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Golf Australia is pleased to announce the appointment of Rick Kulacz as the new High Performance Manager (HPM) for Western Australia.
Kulacz, a former Golf Australia Rookie Squad member himself and two-time winner on the Asian Tour, brings valuable competitive experience to the role.
He will join the Golf Australia team in early March and undergo several months of integration with the High Performance team before officially commencing in the Golf WA role after the Australian Interstate Teams matches which take place in Perth early May.
Brad James, General Manager of High Performance at Golf Australia, expressed enthusiasm about the new appointment.
“We are excited to have Rick as part of the team and, more importantly, having a full-time role delivering a program that we feel the athletes, both amateur and professional, will benefit from.”
The appointment represents an increased commitment from Golf Australia, which will provide enhanced financial and resource support for the Western Australian high-performance program.
“We are determined to continue the success that WA has had in producing exceptional people and athletes like the current crop of world-class golfers in Hannah Green, Minjee Lee, and Min Woo Lee – alongside rookie athletes such as Kirsten Rudgeley,” added James.
This strategic appointment reinforces Golf Australia’s dedication to developing elite talent across the country and particularly in Western Australia, which has become known for producing world-class golfers.
The lessons learned from his short stint on the PGA TOUR 20 years ago will fuel Brendan Jones’s rookie season on the PGA TOUR Champions starting Friday.
Jones will make his senior tour debut at the Cologuard Classic just two days after turning 50 having earned a 2025 card at Qualifying School in December.
As torturous as that final day in Arizona may have been, it has provided arguably Australian golf’s most under-rated career with a second shot to make it in America.
Jones had won three of his 15 career Japan Golf Tour titles when he played the then Nationwide Tour in 2004, winning the LaSalle Bank Open on his way to a sixth-place finish on the moneylist.
That secured status on the PGA TOUR for the 2005 season, where Jones admits he lost sight of what had got him there in the first place.
“My game was pretty good then, but I did everything wrong,” said Jones, who finished tied second at the BC Open that season but narrowly missed out on retaining his card.
“I was an absolute novice, a rookie that just thought that you had to do things differently now that you’d made the PGA TOUR.
“I’ve had a lot of years to think about my performances in 2005, 2006. I could have extended my time in the US for who knows how long if I had have just done it my way that I’d done to that point.
“When I got there, I was practising more, I was playing more, and I was just burnt out by May. I was thinking, Well, I can’t take time off because I’m sliding down the moneylist each week. I’ve just got to keep working at it. And for me, that’s not the way I’ve played my best golf.
“If I could go back, I’d change a lot of things about the way I approached it, but going over there now, I’m more experienced.”
As the latest Aussie to join the PGA TOUR Champions, Jones not only brings experience but relative youth to the over-50s circuit.
Although plagued by injuries the past decade, Jones is in the type of physical shape that would be the envy of most 50-year-olds.
He knows that two decades on, his best chance of tasting success in the US against some of the greats of the game may come in his rookie year.
“The Japan Seniors is always a fallback for me but I just thought now’s the time to do something that I probably didn’t see myself doing,” Jones admitted.
“I never had this real desire to play there, but now that I’m 50 and, if I played well, it was an option and now it’s come to fruition.
“It’s exciting again. Getting beat up by these young kids on tour, it’s not a lot of fun when you’ve been one of those guys beating up on the young kids.
“I’m going to be playing with the guys that I watched on TV growing up, which is going to be pretty cool. But also at the same time, I’m a fresh 50 and raring to go.
“These guys have been doing it for years and years and years so it’s going to be fun, The people that I’ve spoken to have said it’s such a fun tour to play.”
Jones is one of 11 Aussies in the field for the Cologuard Classic while we have a four-pronged attack teeing it up at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
The Ripper GC boys are back in action at LIV Golf Hong Kong and Minjee Lee will seek to continue her good form at the Blue Bay LPGA in China.
Photo: Hannah Peters/Getty Images
Round 1 tee times AEDT
PGA TOUR
Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard
Arnold Palmer’s Bay Hill Club & Lodge, Orlando, Florida
11:50pm Min Woo Lee
12:40am Jason Day
1:35am Cam Davis
3:35am Adam Scott
Recent champion: Scottie Scheffler
Past Aussie winners: Rod Pampling (2006), Marc Leishman (2016), Jason Day (2017)
Prize money: $US20m
TV times: Live 11:30pm-10am Thursday, Friday; Live 12am-10am Sunday; Live 11pm-9am Sunday on Fox Sports 503 and Kayo.
Puerto Rico Open
Grand Reserve Golf Club, Rio Grande, Peurto Rico
10:40pm Aaron Baddeley
11:24pm Karl Vilips
Recent champion: Brice Garnett
Past Aussie winners: Nil
Prize money: $US4m
TV times: Live 2am-5am Friday, Saturday on Fox Sports 507; Live 6:30am-9am Sunday; Live 5:30am-8am Monday on Fox Sports 505 and Kayo.
LPGA Tour
Blue Bay LPGA
Jian Lake Blue Bay Golf Course, Hainan Island, China
10:48am Cassie Porter
10:48am* Fiona Xu (NZ)
11:43am* Minjee Lee
3:07pm Karis Davidson
3:51pm Hira Naveed
Recent champion: Bailey Tardy
Past Aussie winners: Minjee Lee (2016)
Prize money: $US2.5m
TV times: Live 3pm-8pm Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday on Fox Sports 503 and Kayo.
DP World Tour
Joburg Open
Houghton GC, Johannesburg, South Africa
3:50pm Danny List
5:30pm* Kazuma Kobori (NZ)
Recent champion: Dean Burmester
Past Aussie winners: Nil
Prize money: ZAR20.5m
TV times: Live 10pm-3am Thursday, Friday; Live 9:30pm-2am Saturday; Live 8:30pm-1:30am Sunday on Fox Sports 503 and Kayo.
LIV Golf
LIV Golf Hong Kong
Hong Kong Golf Club, Fanling, Hong Kong
Australasians in the field: Cameron Smith, Marc Leishman, Lucas Herbert, Matt Jones, Ben Campbell (NZ), Danny Lee (NZ)
Recent champion: Abraham Ancer
Past Aussie winners: Nil
Prize money: $US20m
TV times: Live from 5pm AEDT Friday, Saturday, Sunday on 7 Plus.
PGA TOUR Champions
Cologuard Classic
La Paloma Country Club, Tucson, Arizona
Australasians in the field: Steven Alker (NZ), Steve Allan, Stuart Appleby, David Bransdon, Greg Chalmers, Mathew Goggin, Richard Green, Mark Hensby, Brendan Jones, Rod Pampling, Cameron Percy, Michael Wright.
Recent champion: Joe Durant
Past Aussie winners: Nil
Prize money: $US2.2m
TV times: 6pm-7:30pm Saturday; Live 9am-11am Sunday; Live 8am-11am Monday on Fox Sports 505 and Kayo.
Korn Ferry Tour
Astara Chile Classic presented by Scotiabank
Prince of Wales Country Club, Santiago, Chile
9:55pm* Rhein Gibson
3:52am Harry Hillier (NZ)
Recent champion: Taylor Dickson
Past Aussie winners: Nil
Prize money: $US1m
Epson Tour
Atlantic Beach Classic
Atlantic Beach Country Club, Atlantic Beach, Florida
11:52pm* Robyn Choi
4:16am* Su Oh
5:44am* Caitlin Peirce
Recent champion: Briana Chacon
Past Aussie winners: Nil
Prize money: $US250,000
Louis Dobbelaar has opened up for the first time on the struggles that have plagued him the past two years, the moment he hit rock bottom and why he returns to the New Zealand PGA with more self-belief than at any other time in his career.
Still just 22 years of age, Dobbelaar has endured a dip in the trajectory that had him pointed towards a prosperous career on golf’s international stage following his Wallace Development New Zealand PGA Championship triumph in 2023.
He won the 2016 NZ Amateur at Royal Wellington Golf Club as a 15-year-old, in so doing becoming the youngest winner in the championship’s history.
The trans-Tasman double was complete when Dobbelaar claimed the Australian Amateur in 2021 and, shortly after turning professional that same year, he earned playing rights on the PGA TOUR’s Latin America tour.
Highlighted by a third-place finish at the 2021 Australian PGA Championship, Dobbelaar had four top-five finishes in his first 12 months on the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia and then broke through two years ago with a maiden professional win at Gulf Harbour Country Club.
What happened next is not only a cautionary tale but a reminder of the reality young players accustomed to winning must face.
“You get a bit of a taste of success but what came after that was a little bit of a false sense of where I was at and maybe a bit of complacency,” concedes Dobbelaar.
“When you do have a nice amateur career and you are in contention a lot and you maybe have a few trophies, you just think it’s going to be this slow, constant progression and the graph keeps trending upwards.
“You’ve got to go back a couple steps every now and then. Not that you want to, it’s just all part of it.
“Maybe I have run off a bit of confidence in my past when I’ve been doing well. It’s just been an easy thing to keep doing, but playing poorly took a toll on me mentally.
“I’ve had to really take a step back from my emotions with the game and stand out on the golf course naked to a degree, embarrassing yourself a few times to kind of work through it.
“You’ve got to hit some rock bottoms and ask some hard questions.
“That’s something that can be so hard with your ego on the line.”
‘My head was getting the best of me’
Two key elements conspired to derail the momentum of one of Australia’s most promising young professionals.
Dobbelaar’s physical development convinced him that he had to play the game differently. As the boy matured into a young man, there was a temptation to use his more muscular frame to hit the ball harder. Make the ball fly further.
He also ventured down a path where Dobbelaar evaluated his game by how his swing looked on video, not by how many shots it took to get the ball in the hole.
“A couple of little technical things that I probably hyper-fixated on that probably didn’t need the amount of attention I was giving it,” Dobbelaar reflects.
“That took my focus away from playing good golf.”
In the 12 months after his NZ PGA win, Dobbelaar made 18 starts, missed nine cuts and didn’t have a single top-25 finish.
That trend continued to start the 2024-2025 season, walking off after shooting 81 in Round 2 of the Queensland PGA Championship at Nudgee just six months ago his breaking point.
“My head was getting the best of me. I just couldn’t be present and play golf,” he added.
“I was just all over the shop. I had a couple sit downs with my psychologist (Jonah Oliver) and identified some stuff that actually needed attention.
“I was driving myself nuts and every swing meant more than just a golf score.
“Most guys go through something similar as a pro, but that was the first time I’d ever experienced it with a game that I just love so much.”
‘Believing more than ever’
No longer trading on confidence accumulated as a star amateur, Dobbelaar has sought to build belief to become the professional he has proven he can be.
He has drawn inspiration from the way the past two Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit winners, David Micheluzzi and Kazuma Kobori, have identified and owned who they are as players.
As he prepares to tee it up at Hastings Golf Club on Thursday morning alongside last week’s NZ Open winner, Ryan Peake, and the 2024 NZ PGA champion, Pieter Zwart, Dobbelaar is a believer once again.
“I’m believing more than I ever have,” said Dobbelaar, who was tied for 11th at Webex Players Series Sydney a fortnight ago.
“The last few events, in my eyes, have shown the calibre of player that I think that I am more so than I have probably ever in my career, which is exciting to me.
“Who knows if that means I’m going to play well or not, but I’ve been able to actually do the things that I believe I can do lately, which has been fun.”
The Wallace Development New Zealand PGA Championship tees off at 5:45am AEDT Thursday morning.
Australian Golf has announced the extension of its partnership with BMW Australia for a further term, solidifying the premium automotive leader’s commitment to the growth and promotion of golf in the country.
This extension builds upon the landmark partnership signed in 2022 when BMW became the first joint partner of Australian Golf, a successful collaboration that has seen BMW make significant contributions to the sport.
BMW’s involvement is highlighted by its ongoing title partnership of the BMW Australian PGA Championship for 2024 and beyond, alongside its partnerships with the Australian Open, Australian WPGA Championship, Webex Players Series and Vic Open.
BMW’s investment in Australia’s best golf talent is also evident in their list of current player ambassadors that includes reigning BMW Australian PGA champion Elvis Smylie, major winner Minjee Lee, former Australian PGA champion and PGA TOUR member Min Woo Lee, and LPGA Tour winner Grace Kim.
PGA of Australia and Golf Australia Chief Commercial Officer Michael McDonald recognised BMW’s significant role in the sport’s ongoing success, with significant growth occurring across all aspects of the game.
“BMW’s contribution to Australian Golf has been invaluable and it continues to expand,” he said.
“In 2022, BMW set new ground by becoming the first company to partner with all three national governing bodies – Golf Australia, PGA of Australia and WPGA Tour of Australasia – under the banner of Australian Golf.
“Their dedication and investment into our tournaments, players, members and our fans continue to make a tangible difference, and we are excited to continue this journey together.”
BMW’s involvement in Australian Golf aligns with its broader global strategy to support golf that embody precision, performance, and passion. This partnership also complements the BMW Golf Cup, the world’s largest amateur golf event, which takes place at a BMW dealer level globally and allows customers to compete for a place in the prestigious World Final.
In addition to the BMW Australian PGA Championship, BMW will continue its involvement in several other Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia and WPGA Tour of Australasia tournaments including the Australian Open, along with a range of initiatives across other Australian Golf assets focussed on PGA Members, fans and participants of golf.
Wolfgang Buechel, CEO of BMW Group Australia, emphasized the brand’s commitment to the sport: “BMW is proud to continue its partnership with Australian Golf. Over the years, we have seen firsthand the incredible growth and passion for the sport in Australia.
“This extension reaffirms our commitment to excellence, innovation, and naturing the next generation of golfers, both on and off the course. We look forward to continuing to play a role in elevating Australian Golf to even greater heights.”
Photo: BMW Australian PGA champion Elvis Smylie with Wolfgang Buechel, CEO of BMW Group Australia,
The first of four PGA Institute Emerging Leaders sessions was held today at the PGA Learning Hub in Sandhurst, with 17 attendees gaining valuable communication insights.
The Emerging Leaders program was launched in 2024, and among a number of other offerings, the PGA Institute program is geared towards professional development through interactive workshops designed to empower the next generation of golf industry professionals.
Titled Mastering effective communication, program facilitators Colin Wilson and Chris Tankard from Key Business Advisors took the attendees through what the best forms of workplace communication might look like in their clubs and facilities.
Mitchell Wilson, the Assistant Director of Golf at Kingston Heath, said the workshop was a helpful refresh on some tactics that are often forgotten or overlooked.
“It was great to get out of the office and be with like-minded people and discussing things that affect us day-to-day,” he said at Sandhurst today.
“In the golf industry, not everyone’s there at the same time, so we’re just coming up with a few ways to make sure the message is getting across to all team members.”
Similarly, Devanique Rossouw who is the Swim School Coordinator at Sandhurst Club, is excited to take her learnings from today’s session back to her team.
“I absolutely loved it. It was really insightful,” Rossouw said.
“We learned a lot about communication styles, how to communicate with the team and your upline and your downline.
“Also strategies on how to implement good team culture and how communication plays a role. Communication is key.”
As part of the Golf Australia Emerging Leaders Scholarship Program, two attendees in Andrew Poppins from Sandy Golf Links, and Luke Sillay from The Vintage Golf Club, were fully funded to attend the workshop.
The next PGA Institute Emerging Leaders session, Strategic planning for success will be held in June, with two more later in the year.
There are still places available for the remaining workshops. CLICK HERE to learn more, and CLICK HERE to register.
Having taken a hiatus from the Challenger PGA Tour in 2024, the Wallace Development New Zealand PGA Championship is back on the schedule and will be contested at Hastings Golf Club on the North Island.
Louis Dobbelaar was the 2023 champion at Gulf Harbour when the championship was last a Tour event, while Waitangi professional, Pieter Zwart finished birdie, birdie, eagle, birdie to win by one stroke last year.
Many Tour stars who played in last week’s New Zealand Open presented by Sky Sports will be back this week, staying on for the two-week Kiwi swing.
With only three events to go in the 2024/25 season, every shot counts with the Chase Still On for the Order of Merit.
2023 CHAMPION: Louis Dobbelaar
PRIZEMONEY: A$175,000
LIVE SCORES: www.pga.org.au
HEADLINERS:
Ryan Peake: 2025 NZ Open champion
Nick Voke: 2025 Webex Players Series Sydney champion
Jack Buchanan: Two-time Tour winner this season
Michael Hendry: Two-time NZ PGA champion
Anthony Quayle: Former Queensland Open and Queensland PGA champion
John Senden: 2006 Australian Open champion
Jake McLeod: 2018 Order of Merit winner
Josh Geary: 2025 Vic Open champion
Ryan Peake’s emotional New Zealand Open triumph not only elevated him in the eyes of the golf world, but also kept alive the chase for the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit.
Current No.1 Elvis Smylie did his hopes no harm with a tie for eighth at Millbrook Resort yet Peake’s victory on the back of top-10 finishes at Webex Players Series events at Cobram-Barooga and Castle Hill has brought top spot within reach.
Hannah Green’s strong early season form continued with a tie for seventh in defence of her HSBC Women’s World Championship title in Singapore as siblings Minjee and Min Woo Lee finished just outside the top 10 in their respective events.
10. Karl Vilips (New)
Has made the cut in each of his first two starts as a PGA TOUR member and is looking increasingly comfortable on the biggest stage. Closed with 72 to earn a share of 39th at the Cognizant Classic to climb back inside the top 250 on the Official World Golf Ranking.
9. Ryan Peake (New)
Winner of the Sandbelt Invitational in December, Peake has carried that form through into 2025 with top-10 finishes at Webex Players Series Murray River and Webex Players Series Sydney before claiming last week’s New Zealand Open. Has risen to a career high of No.432 on the Official World Golf Ranking and is second on the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit.
8. Min Woo Lee (9)
In addition to playing a starring role for his undefeated TGL team, The Bay GC, Lee continues to build consistency into his season on the PGA TOUR. Opening with a tie for 17th at the Hero Dubai Desert Classic, Lee has two top-20 finishes on the PGA TOUR and was tied 11th at the Cognizant Classic thanks to a final round of 4-under 67 that vaulted him 24 spots up the leaderboard.
7. Lucas Herbert (7)
Was prominent early in the week at the New Zealand Open as he set his sights on Elvis Smylie at the top of the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit. A second round of 1-over 73 was all that stopped Herbert making a greater impression, matching rounds of 66 over the weekend elevating the Victorian into a tie for 21st.
6. Jason Day (4)
Returns to action this week at the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill, a Signature Event on the PGA TOUR. Best finish this year is a tie for third at The American Express along with a tie for 13th at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.
5. Adam Scott (3)
Like Day, will tee it up at the Arnold Palmer Invitational this week after skipping the Cognizant Classic. Remains Australia’s highest-ranked male player at No.26 on the Official World Golf Ranking.
4. Minjee Lee (5)
Building on a tied for fourth in her first start of the season, Lee finished strongly across the weekend to earn a share of 11th at the HSBC Women’s Worlds Championship in Singapore.
3. Cam Davis (2)
Tied for fifth at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am prior to missing the cut at the Genesis Invitational at Torrey Pines, Davis makes his sixth start of the year at this week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational. Our most recent winner on the PGA TOUR.
2. Elvis Smylie (6)
Returned to the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia and picked up where he left off with a tie for eighth at the New Zealand Open at Millbrook Resort. A two-time winner this season, Smylie’s top-10 finish puts him one step closer to claiming the 2024-2025 Order of Merit.
1. Hannah Green (1)
Fourth at the Founders Cup, Green staged a strong defence of her HSBC Women’s World Championship title in Singapore. Green bounced back from a 3-over 75 on day one to finish six shots back of Kiwi Lydia Ko in a share of seventh.
The Australian Golf Power Rankings is a subjective list developed with input from members of the Australian Golf media team.
West Australian Hannah Green hopes to have found the right formula for a successful title defence after finishing top 10 in the first of three tournaments where she will be defending champion in 2025.
The 28-year-old wasn’t feeling her best when she woke on championship Sunday but fought through to shoot 1-under 71 and earn a share of seventh at the HSBC Women’s World Championship in Singapore.
The career resurgence of Kiwi Lydia Ko continues unabated as she completed a four-shot win, Green the best of the Aussies seven shots back.
With further title defences coming up at the JM Eagle LA Championship in April and BMW Ladies Championship in October, Green feels that the way she approached this week will be replicated later in the season.
“All of the tournaments that I will be defending this year, I won’t be playing the week before,” said Green.
“That just kind of works out luckily with the schedule. I think that will be easier in making sure that I’m not too tired come the end of the week.
“I feel like it would be difficult if it were back-to-back, like for Nelly (Korda), playing her tournaments defending.
“It’s good to have experienced Singapore. I think it might be one of the tougher ones to defend. It’s been a lot of fun, and I’ve got to make sure I enjoy as well sometimes and not put too much pressure on myself.”
Minjee Lee also continued her strong start to the LPGA season with a tie for 11th, younger brother Min Woo Lee also tied for 11th at the PGA TOUR’s Cognizant Classic in Florida.
Twelve strokes off the lead after Round 1, Lee began his northward climb on the leaderboard with a round of 6-under 65 in Round 2.
He started the final round in a share of 35th but ended the day knocking on the door of the top 10 with a closing 4-under 67 including back-to-back birdies at 17 and 18 to finish.
Photo: Jason Butler/Getty Images
Results
PGA TOUR
Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches
PGA National Resort (The Champion Cse), Palm Beach Gardens, Florida
1 Joe Highsmith 65-72-64-64—265 $US1.656m
T11 Min Woo Lee 71-65-68-67—271 $184,986
T39 Karl Vilips 68-67-68-72—275 $41,860
MC Ryan Fox (NZ) 67-71—138
LPGA Tour
HSBC Women’s World Championship
Sentosa Golf Club (Tanjong Cse), Singapore
1 Lydia Ko (NZ) 71-67-68-69—275 $US360,000
T7 Hannah Green 75-69-67-71—282 $59,183
T11 Minjee Lee 70-72-68-73—283 $43,503
T48 Stephanie Kyriacou 82-71-70-72—295 $9,233
59 Gabriela Ruffels 80-71-76-75—302 $6,446
60 Grace Kim 78-77-72-76—303 $6,197
DP World Tour
Investec South African Open Championship
Durban CC, Durban, South Africa
1 Dylan Naidoo 70-61-71—202 €245,489.01
T25 Kazuma Kobori (NZ) 67-73-69—209 €13,935.11
Korn Ferry Tour
118 Visa Argentina Open presented by Macro
Jockey Club, Buenos Aires, Argentina
1 Justin Suh 64-68-60-65—257 $US180,000
T37 Harry Hillier (NZ) 68-66-71-66—271 $5,193
MC Rhein Gibson 72-67—139
West Australian Ryan Peake has completed a remarkable story of redemption with a pulsating one-stroke win at the 104th New Zealand Open presented by Sky Sport.
Trailing Korean star Guntaek Koh by four strokes at the start of the final round at Millbrook Resort in Queenstown, Peake needed to make a 10-foot putt for par on the 72nd hole to avoid a playoff with fellow Australian Jack Thompson (63), Japan’s Kazuki Higa (66) and South African Ian Snyman (66).
The 31-year-old went bogey-free for his final 55 holes and shot 5-under 66 on Sunday to finish atop the leaderboard at 23-under par, in so doing becoming the first lefthander to win the NZ Open since Sir Bob Charles in 1973.
Sixty-two years after Charles become the first New Zealander to win The Open Championship, as champion, Peake will now contest the 153rd Open Championship at Royal Portrush in July and is now in contention to claim the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit.
Given his back-story that includes amateur golf alongside Cameron Smith and a five-year stint in jail for assault while a member of the Rebels bikie gang, Peake did not have the necessary visa to travel to New Zealand until the start of the week.
He arrived in Queenstown on Tuesday, played 36 holes on Wednesday and leaves with another extraordinary chapter added to his story.
“I’ve just changed my life,” Peake said post-round.
“This is what I do. I want to be here and just play golf. The story is what it is but I’m just out here playing golf.”
It was while he was incarcerated that renowned coach Ritchie Smith reached out and asked whether Peake wanted to play competitive golf again.
He wondered whether he was a charity case, but also knew Smith enough to know he wouldn’t waste time on an assignment he saw no future in.
It was a heart-to-heart at the end of 2024 that reaffirmed to Peake that while a win had proved elusive, they were on a path towards something special.
“I always knew I could do it; it was just a matter of time of when I was going to do it,” he added.
“Elvis Smylie was in the same predicament not too long ago and our coach, Ritchie Smith, said it was going to switch and that you’ve just got to commit to it.
“He had the same chat with me when I missed the cut at the Aussie Open and the Aussie PGA.
“We set out some goals of how we wanted to finish off the rest of the year and along with my family, my team, everyone believed. But most of all I believed as well.”
Given the play of Koh over the previous 36 holes, Peake’s belief in his chances of winning had to have been tested early on Sunday.
A birdie at the fifth hole lifted Peake into a tie for second but still three shots off the lead, that deficit trimmed to two by the seventh hole.
Koh moved three shots clear again with birdie at the par-4 eighth but Peake stayed in the frame with crucial birdies at nine and 12 to join Koh at 22-under and tied for the lead.
Three bogeys in succession by Koh from the 13th hole dramatically changed the complexion of the tournament, Peake suddenly sharing top spot with Thompson, Snyman and Higa with two holes to play.
Thompson and Snyman both missed birdie chances at the final hole in the groups ahead, leaving Peake to two-putt for birdie from the back fringe at the par-5 17th to move one clear, his first putt coming to rest just two feet to the left of the cup.
It meant that par at a par-3 finisher framed by water would seal victory, only for Peake to add to the tension when he missed the green to the right with his tee shot.
Left with a testing chip across the green towards water on the far side, Peake came up short with his chip. He then showed remarkable composure to hole the putt for par and add his name to the New Zealand Open’s remarkable history.
That history will continue to be written in Queenstown, with Millbrook Resort confirmed as the host venue for at least the next seven years at the tournament presentation.
Relentless Korean Guntaek Koh produced the shot of the day on the way to building a four-shot lead after the third round of the New Zealand Open presented by Sky Sport at Millbrook Resort.
The overnight leader’s 5-under-par 66 on Saturday was highlighted by an eagle at the short par-4 12th hole, a blind wedge shot from 66 metres that took two bounces before spinning back into the cup.
At 22-under-par after 54 holes, it will be Koh’s tournament to lose on the final day on Millbrook’s composite course as he tries to become the event’s second consecutive Asian winner.
The closest challenger to the four-time winner on the Korean Tour is West Australian left-hander Ryan Peake, who made up two shots on the leader with a 64 on Saturday and has the biggest day of his career ahead on Sunday.
Japan’s Kazumi Higa eagled the par-five first and 17th holes to climb to a share of third with a 9-under-par 62.
He is joined in the group five shots behind by South African Ian Snyman (66), China’s Bobby Bai (67) and Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit No.1 Elvis Smylie, who made up plenty of late ground with a back nine of 29 in a 6-under 66.
The leading New Zealander is Sam Jones who charged to a share of seventh, seven shots behind, thanks to a composite course record round of 10-under 61.
He was close to finishing his round when Koh was getting his underway with a three-shot lead, the Korean quickly extending his advantage with birdies at the first, second and third holes.
Although he had two bogeys, he turned in 3-under 33 and was as many as six shots in front before his lead dwindled slightly with six consecutive pars coming home after the eagle on 12.
“I was concerned about how much backspin I’m going to have after the shot, but it just went perfectly,” Koh said of his second hole-out in as many days.
“It’s great that I have a four-shot lead, but this course itself is very scoreable. I need to keep focused on what I’m doing and just make sure I just stay consistent to what I’m doing.”
Despite climbing to second and being bogey-free for 39 holes, Peake is seeking more consistency from his driver. He headed to the driving range post-round looking for some solutions after hitting just three out of 14 fairways today.
“It’s not the flight I want. I’m not getting the distance that I want and I’m just not finding a lot of these fairways,” Peake said.
“When you get in some of this long rough, it’s hard to get it close and give yourself reasonable birdie opportunities.
“I’m doing well to make a score from where I am; I just need to start hitting some fairways.”
The winner of two events on his home tour this season, Smylie was stuck in neutral on the front nine but erupted with four birdies and an eagle on the back nine, turning a 10-shot deficit to the leader into a more manageable six.
He’s confident that he’s close enough to chase down Koh.
“It’d be special to be able to come back from how many shots I am behind the leader, but I know that I can do that and it’s definitely motivating,” the Australian PGA champion, another of the lefthanders on the leaderboard, said.
Jones’s brilliant 61 included eight birdies plus an eagle on the par-5 17th hole where his second shot with a 7-iron finished four metres from the cup and he rolled in the slightly uphill putt.
He admitted his low round was something of a surprise.
“It’s been a bit rough out there the first couple of days. Struggled a little bit on the greens, haven’t been swinging it great but that’s golf,” Jones said.
“I was just pretty grateful to be teeing it up today. I was right on the cut-line yesterday.”
Fellow Kiwi Mark Brown also made a sizeable move on day three, a 65 lifting him inside the top 20 ahead of what is potentially his final round at the New Zealand Open presented by Sky Sport.
“I will have to play myself in, not take up an invite. So tomorrow could be my last time at the New Zealand Open,” said Brown, who was runner-up in 2014, the first year of the Pro-Am format.
He has no serious thoughts of playing the PGA TOUR Champions like countryman Steve Alker, but may head to the European Staysure Tour.
“I get a one-year exemption on the (European) seniors tour courtesy of winning on the tour, so I may take up that option more for experience and travel to Europe with my wife,” he said.
While the home crowd hoped for a big Saturday charge from Millbrook member Ben Campbell and former champion Michael Hendry, the duo lost ground on the lead.
They are both at 10-under, and 12 shots back, after Campbell carded 69 and Hendry 71.
Photo: Photosport
The NZ Open is live on Fox Sports, available on Foxtel and Kayo.
