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Victorian David Micheluzzi has adopted the mindset employed by F1 superstar Max Verstappen to play his way into contention for the season-ending DP World Tour Playoffs.
In his first full season on the DP World Tour, Micheluzzi currently sits 63rd in the Race to Dubai rankings heading into this week’s Omega European Masters in Switzerland.
The 28-year-old earned his DP World Tour card by virtue of winning the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit in 2022/2023 and is on the verge of becoming an entrenched member of the Tour.
The top 70 players in the Race to Dubai rankings following the Genesis Championship in Korea (October 24-27) qualify for the first leg of the DP World Tour Playoffs, the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship.
The top 50 after that event advance to the DP World Tour Championship, a spot well within Micheluzzi’s reach given his recent run of form.
Sitting outside the top 115 cut-off to keep his card for much of the season, Micheluzzi vaulted from 120th to 57th with a runner-up finish at the BMW International Open in Germany.
On the back of that result he also climbed to a career high of 204th in the Official World Golf Rankings, taking a page from the Verstappen performance book as a way of pushing even further.
“I don’t know if this is why I started to play a lot better but in recent times idolising Max Verstappen,” said Micheluzzi, a self-confessed rev-head, on the Tee It Up podcast.
“A lot of people don’t like him but if you look at him and see what he actually does, he races non-stop.
“Not many people know that he does sim racing – he does everything in racing – and he’s just hardcore.
“He won’t sugar-coat anything and that’s what I like about it. ‘I want to step on your throat.’
“I’ve adopted that kind of mentality. What is that mentality? Just doing your job and being better at it.”
Seventeen years since Brett Rumford was victorious at the stunning Crans-sur-Sierre layout, Micheluzzi is joined in the field by fellow Aussies Jason Scrivener, Haydn Barron and Andrew Martin.
The 10 Australians in the field will be looking to solidify their place inside the top 72 of the Charles Schwab Cup standings at the PGA TOUR Champions’ Ascension Charity Classic in Missouri while there are seven Aussies in action at the Asian Tour/Japan Golf Tour co-sanctioned Shinhan Donghae Open in Korea.
With just four events left in the season Cassie Porter can inch closer towards an LPGA Tour card at the Epson Tour’s Guardian Championship while Kelsey Bennett (22nd) and Stephanie Bunque (27th) can push their claims for a Ladies European Tour card at the Rose Ladies Open on the LET Access Series.
Photo: Stuart Franklin/Getty Images
Round 1 tee times
DP World Tour
Omega European Masters
Crans-sur-Sierre GC, Crans Montana, Switzerland
5:10pm David Micheluzzi
5:20pm Haydn Barron
5:30pm Andrew Martin
9:50pm* Jason Scrivener
10:30pm Sam Jones (NZ)
Defending champion: Ludvig Aberg
Past Aussie winners: Graham Marsh (1972), Brett Rumford (2007)
Prize money: $US3.25 million
TV times: Live 9:30pm-2:30am Thursday, Friday; Live 8:30pm-1:30am Saturday, Sunday on Fox Sports 503 and Kayo.
Asian Tour/Japan Golf Tour
The 40th Shinhan Donghae Open
Ocean Course at Club72, Korea
9am Wonjoon Lee, Anthony Quayle
9:40am* Brad Kennedy
12:50pm* Brendan Jones
1:20pm* Kevin Yuan
1:40pm Travis Smyth
2:20pm* Junseok Lee
Defending champion: Koh Gun-taek
Past Aussie winners: Nil
Prize money: KRW1.4 billion
TV times: Live 2pm-6pm Thursday, Friday on Fox Sports 503; Live 1pm-5pm Saturday on Fox Sports 505; Live 1pm-5pm Sunday on Fox Sports 507 and Kayo.
PGA TOUR Champions
Ascension Charity Classic
Norwood Hills Country Club, St Louis, Missouri
Australasians in the field: Steven Alker (NZ), Steve Allan, Stuart Appleby, David Bransdon, Greg Chalmers, Richard Green, Mark Hensby, Rod Pampling, Cameron Percy, John Senden, Michael Wright.
Defending champion: Steve Flesch
Past Aussie winners: Nil
Prize money: $US2.1 million
TV times: Live 5am-8am Saturday, Sunday, Monday on Fox Sports 503 and Kayo.
Challenge Tour
Big Green Egg German Challenge
Wittelsbacher Golfclub, Neuburg an der Donau, Germany
10:10pm Hayden Hopewell
Defending champion: Francesco Laporta
Past Aussie winners: Nil
Prize money: €270,000
PGA TOUR Americas
Fortinet Cup Championship
TPC Toronto (North Cse), Caledon, Ontario
3:04am* Grant Booth
3:15am Harry Hillier (NZ)
Defending champion: Inaugural event
Past Aussie winners: Nil
Prize money: $US225,000
Epson Tour
Guardian Championship
Capitol Hill Golf Club, Prattville, Alabama
Australasians in the field: Cassie Porter, Fiona Xu (NZ), Amelia Garvey (NZ), Maddison Hinson-Tolchard, Su Oh
Defending champion: Cydney Clanton
Past Aussie winners: Nil
Prize money: $US262,500
LET Access Series
Rose Ladies Open
The Melbourne Club at Brocket Hall, England
Australasians in the field: Kelsey Bennett, Stephanie Bunque, Momoka Kobori (NZ), Wenyung Keh (NZ)
Defending champion: Chiara Tamburlini
Past Aussie winners: Nil
Prize money: €70,000
Legends Tour
Legends Open de France
Le Touquet Golf Resort (La Forêt Cse), France
Australasians in the field: Scott Hend, Michael Campbell (NZ), Michael Long (NZ)
Defending champion: Adilson da Silva
Past Aussie winners: Nil
Ballina’s Conor Whitelock is on track to complete the Pampling Plate double after earning a place in the final against fellow Northern Rivers product Reilly Wunderlich at Caboolture Golf Club on Thursday.
Winner of Monday’s 36-hole Pro-Am to qualify as the No.1 seed, Whitelock needed 19 holes to move past Justin Morley in Wednesday morning’s quarter-final and then edged Campbell Jones 1 up in their afternoon semi-final.
Wunderlich was also taken to the 18th hole in both the quarter-finals and semi-finals, defeating Ben Hollis 1 up in the morning matches and then advancing to the final with a 1 up win over Zach Ion.
Whitelock and Wunderlich will now face off in Thursday’s 36-hole final in the Pampling Plate’s 20th anniversary, the two former junior combatants ready to put friendship aside for one gruelling day.
“I grew up playing junior golf with Reilly so I know him really well,” said Whitelock, who recently transferred to The Brisbane Golf Club to continue the PGA’s Membership Pathway Program.
“We’re good mates. We go back to 2013 or 2014 playing Northern Rivers District Golf Association junior events.
“I’m excited to play him tomorrow, it should be fun.”
“Played a lot of junior golf with Conor,” confirmed Wunderlich, who last month won the Queensland Foursomes Championship with fellow Associate Jack Wright.
“Me and him have been pretty good mates for a long time, so should be a good day.”
It took a strong comeback for Wunderlich to fight his way back from 3 down with six holes to play and defeat Ion on the 18th hole.
“Zachy was 3 up with five or six to play so I had to get going a bit and put the foot down,” added Wunderlich, a second year Associate at Yamba Golf and Country Club.
“I’ve always felt that I’ve played pretty well in matchplay.
“My attitude towards matchplay is obviously pretty good. I feel like I hit the ball well and putting is also a strong part of my game.
“If I do that then I go low.”
To add the Plate to his win on Monday would be a remarkable performance from Whitelock who has been receiving treatment for thyroid cancer the past 18 months.
“I’ve just kept myself in the game really,” was Whitelock’s summation of his week to date.
“I’ve only had one water ball this whole week and I’ve putted pretty well.
“I haven’t had any three putts and I’ve just struck the ball nicely all week which has kept me in the game.”
The 36-hole final begins at 7am on Thursday morning with Ion and Jones to face off in the consolation final from 11am.
Swing changes with coach Chris Gibson enabled Lucas Higgins to navigate strong winds and blow the rest of the field away to take out The Lion Richlands McLeod Pro-Am at McLeod Country Golf Club.
Eleven players finished within one stroke of each other in challenging conditions on Tuesday but no one got within three strokes of Higgins, who shot 6-under 65 to claim his first adidas PGA Pro-Am Series win of the year.
Boasting six top-six finishes since the start of August, Higgins was thrilled to finally get across the line.
“I was really struggling with my swing maybe a few months ago and we just really tried to make it simple,” said Higgins.
“Just trying to really enjoy my golf again and not put too much pressure on myself.
“Go back to hitting fades, hitting it a lot better and giving myself a lot more looks.”
Veteran Steven Jeffress joined Sam Slater, Brett Rankin and Jake McLeod in a share of second with rounds of 3-under 68, one clear of Scott Barr, Dillon Hart, Riley Taylor, Zach Maxwell, Peter Martin, James Mee and Alex Simpson.
HOW THE WINNING ROUND UNFOLDED
With two birdies and two eagles in his first nine holes, Higgins wasted no time in climbing to the top of the leaderboard.
His first birdie came at the par-4 fourth and then Higgins converted an eagle opportunity at the par-5 seventh.
He added a birdie at the par-5 ninth and then made it two eagles in the space of four holes at the par-5 10th to reach 6-under par as others struggled to make inroads.
Higgins’ lone dropped shot came at the par-4 13th but got back to 6-under with birdie at the short par-3 18th.
WHAT THE WINNER SAID
“I hadn’t played here in a while, so I was just trying to figure out where I was going,” said Higgins.
“I hit it really, really solid in the wind and just gave myself a lot of good looks.
“Took advantage of a couple of the par 5s downwind and holed a couple of nice putts which got me the win.”
LEADERBOARD RUNDOWN
1 Lucas Higgins 65
T2 Steven Jeffress 68
T2 Samuel Slater 68
T2 Brett Rankin 68
T2 Jake McLeod 68
NEXT UP
Either end of the New South Wales border hosts adidas PGA Pro-Am Series events on Thursday with Marcus Fraser and Matthew Griffin headlining the Cohuna Golf Club Stuart Appleby Pro-Am as Higgins returns to his home course for the Coca-Cola Murwillumbah Pro-Am.
Australia’s Min Woo Lee will achieve his aim of a maiden appearance in the Presidents Cup in Montreal later this month, after he was added to the International team.
International captain Mike Weir chose the 26-year-old Lee as one of six discretionary selections.
It brings to three the number of Australians on the 12-man International team to play the USA later this month, with Adam Scott and Jason Day automatically qualified on world rankings.
The top six after the BMW Championship were guaranteed starters, and Lee, who was ninth-placed, was widely tipped to be included as one of the top young players in the world.
Another who was in that group just outside, Cam Davis, missed out on selection despite being an International team member in 2023 in North Carolina. He will count as one of the most unlucky players to be left out.
Weir said: “As one of the most popular players on the PGA TOUR, Min Woo is going to be an incredible addition to the International Team and our passionate fans in Montreal. He is one of the best drivers of the golf ball, and I can’t wait to let him cook at the Presidents Cup in a few weeks.”
Lee, who also made his Olympic Games debut this year, is fired up. “What I can bring to the International Team is flair and hopefully some good golf. I’ve been playing pretty solid this year. Being on the International Team is very special and obviously being the home side, it’ll be massive to play good in front of the fans.”
Weir chose three Canadians (Corey Conners, Taylor Pendrith, Mackenzie Hughes), South Africa’s Christiaan Bezuidenhout, South Korea’s Si Woo Kim and Lee to round out his team.
The Presidents Cup is at Royal Montreal from 26 September.
INTERNATIONAL TEAM
Hideki Matsuyama
Sungjae Im
Adam Scott
Tom Kim
Jason Day
Byeong Hun An
Corey Conners
Taylor Pendrith
Mackenzie Hughes
Christiaan Bezuidenhout
Min Woo Lee
Si Woo Kim
US TEAM
Scottie Scheffler
Xander Schauffele
Collin Morikawa
Wyndham Clark
Patrick Cantlay
Sahith Theegala
Sam Burns
Russell Henley
Keegan Bradley
Brian Harman
Tony Finau
Max Homa
PHOTO: Min Woo Lee is likely to get the fans engaged at Royal Montreal. Image: Getty
They needed extra holes but Dylan Knox and Justin Morley have kept alive their hopes of a maiden Pampling Plate victory in an enthralling day of matchplay competition at Caboolture Golf Club.
Both Knox and Morley finished outside the top eight Associates who received a first round bye on Tuesday morning so endured a gruelling day before booking their place in the quarter-finals on Wednesday morning.
Knox accounted for Jordan Hampson 5&4 in Round 1 as Morley recorded a dominant 7&6 win over Ben Scholl.
The afternoon matches would go beyond the 18 regulation holes as Damon Stephenson and James Bonnor pushed their opponents all the way.
Knox would ultimately get the better of Stephenson on the second extra hole while Morley was forced to a third extra hole before finally accounting for Bonnor.
For Knox, he needed to birdie both the 19th and 20th holes to get beyond Queensland’s No.1-ranked Associate and into the final eight.
“That was pretty full-on,” said Knox, the 2023 runner-up.
“Twenty holes, pretty knackered. I pulled a LAB putter out of the boot of my mate’s car this morning and just put it straight into play. I don’t think I’m ever taking it out now.
“Putting was really solid. I knew I had to put it close playing against Damon so I’m pretty proud of myself that I held on there.”
Morley’s victory over Bonnor was even more miraculous given he was 3-down with just four holes to play and facing an early exit.
“What a marathon that was,” Morley said.
“I hadn’t really had anything drop all day so was just hanging in there and playing steady.
“I made an awesome putt for birdie on 15, the par 5, which got me back to 1-down. Made a really good par on 17 to get back to square and then on 18 missed a seven-footer to win it and then went to extra holes.
“James was in really close on the 19th but I managed to finally get one to drop from about 25-30 feet which was huge. I needed that more than anything.”
The extra-time thrillers were just two of four matches that went the distance on Tuesday afternoon.
All four featured a standard of golf worthy of a final but it was Jack Wright and Ben Hollis who joined Knox and Morley in the quarter-finals.
Wright edged Jordan Rooke 1 up while Hollis won the final hole to complete a 2 up win over Adam Teale.
Joining those four in the quarter-finals are the No.1 qualifier from Monday’s strokeplay, Conor Whitelock, Zach Ion, Campbell Jones and Reilly Wunderlich.
Following a bye in Round 1, Whitelock defeated Rylee Johnson 4&2, Ion defeated Stacey Edwards 6&5, Jones advanced with a 5&4 win over Jaime Lansi and Wunderlich completed a 3&2 win over Josh Holbrook.
Quarter-final draw
6:40am Dylan Knox v Campbell Jones
6:47am Zach Ion v Jack Wright
6:54am Ben Hollis v Reilly Wunderlich
7:01am Justin Morley v Conor Whitelock
Ballina product Conor Whitelock has produced his best golf of the year to secure the No.1 seed for the matchplay section of the Pampling Plate at Caboolture Golf Club.
Whitelock, who recently transferred from Ballina Golf Club to continue the Membership Pathway Program at The Brisbane Golf Club, shot matching rounds of 3-under 68 in the 36-hole qualifier to finish four clear of Ben Hollis with Zach Ion third at 1-under.
The top 24 players now advance to the matchplay section of the 20th edition of the Pampling Plate with Whitelock and the top eight qualifiers to receive a bye in the first round on Tuesday morning.
Whitelock will play the winner of the Minami Inoue v Rylee Johnson match in Round 2 full of confidence after a day in which every aspect of his game was at its best.
“Everything really worked together today,” said Whitelock.
“Putting, chipping, driving, just stuck it close as well, too.
“So that definitely helps throughout the day.”
Without a win to date this season, the commanding victory is the latest in a run of good news for Whitelock.
Diagnosed with thyroid cancer 18 months ago, Whitelock has been receiving treatment as he pursues his career as a PGA Professional and recently received some positive results.
“I’ve been dealing with that behind the scenes,” Whitelock shared,
“Obviously affecting my performance and all that with therapy and all that, but we’re getting through it now.
“I’ve had some good results lately, but this win has definitely improved the confidence.
“Hopefully I can come back to where I was before that diagnosis.”
Starting Round 1 from the 15th tee, Whitelock was 2-under after just three holes.
There was a slight stumble when he bogeyed the par-4 first but he got that shot back and then some with an eagle at the par-5 third.
A bogey at his final hole meant that Whitelock shared the best score of Round 1 with Ion and Josh Holbrook but, as the temperature gauge nudged 35 degrees, he would take control of qualifying early in Round 2.
After opening with three pars, Whitelock peeled off four birdies on the trot and, despite a late double-bogey, maintained a healthy advantage throughout.
“I was doing live of scoring and had a quick look at the leaderboard and I saw I was about four or five in front,” said Whitelock.
“Then I made a double and then made a birdie straight after that, which helped settle the nerves there.
“But I did know I had a bit of a lead out there, so it was comforting.”
Round 1 of matchplay begins at 6:40am on Tuesday with the top eight to join the fray in Round 2 from 11:39am.
Queenslander Aaron Wilkin saw a maiden Asian Tour win elude his grasp in dramatic fashion on a see-sawing final day at the Mandiri Indonesia Open.
After breaking a 30-year course record at Damai Indah Golf’s PIK Course in Round 1, Wilkin started the final round with a one-stroke advantage.
When Englishman Steve Lewton (68) stood on the 72nd tee the 2022 Queensland PGA champion trailed by two but was given a last-minute lifeline when Lewton made double-bogey on the final hole.
He could have won in regulation with a birdie at his final hole, Wilkin’s par and round of 2-under 69 ultimately earning him a playoff berth alongside Lewton and China’s Sampson Zheng.
All three players made bogey at the first extra hole and then Lewton stepped up to convert his birdie chance from six feet after Wilkin missed one of his own from closer to eight feet.
While disappointed not to get the job done, Wilkin remained philosophical about his playoff defeat.
“I thought I handled myself pretty well to be honest. I just didn’t play well enough to be fair,” said Wilkin.
“I controlled my emotions pretty well until probably the playoff, but I reckon that was just poor swings.
“I still felt pretty good. I’m happy, it’s all good. I would have loved to win, it would have wrapped up my card for the year, or a couple years, but I feel like the game is going in the right direction.”
Another Aussie whose game is trending in the right direction is Adam Scott.
Unlikely to make the Tour Championship a month ago, Scott completed a stellar finish to his 2024 PGA TOUR season with a round of 4-under 67 and tie for fourth at East Lake Golf Club.
Next up for Scott is an 11th appearance for the International team at the Presidents Cup in Canada, a first-time win over the US now firmly on his mind.
“I was kind of struggling on the points list for most of the year, and then the last couple months really solidified my position on the team,” said Scott.
“All of a sudden I feel like I’m a good player again and I’m looking forward to going up there and winning some points.”
The third Aussie to log a top-five finish the past week was West Australian Kirsten Rudgeley.
Rudgeley delivered four consistent rounds at the Women’s Irish Open to earn her third top-five result of the season and move to 21st on the Order of Merit.
After a 74 in Round 1, it as a strong showing from Hannah Green at the inaugural FM Championship, who fought back to finish in a tie for 10th at TPC Boston.
Photo: Yasuyoshi Chiba/AFP/Getty Images
Results
PGA TOUR
TOUR Championship
East Lake Golf Club, Atlanta, Georgia
1 Scottie Scheffler 65-66-66-67—264 $US25m
T4 Adam Scott 66-67-68-67—268 $3,933,333
DP World Tour
Betfred British Masters hosted by Sir Nick Faldo
The Belfry, Sutton Coldfield, England
1 Niklas Norgaard 70-66-64-72—272 €537,134.46
T25 Jason Scrivener 70-73-73-70—286 €30,490.28
T31 David Micheluzzi 69-73-73-72—287 €26,698.74
T53 Daniel Hillier (NZ) 71-74-72-74—291 €10,308.24
T73 Haydn Barron 73-72-77-74—296 €4,728.92
MC Daniel Gale 70-76—146
MC Sam Jones (NZ) 72-77—149
LPGA Tour
FM Championship
TPC Boston, Norton, Massachusetts
1 Haeran Ryu 69-62-78-64—273 $US570,000
T10 Hannah Green 74-69-69-67—279 $67,065
T25 Robyn Choi 69-68-76-70—283 $33,609
T52 Grace Kim 76-68-73-71—288 $11,203
MC Hira Naveed 78-73—151
MC Stephanie Kyriacou 80-73—153
MC Sarah Jane Smith 78-75—153
Asian Tour
Mandiri Indonesia Open
Damai Indah Golf (PIK Cse), Indonesia
1 Steve Lewton 67-67-66-68—268 $US90,000
Won on the second hole of sudden-death playoff
T2 Aaron Wilkin 61-71-67-69—268 $43,250
T4 Travis Smyth 73-65-64-67—269 $22,750
T16 Doug Klein 69-66-69-70—274 $6,065
T16 Andrew Dodt 64-71-68-71—274 $6,065
T16 Denzel Ieremia (NZ) 66-70-67-71—274 $6,065
T21 Jack Thompson 71-69-67-68—275 $5,075
T30 Harrison Crowe 71-68-64-74—277 $4,016.67
T48 Marcus Fraser 71-70-66-74—281 $2,200
T48 Maverick Antcliff 68-68-71-74—281 $2,200
T48 Scott Hend 72-69-70-70—281 $2,200
T54 Justin Warren 69-71-68-74—282 $1,850
T61 Sam Brazel 68-69-74-74—285 $1,525
T61 Kevin Yuan 68-73-71-73—285 $1,525
T61 Lachlan Barker 71-70-75-69—285 $1,525
T71 Connor McDade 67-71-76-77—291 $1,075
MC Brendan Jones 70-72—142
MC Jordan Zunic 71-72—143
MC Todd Sinnott 74-71—145
MC Louis Dobbelaar 74-71—145
MC Deyen Lawson 73-74—147
Japan Golf Tour
Fujisankei Classic
Fujizakura Country Club, Yamanashi
Event reduced to 36 holes due to rain
1 Noriaki Hirata 68-63—131 ¥11 million
T41 Michael Hendry (NZ) 72-70—142 ¥178,828
MC Brad Kennedy 77-68—145
WD Anthony Quayle 73
Ladies European Tour
KPMG Women’s Irish Open
Carton House (The O’Meara Cse), Ireland
1 Annabel Dimmock 72-66-65-70—273 €60,000
Won in sudden-death playoff
T5 Kirsten Rudgeley 71-68-70-69—278 €12,000
T38 Kelsey Bennett 70-74-72-72—288 €2,560
64 Whitney Hillier 73-71-79-74—297 €1,040
MC Amy Walsh 77-71—148
MC Momoka Kobori (NZ) 74-75—149
PGA TOUR Americas
CRMC Championship
Craguns Legacy Course, Brainerd, Minnesota
1 Frederik Kjettrup 62-63-65-66—256
T59 Charlie Hillier (NZ) 67-70-69-75—281
MC Harry Hillier 73-69—142
MC Grant Booth 70-72—142
Challenge Tour
Rosa Challenge Tour
Rosa Golf Club, Konopiska, Poland
1 Angel Ayora 66-65-66-70—267 €43,200
MC Hayden Hopewell 73-70—143
MC Andrew Martin 67-77—144
MC Blake Windred 74-70—144
MC Connor McKinney 71-76—147
LET Access Series
Get Golfing Women’s Golf Championship
The Club at Mill Green, England
1 Megan Dennis 71-67-71—209 €12,800
T19 Stephanie Bunque 71-76-72—219 €1,177.33
MC Wenyung Keh (NZ) 79-73—152
MC Munchin Keh (NZ) 80-76—156
Epson Tour
Four Winds Invitational
South Bend Country Club, South Bend, Indiana
1 Yahui Zhang 67-68-75—210 $39,375
T22 Cassie Porter 73-69-76—218 $US3,038
T46 Fiona Xu (NZ) 67-77-79—223 $1,287
MC Amelia Garvey (NZ) 73-77—150
MC Maddison Hinson-Tolchard 78-74—152
Korean PGA Tour
Lexus Masters
A1 Country Club, Korea
1 Lee Seung-taek 69-70-66-65—270
T14 Kevin Chun (NZ) 72-68-68-71—279
T46 Wonjoon Lee 72-72-72-68—284
T52 Changgi Lee (NZ) 71-70-73-71—285
MC Junseok Lee 71-74—145
MC Sungjin Yeo (NZ) 72-73—145
Legends Tour
HSBC India Legends Championship hosted by Jeev Milkha Singh
Jaypee Greens, Delhi
1 Joakim Haeggman 65-70-72—207
T28 Michael Long (NZ) 76-74-72—222
T44 Michael Campbell (NZ) 73-79-76—228
Sunshine Tour
Gary and Vivienne Player Challenge
Kyalami Country Club, Midrand, South Africa
1 Daniel van Tonder 70-66-66—202
T15 Austin Bautista 72-69-68—209
A first-time champion will be crowned when the Pampling Plate marks its 20th staging at Caboolture Golf Club starting Monday.
At the course where PGA TOUR and Champions Tour winner Rod Pampling began as a junior, 59 Associates currently undertaking the PGA of Australia’s Membership Pathway Program from Queensland and New South Wales will tee it up in Monday’s 36-hole strokeplay qualifying.
From there, the top 24 advance to three days of matchplay competition with the winner facing the possibility of playing 36 holes four days straight to claim possession of the Pampling Plate.
With the past three winners – Mitch Smith (2021), Dylan Gardner (2022) and Lachlan Wood (2023) – all now graduating to full Vocational Membership of the PGA, it will be a first-time winner who emerges from one of Australian golf’s most gruelling examinations.
Two of the favourites to join the Pampling Plate honour roll will be Jack Wright (Coolangatta-Tweed Heads Golf Club) and Damon Stephenson (Parkwood Golf Club) who have 17 Associate wins between them this year already.
The 2023 runner-up, Dylan Knox (Indooroopilly Golf Club), will be hoping to go one better while Jordan Rooke (Keperra Golf Club) and Zach Ion (Virginia Golf Club) are also expected to go deep into the tournament.
First-year Associates Justin Morley (Southport Golf Club) and Campbell Jones (Pacific Golf Club) will be out to make an impression in their first appearance in an event supported for the past 20 years by the Pampling family.
Not only do the Pamplings provide financial support to the $5,000 prize purse, but Rod’s mum Marge keeps all the players fed by manning the sausage sizzle and providing her now famous home-made biscuits.
Round 1 tees off at 6:45am on Monday morning in conditions that are expected to get extremely hot throughout the day.
Michael Sim says he “feels some good vibes” every time he comes to the Coolangatta-Tweed Heads Golf Club and he added to them with a course record round today.
A 9-under-par 63 on the West Course gave the Gold Coast-based 39-year-old a two-shot win in the Love Golf Fitting & Coaching Studio Coolangatta and Tweed Heads Golf Club Pro-Am.
It was a repeat of his victory in 2021 when he shot a 7-under-par 65 and if you look deeper into Sim’s career wins you’ll find a Greg Norman Junior Classic triumph at the NSW/Queensland border club.
Sim plays competition golf infrequently these days, spending more time coaching at Lakelands Golf Club.
But he says a round like this one, with nine birdies and nine pars, which beat Brad McIntosh’s previous course record of 64 may encourage more regular outings.
Fellow Queenslander Cory Crawford, who won the Ballina Pro-Am on Thursday, continued his fine form in the adidas PGA Pro-Am Series to finish second at Coolangatta and Tweed Heads.
His 65 was six shots better than the next best score in the morning groups. Crawford played the five par-5s in a combined 5-under-par, highlighted by an eagle at the 18th.
HOW THE WINNER’S SCORE UNFOLDED
Starting his round on the 11th hole, playing alongside host professional Jared Love, Sim quickly moved to -2 with birdies on the 12th and 14th and surged to -5 with three straight birdies around the turn.
He eventually caught Crawford with a three on the long par-4 fifth hole and moved clear with birdies on the seventh and ninth.
WHAT THE WINNER SAID
Michael Sim: “I got it going early and was 4-under with four par-5s still to play. It ended up being a good day.
“I really enjoy coming here. A strength of mine is driving accuracy and iron play and it’s suited here. You don’t have to be too long on both Coolangatta-Tweed courses. There’s a lot of doglegs and the par-5s are all reachable.
“I’m still a bit undecided with what my future holds with tournament play but days like this maybe makes the decision a little easier.”
LEADERBOARD RUNDOWN
63: Michael Sim (Qld)
65: Cory Crawford (Qld)
67: Brett Rankin (Qld), Samuel Slater (Qld)
68: Lucas Higgins (NSW), Blaike Perkins (Qld)
69: Dillon Hart (Qld), Brendan Smith (NSW), Harrison Wills (Qld), Jayden Cripps (NSW)
NEXT UP
The adidas PGA Pro-Am Series returns to Brisbane for the Austbrokers Comsure Charity Day at The Brisbane Golf Club on Monday followed by the Lion Richlands McLeod Pro-Am at McLeod Country Golf Club on Wednesday.
Pymble’s William Bayliss shot one of the only under-par rounds on the final day of the $50,000 NSW/ACT Associates Championship sponsored by North Eden Timber to claim the title by seven shots at Tura Beach Country Club.
Bayliss finished at 4-under for the week, the only player to finish under par as the wind got up around the Tura Beach layout.
Starting the final day with a four shot lead, second-year associate Bayliss had The Heritage’s Toby Walker to hold off, and as both players turned in 1-over for the day, it looked as if it could go either way.
Both Bayliss and Walker managed the next four holes in even par, Walker running out of chances to make his charge.
With five holes to play, Bayliss still held a three shot lead, and just to make sure of things, proceeded to birdie all of his final three holes in what can only be described as a commanding victory.
While Bayliss claimed the Tasmanian title last year, this win is vindication for the New South Welshman, who finished runner-up at Tura Beach last year and had a year to think about would could have been. No longer.
The best score of the final day came from Steve Vail with 3 under par, 70, highlighted by an eagle at the fourth, along with two birdies on six and seven.
Vail then went onto birdie all the par fives on the back nine, and went onto finish in a tied for third.
Rounding out the top five in this year’s championship was 36-hole leader Luke Porritt (tied 3rd), and Gold Creek PGA Associate Lachlan Chamberlain in fifth place at 9-over.
