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Michael Hendry, Ryan Peake and Cholcheva Wongras have got their Webex Players Series Murray River campaigns off to a perfect start, all posting 7-under around the Old Course at Cobram Barooga to share the lead after day one.
Out early, Hendry and Peake both got off to incredibly hot starts in the calm morning conditions, and the 64s they eventually signed for could have remarkably both been lower.
On the other side of the draw, Wongras’ 64 in the afternoon was a masterful display of precision, the Thai 17-year-old making nine birdies on her opening round.
There was no shortage of low scoring today, with 31 players 4-under or better and the end of play. Four players are tied fourth at 6-under, with Brad Kennedy, Jake McLeod, Todd Sinnott and Anthony Quayle all carding 65.
While an even larger cluster are tied eighth at 5-under, including WPGA Tour of Australasia trio Justice Bosio, Jess Whitting and Belinda Ji.
Wongras managed to start her day with four consecutive birdies on the back nine at Cobram, and rolled in two more alongside just the one bogey to make the turn in 5-under.
“My putting was just working today,” said Wongras. “It was nice, the wind was pretty calm and the golf course was really nice.”
Wongras managed a further three birdies on her second nine, including two back-to-back late in the round to take some momentum into Friday.
Having played most of her golf last year back home in Thailand, Wongras usually makes the most of her limited visits to Australia and finished in a tie for nineteenth on the Murray last year.
Starting on opposite sides of the course, both Peake (28) and Hendry (30) took apart each half of Cobram’s Old Course to start their days.
Carding an eagle, a bogey and six birdies on his opening nine, Peake packed the fireworks for his trip to the Murray, as it looked as if the club record may be in danger.
“Oh yeah, I was thinking about it” Peake said of looking at an ultra-low score.
“Putted really well on the front nine, took advantage of all my opportunities.
“I just saw the lines perfectly and rolled them all in, but I think you can’t expect to play like that for all 18-holes.”
An even-par back nine with two birdies and two bogeys paled in comparison to the front, although Peake wasn’t complaining with his name atop the leaderboard.
“Towards the back nine the wind started to pick up a little bit, so I got a few wedge numbers wrong. Didn’t give myself the best opportunities,” he said.
“I don’t think the putts roll in quite as easy in the afternoon as they do early in the morning and that’s kind of what I found on the back nine, but no, very, very satisfied with that start.
“I think early in the morning it’s always been known that that’s when you’ve got to shoot your score, so very happy to have done it.”
Similarly, Hendry opened his Murray River account with a 6-under 30 on the back nine at Cobram, the Kiwi admitting the fast start came as a bit of a surprise to even him.
“Yeah, the way I’ve been putting, yes, I am a bit surprised,” Hendry said with a smile. “My putter has been a little bit uncooperative, but I actually put a new one in today and been working with a friend of mine back home on customising it and it really worked nicely today, so hopefully it stays nice and hot.”
Again, in a similar fashion to Peake, it was a tale of two nines for Hendry, however his only two blemishes came in his final three holes, leaving a bitter sting to what was otherwise a flawless round of golf.
“It’s obviously pretty early in the year and I haven’t played a lot of golf, so been working pretty hard from the beginning of last week really to try and sort of chip the rust off and work on what me and my coach are working on,” he said.
“I definitely had it there for a while today, which is great, and the great thing is the bad shots came from not quite doing what I wanted to do, so it proves to me that what we’re working on is the right thing.”
Finishing seventh last year on the Murray, Hendry has fond memories and says the course here is a great match for his accurate game.
“It’s quite narrow in places and essentially that’s my game,” he said. “I hit it pretty straight, hit a lot of greens and hopefully if I can putt well, I will have a good round of golf pretty much like I did today.
“It’s just a matter of making sure the putter’s cooperating, and most of the time if that happens on a course like this, I’m probably going to do okay.”
Having cut his time on the Japan Golf Tour short late last year, Anthony Quayle had a clear goal in mind on his return to the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia … finish in the top-three on the Order of Merit and secure a DP World Tour card.
Ahead of this week’s Webex Players Series Murray River, Quayle is currently in eighth position and is well on his way, the man from Nhulunbuy remarkably getting there without recording a win.
With five top-five finishes since November, including a triplet of thirds highlighted by the BMW Australian PGA Championship, Quayle has certainly been one of the most consistent players on Tour, but also knows how important that elusive win will be in achieving his goal.
“I’m pretty proud of, I guess the level that I’m maintaining each week, but just one floor is, I haven’t got one of them over the line yet,” said Quayle at Cobram Barooga Golf Club today.
“Given what’s at stake, the goal from here on is to probably get at least one of them over the line, maybe a couple and see where that gets me.
“Given how far behind I am with Elvis (Smylie), I really need to probably win a couple of these coming in and see if I can drag one of those spots.”
After wins at both the Bowra & O’Dea Nexus Advisernet WA Open, and at the BMW Australian PGA Championship, Smylie sits proudly atop the Order of Merit at 1247 points, with Quayle at 461.
While Smylie is well clear, Quayle definitely has the second and third positions in his sights, with Cameron Smith (735 points) and Lucas Herbert (717 points) with zero and one chances respectively to add to their tallies.
One of the most loved golfers on the Tour, being back around his mates week-to-week has indeed had a positive impact on Quayle’s play, the Northern Territory born product even having his brother Spencer caddie for him at Webex Players Series Perth a few weeks back.
“I love hanging out with people. I love the social aspect to golf,” said Quayle. “I feel like sometimes when you’re travelling by yourself overseas, you’re a little bit isolated and unable to tap into that part of the job.
“It’s hard to be able to get that sort of experience on the road. Whereas back here I feel like I’m just hanging out with my mates playing Saturday morning golf kind of every week. It’s awesome.”
This was precisely the advice he received from a very well-known name in Queensland golf, and a big reason he decided to come home from Japan.
“I had a pretty good conversation with Phil Scott at the end of last year,” he said of his fellow Sanctuary Cove Golf and Country Club member.
“I was struggling at the time, I was missing a lot of cuts in Japan and I still had tournaments to play, but it was clashing with all the big events at the end of the year in Australia.
“He was the one that brought it to my attention how important environment is.”
The move has allowed Quayle to be a “better version of himself”, and whether the win he is chasing comes this week at Cobram Barooga or further down the line, he’s confident it will come.
“The one glaring opportunity is the New Zealand Open,” he said. “I think a good performance there is going to go a long way and earning one of those cards and being able to get some more points.
“Continuing to perform well in every event is important though, and this week is just about as good a country golf club as I’ve ever seen. I think the quality is unbelievable.
“The fairways are like carpet. I think it’s going to be an awesome test.”
After a “tools down” summer, Brett Coletta is looking forward to trying to defend a Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia title for the first time at the Vic Open next week.
The Victorian shot back-to-back 65s at the weekend on the Beach Course at 13th Beach Golf Links to capture the 2024 title – by two shots over Jordan Zunic – his second success as a professional.
This year, he heads the entries in a men’s field that includes six Tour winners from this season plus the likes of Matt Griffin, Michael Hendry, Anthony Quayle, Harrison Crowe and Zunic.
“It’s always nice to be able to defend,” Coletta said.
“I’ve only done it once – at Hunter Valley – and I wasn’t successful, but this has been on the radar. The Vic Open is always an enjoyable week.”
The 27-year-old played his first tournament for 2025 at Webex Players Series Victoria at Rosebud Country Club last week, finishing in equal 20th after rounds of 69-65-68-70.
Before then, he hadn’t teed it up competitively since a T29 performance at the Saudi International on the Asian Tour the week after the ISPS HANDA Australian Open.
“Honestly, for me it was just tools down,” Coletta said of his Christmas-New Year break,
“There were a couple of little things we need to iron out of my swing with my coach, Brandon (Rave).
“But to be honest, it was in a pretty good spot when I came back from Saudi. We did some really good work there and I’m really trying to get some good momentum moving forward into the busier part of the year, which is kind of towards the end of the year.”
The highest-ranked player in the men’s field is set to be Japan’s Ren Yonezawa, the world No.286 and two-time Japan Golf Tour receiving one of the tournament invites alongside countryman Shiso Go.
The tournament pro-am will be held on the Beach and Creek courses on Wednesday morning (7.45am tee off), with the Vic Open starting on Thursday morning.
Entry to the course is free and parking is available on site.
The Webex Players Series rolls on this week, with players heading north from Rosebud to the Murray River and the Old Course at Cobram Barooga Golf Club.
Having grown up just down the road in Shepparton, the event will once again be played in honour of the late Jarrod Lyle.
Last year saw Kazuma Kobori take out his first of three victories on the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia on his way to winning the Order of Merit.
However, the Murray River event has been a happy hunting ground for WPGA Tour players, with Hannah Green hoisting the trophy in 2022, and Sarah Jane Smith making it two-from-two for the women in 2023.
The Order of Merit standings on both Tours are tightening up at the top, this week a great chance to accrue some points ahead of next week’s Vic Open.
LAST YEAR’S CHAMPION: Kazuma Kobori
PRIZEMONEY: $250,000
LIVE SCORES: www.pga.org.au; www.wpga.org.au
TV COVERAGE: Webex Players Series Murray River is live on Fox Sports, available on Foxtel and Kayo.
*All times AEDT.
Round 3: Saturday 3pm-6pm (Fox Sports 503/Kayo)
Final Round: Sunday 1pm-6pm (Fox Sports 503/Kayo)
HEADLINERS
Ashley Lau – 2024 Vic Open women’s champion
Brad Kennedy – Two-time NZ Open winner, 2021 Webex Players Series Vic winner
Kelsey Bennett – 2024 The Athena champion
Phoenix Campbell – 2023 and 2024 Qld PGA champion
Abbie Teasdale – 2025 Melbourne International winner
Jak Carter – Three-time runner-up on Tour this season
Jeongmin Cho – Five-time LPGA of Korea Tour winner
Michael Hendry – 2023 Vic Open champion
Jordan Doull – 2025 Webex Players Series Perth winner
Anthony Quayle – Former Queensland Open and Queensland PGA winner
They’ve been boyhood rivals and teamed up against their old man, now Pickin brothers Bryce and Jye are sharing the professional stage.
Two years Bryce’s junior, Jye (pictured, right) turned professional in May of last year after an amateur career highlighted by victory at the 2023 South Australian Amateur and countless Golf NSW representative teams.
The Newcastle native made an immediate impression on the professional game by taking out one of the most coveted events on the adidas PGA Pro-Am Series just months later, shooting a course record 62 in Round 2 to win the PSC Insurance Brokers Wagga Wagga Pro-Am.
Jye is the lone Pickin in the field for this week’s Webex Players Series Murray River tournament at Cobram Barooga Golf Club, the 24-year-old hoping to further advance his position on the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit.
Bryce’s entry into professional golf has come via a different path.
The left-hander was also an outstanding amateur who played pennants alongside Jye for Avondale Golf Club in Sydney and won the boys division of the 2018 Faldo Series Australia Championship. Ladies European Tour player, Kelsey Bennett, won the girls division.
Yet a move into professional golf would come later. He flirted with a move into full-time work before taking up a position in the golf shop at Newcastle Golf Club.
For someone Jye says is a golf tragic, it was the perfect mix of employment and passion.
It led directly to Bryce starting the PGA of Australia’s Membership Pathway Program last year under Andrew Bowles at Newcastle Golf Club.
Bryce’s performances in the MPP tournaments in 2024, where he won three times, earned him an invite to make his Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia debut at the PNG Open last August where he and Jye played a Tour event together for the first time.
Bryce received another invite to play Webex Players Series Perth where he not only made the cut, but he and Jye were paired together for Round 3 at Royal Fremantle Golf Club.
“Oh, this was the dream. Absolutely,” said 26-year-old Bryce of playing on Tour.
“It feels a little bit surreal. It’s awesome.
“When I started the Membership Pathway Program, I started to play OK. Got a little bit of Tour status and then the opportunities came.”
Jye got the better of the brotherly battle that day in Perth to the tune of 70-75 yet the collective experience outweighed any thought of one-upmanship.
“It was pretty surreal. It was awesome,” said Bryce. “We played so many Saturdays together; it’s pretty different here.”
“I feel like it relaxed the nerves a whole lot for sure, seeing him walking onto the first tee,” added Jye, who went on to finish tied for 15th.
“Obviously a Saturday of a Tour event is pretty cool. And then to play with your brother is awesome again.
“To have that sibling rivalry is something that we’ve had since we were 10 years old. To have it at this level was priceless.
“To come to a tour event and for him to be sleeping in the room next to me and doing everything together, it’s awesome. It has that home feel to it as well, which is even better for players that travel so much.
“To have your brother alongside you is awesome.”
While the rivalry will never leave completely – they were joint winners with Robbie Minns of the Wyong PGA Open Match last June – the pair did team up as kids to get one up on the old man.
“We had a bet between us of our combined handicaps against our Dad’s handicap,” Jye recalled.
“The first time we beat him, he played in the morning at Charlestown and we both played in the afternoon.”
“We were having a swim in the pool at around six o’clock when the scores went into GolfLink and we pipped him,” said Bryce.
“He was like 8.1 or 8.2 and we were 4.1 and 3.9.”
Adds Jye: “Deep down I think he was happy to hand over the dozen balls.”
Lucas Herbert is set to return to Queenstown for the New Zealand Open presented by Sky Sport in what will be his fourth start on the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia this season.
The event, which takes place at Millbrook Resort between February 27 and March 2, promises to deliver world-class competition, with Herbert among the top players gunning for a share of the NZ$2 million prize pool.
Herbert, part of the 2024 LIV Golf team championship winning Ripper GC, owns five professional wins, including the Bermuda Championship on the PGA TOUR, three victories on the DP World Tour and most recently the Ford NSW Open on his local Tour.
A runner-up in 2020 when finishing two shots back of fellow Aussie Brad Kennedy, Herbert is excited to be making his way back to world renowned region to contest a national Open.
“I’m absolutely stoked to be returning to Queenstown for the New Zealand Open,” Herbert said.
“It’s one of the most beautiful places I’ve played, and since I last played at Millbrook Resort all I keep hearing is how the tournament is growing and getting better and better.
“The courses are challenging, the crowds are great, and the competition is always top-notch. I’m really looking forward to being a part of such a fantastic event and seeing if I can go one better.”
Herbert’s return to the New Zealand Open adds to a field already filled with top-tier professionals who will contest the pro-am format event that is co-sanctioned by the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia and Asian Tours and in partnership with the Japan Golf Tour.
“We’re thrilled to have Lucas heading back to Queenstown next month,” Tournament Director Michael Glading said.
“He is a very exciting player to watch, having come really close a few years ago and we know fans are going to be thrilled to see him in action. With Lucas joining an already competitive field, this year’s New Zealand Open is shaping up to be one of the strongest fields we have ever had.”
The 104th New Zealand Open tees off at Millbrook Resort in Queenstown from February 27 to March 2.
Approaching his 51st birthday next month, Michael Wright says he is playing the best golf of his life and he converted it into a playoff victory over Jak Carter at Webex Players Series Victoria today.
A par on the second playoff hole – after the veteran Queenslander hit an exquisite bunker shot to inside a metre – shut out South Australian Carter who stumbled to a double-bogey to lose a third playoff of the season on the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia.
A victor on Tour for the first time since the 2011 WA PGA Championship, Wright shot a final-round of 2-under-par 68 at Rosebud Country Club, while Carter, 10th overnight, stormed up the leaderboard with an equal best round of the day, a 6-under 64, to finish at 15-under-par.
Victorian Andrew Martin and Queenslander Brad Kennedy shared third place, one shot out of the playoff, after both shot final rounds of 68.
Heading out for the final round as joint leader with Corey Lamb, Wright, who has his scratch-golfer son Noah as fulltime caddie, pulled clear by three shots after birdies at the eighth and 10th holes.
But a bogey on the long par-4 15th, after Carter had birdied 16 and 17, left them level until the playoff was over.
“It feels fantastic (to win) and to have my son on the bag too made it even more special,” the PGA TOUR Champions member said.
“This was one for the old boys. It’s pretty cool.”
Wright says he’s a more relaxed golfer compared to when he was full-time on the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia where he had five top-10 finishes in 2023 before going on to successfully negotiate PGA TOUR Champions Qualifying School.
He finished his rookie season in the US 52nd on the moneylist, highlighted by two top-10 finishes.
As he prepares to return to America for a second campaign, Wright said such a win is testament to playing against the likes of major winners Bernhard Langer, Ernie Els, Stewart Cink, Fred Couples and Justin Leonard every week.
“Having played over on the Champions for a year now has given me a lot of experience,” he said.
“I’ve never been on a tour where I’ve played week in, week out. Playing on that tour, I played 23 events and it was like playing 23 Australian Opens.”
Carter has now experienced the disappointment of a playoff loss at the WA Open, Queensland PGA and at Rosebud in the 2024/25 season but has climbed to 10th on the Order of Merit.
After being the joint leader with Wright after rounds two and three, Lamb (73) endured a difficult Sunday with an uncooperative putter to drop to 10-under-par. His only birdie on Sunday came at the par-4 fifth.
Reigning Vic Open champion, Ashley Lau (Malaysia), ended up as highest-placed woman, in equal seventh at 11-under after two rounds of 68 at the weekend.
Queensland’s Cassie Porter (68) and WA’s Abbie Teasdale (68) finished strongly at 10-under but their 2025 campaigns will now head in different directions – Porter to the LPGA Tour for the first time and Teasdale to Webex Players Series Murray River next week.
Kelsey Bennett’s 65 was the low Sunday round for the women and lifted her to a tie for 28th.
Carter’s 64 was matched by Cam John as the men’s best score in the final round, John joining those in a share of seventh.
The Webex Players Series Victoria All Abilities title was won by Curlewis Golf Club’s Noah Schammer (72-73), who finished two shots ahead of Sandy Links-based professional Tom Ryan (72-75).
It’s the 16-year-old plus-3 handicapper’s first Webex Players Series title.
The top two will meet again at Cobram Barooga next weekend.
Riversdale Golf Club’s Arena Tran (71-73) won the Webex Players Series Juniors event thanks to holing from off the green on the first hole of a playoff against Huntingdale’s Elbert Kim (69-75).
A sensational career-best run of seven straight birdies to start his round has helped to lift Michael Wright into a share of the lead with ultra-consistent Corey Lamb, giving him the chance to end a 14-year title wait at Webex Players Series Victoria.
At age 50, Wright, who finished with a 5-under-par 65, will tomorrow seek his first Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia victory since the WA PGA in 2011.
Meanwhile, Lamb, who had a 1-under 69 today, will desperately want to end his run of near-misses on Tour which has included three runner-up finishes in the past 18 months.
The duo sit at 13-under-par, two clear of Queenslanders Brad Kennedy (62) and Jake McLeod (71), Victorian Andrew Martin (66) and Wales’ Lydia Hall (68).
Fourteen players will start Sunday within four shots of the lead, setting up a super showdown on the Mornington Peninsula.
After starting the third round four shots adrift of Lamb and McLeod, Wright surged into the lead with a remarkable string of birdies from the first to the seventh, just two short of the all-time Tour record.
The par-3 eighth hole ended the streak – and in a big way – with the PGA TOUR Champions member finding the ditch in front of the green and walking off with a double-bogey.
“That was a lot of fun that first seven holes,” Wright, a three-time winner on Tour, said.
“I’ve never done that before and I wish I could keep doing it every time I play because it’s a lot of fun making that many birdies.
“I sort of said after a couple ‘oh, you can’t birdie ’em all if you don’t be the first two’. And I said it again after three and four and five and then it’s seven.
“And then I come back to reality on eight. Didn’t hit that bad a shot, but it wasn’t good enough. I just got punished, a severe penalty there and hit a poor putt.
“I actually played pretty nice on the back nine, to be honest. The putts just didn’t drop, whereas they dropped a bit on the front.”
Lamb held the outright lead at -14 until he bogeyed the final hole – only his third dropped shot on the opening three days.
“It was sort of a slow day,” the NSW Hunter Valley pro said.
“It was good to not have my best stuff and still come out on top (of the leaderboard).”
Wright wasn’t the only 50-year-old to have a good Saturday at Rosebud.
Playing in just the fifth group of the day, Queensland’s Brad Kennedy shot the low round of the event so far, an 8-under-par 62, to rocket onto the leaderboard at -11.
The Japan Golf Tour regular, who won this event three years ago, parred his first three holes but then birdied five of his next six, the only missing piece being a bogey at Wright’s nemesis, the par-3 eighth.
He then had a similar birdie splurge on the back nine, picking up shots on 11, 12, 13 and 15. His chance at a 59 disappeared with a par on the gettable par-5 16th,
“The last two days, it’s been a bit scrappy,” Kennedy said.
“Today I really started to keep consistent one shot after another and got my putter back online. So it was nice to see a lot of putts drop today.
“Hitting off at 20 past nine is never a good thing on a Saturday, but it also sometimes gives you an option to free wheel it and really push yourself forward.”
After an up-and-down day, Lydia Hall (68) saved her best for the 18th hole where she holed out from 140m with a six-iron for an eagle to jump from T9 to the group in third on 11-under, the Welsh visitor remaining the leading women’s contender with a round to play.
“It was kind of slipping away after double on 15,” Hall said.
“Happy with that finish and hopefully I can do a bit more tomorrow.”
Impressive Victorian amateur Jazy Roberts is just three shots behind after producing a 67 today, including a run of four straight birdies on the front nine, to follow opening rounds of 67-66.
LPGA Tour-bound Cassie Porter improved her position with a 65 to be five back.
Sandy Links-based professional Tom Ryan and amateur Noah Schammer lead the All Abilities event after opening 72s, eight clear of their nearest challenger.
The leading junior is Elbert Kim, from Huntingdale Golf Club, who carded a 69.
TV COVERAGE: Webex Players Series Victoria is live on Fox Sports, available on Foxtel and Kayo.
*All times AEDT.
Final Round: Sunday 1pm-6pm (Fox Sports 503/Kayo)
A player looking to return to the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia Tour winner’s list after a lengthy absence and another who has been so close to a breakthrough first victory over the summer are the joint leaders at the halfway mark of Webex Players Series Victoria.
The former is Queensland’s Jake McLeod (62-66) who is back in contention for the second straight tournament after finishing equal fifth at Webex Players Series Perth a fortnight ago.
The latter is NSW’s Corey Lamb (63-65) who appears to the next in line to be a first-time winner on Tour, with three runner-up finishes and a third placing in the past 18 months.
At 12-under-par at Rosebud Country Club, the duo lead Andrew Campbell (64-66) by two shots.
The two leading women, last week’s Drummond Golf Melbourne International winner, WA’s Abbie Teasdale (65-66), and Welsh visitor Lydia Hall (64-67), share fourth place with Queenslander Blake Proverbs (66-65) at 9-under.
McLeod, whose last win on Tour came in 2018 when we went on to claim that season’s Order of Merit title, started the second round with a one-shot lead and built that to five by the time Lamb teed off for his afternoon round.
His 66 in much more favourable conditions than Thursday’s windswept afternoon included seven birdies to take his two-day total to 13, plus an eagle.
However he slipped up with three bogeys on day two, including two very unexpected ones on par-5s.
“I did a good job today. Played pretty nicely for the most part,” McLeod said.
“I just feel like I’m hitting the ball so nicely and haven’t really put myself into any trouble, which has been good.
“I think the weather is looking good, so it’ll probably be a little easier on the weekend.”
Finished by lunchtime, McLeod was expecting someone in the chasing group to catch him later in the day and Lamb achieved just that by holing a lengthy birdie putt on his second last hole, the par-3 eighth.
“Today was pretty average, I thought,” the former NSW and Queensland Junior Amateur champion said.
“I sort of got away with a few shots that I probably shouldn’t have.”
“I’m good mates with ‘Clouds’ (McLeod), so it’ll be a fun day tomorrow, I’m sure.”
Third-placed Campbell, another player who has been on many leaderboards in the past two seasons without finishing with the trophy on Sunday, has had just one bogey in the windy conditions – at the par-4 12th – today.
Hall kept her status as the leading woman, this time sharing the honours, after bouncing back from a double-bogey at the par-4 sixth with a run of three consecutive birdies to finish the front nine.
In just her third pro event, Teasdale completed her second nine today in just 31 strokes to move into contention.
Also in the mix at 8-under-par, four shots back, is 50-year-old Queenslander Michael Wright (65-67) who is getting himself ready for a new PGA Champions season after a solid debut campaign last year which saw him finish 54th in the Charles Schwab Cup standings with two top-10 finishes.
This week will be his last start for the summer on the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia before he heads back to the United States.
“It’s always good to come back and play in your home country and especially against the young guys because I’ve been playing with geriatrics all year,” Wright joked.
“It was real challenging actually the last two days with the wind being so strong. It was a little bit stronger yesterday than today, but it was definitely a challenge.
“I’m really happy with the way I’ve been playing in the wind.”
LPGA Tour-bound Cassie Porter birdied three of her last four holes to safely make the weekend play at 3-under following a day two 68.
Thailand’s Colcheva Wongras climbed into the top 10 with the low women’s round of the day, a 5-under 65, while Victorian amateur Jazy Roberts and former Athena champion Grace Lennon carded 4-under 66s. Roberts shares eighth place, while Lennon climbed to T41.
The father-daughter duo of Peter and Chloe Wilson, at 2-over and 17-over respectively, both missed the halfway cut which came at 2-under-par.
TV COVERAGE: Webex Players Series Victoria is live on Fox Sports, available on Foxtel and Kayo.
*All times AEDT.
Round 3: Saturday 3pm-6pm (Fox Sports 503/Kayo)
Final Round: Sunday 1pm-6pm (Fox Sports 503/Kayo)
Defying the strong afternoon winds that hit Rosebud Country Club, Queensland’s Jake McLeod surpassed his own expectations to take the outright lead after round one of Webex Players Series Victoria.
McLeod thought early on that a 2-under-par score that would leave him five shots behind the morning leaders would be a pleasing result given the difficult conditions he was facing.
He ended up smashing that mark, posting an 8-under-par 62, including playing the last six holes in 5-under, to lead NSW-based trio Corey Lamb, Harrison Crowe and Nathan Barbieri by a shot.
It’s the second consecutive Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia event that McLeod has led after round one. He ended up finishing equal fifth at Webex Players Series Perth at Royal Fremantle.
“Once we got to about hole eight, (the wind) started pumping. It was pretty crazy out there,” the former Order of Merit champion said.
“I was only a couple under at that time and I was just hoping to finish a couple under, to be honest, in that wind.
“I never really hit any trouble. It was pretty much every fairway, most probably 16 greens or something, so that was very impressive in that sort of wind, being able to control the ball like that.”
Lamb, Crowe and Barbieri all played in the benign morning conditions, as did the leading woman, Lydia Hall from Wales, and another New South Welshman, Andrew Campbell, who finished with 6-under-par 64s.
With two T2s and a third place on his record this season to be seventh overall on the Order of Merit, Lamb is the highest ranked player on the season long points list in the field this week and he played like it today with seven birdies and no bogeys on his card.
Playing his first event for 2025, the 23-year-old rattled home with four birdies in his closing six holes.
Lamb was quick to sing the praises of his new Callaway Elyte driver which kept him on the short grass on all but one occasion after a pre-event tweak worked almost to perfection.
“It is pretty elite,” he said.
“I didn’t really like it on Tuesday and then Coops (Daniel Cooper), the Callaway guy, put it down a degree (from 10.5 to 9.5 degrees) and it come out a lot better. I thought ‘Why not give it a go? I mean, I love new stuff, so it was, why not?’.”
“I feel comfortable hitting it.”
Crowe, who had top-10s at both the BMW Australian PGA Championship and ISPS HANDA Australian Open, is also chasing the benefits a strong Order of Merit finish can bring and has committed to playing the rest of the local Tour season.
“I had a really, really lovely break over Christmas,” he said.
“I think I had about three or four weeks off the clubs, so definitely come back very refreshed for sure.”
Barbieri hit 16 out of 18 greens in his bogey-free 63 on one of his favourite courses on Tour to visit.
“A lot of people think this is my home track,” Barbieri said.
“I’m obviously from Sydney, so this is my home track in Melbourne, I think. I don’t mind this joint. It suits my game well and everything sort of falls together here which is nice.”
Former Ladies British Masters champion Lydia Hall may be from much further away from the Mornington Peninsula, around 17,000km in fact, but doesn’t mean the Welshwoman doesn’t feel at home.
“Australia is always a place that I love to come to,” Hall said.
“Last year was a bit scrappy on the European Tour, but I managed to finish it off with a nice win at Duntryleague. So the form has been good and I played solidly today.
“I absolutely love playing with the guys. They’re so aggressive with their golf and there’s so much to be learned and respected from their game.
“I did pretty well a couple of years ago here. I think it was in the last couple of groups and finished sixth to 10th. So I’ve had good memories from this course.”
Another person right at home at Rosebud, the three-time club champion James Marchesani, threatened to go very low on day one, turning in six-under-par 29.
Playing alongside his brother Anthony, the reigning Rosebud club champion, Marchesani’s momentum stalled with a bogey on his 10th hole, the par-4 first, and he eventually came home in 1-over 36 to post a 5-under-par 65. Anthony carded a 1-over 71.
Reigning Vic Open champion Ashley Lau and West Australian Abbie Teasdale, who won the Drummond Golf Melbourne International last week, are the second highest-placed women, at 5-under.
Peter and Chloe Wilson created history when they teed off, becoming the first father-daughter combination to play professionally in the same Tour event, Peter eventually taking the family honours with a 68 to Chloe’s 78.
TV COVERAGE: Webex Players Series Victoria is live on Fox Sports, available on Foxtel and Kayo.
*All times AEDT.
Round 3: Saturday 3pm-6pm (Fox Sports 503/Kayo)
Final Round: Sunday 1pm-6pm (Fox Sports 503/Kayo)
