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NSW Senior Open returns to Thurgoona


Some of the biggest names in Australian golf over the past 30 years will be on show when the 54-hole NSW Senior Open returns to Albury in late October.

Running from October 31st to November 2nd, 2025, the $150,000, 54-hole tournament is an integral part of the PGA Legends Tour.

This year’s event will be the seventh edition at the Thurgoona Golf & Country Club Resort. 

Graeme Phillipson, Golf NSW Chief Operating Officer, said the tournament was an extremely popular event for players, both professional and amateur.

“We are thrilled to continue to bring one of our most popular tournaments back to the Albury region and the Thurgoona Country Club,” said Graeme Phillipson, Golf NSW Chief Operating Officer.

“The sporting public of the Murray region and the Liverpool Catholic Club have supported this event from its inception, and it is a pleasure to continue to return to a venue and city where everyone involved in the tournament, including the players, officials, and staff, have been so warmly received.”

“Golf is the number one pastime Australia-wide for those over 50, and the popularity of tournaments like the NSW Senior Open assists us in promoting the game as the ideal recreational activity for young and old,” Mr. Phillipson added.

Last year’s champion, Victorian David McKenzie, is expected to defend his championship crown, against a field which is likely to feature many of the greats of Australasian Golf, including

• Peter Lonard: a nine-time winner on the PGA Tour of Australasia and a US & European Tour winner
• Andre Stolz – current leader of the PGA Legends Tour Order of Merit
• Mathew Goggin, the 2024 Runner Up
• Scott Barr – Asian Tour winner and PGA Legends Tour regular
• Terry Price – European Tour winner
• Steven Conran – Japan Tour winner

Other notables and past champions expected to play include Peter O’Malley, Michael Harwood, Grant Kenny, and 2019 champ Brad Burns.

PGA Legends Tour Coordinator Andy Rogers said the tour and its players were excited by the opportunity to return to Thurgoona for a record seventh time, having enjoyed all previous six stagings on the Murray River.

“We’re absolutely thrilled to be heading back to Thurgoona again this year for the NSW Senior Open,” Rogers said. 

“The players have become very familiar with not only the course but the surrounding area as well, and both are perfect hosts for the event. This event is a significant part of the PGA Legends Tour schedule, and to return to a host venue that has proven itself time and again as a perfect fit is very exciting.”

The fan experience at this year’s tournament will allow unparalleled access. Spectators can walk the fairways beside their favourite players and see golf played at its best.

“There won’t be a better opportunity for sports fans in the Albury region to get up close and personal to witness the legends in action,” Adam Fitzgerald, general manager of the Thurgoona Country Club Resort, said.
 

EVENT FACTS

Host Venue: Thurgoona Country Club Resort.

The Thurgoona Country Club Resort is a par 72, 18-hole championship course measuring 6372 metres. A Peter Thomson & Mike Wolveridge design, the course features couch fairways and large bent grass greens.

Tournament Dates: October 31st – November 2nd, 2025 (54 holes)

Website: www.nswsenioropen.com.au

Prize Fund: AUD 150,000 

Field Size: 120 players consisting of

• 82 players from the 2025 Legends Tour exemption categories
• 1 Player from Asian Senior Tour
• 32 Amateur players from Golf NSW exemption categories
• Five professional pre-qualifying positions

Past Champions:

2024 David McKenzie (Vic)
2023: Adam Henwood (Vic)
2022: Richard Green (Vic)
2020: Brad Burns (QLD)
2019: Michael Long (NZL)
2018: Grant Kenny (NSW)

By Golf NSW

Photo: Victorian David McKenzie is expected to defend his NSW Senior Open Crown later this year.


We had Jason Day in the hunt until deep into the first men’s major of the year; now it’s the turn of our Aussie women to take centre stage.

Starting with this week’s JM Eagle LA Championship where Hannah Green will seek to make it three straight and building into the first women’s major of 2025 next week with the Chevron Championship.

All nine LPGA Tour exempt Aussies are in the field this week and over on the Ladies European Tour, Kelsey Bennett’s third-place finish at the SA Women’s Open was her second straight top-10 finish.

We have entered the best four months of the golf year and our Aussies are primed to play leading roles.

10. Kelsey Bennett (New)
Is at a career high of No.227 in the world on the back of her best finish on the Ladies European Tour. On the back of a tie for eighth at the Joburg Ladies Open, Bennett was third at the SA Women’s Open. The 25-year-old is now 16th on the Order of Merit in her rookie season on the LET.

9. Stephanie Kyriacou (Last week: 9)
Despite having the week off, rose another two spots in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Ranking and is now No.46 in the world. That is a career best and with the first women’s major of the season a week away, looks ready to join Hannah Green and Minjee Lee as a consistent contender in golf’s showpiece events.

8. Elvis Smylie (7)
The Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit winner resumes his rookie season on the DP World Tour this week at the Volvo China Open on the back of shooting 59 in the club comp at Southport Golf Club.

7. Minjee Lee (6)
Six years after winning this tournament, looks to ramp up her preparation for next week’s Chevron Championship at the JM Eagle LA Championship. Expect one of golf’s best ball-strikers to be firing when major season rolls around.

6. Marc Leishman (5)
Blew past Bryson DeChambeau to claim LIV Golf Miami for his first LIV Golf individual win and lead Ripper GC to their first team win of 2025. Back in action next week at LIV Golf Mexico City.

5. Karl Vilips (4)
Earns his place in this week’s RBC Heritage Signature Event by virtue of the Aon Swing 5 ranking. Has missed his past three cuts on the PGA TOUR since winning the Puerto Rico Open.

4. Jason Day (New)
Showed once again that he is the man for a big occasion at the Masters. Having reunited with boyhood coach Col Swatton, Day was just three strokes back deep into the back nine on Sunday at Augusta National but dropped shots at both 17 and 18. In the 70 holes prior he had made just three bogeys but struggled to convert numerous birdie opportunities.

3. Hannah Green (3)
The two-time JM Eagle LA Championship defending champion has a new venue to try and make it three straight. If she does so, Green will become the first Australian to win the same LPGA Tour event three years running since Karrie Webb’s hat-trick of Australian Ladies Masters wins from 1998-2000.

2. Lucas Herbert (2)
Has become the bedrock of the Ripper GC team and was strong in the team’s victory at LIV Golf Miami. The Ford NSW Open winner will likely draw inspiration from Leishman’s recent win to get one of his own sooner rather than later.

1. Min Woo Lee (1)
Was in the mix heading into the weekend at the Masters but a third round of 5-over 77 made a Sunday charge impossible. Houston Open winner backs up for this week’s RBC Heritage at Harbour Town.

The Australian Golf Power Rankings is a subjective list developed with input from members of the Australian Golf media team.


It was Jason Day’s best Masters finish in six years yet it will be forever remembered as the crowning glory in the extraordinarily complex career of Rory McIlroy.

In an enthralling, chaotic and ultimately gratifying final round that will go down as one of the most compelling in major championship history, McIlroy (73) had to go one extra hole against Ryder Cup teammate Justin Rose (66) to complete the career grand slam and claim his first coveted green jacket.

His final pairing with his US Open nemesis Bryson DeChambeau was built to break box office records.

That his two-shot advantage was thrown away with a double-bogey at the opening hole followed by a DeChambeau birdie at the second to take the lead made the storyline all the more absorbing.

There were shots only McIlroy can hit – his second into seven, a hooked 7-iron from 208 yards to six feet at the par-5 15th – yet there were also mistakes that have plagued the Northern Irishman for a decade.

An inexplicable pitch into Rae’s Creek beside the 13th green saw what was a five-shot lead as he strode down the 11th hole disintegrate into a three-way tie at 10-under with both Rose and Ludvig Aberg (72).

The birdie on 17 would prove pivotal after McIlroy failed to get up-and-down from the greenside bunker on 18. He would fulfil his destiny with a perfect tee shot at the first playoff hole, an approach that spun back toward the hole and the longest two-foot tap-in of his life.

It was Day’s best finish since he was tied for fifth in 2019.

With all manner of drama unfolding behind him, Day was just three strokes from the lead with four holes to play.

He left a birdie attempt out to the left from the back fringe of the par-5 15th and then two-putted from 72 feet for par at the par-3 16th.

Closing bogeys at 17 and 18 were just his fourth and fifth for the week as the 37-year-old relished his return to the heat of major championship Sunday.

“It’s nice to be like third group from the end, at least trying to give myself a chance at winning the Masters,” said Day, who now has five top-10 finishes at Augusta National.

“I’m pretty gutted right now. It’s annoying to give myself the opportunities out there and not be able to take them.

“I mean, it’s a step in the right direction. That’s all I can say. It’s hard to walk off the golf course and go straight into an interview even though… I’m pretty headless right now.

“Just a few minor tweaks here and there and a few more putts go in, it might be a different story this week.”

The final round was a day of give and take for Lee.

The 26-year-old began brightly with an exquisite pitch shot to set up birdie at the par-5 second but, as would be the case all Sunday, Augusta National soon took it back, and then some.

There were bogeys at three, four and six before Lee hit another superb approach from the left rough on his way to birdie at the par-4 seventh.

He bogeyed 10 and 12, picked them back up again with birdies at 13 and 14 and then, finally, dropped to 2-over on his round with a bogey at the par-5 15th.

Holing out from the greenside bunker for par at the 72nd hole was a very Min Woo way to finish as he continues to build his database of Masters memories.

“I had a chat with my caddie Bo walking up 18, and I just asked him if it’s more of a mental or a technical battle here,” said Lee.

“Obviously you need to be on with your game, but I think the mental has to be right up there.

“The top players mentally are going to be at the top of the leaderboard, which I think they are.

“That leaderboard up there has a lot of major champion winners and guys who have played well over the past whatever years.

“A lot of learning to do. I’m really early in the stages of hopefully my career at Augusta, so I can’t wait for whatever the next few years have in store.”

Day’s wasn’t the only top-10 finish by an Aussie this week as Kelsey Bennett recorded her career-best result on the Ladies European Tour.

Bennett, who started the final day in a tie for eighth, dropped her only shot of the day on the fifth hole, before having three birdies in a row on the back nine.

Tied for eighth a week ago at the Joburg Ladies Open to climb to No.266 in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Ranking, Bennett finished three shots back of Perrine Delacour in outright third.

That surpasses her tie for seventh at last year’s Lacoste Ladies Open de France and elevates her to 16th on the Order of Merit in her rookie season on the LET.

Making early inroads on the leaderboard with birdies at two and four, Bennett’s Sunday charge hit a hurdle with a bogey on five.

The 25-year-old responded with birdie at the par-5 seventh but it wasn’t until she peeled off three on the trot from the 13th hole that she dared look at the leaderboard.

“I just gave myself plenty of opportunities so I’m glad a few on the back nine dropped,” said Bennett.

“I wasn’t looking at the leaderboard too much until I had three birdies in a row and then said to Michelle [caddie and partner], ‘I need to see.’

“Then that felt pretty good.”

Results

Masters Tournament
Augusta National Golf Club, Augusta, Georgia
1          Rory McIlroy                72-66-66-73—277
T8        Jason Day                    70-70-71-72—283      
T50      Min Woo Lee                71-72-77-74—294      
MC       Adam Scott                  77-72—149
MC       Cameron Smith            71-78—149
MC       Cam Davis                   74-79—153

Japan Golf Tour
Token Homemate Cup
Tokken Tado Country Club, Nagoya, Mie
Reduced to 54 holes due to rain
1          Tatsunori Shogenji       66-64-66—196 ¥19.5m
T54      Michael Hendry           72-68-70—210 ¥231,353
66        Brad Kennedy              71-68-74—213 ¥213,525

Ladies European Tour
Investec SA Women’s Open
Erinvale Country and Golf Estate, South Africa
1          Perrine Delacour          65-69-70-70—274       €51,000          
3          Kelsey Bennett             69-68-73-67—277       €17,850
T20      Amelia Garvey (NZ)      71-71-71-70—283       €4,246.91
T45      Momoka Kobori (NZ)   69-73-73-72—287       €1,598

HotelPLanner Tour
UAE Challenge
Al Zorah Golf & Yacht Club, Ajman, UAE
1          Renato Paratore           69-68-64-65—266       €42,538.46
T50      Hayden Hopewell        69-70-72-71—282       €1,042.19
MC       Danny List                    73-71—144
MC       Sam Jones (NZ)            74-72—146

Sunshine Tour
Qualifying School Final Stage
Heron Banks Golf & River Resort
1          Luis Carrera                  66-69-68-61—264
T12      Austin Bautista             67-67-71-71—276
T49      Ben Eccles                    71-70-73-71—285
DQ       Phoenix Campbell


He sensed an air of confidence before they even teed off on Saturday yet Australian Jason Day insists he is close enough to deny Rory McIlroy’s Masters dream at Augusta National Golf Club.

A second straight round of 6-under 66 and 12-under total has given McIlroy a two-shot buffer from a surging Bryson DeChambeau (69) heading into the final round as the Northern Irishman seeks to break free of his Masters torment and complete the career Grand Slam.

Top five on three separate occasions, Day will start Round 4 seven strokes back in a tie for sixth but conscious that momentum can change quickly on a Sunday at Augusta.

A chip-in for birdie at the par-4 14th was the highlight of Day’s third round of 1-under 71 as fellow Aussie Min Woo Lee dropped from contention with a round of 5-over 77 that included a penalty stroke when he was deemed to have made his ball move on the 13th fairway.

Day’s first birdie of Round 3 came courtesy of a clinical pitch shot to four feet at the par-5 second, his second via a curling 18-foot birdie putt at the par-4 fifth.

He scrambled pars at six, 10 and 11 but made his second bogey for the week after hitting his tee shot long and left at the par-3 12th to drop back to 5-under.

He was in a share of fifth when he holed out from the back of the 14th green but the 37-year-old dropped back to a tie for seventh when he made bogey at the par-3 16th, choosing to chip sideways from the top shelf of the green to feed his ball down to the hole location on the bottom section.

“Sundays at Augusta is unlike any other tournament. You just never know what potentially could happen,” said Day.

“I know that if you shoot a low one, you can use the crowd as momentum, and it also works against you, as well.

“He seems like he’s very focused and level-headed right now, and he’s going to be a very, very difficult person to beat tomorrow, just the way that he is looking off the golf course before the round. Very confident, very balanced in himself.

“I know it’s in the back of his mind, but I think he’s running off so much confidence and he has so much belief in his game that it almost… like he knows it’s going to happen, kind of thing.

“And when you’re playing like that, it’s very dangerous.”

Lee made a bright start to Saturday when he holed a sliding left-to-right eight-footer for birdie after almost driving the green at the 350-yard third.

He almost holed his second shot from 177 yards at the par-4 fifth but would three-putt from just inside 20 feet and make bogey.

Missed greens led to bogeys at both 10 and 11 and then Lee incurred a penalty stroke at the par-5 13th after it was assessed that his actions near the ball caused it to move in the fairway.

That resulted in a third bogey in four holes which became four in five when a wayward tee shot had the 26-year-old out of position on his way to a dropped shot on 14, his final bogey coming with a third three-putt for the day on 17.

Photo: Ben Jared/PGA TOUR via Getty Images


Jason Day is already targeting a Sunday charge at Augusta National after playing his way into a Masters weekend for the 11th time in his career.

Day and fellow Paris Olympian Min Woo Lee are the only two Aussies to advance past the 36-hole cut-line as Adam Scott (72), Cameron Smith (78) and Cam Davis (79) all finished shy of the 2-over mark.

Day shot 2-under 70 for the second straight day to be in a tie for ninth at 4-under and four back of leader Justin Rose (71), his only bogey of the tournament to date coming at the par-4 18th in Friday’s second round.

After starting Round 2 with a double-bogey, Lee also dropped a shot on 18 in his round of even-par 72 that has him in a share of 22nd at the halfway point.

Runner-up on debut in 2011 and with three top-five finishes to his name, Day knows what to expect of a weekend at the Masters: Survive Saturday and charge home Sunday.

“We know that Saturday usually is the tougher day of the two,” said Day.

“I know it’s going to be tough, but get the opportunities, try and capitalise on them and then get myself into contention on the back nine on Sunday.”

Being unable to capitalise on opportunities has been a frustration for Day the first two rounds.

The 37-year-old has hit 27 of 36 greens but converted just five birdie chances, a stat he hopes will turn over the final two days.

“This golf course, it can frustrate you,” Day added.

“It’s a funny golf course because where they put the pin locations, if you’re leaving yourself 30 to 35 feet, very rarely do you hit it very close. You’re always leaving yourself two, three, four-footers, and that can be very frustrating.

“That’s why you feel mentally fatigued getting off the golf course at the end of the day, just where they place the pin locations.

“But when you’re missing putts and giving yourself opportunities, it is what it is.

“I feel like the stats will soon kind of turn for me, and hopefully it’s this weekend.”

After hitting his second shot from the pine straw left of the fairway, Day got up-and-down from 43 yards to make birdie at the par-5 second and then hit a gorgeous tee shot to seven feet for birdie at the par-3 sixth.

Another wayward tee shot had Day scrambling at the par-5 eighth but his wedge play again came to the fore for a third birdie on the front nine and turn 5-under for the championship.

It was the worst possible start to Round 2 for Lee.

His tee shot on one went left onto the ninth fairway and he clipped the trees as he tried to make his way back to the fairway.

The 26-year-old would make double-bogey but got both shots back with birdies at two and three.

A bogey followed when Lee came up well short at the 240-yard par-3 fourth but two brilliant iron shots got him back in red numbers with a birdie from 13 feet at the par-4 10th.

He moved to 2-under with birdie from 12 feet at the par-5 15th but dropped back to 1-under when he missed his par putt from six feet after missing the green long and left at 18.

Even par on his round and 1-under as he entered the back nine, Smith’s aspirations faded in a four-hole stretch.

The 31-year-old was unable to save par after finding the bunker at the par-4 10th and then made double-bogey at 11 after finding Ike’s Pond with his second.

The 2022 Open champion missed a birdie chance from nine feet at 12 and then made bogey on 13 when his third shot failed to carry the bank and bounced back into Rae’s Creek.

Wayward tee shots led to further bogeys at both 16 and 17 as he missed the cut at the Masters for the first time in his ninth appearance.

Two bogeys in his final three holes would cruel any chance that Scott had of making the cut.

A sand save at the par-5 second and birdie from eight fee at the par-3 sixth had the 2013 champion 1-under through 14 holes of his second round.

After choosing to lay up at the par-5 15th, Scott missed the green long with his approach from 99 yards and was unable to get up-and-down for his par.

He responded with a superb shot to five feet to make birdie on 16 but dropped back to 5-over when he missed a par putt from four feet on 17.

It was late in his round again where Davis’s score ballooned.

Needing an under-par round to be any hope of making the weekend, the 30-year-old turned in 1-over.

But, like so many before him, he would be brought undone by the mystic beauty of the par-3 12th.

Davis’s tee shot pitched into the bank at the front of the green, his ball bouncing back into Rae’s Creek on his way to a double-bogey.

He would find the water twice more on his way in, making bogeys at both the par-5 13th and par-5 15th along with bogeys at both 17 and 18.


Tasmanian pair Scott Priest and Luke Hickman are the first two qualifiers for the $100,000 PGA Professionals Championship National Final in November.

Priest had three birdies and three bogeys to finish on top at the PGA Professionals Championship of Tasmania played at Ulverstone Golf Club on Friday, three clear of Hickman.

The Head Professional at Devonport Country Club, Hickman birdied the par-5 17th to build a two-stroke buffer from Darren Spencer, a buffer he would need as he closed with a bogey for a round of 3-over 75.

The Teaching Professional at Tasmania Golf Club, Priest’s round of 72 ensured he qualified for the National Final for the second consecutive year.

Outright third with a round of 4-over 76, Spencer will also attend the National Final as the Senior PGA Championship qualifier.

The next qualifying event is the PGA Professionals Championship of North Queensland to be played at Mirage Country Club on Monday, April 28.


Victorians Bradley Kivimets and Liam Reaper have clinched section victories in the First Stage of the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia’s Qualifying School – Australia at Moonah Links.

Kivimets won Section A by one shot from Jason Hong (NSW) after closing with a 65 to finish on 12-under-par for the 54 holes, while Reaper shot a final round 69 for an 8-under total to overhaul 2023 Japan Amateur champion Rintaro Nakano in Section B

After leading coming into the final round, Nakano battled to a 75 to end up in a share of second position with Victorian Aiden Didone at 7-under.

Silvester Tan (WA) was the other amateur to advance from Section B, while four amateurs – Queenslanders Max Ford and Ryan Swann, NSW’s Ethan Harvey and Victorian Sang Jun Lee – qualified from Section A.

One of the biggest moves on the final day came from Kieran Jones (NSW) who climbed to T8 from a share of 21st thanks to a 65 to follow on from opening rounds of 72-70.

The top 18 finishers from both stages advanced to next week’s Final Stage, also at Moonah Links.

Former Australian amateur representative Max Charles (Vic), who lost to Nathan Barbieri in a playoff at Final Stage last year, qualfiied with a 3-under-par total in Section A.

However, his 2023 Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship teammate, Connor Fewkes (WA), who is looking to make the switch to pro golf, failed to advance with a 2-over-par total.

The 72-hole Final Stage of Qualifying School – Australia, which has a confirmed field of 65 starters, gets underway on Monday with the top 26 finishers and ties to earn Full Tournament Membership of the PGA of Australia and be placed in a Tournament Exemption Category. The winner will be fully exempt for all tournaments in the 2025/26 season.

Those players finishing beyond 26th place and ties, who complete 72 holes at Final Stage, will be eligible for Full Tournament Membership of the PGA of Australia, however, they will not hold an exemption category for the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia.

All players who play 72 holes of the Final Stage will earn a pro-am exemption category and be eligible to enter adidas PGA Pro-Am series events.

The 72 – hole Final Stage of Qualifying – USA will be played July 15-18 and the leading six players and ties from the USA will be eligible to for Full Tournament Membership of the PGA of Australia, and will be placed in a Tournament Exemption Category. As in Australia, the winner of this stage will be fully exempt for all tournaments in the 2025/26 season.

Those players finishing from seventh to 20th place and ties at Final Stage USA, will be eligible for Full Tournament Membership of the PGA of Australia, however, they will not hold an exemption category for the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia.

The top 20 players will also earn a pro-am exemption category and be eligible to enter adidas PGA pro-Am Series.

Photo: Victorian Bradley Kivimets


Participants are already asking when they can play again after a second highly successful Ready Steady Golf – Salty Fish All Abilities Tournament on Sunday, April 6.

An initiative built on the back of the Ready Steady Golf program for people with a disability established by PGA Professional Mark Tibbles more than a decade ago, the second such event was attended by 48 players made up of physically, psychologically and intellectually challenged participants of all ages and abilities along with family members and volunteers at the Vines Golf and Country Club in Perth.

The Ready Steady Golf Program conducted by Tibbles at The Vines Resort has been proudly supported by the WA Golf Foundation since its inception and provides a program for children and adults with additional needs.

Going beyond ‘come and try’ sessions, the program aims to provide a pathway for individuals to transition to mainstream programs, the playing of social golf and the opportunity of club membership/competition golf.

Peter West, whose son Joseph has a mild intellectual disability and cerebral palsy, said his third-place finish will be an achievement he dines out on for months.

“Golf is funny with Jo as every term, like clockwork, the “Nah, don’t want to go,” and “I’m

doing something else,” excuses turn up as he does get anxious,” Peter said post event.

“When the day is finished it’s all he talks about. Now that he got third place and a prize it’s all I’ll hear for months.”

Like Jo, Evan Lee has a mild intellectual disability and cerebral palsy and was similarly excited by the medal he received for playing alongside his father.

“Evan had a wonderful time and was so proud to show off his participant medal to all at our family dinner last night,” said Evan’s mother, Jane.

“He’s worn it to school this morning, too.”

There were also representatives from Special Olympics Australia, Variety Children’s Charity, Sport4All and the WA Disabled Sports Association.

Western Australia State Coordinator for Special Olympics Australia, Kendall King, spoke glowingly of the spirit in which the tournament was conducted.

“The event truly captured the spirit and values of Special Olympics – inclusion, unity and the power of sport to bring people together,” said Kendall.

“It was a celebration of inclusion and perseverance as an opportunity to showcase the skills and dedication of participants, some of whom have been involved for over 10 years, alongside others experiencing the joy of being on a golf course for the very first time.

“It serves as a powerful reminder of what’s possible when we take a strength-based approach by focusing on what athletes can do, not what they can’t.”


A bogey-free 2-under 70 has Jason Day inside the top 10 after Round 1 of the Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club.

History suggests that being inside the top 10 after day one is advantageous in wearing the green jacket come Sunday and, while Day is the only Aussie inside that number, two others are just one stroke behind.

With Englishman Justin Rose leading the way at 7-under and defending champion Scottie Scheffler one of three players at 4-under, the 37-year-old Queenslander is in a share of seventh, followed closely by 2022 Open champion Cameron Smith (71) and Australia’s most recent PGA TOUR winner, Min Woo Lee (71).

Cam Davis had an eagle, three birdies and two double-bogeys in his opening round of 2-over 74 while 2013 champion Adam Scott faces an uphill battle to make the cut after opening with 5-over 77.

Watch the Masters live – https://kayosports.com.au/?pg=golf&extcamp=golfautextlink-ptr-gfa-txl-grc-acq-glf-kyo&channel=golfau&campaign=golfau&voucher=

A superb ball-striking day that yielded 11 of 14 fairways and 15 of 18 greens in regulation was not fully rewarded on the greens, yet Day remained content in his Round 1 work.

His first birdie didn’t come until Amen Corner, draining a 28-foot putt centre cut at the picturesque par-3 12th.

Day didn’t have to wait long for his second.

After laying up to 58 yards with his second shot at the par-5 13th, the 2015 US PGA champion spun back a wedge to just two feet, tapping in to go to 2-under.

He would par his way in for his first bogey-free round at Augusta since Round 1, 2023 and poised for another Masters tilt.

“I had a really good strategy out there,” said Day, who has finished top five on three occasions at the Masters.

“I didn’t get myself out of position too bad, and then when I did get myself out of position, I had a relatively easy up-and-down.

“Unfortunately, I just missed a few too many opportunities for birdies. But sitting at 2-under right now in fifth place, I’m pretty happy with it.

“The better you start, obviously, the easier it gets as long as you keep that level of play up.

“Very pleased with how everything went.”

Australia’s highest-ranked male player on the back of his Houston Open win a fortnight ago, Lee’s 71 is his best start to a Masters in his fourth appearance.

Like Day, it was a round consisting predominantly of pars, his lone bogey coming at the opening hole to go with birdies at two and eight.

The 26-year-old also hit 15 of 18 greens to build his way nicely into the tournament.

“It’s one of those things, if you’re giving yourself birdie putts at Augusta National, you’re doing a good job,” said Lee, who had a birdie putt from 14 feet lip-out on his final hole.

“It’s a tough golf course today. Very happy with 1-under.

“Obviously could have had a couple more, but again, tricky pins, and I played very solid, so that’s a plus.”

Smith did make birdie at the par-4 18th after hitting his approach shot pin-high 18 feet left of the flag.

The 31-year-old also had a round featuring two birdies, one bogey and 15 pars but was forced to lean on his stellar short game to stay in red figures.

Smith hit just six greens in regulation yet finds himself alongside Lee in a share of 11th.

“It was nice for that putt to go in on the last. That felt a little bit better,” said Smith.

“I haven’t left myself too much work.

“For how I felt out there, it felt like it was going to be a bit of a long day. All in all, pretty pleased with the score.

“If I’m going to win this thing, I definitely need to do better than that.

“Golf is such a weird game. I feel like my last round last week at Doral was probably the best I’ve hit it in a long time, and coming out here today is probably the worst I’ve hit it in a long time.

“It’s just such a weird game sometimes. I felt really good at the start of the week, just a little bit of clean-up on the range, and we’ll be good.”

Two-over through 13 holes, Davis turned his fortunes around only to take two steps back.

A monster drive set up birdie from nine feet at the par-4 14th and then the two-time PGA TOUR winner chipped in from an unlikely position 35 yards behind the green at the par-5 15th.

That got the Sydneysider to 1-under on his round but a tee shot that bounced into the water led to a double-bogey at the par-3 16th followed by a bogey on 17.

With bogeys at three of his opening five holes – along with a birdie on two – Scott was on the back foot early.

He missed the green left of the par-4 10th and then three-putted from 50 feet, making a final bogey at the par-4 17th and then missing a birdie try on the left edge on 18.

Photo: Richard Heathcote/Getty Images


Turning a strength into a super-power will be the primary driver in Cameron Smith’s quest to become the second Australian to win the Masters at Augusta National starting Thursday night.

Making his ninth Masters appearance, Smith is the first Australian away from 10:52pm Thursday night (AEST) at a golf course where putting is arguably more important than at any other tournament all year.

Raised putting complexes exposed to the elements, dramatic slopes and surfaces so slick that even tap-ins are no gimmes makes Augusta National the ultimate examination of imagination and execution.

It is an environment in which Smith thrives, the 31-year-old long regarded as one of the best flatstick exponents in the game.

Conscious of not letting a strong suit dissipate, Smith and coach Grant Field have doubled down on his putting prowess, spending countless hours on the practice putting green in readiness for Augusta’s snapping breaks and downhill sliders.

“When one part of your game is kind of lacking, it’s easy to get really obsessed with that,” conceded Smith, who has well-publicised issues with his driver in recent years.

“I made a conscious effort over the past few months to really get out on the green.

“That’s really my strength. That needs to be performing at a hundred percent, particularly going into major season.

“I just wanted to make sure that all the boxes were ticked there and as well as hitting some more balls.”

Statistics from recent Masters emphasise the advantage Smith is able to take on the greens.

He ranked fifth in total putts (112) on his way to a tie for sixth in 2024, was second in 2023 with 110 and ranked first in Putts Per Green In Regulation (1.62) when he finished tied third in 2022.

The 2020 runner-up has three-putted just three times over the past two Masters and got up-and-down from the sand four of five times last year.

It instils a sense of freedom that he is eager to tap into again this year.

“There’s definitely a sense of like confidence,” said Smith, who recently became a first-time father.

“I feel like I’ve been playing good golf. I haven’t got the results that I’ve wanted at the start of this year so it’s nice coming to a place knowing you’ve had some good results.

“You think about certain shots and you kind of almost forget about your swing around here, which is kind of exactly what I need.

“You have some shots out here where the ball’s a foot above your feet or a foot below your feet or on a massive down slope, so you kind of just forget about it and you play golf.

“That’s what I love about it.”

There are Aussies in action elsewhere this week. Brad Kennedy returns for the first Japan Golf Tour event of the year, Kelsey Bennett is in South Africa for the Investec SA Women’s Open and Hayden Hopewell and Danny List are playing the UAE Challenge on the HotelPlanner Tour.

Photo: Michael Reaves/Getty Images

Round 1 tee times AEST

Masters Tournament
Augusta National Golf Club, Augusta, Georgia
10:52pm          Cameron Smith
11:47pm          Min Woo Lee
11:58pm          Jason Day
12:48am          Cameron Davis
3:01am            Adam Scott

Recent champion: Scottie Scheffler
Past Aussie winners: Adam Scott
TV times: Live 4am-7am Thursday (Par 3 Contest); Live 12:30am-5am (Featured Groups), Live 5am-9:30am Friday, Saturday; Live 12am-2am (Featured Groups), Live 2am-9am Sunday, Monday on Fox Sports 503 and Kayo.

Japan Golf Tour
Token Homemate Cup
Tokken Tado Country Club, Nagoya, Mie
8:30am*           Michael Hendry (NZ)
1:05pm            Brad Kennedy

Recent champion: Takumi Kanaya
Past Aussie winners: Andre Stolz (2003), Wayne Perske (2006), Brendan Jones (2012, 2019)
Prize money: ¥130m

Ladies European Tour
Investec SA Women’s Open
Erinvale Country and Golf Estate, South Africa
3:15pm*          Amelia Garvey (NZ)
3:59pm*          Kelsey Bennett
4:43pm*          Momoka Kobori (NZ)

Recent champion: Manon De Roey
Past Aussie winners: Nil
Prize money: €340,000

HotelPLanner Tour
UAE Challenge
Al Zorah Golf & Yacht Club, Ajman, UAE
12:40pm          Hayden Hopewell
6pm                 Sam Jones (NZ)
6:10pm*          Danny List

Recent champion: Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen
Past Aussie winners: Nil
Prize money: $US300,000

Sunshine Tour
Qualifying School Final Stage
Heron Banks Golf & River Resort
Round 1
T4        Austin Bautista             67
T31      Ben Eccles                    71
DQ       Phoenix Campbell


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