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Queenslander Mitchell Smith has fired a 5-under 67 on day one of the PGA Professionals Championship National Final to lead by two at the Heritage Golf and Country Club.
With an increased $65,000 prize purse, two spots in the BMW Australian PGA Championship up for grabs, as well as Four Nations and Women’s PGA Cup spots on offer, the 66 vocational members from around the country have plenty to play for this week in Melbourne, and Smith’s campaign is off to a dream start.
Trailing him in second is New South Welshman Daniel Nesbitt at 3-under, with another Sydneysider ,Michael Smyth, tied third with West Australian Scott Barr at 2-under.
Barr will be a player to watch this week, coming off a T21 finish at the CKB WA PGA Championship presented by TX Civil & Logistics.
Australia’s Women’s PGA Cup captain Katelyn Must (Qld) is a further shot back at 1-under, tied with Alexander Simpson (NSW) in fifth.
Coaching out of Sanctuary Cove Golf and Country Club on the Gold Coast as well as The Sim Range in Brisbane, Smith is happy to have made a positive start to his first PGA Professionals Championship National Final.
“I putted really well, that was pretty much just the thing there,” he said. “I holed a lot of putts. That saved me heaps.”
Starting his day on the 12th hole, Smith started with a birdie, however his round peaked later when he backed up a strong birdie on the eighth by eagling the par-five ninth.
“I hit a really good drive, which was actually rare today,” he laughed. “I had a really good group today with Rhys (Granger) who’s a local, so he gave some good lines to hit and yeah, I just managed to flush two in a row and then hold the putt again.”
Being a Queenslander now, Smith says today’s warm weather probably benefited him more than the rest of the field, while his years growing up in Tasmania helped on the putting surfaces.
“Anytime I come down south, I love playing on the bent grass and the soft greens, it’s sort of like coming home a little bit,” he said.
“You get a good roll on the ball, so I always feel like I’ve got a chance of rolling a few putts in and I generally give it a good go.”
Having gone to university straight out of school, 32-year-old Smith has only been a full PGA Member for two years, but says completing the Membership Pathway Program (MPP) was life changing for him.
“Went to Uni and then I was working as a greenkeeper and just podding along basically,” he said.
“The MPP sort of just popped up and I thought, well that’s something that I actually want to do with my life.”
Defending champion Matt Docking shot a 73 to be T11.
Damon Stephenson rattled around Windaroo Lakes golf course the day’s equal-low round, a 66, to seize control of the Queensland PGA Associate Championship today.
Queenslander Stephenson had six birdies, an eagle at the short par-4 eighth hole and a lone bogey in his 7-under round, having started the day in a tie for the lead with Canadian Adam Migur.
Through 36 holes he is 9-under overall and four shots clear of the Melbourne-based Migur at 5-under.
Queenslander Joshua Holbrook also shot a 66 today and leapt into a tie for third at 4-under with Victorian Joel Mitchell (68 today) in the 72-hole event.
Stephenson, 32, played both the WA PGA and the WA Open on the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia this month and his missed cut at Mandurah in the Open meant that he was able to race back to Queensland to compete this week.
“A couple of dramas but I think yeah, maybe a blessing and a curse in hindsight,” he said of his performance in WA. “But yeah, I’ve had a good two weeks been playing pretty solid, pretty consistent. It was good to be back out there on the main tour playing against world-class players really and skills are great for the last two weeks so I feel like that’s made me sort of look at where I need to get to and kind where I’m at now. But it’s been nice come back with the associates being in the mix again, top of leaderboard.”
The quality of players on the main tour has inspired him to get better. ”I mean you see the scores and you realise the quality of play out there, so it is just about getting to that next level. Elvis Smylie shooting 20 or 21 under at Mandurah and Jack Buchanan shooting 20 under the week before. So it is mid-60s every round for four days if you’re going to compete and shooting 2-under or 1-under doesn’t really get it done.”
PHOTO: Damon Stephenson on his way to a 66 today.
A third win in a stellar LPGA Tour season by Hannah Green has put the Australian within touching distance of a No. 1 world ranking for the first time.
Green, the 27-year-old Mt Lawley product won the BMW Ladies Championship in South Korea by a shot to become the first Australian since Karrie Webb in 2006 to win three times in a season on the LPGA Tour.
She joins Nelly Korda and Lydia Ko as three-time winners in 2024.
Green started the week ranked No. 8 in the world but she will likely jump to a new career-high inside the top five when this week’s rankings are released.
“I did not know that about Webby’s statistics,” she said after closing out the victory with rounds of 64-64-70-71. “But yeah, I’ve playing really solid this year. Obviously having two wins and a runner-up and things like that. But I just felt really different this off-season. I felt much more motivated.
“I got married in January. So this has been a very special year. But it helps that I’ve been hitting the ball well, and when the putter goes well, it does go well. So just making sure that I can stay consistent. But I still have four or five more tournaments for the rest of the year, so I want to continue to work hard and have myself in these type of positions.”
France’s Celine Boutier made a determined final-day run with a 66 but Green’s birdie at the 17th hole proved to be the difference.
“It was a crazy finish, I guess,” Green said. “I think I had 127 metres to the pin, and so I hit my 8-iron. The wind was a little bit swirly. It was sometimes into the wind, sometimes from the right. So I wasn’t sure if it was 8-iron but I got lucky with the timing of when I hit my shot.
“I left myself a very difficult putt down the hill, and I guess I was fortunate enough to see Ashleigh Buhai’s putt and she didn’t hit a great putt. So I knew that it was going to be very quick and felt confident even though I was very nervous, and yeah, it went into the middle. So that was really nice, and I knew that gave me the one-shot lead.”
The LPGA Tour has five more events for the season concluding with the tour championship in Florida after which Green will jump on a plane to Melbourne to take her place in the field for the ISPS HANDA Australian Open at Kingston Heath and The Victoria Golf Club.
Meanwhile nine Australians and Kiwis have made it through to the next round of the PGA Champions playoffs, with David Bransdon (third) and Rod Pampling (tied-fifth) showing strong form in Richmond, Virginia over the weekend. The top 54 players advanced, with Michael Wright grabbing the 54th and final place.
Results
PGA TOUR
Shriners Children’s Open
TPC Summerlin, Las Vegas, Nevada
1 JT Poston 64-65-66-67 – 262 $US 1.26 million
T34 Ryan Fox (NZ) 70-69-65-69 – 273 $36,470
MC Aaron Baddeley 70-76 – 144
MC Cam Davis 75-78 – 153
LPGA Tour
BMW Ladies Championship
Seowon Valley Country Club, Seowon Hills, Republic of Korea
1 Hannah Green 64-64-70-71—269 $US330,000
T12 Lydia Ko (NZ) 67-66-71-71—275 $37,438
T33 Minjee Lee 67-73-66-77—283 $13,901
T46 Gabriela Ruffels 72-69-70-74—285 $8,559
T57 Grace Kim 67-71-75-74—287 $6,405
T67 Hira Naveed 70-72-70-78—290 $4,804
DP World Tour
Estrella Damm N.A. Andalucía Masters
Real Club de Golf Sotogrande, Andalucía, Spain
1 Julien Guerrier 62-72-63-70—267 €509,516.60
Won on ninth hole of sudden-death playoff
T43 Daniel Hillier (NZ) 68-69-72-72—281 €15,285.50
WD David Micheluzzi
Asian Tour
Black Mountain Championship
Black Mountain Golf Club, Thailand
1 Michael Maguire 68-64-68-65—265 $US360,000
T4 Ben Campbell (NZ) 68-70-66-64—268 $82,866.67
T7 Nick Voke (NZ) 68-67-69-65—269 $53,000
T33 Aaron Wilkin 66-71-69-69—275 $14,000
T44 Todd Sinnott 64-72-72-69—277 $10,600
T59 Kevin Yuan 65-68-76-71—280 $6,300
MC Douglas Klein 67-72—139
MC Jack Thompson 69-70—139
MC Kazuma Kobori (NZ) 73-67—140
MC Andrew Dodt 70-70—140
MC Justin Warren 70-71—141
MC Jed Morgan 73-69—142
MC Travis Smyth 70-72—142
MC Jordan Zunic 68-74—142
MC Sam Brazel 71-72—143
MC Wade Ormsby 71-74—145
MC Marcus Fraser 73-72—145
MC Deyen Lawson 77-68—145
MC Zach Murray 72-74—146
MC Lachlan Barker 73-74—147
MC Maverick Antcliff 74-75—149
MC Taewook Koh (NZ) 72-80—152
WD Brendan Jones
WD Harrison Crowe
PGA TOUR Champions
Dominion Energy Charity Classic
The Country Club of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia
1 Tim O’Neal 71-67-65—203 $US350,000
3 David Bransdon 70-69-67—206 $165,000
T5 Rod Pampling 74-67-68—209 $80,650
T20 Mark Hensby 72-73-67—212 $26,333
T26 Cameron Percy 71-75-67—213 $19,122
T26 Stuart Appleby 71-71-71—213 $19,122
T37 Steven Alker (NZ) 71-75-69—215 $12,190
T37 Greg Chalmers 67-72-76—215 $12,190
T51 Richard Green 73-76-69—218 $6213
T54 John Senden 72-74-73—219 $6213
T61 Steve Allan 73-78-70—221 $3565
T65 Michael Wright 78-67-77—222 $2875
Challenge Tour
Hangzhou Open
Hangzhou West Lake Golf Club, Hangzhou, China
1 Conor Purcell 63-69-67-67—266 €73,776.16
T54 Hayden Hopewell 67-73-68-75—283 €1,683.02
MC George Worrall 77-68—145
Korean PGA Tour
The Charity Classic 2024
Sulhaewon CC, Republic of Korea
1 Wooyoung Cho 69-67-64—200
T38 Scott Hend 71-67-74—212
MC Sungjin Yeo (NZ) 68-76—144
MC Kevin Chun (NZ) 75-75—150
MC Junseok Lee 76-75—151
MC Wonjoon Lee 76-75—151
Sunshine Tour
Fortress Invitational
Glendower Golf Club, Edenvale, South Africa
1 Robin Williams 64-65-70-67—266
T48 Austin Bautista 70-68-72-76—286
In a dramatic final day at Mandurah Country Club, Elvis Smylie has claimed his first Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia win at the Bowra & O’Dea Nexus Advisernet WA Open in its 100th year and remarkable conditions.
For the second straight week on Tour, extra holes were needed to decide the champion, with Smylie edging out eventual runner-up Jak Carter on the first play-off hole after both were tied at the top at 19-under after 72 holes.
Also playing in the final group, local West Australian hope Curtis Luck finished in solo third one back at 18-under, with Victorian Matias Sanchez fourth at 15-under.
It was all about the final group today however, with all three players trading the lead at various points, and with scoring made difficult on the final day as the rain settled in over Mandurah, no player further back in the field was able to make a charge.
While overnight leader Carter started slow with two early bogeys, both Luck and Smylie started charging early and found themselves tied at the top.
A Carter birdie at six kept him in the hunt, as all three players played the next seven holes in even par. Keeping the friendly golf going, all players birdied 14, Smylie remaining two shots ahead of Carter and one of Luck.
Smylie and Luck made their first bogeys of the day on 16 and 17, Smylie’s lead now cut to one over both his playing partners coming up 18 after multiple delays due to the weather.
Both Smylie and Luck found the green safely with their second shots, but faced lengthy birdie putts which neither would convert, while Carter hit his second to a metre and drained the birdie putt to force the play-off in high winds and intermittent rain.
Heading back down 18, Carter took the honour and leaked his tee shot right finding a bare lie in the trees and some casual water he eventually got relief from, before Smylie piped his first down the right-centre finding the short grass.
A punch into the left greenside bunker was the best Carter could manage, while Smylie stepped up and almost holed his wedge, spinning it to two feet and placing one hand on the Roy Paxton Bowl.
As Carter holed out eventually for bogey, all there was left to do for Smylie was roll in his short putt and make his first Tour win official.
For those who have watched Smylie grow up, this win is a long time in the making, and the Queenslander’s relief as that final putt dropped was evident as he took his cap off and let out a primal scream to the skies.
“It means absolutely everything,” said Smylie. “I’ve been busting my backside out here for the last three years and to be able to get my first win, it means absolutely everything.
“I’m just so grateful and appreciative for all the people that have been by my side since day one, and the people that have me right now, I wouldn’t be in this position without them.”
Speaking to the wedge that sealed his victory, Smylie says he turned to a club that has been faithful to him all week.
“I actually used the exact same club that I used on 16 in the third round to hole-out with. So definitely have some good vibes with the 50-degree wedge at the moment,” he said.
“Hit a nice low flighted wedge shot and I’m not sure exactly where it landed. It’s an elevated green, but obviously hit it to about two foot and really nice knock it in and notch my first win that way.”
With Hannah Green winning on the LPGA tour today, it makes it two worldwide wins for Ritchie Smith coached players on the same day, Smylie revealing that his game has gone to another level under the star West Australian coach.
“It speaks volumes to the quality of coach that Richie is and the amount of great players that he has in his stable is really strong and I really enjoy being in that environment and practising and training with him,” said Smylie.
Coming off a third place finish at the CKB WA PGA Championship presented by TX-Civil & Logistics, Smylie now shoots to the top of the Order of Merit, with Jack Buchanan having a solid week to only drop to second.
Young West Australian Ollie Marsh was the low amateur of the tournament, taking home the prestigious Terry Gale Cup, while NSW’s Lochie Smith made it back-to-back wins in the All Abilities championship.
After escaping from “la-la land” on day one, Andre Stolz turned the Cowra Lamb Legends Pro-Am into yet another PGA Legends Tour victory today.
The 2024 Order of Merit leader made it back-to-back 36-hole wins this week by shooting rounds of 66-65 for an 11-under-par total on the NSW Central West layout to secure a four-shot win over Victorian Adam Henwood (65-70) and fellow Queenslander Chris Taylor (68-67).
HOW THE WINNER’S SCORE UNFOLDED
The ACT Senior PGA winner from Wednesday started round two a shot behind Henwood but proceeded to shoot the low round of Saturday to overcome the overnight leader’s challenge.
Three birdies on the front nine saw him turn in 33 and he then picked up shots at the par-4 10th and 12th holes to seize the lead.
While Henwood played the back nine in +1, Stolz was blemish-free, adding in another birdie on the par-4 17th to seal his 10th PGA Legends Tour title for 2024.
WHAT THE WINNER SAID
Stolz said: “Coming here after Fairbairn I was feeling pretty flat actually and had a slow start on day one. I was hitting it nice but I was a bit in la-la land. Just managed to spark something earlier on the back nine yesterday by knocking a few close.
”It was good fun playing with Adam today. I thought we were going to have one of those days where we’d make eight birdies each. He started on fire but cooled off a bit luckily for me.
“The way we started out I thought we were in for a bit of hustle and bustle all day.
“My short game has been a bit off lately so I’ve been doing a bit of work on it and it’s probably why there’s been a lack of bogeys the last couple of days.”
LEADERBOARD RUNDOWN
-11: Andre Stolz (Qld) 66-65
-7: Chris Taylor (Qld) 68-67; Adam Henwood (Vic) 65-70
-3: Mark Boulton (Vic) 71-68; Euan Walters (Vic) 70-69; Nigel Weldon (Qld) 70-69; Lucas Bates (Qld 70-69
-2: Guy Wall (NSW) 66-74
NEXT UP
The PGA Legends Tour’s next stop is the Kent Relocation Group NSW Senior PGA Championship at Cromer Golf Club on October 21-22. Stolz is the defending champion.
An iconic Queensland restaurant will be recreated overlooking the 18th green at Royal Queensland Golf Club as an exciting new feature of this year’s BMW Australian PGA Championship.
Combining world-class golf with Brisbane riverside venue Tillerman Seafood Restaurant and Bar and prominent restaurateur Andrew Baturo, Tillerman on 18 will redefine the tournament’s off-course experience.
The 52-seat pop-up purpose-built restaurant will deliver a four-course menu comprising some of Queensland’s best and freshest seafood – available across two lunch sittings – over each day of the championship.
As well as enjoying unmatched views over Royal Queensland’s closing hole where the Joe Kirkwood Cup winner will be crowned on Sunday afternoon, all Tillerman on 18 guests will receive complimentary course entry and a reserved grandstand seat at the Dabble Party Hole to utilise pre or post-lunch.
Baturo, who is also a keen golfer, said: “Tillerman is excited and honoured to be pairing up with this year’s BMW Australian PGA Championship at Royal Queensland Golf Club.
“A premium seafood dining experience alongside this prestigious golfing event is a match made in heaven – or Queensland. Same thing really!
“November is my favourite time of the year to play disastrous golf and eat some delicious seafood.
“We can’t wait to see our regulars on the golf course and, of course, meet some new ’soon-to-be’ regulars at the 18th.”
Tillerman on 18 will showcase some of the restaurant’s most popular dishes, cooked to perfection by Tillerman Head Chef, Kevin Gallo.
“Start with blue swimmer crab and finger lime on warm brioche, then move onto your entree of Moreton Bay bug dumplings in our wonderful bisque,” he said.
“For mains, select the crispy-skinned Coral Coast barramundi swimming in Tillerman’s signature Meunière sauce.
“Tillerman on 18 will have everything that Tillerman on the river is known for – amazing, fresh seafood, incredible hospitality, resort-style interiors and, of course, iconic views.”
PGA of Australia Chief Commercial Officer, Michael McDonald said: “We’re always looking to innovate and grow the fan experience at the BMW Australian PGA Championship and we are delighted to welcome Andrew and the Tillerman team who will provide a fantastic dining experience with a real Queensland flavour.
“Whilst the golf is always front and centre, delivering a restaurant at a major event of this level has been high on our priorities for a while now.
“We know that many golf fans are also fans of high-quality dining experiences so Tillerman on 18 is a perfect offering for us.
“With 52 seats per sitting, we expect it to be exclusive experience like no other.”
Bookings for tables of two, four or six can be made across two sittings:
• Lunch Sitting 1: 11:30am – 1:15pm
• Lunch Sitting 2: 1:45pm – 3:45pm
Book your place here: https://premier.ticketek.com.au/shows/show.aspx?sh=pgatill24
Photo: Andrew Baturo with Tillerman on 18 ambassador Katherine Galvin
If family and food count for anything, Minjee Lee is well placed to go back-to-back at this week’s BMW Ladies Championship in Korea.
Lee has not won since her playoff victory over Alison Lee at Seowon Valley Country Club 12 months ago, the return to a familiar setting with family support all around here – not to mention the Korean food – putting her in the right frame of mind for a successful defence.
Paired with New Zealand’s Lydia Ko and local hope Haeran Ryu for Thursday’s opening round, the 28-year-old is drawing on every positive memory she can to bring an end to her winning drought.
“It’s always a special week when I get to come back, and I enjoy the Korean food,” said Lee, who was part of an LPGA entourage who feasted on Korean barbecue on Tuesday.
“It’s very close to my heritage and I get to see my extended family as well. That’s always nice.
“And coming back to a golf course where you’ve won before and the memories, that’s cool, too.
“I just played one of the nines, and was like, Oh, this is where I holed a putt. And with Brad (caddie Brad Beecher) out there, we were talking about it just then.
“It’s just nice to come back; we have such great memories.”
Lee is one of five Aussies in the field this week, Hannah Green chasing a third win for the year, Grace Kim seeking her second LPGA Tour title and Gabi Ruffels and Hira Naveed both hunting their first.
The competition between Aussies will be strong in Thailand, too, with a total of 19 to contest the Black Mountain Championship on the Asian Tour.
Currently seventh on the Order of Merit, Travis Smyth will be out to continue his excellent season while Wade Ormsby returns to the same venue where he was victorious in the International Series a year ago.
Like Lee, Ormsby hopes to draw on that experience, albeit in a different tournament.
“It’s always nice to come back to a place where you have had success,” Ormsby said.
“The conditions are a little bit different this year, course looks a little bit wetter.
“They’ve had a lot of rain around here lately but the course looks in great shape.”
Ten Australians have qualified for week one of the PGA TOUR Champions playoffs while Cam Davis and Aaron Baddeley will fly the Aussie flag at the Shriners Children’s Open in Las Vegas.
Round 1 tee times
PGA TOUR
Shriners Children’s Open
TPC Summerlin, Las Vegas, Nevada
6:07am Aaron Baddeley
6:29am Cam Davis
7:02am* Ryan Fox (NZ)
Defending champion: Tom Kim
Past Aussie winners: Greg Norman (1986), Stuart Appleby (2003), Andre Stolz (2004), Rod Pampling (2016)
Prize money: $US7 million
TV times: Live 4am-11am Friday, Saturday; Live 8am-11am Sunday, Monday on Fox Sports 503 and Kayo.
LPGA Tour
BMW Ladies Championship
Seowon Valley Country Club, Seowon Hills, Republic of Korea
10:21am* Grace Kim
10:54am* Hira Naveed
11:49am Hannah Green
12pm Gabriela Ruffels
12:22pm Lydia Ko (NZ), Minjee Lee
Defending champion: Minjee Lee
Past Aussie winners: Minjee Lee (2023)
Prize money: $US2.2 million
TV times: Live 2pm-6pm Thursday, Friday on Fox Sports 503; Live 2pm-6pm Saturday on Fox Sports 505; Live 2pm-6pm on Fox Sports 507 and Kayo.
DP World Tour
Estrella Damm N.A. Andalucía Masters
Real Club de Golf Sotogrande, Andalucía, Spain
10:50pm* David Micheluzzi
11:50pm Daniel Hillier (NZ)
Defending champion: Adrian Meronk
Past Aussie winners: Nil
Prize money: $US3.25 million
TV times: Live 11pm-4am Thursday, Friday; Live 10:30pm-3am Saturday; Live 8pm-1am Sunday on Fox Sports 503 and Kayo.
Asian Tour
Black Mountain Championship
Black Mountain Golf Club, Thailand
10:45am* Travis Smyth
10:55am* Ben Campbell (NZ)
11:05am* Nick Voke (NZ)
11:15am Zach Murray
11:25am* Jack Thompson
11:45am* Jordan Zunic
3:05pm* Douglas Klein
3:15pm Kazuma Kobori (NZ)
3:15pm* Harrison Crowe
3:25pm* Todd Sinnott
3:45pm Wade Ormsby
3:35pm* Andrew Dodt
4:05pm* Aaron Wilkin
4:15pm Brendan Jones, Kevin Yuan
4:15pm* Maverick Antcliff, Marcus Fraser
4:25pm Deyen Lawson
4:25pm* Justin Warren
4:35pm Jed Morgan, Sam Brazel
4:35pm* Lachlan Barker
Defending champion: Inaugural event
Past Aussie winners: Nil
Prize money: $US2 million
TV times: Live 5pm-6pm Thursday on Fox Sports 505; Live 6pm-9pm Thursday on Fox Sports 503; Live 5pm-6pm Friday on Fox Sports 505; Live 3pm-7pm Saturday on Fox Sports 507; Live 6pm-7:15pm Sunday on Fox Sports 507 and Kayo.
PGA TOUR Champions
Dominion Energy Charity Classic
The Country Club of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia
Australasians in the field: Steven Alker (NZ), Steve Allan, Stuart Appleby, David Bransdon, Greg Chalmers, Richard Green, Mark Hensby, Rod Pampling, Cameron Percy, John Senden, Michael Wright.
Defending champion: Harrison Frazar
Past Aussie winners: Nil
Prize money: $US2.3 million
TV times: Live 5am-8am Saturday on Fox Sports 505; Live 5am-8am Sunday, Monday on Fox Sports 503 and Kayo.
Challenge Tour
Hangzhou Open
Hangzhou West Lake Golf Club, Hangzhou, China
2:20pm* George Worrall
2:40pm* Hayden Hopewell
Defending champion: Inaugural event
Past Aussie winners: Nil
Prize money: $US500,000
Korean PGA Tour
The Charity Classic 2024
Sulhaewon CC, Republic of Korea
9am Sungjin Yeo (NZ)
9:40am Kevin Chun (NZ)
10:20am* Wonjoon Lee
2pm* Junseok Lee
2:10pm Scott Hend
Defending champion: Inaugural event
Past Aussie winners: Nil
Prize Money: KRW1 billion
Sunshine Tour
Fortress Invitational
Glendower Golf Club, Edenvale, South Africa
Australasians in the field: Austin Bautista
Defending champion: Robin Williams
Past Aussie winners: Nil
Prize money: R2 million
Just days after rounding out his illustrious amateur career with two successful weeks in Japan, Victorian Phoenix Campbell will make his debut as a professional golfer at this week’s Bowra & O’Dea Nexus Advisernet 100th WA Open at Mandurah Country Club.
Courtesy of his stunning win at last year’s Queensland PGA Championship at Nudgee Golf Club, Campbell has a two-year exemption on the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia, which he says takes the pressure off slightly for his debut season.
“I’m sitting pretty comfortable at the moment, but yeah, I’m just going to keep playing my game and keep developing, keep learning,” said the Yarra Yarra Golf Club member.
“I’m not going to put too much emphasis on getting anywhere straight away. I just want to keep growing and learning and becoming a better player and I think the rest will take care of itself.”
Campbell took out the 2024 Master of the Amateurs and earlier the 2023 Riversdale Cup. More recently he was the low Australian player at the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship, and the low amateur at last week’s Japan Open.
However the win at Nudgee almost 12 months ago was certainly the highlight of Campbell’s amateur career.
“It’s still pretty surreal. It all happened really quick. I remember having a pretty rough first day I played, but just nothing really dropped,” Campbell reflected.
“I was around the cut line I remember, and then my good mate, Ben, was actually complaining about it, and I just told him, I said, ‘mate, we’ve got to stick around, I’m going to win this week’.
“I was adamant I was going to have a good week.”
The Bowra & O’Dea Nexus Advisernet WA Open is live on Fox Sports, available on Foxtel and Kayo.
Many expected Campbell to turn professional immediately after that triumph and make use of his new category, but the Victorian is happy with his decision to wait.
“I gave myself the opportunity to have a few more experiences overseas with different courses and different places, meet new people,” Campbell said.
“Obviously I’ve been leading into this for a long time now and done a lot of work to get here.”
Despite arriving in Perth late on Tuesday night from Japan, Campbell is comfortable with the Mandurah layout, having finished fourth in a Mandurah Amateur a couple of years ago.
“It will be good to see it in the Pro-Am today and just kind of refresh me on what the course looks like,” he said.
“I’m pretty excited to get going. I’m going to try and take it as easy as possible today. I’ve got an afternoon tee time tomorrow so I can sleep in a little bit, which is good.”
Campbell will tee off in round one alongside Matias Sanchez and Harry Hillier at 12.25pm (WA time).
Reflecting on his win at the 2021 Bowra & O’Dea Nexus Advisernet WA Open, Braden Becker says staying at home and sleeping in his own bed went a long way in keeping him comfortable that week and gave him the extra edge he needed when the final day went down to the wire with Hayden Hopewell.
Not only is Becker sleeping in his own bed this week, but he’ll be also contesting the 100th WA Open on his home course at Mandurah Country Club.
Having been at Mandurah since he was a junior, Becker also completed the PGA Membership Pathway Program there and still works at the club, even helping a member with a club fit after his practice round on Monday.
“I would’ve played here, I don’t know, somewhere 1,500 to 2,000 times at least,” said Becker of his home track.
“I think the course looks great, they’ve definitely got the greens up and the fairways look fantastic, super smooth.
“Obviously it’s not very long golf course, but it’s very tight, and knowing where to miss is super important.”
The Bowra & O’Dea Nexus Advisernet WA Open is live on Fox Sports, available on Foxtel and Kayo.
His breakout win in 2021 at Royal Fremantle solidified Becker’s status on the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia, however despite having consistent seasons, he has been unable to re-enter the winners’ circle since hoisting the Roy Paxton Bowl.
Becker played both the opening events of this season, following up his T35 finish at the PNG Open with a T35 in Kalgoorlie last week in Kalgoorlie, but says he is happy where his game is at.
“The game’s sort of trending in the right direction, so I’m happy with that,” he said. “Obviously I really wanted to peak this week just, because it is what it is, being at my home course.
“I’m happy with how I’m driving the ball, happy with how I’m putting and chipping, so all the aspects of the game are there, just got to just minimise my own mistakes, pick the right holes to make a mistake.”
While Becker will have a significant advantage over most of the field this week, he’s not the only one, with a flurry of Mandurah locals hoping to hoist their home state’s open in its historic 100th year at their home course.
WPGA Tour of Australasia player Kathryn Norris is another Mandurah hopeful, and is one of four women in the field this week continuing a strong tradition of Western Australia’s top women golfers teeing it up in the state open.
Norris’s partner, who was playing so much golf at Mandurah that he has recently joined the club himself, Jordan Doull will be another player the Mandurah members will be backing this week.
Bursting onto the scene with a runner-up finish last week at Kalgoorlie, Doull will be looking to go one better at his new home club in addition to Mount Lawley, where he is among the star members that includes Hannah Green and Hira Naveed.
Arguably Mandurah’s best hope for a local winner however is Jason Scrivener, who is returning to contest his state open fresh off securing his DP World Tour card for another season.
Scrivener’s house is just over the fence from the 10th green at Mandurah, and like Becker, could probably play this course with his eyes closed. The pair played a casual round together a few months ago, with Scrivener lipping out on the 18th green to eventually card a 58.
Come Sunday, the balcony overlooking the 18th at Mandurah will be full, and if one of their fellow members is leading down the stretch, Becker says the scenes will be a sight to behold.
“I think anyone from here could do it, you definitely will see some scenes,” he said. “Everyone will run on the green and it’ll be a pretty wild celebration night.
“If it’s me, I might have to change my Monday flight, I might have to fly out Wednesday, but I mean it would be the best feeling ever.”
Big sister Minjee Lee claimed bragging rights but only just as she and brother Min Woo led the way for Aussies around the world.
From the point of an opening round of 5-under 67 Minjee was never far from the top of the leaderboard at the Buick LPGA Shanghai event in China.
A second consecutive 67 on Friday saw Minjee enter the weekend just two strokes off the lead, ultimately finishing in eighth position after rounds of 71-69 over the final two days.
Now ranked No.16 in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Ranking, it is a second straight top-finish for Minjee, replicating her strong end to the season of a year ago.
“I like playing in Asia. A lot of my family come out to watch, and I have a nice fan support group here as well,” Lee said about playing in Shanghai for the fourth time.
“It makes me feel more at home. Obviously, I enjoy playing everywhere, but Asia, it’s close to my heritage, and just nice to be here.”
Min Woo was also in Asia this past week, defending his SJM Macao Open crown at Macau Golf and Country Club.
Thailand’s Rattanon Wannasrichan shot 9-under 61 and was never headed, Min Woo making steady progress up the leaderboard through the week with rounds of 68-68-67-66 to earn a share of ninth.
The putter proved to be Min Woo’s greatest weapon in his 4-under round on Sunday, needing just 12 putts on the back nine and 26 total to secure just his third top-10 of the year.
David Micheluzzi kept his hopes alive of qualifying for the DP World Tour Playoffs with a tie for 27th at the FedEx Open de France while Phoenix Campbell claimed low amateur honours at the Japan Open in his final event before turning professional.
Photos: Zhe Ji/Getty Images (Minjee Lee); Asian Tour (Min Woo Lee)
Results
PGA TOUR
Black Desert Championship
Black Desert Resort, Ivins, Utah
T46 Ryan Fox (NZ) 65-72-68-70—275
MC Tim Wilkinson (NZ) 69-69—138
MC Aaron Baddeley 70-74—144
LPGA Tour
Buick LPGA Shanghai
Qizhong Garden Golf Club, Shanghai, China
1 Ruoning Yin 70-66-63-64—263 $US315,000
8 Minjee Lee 67-67-71-69—274 $52,307
T47 Hannah Green 77-70-69-69—285 $7,608
T53 Hira Naveed 73-68-71-74—286 $6,657
DP World Tour
FedEx Open de France
Le Golf National, Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, France
1 Dan Bradbury 67-66-69-66—268 €505,265.12
T27 David Micheluzzi 72-67-67-70—276 €27,343.76
Asian Tour
SJM Macao Open
Macau Golf and Country Club, Macao, China
1 Rattanon Wannasrichan 61-66-67-66—260 $US180,000
T9 Min Woo Lee 68-68-67-66—269 $18,550
T19 Sam Brazel 63-69-70-70—272 $11,050
T23 Douglas Klein 67-68-69-69—273 $9,550
T23 Kevin Yuan 69-67-68-69—273 $9,550
T23 Jack Thompson 72-64-68-69—273 $9,550
T37 Maverick Antcliff 73-66-70-68—277 $6,410
T37 Scott Hend 70-68-73-66—277 $6,410
T56 Wade Ormsby 70-68-70-75—283 $3,400
T56 Denzel Ieremia (NZ) 70-65-74-74—283 $3,400
T61 Aaron Wilkin 72-68-70-74—284 $3,050
T63 Marcus Fraser 74-66-75-70—285 $2,850
T68 Justin Warren 68-71-80-69—288 $2,350
MC Jordan Zunic 71-70—141
MC Zach Murray 71-70—141
MC Todd Sinnott 71-70—141
MC Jed Morgan 72-70—142
MC Lachlan Barker 71-72—143
MC Harrison Crowe 70-74—144
MC Deyen Lawson 70-74—144
MC Nick Voke (NZ) 73-72—145
WD Brendan Jones 71
WD Andrew Dodt
Ladies European Tour
Wistron Ladies Open – Taiwan
Sunrise Golf and Country Club, Chinese Taipei
1 Chiara Tamburlini 66-73-68-69—276 $US182,902.40
T46 Kirsten Rudgeley 71-76-73-73—293 $4,618.29
Japan Golf Tour
Japan Open
Tokyo Golf Club, Saitama
1 Shugo Imahira 66-72-70-68—276 ¥42m
T25 Michael Hendry (NZ) 74-74-73-71—292 ¥1.533m
T31 Brad Kennedy 72-76-67-78—293 ¥1.365m
T34 Phoenix Campbell 70-78-74-72—294 ——-
MC Adam Scott 75-76—151
PGA TOUR Champions
SAS Championship
Prestonwood CC, Cary, North Carolina
1 Jerry Kelly 67-69-67—203 $US315,000
T5 Steven Alker 69-70-69—208 $92,000
T11 Michael Wright 69-73-69—211 $42,000
T29 Steve Allan 73-71-70—214 $14,560
T29 Cameron Percy 71-69-74—214 $14,560
T45 Rod Pampling 74-69-74—217 $8,400
T47 Mark Hensby 73-74-71—218 $6,720
T53 Greg Chalmers 70-74-75—219 $4,935
T61 David Bransdon 74-76-72—222 $3,150
T68 Stuart Appleby 80-74-70—224 $2,037
73 John Senden 81-73-73—227 $1,470
WD Richard Green 72-70—142
Challenge Tour
Hainan Open 2024
Sanya Luhuitou GC, Donghai Bay, China
1 Hamish Brown 66-70-67-66—269 €73,160.56
T49 Hayden Hopewell 70-71-74-69—284 €1,920.46
MC George Worrall 75-72—147
Korean PGA Tour
Baeksong Holdings-Asiad CC Busan Open
Asiad Country Club, Korea
1 Jang Yu-bin 65-69-73-68—275
Won on first hole of sudden-death playoff
T42 Sungjin Yeo (NZ) 70-72-73-70—285
T48 Wonjoon Lee 74-68-74-71—287
T62 Kevin Chun 75-68-76-75—294
MC Junseok Lee 74-73—147
MC Changgi Lee (NZ) 73-75—148
Sunshine Tour
Vodacom Origins of Golf – Wild Coast
Wild Coast Sun Country Club, Port Edward, South Africa
1 Jonathan Broomhead 70-66-63—199
MC Austin Bautista 68-74—142
