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NT PGA champion Daniel Gale will plot his own path as he seeks to convert a drought-breaking win into a PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit crown and all of its associated rewards.
Gale outlines path to Order of Merit crown
NT PGA champion Daniel Gale will plot his own path as he seeks to convert a drought-breaking win into a PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit crown and all of its associated rewards.
Gale’s four-stroke victory at Palmerston Golf and Country Club on Sunday earned the New South Welshman 190 Order of Merit points, enough to move past PNG Open winner Lachlan Barker into the No.1 spot.
Just two events into the 2023/2024 season, Gale knows it is a marathon more than a sprint.
With his customary yellow bucket hat and a staccato swing all of his own, Gale is not one to follow the trend set by others.
Instead, with his first win in more than five years, Gale will plot a schedule that he believes will give him the best chance to snare a DP World Tour card, a start at the 2024 Open Championship and further tournament exemptions.
“I’m going to do it Daniel Gale’s way,” said Gale.
“I’m going to play the majority of the Aussie stuff, of course, but I’m probably not going to play everything.
“My sole focus is to do well in the big ones. I want to top the Order of Merit obviously but I’m not going to play everything.
“I’ve got a slightly different approach and just going to pick and choose a bit more with my schedule.”
Reigning Order of Merit champion David Micheluzzi sparked his run last season with a breakthrough win at the WA PGA Championship in Kalgoorlie.
The Victorian played 15 of the 16 events that counted towards the Order of Merit, making it a three-win season with further victories at the NSW Open and TPS Sydney at Bonnie Doon Golf Club.
Chasing a second win on Tour, Gale was tied for the lead with amateur Jeffrey Guan through 54 holes before being overrun by Micheluzzi’s 9-under 61 on Sunday.
That week was one of four runner-up finishes since Gale won the 2018 SP PNG Open in his rookie season, relieved to finally convert consistently good results into a win.
“It has been building. A few runner-up finishes which has been frustrating,” Gale conceded.
“To get within one shot, two shots is brutal. It’s always brutal to finish second but it obviously means you’re playing well.
“What ‘Micha’ did at Bonnie Doon last year to get me when I had the lead and I played pretty decent in the final round, that’s just going to happen at times.
“I am over the moon. It hasn’t really fully sunk in yet but I’m just happy that I conquered all of my daily goals for today to get the job done.”
Runner-up at Final Stage of Qualifying School in April, Chris Crabtree’s second-place finish at Palmerston will enhance his chances of starts in the bigger events later this summer while Barker held onto second spot with a tie for ninth.
The Tour now has a six-week break before resuming with the Nexus Advisernet Bowra and O’Dea WA Open at Joondalup Country Club from October 5-8, the first of eight events in nine weeks.
2023/2024 PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit (after NT PGA)
1 Daniel Gale 190.00 (1)
2 Lachlan Barker 168.43 (2)
3 Chris Crabtree 107.00 (1)
4 Jack Murdoch 80.25 (1)
5 Michael Wright 73.50 (2)
6 Tim Hart 66.59 (2)
7 Christopher Wood 51.31 (2)
T8 Andrew Kelly 50.50 (1)
T8 Matias Sanchez 50.50 (1)
T8 Ben Ferguson 50.50 (1)
Photo: Taylah Somerville Photography
Jason Day’s steady climb back to the top of world golf will continue when he tees it up this week at the Tour Championship in Atlanta for the first time in five years.
Day played his way into the 30-man field in Atlanta this week as the only Australian, despite finishing in the bottom echelon of the BMW Championship outside Chicago today.
The 35-year-old Queenslander last made it all the way to the Tour Championship in 2018 when Tiger Woods secured a famous victory.
He has made an impressive climb back to prominence in 2023 including a victory at the Byron Nelson tournament in May, rising into the top 25 players in the world rankings. Day struggled to a tied-40th finish at the BMW Championship near Chicago today in a 50-player field, but it was enough to keep him inside the top 30 on the Fedex Cup rankings at No. 25.
Not so lucky was Cam Davis, the other Australian in the BMW field, who needed to finish top-six but ended up tied-40th and missed out on the Tour Championship.
Day now knows as a result of reaching the finale in Atlanta that he will be in the field for the Masters in 2024, and he gets a two-year exemption on the Tour.
But will have to give shots up under the handicap system in place for the Tour Championship since 2019.
No. 1 ranked Scottie Scheffler starts out at 10-under par this week while Day will begin at 1-under par, nine shots back before he strikes a ball.
No Australian has ever won the Fedex Cup.
It was a quiet weekend for Australians overseas but Matt Jones managed a good weekend in England finishing tied-fourth at the International Series. Terry Pilkidaris, Travis Smyth and Jack Thompson all finished inside the top 15.
Kristalle Blum logged another top-10 finish on the LET Access Series in Europe.
PHOTO: Jason Day kept himself inside the top 30 who will play off in Atlanta this week. Image: Getty
Results
PGA TOUR
BMW Championship, Illinois
• 1 Viktor Hovland 69-68-65-61 – 263 $US 3.6 million
• T40 Cam Davis 73-66-72-72 – 283 $100,000
• T45 Jason Day 69-74-74-70 – 287 $78,000
DP World Tour
ISPS HANDA World Invitational, Northern Ireland
• 1 Daniel Brown 64-66-67-69 – 266 $US255,000
• MC Jordan Zunic 69-75-72 – 277
• MC Connor McKinney 71-72 – 143
• MC Ryan Ruffels 73-72 – 145
• MC Blake Windred 72-75 – 147
LPGA Tour/Ladies European Tour
ISPS HANDA World Invitational, Northern Ireland
• 1 Alexa Pano 76-70-69-66 – 281 $US225,000
• T34 Karis Davidson 69-76-75-73 – 293 $9,975
• T34 Su Oh 72-75-72-74 – 293 $9,975
• MC Sarah Kemp 75-75-73 – 223
• MC Sarah Jane Smith 74-74-76 – 226
Asian Tour
International Series, England
• 1 Andy Ogletree 72-65-67-64 – 268 $US 360,000
• T4 Matt Jones 69-70-67-71 – 277 $76,400
• 11 Terry Pilkidaris 70-72-70-68 – 280 $34,900
• T12 Travis Smyth 71-68-71-71 – 281 $29,850
• T12 Jack Thompson 70-67-72-72 – 281 $29,850
• T22 Douglas Klein 72-72 -70-70 – 284 $19,400
• T22 Zach Murray 69-74-70-71 – 284 $19,400
• T31 Wade Ormsby 70-73-71-72 – 286 $15,033
• T48 Josh Younger 72-72-72-73 – 289 $8,628
• T48 Todd Sinnott 75-70-73-71 – 289 $8,628
• T55 Jed Morgan 72-72-71-75 – 290 $7,100
• T55 Ben Campbell (NZ) 70-73-74-73 – 290 $7,100
• T65 Danny Lee (NZ) 72-71-74-77 – 294 $5,400
• MC John Lyras 76-70 – 146
• MC Brendan Jones 74-73 – 147
• MC Tom Power Horan 73-75 – 148
• MC Marcus Fraser 78-71 – 149
• MC Nick Voke (NZ) 77-72 – 149
• MC Scott Hend 78-71 – 149
• MC Kevin Yuan 74-75 – 149
• MC Jack Murdoch 76-73 – 149
• MC Andrew Dodt 77-75 – 152
• MC Harrison Gilbert-Wong 78-77 – 155
Korn Ferry Tour
Magnit Championship, New Jersey
• 1 Chan Kim 70-66-68-64 – 268 $US180,000
• T23 Curtis Luck 71-70-70-70 – 281 $8,516
• MC Rhein Gibson 70-74 – 144
• MC Brett Drewitt 71-73 – 144
• WD Dimi Papadatos
PGA Champions
Shaw Charity Classic, Calgary
• 1 Ken Duke 66-64-66 – 196 $US 360,000
• T12 Richard Green 68-70-64 – 202 $47,400
• T21 Mark Hensby 71-69-65 – 205 $26,000
• T21 Steve Alker (NZ) 71-64-70 – 205 $26,000
• T47 David McKenzie 70-67-72 – 209 $6,864
• T70 Stuart Appleby 72-67-74 – 213 $1,968
Epson Tour
Wildhorse Ladies Golf Classic, Oregon
• 1 Xiaowen Yin 66-66 – 132 (Prize payout N/A)*
• T9 Hira Naveed 71-68 – 139
• T13 Amelia Garvey (NZ) 76-64 – 140
• T35 Robyn Choi 71-72 – 143
• T45 Jennifer Herbst (a) 74-70 – 144
• T53 Sarah Yamaki Branch 72-73 – 145
• MC Jess Whiting 78-72 – 150
*Final round cancelled due to poor air quality
LET Access Series
PGA Championship, Gothenburg, Sweden
• 1 Chiara Tamburlini 70-66-68 – 204 $US6,400
• T8 Kristalle Blum 71-74-71 – 212 $1,120
• T10 Munchin Keh (NZ) 74-72-71 – 215 $825
• T42 Kelsey Bennett 74-75-75 – 224 $280
• T54 Amy Walsh 71-74-81 – 226 $182
• T54 Hanee Song (NZ) 76-74-76 – 226 $182
• MC Wenyung Keh (NZ) 76-77 – 153
• MC Stefanie Hall 77-77 – 154
The attitude that earned Daniel Gale a PGA TOUR start just four weeks ago has delivered a drought-breaking victory at the 2023 Tailor-Made Building Services NT PGA Championship.
The tournament leader at Palmerston Golf and Country Club at the completion of the first and second rounds, Gale had to start the final round two strokes back of Victorian Andrew Kelly.
That deficit would have been four if not for two late birdies in his round of 1-over 72 on Saturday and he was back on level terms after making birdie at both of his opening two holes on Sunday.
It was pedal-to-the-metal from start to finish, the New South Welshman leading by three after playing the front nine in 4-under 32.
Queenslander Chris Crabtree loosened Gale’s stranglehold briefly when he made five birdies in the space of six holes around the turn but Gale would once again extend his advantage late, making birdies at 16 and 17 before a three-putt bogey on 18 for a round of 6-under 65 and a four-stroke win.
It had been exactly 1,939 days since Gale won the 2018 SP PNG Open in his rookie season on the PGA Tour of Australasia and the 27-year-old admitted that a second win had been a long time coming.
“It feels every bit of that,” Gale said of his more than five-year wait for a second title.
“Obviously just spent three-and-a-bit months in America, worked my butt off, trained hard and I’ve learnt a lot from my experiences. I was able to apply it this week.
“I am over the moon. It hasn’t really fully sunk in yet but I’m just happy that I conquered all of my daily goals for today to get the job done.
“It’s good to see the hard work pay off.”
Gale made himself known to American golf fans when he shot a course record 60 to lead Monday qualifying for the 3M Open, holing out for eagle on his final hole.
After his struggles on Saturday, Gale was determined to bring an attacking mindset to Sunday’s final round in Palmerston.
“Obviously I’ve just come off the back of Monday qualifiers and all that and obviously was successful at 3M,” Gale said prior to collecting golf’s most unique trophy.
“I said that I’ve got to go out there and just take my chances and just pedal to the metal. No holding back and just try to birdie every hole essentially.
“Thankfully I had everything working well and I took advantage of the majority of all my chances that I had so the walk up the last was pretty cruisy to be honest.”
That cruisy finish was set up in part by birdies at the first two holes of the day.
Gale hit 4-iron off the first tee and then lob wedge to 10 feet, rolling in the uphill right-to-left 10-footer dead centre to start in perfect fashion.
He had sand wedge from 105 metres at the par-5 second but clipped a tree from a bare lie to present a difficult third to even give himself a look at birdie.
“It was in a very, very tricky spot and I hit this bump and run from in the trees to about five feet and rolled that in for birdie,” Gale said.
“That was good to get that one out of the gates.
“I checked the leaderboard after about six or seven and saw that I was two in front. I just kept the pedal to the metal.”
Gale’s Sunday 65 matched his score from Round 1 and were the two best rounds of the tournament behind Chris Wood’s 7-under 64 on day two.
A former Queensland amateur teammate of the likes of Louis Dobbelaar and Lawry Flynn, Crabtree finished solo second at 10-under with a final round of 2-under 69.
There was a four-way tie for third between Tim Hart (69), Matias Sanchez (71), Ben Ferguson (71) and 54-hole leader Andrew Kelly (72).
Photo: Taylah Somerville Photography
It was a case of one step back, three steps forward as Chris Taylor conjured a late surge to claim the City of Moreton Bay Bribie Island Legends Pro-Am.
Bribie Island Golf Club always presents a strong test for SParms PGA Legends Tour players and so it proved again on Friday, only five of the 46 players in the field ending the day under par.
Four of those bettered the par of 72 by just one yet four birdies in his final seven holes saw Taylor post 4-under 68 for a three-stroke win.
Victorious at Meadowbrook two weeks ago, Taylor made the lone bogey in his round yet bounced back in impressive fashion.
Falling back to even par for the day with his dropped shot at the 402-metre par 4, Taylor responded with three straight birdies, completing a superb victory with a birdie on 18.
“They’re two very strong par 4s, 10 and 11,” Taylor said post-round.
“I made a good par on 10 and on 11 I just hit it in the wrong spot and was virtually unplayable.
“I hit the ball very nicely today and if you’re not hitting the ball nicely at Bribie Island then you’re off the fairways and in a bit of sand and stuff like that.
“As long as you can stay out of that and on the green grass you generally go all right around here.”
Taylor finished three shots clear of Marcus Cain, Peter Senior, Brad Burns and Nigel Lane to complete his third win of the year.
While his late run of birdies ultimately proved the difference, Taylor credited a par save at his very first hole for setting the tone for the round.
“Getting up-and-down on the first hole was important I think,” added Taylor, who had nine pars and a birdie at the par-3 seventh in his first 10 holes.
“I hit my drive quite wide on the first, got it back on the fairway and then got it up-and-down for a par.
“When you can make a 15-footer on the first, that gets your confidence going for the rest of the day.”
The next event on the SParms PGA Legends Tour schedule is the $80,000 PNG Senior Open at Lae Golf Club from September 1-3.
The PGA of Australia and Holmesglen Institute are opening up more opportunities for students to pursue a career in the business of sport as the next significant step in their innovative partnership.
The Australian-first PGA Institute, established at the prestigious Sandhurst Golf Club in Melbourne’s south, has a range of courses for students keen to pursue or develop careers in the golf industry.
Now the partners are announcing an automatic eligibility pathway to allow students who complete the Diploma of Golf Management to proceed to a Bachelor of Sports Business.
Students have two options – attending the PGA Institute on-campus at Sandhurst for 12 months followed by two-and-a-half years at Holmesglen; or undertaking two years online study with the PGA Institute and then two-and-a-half years at Holmesglen.
The Institute offers dedicated golf business training in an integrated and effective golfing ecosystem. Through the Hub collaboration, Holmesglen is delivering accredited courses in Sports Turf Management and Hospitality Management between its Glen Waverley campus, Zest training restaurant and Sandhurst. A tourism course is also available.
All courses, which are nationally accredited and endorsed by the PGA, provide practical training, industry placement and a focus on the golf industry, which employs over 25,000 people in Australia.
PGA General Manager – Membership and Education, Geoff Stewart, said: “We are proud of our partnership with Holmesglen Institute, Victoria’s largest TAFE, to provide an unrivalled golf education offering for our industry now and into the future.
“Our team at the PGA Institute, which is the number one location for people seeking a career in golf, is excited about this development in our collaboration with Holmesglen which will offer students the opportunity for further education that can benefit their careers not only in golf but the broader sporting industry.”
Andrew Williamson, Executive Director, Holmesglen Institute, said: “The relationship between Holmesglen Institute and PGA Australia – through the PGA Institute – continues to evolve.
“This new pathway initiative again works to the complementary strengths of both partners to provide a high-quality educational outcome for students. As with all PGA Institute activities, the Diploma of Golf Management to Holmesglen’s Bachelor of Sport Business pathway is securely underpinned by excellent industry connections, ensuring that graduates are highly sought after as they start their sporting careers.”
For more information on study programs and enrolment, click here.
It is the second event of the season but the first in the next phase of the career of some of Australian golf’s brightest prospects who will make their professional debuts at this week’s Tailor-Made Building Services NT PGA Championship.
Fifteen months since Austin Bautista won by seven strokes, the NT PGA returns to a revitalised Palmerston Golf and Country Club with a host of winners from the 2022/2023 PGA Tour of Australasia season to tee it up.
Louis Dobbelaar (NZ PGA), Brett Coletta (TPS Hunter Valley), Andrew Martin (Vic PGA) and PNG Open winner Lachlan Barker will be in action along with a host of rookie professionals eager to make a strong first impression.
Made famous by his exploits on Channel Nine’s Ninja Warrior, Charlie Robbins turned professional prior to Qualifying School in April and will make his pro debut alongside WA pair Adam Brady and Josh Greer along with Queensland’s Samuel Slater.
Robbins set a course record at Ranfurlie Golf Club in February to qualify for the Vic Open as an amateur but said it wasn’t until he teed it up at Final Stage of Q School that it hit home that he was now a pro golfer.
“It was kind of weird because there wasn’t really a big deal about it,” Robbins said of not electing to retain his amateur status at First Stage of Q School, thus turning professional.
“Getting through First Stage was actually the really cool bit. I gave myself a bit of a pat on the back then because if you don’t get through First Stage, you don’t get tournament membership or anything.
“Getting through stage one was the time where I got pretty pumped.”
Greer, pictured, will also play his first PGA Tour of Australasia tournament as a professional but is no stranger to pro tournaments on home soil.
He first played the Nexus Risk TSA Group WA Open in 2015 and last year finished top-12 twice as an amateur, his best result a tie for ninth at the Queensland PGA Championship.
Although the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship at Royal Melbourne Golf Club from October 26-29 was a tempting lure, Greer believes the time is right to start forging a professional career.
“I did think about hanging on until October to play in the Asia-Pacific Amateur, but then I’d miss a lot of opportunities on the Aus PGA Tour,” he told GolfWA.
“I’m looking forward to trying to finish as high as I can on the Order of Merit, so I just want to get out there and start competing professionally.
“I’ve loved every part of my amateur career, but I’ve played golf my whole life with the goal of being a pro and experiencing what it’s like to play in events where every shot really matters to your earnings and your ranking.”
Runner-up to fellow West Australian Connor McKinney at the 2022 St Andrews Links Trophy, Adam Brady earned Tour Membership by qualifying for the Final Stage of PGA Tour of Australasia Q School, as did Toby Walker and Nathan Page, who will also play their first Tour events as professionals in Palmerston.
Cam Davis has capped a great weekend for Australians overseas with his third-straight top-10 on the PGA TOUR and a spot in the next round of playoffs.
It was edge-of-your-seat for 28-year-old Davis, who came into the Fedex St Jude Championship in Memphis knowing that he needed to vault a dozen players to get into the top 50 players and continue his run through Fedex Cup playoffs.
But Sydneysider Davis closed with a 67 and finished tied-sixth, just four shots out of a playoff between Lucas Glover and Patrick Cantley and ultimately won by Glover.
In doing so he jumped from 62nd on the standings to 45th, ensuring that he will be in the field for the $US20 million BMW Championship, the next round of the playoffs, in Chicago this week, and also in with a chance of reaching the Tour Championship in Atlanta later this month for the top 30 on the tour.
Jason Day finished tied-52nd in Memphis but he has also qualified for the BMW Championship, now ranked 21st overall.
Davis admitted to feeling some stress, but he was delighted to roll into the penultimate tournament of the playoffs this week.
“I’ve turned a really kind of up-and-down year into a pretty positive year just out of three really good weeks in a row,” said Davis, who has logged three consecutive top-10s.
“I was doing my best. I mean, I had a rough sort of estimate of where I felt like I needed to finish based on little things that I had seen throughout the day, but I wanted one more birdie, but it looks like I didn’t need it. That was a nice stressful but at the same time well played sort of day for me.”
Ruffels’ dominant victory in the Epson Tour’s Four Winds International in Indiana continued a sensational 2023 for the Melburnian, who now is secure in the knowledge that she will be a full LPGA Tour member in 2024.
The Victorian won by three shots, her third victory of 2023, and now she cannot be pushed out of the top 10 on the secondary tour who will graduate to the main tour next year.
“It was kind of a weird round today,” said Ruffels.
“I started off two ahead, and then we got called off due to weather on the first green. I had like a four-foot birdie putt that I had to sit and think about. Then I made my first bogey of the week at number two, so I got a little unsettled there.
“Other than that, I played pretty steady golf coming in, so I was pretty happy.”
Ruffels’ victory made up somewhat for a slightly disappointing finish for the Australians at the AIG Women’s Open, the fifth and final major of the women’s season, in the UK where Grace Kim (tied-36th) had the best result.
In one of the best weekends for Australians all year, Cameron Smith won the LIV Bedminster event and his Ripper GC Australian team also won the teams’ event at Trump National.
Smith dominated the LIV Bedminster event, shooting three rounds in the 60s, winning by a whopping seven shots to jump to the top of the LIV standings.
It is his second LIV win this season and his third overall and he overtakes Talor Gooch at the top of the standings.
Rippers’ victory in the teams event was their first since the inception of LIV for the all-Aussie outfit of Smith, Marc Leishman, Matt Jones and Jed Morgan.
“I think collectively as a team we’ve all been trying to just work a little bit harder the last couple of months,” Smith said.
“Not really do anything different, just put our heads down, and you can see it kind of flourishing there a little bit.”
Results
PGA TOUR
Fedex St Jude Championship
Sedgefield Country Club, North Carolina
• 1 Lucas Glover 66-64-66-69 – 265 $US 3,600,000 *playoff
LPGA Tour
AIG Women’s Open, Walton Heath, UK
LIV GOLF
Liv Bedminster, Trump Bedminster, New Jersey
KORN FERRY TOUR
Pinnacle Bank Championship, Nebraska
EPSON TOUR
Four Winds Invitational, Indiana
LET ACCESS SERIES
Big Green Egg Swedish Open, Varbergs Golf Klubb, Sweden
CHAMPIONS TOUR
Boeing Classic, Washington
CHALLENGE TOUR
Scottish Challenge, Aberdeenshire
It’s a pro-am with a difference and brought out the best in Michael Sim, Mark Harrison and Lachlan Wood at Bulimba Golf Club on the banks of the Brisbane River.
Sponsored by Belle Property, the Bulimba Pro-Am is one of few played on a nine-hole par-3 course, players taking two trips around the layout.
The trio of winners was befitting the unique tournament with former PGA TOUR player Michael Sim, veteran Mark Harrison and prolific All Abilities winner Lachlan Wood all posting rounds of 4-under 50 to share the spoils.
Following on from his recent wins at the Optilease Redcliffe Pro-Am and the Queensland PGA Foursomes Championship with Jack Munro, Sim had to fire late to match the mark set by both Harrison and Wood.
Two birdies in his final three holes brought Sim level but he needed to convert an eight-foot par putt on the last to finish tied at the top.
“I actually hit a close shot into the first and missed it,” revealed Sim, pictured with Bulimba Golf Club General Manager Neil Harrington and Mark Harrison.
“I made the turn in 1-under and felt like teeing the ball up. We don’t hit many lob wedges and sand wedges off a tee and just felt like the ball was going a little further.
“I got that going on the back nine, made a couple of putts late and got up-and-down on the last for par.”
The Golf Operations Manager at Maryborough Golf Club, it was a rare adidas PGA Pro-Am Series appearance for Harrison.
He estimated that his last win was some 15 years ago in Western Australian but produced four birdies in the space of five holes to match the best of the day.
“I just made sure to hit the greens and kept it in play,” Harrison said.
“Didn’t miss many by too far – might have had to only chip one – and the others I just putted from just off the green.
“Think I started with nine straight pars and just kept it pretty patient.”
The Bulimba Golf Club has bounced back spectacularly after the course and clubhouse were inundated by floods a couple of years ago.
With strong support from the local community, General Manager Neil Harrington and Assistant Manager Emily Holden have overseen a clubhouse renovation and brought the course back to wonderful condition for one of the players’ most popular stops of the season.
A local veteran and a rookie from Sydney’s North Shore showed how it’s done to split victory at the Gunnedah Kelaher Industrial Pro-Am at Gunnedah Golf Club.
Hailing from Narrabri an hour north of Gunnedah, Matt Stieger knew what to expect from the Gunnedah layout while Will Bayliss, a first year PGA Associate at Pymble Golf Club, was coming in blind.
It mattered little by day’s end as the pair posted rounds of 4-under 66 to finish one clear of James Grierson (67) and Luke Ryan (67).
The 2012 NSW PGA champion, Stieger has tasted success previously at Gunnedah, winning in 2015 and finishing second in 2018 and 2019. He again revelled in being back among familiar faces on a course he knows well.
“I was fortunate enough to win this Pro-Am a few years ago so it’s always good to come back home and show my face,” said Stieger.
“There’s obviously a bit more pressure when everyone knows who you are so it’s good to come out and put together a win.
“Some of these holes, you stand up on the tee and look down the fairway and it doesn’t even look like there’s fairway there because it’s so tight.
“Growing up around here and playing around here was awesome and certainly gave me a little bit of local knowledge today.”
There was no such local knowledge for Bayliss who relied on stellar iron play and a hot putter to match Stieger’s tally.
Formerly based out of Manly Golf Club, Bayliss started the Membership Pathway Program at Pymble this year and was thrilled to test his game against seasoned tour players.
“It feels really good. Happy to be out here and to be given the opportunity as a first-year trainee to be able to play these pro-ams,” said Bayliss.
“Absolutely love having the ability to come out here and compete with these guys. Hopefully I can go on with it in the future.”
The small, saucer-style greens found on country courses may not be what Bayliss is accustomed to but Bayliss took to the Gunnedah putting surfaces with aplomb.
He played the four par 3s in 2-under par with a mix of good iron play and some lengthy birdie putts.
“The irons were on today so I was able to go at some pins that I wouldn’t normally go at,” said Bayliss.
“Mind you, if you just get it on the green here you’re going to have some 20-footers and I was able to hole a couple of those which helped to keep the momentum going.
“It was nice to hole a couple of putts and if I missed the green I was able to get up and down which certainly helped the score.”
The adidas PGA Pro-Am Series now has a short break before resuming with the 36-hole Better Homes Port Macquarie Pro-Am at Port Macquarie Golf Club from August 22.
He has developed a cult following with his very own catchphrase in both the United States and the UK and now Min Woo Lee is promising to put on a show when the ISPS HANDA Australian Open returns to Sydney in December.
Already locked in for the Fortinet Australian PGA Championship at Royal Queensland Golf Club, it was confirmed on Friday that Lee will play in Sydney for the first time since 2019.
After missing the cut at The Australian Golf Club that week Lee was ranked No.298 in the world but is now regularly ranked inside the top 50 players on the Official World Golf Ranking.
He played in the last group at THE PLAYERS Championship in March and was tied for fifth at the US Open in June, his daring play and outgoing personality drawing crowds in their thousands both on course and to his social media pages.
It sparked a catchphrase – “Let him cook!” – which the 25-year-old has enthusiastically embraced and made him one of world golf’s most entertaining players, both on and off the golf course.
“I like to have fun and make people’s days better so I try to do that,” said Lee during a three-week sabbatical at home in Perth.
“I’m not sure how the ‘Let him cook’ happened. It was just a meme on a social media platform and I just said it in one post and it caught on fire.
“I’ve stuck with it and it’s been awesome.
“In the last few weeks there’s been a lot of ‘Wooz’ and ‘Let him cook!’ right after I hit. I’m just getting used to it. It’s been very loud the past few weeks, especially at The Open.”
That spot in the field at The Open was partly attributed to his third-place finish at the Australian Open at Victoria Golf Club last December.
The first Australian Open to feature both men and women at the same time brought enormous galleries to both Victoria and Kingston Heath golf clubs, giving Lee a taste of what he was to experience internationally in 2023.
“It was an incredible experience last year, one of the best fan experiences I’ve had,” said Lee.
“It was cool to be in contention and to be up there was a cool feeling.
“I love coming back here and playing in front of big crowds.
“There are fans out there that want to come see me and watch me and I like to give them more than just golf. A bit of emotion and a bit of fun and I’ve been having fun on the social media side too.
“The social media has grown so much in the last three to four months and it’s been awesome. Getting a lot of love and support which is exactly what a player wants and needs. Hopefully I can keep playing well and keep growing.”
To be co-hosted by The Australian Golf Club and The Lakes Golf Club in Sydney’s eastern suburbs, Lee is familiar with The Australian but did not play at The Lakes when Abraham Ancer won in 2018.
On the surface both courses should play to Lee’s strengths of long bombs off the tee and creativity around the greens, assets that will draw a crowd wherever he goes.
“I’m really excited to go back to Sydney and play the Aussie Open. It’s been a few years now so I’m really excited to go back,” he added.
“I know The Australian is a really good venue and tough and I’m excited to go back there.
“If you’re in contention you’re probably going to put on a show so hopefully I can do that.
“(To win) your home Open would be a cool experience. To win any event really but to win at home would be extra special.”
As for his catchphrase, Lee confessed that it doesn’t extend beyond the golf course.
“I cooked bacon and eggs the other morning so I guess I can,” he joked.
“I let the chefs cook. I’ll just do the cooking on the golf course.”
