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The chef swapped his spatula for a magic wand as West Australian Min Woo Lee conjured an 18th hole miracle to remain just one stroke off the lead after Round 1 of THE PLAYERS Championship at TPC Sawgrass in Florida.
Hopes for a seventh Aussie victory at the famed Stadium Course were struck an early blow when 2016 champion Jason Day was forced to withdraw with a stomach complaint without hitting a shot.
As he did two years ago on debut, Lee on the other hand showed that he has the stomach for one of golf’s most exacting tests with a fine 5-under 67.
He trails American pair Lucas Glover and JJ Spaun and Colombian Camilo Villegas by one stroke yet it took an escape act Houdini would have been proud of not to drop further behind.
Five-under through nine holes, the 24-year-old was even par for the back when he hit his tee shot way right at the par-4 18th after taking 2-iron.
“Oh my god, what is that,” he lamented.
He then proceeded to bounce his shot from the rough right of the pine straw onto the cart path where it bounced four times before coming to rest in the pine straw just right of the fairway.
As only very few can, Lee then fashioned a punch shot that ran up onto the green and came to rest 22 feet behind the hole less than 10 feet from the water, his par putt falling in on the right edge for a less-than-regulation par.
“Managed to produce the worst swing of the day about 40 yards right of where I wanted to hit it,” Lee said of his tee shot.
“I was just very happy to have a par putt. I literally had no shot.
“That third shot could have easily gone in the water had I just pulled it but used a bit of magic and tried to cut up a pitching wedge out of the pine straw, and it was absolutely perfect.”
Two years ago, Lee played his way into the final group alongside eventual champion Scottie Scheffler as a way of announcing his arrival to the American crowds.
While it may have failed him on the final hole, Lee loves the creativity the Pete Dye layout demands from tee to green.
“I just love this course. It just suits so well,” said Lee, who was tied sixth in 2023 and tied 54th last year.
“I just love playing shots off tees and not hitting driver everywhere. Driver is a weapon of mine, but I love hitting that 2-iron everywhere, and if it’s a little firm, it kind of plays into my hands.
“I just love playing this course.”
A week after his win at the Puerto Rico Open that secured his debut at THE PLAYERS, Karl Vilips is the only other Australian par or better after day one, signing for an even par 72 despite a late double bogey at the par-4 sixth and bogeys at eight and nine.
In his 23rd appearance, Adam Scott dropped shots late at 14, 16 and 18 in his round of 2-over 74 while Cam Davis had just the one birdie at the par-5 16th in his round of 4-over 76.
After more than two decades of facing up to the examination that is TPC Sawgrass, Adam Scott has developed a formula for not just survival but success: Don’t make mistakes.
The 2004 champion of THE PLAYERS Championship has been a constant presence dating back to 2002 with a tournament resume that also includes top-10 finishes in 2005, 2007 and 2017 and six top-20 finishes.
With the late addition of Karl Vilips courtesy of last week’s Puerto Rico Open victory, Scott is one of five Aussies in the field for golf’s unofficial ‘fifth major’.
He is also one of five Australians to have conquered the Pete Dye masterpiece, if at least for one week at a time.
While those who get on its bad side view TPC Sawgrass as a beast, Scott acknowledges the inherent beauty of a layout with no let-up.
“It’s the kind of course where you need a lot of things to go right to be in the mix,” Scott said.
“The penalty is extreme. That’s a trait of Pete Dye golf courses. There’s water everywhere and it’s hard to recover from the water. A couple of visits to the water during the week makes it hard playing catch-up, because then you have to force it and you have to risk.
“It’s there, but if you’re not on it, it’s hard to always post a good number here. Hard to get it in the clubhouse the last three holes.
“Scottie (Scheffler) was the first guy to successfully defend last year, so it’s been challenging for every champion.”
Scott has twice shot rounds of 7-under 65 at golf’s most famous purpose-built theatre – in 2004 and 2016. In his 25th year as a professional, he remains adamant that he can continue to be a force in the sport’s biggest events.
“I don’t think my days are numbered just yet,” said the 44-year-old.
“There’s no signs pointing to that. I still think I have the form to be out here and believe, on my week, I can compete and hold my own.
“I’m enjoying being out here very much. And I say that knowing that it’s not going to last forever.”
While Scott acknowledges his career at the highest level is closer to its end than its beginning, he is excited to see the emergence of a new Aussie star in Karl Vilips.
THE PLAYERS Championship represents the latest step in Vilips’ meteoric rise that has caught the eye of his veteran countryman.
“It’s incredible,” Scott effused. “Understanding where he came from and coming through the college system, I think the college system is just unbelievable these days.
“He’s done an incredible job, even down to doing the YouTube and putting himself out there.
“It’s a different generation than me, for sure, but I know he’s working, he’s got a great team around him, and it’s paying off.
“He’s set himself up for the beginning of what can be an incredible career on the PGA TOUR.”
Elsewhere this week, Ripper GC will defend their teams title at LIV Golf Singapore, the trio of Su Oh, Robyn Choi and Caitlin Peirce are in action on the Epson Tour and West Australians Hayden Hopewell and Haydn Barron are in the field for the Kolkata Challenge on the HotelPlanner Tour.
Round 1 tee times AEDT
PGA TOUR
THE PLAYERS Championship
TPC Sawgrass (Stadium Cse), Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida
11:46pm* Jason Day
12:08am Cam Davis
3:45am Ryan Fox (NZ)
4:07am Min Woo Lee
4:40am Adam Scott
5:13am* Karl Vilips
Recent champion: Scottie Scheffler
Past Aussie winners: Steve Elkington (1991, 1997), Greg Norman (1994), Adam Scott (2004), Jason Day (2016), Cameron Smith (2022)
Prize money: $US25m
TV times: Live 10:30pm-10am Thursday, Friday, Saturday; Live 10:30pm-9am Sunday on Fox Sports 503 and Kayo.
LIV Golf
LIV Golf Singapore
Sentosa Golf Club, Singapore
Australasians in the field: Cameron Smith, Lucas Herbert, Marc Leishman, Matt Jones, Ben Campbell (NZ), Danny Lee (NZ)
Recent champion: Brooks Koepka
Past Aussie winners: Nil
Prize money: $US20m
TV times: Live from 11:30am Friday, Saturday, Sunday on 7 Plus.
HotelPlanner Tour
Kolkata Challenge
Royal Calcutta Golf Club, Kolkata, West Bengal, India
1:15pm* Haydn Barron
5:10pm* Hayden Hopewell
5:30pm Sam Jonez (NZ)
Recent champion: Rasmus Neegaard-Petersen
Past Aussie winners: Nil
Prize money: $US300,000
Epson Tour
IOA Golf Classic
Alaqua Country Club, Longwood, Florida
Australasians in the field: Robyn Choi, Su Oh, Caitlin Peirce
Recent champion: Jessica Peng
Past Aussie winners: Hannah Green (2017), Grace Kim (2022)
Prize money: $225,000
The climb of ‘Koala’ Karl Vilips shows no signs of abating. The former child prodigy is now a PGA TOUR winner in just his third start as a full member.
Including last year’s US Open, the Puerto Rico Open was just Vilips’ fourth start on the PGA TOUR, making him just the 12th player to win in so few starts dating back to 1970.
Not bad for a kid who was still in college less than 12 months ago.
Since graduating from Stanford University, Vilips has won on the Korn Ferry Tour, won on the PGA TOUR, risen more than 1,000 spots on the Official World Golf Ranking and become the first brand ambassador for the Tiger Woods clothing line, Sun Day Red.
He’s also a big mover in this week’s Power Rankings as Minjee Lee continued her stellar start to the LPGA Tour season, Cassie Porter returns after a top-five finish in her second start on the LPGA Tour and Jason Day and Lucas Herbert both log top-10 results.
10. Ryan Peake (9)
Failed to make the cut at the Wallace Development NZ PGA on the back of an emotional NZ Open triumph. With two events left in the season, remains in the hunt for the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit on the back of top-10 finishes at Webex Players Series Murray River and Webex Players Series Sydney.
9. Min Woo Lee (8)
Narrowly missed advancing to the weekend of the Arnold Palmer Invitational but is showing a greater level of consistency in the game’s showpiece events. Returns to one of golf’s great theatres – TPC Sawgrass – where he played his way into the final group on Sunday on debut two years ago.
8. Cam Davis (3)
Shot 80 in the second round in brutal conditions to miss a second straight cut at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. Shapes as one of our best hopes at THE PLAYERS Championship this week at TPC Sawgrass.
7. Cassie Porter (New)
Responded to a missed cut in her LPGA debut with a tie for fourth at the Blue Bay LPGA. Tied for 13th at Webex Players Series Sydney after shooting 63 in the third round at Castle Hill, Porter entered the final round in China in a share of second, just two strokes off the lead. She closed with even-par 72 for a top-five finish and career high of 177th in Rolex Women’s World Golf Ranking.
6. Elvis Smylie (2)
Entered for next week’s Heritage Classic as he endeavours to wrap up the 2024/2025 Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit. Top 10 at the New Zealand Open, Smylie skipped the NZ PGA as he looks ahead to rejoining the DP World Tour.
5. Lucas Herbert (7)
Continues to be the form player for Ripper GC early in the LIV Golf season. Shot 6-under in the final round to finish outright fourth at LIV Golf Hong Kong on the back of a tie for 21st at the New Zealand Open.
4. Jason Day (6)
Reunited with former coach and mentor Col Swatton, Day delivered one of the best rounds seen at Bay Hill in recent years with a superb 64 in Round 2. Finished tied for eighth at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and rose to No.33 in the world ranking.
3. Minjee Lee (4)
Gave younger brother Min Woo Lee something to live up to with numerous chip-ins across the weekend of the Blue Bay LPGA in China. A runner-up finish to Rio Takeda continued her strong early season form that includes a tie for fourth and tie for 11th in four starts.
2. Karl Vilips (10)
Completed a historic rise to claim his maiden PGA TOUR win in just his fourth start at the Puerto Rico Open. Still to graduate from Stanford University 12 months ago, Vilips has climbed from a world ranking of 1,185 last July to be now ranked 106th in the world.
1. Hannah Green (1)
Tied for seventh in the defence of her HSBC Women’s World Championship title in Singapore, Green will next tee it up at the Ford Championship in Arizona from March 27-30.
The Australian Golf Power Rankings is a subjective list developed with input from members of the Australian Golf media team.
Peter Lonard picked apart the par 5s and came away a two-shot winner at the inaugural Maffra Legends Pro-Am at Maffra Golf Club.
Playing the Maffra layout for the first time, Lonard birdied consecutive par 5s at four and five and then added a third in succession at the par-4 sixth.
He made it a clean sweep of the three-shotters with further birdies at 14 and 18 in his round of 6-under 66.
It was enough to finish two strokes clear of the field, David Tapping, Carl Smedley, David Fearns and Tim Elliott all sharing second at 4-under, players speaking effusively during presentations about the presentation and playability of the putting surfaces presented by Maffra Golf Club.
Quick quotes
“Yeah not bad. Never played here before,” said Lonard of his round.
“There were a few little doglegs there and I probably got away with a few and got a bit lucky but I played pretty solidly.
“I’ve played pretty well the past week or so so it was nice to finish it off.”
Leading scores
1 Peter Lonard 66
T2 David Tapping 68
T2 Carl Smedley 68
T2 David Fearns 68
T2 Tim Elliott 68
March 9
Four to the fore at Bairnsdale
Birdie putts slid by and par putts dropped late to leave four players tied at the top at The Big Garage Bairnsdale Golf Club Legends Pro-Am at Bairnsdale Golf Club.
One of the best presented regional courses in Victoria was lauded by every player who teed it up, none more so than the four who finished locked together at 3-under 68 at day’s end.
The resurgent Brad Burns holed a par putt from just inside 30 feet to stay at 3-under, David Crawford let an opportunity slip on his penultimate hole, John Onions holed a pitch shot for eagle at the par-4 fifth and David McKenzie birdied his final hole – the par-5 18th – to also join the winner’s circle.
The quartet finished one clear of another group of four players, Peter Lonard, Terry Pilkadaris, Neale Smith and Paul Griffiths all posting 2-under 69.
Quick quotes
“I got off to a pretty poor start,” said Onions.
“I had a couple of three-putts early on, but just fought back. I holed a pitch shot for eagle which got me to a couple under and then after that, just lots of fairways, lots of greens.
“Course was beautiful.”
“Tthere’s a lot of stuff to make it hard to play, but it’s in great condition,” said McKenzie.
“The greens are fantastic. They firmed up the last few holes, so it’s a tricky little course to play, but a lot of fun at the same time.
“I don’t know how many times I could count playing down here. I always love coming down to Bairnsdale. It’s a great little town.”
“I had a putt on the second last hole, the par 5 going down the hill,” Crawford said of his chance to win outright.
“I had a three-footer, allowed a little bit of break. Thought if I get 4-under going up the last, I thought I got a chance of taking it out outright, but it didn’t happen.
“It was a fantastic golf course and the golf course was set up beautifully.”
“It’s quite strong actually,” Burns said of the Bairnsdale layout. “There’s some strong fours out there, you’ve got to shape the ball around the corners and if you don’t drive it well you’re going to have heaps.
“The greens are great. The hospitality’s fantastic as well.”
Leading scores
T1 Brad Burns 68
T1 John Onions 68
T1 David McKenzie 68
T1 David Crawford 68
T5 Paul Griffiths 69
T5 Neale Smith 69
T5 Peter Lonard 69
T5 Terry Pilkadaris 69
March 7
McKenzie, Long share Gardiners Run win
Stellar putting displays have earned David McKenzie and Michael Long a share of victory at the Gardiners Run Legends Pro-Am.
Two experienced players on international seniors tours, McKenzie and Long both hailed the quality of the golf course – in particular, the putting surfaces – as they each shot 7-under 65 at Gardiners Run Golf Course.
McKenzie actually played with the course superintendent and credited his win for not doing “anything stupid”.
McKenzie and Long finished three shots clear of Tim Elliott (68) with a four-way tie for fourth between Mark Sheppard, Brad Burns, Brendan Chant and Richard Backwell.
Quick quotes
“It’s been a tough week actually,” said Long.
“The first four rounds, you wouldn’t have thought I was going to do that today.
“It hasn’t felt that far away and then today it just turned around.
“Course is great; it’s improving all the time. Obviously I’m going to say the greens are great – I did hole a lot of putts – but the course is maturing and just getting better and better.”
“I got off to a nice little start with a couple of birdies early,” said McKenzie.
“It wasn’t pretty golf for the most part, but I managed it really well.
“Made all the putts that I needed to and didn’t really do anything stupid.
“It seems like it’s really easy when you just don’t miss anything and don’t do anything stupid.”
Leading scores
T1 Michael Long 65
T1 David McKenzie 65
3 Tim Elliott 68
T4 Mark Sheppard 69
T4 Brad Burns 69
T4 Brendan Chant 69
T4 Richard Backwell 69
March 6
Lonard, Burns joint winners at Mandalay
Brad Burns birdied his final hole as Peter Lonard narrowly missed doing the same as the pair shared victory at the Undercover Roasters Legends Pro-Am at Club Mandalay Golf Course.
Burns and Lonard separated themselves from the rest of the field with rounds of 6-under 66 but couldn’t be split from each other.
One-over after two bogeys early in his round, Burns made eagle at the par-3 17th but needed birdie at the par-5 second to get to 6-under.
Lonard was 7-under on his round when he made bogey at the par-3 seventh and then just missed his birdie try at his final hole, the par-4 eighth, to finish level with Burns.
Grahame Stinson went bogey free in his round of 3-under 68 to snare third, one clear of Euan Walters and Bryan Milligan.
Quick quotes
“The members are fantastic and the greenkeepers do a great job,” said Burns.
“I had seven birdies and an eagle and a couple of three-putts unfortunately.
“That’s the best I’ve played in quite some time, so it’s a pleasure to play here.
“I’ve had the putting woes for the last four or five rounds, but today I actually started actually holing some putts again.”
“I got to seven, which is the par 3, and I just misjudged the wind,” said Lonard of his only bogey of the round.
“I thought the wind was into me and apparently it wasn’t. Then I had to chip it out of the rocks, 20 yards over the back, so I was actually lucky to make bogey.
“I had a chance for birdie on the last from about 10, 15 feet and missed it, but I hit a good putt.
“The course was fantastic. The fairways were really good. I hit a couple of them and the greens were magnificent.”
Leading scores
T1 Brad Burns 66
T1 Peter Lonard 66
3 Grahame Stinson 68
T4 Bryan Milligan 69
T4 Euan Walters 69
March 5
Fearns finds form at Portsea
Queenslander David Fearns broke a six-year drought in fine fashion with a two-stroke victory at the Higgins Coatings Portsea Legends Pro-Am at Portsea Golf Club.
Not since 2019 at Concord and Pymble had Fearns found himself in the winner’s circle but a hot start provided the foundation to a round of 4-under 67, two clear of Euan Walters (69) and Peter Lonard (69).
Starting his round with pars at 17 and 18, Fearns caught fire with three straight birdies from the par-4 first and then countered a bogey on six with a birdie on eight.
Further birdies at 14 and 15 built enough of a buffer that a closing bogey was little more than a blip.
Quick quotes
“I’m really happy every time we come to Portsea,” said Fearns.
“It’s difficult, so it’s nice to play well at Portsea.
“The fairways were actually pretty fast. There was lots of run out there.
“The greens were beautiful; it was nice.”
Leading scores
1 David Fearns 67
T2 Euan Walters 69
T2 Peter Lonard 69
T4 Terry Pilkadaris 70
T4 Tim Elliott 70
March 4
Lane back on track at Settlers Run
Nigel Lane shrugged off some indifferent form and a shaky start to take out the Settlers Run Legends Pro-Am at Settlers Run Golf and Country Club.
Starting from the third tee, Lane made a bright start with a birdie at the par-4 fourth but dropped back to 1-over with consecutive bogeys at five and six.
It would be just a temporary setback though as he responded with birdies at seven and nine on his way to a round of 5-under 67 and a two-stroke victory.
On the back of his win at Settlers Run the day prior Scott Barr backed up with a round of 3-under 69 to finish second, one clear of Carl Smedley.
Quick quotes
“That was about two feet away,” Lane said of his shot into 18 to set up birdie.
“That was really nice. From the left side of the fairway, maybe just a little bit in the rough. That was probably actually the shot of the day.
“Struck the ball really nicely today actually, which is a bit different to recently. The last few days I couldn’t hit it hard at all, but today I found something and it went straight at it most of the time.”
Leading scores
1 Nigel Lane 67
2 Scott Barr 69
3 Carl Smedley 70
T4 Gavin Coyle 71
T4 Derrin Morgan 71
T4 John Onions 71
T4 Murray Lott 71
March 3
Barr triumphs ahead of US campaign
A timely win on home soil will fuel Scott Barr to attack opportunities on offer through the PGA TOUR Champions in the US.
Denied a full 2025 card in heartbreaking circumstances at Q School in December, Barr will tee it up in Monday qualifiers on the back of a one-stroke win at the Southern Golf Club Legends Pro-Am.
A four-time winner on the PGA Legends Tour in 2024, Barr found something in his swing and navigated Southern Golf Club’s immaculate putting surfaces to finish one clear of Grahame Stinson (69) with Simon Pope (70) outright third.
Barr will soon head to the US, aware that trying to play his way into tournaments will come with its challenges.
“It’s a pretty brutal way to do it, so I am aware of that,” said Barr.
“There could be some mental damage going through that so I’m really trying to strategise how I don’t throw all my eggs in one basket.
“I’ll just do it at a pace that I feel confident with.”
Quick quotes
“I got off to a hot start, birdied the first three, so I was in the race from the word go,” said Barr.
“I did a bit of work on the range yesterday and figured something out with my swing, which had been coming for a while.
“I felt in control of the ball most of the day with my hitting; I hit it very well actually. And these greens were saucy. They were fast; super-fast.
“You had to keep your nerve. I holed a couple of mid-range eight-footers but I did blunder a few times, which let the field in down the stretch.
“I was watching the leaderboard coming in, which is a habit that I’m going to start to do. I think I need to do that just to know where you are in the field so you can finish off rounds better.”
Leading scores
1 Scott Barr 68
2 Grahame Stinson 69
3 Simon Pope 70
T4 David Diaz 71
T4 Terry Pilkadaris 71
T4 Mark Boulton 71
T4 David McKenzie 71
T4 Derrin Morgan 71
T4 Stuart Beament 71
March 1
Hobbled Isherwood victorious at The Valley
His tortured feet almost failed him but Michael Isherwood was able to snare his first Legends Tour win in close to a year at The Valley Legends Pro-Am on the Mornington Peninsula.
The new shoes that Isherwood wore on Tuesday did enough damage to consider not playing at all but the use of a cart enabled the 53-year-old to shoot 5-under 62 for a one-stroke win.
Teeing off from the 14th hole alongside Scott Ford, Isherwood was 4-under through seven holes courtesy of birdies at 15, 16, 18 and two.
Eagle at the par-4 eighth countered bogeys at five and nine, birdies at 10 and 11 enough to build a winning advantage ahead of the in-form Terry Pilkadaris (63) with West Australian Brendan Chant (64) outright third.
Quick quotes
“Being not a very smart individual, I managed to wear a brand new pair of shoes on Tuesday and completely destroyed my heel,” said Isherwood.
“And when you get old man skin, you’ll realise you rip your whole foot off. Unless I got put in a cart today, I don’t think I would’ve even made it around.
“Pretty happy that I managed to grab a win out of it considering I didn’t even think I’d be able to walk around.”
Leading scores
1 Michael Isherwood 62
2 Terry Pilkadaris 63
3 Brendan Chant 64
T4 Mark Boulton 66
T4 Scott Barr 66
T4 Lucien Tinkler 66
T4 Terry Price 66
February 26
Pilkadaris tops again at Portarlington
Stars were out in force yet Terry Pilkadaris proved again why he is the hottest player on the PGA Legends Tour with a one-stroke win at the Sheen Panel Service Legends Pro-Am.
Portarlington Golf Club is always a popular stop on the Legends Tour calendar with the likes of Peter Lonard and PGA TOUR Champions players Richard Green and David McKenzie thrilling Portarlington members with their presence.
McKenzie is now one of them, made an honorary member after making an almost mythical ace on a par-4 for albatross, just carrying the front bunker and scurrying up the green before hitting the pin and dropping for his first career albatross at the 241-metre 13th.
“I’ve never had a ‘3-under’ one before, I’ll take that every time!” beamed McKenzie, who owns eight career hole-in-ones.
“What a day – I’m loving it!”
Conversely, Pilkadaris compiled a round of 5-under 67 with six birdies and a lone bogey to finish one clear of Lonard (68) with Green sharing third with Tim Elliott at 3-under 69.
Quick quotes
“It was a good day. Great weather, course was in really good condition,” said Pilkadaris.
“If you hit the ball in the right position, you’d capitalise. And that’s what I did.
“I capitalised on the par 5s coming in, managed to make birdies on those and consolidate the score.
“I’ve been doing some work with a putting specialist in the US, Geoff Mangum. I’m bringing him out – he arrives on Thursday – and he’s going to help me with my putting and also do some clinics and lessons for anyone.
“I think I had the yips and he’s starting to fix that. Now I’m starting to hole some putts and it’s going along nicely.”
Leading scores
1 Terry Pilkadaris 67
2 Peter Lonard 68
T3 Tim Elliott 69
T3 Richard Green 69
T5 Chris Hynes 71
T5 Shane Johnson 71
T5 Peter Woodward 71
T5 Tony Page 71
February 25
McKenzie makes rarest of birds
He’s done a lot of things in golf, David McKenzie, but never an albatross.
That was until today at Portarlington when the Victorian drilled a driver 241 metres for the almost mythical ace on a par-4 during the Sheen Panel Service Legends Pro-Am on the PGA Legends Tour.
McKenzie’s drive just carried the front bunker and scurried up the green before hitting the pin and dropping for his first career albatross.
But from the tee, with the bunker obscuring his view, the 57-year-old thought it had landed in the sand when a puff of sand arose as his ball landed.
It wasn’t until the crowd erupted as he approached the green – and he was urged to do a “shooey” in celebration – that he realised the magic that had unfolded.
“There’s no way I’m doing a shooey,” McKenzie said as he guzzled a drink in a far more customary manner to celebrate.
“That’s unbelievable … and turns a terrible day into a much better one.
“I hit a driver because I was a bit cranky so that’s why I wasn’t hitting 3-wood, but I was sure it went into the bunker.
“I saw sand come up and (thought nothing of it). That’s crazy.”
McKenzie, the reigning NSW Senior Open champion, estimated that it was his eighth hole-in-one.
“But I’ve never had a ‘3-under, one before, I‘ll take that every time!” he beamed.
“What a day – I’m loving it!”
McKenzie tipped a casual five points into his team’s stableford balance and also won 20 points for the bullseye-style competition on offer for the second shot on that hole in one of the events separate competitions.
He was later presented with an honorary Portarlington Golf Club membership for his history-making shot.
Leading scores
1 Terry Pilkadaris
-5 67
2
AUS NSW Peter Lonard
-4 68
T3
AUS VIC Tim Elliott
-3 69
T3
AUS VIC Richard Green
-3 69
T5
AUS VIC Christopher Hynes
-1 71
T5
AUS VIC Shane Johnson
-1 71
T5
AUS VIC Peter Woodward
-1 71
T5
AUS VIC Tony Page
-1 71
Legends Tour: Pilkadaris masterful at Moama
He spends much of his time coaching these days but some tips from American ‘putting theorist’ Geoff Mangum propelled Terry Pilkadaris to a commanding win at the Moama Masters Rich River.
A second eagle on his round at the final hole saw Pilkadaris earn a share of the Round 1 lead with fellow Victorian Shane Johnson at 7-under 65 at Rich River Golf Club.
They had a two-stroke buffer but it was Pilkadaris who kept the foot to the floor, backing it up with a 6-under 66 for a 13-under total and six-stroke win.
Reigning PGA Legends Tour Order of Merit winner Andre Stolz finished outright second at 7-under par with 66-year-old Michael Harwood winding back the clock to snare third.
Quick quotes
“I’ve been doing some work online with an American guy, Geoff Mangum. I’m actually bringing him out next week and we’ve just been working hard on holing putts. I haven’t been holing any putts for the last four or five years, so finally holed some putts, which was nice.
“Hit some good iron shots and drove it well and all adds up to a good score.
“I was a bit nervous because the scores weren’t getting updated and I saw Andre (Stolz) was playing nicely.
“The scores hadn’t updated and he was on the 13th hole. I’m trying to work out what I am and what have you but I hit some nice shots coming in and capitalised.”
Leading scores
1 Terry Pilkadaris 65-66—131
2 Andre Stolz 69-68—137
3 Michael Harwood 69-69—138
T4 David McKenzie 70-69—139
T4 Shane Johnson 65-74—139
February 19
Burns, Taylor claim Vic Foursomes again
Queensland pair Brad Burns and Chris Taylor have teamed up for a second win in three years at the ‘The Jack Harris & Brian Twite’ Victorian PGA Seniors Foursomes Championship.
Played at Rich River Golf Club’s East Course ahead of the $30,000 Moama Masters, Burns and Taylor bounced back from a shaky start to post 4-under 68 for a four-stroke win.
The winners in 2023 and tied for fourth 12 months ago, the Queenslanders rode Taylor’s hot putter over their final nine holes for a comfortable win ahead of Andre Stolz and David Crawford.
Quick quotes
“We started off fairly unsteady,” conceded Burns.
“We three-putted the first hole so we were 1-over after the first nine holes.
“Chris hit a lot of good putts that didn’t go in and then the last nine we holed a few putts and shot 5-under.
“Chris is a great ball-striker and when he gets that putter hot, he’s away.
“We just gel on the golf course and it’s a pleasure to play with him all the time.”
Leading scores
1 Brad Burns/Chris Taylor 68
T2 Andre Stolz/David Crawford 72
T3 Brendan Chant/Simon Pope 73
T3 Terry Pilkadaris/Neale Smith 73
T3 David McKenzie/Wayne Rogers 73
T3 Chris Hynes/Carl Smedley 73
February 18
Guy’s walk in the Park
A birdie-birdie finish has clinched Guy Wall a second win on the PGA Legends Tour season at The White Glove Mover Legends Pro-Am at Albert Park Golf Course in Melbourne.
Victorious at the Waihi Legends Pro-Am on the New Zealand swing, Wall shot 5-under 65 at Albert Park to edge Peter Brown (66) with tournament host David Diaz tied for third along with Andre Stolz, Peter Woodward and Simon Pope at 3-under par.
Wall credited his work on the putting green with coach John Serhan and time spent using Keiser gym equipment in the off-season for his strong start to the year.
“I’m a Keiser convert,” said Wall.
“If you’re looking after the body, looking after the swing, looking after the putting, it’s got to work.”
Starting his round with a par at the par-5 11th, Wall advanced up the leaderboard with birdies at 12, 14 and 16.
An errant tee shot led to a lone bogey at the par-4 fifth but he responded with a birdie on six and then two closing birdies at nine and 10 to finish one-stroke clear.
Quick quotes
“I’ve been working hard on the putter in our off-season,” said Wall.
“Changed putters to an even roll and putted awesome. I think I had 26 putts for the day.
“We were talking coming down the last couple with David Hill and he said, are you a scoreboard watcher? And I said, no, I’m just going to try and hit the best shots possible over the last couple of holes and see what happens.
“As it turned out, I’ve finished birdie-birdie.”
Leading scores
1 Guy Wall 65
2 Peter Brown 66
T3 Andre Stolz 67
T3 Peter Woodward 67
T3 Simon Pope 67
T3 David Diaz 67
February 7
Barson wins again at St Clair Legends
A new force is emerging on the PGA Legends Tour with Kiwi Dominic Barson winning for a second time this season in dominant fashion at the St Clair Legends Pro-Am in Dunedin.
A three-stroke winner at the Pegasus Legends Pro-Am, Barson shot 7-under 64 at St Clair Golf Club to win by five strokes from in-form Queenslander Murray Lott (69) with three players sharing third place at even par.
Fifth at Legends Tour Q School last January, Barson joined the Tour late last year and had top-10 finishes at Moss Vale and Pymble.
He got through First Stage of PGA TOUR Champions School in the US and now looks set to challenge for the Order of Merit title in 2025.
Barson made the perfect start to his round at St Clair, opening with a bogey at the par-5 14th.
That was followed by birdies at 15, 18 and one to be 5-under through six holes.
He backed up a birdie at 5 with three on the trot from the eighth hole to reach 9-under par, bogeys at two of his final three holes reducing the winning margin by two.
Leading scores
1 Dominic Barson 64
2 Murray Lott 69
T3 Brad Burns 71
T3 Ben Jackson 71
T3 Roland Baglin 71
February 5
Powell, Lott share honours at Gleniti
A birdie on his final hole has seen Victorian Paul Powell match Murray Lott’s total of 3-under 69 and share victory at the Gleniti Legends Pro-Am near Timaru on New Zealand’s South Island.
Starting from the 11th hole, Powell had birdies at 13, 17 and one before dropping back to 2-under with a bogey at the par-4 third.
After three birdies and three bogeys in his opening seven holes, Lott started the front nine at Gleniti Golf Club even par but peeled off birdies at two, four, six and nine to be 4-under and two strokes ahead.
But Lott’s bogey on 10 and Powell’s birdie at the same hole saw the pair finished locked together at 3-under.
Lott and Powell both finished one stroke clear of a quartet of players at 2-under.
Leading scores
T1 Paul Powell 69
T1 Murray Lott 69
T3 James Kupa 70
T3 Brad Burns 70
T3 Mark Sandri 70
T3 Martin Pettigrew 70
February 4
Barson wins by three at Pegasus Pro-Am
Kiwi Dominic Barson displayed the type of form that got him into Final Stage of PGA TOUR Champions Q School to take out the Pegasus Legends Pro-Am at Pegasus Golf Club near Christchurch.
The third individual event of the New Zealand swing to kick off the 2025 PGA Legends Tour season, Barson made it a win for the locals with a superb round of 6-under 66.
The 50-year-old made it through to Final Stage last November by finishing tied for 15th at First Stage, level with Australian Brendan Jones who went on to secure his card at Final Stage in Arizona.
Although Barson was not successful in earning full playing rights for 2025, the experience appeared to pay off as he bounced back from an early bogey to post five birdies and an eagle to finish three clear of Brisbane’s Murray Lott (69).
There was a three-way tie for third with Waihi Legends Pro-Am winner Guy Wall tied with Brad Burns and Martin Pettigrew.
Leading scores
1 Dominic Barson 66
2 Murray Lott 69
T3 Brad Burns 70
T3 Martin Pettigrew 70
T3 Guy Wall 70
6 Christopher Massie 71
February 3
Australia retains Charles-Nagle Trophy
The Charles-Nagle Trophy remains in Australian hands after an enthralling contest that went down to the final match at Harewood Golf Club.
With Sir Bob Charles on hand to present the winning team with the trophy, the Aussies got off to a fast start as Brad Burns and David Fearns completed a 5&4 win over Dominic Barson and Martin Pettigrew.
The Kiwis got a point on the board thanks to Dean Sipson and Craig Mitchell’s 4&2 win over Ben Jackson and Roland Baglin, the match square at 1.5 points each when Guy Wall and Murray Lott halved their match with Dell Bain and Peter Giles.
The final result would hinge on the last match, Scott Ford and John Onions prevailing over Malcolm Wells and Mike Gainsford 3&2 to secure the win for the Australians.
Final scores
Brad Burns/David Fearns def. Dominic Barson/Martin Pettigrew (NZ) 5&4
Dean Sipson/Craig Mitchell (NZ) def. Ben Jackson/Roland Baglin 4&2
Guy Wall/Murray Lott halved Dell Bain/Peter Giles (NZ)
Scott Ford/John Onions def. Malcolm Wells/Mike Gainsford (NZ) 3&2
February 2
Massie stuns with NZ PGA Seniors Pro-Am win
Two superb rounds have earned Queenslander Chris Massie a maiden PGA Legends Tour win at the Hanmer Springs Thermal Pools NZ PGA Seniors Pro-Am Championship at Hamner Springs Golf Club.
In his second year on the seniors circuit, Massie opened up a two-stroke lead with a round of 6-under 62 on day one and then followed that up with a 4-under 64 in Round 2 for a 10-under total.
Massie’s best finish in his rookie season was a tie for 13th at Tin Can Bay but he showed few signs of nerves as he held off Murray Lott (64-63) by one stroke with Brad Burns (64-66) and Dominic Barson (64-66) three shots further back in third.
Leading scores
1 Chris Massie 62-64—126
2 Murray Lott 64-63—127
T3 Brad Burns 64-66—130
T3 Dominic Barson 64-66—130
5 Ben Jackson 67-67—134
January 30
Wall has his way at Waihi Legends
Pymble’s Guy Wall made the perfect start to the 2025 PGA Legends Tour season with a two-stroke victory at the Expol Waihi Legends Pro-Am at Waihi Golf Club.
It is the third year in succession that the Legends Tour season has kicked off on New Zealand’s North Island and the second time in three years that Wall has won the season-opener.
A winner at Hanmer Springs two years ago, Wall shot 6-under 66 at Waihi to claim victory from West Australian Rob Farley (68) with Kiwi pair Dell Bain and Dominic Barson sharing third with rounds of 2-under 70.
Leading scores
1 Guy Wall 66
2 Robert Farley 68
T3 Dell Bain 70
T3 Dom Barson 70
T5 Justin Hooper 71
T5 Ben Jackson 71
Five Australians and one New Zealander are headed to the famed TPC Sawgrass Stadium Course as the best of the best on the PGA TOUR assemble for this week’s THE PLAYERS Championship.
Often dubbed “the fifth major”, THE PLAYERS offers the richest purse on Tour outside the majors, with the winner granted a generous Tour exemption along with a host of tournament invitations.
After his stunning maiden Tour victory at last week’s Puerto Rico Open, Karl Vilips has earned himself a spot in this week’s field alongside 2016 champion, and in-form Jason Day, fresh off a T8 at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
Another past Aussie champion, Adam Scott, will be hoping to recreate his 2004 heroics, while Cam Davis and Min Woo Lee will be looking produce what would be a life-changing week. Kiwi Ryan Fox rounds out the Australasian contingent in Florida.
As the first player to go back-to-back in the event’s history last year, Scottie Scheffler will again be a favourite, while FedEx Cup leader Sepp Straka and last week’s champion from Bay Hill, Russell Henley, will be riding good form into this week.
LAST YEAR’S CHAMPION: Scottie Scheffler (USA)
PRIZEMONEY: US$25 million
LIVE SCORES: https://www.pgatour.com/leaderboard
TV COVERAGE: THE PLAYERS Championship is live on Fox Sports, available on Foxtel and Kayo.
*All times AEDT.
Round 1: Thursday 10:30pm-10am (Fox Sports 503/Kayo)
Round 2: Friday 10:30pm-10am (Fox Sports 503/Kayo)
Round 3: Saturday 10:30pm-10am (Fox Sports 503/Kayo)
Final Round: Sunday 10:30pm-9am (Fox Sports 503/Kayo)
HEADLINERS
Scottie Scheffler: World No. 1 and two-time defending champion
Rory McIlroy: 2019 THE PLAYERS champion
Collin Morikawa: Two-time major champion
Sepp Straka: FedEx Cup leader and three-time Tour winner
Russell Henley: 2025 Arnold Palmer Invitational winner
Jason Day: 2016 THE PLAYERS champion
Karl Vilips: 2025 Puerto Rico Open winner
Karl Vilips made history by winning on the PGA TOUR in his fourth start, and is now headed for The Players Championship, with the West Australian’s efforts just one of the Australian moments to celebrate from a bountiful weekend.
Vilips set the tournament scoring mark at the Puerto Rico Open to claim his maiden title less than a year removed from graduating college (full story on his win HERE), while it was a runner-up finish on the LPGA Tour for Minjee Lee in China.
The older Australian and Kiwi brigade also representing strongly on the PGA TOUR Champions, where Steven Alker claimed another title and Greg Chalmers and Rod Pampling shared third.
For Minjee, her final round charge at the Blue Bay LPGA truly ignited late on the front nine, when the elder Lee sibling seemed to channel her brother Min Woo and his short game.
Mixing three bogeys with one birdie through six holes of the final round playing alongside fellow Aussie Cassie Porter, Minjee chipped in consecutively on the seventh and eighth holes and motioned to call ‘Dr Chipinski’ her brother’s widely used social media nickname.
“I never left,” she said when asked if there was a new Dr Chipinski in the family post round.
Continuing to look more comfortable with her new long putter, Lee added four more birdies on the back nine to finish at 11-under and six back of Japan’s Rio Takeda. Porter recording her best LPGA finish with a solo fourth place after closing with an even par round of 72.
Playing the Cologuard Classic on the senior circuit, Alker closed with a final round 66 to find himself in a playoff with Jason Caron. The Kiwi triumphing on the first extra hole to claim his ninth PGA TOUR Champions crown.
Falling just one short of the playoff, Pampling bogeyed the 17th hole to finish on 11-under, while Chalmers looked the man to beat as the players made their way to the finish.
Leading into the back nine, Chalmers bogeyed the 12th and 14th to fall back before scrambling for a par at the penultimate hole and just missing a 10 foot birdie try at the 18th hole to join the playoff.
“That’s just part of golf sometimes. It’s been a minute since I’ve been in that situation where I’ve had a chance to win an event,” Chalmers said.
“I think the more I can do it, the more comfortable I’ll be and the better I’ll do.”
Similarly flying the flag on the global stage was Jason Day, who was right in the mix late on Sunday at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard.
Two shots back of the lead, Day’s ball found the water at the par-5 16th and eventually the bottom of the cup for a double bogey, with the Queenslander also dropping a shot at the last to share eighth.
Back in action for the first time since Adelaide, the all Australian Ripper GC team shared third place at LIV Golf Hong Kong, with Lucas Herbert the standout in the individual results. The Victorian closing with a 6-under round for a solo fourth place.
PGA TOUR
Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard
Arnold Palmer’s Bay Hill Club & Lodge, Orlando, Florida
1 Russell Henley 72-68-67-70—277 $US4m
T8 Jason Day 76-64-69-74—283 $600,666
T36 Adam Scott 75-72-70-74—291 $96,750
MC Cam Davis 70-80—150
MC Min Woo Lee 78-73—151
Puerto Rico Open
Grand Reserve Golf Club, Rio Grande, Peurto Rico
1 Karl Vilips 65-67-66-64—262 $US720,000
MC Aaron Baddeley 72-75—147
LPGA Tour
Blue Bay LPGA
Jian Lake Blue Bay Golf Course, Hainan Island, China
1 Rio Takeda 69-69-69-64—271 $US375,000
2 Minjee Lee 70-72-68-67—277 $230,318
4 Cassie Porter 69-68-72-72—281 $129,249
T44 Hira Naveed 71-70-76-76—293 $10,529
MC Karis Davidson 73-76—149
MC Fiona Xu (NZ) 74-78—152
LIV Golf
LIV Golf Hong Kong
Hong Kong Golf Club, Fanling, Hong Kong
1 Sergio Garcia 65-64-63—192 $US4m
4 Lucas Herbert 67-66-64—197 $1,000,000
T12 Marc Leishman 70-66-65—201 $312,500
T20 Cameron Smith 69-68-66—203 $202,500
T20 Danny Lee (NZ) 66-71-66—203 $202,500
T35 Matt Jones 69-69-67—205 $145,333
T35 Ben Campbell (NZ) 69-68-68—205 $145,333
DP World Tour
Joburg Open
Houghton GC, Johannesburg, South Africa
1 Callum Hill 69-66-69-62—266 €177,233.16
T3 Danny List 66-73-71-77—287 €1,547.32
MC Kazuma Kobori 70-77—147
PGA TOUR Champions
Cologuard Classic
La Paloma Country Club, Tucson, Arizona
1 Steven Alker (NZ) 69-66-66—201 $US330,000
T3 Rod Pampling 66-69-67—202 $145,200
T3 Greg Chalmers 64-67-71—202 $145,200
T18 Cameron Percy 71-69-68—208 $32,010
T20 David Bransdon 69-70-70—209 $25,828
T20 Mark Hensby 71-68-70—209 $25,828
T20 Matthew Goggin 67-69-73—209 $25,828
T33 Richard Green 75-67-70—212 $13,860
T44 Steve Allan 70-77-67—214 $8,800
T48 Stuart Appleby 70-74-71—214 $7,040
T60 Michael Wright 71-72-75—218 $3,300
T60 Brendan Jones 72-73-63—218 $3,300
Korn Ferry Tour
Astara Chile Classic presented by Scotiabank
Prince of Wales Country Club, Santiago, Chile
1 Logan McAllister 68-70-63-64—265 $US180,000
T57 Harry Hillier (NZ) 71-69-71-70—281 $4,100
MC Rhein Gibson 70-71—141
Epson Tour
Atlantic Beach Classic presented by Access Golf
Atlantic Beach Country Club, Atlantic Beach, Florida
1 Laetitia Beck 71-68-66—205 $US37,500
T13 Robyn Choi 76-71-69—216 $3,868
T54 Caitlin Peirce 78-73-73—224 $1,054
MC Su Oh 81-76—157
Australian Karl Vilips has joined an exclusive club, with the 23-year-old winning the PGA TOUR’s Puerto Rico Open in just his fourth Tour start to become only the 12th player since 1970 to achieve that feat.
Named recently as the first signing to Tiger Woods’ apparel company Sun Day Red and last month as a new member of the Golf Australia Rookie Squad, Vilips entered the final round with the outright lead in Puerto Rico having graduated Stanford University less than 12 months ago.
A winner on the secondary Korn Ferry Tour last year, Vilips was challenged out of the gate on Sunday by Dane Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen as he sought to join the likes of Seve Ballesteros in the four-tournament start winners club on the PGA TOUR.
Birdieing the par-4 third, Vilips then found some magic at the par-5 sixth when holing out his pitch for eagle before two more birdies to close out the front nine in 5-under.
The Australian, who spent parts of his childhood in Melbourne and Perth before completing his schooling in America, truly having to earn his victory on the back nine when he made his only bogey of the final day at the par-4 12th.
As Neergaard-Petersen was in the middle of making six straight birdies from the 10th hole, Vilips first dropped shot, and loss of the lead, seemed to kick the former child prodigy and now Colin Swatton coached player into gear.
“Bogey was pretty careless,” Vilips told Australian media after his win.
“I was pretty frustrated about that with a wedge in the fairway. I was thinking kind of just give myself a bit of a cushion on the leaderboard and then had to just forget about it. It’s already happened, can’t do anything about it and did a good job putting me back in the present.”
Making three consecutive birdies from the 13th, Vilips added another at the 72nd and final hole to reach 26-under and claim a three shot victory over Neergaard-Petersen.
“It’s a dream come true for me and my dad,” Vilips said paying tribute to his father, Paul, immediately after holing his winning putt.
“This is what we dreamed of as a kid.”
Vilips, whose maiden season on the PGA TOUR has been slightly hampered following the discovery of a bulging disk in his back around the time he returned home for a share of 46th at the ISPS HANDA Australian Open, has now secured his playing rights for the next two years.
Setting a tournament scoring record with his 26-under-par total, Vilips will now also receive a start at the PGA TOUR’s showpiece event, next week’s The Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass, as well as the US PGA Championship in May.
Recently moving to Florida and making TPC Sawgrass his base, the Australian will not be as ill-prepared as many might think for his sudden start next week alongside some of the biggest names in the game.
“I just moved there, been at TPC for five months or four months now,” Vilips said.
“I’m going to be getting in late Monday night, so it’s going to be a bit of a short prep, but thankfully it’s my home course so I don’t really need to do too much. Just see how the greens are rolling, how the rough is. I just kind of get in the right mindset for it.”
Mindset has rarely been an issue for Vilips, who has worked relentlessly to become a PGA TOUR winner, with his calm and mostly mild mannered demeanour only cracking occasionally on Sunday. Firstly, when yelling “Come on” as he celebrated his final birdie, and again when speaking of his genuine excitement and realising a dream
“Even just like being in the final group is something I always wanted to do. Being in the final group of PGA TOUR events and then winning, it’s just everything,” he said.
“It makes me incredibly happy to hoist that trophy on the 18th green … It’s everything that I’ve dreamed of and in the moment, you have to kind of just put all that aside and focus on winning. But I’m sure when I’m back in my hotel I’ll just be smiling and calling my friends.”
Part of the phone attention no doubt going to a potential voice message from the icon that created his clothing sponsor, with Tiger one of the names to pop up during the whirlwind post round commitments.
“I caught a glimpse of it saying something and I’ll have to get back to it. I’ve been bombarded with texts and I’m so grateful for the support, but I’ll have to look back at it after this.”
Kiwi left-hander Tyler Hodge has held his nerve over the closing stages to clinch a one-stroke victory at the Wallace Development New Zealand PGA Championship at Hastings Golf Club.
Leading by four strokes after a birdie at the par-5 10th, Hodge’s advantage from Queensland pair Tim Hart (67) and Shae Wools-Cobb (71) was reduced to three with a bogey at the par-4 11th.
Hart, Wools-Cobb and Kerry Mountcastle (66) all nudged one stroke closer with birdies of their own, Hodge’s lead shrinking to just one when he made a third bogey in the space of eight holes after three-putting the par-3 16th.
The two closing holes at Hastings Golf Club were playing directly into a hefty wind and Hodge came up short with his second into the par-4 17th.
He very nearly chipped in before tapping in for par to head to the 72nd tee with a one-shot advantage as Hart and Mountcastle sat safely in the clubhouse at 15-under par.
A bombed drive into the fairway was the first piece of the puzzle Hodge needed to complete before the 30-year-old hit his best shot of the day, a 7-iron from 161 metres to just 12 feet.
It was after watching playing partner Denzel Ieremia’s shot carry deep into the green that Hodge changed clubs, dropping back to 7-iron to all but seal his first Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia victory with a final round of 3-under 69.
He is the third Kiwi winner in the past four events (Josh Geary, Nick Voke) and the third left-hander to win this season (Elvis Smylie, Ryan Peake) and does so in his second stint as a professional.
Originally joining the pro ranks in 2015, Hodge quit in late 2019 and had a year away from the game before returning to amateur golf and caddying for two seasons at Tara Iti.
In 2023 he decided to try again and now, two years later, he is a Tour winner with guaranteed status through until the end of the 2026/2027 season.
“That’s a very cool thought,” said Hodge, who had fiancée Tessa McDonald on the bag as he completed a career highlight.
“We’ll have some in-house conversations and stuff like that about what the future looks like playing golf.
“I had a couple of years off a few years ago and then kind of came back to the game and have been enjoying it.
“But she’s a tough old slog pro golf, so my fiancée and I have been having some chats about possibly giving the pro playing stuff away.
“We’ll have to have a bit more of a chat over the winter about that.”
Tied for second overnight, Hodge continued to forge ahead as the likes of Cameron Harlock (77), Jake McLeod (74), Denzel Ieremia (71) and Wools-Cobb (71) stalled on Sunday.
Challengers emerged from back in the pack in the form of Mountcastle and Hart, but both would ultimately fall one short of forcing a playoff.
It was Hodge’s performances on the Charles Tour in New Zealand last year that earned limited playing rights on the PGA Tour of Australasia this season, a tie for 11th at the Ford NSW Open enhancing his status and providing confirmation that a win was not beyond reach.
“I definitely haven’t played to my potential for most of the season,” said Hodge, who is now 22nd on the Order of Merit.
“That was a little bit of a highlight that week but still felt like I didn’t kind of have it.
“Just to kind of let it go this week and just whatever happens, happens, the game kind of came back to me a little bit naturally, I suppose.
“I’m almost a journeyman now. Golf is different. There’s a lot of learnings that you have to go through yourself.
“People can tell you about it and stuff like that, but you have to experience a few of those things and get through a lot of adversity.
“Slowly but surely got back into it and then obviously enjoyed it enough to have another crack at the pro stuff.”
Mountcastle and Hart shared second at 15-under par, one clear of Wools-Cobb, Anthony Quayle (69) and another Kiwi left-hander, Tim Wilkinson (67).
Photo: Ian Cooper/bwmedia.co.nz
Three Australians are in the hunt for breakthrough wins as major champions Minjee Lee and Jason Day put themselves in the frame for drought-breaking victories on the LPGA and PGA TOUR respectively.
In what shapes as a potentially career-changing 24 hours, Karl Vilips and Greg Chalmers have the outright lead in their respective events on the PGA TOUR and PGA TOUR Champions as Cassie Porter hunts down victory in just her second start on the LPGA Tour.
Less than 12 months after graduating from Stanford University, Vilips shot 6-under 66 in Round 3 of the Puerto Rico Open in Rio Grande in just his third start on the PGA TOUR while Porter will start Sunday’s final round of the Blue Bay LPGA in China in a share of second, two strokes back of Japan’s Rio Takeda.
Two-time major winner Minjee Lee is just one stroke further back in a tie for fifth, Day trails Collin Morikawa by three shots at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and Chalmers is the outright leader at the Cologuard Classic as he seeks a first win on the PGA TOUR Champions.
Diagnosed with a bulging disc in his back after initially being told he had a stress fracture, Vilips is quickly making up for lost time.
His debut season on the PGA TOUR was subsequently delayed as he received treatment but will now take a one-stroke lead into the final round in Puerto Rico in just his third event.
“I don’t feel that surprised,” said the 23-year-old who is bidding to become just the 12th player to win in one of his first four starts on the PGA TOUR since 1970.
“I feel like my game’s gotten a lot better over the years. I think playing so much out of college and on the Korn Ferry and then just a lot of competitive golf, it just has sharpened me up a lot.
“I’ve been really true to the process and seeing it pay off so far at the moment is nice.”
Porter’s performance is just as impressive.
Admitting to be somewhat starstruck in her LPGA Tour debut, the 22-year-old birdied three of her final four holes on Saturday to play her way into Sunday’s second-to-last group alongside Lee and world No.2, Jeeno Thitikul.
“That was a lot of fight out there,” said the Epson Tour graduate of her finish to Round 3.
“Bit of a mess in the middle of the round there, but we came back, so that’s all that matters.”
In his first season as a fully exempt member of the PGA TOUR Champions, Chalmers leads by one at the tournament where he made his PGA TOUR Champions debut 12 months ago.
The West Australian’s tie for seventh last year after coming through Monday qualifying provided the foundation for a season in which he logged five top-10s and won close to $US900,000 in prize money.
The 51-year-old is now seeking to become Australia’s first winner on the PGA TOUR Champions since Rod Pampling at the SAS Championship in October 2023.
“I have a one-shot lead going into tomorrow now. Some of that may be relatively new territory for me, I don’t think I’ve done that before, certainly not on the Champions Tour,” conceded Chalmers, who will have wife Nicole in the gallery on Sunday.
“I really felt pleased with how I conducted myself today and the shots I chose and predominantly how I executed.
“I’m looking forward to tomorrow. There’s a few guys with a chance to have a good day and see if they can’t have a win, so great to be part of that mix.”
Porter tees off in her final round at 2:11pm AEDT Sunday, Vilips is off in the final group in Puerto Rico at 2:41am AEDT Monday with Chalmers to begin his quest for victory at 6:17am AEDT Monday morning.
Unheralded Kiwi rookie Cameron Harlock has turned a tournament invitation into a potential maiden professional win at the Wallace Development New Zealand PGA Championship at Hastings Golf Club.
On a day in which the leaders stalled and contenders came from the clouds, Harlock’s eagle on the par-5 17th in his round of 5-under 67 was enough to nudge one clear of a congested leaderboard at 14-under par.
Queensland’s Shae Wools-Cobb (67) and Kiwi left-hander Tyler Hodge (70) share second at 13-under par with 16-year-old amateur Cooper Moore (71) and another New Zealander, Denzel Ieremia (66) tied for fourth at 12-under.
Nineteen players will start Sunday within five strokes of the lead, Harlock suddenly thrust to the front in just his second start on the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia.
Out in 3-under, Harlock made bogey at the par-4 11th for the second straight day before forging to the front-running position with a birdie at 14 and eagle at 17.
“I felt like I had a good number and it came out pretty awfully to be honest,” Harlock said of his second shot into the par-5.
“It surprised me a little bit but was probably one of those ones where it was so bad that it was actually in an OK spot.
“I had about 40 metres left and it wasn’t an easy shot but just tried to hit the best shot that I could and it just dropped in the front edge.”
After playing his way into the Vic Open last month by winning the Monday qualifier at Curlewis, Harlock was given a crash course in professional golf education during a practice round with Aussie veterans Sam Brazel, Marcus Fraser and Matt Millar.
Although he would miss the cut at 13th Beach, Harlock said it was an invaluable learning experience less than a year after graduating from Boston College.
“Getting those guys to steer me around and just see how they worked and their practice round was actually a massive benefit,” said the Auckland native
“It feels like a strange thing to say, but they looked like they were relaxed and they had their processes and plans and then outside of that, they were just really, really good guys.”
Another with limited playing opportunities of late has been Wools-Cobb.
Due to his current category, Wools-Cobb has played just two events since the start of the year, a heart-to-heart with coach John Wright unlocking his love for the game again.
“I just feel really happy out there. It’s just a light bulb moment kind of thing,” said Wools-Cobb.
“I feel like I had a really good chat with my coach, John Wright after WA (Webex Players Series Perth). He pretty much pulled me into gear to say, ‘Just work harder.’
“There were a few weaker areas that we noticed in my golf swing that break down when I’m under pressure so I’ve really dedicated myself to gym work, getting a bit more flexibility and movement.”
The biggest moves on Saturday came from Newcastle rookie Jye Pickin and perennial contender this season, Jake McLeod.
Pickin and McLeod both shot rounds of 7-under 65 in Round 3 to be tied for sixth and just three strokes off the lead.
Pickin has missed the cut in each of his previous three starts while McLeod’s runner-up finish to Nick Voke at Webex Players Series Sydney was his third top-five finish of the season.
One-under playing the back nine on Friday, McLeod shot 3-under in his final eight holes to make the cut. He intends to carry through a ‘nothing to lose’ mentality as he chases a first win since the 2018 NSW Open.
“If you just made the cut, you can’t really go backwards so there’s only forwards,” said McLeod, who had six birdies and an eagle in his round of 7-under.
“Obviously running down the leaderboard here is not going to do anything on the Order of Merit so you need to try your luck and push pretty hard I reckon.”
The final round of the Wallace Development PGA Championship tees off at 8:15am AEDT.
Photo: Simon Watts/BW Media
