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Jasper Stubbs and Quinn Croker will make an immediate switch to concentrating on their professional golf careers after finishing the Asia Pacific Amateur Championship in Japan today.
And the leading Australian at Taiheiyo Club Gotemba, Phoenix Campbell, won’t be far behind once he completes his Japanese double.
One of the men Stubbs beat in last year’s playoff at Royal Melbourne, China’s Wenyi Ding, gained redemption by claiming the 2025 Asia-Pacific Amateur title with a 12-under-par total, proving why he was the highest-ranked player in the world amateur rankings coming into this week.
Four consecutive rounds of 67 gave the 19-year-old, who is heading for the DP World Tour, a one-stroke margin over countryman Ziqin Zhou.
Stubbs will be the first of this year’s Australian AAC contingent to play as a professional. He faces 16 hours of flight time to reach Western Australia and the resumption of the 2024/25 Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia after finishing his title defence in a share of 32nd place at 5-over-par.
Meanwhile, Croker will tackle the first stage of Korn Ferry Tour Qualifying School in Florida in the United States from October 15-18 before taking up the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia membership he earned by winning the Future Tour category last season.
The reigning Australian Amateur and Queensland Amateur champion closed with his best round of the week in Japan, a 2-under 68, to be 1-over overall and tied for 19th.
Campbell ended up in a share of 13th at 2-under after closing with a 68.
The only Australian with a chance of securing the title heading into the final day, Campbell’s victory chances disappeared when he dropped three shots late in the third round which concluded Sunday morning.
Campbell has just one tournament left to play as an amateur, the Japan Open at Tokyo Golf Club this week, before he too switches over to the professional ranks. Campbell will take up the two-year exemption available to him courtesy of his win at the Queensland PGA Championship last year.
The Victorian’s debut as a pro will come at the 100th WA Open, starting on October 17 at Mandurah Golf and Country Club.
“To finish as the top Aussie is a nice achievement,” Campbell said.
“There’s a bit there to work on for next week but, overall, I’m pretty pleased with the week.”
Stubbs’ first event as a professional is now just four days away in much different surroundings than he’s encountered in a very wet Japan this week – the CKB WA PGA Championship in Kalgoorlie.
“I never really felt like I could get anything going,” the Victorian said of his title defence.
“As soon as I’d make a couple of birdies, I’d give them straight back, and that’s how the whole week sort of went.
“It’s been a cool week trying to defend. Unfortunately, not the week I was hoping for, but still a special week.”
Just off the pace from day one, Croker was keen to finish his second AAC on a high and he achieved that with a closing 68 that lifted him inside the top 20.
“You definitely don’t want to leave Japan and not finish under-par in at least one round,” the Queenslander said.
“It was good to finish off the way I did. It could have been anything out there. There were a lot of putts that could have gone in and I could have finished off really special but it wasn’t to be.
“Obviously I wanted (the week) to be slightly better but I’ll take that for the first time in Japan.”
His first Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia event as a professional will be Webex Players Series South Australia in Willunga.
The 2025 Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship will be played in Dubai from October 23-26.
Australian scores
-2: Phoenix Campbell (Vic) 71-66-73-68
+1: Quinn Croker (Qld) 70-70-73-68
+1: Tony Chen (Vic) 71-69-71-70
+5: Jasper Stubbs (Vic) 72-71-71-70
+5: Connor Fewkes (WA) 74-71-71-69
+6: Billy Dowling (Qld) 72-69-74-71
+14: Lukas Michel (Vic) 71-76-73-74
Lisa Jean has declared that her playing days are over after leading the PGA of Australia team to a third-place finish at the Women’s PGA Cup at Sunriver Resort in Oregon.
Just two strokes ahead of the Great Britain and Ireland team when the final round began, Jean (68), captain Katelyn Must (70) and Grace Lennon (71) contributed to the team’s 4-under total in Round 3 to end the week 12 strokes clear of the British and Irish team.
Lennon (2-over) and Must (3-over) both finished inside the top 10 in the individual standings as the US team won for the third time and Canada finished second.
Jean was emotional after the round, confirming that it would be her last competitive round at this level.
“I told the girls this morning at breakfast that I was going to retire officially after this event,” said Jean.
“My body’s just been through the mill with the hard work, trying to play and practice with injuries.
“I just went out there today and thought, You’re just going to have to go for it.
“Hit the ball really well, made a lot of really good putts. It actually felt like some of my game used to be like, which was nice.”
After a great start with birdies at two and five, Jean was square with the card by the turn due to dropped shots at seven and nine.
Digging deep as she prepared to sign off, Jean made birdie at 10, 12, 15 and 17 before making bogey on the final hole.
More than the way she played, Jean said such an event was the perfect place to bring her playing days to an end.
“It’s been an amazing experience,” she added.
“Having played in 2019, I knew what it was going to be like, so I really wanted to be back here with the girls.
“We’ve got amazing women in the PGA of Australia so really wanted to be back here.
“It’s been a great experience and everyone’s been so welcoming and friendly and we’ve had a lot of fun.”
Must had three birdies and two bogeys in producing her best round of the week while Lennon matched her even-par round of the day prior to finish the individual standings in a tie for fifth.
Final team scores
1 USA -14
2 Canada -2
3 Australia +14
4 GB & Ireland +26
5 Sweden +54
6 South Africa +62
Grace Lennon delivered one of the rounds of the day to keep the Australian team in third place with one round to play at the Women’s PGA Cup at Sunriver Resort in Oregon.
Lennon’s grounding on the sandbelt courses of Melbourne came in handy during a windswept second round at the Meadows Course, her round of even-par 71 bettered by only one player.
Captain Katelyn Must (75) and Jessica Cook (79) were the other contributing scores for Australia in Round 2 to hold onto third by two shots from Great Britain and Ireland.
The PGA of America team will take a six-stroke lead into the third and final round from Canada, who opened up a 16-shot lead to the Aussies.
Lennon credited countless rounds at Kingston Heath for being able to handle the tricky conditions, making just two late bogeys to go with birdies at holes five and seven.
It has put Lennon in fifth position in the individual standings and given her team a chance to finish on the podium on Saturday.
“Obviously a little bit nervous on the first tee, wanting to play well, but settled into the round pretty well,” said Lennon.
“I was playing with a couple of great players from the United States and Canada, so I felt like it was a great opportunity to watch and learn a little bit from them as well as play my own game.
“I felt reasonably comfortable in the wind because I played a lot back home at Kingston Heath in windy conditions.
“I just tried to stay as patient as possible and hit shots that I felt comfortable with. I drove the ball really well today so I was in the fairway quite a lot of the time, which was a big help.
“Looking forward to the last round tomorrow and playing with another couple of really solid players.
“Enjoying every minute of being out here and enjoying my time with the team.”
Like Lennon, Must made a solid start to Round 2 before dropping shots late.
She made back-to-back bogeys at eight and nine and also dropped shots at 14 and 16 for a 4-over 75.
The final round begins at 4am AEDT Sunday with Lennon to tee off in the final group at 5:39am.
Defending champion Peter Lonard went back-to-back but had company at the top of the leaderboard of the Hahn Shelly Beach Legends Pro-Am.
Back at the course where he played his first ever round of golf, Lonard shot 2-under 69, a score that was matched by Scott Barr, David McKenzie and first-time winner Ken Druce.
Winner of the 1999 Victorian Open in a more than decade-long career playing on Tour, Druce now specialises in golf-specific fitness training along with his role as a Teaching Professional at Royal Sydney Golf Club.
The 52-year-old was thrilled to earn his maiden PGA Legends Tour win amongst such distinguished company.
“I haven’t won anything for about 20 years. It’s nice to be tied with that sort of calibre of player, too,” said Druce.
For Lonard, it was another happy memory to add to a long list at Shelly Beach.
“I actually played my first game of golf of my life here,” said Lonard.
“My grandparents lived up here, so I loved the area, loved the whole vibe of the course and the clubhouse.
“I suppose you play better when you’re in a happy place.”
The top nine on the leaderboard were separated by just two shots, the quartet of winners finishing a couple clear of David Van Raalte (71), David Diaz (71), Nigel Lane (71) and Mike Harwood (71).
HOW THE WINNING ROUNDS UNFOLDED
Out in the morning groups, Druce was the first to post 69.
It was a strong start too, picking up two birdies in his opening four holes after starting his round from the par-5 15th.
Druce was 4-under on his round after further birdies at five and nine but dropped shots late at holes 12 and 13 to set the mark for the afternoon groups.
Lonard was even par through 13 holes of his round before picking up birdies at 14 and 15 to sign for 2-under.
McKenzie needed to birdie his final hole – the par-4 12th – to also finish at 2-under while Barr had just the one bogey at the par-4 second, birdies at 15, eight and nine enough to join the logjam at 2-under.
WHAT THE WINNERS SAID
“You’ve got to drive it really straight and hit a lot of good shots,” said Lonard.
“The wind was up a little bit today – nor-easter I think it was – so the course was quite a good test.
“Of course, it was in magnificent condition. The greens were fantastic and it was good fun.”
“I got to 4-under quite early and dropped a few coming home on a couple of tough holes,” said Druce.
“Overall I was very happy.”
LEADERBOARD RUNDOWN
T1 Ken Druce 69
T1 Peter Lonard 69
T1 Scott Barr 69
T1 David McKenzie 69
T5 David Van Raalte 71
T5 David Diaz 71
T5 Nigel Lane 71
T5 Michael Harwood 71
NEXT UP
The PGA Legends Tour heads to the South Coast of New South Wales on Monday for the two-day Sapphire Coast Legends Pro-Am to be followed by the Mollymook Senior Masters at Mollymook Golf Club.
In its first year as a Golf Australia Junior Order of Merit event, the PGA Institute Secondary Schools Tournament proved a huge success today at Sandhurst Club, with golfers travelling from all over Victoria and even New South Wales.
While the 18-hole stroke play event was the main ticket item for the day, the 40 kids in attendance were also given the opportunity to learn more about what is on offer at the PGA Institute, and whether it may be a pathway they consider as they approach the end of their secondary school years.
The PGA Institute offers education, combining business, golf training, hospitality and sport as well as practical golf skills to prepare students for a career in the golf industry.
Whether students are elite golfers or not, the PGA Institute helps those with a passion for golf, blend said passion with a career.
The Institute also has several high education partnerships, which allows students to earn credits for bachelor degrees at a number of universities. This means that even if a student does not achieve the year-12 score they desire, the PGA Institute can be a great pathway to higher education.
On the day, Grace Li and Davinder Singh took out the girls and boys gross events with scores of 81 and 73 respectively on the Champions Course at Sandhurst.
Playing her golf at Box Hill Golf Club, Li’s 81 wasn’t her best score, however it was good enough to win on the day by one-shot over runner-up Grace Yang.
“It was good conditions and the course was really nice,” said the 13-year-old. “I had a really good birdie, but I can’t remember which hole it was on now!”
15-year-old Singh’s blistering 73 was also good enough to win by one-shot over runner-up David Zhu. The Royal Melbourne member particularly proud of his efforts on the seventh.
“An eagle chip-in on seven was definitely my highlight which was awesome,” he said.
To find out more about the PGA Institute, CLICK HERE.
Grahame Stinson had two eagles and David McKenzie finished with a flurry of birdies to share top honours at the Magenta Shores Legends Pro-Am at Magenta Shores Golf and Country Club.
One of the most spectacular golf courses in the country gave the field of PGA Legends Tour players everything they could handle on Thursday, Stinson and McKenzie conjuring something special to each post 2-under 69 to finish two strokes clear.
Grant Kenny, Chris Taylor, Terry Price and Scott Barr all shot even-par 71 to share third spot but it was Stinson and McKenzie who stood tallest.
Brilliant approach shots at 16 and 17 and a two-putt birdie on 18 elevated McKenzie to the top of the leaderboard while Stinson made his mark early with an eagle at his very first hole.
“I started on the eighth and I hit driver, 6-iron and had 90 metres for my third and I holed it,” said Stinson, who also made eagle at the par-5 second.
“I thought, This is going to be a good day.”
HOW THE WINNING ROUNDS UNFOLDED
McKenzie and Magenta Shores wrestled for the opening seven holes as the Champions Tour veteran peeled off seven straight pars to start.
His first birdie came at the par-5 eighth yet he gave it back immediately with a bogey on nine.
On the back of four consecutive pars McKenzie dropped to 1-over with a bogey on 14 only to catch fire late with three birdies in succession from the 16th hole.
Two-under after his first hole, Stinson also found birdies hard to come by.
Bogeys at nine and 14 saw Stinson fall back to even par through eight holes but he was back in red figures with a birdie at the par-4 16th.
His eagle on two was erased by bogeys on one and three but a closing birdie on the par-3 seventh clinched a second win inside a week.
WHAT THE WINNERS SAID
“It’s a big boys golf course. This one, you can’t hide anywhere,” said McKenzie.
“You’ve got to hit a lot of good golf shots and you have to have a bit of luck too.
“I just was hanging in there, but then I hit it into tap-in distance on both 16 and 17. Then hit it on 18 in two and two-putted.
“Three really nice holes and the rest just kept it in play without doing anything silly.”
“At the moment it’s going really good,” said Stinson.
“I’m playing good. I’m putting well even though I missed a little three-footer on the little temporary par 3.
“This is a tough golf course. I normally let the arms a bit loose and get into the driver but I just noodled it around here today just to keep it in play.
“I missed the first fairway and had to take bogey but other than that, it was pretty solid.”
LEADERBOARD RUNDOWN
T1 David McKenzie 69
T1 Grahame Stinson 69
T3 Grant Kenny 71
T3 Chris Taylor 71
T3 Terry Price 71
T3 Scott Barr 71
NEXT UP
The Central Coast swing wraps up on Friday with the Hahn Shelly Beach Legends Pro-Am before moving south on Monday for the two-day Sapphire Coast Legends Pro-Am at Merimbula Golf Club and Tura Beach Country Club.
An even-par round of 71 from captain Katelyn Must has seen the PGA of Australia finish Round 1 in third position at the PGA Women’s Cup in Oregon.
Given the honour of hitting the first shot of the tournament at Sunriver Resort’s Meadows course, Must began with six straight pars to set a steady tone, up-and-downs for par on three and four crucial in maintaining good early momentum.
She turned in 1-over after a bogey on seven but picked up birdies at 10, 11 and 13 to be even with the card midway through the back nine.
There was a bogey at the par-3 16th but Must recovered quickly with a birdie at the very next hole, lipping out for eagle at the par-5 17th. She tapped in for birdie and then made par at the last for 71 to lead the way for the Aussies.
In a format where the best three of five scores count each day, Must’s 71 was joined by Grace Lennon’s 73 and 75 from Jessica Cook for a team total of 6-over par after Round 1.
Led by 3-under 68 from Joanna Coe, the United States lead at 5-under par, three strokes clear of Canada with the Australian team eight shots further back in third.
Sienna Voglis (76) was 3-over on her round before a double-bogey at the par-5 17th while Lisa Jean will be eager to bounce back in Round 2 after a round of 8-over 79.
While pleased with her own performance, Must singled out debutant Cook for contributing to the team in the first round.
“Team-wise, I felt like the team did incredible,” said Must.
“Grace having 2-over par, she’s always going to be a steady golfer, so that was pretty awesome, but Jess was incredible.
“For her to have 4-over par was pretty special. She hasn’t had much experience playing a lot of international events so to have her card count is a big confidence boost going into rounds two and three.”
With windy and cooler conditions expected for Round 2, Must is confident that the Aussies can make inroads into the deficit and push higher up the leaderboard.
“It’s pretty cool sitting in that third position. It means tomorrow that we get to play with the leading groups,” Must added.
“We’re not too far behind, and that can turn around pretty quick with three team scores counting.
“We’re certainly going to give it our all. It’s going to be a great opportunity to have a good score and see how the others can fare in the tough conditions that are supposed to happen tomorrow.”
Round 2 begins at 2am AEST Saturday with Lisa Jean the first of the Aussies to tee off at 2:55am.
TrackMan has teamed up with the PGA of Australia to offer a special way to attend this year’s BMW Australian PGA Championship at Royal Queensland.
The winners of the three divisions of the Virtual Road to the PGA, running until October 31, will earn a place in the Road to the PGA Championship Final played at Royal Queensland Golf Club on the Sunday before the international field of professionals vie for the Joe Kirkwood Cup.
The championship finalists not only get to play the course under pristine tournament conditions, they will also be competing for two sought after Kirkwood Club tickets to the first day of Min Woo Lee’s defence of his PGA title.
Entering is simple. You just need to play a round on the 2024 Presidents Cup course, Royal Montreal, on TrackMan.
The Virtual Road to the PGA can be found in the TrackMan Golf app under tournaments and a low score at Royal Montreal could send you all the way to Royal Queensland.
To find your nearest TrackMan location, go to TrackMan.com/locator.
For more on the Road to the PGA, go to https://championship.pga.org.au/road-to-the-pga-faqs/
Virtual Road to the PGA tournament format:
Sign-up and entry requirements
The tournament will be made available in all TrackMan simulators across Australia. You can sign up directly in the TrackMan software (under tournaments). The requirement to join is that you have a TrackMan handicap and has played at least two rounds of golf in TrackMan (it can be two rounds of nine holes)
It took 17 holes to make a putt of any length but Adam Henwood made one when it mattered to take the Austbrokers Wyong Legends Pro-Am at Wyong Golf Club.
Joint winner with Chris Taylor at Glen Innes a week ago, Henwood battled away without luck for much of his round on Wednesday.
Despite the rain the course had received in the days prior the playing surfaces were impeccable, Henwood finally chasing in with birdies on 16 and 17 for a round of 3-under 68 and a one-stroke win from Taylor (69) and Peter Lonard (69).
“I couldn’t get a putt to save myself,” Henwood lamented of his early struggles.
“I hit it to about half a foot on 16 and holed about a 50-footer up two tiers with about 15 feet of break on 17. It was hilarious.
“If you can’t get a four-footer or six-footer for the day, might as well hole a 50-footer.”
HOW THE WINNING ROUND UNFOLDED
Carrying on his good form of recent weeks, Henwood made a steady start to his round.
His first birdie of the day came at the par-5 third and was followed a short time later by a second at the par-3 seventh.
After making the turn in 2-under, Henwood dropped a shot at the par-4 11th but finished in a flurry with birdies at the par-5 16th and par-3 17th.
WHAT THE WINNER SAID
“After the rain they’ve had, I actually thought we were going to have a bit of a boggy mess,” Henwood admitted.
“I thought the greens would be pretty scarred up and pretty bumpy, but it was amazing. The fairways were great.
“It played really long and the greens were just pure; it was really surprising.”
LEADERBOARD RUNDOWN
1 Adam Henwood 68
T2 Peter Lonard 69
T2 Chris Taylor 69
T4 Brad Burns 70
T4 Terry Price 70
T6 Grahame Stinson 71
T6 David McKenzie 71
T6 Andre Stolz 71
T6 Tim Elliott 71
T6 Lucas Bates 71
T6 Leigh McKechnie 71
NEXT UP
The PGA Legends Tour stays on the Central Coast on Thursday for the Magenta Shores Legends Pro-Am at Magenta Shores Country Club before moving on to Shelly Beach Golf Club on Friday for the Hahn Shelly Beach Legends Pro-Am.
Queensland’s Jessica Cook wants to honour her country and her late mother after receiving a last-minute call-up to represent the PGA of Australia at the Women’s PGA Cup starting Friday morning in Oregon.
The third playing of the biennial team competition will see the Australian team of Katelyn Must, Grace Lennon, Lisa Jean, Sienna Voglis and Jessica Cook take on teams of female PGA Professionals from the United States, Canada, Great Britain and Ireland, South Africa and Sweden.
The teams will compete in a 54-hole stroke play format on Sunriver Resort’s Meadows Course, the low three of five scores per team each round to count toward the team total per round.
Must, Voglis and Jean have represented the PGA of Australia in previous competitions while Cook and Lennon make their debuts.
When she lost in a playoff to Voglis at the qualifier at Sandhurst, Cook (pictured, second from left) looked like being the hard-luck story of the team but was given a reprieve when Jenna Hunter was forced to withdraw due to injury.
In her first year as a full Vocational Member at Maroochy River Golf Club on the Sunshine Coast, Cook immediately went to work with coach John Wright.
Now that she is in the US and prepped for Round 1, she is desperate to put that work to good use and do her country proud.
“Being able to play for not only the PGA, but for Australia, I can’t even put it into words. It’s beyond incredible,” said Cook.
“I still have so many emotions going through me. To this day, I still can’t believe I’m over here in the States ready to go for it.
“Being a female member in the PGA, it’s incredible and I can’t wait to see more females get into it and hopefully get into the position I have today.”
A second generation PGA Professional – Cook’s father has been a PGA Member since 1992 – Cook will have another family member in her thoughts when she tees off in Round 1.
Cook’s mother, Nicole, passed away four years ago but continues to be a driving force in her daughter’s career in golf.
“I know my mum is with me every step I take with my career and knowing how much support she would be giving me right now,” Cook added.
“I’ve been thinking about her leading up to this event and I know I’ll be smashing it because of her.”
The Australian team played the first of their practice rounds on Tuesday but for Cook, the phone call informing her of her place in the team signalled the start of an intense preparation.
“Myself and my coach, John Wright, have been working every single week,” Cook said.
“He’s been going after hours for me as well, looking at videos of my swing and getting in contact with me to get one last session in and make sure everything’s all good to go.
“Just hearing from him that I’m ready has made this so much easier and so much better for me.
“The course looks absolutely amazing and I really can’t wait to get out there and get into it.”
Round 1 begins at 2am Friday AEST.
