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The WA Open, which will celebrate its 100th staging in 2024, has been locked in for October 17-20.
The WA Open will take place the week after the WA PGA Championship in Kalgoorlie and forms part of the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia’s Summer of Golf, which builds up to the Australian PGA Championship and Australian Open in November and December.
Mandurah Country Club will host the championship for the first time after GolfWA reached an agreement with Visit Mandurah and the City of Mandurah to bring the event to the Peel region after a 29-year hiatus. Meadow Springs Golf Club was the last club in the region to host the championship back in 1995.
This year’s event will offer a prize fund in excess of $175,000 and will be free for spectators to attend. Tasmanian Simon Hawkes is the defending champion after his thrilling victory at the 2023 WA Open at Joondalup Resort in October.
The WA Open was first staged in 1913 and has a star-studded roll of honour that includes Greg Norman, Gary Player, Terry Gale, Brett Rumford, Stephen Leaney and Curtis Luck.
Jason Day’s hopes of a maiden win at the iconic Pebble Beach Golf Links have been dashed due to wild weather lashing the California coastline.
The AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am – the second Signature event of the PGA TOUR season – was initially scheduled for a Monday finish due to “inclement weather and safety concerns”, players and commentators posting videos showing the veracity of the conditions.
This is 18 at Pebble this morning just after sunrise. pic.twitter.com/Ys4aJfErVd
— Todd Lewis (@ToddLewisGC) February 4, 2024
Yet in consultation with Monterey County emergency authorities who have implemented a ‘Shelter in Place’ order until Monday morning for the greater Pebble Beach community, PGA TOUR officials decided to cancel the final round “out of an abundance of caution for the safety of all constituents“.
As a result, tournament results are final through the conclusion of 54 holes.
Runner-up in 2018 and with a total of eight top-10s from 13 appearances, Day has continually shown he has the game to be victorious at Pebble Beach.
On the back of a 9-under 63 in Round 3 on Saturday, Day was hopeful that he would have an opportunity to launch a Round 4 assault.
“I’m hoping we play 72 holes, that would be nice, especially because it’s a Signature event and you want to finish the tournament,” said Day.
“It would be disappointing to play 54 holes.”
Tied for 10th at The Sentry to open his 2024 campaign, Day is looking more and more like the player who rose to No.1 in the world in 2015.
It is also giving validity too to his claims that after period of back injuries he can yet again climb to the very top of world golf.
Now 36 years of age, Day acknowledges that his experience on Tour is a tool he can use to add to his tally of 13 career PGA TOUR wins.
“It’s surprising because this is my 17th season on the Tour,” Day added.
“I’m getting older and the guys that come out every single year, the new faces are getting younger.
“With that being said, watching these young guys play knowing that they’re hitting it further and they’re full of confidence and they’re big and strong, I feel like I’ve got the experience on my side to be able to handle certain situations, pressure situations.
“I just have to make sure that I do everything I possibly can to make sure that I’m healthy, I don’t lose any speed and I mentally want to.
“If I can do those few things, I should have a decent second half of my career.”
With one round to play at Pebble Beach, all three Aussies are inside the top 20, Adam Scott and Cam Davis four back of Day in a tie for 20th.
With a limited field at Pebble Beach, Sydney’s Harrison Endycott took his talents to the DP World Tour where he finished tied for 16th at the Bahrain Championship.
Endycott shared top Aussie honours with reigning Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit winner David Micheluzzi, who posted 68 in the final round for his third top-20 finish on the DP World Tour in the past year.
In the opening event of the LIV Golf season, Cameron Smith’s tie for eighth was the best of the Aussie contingent as 2023 ISPS HANDA Australian Open champion Joaquinn Niemann took out LIV Golf Mayakoba on the fourth hole of a playoff with Sergio Garcia.
Results
PGA TOUR
AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am
Pebble Beach Golf Links, Pebble Beach, California
Reduced to 54 holes due to inclement weather
1 Wyndham Clark 72-67-60—199
T6 Jason Day 69-71-63—20
T20 Cam Davis 70-69-68—207
T20 Adam Scott 72-67-68—207
DP World Tour
Bahrain Championship
Royal Golf Club, Kingdom of Bahrain, Bahrain
1 Dylan Fritelli 67-68-69-71—275 €390,779.85
T16 Harrison Endycott 69-68-73-73—283 €28,832.33
T16 David Micheluzzi 70-74-71-68—283 €28,832.33
T43 Haydn Barron 71-73-76-67—287 €12,183.14
T56 Jason Scrivener 71-73-74-72—290 €7,011.05
MC Sam Jones (NZ) 77-73—150
Korn Ferry Tour
The Panama Championship
Club de Golf de Panama, Panama City, Panama
1 Isaiah Salinda 70-65-68-65—268 $US180,000
T52 Curtis Luck 73-65-70-77—285 $4,180
MC Brett Drewitt 75-71—146
MC Dimi Papadatos 69-79—148
MC Rhein Gibson 80-71—151
LIV Golf
LIV Golf Mayakoba
El Camaleón Mayakoba Golf Course, Playa del Carmen, Mexico
1 Joaquin Niemann 59-72-70—201 $US4m
Won on the fourth hole of sudden death playoff
T8 Cameron Smith 69-70-67—206 $457,500
T21 Lucas Herbert 70-70-71—211 $215,000
T25 Matt Jones 73-73-66—212 $190,000
T25 Marc Leishman 68-74-70—212 $190,000
48 Danny Lee (NZ) 71-73-75—219 $120,000
Challenge Tour
SDC Open
Zebula Golf Estate & Spa, Limpopo, South Africa
1 Rhys Enoch 66-66-66-66—264 €51,008.26
T52 Hayden Hopewell 70-68-71-71—280 €1,705.64
Two late birdies have clinched Queensland’s Murray Lott the 2024 Hanmer Springs Thermal Pools & Spa NZ PGA Seniors Championship at Hanmer Springs Golf Club.
Part of the PGA Professional team at Victoria Park in Brisbane, Lott displayed admirable mental fortitude over the final nine holes, making two birdies coming home for a round of 1-under 67 and a one-stroke win at 6-under par from Mark Boulton (65) with Martin Peterson (66) and Scott Ford (68) tied for third a further stroke back.
HOW THE WINNING ROUND UNFOLDED
Now a four-time winner on the PGA Legends Tour, Lott had to do overtime on day two after inclement weather forced the suspension of play late in Round 1.
When he returned Sunday morning Lott closed out an opening round of 5-under 63 at the par-68 layout to take a one-shot lead into the final round.
With New South Welshman Scott Ford nipping at his heels, Lott began his second round in shaky fashion, making two bogeys and a single birdie in his outward nine to fall behind.
Lott was ecstatic to lift the trophy, especially as he’d never played Hanmer Springs Golf Club
before.
WHAT THE WINNER SAID
“I obviously played really great and had 5-under,” Lott said of his opening round.
“I made plenty of putts and didn’t make a bogey which I thought was pretty key around here – it’s pretty easy to make simple bogeys.
“The first round set me up nicely for Round 2. I played pretty solid in the second round, I just
missed a couple of greens early on and made some soft bogeys.
“I was really solid on the back nine and managed to make a couple of birdies coming home.
“Fortunately, I was able to hang on and claim the victory – it’s a sweet win.”
LEADERBOARD RUNDOWN
1 Murray Lott 63-67—130
2 Mark Boulton 66-65—131
T3 Martin Peterson 66-66—132
T3 Scott Ford 64-68—132
5 Brad Burns 67-66—133
NEXT UP
The PGA Legends Tour continues its New Zealand swing this week with the St Clair Legends Pro-Am on Wednesday, North Otago Legends Pro-Am on Friday and the Tokarahi Legends Pro-Am on Saturday.
Victoria’s Brett Coletta came out on top in a head-to-head duel with Jordan Zunic to claim the biggest victory of his career at the $420,000 Vic Open today.
After starting the final round on the Beach Course at 13th Beach Golf Links two shots from the lead, Coletta fired a sensational 7-under-par 65 to claim his third Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia title and move to second place on this year’s Order of Merit.
Zunic, who ended up two shots in arrears following a 67 to be -16 overall, went birdie for birdie for Coletta – the duo combining for 11 birdies and an eagle overall for the day.
Victorian Andrew Martin (68) charged late with four birdies in his last five holes to match Zunic in a share of second.
On an enthralling final nine, playing partners Coletta and Zunic were level with four holes remaining before the 27-year-old Victorian moved clear by picking up shots on the par-4 15th and 16th holes, sealing the deal with a purely struck fairway wood onto the green on the final hole.
From the Sandhurst Club in Melbourne’s south, Coletta came into this week with three top-10s on the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia this season to be 20th on the Order of Merit, but he can now seriously eye off the huge career rewards which come with a top-three finish at the end of the campaign.
“This was an 18-hole duel. Fortunately it was my day today,” said the new champion, who admitted he was nervous last night thinking how about important this Sunday was to his professional career.
“This is pretty big. I’m pretty emotional inside.
“I know I’m able to win out here in the smaller events, the tier twos I suppose. The next level is to really up your game and win these bigger ones.
“Hopefully I can continue the trend and roll the dice at the bigger events, the PGA and the Australian Open.
“This was one of those times when it was my time I guess.”
Despite missing out on his first Tour title since 2018, Zunic was happy with his week, which continued a fine run of form including securing his Asian Tour card for 2024.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve been in that position. It was really enjoyable all day,” Zunic said.
“I played well, but Brett just played better and holed a few more putts down the end there.
“I had my chances and unfortunately they just didn’t go for me.”
In a men’s tournament which featured a packed leaderboard all week it was no surprise that five players were within one shot of the lead going into the back nine on Sunday.
One of those was Queensland’s Jed Morgan who found the spark he’s been waiting some months to discover, shooting an 8-under-par 64 to end up at 14-under for the tournament, in a share of fourth with Travis Smyth (66).
Morgan revealed he started to have thoughts about the way he charged to his runaway victory at the Fortinet Australian PGA Championship at Royal Queensland in 2022 when the birdies kept flowing on the back nine.
“That round has been coming for a little while, probably a little over six months,” Morgan said.
“I’ve been working on some things. That’s one round in the books.
“It was nice to be in that environment again and in that position. I saw on 15 tee that I was only one back and made birdie there.
“It was cool to keep pushing because I haven’t had the opportunity to do that for a little while.”
Morgan is hoping the Sunday surge will spark a good start to his 2024 Asian Tour campaign which begins at the Malaysian Open later this month.
Chasing his third consecutive Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia victory to match a feat last achieved by Robert Allenby in 2005, Kazuma Kobori finished in a share of 10th after a final round of 66, his best for the week.
He threatened to go very low after opening with four birdies in his first six holes.
“I played nicely. It’s starting to come together, more than the first three days anyway,” Kobori said.
“Very good vibes going into next week (at Webex Players Series Sydney).”
After starting with back-to-back birdies, joint overnight leader Nick Voke’s challenge was brought undone by a triple-bogey at the par-5 fifth.
He eventually shared sixth with Kade McBride (72), former champion Richard Green (68) and 18-year-old Queensland Amateur champion Billy Dowling (66).
Married for less than a year and with a baby on the way, today was a great time for Ben Wharton to find his putting game at 13th Beach Golf Links.
The Victorian was one of the big movers in the morning groups in the third round of the $420,000 Vic Open, posting a 7-under-par 65, including six consecutive threes on the back nine of the Beach Course.
Moving to 9-under after 54 holes, four from the leaders Nick Voke and Kade McBride, has set up the possibility of his best cheque on the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia.
A runner-up in the 2021 NT PGA Championship, Wharton currently sits in 80th place on this season’s Order of Merit.
His charge up the leaderboard actually started late in the second round when he had four birdies on his second nine on the Creek Course to make the cut by just two shots.
“It was nice to hole a few putts. It’s been a long time coming,” he said.
“I seem to hit every green in regulation every time I play and walk off with 34 putts.
“It’s been nice today to see a few go in.”
The 36-year-old has had significant life changes recently with more to come, including building on his coaching career and preparing for the birth of his first child with wife Katherine after their wedding in the Yarra Valley last May.
“It’s been a little more stressful to honest, trying to make a quid,” Wharton said of playing professionally with the extra responsibilities in his personal life.
“We’re trying to get a mortgage sorted and there’s a baby on the way.
“There’s a lot more grown up things I have to do along the way.”
An ambassador for Moonah Links Golf Club, Wharton was spurred along to his low round of the year by his playing partners Peter Wilson and Jason Norris, who during the round set a group target of birdies to help inspire their mate.
The goal was 15 and they finished on 12. Next week they’ll live together in the same house at Webex Players Series Sydney.
“They definitely helped me today,” he said.
“It was great to have their support when they knew I’d got off to a good start.
“As I was rolling along, I reminisced about a day I played with Brad Kennedy a couple of years ago when he shot 7-under and catapulted to the top five.
“I thought ‘the lead’s only 9-under if I can do that I can get up near the lead which would be a cool thing to do’ and that’s how it’s panned out at the moment.”
The only player to win the Australian Open, Australian PGA Championship and Australian Masters past the age of 50 has been at it again.
Playing in the Friday competition at Sanctuary Cove Golf and Country Club, the ageless Peter Senior shot 7-under 63 on the Palms Course, with a back-nine of 6-under 30.
Due to turn 65 on July 31, it marks the first time that Senior has broken his age.
Playing off a handicap of +3.3, Senior’s round added up to 40 Stableford points, only good enough for runner-up in A Grade.
A winner of 35 tournaments on major tours around the world, Senior has the distinction of winning in five separate decades, a feat achieved by very few in world golf.
His first victory on the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia came at the 1979 Dunhill South Australian Open, what would be the first of 21 on his home tour spanning 36 years.
In the summer of 1989, Senior won the Australian PGA Championship, Australian Open and Johnnie Walker Classic.
He won the Australian PGA for a third time at age 51, won a second Australian Open at the age of 53 and won a third Australian Masters yellow jacket by holding off Andrew Evans, John Senden and a young American amateur by the name of Bryson DeChambeau at Huntingdale in 2015.
Photo: Michael Dodge/Getty Images
His great mate has moved on to the United States yet Haydn Barron will lean on the advice of fellow West Australian Min Woo Lee as he begins his debut DP World Tour season in Bahrain.
Barron officially began his 2024 DP World Tour season the week after securing a card at the Final Stage of Qualifying School when he teed it up at the co-sanctioned Fortinet Australian PGA Championship at Royal Queensland.
Following a gruelling travel schedule that had him travel to St Andrews, back to Kalgoorlie, back to Spain and then Brisbane, Barron missed the cut at the ISPS HANDA Australian Open in Sydney a week later.
Now refreshed after a Christmas break, Barron is back on the road and at the Royal Golf Club in the Kingdom of Bahrain eager to make an early impression that will open up further playing opportunities throughout the season.
With Lee now a full member of the PGA TOUR, Barron won’t be able to share practice rounds as they did at The Open Championship last July. He will instead draw upon the experience of a player he says has always been a couple of steps ahead.
“It’s definitely inspiring,” Barron said of Lee’s progression in world golf.
“Growing up with Min, he was always a few rungs ahead of me because I picked it up quite late.
“I was always trying to chase him down but being so close with him and being able to draw on his experiences and speak to him about things that I’m not so certain on definitely helps.”
Barron and Lee both qualified for The Open Championship at Royal Liverpool last year by virtue of their finishes at the 2022 Australian Open.
It was Barron’s first start in a major championship and said that time spent early in the week with 2022 US Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick helped to feel comfortable in golf’s top echelon.
“I was fortunate enough to play with Matt and Alex Fitzpatrick on the Monday,” Barron said.
“They were booked in by themselves and Connor McKinney and I decided to jump in and crash their party.
“Playing with Matt – who I think was No.5 in the world – and seeing the way he played and how genuine of a guy he is… I was probably more nervous in the first couple of holes of that practice round than I was during the tournament.
“But after playing with him and seeing that it wasn’t too far away definitely calmed me down a bit.”
Barron will have no shortage of Aussies to bounce ideas off in Bahrain.
Good friends Jason Scrivener and David Micheluzzi are also in the field along with PGA TOUR Q School medallist, Harrison Endycott.
The second Signature event of the PGA TOUR season will see Jason Day, Adam Scott and Cam Davis vying for a slice of the $US20 million prize purse while Lucas Herbert makes his Ripper GC debut at LIV Golf Mayakoba in Mexico.
Photo: Kurt Thomson/Kurtogram
Round 1 tee times AEDT
PGA TOUR
AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am
Pebble Beach Golf Links, Pebble Beach, California
Spyglass Hill
4:33am* Sahith Theegala, Adam Scott
4:57am Cam Davis, JT Poston
5:21am Wyndham Clark, Jason Day
Defending champion: Justin Rose
Past Aussie winners: Bruce Crampton (1965), Brett Ogle (1993)
TV times: Live 4:30am-11am Friday, Saturday; Live 5am-11am Sunday; Live 5am-10:30am Monday on Fox Sports 503 and Kayo.
DP World Tour
Bahrain Championship
Royal Golf Club, Kingdom of Bahrain, Bahrain
11:10pm* Nicolas Colsaerts, Matteo Manassero, Harrison Endycott
11:50pm* David Micheluzzi, Ross Fisher, Freddy Schott
12:10am* Andrew Wilson, Saud Al Sharif, Sam Jones (NZ)
12:10am Jacques Kruyswijk, Cole Madey, Haydn Barron
3:10am* Jens Dantorp, Jason Scrivener, Marcus Armitage
Defending champion: Inaugural event
Past Aussie winners: Nil
TV times: Live 7:30pm-12:30am Thursday, Friday; Live 8pm-12:30am Saturday; Live 7:30pm-12:30am Sunday on Fox Sports 503 and Kayo.
Korn Ferry Tour
The Panama Championship
Club de Golf de Panama, Panama City, Panama
11:32pm Brandon Harkins, Dimi Papadatos, Ryan Gerard
12:04am* Brett Drewitt, Tommy Gainey, Alistair Docherty
4:37am Curtis Luck, Ryan Armour, Ryan Blaum
4:48am Rhein Gibson, Jared Wolfe, Cooper Dossey
5:19am* T.J. Vogel, KK Limbhasut, Charlie Hillier (NZ)
Defending champion: Pierceson Coody
Past Aussie winners: Mathew Goggin (2011, 2015)
LIV Golf
LIV Golf Mayakoba
El Camaleón Mayakoba Golf Course, Playa del Carmen, Mexico
Aussies in the field: Cameron Smith, Marc Leishman, Matt Jones, Lucas Herbert.
Defending champion: Charles Howell III
Past Aussie winners: Nil
TV times: Live from 4:15am Saturday, Sunday, Monday on 7 Plus.
Challenge Tour
SDC Open
Zebula Golf Estate & Spa, Limpopo, South Africa
4:40pm * Wynand Dingle, Björn Akesson, Hayden Hopewell,
Defending champion: Inaugural event
Past Aussie winners: Nil
Just one month into 2024 and rookie professional Kazuma Kobori has ticked off one of his major goals for the year.
He wanted to get to Christmas will two victories on his resume.
At the Vic Open at 13th Beach Golf Links starting today, he can keep working on another goal that will set up his future in the game – finishing in the top three on the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit.
With back-to-back victories at Webex Players Series Murray River and Victoria, the 22-year-old New Zealander has rocketed to No.2 in this season’s OOM standings, trailing only Min Woo Lee, to be well on the way to earning a DP World Tour card for 2024/25.
The Vic Open, with double OOM points on offer compared to a regular Tour event, and the New Zealand Open, with quadruple points like the Australian PGA and Australian Open, are big ticket items on the February schedule for Kobori and the rest of the field as they chase the end-of-season pot of gold to progress their careers.
Whoever finishes at No.1 will also snare an Open Championship berth at Royal Troon in July.
Kobori said one of his premier goals for 2024 was to grab two victories – and even he’s a little bit surprised it has happened so soon.
“At the start, my expectations about turning pro was about trying to make cuts, try to get all four rounds in, because it’s all about experience,” he said.
“And if you can play four rounds a week over two weeks, then you’re getting double the experience, right?
“So that was my goal going in and then at the Vic PGA I got close and I thought ‘I can do it for real, be in contention week in, week out’.
“It feels great to get two wins on the board early.
“I set some goals for the New Year, what I wanted to get out of the rest of the season and one of them was getting two wins specifically.
“The Order of Merit was also on that goals list, to get in the top three, and now I’m second. I’ll just keep going and see where I finish up at the end.”
What has attracted plenty of attention in Kobori’s winning run in Australia, which started at last year’s Qualifying School in Moonah Links, is his exceptional putting which came to the fore again at the weekend at Rosebud Country Club where his red-hot blade was the prime reason he held on for a one-shot win.
But has Kobori always been an excellent putter? Not so, said the man who has jumped almost 600 places on the Official World Golf Ranking since the start of January.
“I never used to be a good putter, I never practised it,” he said.
“But obviously I don’t hit the ball a long way, so I’ve got to do something to make up for that.
“That’s when I started practising my putting a little bit.
“I was a streaky putter in my junior days; I would have hot rounds and cold rounds.”
With everyone now well aware of what he is capable of achieving, Kobori will start his Vic Open campaign alongside another Kiwi, defending champion Michael Hendry, on the Creek course on Thursday morning before heading over to the Beach course on Friday afternoon.
“I’m just trying to conserve as much energy as possible because being in contention two weeks in a row is pretty draining,” he said after his pro-am round.
Entry to the Vic Open is free on all four days.
The only place to watch every upcoming event on the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia live is on Fox Sports, available on Foxtel and Kayo.
Fresh off an outstanding 2023, Travis Smyth is kicking off the new year with high expectations at this week’s Vic Open where he arrives as the highest ranked player in the men’s field.
Although a win proved to be elusive, the New South Welshman had four top-three finishes on the Asian Tour, as part of a haul of six top-10s overall, to climb to a career-high of No.242 on the Official World Golf Ranking by the end of the year.
His 2023 campaign also included an appearance in his first major, The Open Championship at Royal Liverpool, where he produced one of the shots of the tournament – a hole-in-one on the much talked about redesigned par-3 17th hole.
“It was definitely a career-best year,” Smyth said after a practice round at 13th Beach Golf Links today ahead of his first tournament for 2024.
“From start to finish, last year was the most consistent I’ve been by far.
“I didn’t miss a cut in 2023 and I don’t ever want to miss a cut again although I’m sure I’m going to miss a cut some day.
“I guess this year comes with a lot of high expectation.
“The game feels good. I’m working on some things and it feels pretty nice.
“I’m more motivated than ever so it’s an exciting period of my career.”
In the last two years, Smyth has really started to make moves in the professional game. Back in 2021, he was outside the top 700 in the world and now he has arrived on the Bellarine as the highest-ranked player in a Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia tournament for the first time and a joint favourite in betting markets.
“I guess you never really know when the peak period of your career is,” he said.
“You always strive for more. Hopefully I can become one of the world’s best golfers.
“I don’t know when I’m going to get there, but I’m going to do as much as I can to try and get there.”
The 29-year-old has had mixed results at this week’s venue – the Beach and Creek courses – with a best finish of a tie for third coming in 2020 when he finished at 14-under-par, four shots behind the winner, Min Woo Lee.
He didn’t play in last year’s event and missed the cut by two shots in 2022.
“That year (2020) was my best result here by far. I hadn’t had much success around here before then, but it brings back good memories.
“I can remember the final round like it was yesterday – my shots plus some of Min Woo’s shots. It was a fun afternoon.
“To win around here requires such good golf. If you can win around here, you can probably play around most places on any tour.
“This golf course is a pretty strong test, especially when the wind blows.
“You’ve got to golf your ball pretty well.”
Smyth’s one win on the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia came in 2017 by an impressive six shots at the NT PGA Championship.
The Vic Open will be one of two appearances he will make on his home tour with the NZ Open presented by Sky Sports to follow in Queenstown later in February.
“I haven’t played that event for a number of years now. It’s going to be awesome to be back there and I’m playing with a good friend who’s going to be my amateur partner,” he said.
“It will then be Asian Tour all the way this year before most likely I go to a Q School. I want to be playing on the best tours so I need to try to break away from Asia and go to a Q School somewhere to take my game up a level.”
Also a high priority for Smyth in the coming weeks is the Malaysian Open (February 15-18) which offers three automatic qualifying positions for this year’s Open Championship at Royal Troon.
Entry to the Vic Open is free on all four days.
The only place to watch every upcoming event on the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia live is on Fox Sports, available on Foxtel and Kayo.
Thanks to a new strategic collaboration, PGA Institute diploma graduates will now receive credits from Torrens University, Australia’s fastest growing university, to further their studies.
All students undertaking the Diploma of Golf Management, Diploma of Sport, or Diploma of Business, will be able to use the new pathway to continue their education.
PGA of Australia General Manager for Membership and Education, Geoff Stewart, said the Torrens University partnership was another great example of how opportunities for students in the golf industry were growing.
“These new pathway options for our PGA Institute Diploma graduates are great news for anyone who wants to turn their passion for golf into a career,” he said.
“Having a highly regarded university partner such as Torrens University further validates the education and employment pathways we have in place for our PGA Institute students.
“The education and workforce development opportunities we can offer via the PGA Institute are growing every year and they’re important for our game’s future.
“A well educated workforce is vital in converting golf’s current popularity into sustainable, long-term growth.”
The PGA Institute offers education, combining business, golf training, hospitality and sport, as well as practical golf skills, to prepare students for a career in the golf industry.
Torrens University is also the first and only partner of the PGA Institute to offer bachelor degrees online, further broadening the flexible study opportunities for students.
Darryn Melrose Chief Marketing Officer, Industry Partnerships at Torrens University echoed Stewart’s excitement about the collaboration.
“This partnership not only enhances educational prospects but also establishes a seamless pathway for students transitioning from the PGA Institute to Torrens University,” he said.
“By leveraging the combined expertise of PGA and the academic excellence of Torrens, this collaboration is set to cultivate well-rounded, skilled individuals poised for a successful career in the sports industry.”
The collaboration is not only of benefit to PGA Institute students, but also PGA Members, while also offering opportunities for current Torrens University students.
“The alliance further extends to PGA Australia members, providing them with the opportunity to pursue higher education at Torrens University for future-proofing their careers,” said Melrose.
“Additionally, an exciting prospect for Torrens University students is the chance to undertake work-integrated learning at PGA Australia, equipping them with industry-specific skills and knowledge to advance in their chosen careers.”
Find out more about what the PGA Institute has to offer HERE.
