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Call-out to volunteers for marquee events


Are you interested in volunteering at either of the two marquee events of this summer’s Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia?

The Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia and Golf Australia are calling for golf-lovers and enthusiasts to volunteer at the BMW Australian PGA Championship in Brisbane and the ISPS HANDA Australian Open in Melbourne in November-December 2024, as well as tournaments in Perth and regional Victoria.

Volunteers are the heartbeat of these tournaments in Australia.

The PGA Championship will be held at the famous Royal Queensland in Brisbane from 21 to 24 November where Min Woo Lee thrilled the crowds and won the championship last year (pictured above).

The Open is to be held at Kingston Heath and The Victoria Golf Club from 28 November to 1 December, with both courses hosting on the first two days and Kingston Heath hosting on the third and fourth day.

As has been the case in Melbourne in 2022 and Sydney in 2023, the tournament has an inclusive format with men’s, women’s and All Abilities championships played on the same stage at the same time.

Both tournaments are part of the DP World Tour and will boast a field of the best players in the world.

Potential volunteers can also put their hand up for the Victorian PGA Championship at Moonah Links on the Mornington Peninsula, the Gippsland Super 6 and the Webex Players Series event in Perth.

Applications for volunteering at our major events and tournaments are managed through the volunteer management system, Rosterfy.

The process is two-step:

  1. Creating a volunteer profile by clicking here
  2. From your profile ‘Dashboard’, completing the Expression of Interest form for the specific event(s) you would like to volunteer for (example displayed below of the event dashboard).

He is one of only three Australian men to reach the summit of the Official World Golf Rankings and Jason Day believes he has identified the next Aussie No.1.

Day returned home to Ohio on the back of his tie for 13th at The Open Championship at Royal Troon but we will be back in Europe next week to make his Olympic Games debut at Le Golf National.

He will be joined in the Australian team by reigning BMW Australian PGA champion Min Woo Lee, who will celebrate his 26th birthday the day after attending the Paris 2024 Opening Ceremony on Friday.

A three-time winner on the DP World Tour and one of world golf’s most magnetic personalities, Lee has the game that can take him to the very top of world golf, according to Day.

“He’s an amazing player,” said Day, the world No.1 for 51 weeks.

“I met him when he was a young junior player a while back, I think in 2016 or 2017, something like that.

“I’ve always kind of kept up with his career, especially when he played on the European Tour, now he plays on the PGA Tour.

“Hits it a long way, has a tremendous short game, and he’s a good putter.

“The good thing about him is he’s young. Once he starts to develop all the other parts of his game, he’s probably, I would say, our next best Australian player to try and get to No.1, just because of the talent.”

Sitting just five spots behind Day at No.36 in the world rankings, Lee is one win from assuming the mantle as Australia’s highest-ranked male golfer.

Given he was a teenager playing the Junior Interstate Series for Western Australia when Adam Scott and Jason Day were fighting it out at The Masters in 2013, it is rarefied air that Lee is just now becoming accustomed to breathing.

“To think that I can now call Adam Scott and Jason Day friends is amazing,” said Lee, who missed the cut at Royal Troon.

“They’ve been amazing. We always try to play practice rounds and stuff.

“It’d be amazing to be the top-ranked player in the world from Australia. That’d be very special.

“Still feel like I’m a kid, but our goal is to be the best player in the world.

“If that comes, to represent Australia and be the No.1 would be a very special and proud moment.”

Both Day and Lee will make their Olympic debuts in Paris, Lee to be joined by older sister Minjee in representing the green and gold.

Minjee is already a two-time Olympian, Min Woo thrilled that he will join such an illustrious group.

“Like anything we do as brother and sister, it’s very special,” he said.

“My sister has been in every event and every team event for Australia so she’s just been waiting on me.

“I guess time has come which is very exciting for the family.”

Photo: Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images


Australian journeyman Bryan Wearne and youngster Cameron Bell have shared the trophy at this year’s PGA Professionals Championship of Victoria at Keysborough Golf Club.

Both players finished with matching scores of 2-under 71, one shot ahead of defending champion Grace Lennon who finished alone in third amongst Victoria’s best Vocational PGA Professionals.

Based at X-Golf Preston, Bell made a fast start, with three birdies in a row starting on the 15th. He gave all three shots back after making the turn however, before he saved the day with two late birdies.

Starting on the 10th, Wearne, from Growling Frog,  was 2-over through nine holes before finding four birdies on his second nine. If not for a solitary bogey on the par-4 sixth hole, the trophy would’ve have been his alone.

While Wearne and Bell took the top prize, the top-15 players at Keysborough have won their way to the $70,000 National PGA Professionals Final at Heritage Golf and Country Club in October.

Full list of qualifiers:

  • Bryan Wearne
  • Cameron Bell
  • Grace Lennon
  • Nathan Kungl
  • Ben Ford
  • Luke Young
  • Bradley McGill
  • Thomas Howarth
  • Rhys Granger
  • Jake Fullerton
  • John Horvath
  • Sienna Voglis
  • Russell Kelly
  • Hayden Webb
  • James McCully

It came with some unexpected nerves yet Will Florimo’s breakthrough adidas PGA Pro-Am Series victory at the Reside Communities Pacific Pro-Am could not have been more fitting.

Playing at Pacific Golf Club where he is a member and has played pennants in the past, Florimo shot 4-under 68 to edge another outstanding field by a single stroke, Edward Donoghue, Dylan Gardner and Brett Rankin sharing second with rounds of 3-under 69.

Florimo earned status for the upcoming Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia season at Qualifying School in April and will start his campaign at PNG next month buoyed by a maiden win at his home club.

Despite the familiarity of the venue, Florimo admitted that he arrived at the course with a sense of expectation.

“I said to my wife this morning, I was actually a little bit nervous playing at home, which was weird,” he said.

“Obviously I’ve had a big year with Q School both here and Asia and obviously my first proper starts the last few weeks.

“This was probably the first one that I’ve actually had a little bit of jitters driving here this morning, so awesome to actually get it done.”

HOW THE WINNING ROUND UNFOLDED

A birdie at the par-4 fourth was the ideal way for Florimo to start his round but he was back to level par one hole later after a dropped shot at five.

Five straight pars followed before Florimo unleashed a back-nine birdie barrage.

He made three straight birdies from the par-5 11th and closed out a back nine of 5-under 31 with two further birdies at 17 and 18.

Conscious of where he stood on the leaderboard playing his final hole – the par-3 third – Florimo hit his tee shot to the meaty part of the green, a three-putt bogey shaving his advantage to a single shot.

WHAT THE WINNER SAID

“It was playing different to probably what it normally does with how firm and ridiculously fast it is out there,” Florimo said.

“I felt like I knew where I needed to leave it to a lot of those trickier pins. Even 18, I played as a three-shotter par 5. I know that pin, that’s our pennant pin where it was, so I knew where I had to leave the wedge shot and left it 10 feet under the hole.

“Those sorts of ones was where I felt like I had a bit of an edge.”

LEADERBOARD RUNDOWN

1          Will Florimo                 68
T2        Edward Donoghue       69
T2        Dylan Gardner              69
T2        Brett Rankin                 69
T5        Deyen Lawson             70
T5        Michael Sim                 70
T5        Cameron John              70

NEXT UP

The adidas PGA Pro-Am Series stays in Brisbane on Wednesday for the Howeston Pro-Am at Howeston Golf Course before moving on to Windaroo Lakes on Thursday and Virginia on Friday.


Adam Scott will celebrate his 45th birthday with a 25th consecutive appearance at The Open Championship after finishing in a tie for 10th at Royal Troon.

American Xander Schauffele became the first male player since Brooks Koepka in 2018 to win two major championships in the same year with what he described as the “best round I’ve played”, a bogey-free 6-under 65 earning a two-stroke win to go with his US PGA Championship triumph at Valhalla in May.

Four back at the start of the final round, Scott drew to within two with early birdies at the first and third holes but a bogey at five stalled his hopes of a Sunday charge.

He would lament a poor swing on 10 tee that resulted in a second dropped shot, his even-par 71 enough to clinch a top-10 finish and secure an exemption into the 153rd Open Championship at Royal Portrush from July 17-20, 2025.

Scott has played every Open Championship since his debut at St Andrews in 2000 shortly after turning professional and will enjoy a dual celebration as his 45th birthday falls on the eve of Round 1.

While disappointed that he was unable to mount a charge deep into the final round, Scott reflected on a productive fortnight in Scotland that included a runner-up finish at the Genesis Scottish Open.

“Yesterday gave me a glimmer of hope, but it would have had to be a super- hot front nine,” Scott conceded after the sixth top-10 finish of his Open career.

“I made a bad swing on 10 and paid the price, made a mess of that.

“It’s hard to really sum up. I played fairly well this week. Didn’t do well in the toughest conditions. That’s how it goes.

“There’s still the Presidents Cup to look forward to. Hopefully I’m in a good spot to play my way on to that team now.

“That’s kind of the goal through the FedEx Cup upcoming.”

Fellow Queenslander Jason Day regained much of the ground he lost in Round 3 with a 3-under 68 to finish in a tie for 13th while Kiwis Daniel Hillier (72) and Ryan Fox (67) also finished inside the top 25.

Scott wasn’t the only Australian to end the week inside the top 10.

Sarah Kemp closed with a round of 70 to be tied seventh at the LPGA Tour’s Dana Open in Ohio and Grant Booth matched his best result on the PGA Tour of Americas with a tie for eighth at the Bromont Open in Quebec.

Photo: Stuart Franklin/R&A/R&A via Getty Images

Results

The Open
Royal Troon, Troon, Scotland
1          Xander Schauffele        69-72-69-65—275       €2,846,593.60
T10      Adam Scott                  70-77-66-71—284       €291,576.89
T13      Jason Day                    73-68-76-68—285       €228,339.66
T19      Daniel Hillier (NZ)         76-71-68-72—287       €161,949.75
T25      Ryan Fox (NZ)               73-73-76-67—289       €114,430.00
MC       Kazuma Kobori (NZ)     73-76—149                 €11,340.46
MC       Min Woo Lee                71-80—151                 €9,458.04
MC       Elvis Smylie                  76-75—151                 €9,458.04
MC       Jasper Stubbs (a)          80-72—152                 ———
MC       Michael Hendry (NZ)    74-78—152                 €8,034.74
MC       Cam Smith                   80-74—154                 €8,034.74

PGA TOUR
Barracuda Championship
Tahoe Mountain Club (Old Greenwood Cse), Truckee, California
MC       Jason Scrivener            9-0—9
MC       Aaron Baddeley           2-(-1)—1
MC       Tim Wilkinson (NZ)       1-(-4)— -3

LPGA Tour
Dana Open
Highland Meadows Golf Club, Sylvania, Ohio
1          Chanettee Wannasaen 66-65-66-67—264       $US262,500
T7        Sarah Kemp                 68-67-69-70—274       $38,232
T33      Grace Kim                    71-68-73-67—279       $11,160
MC       Hira Naveed                 71-73—144
MC       Robyn Choi                  73-70—143
MC       Sarah Jane Smith         71-72—143
MC       Karrie Webb                 76-73—149
MC       Su Oh                          76-76—152
WD      Stephanie Kyriacou      74-74—148

Ladies European Tour
Dutch Ladies Open
Hilversumsche Golf Club, Netherlands
1          Jana Melichova            70-68-67—205 €45,000
T21      Momoka Kobori (NZ)   68-75-70—213 €3,684
T52      Kelsey Bennett             71-72-75—218 €1,067.14
T64      Whitney Hillier             72-72-78—222 €765
MC       Amy Walsh                   72-75—147

Korn Ferry Tour
Price Cutter Charity Championship
Highland Springs Country Club, Springfield, Missouri
1          Matt McCarty               65-67-65-66—263
T15      Karl Vilips                     67-70-67-66—270
MC       Brett Drewitt                71-68—139
MC       Curtis Luck                   69-70—139
MC       Dimi Papadatos           72-71—143
MC       Rhein Gibson               66-77—143
MC       Steven Bowditch          76-74—150

PGA TOUR Americas
Bromont Open
Golf Chateau-Bromont, Québec
1          Ryan Burnett                67-65-64-62—258       $US40,500
T8        Grant Booth                 66-67-65-67—265
MC       Harry Hillier (NZ)          67-70—137
MC       Charlie Hillier (NZ)        74-70—144

Epson Tour
Twin Bridges Championship
Pinehaven Country Club, Guilderland, New York
1          Lauren Stephenson      66-66-72—204 $US35,625
T17      Amelia Garvey (NZ)      75-70-68—213 $2,925
T26      Maddison Hinson-Tolchard      73-70-71—214 $2,206
MC       Fiona Xu (NZ)               76-75—151

Challenge Tour
Euram Bank Open
GC Adamstal, Ramsau, Austria
1          Frank Kennedy             65-66-65-71—267       €43,200
MC       Blake Windred             68-72—140
MC       Hayden Hopewell        71-70—141
MC       Jeff Guan                      75-69—144


Adam Scott showed early signs of a final flurry but it was American Xander Schauffele who was crowned Champion Golfer of the Year at The Open Championship at Royal Troon.

Scott trailed 54-hole leader Billy Horschel by four strokes entering the final round on the back of a round of 5-under 66 on Saturday.

With early birdies at one and three, Scott threatened to make a charge for the Claret Jug that he craves so deeply but bogey at the par-3 fifth quelled much of his forward momentum.

Scott ultimately closed with an even-par round of 71 to finish tied for 10th, fellow Australian Jason Day closing with a round of 3-under 68 to climb into a share of 13th just one shot back of Scott.

Runner-up at the Genesis Scottish Open, Scott is buoyed by a fortnight in Scotland that he hopes will propel him into the Presidents Cup team and a deep run in the FedEx Cup Playoffs.

“After the 10th it was kind of over,” was Scott’s summation. “In the end I was too far back.

“Yesterday gave me a glimmer of hope but it would have had to be a super-hot front nine.

“It was good solid golf. I made a bad swing on 10 and paid the price, made a mess of that.

“It’s hard to really sum up. I played fairly well this week. Didn’t do well in the toughest conditions.

“That’s how it goes.

“There’s still the Presidents Cup to look forward to, hopefully I’m in a good spot to play my way on to that team now.

“That’s kind of the goal through the FedEx Cup upcoming.”

The next assignment for Day is a gold medal at the Paris Olympic Games.

Lamenting not handling the brutal conditions thrown at him better during Saturday’s third round where he fell from a tie for seventh to outside the top 30, Day will head home for a week before joining Min Woo Lee at Le Golf National.

“Troon is a serious test of golf,” said Day.

“I always love coming and playing The Open Championship. It’s just a thrill.

“I just didn’t putt as well as I’d hoped to yesterday and didn’t score well. I played good but

didn’t score well.

“To be honest, I feel like the game is kind of moving in the right direction.

“There’s a lot of good positive things moving out of this week going into Paris.”

The US PGA champion at Valhalla in May, Schauffele was flawless in a final round of 6-under 65.

Starting Sunday one back of Horschel, Schauffele began patiently, picking off five straight pars as others around him found early birdies.

Back-to-back birdies at six and seven saw him enter the fray but it was his birdie on 11 – the only player in the final round to do so at the hole named ‘The Railway’ – sparked his winning run.

He separated himself from the field with further birdies at 13, 14 and 16, burning the left edge of with a birdie putt on the 72nd hole to win by two from Justin Rose (67) and Horschel (68).

Photo: Luke Walker/R&A/R&A via Getty Images


He counted himself out after signing for a 66 yet Australian Adam Scott will start the final round just four shots off the lead at The Open Championship at Royal Troon.

As 36-hole leader Shane Lowry came back to the fold with back-nine struggles on his way to a 6-over 77, those out early cashed in on the benign conditions to rocket up the leaderboard.

Scott was among those, climbing an astonishing 44 places with a round of 5-under 66 to be in a tie for 10th at even par.

American Billy Horschel (69) made bogey and English qualifier Daniel Brown (73) double-bogey on the final hole to make the margin manageable, Horschel the outright leader through 54 holes at 4-under.

It was a margin Scott had assumed would be insurmountable when he finished hours earlier.

“I’m probably not going to be in the mix, let’s be honest,” was the 2013 Masters champion’s honest appraisal. “I’m likely seven to nine shots behind, I would guess.

“If I am, then that’s a bonus, but I’m going to need wind and everything to be in my favour to kind of be in the mix.

“You can’t really complain about 66, but when you’re so far back, you kind of need every one possible.

“I think I got what I deserved out there. I played some fairly good golf and didn’t make too many errors.”

Two birdies out of the blocks was the ideal start for Scott as Royal Troon provided a window for the early groups to make an impression on the leaderboard.

He made a two at the par-3 fifth and a fourth front-nine birdie at the par-4 seventh to go out in 4-under 32.

His lone bogey at 15 was wedged between birdies at 14 and 16 as rain made conditions challenging for the later groups.

Runner-up a week ago at the Genesis Scottish Open and runner-up at Royal Lytham in 2012, Scott earned himself a Sunday sleep-in with the knowledge that his best golf in the final round might be enough to win the Claret Jug.

“To win golf tournaments, not many guys are winning not playing very well,” said the 44-year-old.

“To beat all these players, you have to be there, and a few guys every week are on doing that. The rest are making up the numbers.”

Tied for seventh at the halfway mark, Jason Day was one of many players to struggle in the rainy afternoon.

While fellow Queenslander Scott started with two birdies, Day began his day with two bogeys but birdied the par-5 fourth and the treacherous ‘Postage Stamp’ eighth to be even par through nine.

But, like so many around him, the back nine bit hard as Day came home in 5-over 40 for a round of 5-over 76 and tie for 33rd.

There were mixed fortunes, too, for the two Kiwis who made the cut, Daniel Hillier (68) climbing 39 spots and into a tie for 15th as Ryan Fox (76) dropped into a tie for 70th.

Photo by Luke Walker/R&A/R&A via Getty Images


Jason Day has produced the equal low-round of the day on Friday at Royal Troon, a 3-under 68, to sneak inside the top-10 after 36-holes at the 152nd Open Championship.

Runner-up last year at Royal Liverpool, Day is 1-under for the Championship, six shots back of leader Shane Lowry.

The rest of the Australian contingent struggled on day two, with Adam Scott unable to keep things going from his positive start, carding a 6-over 77 today to slip into a share of 54th, just inside the cut-line.

Also unable to find the game he had on day one was Min Woo Lee, who’s 9-over 80 today means the West Australian will unfortunately not feature in the weekend play at Troon.

Trio of Elvis Smylie, Jasper Stubbs and Cam Smith all improved on day two, but it was a long way back from their tough starts, and all have missed the cut.

Stubbs, who’s exemptions from winning the Asia-Pacific Amateur have now come to a close, can hold his head high. Bouncing back today from his 9-over start, with a 1-over 72.

3-under on his front-nine, Stubbs looked like he might be able to claw himself back, however it was not to be. The young Melbourne amateur will undoubtably take endless lessons away from his week at Troon regardless.

A strong contender for the highlight of Day’s second round may well be the fact that he did not have a single blemish on his card. Three birdies and 15 pars is a scorecard many would have taken at the start of the day.

“I played really nice today and I’d like to play like that over the next two days, but I’ve just got to kind of take it one shot at a time,” said Day.

Day made back-to-back birdies on holes two and three to start the day but had to wait until hole 13 for his next, and final birdie, unlikely in itself.

“It was tough conditions yesterday, but this morning it sat down for us — it was still a little bit windy out there, but it sat down for us through 12 holes, kind of,” he said.

“Then, yeah, it was nice birdieing on 13 out of the rough there, then just kind of nice and steady.”

Although happy to be in contention at the halfway mark, Day acknowledges that the weekend at a major championship is a different challenge completely.

“It’s going to be difficult,” he said.

“We’re going to have rain tomorrow from what the forecast is. I know the wind is going to be a little bit down because of the rain, but once you’re dealing with that type of element, the ball starts to kind of square off everywhere.

“Then we’re back to some wind on Sunday, so it’s just like you kind of just wake up and take it as you’re going along the round because the guys in the morning won’t have better weather conditions than what I’ll have or vice versa. We might turn around.

“So just kind of try to get myself in contention on Sunday, and then anything happens on Sunday.”

The 152nd Open Championship is live onFox Sports, available on Foxtel and Kayo.

Australasian scores:

T7 Jason Day -1

T38 Ryan Fox (NZ) +4

T54 Daniel Hillier (NZ) +5

T54 Adam Scott +5

MC Kazuma Kobori (NZ) +7

MC Min Woo Lee +9

MC Elvis Smylie +9

MC Michael Hendry +10

MC Jasper Stubbs (a) +10

MC Cameron Smith +12

(Photo by Luke Walker/R&A/R&A via Getty Images)


Zach Maxwell will target a win on the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia after bettering a tour-quality field at the $80,000 Optilease Redcliffe Pro-Am.

The Brisbane native and son of PGA Professional Brett Maxwell, Maxwell delivered a stunning start to his second round to take a stranglehold of the two-day tournament at Redcliffe Golf Club.

Established stars converged on Redcliffe for one of the richest tournaments on the adidas PGA Pro-Am Series but Maxwell showed impressive composure to win by one, Nathan Barbieri (65) runner-up for a third time at Redcliffe.

Maxwell began the tournament with a 2-under 69 but played his first five holes in 5-under on Friday, the highlight a hole-in-one at the 134-metre par-3 13th, his fourth hole of the day.

He kept the foot to the floor with a birdie at three and eagle at the par-5 fourth to get to 10-under, enough of a buffer to absorb a bogey at the par-3 seventh and win by one.

“That was really special, especially to have that in a ‘tourny’ round,” said Maxwell.

“I’ve been playing with the Tricolour Concreting guys who have been big supporters of mine for a long time so today was just really special and I’m really grateful.”

HOW THE WINNING ROUND UNFOLDED

Four shots separated Maxwell from Round 1 leader Aaron Pike when Round 2 began but he made quick inroads on the deficit.

He made birdie at his opening hole, the par-5 10th, and then added a second in three holes at the par-4 12th.

The hole-in-one on 13 provided a sudden boost and he backed it up with a third birdie at the short par-4 14th.

Six straight pars through the middle of his round kept Maxwell within reach of the top of the leaderboard before his birdie on three and eagle at four propelled him to the front of the pack.

WHAT THE WINNER SAID

“I have a little rule where when I make a birdie I’m allowed to look at the leaderboard,” said Maxwell.

“It gives some good incentive to keep the ego in check, I guess.

“Coming down the last nine holes, I was looking every hole. That’s the best part about the pro-ams and why it’s such a good pathway onto the tour, you get to create environments and create winning pressure.

“I’ve decided with my team to focus on the Aussie season and to only dabble with Asian Tour Q School.

“Being my first year with full status on the Tour, I’ll be keeping my focus here and also pursuing the Asian Tour Q School in Australia at the end of the year.”

LEADERBOARD RUNDOWN
1          Zachary Maxwell          69-64—133
2          Nathan Barbieri            69-65—134
3          Aaron Pike                   65-70—135
T4        Douglas Klein               72-64—136
T4        Matthew Millar             69-67—136
T4        Gavin Fairfax                66-70—136
T4        Nathan Page                68-68—136

NEXT UP

Pacific Golf Club makes its return to the adidas PGA Pro-Am Series schedule on Monday with the Reside Communities Pacific Pro-Am to be followed by the Howeston Pro-Am on Wednesday.


On a day where few players managed to go under-par and stay there, Adam Scott is the best-placed Australian after the opening day of the 152nd Open Championship at Royal Troon.

Just five shots back from leader Daniel Brown, the Queenslander is in a share of 11th after a 1-under 70, still feeding off the timely vein of form which saw him finish runner-up at the Genesis Scottish Open a week ago.

Just a shot back from Scott is Min Woo Lee in a tie for 18th, who shrugged off a slow start by birdieing three of his last four holes to post an even-par 71. Lee’s fellow Australian Olympic team member, Jason Day, is a further two shots back in a share of 42nd after a 2-over 73.

Open debutants Elvis Smylie (76) and Jasper Stubbs (80) struggled on the opening day, leaving some work to do if they are to achieve their shared goal of playing the weekend. Smylie showed fight, playing his last four holes in 3-under.

The Open Champion in 2022, Cam Smith was out of sorts, matching Stubbs’ 9-over 80, the Queenslander with his work cut out for him if he wants a chance of becoming a two-time winner of the Claret Jug this week.

Last season’s Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit winner, Kazuma Kobori – who was granted his Open Championship berth for holding that very title – held his nerve to finish with a 2-over 73 and head up the four-strong New Zealand contingent alongside Ryan Fox.

Scott didn’t waste any time providing some highlights for the early morning crowd at Troon, holing his greenside bunker shot on the first for an unlikely birdie to start his day.

A birdie at the “Postage Stamp” eighth and one more at the par-4 15th constituted Scott’s full catalogue of day one highlights, in a round he himself described as “fairly uneventful”.

“It was pretty solid,” was Scott’s concise summary of his round.

“The wind change kind of made the back nine play tough even though it was downwind. I hadn’t really played in that wind and made a couple of errors,” he added, after dropping shots at 13 and 16.

“My game is finally in some decent shape where I feel like I’m controlling the ball well. That’s what you need to do out here, especially if you’re going to give yourself a lot of chances.”

Asked post-round about his runner-up finish to Robert MacIntyre at the Genesis Scottish Open, Scott reflected that above-all it was great preparation for this week.

“Sure, I was slightly disappointed, but Bob made great putts 14 through 18 coming home,” he said.

“I was pleased to be in contention because the fact of the matter is that’s the first time I’ve contended this year.

“My game felt a lot better tee to green. For the first time really in four years or so I’ve had some confidence in some form going into a major.”

The 152nd Open Championship is live on Fox Sports, available on Foxtel and Kayo.

Australasian scores
T11       Adam Scott                     -1
T18       Min Woo Lee                   Ev
T42       Ryan Fox (NZ)                 +2
T42       Jason Day                        +2
T42       Kazuma Kobori (NZ)        +2
T69       Michael Hendry (NZ)       +3
T96       Daniel Hillier (NZ)            +5
T96       Elvis Smylie                     +5
T145     Jasper Stubbs (a)           +9
T145     Cameron Smith             +9

(Photo by Stuart Franklin/R&A/R&A via Getty Images)


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