502.47
T25 Zach Murray 70-68-68-70—276 $9,307.41
T50 Brad Kennedy 70-68-70-72—280 $4,225.93
T50 Junseok Lee 67-72-72-69—280 $4,225.93
T72 Scott Hend 69-68-74-73—284 $2,022.22
81 Brendan Jones 71-70-74-75—290 $1,244.44
WD Won Joon Lee 67-70—137 $1,140.74
MC Todd Sinnott 71-71—142
MC Kevin Yuan 69-77—146
Ladies European Tour
Big Green Egg Open
Hilversumsche Golf Club, Netherlands
1 Trichat Cheenglab 69-68-67—204 €45,000
T11 Kirsten Rudgeley 68-70-71—209 €6,150
T50 Wenyung Keh (NZ) 77-67-73—217 €1,332
MC Hanee Song (NZ) 74-74—148
MC Momoka Kobori 80-70—150
Challenge Tour
Challenge de España
Club de Golf Playa Serena , Almería, Spain
1 Martin Couvra (a) 67-70-66-65—268 ——-
MC Blake Windred 70-73—143
PGA TOUR Canada
Fortinet Cup Championship
Country Hills Golf Club, Calgary, Alberta
1 Hayden Springer 66-62-67-67—262
59 Jason Hong 66-69-73-77—285
Epson Tour
Black Desert Resort Championship
Soldier Hollow Golf Club (Silver Cse), Salt Lake City, Utah
1 Nataliya Guseva 66-67-65—198 $US56,250
13 Robyn Choi 66-67-70—203 $6,551
T23 Cassie Porter 69-71-66—206 $3,951
T33 Hira Naveed 73-69-66—208 $2,754
T38 Amelia Garvey (NZ) 71-69-69—209 $2,184
Champions Tour
Ascension Charity Classic
Norwood Hills Country Club, St Louis, Missouri
1 Steve Flesch 66-66-62—194 $US300,000
T8 Richard Green 68-69-65—202 $60,000
T23 Mark Hensby 70-72-65—207 $19,600
T33 Rod Pampling 71-67-71—209 $12,086
T45 Stuart Appleby 70-69-72—211 $7,400
T65 John Senden 75-71-71—217 $2,140
T65 David McKenzie 74-69-74—217 $2,140
Legends Tour
WCM Legends Open de France
Golf de Saint-Cloud, France
1 Adilson Da Silva 65-65-68—198
T15 Michael Long 72-69-70—211
T22 Jason Norris 74-68-72—214
T29 Peter Fowler 74-71-72—217
T29 Michael Campbell 72-74-71—217
LET Access Series
Rose Ladies Open
The Melbourne Club At Brocket Hall, England
1 Chiara Tamburlini 71-68-65—204 €11,200
T5 Amy Walsh 70-73-67—210 €2,572.50
T7 Kelsey Bennett 72-70-70—212 €2,205
T28 Kristalle Blum 73-73-72—218 €921.67
Just one stroke separated the top-11 finishers as four players shared top spot at the Stuart Appleby Cohuna Pro-Am at Cohuna Golf Club.
The Murray River swing of the adidas PGA Pro-Am Series continued in Cohuna with one of the tightest leaderboards in recent memory.
James Gordon’s 3-under 69 was the best of the morning wave but the best scores would come later in the afternoon, despite a change in the weather on the back nine.
PNG Open champion Lachlan Barker burst out of the blocks to be 5-under through eight holes but ultimately had to hold on for a round of 4-under 68 and tie Ryan Peake, Anthony Choat and Ryan Lynch for top honours.
Gordon was one of seven players to finish just one shot back at 3-under, Barker thankful for the early birdies and a final one at his penultimate hole to secure a share of victory.
“A very hot start, that’s how I’d describe it,” Barker said of his round.
“Early on the putter was very warm. I was 5-under through eight holes and the conditions were really good to start.
“After that the afternoon groups had to put on their wet weather gear and battle it out on the back nine.
“I dropped a couple of shots but really hung on and made one late birdie to end up shooting 4-under 68.”
While the putter took the plaudits for the early run of birdies, Barker said that his shot selection from the tee was integral in providing the opportunities for the putter to run hot.
“You had to have a good strategy so I used anywhere from 4-iron right through to driver. Made the right club choices on a lot of occasions and gave myself looks at birdies and was able to convert.
“I attribute my score to the putter and the tee shots.”
Like Barker, Peake and Choat both had six birdies and two bogeys in their rounds of 4-under while Lynch dropped just the one shot to also end the day on top.
Last year’s Cohuna Pro-Am was also disrupted due to rain, Barker praising the presentation of the course on his second visit to Cohuna.
“The course was in the best condition that I’ve seen it and from all reports, from the people who have been coming here for years and years, this is the best it’s been,” said Barker.
“That back nine was a struggle. The weather really packed it in so it was a tale of two nines today.”
The adidas PGA Pro-Am Series moves further along the Murray River for the 66th Border Open Pro-Am at cluBarham Golf and Sports Club starting Saturday.
Ashley Anh Dinh is an international student studying a Diploma of Golf Management through the PGA Institute, and studies on-site at the PGA Learning Hub at Sandhurst.
Originally from Vietnam, the now 20-year-old also spent time in Canada while she was growing up. Like many others, Ashley’s golfing passion started at a young age.
Her dad was one of the top amateurs in Vietnam, and he helped Ashley make the decision to come to Australia to study.
Ashley was studying a business degree at home but wanted to align her future career more with her true passions. Tossing up between fashion and golf, her father asked her a simple question; ‘which do you prefer?’
“Obviously golf! I would always choose golf,” she said.
“Since I was young, the environment golf has given me has always been good. I get to meet a lot of new people playing golf and learn about their job and their life.”
Her father did some online research, along with talking to others in the Vietnamese golf industry and worked out the PGA Institute, based at Sandhurst, was the perfect place for Ashley to harness and build on her passion for golf.
Ashley is loving being in Melbourne and especially at Sandhurst. The kind hospitality and facilities have been a stand-out.
“We get unlimited range balls, and access to 36-holes, the North Course and the Champions Course,” said Ashley excitedly.
“All of the staff are so nice and have been helpful in planning my next journey.”
And plans for her next journey are well under way. Once she completes her Diploma in Golf Management, Ashley hopes to undertake the Membership Pathway Program to become a PGA Professional.
Being around Sandhurst has been incredible for Ashley’s golf, and the inviting community of members have also welcomed her as one of their own.
She was approached on the range by a Sandhurst member to join their regular playing group, and after learning Ashley was on the search for a new place to live, this same member invited her to move into their spare room.
Her new home overlooks the 17th green of the Champions Course, and being only walking distance from classes, it’s the perfect place for Ashley to make her golf career aspirations come true.
Ashley’s passion for the PGA Institute is evident, and as for her advice for those thinking about studying:
“Just do it! Everything happens for a reason, so just do it,” she said.
The PGA Institute provides a wide range of career outcomes from school leavers to those currently working in the industry and looking to upskill. It is the perfect place to combine your passion for golf with your career.
If you want to find out more about studying at the PGA Institute, there is an upcoming Careers in Golf Open Day at the PGA Learning Hub in Sandhurst on Saturday, September 23. RSVP Here.
Adam Scott will tee it up in Ireland’s national open for the first time in 21 years when the Horizon Irish Open begins at The K Club in County Kildare on Thursday.
The Irish Open played an integral role in establishing Scott as a world-class player, finishing tied for 10th at Ballybunion in his rookie season in 2000.
Remarkably, it was his third top-10 finish in his first four starts on the DP World Tour as he went on to finish 103rd on the moneylist to retain his status.
A year later he played his way into the final group alongside eventual champion Colin Montgomerie at Fota Island Resort (inset) and in 2002 was tied for 27th at the same venue, his second round of 66 bettered only by Alex Cejka’s 65.
But it has been more than two decades since he has returned, an earlier than anticipated end to his PGA TOUR season allowing him to add it to the schedule leading into next week’s BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth.
Scott is not the only Aussie dusting off the sticks in Ireland after a short hiatus.
On the back of his breakout summer in the United States and following a month back home in Perth watching his beloved Fremantle Dockers, Min Woo Lee returns to Europe for his 12th start on the DP World Tour this season.
Bolstered by top-five finishes at both co-sanctioned Australian PGA and Australian Open tournaments and a tie for second at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, Lee enters this week sixth in the Race to Dubai standings.
Currently No.50 in the Official World Golf Ranking, Lee can earn one of 10 PGA TOUR cards that will be given to the highest finishers not already exempt on the Race to Dubai standings at season’s end.
More than 5,500 kilometres on the other side of the Atlantic, Lee’s sister Minjee Lee will spearhead the Aussie charge at the Kroger Queen City Championship in Ohio.
Now ranked No.13 in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Ranking, Lee has just one top-10 finish to her name since her runner-up result at the Cognizant Founders Cup in May when she lost to Jin Young Ko in a playoff.
LPGA Tour-bound in 2024, Gabi Ruffels has accepted a tournament invitation to play along with fellow Aussies Karis Davidson, Sarah Kemp, Stephanie Kyriacou, Grace Kim and Su Oh.
There are 10 Australians playing the Japan Golf Tour-Asian Tour co-sanctioned Shinhan Donghae Open in Korea while Sydney’s Jason Hong can secure an exemption into Second Stage of PGA TOUR Qualifying School at the PGA TOUR Canada season finale in Alberta.
Entering the Fortinet Cup Championship 22nd in the Fortinet Cup standings, Hong can earn conditional status on the Korn Ferry Tour in 2024 if he can climb inside the top five but needs only to stay inside the top 25 to secure a spot at Second Stage of Q School.
Round 1 tee times AEST
DP World Tour
Horizon Irish Open
The K Club, Straffan, Co. Kildare, Ireland
4.50pm* Shane Lowry, Min Woo Lee, Ryan Fox (NZ)
5.20pm* Thriston Lawrence, Daniel Hillier (NZ), Aaron Rai
6pm* Jason Scrivener, Matt Wallace, Søren Kjeldsen
10pm Tyrrell Hatton, Luke Donald, Adam Scott
Defending champion: Adrian Meronk
Past Aussie winners: Ossie Pickworth (1950), Brett Rumford (2004), Lucas Herbert (2021)
TV times: Live 10pm-3am Thursday, Friday; Live 11pm-2.30am Saturday; Live 11pm-3am Sunday on Fox Sports 503.
LPGA Tour
Kroger Queen City Championship
Kenwood Country Club (Kendale Cse), Cincinnati, Ohio
10.03pm Karis Davidson, Brianna Do, Frida Kinhult
10.14pm Minjee Lee, Andrea Lee, Linnea Strom
10.14pm* Grace Kim, Cheyenne Knight, Chanettee Wannasaen
10.36pm Stephanie Kyriacou, Gaby Lopez, Alexa Pano
10.47pm* Brooke M. Henderson, Lydia Ko (NZ), Amy Yang
2.30am Dottie Ardina, Jaravee Boonchant, Sarah Kemp
2.52am* Yuna Nishimura, Haru Nomura, Su Oh
4.31am Yaeeun Hong, Gabriela Ruffels, Mariah Stackhouse
Defending champion: Ally Ewing
Past Aussie winners: Nil
TV times: Live 6am-9am Friday, Saturday; Live 4am-7am Sunday, Monday on Fox Sports 503.
Japan Golf Tour/Asian Tour
Shinhan Donghae Open
Club 72 Country Club (Ocean Cse), Incheon, South Korea
8.10am Anthony Quayle, Byeong Jin Jae, Viraj Madappa
8.30am Yonggu Shin, Brad Kennedy, Tomoyasu Sugiyama
8.40am* Yang Ji Ho, Riki Kawamoto, Kevin Yuan
9am* Taehoon Ok, Scott Hend, Yubin Jang (a)
9.30am* Won Joon Lee, Minkyu Kim, Taihei Sato
1.10pm* Taehee Lee, Shintaro Kobayashi, Zach Murray
1.20pm* Sanghee Lee, Todd Sinnott, Inhoi Hur
1.20pm Sanghyun Park, Brendan Jones, Seungbin Choi
1.50pm Guntaek Koh, Ryo Katsumata, Travis Smyth
1.50pm* Ryuichi Oiwa, Junseok Lee, Jinsung Kim
Defending champion: Kazuki Higa
Past Aussie winners: Nil
TV times: Live 2pm-6pm Thursday, Friday; Live 3pm-5pm Saturday; Live 1pm-5pm Sunday on Fox Sports 503.
Ladies European Tour
Big Green Egg Open
Hilversumsche Golf Club, Netherlands
Australasians in the field: Kirsten Rudgeley, Momoka Kobori (NZ), Hanee Song (NZ), Wenyung Keh (NZ)
Defending champion: Anna Nordqvist
Past Aussie winners: Corinne Dibnah (1993), Stephanie Kyriacou (2021)
Challenge Tour
Challenge de España
Club de Golf Playa Serena , Almería, Spain
6.30pm Blake Windred, Alejandro Aguilera, Vitor Lopes
Defending champion: Jens Dantorp
Past Aussie winners: Nil
PGA TOUR Canada
Fortinet Cup Championship
Country Hills Golf Club, Calgary, Alberta
3.40am Noah Steele, Jason Hong
Defending champion: Wil Bateman
Past Aussie winners: Nil
Epson Tour
Black Desert Resort Championship
Soldier Hollow Golf Club (Silver Cse), Salt Lake City, Utah
Australasians in the field: Robyn Choi, Hira Naveed, Amelia Garvey (NZ), Cassie Porter
Defending champion: Inaugural event
Past Aussie winners: Nil
Champions Tour
Ascension Charity Classic
Norwood Hills Country Club, St Louis, Missouri
Australians in the field: Stuart Appleby, Richard Green, Mark Hensby, David McKenzie, Rod Pampling, John Senden
Defending champion: Padraig Harrington
Past Aussie winners: Nil
TV times: Live 3am-6am Saturday; Live 7am-9am Sunday, Monday on Fox Sports 503.
Legends Tour
WCM Legends Open de France
Golf de Saint-Cloud, France
5.30pm Peter Fowler, Philip Walton
6.30pm* Paul Streeter, Jason Norris
7.06pm Michael Campbell (NZ), Thomas Levet
7.18pm* Robert Coles, Michael Long (NZ)
Defending champion: Gary Marks
Past Aussie winners: Nil
LET Access Series
Rose Ladies Open
The Melbourne Club At Brocket Hall, England
9.50pm Kristalle Blum, Clara Moyano Reigosa, Cecilie Leth-Nissen
10.30pm* Georgina Blackman, Kelsey Bennett, Corinne Viden
10.40pm* Amy Walsh, Ebba Hellman, Clara Young
Defending champion: My Leander
Past Aussie winners: Nil
Photos: Logan Whitton/Getty Images; Stephen Munday/Getty Images (inset)
Victorian Deyen Lawson has bounced back from a near miss in Vietnam on Saturday to record a one-stroke victory at the inaugural Deniliquin Pro-Am at Deniliquin Golf Club.
Staged with the support of the Edward River Council, the Deniliquin Golf Club staff and members laid out the welcome mat for their first event on the adidas PGA Pro-Am Series.
It was an especially warm welcome for Lawson whose good friend Noel Swainger is a member at Deniliquin and coach Darrell Brown made the trip up from Geelong.
On top of spending some time practising in the morning, Brown caddied for Lawson in the afternoon as he stormed home to post 8-under 64 and a one-stroke win from rookie Toby Walker.
Lawson led going into the final round of the BRG Open Golf Championship Da Nang on the Asian Development Tour but was run down by fellow Australian Aaron Wilkin.
He was quick to shrug that disappointment off and tap into the good form he has displayed for much of the year.
“I feel like most of the year I’ve been trending and then to come here – one of my good mates is a member here – so I was pretty relaxed.
“I did some work with my coach this morning and he was on the bag so felt quite good.”
Lawson praised the presentation of the golf course on Wednesday, matching up his speed perfectly late to separate himself from the field.
Ruben Lal’s 4-under 68 was the best of the morning players, Lawson making birdie at three of his final four holes to move clear of Walker (65) and Matt Millar (66).
“The greens were rolling good, quite quick,” added Lawson, who will defend his WA Open title at Joondalup Country Club next month.
“There’s only four or five greens staff so to get the greens in the condition they are is absolutely fantastic.
“I had a look with three holes to go and saw that there were a few of us at 6-under.
“Rolled a couple of good putts in late. It’s always good to win, hole a few putts and get over the line.”
The adidas PGA Pro-Am Series continues its stretch along the Murray River with Thursday’s Stuart Appleby Cohuna Golf Club Pro-Am in Cohuna.
New South Welshman Harrison Crowe has made the decision to turn professional, bringing to a close a stellar amateur career both in Australia and abroad.
Due to turn 22 next month, Crowe, a member of St Michael’s Golf Club in Sydney, declared his desire to turn professional today, capitalising on the PGA Tour of Australasia exemption he received for winning the 2022 NSW Open at Concord Golf Club.
That exemption was due to expire at the end of the 2023/2024 season, prompting Crowe to join the pro ranks starting from the Nexus Advisernet Bowra & O’Dea WA Open at Joondalup Country Club in Perth from October 5-8.
The decision to go pro means that Crowe will forgo the opportunity to defend his Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship title at Royal Melbourne Golf Club from October 26-29, instead setting his sights on a full season on home soil before taking his game to the world.
With three DP World Tour cards and exemptions to international Qualifying Schools on offer through the Order of Merit – not to mention DP World Tour co-sanctioning of the Fortinet Australian PGA Championship and ISPS HANDA Australian Open – Crowe knows the path forward starts on home soil.
“To have the goals that I want to achieve, I need to be playing a full season,” said Crowe, who has not played either of the first two tournaments of the season, the PNG Open and NT PGA.
“If I was to wait any longer and miss those additional events, I could be starting behind the eight ball with regards to the Order of Merit.
“I don’t feel like I should be trying to skip any of the steps; I need to earn my right to play on certain tours.
“For the time being, it’s getting myself on the PGA Tour of Australasia where I do feel comfortable and letting my golf do the talking.
“I think I’m more than mentally ready to make that jump and it’s shaping up to be a nice schedule.”
The timeline on Crowe’s move into the professional ranks has been closely monitored since he edged Blake Windred by a shot to claim the NSW Open in March last year.
It was expected that he would turn professional following the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship in Thailand last October yet a victory sealed with an up-and-down on the 72nd hole opened the doors to major championship starts at both The Masters and The Open Championship.
“I think the decision would have been made a lot earlier if I didn’t make that up-and-down,” Crowe conceded.
“The perks of playing two majors is pretty cool but regardless of the two majors, the extra experience that I got and continuously learning really opened my eyes.
“The people that I got to meet, the people that I got to play with and the advice I was given is pretty priceless and I definitely wouldn’t have gotten that if it wasn’t for the Asia-Pacific Amateur last year.
“It made me more and more ready the more I played and the more I travelled.”
As he enters the next phase of his golf career, Crowe expressed his gratitude to parents Shaunaugh and Tony, long-time coach John Serhan, his immediate team and the support he has received from both Golf NSW and Golf Australia.
“The opportunities that I have been given in amateur golf representing my state, representing my club, representing my country, it’s been truly unforgettable,” he added.
“Playing Interstate Series or playing Eisenhower Trophy, it’s something that you’re holding onto no matter where you are and where you’re playing.
“That you did get to play for your country, you did get to play for your state, you played for your club. There are plenty of golfers out there that haven’t got the chance and it’s something huge that I can take forward.
“That I’m one of those players that did get the opportunity to play those events, to travel the world as an amateur golfer.
“It’s been a pretty crazy journey, but it’s been awesome.”
Graeme Phillipson, Chief Operating Officer at Golf NSW, was effusive in his praise for Crowe as he entered this exciting stage of his career.
“Harrison leaves the amateur ranks with a distinguished record matched by only a few in our game,” said Phillipson.
“It will be a thrill to see his career flourish in the pro ranks and we hope that he emulates the careers of several who have gone before him, including PGA TOUR winner Cam Davis, LPGA Tour winner Grace Kim and his St Michael’s club match, Steph Kyriacou.”
PGA of Australia CEO Gavin Kirkman said Crowe would be a very welcome new face on the PGA Tour of Australasia.
“Harrison is a great example of the pathways that exist in Australian golf for our young men and women to progress from junior golf through to the High Performance Squads and then professional golf,” he said.
“Harrison has had an outstanding amateur career and is already shown what it takes to be a Tour winner thanks to his memorable victory at the NSW Open.
“We look forward to seeing his game continue to grow in the professional game.”
Golf Australia High Performance Director Tony Meyer said: “Harrison has shown throughout his amateur career that he has the game to compete with the pros.
“We’re really excited to see him continue to develop his game over the summer in Australia and look forward to seeing his continued progress.”
Harrison Crowe
Age: 21 (October 15, 2001)
Home club: St Michael’s Golf Club, Sydney
Coach: John Serhan
Major appearances: 2023 Masters (MC), 2023 Open Championship (MC)
Professional wins: 2022 NSW Open
Amateur wins: 2022 Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship; 2022 Master of the Amateurs; 2022 NSW Amateur; 2021 Victorian Amateur; 2020 Victorian Amateur; 2019 Asia-Pacific Junior; 2018 Riversdale Cup; 2018 Bonville Champions Trophy.
