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First, let’s address the elephant in the room. Michael Hendry is not Australian. This weekly preview is titled, ‘Aussies on Tour’.
Like high-achieving Kiwis such as Phar Lap, Russell Crowe and Crowded House, we’d love to claim him, but there are few prouder New Zealanders than Michael Hendry.
Yet as a regular on the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia since 2006 and a four-time winner on our Tour, there is a connection we have with Hendry that we share with other Kiwis that cannot be denied.
That connection was never felt deeper than last May when Hendry posted to Instagram that he would have to forfeit his place in the 151st Open Championship at Royal Birkdale having been diagnosed with leukaemia.
On the eve of that Open he spoke about the two motivations driving him to win the fight for his life; his family and the chance to play The Open again.
“I want to be the guy that beat it."
— PGA of Australia (@PGAofAustralia) July 18, 2023
An emotional check in with Michael Hendry after being forced to withdraw from @TheOpen due to a leukaemia diagnosis.https://t.co/vRmzK8FYnt
Six months ago he revealed that he had entered remission and that he would take up the offer made by The R&A to play the 152nd Open at Royal Troon, an offer that he said played a pivotal role in his recovery.
“To have the correspondence from The R&A come back and say, ‘We’d love you to attend at Royal Troon if you are healthy enough to do so’, was a huge motivator for me. I think it had a huge impact on my recovery,” Hendry told The R&A Media at Troon.
“To have another opportunity to play The Open is amazing, considering how sick I was.”
“I don’t want to speak too soon but things are looking really positive.”
— PGA of Australia (@PGAofAustralia) January 19, 2024
Michael Hendry has opened up about his latest diagnosis, his exemption to @TheOpen and adding to Jarrod Lyle's legacy, via @TonyWebeck.#WebexPlayersSeries @Webex @golfnewzealand_ https://t.co/vNGGKNtz38
Winner of the Vic Open in February 2023, Hendry was in some of the best form of his career immediately prior to his life-altering diagnosis.
He was tied for sixth at his beloved New Zealand Open, tied for fourth at the NZ PGA Championship a week later and then runner-up at the World City Championship in Hong Kong, a result that earned him an exemption into the 2023 Open.
Two weeks later he was rushed to hospital and subsequently told that he had acute myeloid leukaemia, the same diagnosis that befell the late Jarrod Lyle.
It re-framed Hendry’s entire existence yet it was always family and golf that drove him forward.
Last November, he returned to the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia and made the cut at the Queensland PGA Championship.
His form and fitness has been building ever since, to the point where he won for a second time on the Japan Golf Tour in May, almost a year to the day that he was told of his life-threatening condition.
So you’ll excuse us, for this week only, we claim Hendry as one of our own.
“It feels a bit surreal to be honest, just by being here it feels like I have won the lottery,” added Hendry, who is in the third group out at 3:57pm AEST on Thursday.
“These are the things to live for, so if you find yourself in a bit of strife – either physical or mental health – just keep going because the next day can be better.”
Elsewhere this week, Australia’s greatest major champion makes a rare appearance at the LPGA Tour’s Dana Open.
A week out from captaining the Australian Olympic golf team, Karrie Webb is teeing it up alongside fellow veteran Sarah Jane Smith and the new generation of Aussie stars, led by Amundi Evian Championship runner-up Stephanie Kyriacou.
College star Karl Vilips makes his second start on the Korn Ferry Tour in Missouri and Jason Scrivener and Aaron Baddeley fly the Aussie flag at the PGA TOUR’s Barracuda Championship played under a modified Stableford format.
Photo: Oisin Keniry/R&A/R&A via Getty Images
Round 1 tee times AEST
The Open
Royal Troon, Troon, Scotland
3:57pm Michael Hendry (NZ)
4:08pm Daniel Hillier (NZ)
4:19pm Min Woo Lee
4:30pm Adam Scott
4:41pm Jasper Stubbs (a)
8:04pm Elvis Smylie
9:20pm Ryan Fox (NZ)
10:26pm Jason Day
11:59pm Cameron Smith
1:05am Kazuma Kobori (NZ)
Defending champion: Brian Harman
Past Aussie winners: Peter Thomson (1954, 1955, 1956, 1958, 1965), Kel Nagle (1960), Greg Norman (1986, 1993), Ian Baker-Finch (1991), Cameron Smith (2022)
Prize money: $US17 million
TV times: Live 3:30pm-5:30am Thursday, Friday on Fox Sports 503; Live 7pm–10:35pm Saturday on Fox Sports 505; Live 10:30pm-5am Saturday on Fox Sports 503; Live 6pm-4am Sunday on Fox Sports 503 and Kayo.
PGA TOUR
Barracuda Championship
Tahoe Mountain Club (Old Greenwood Cse), Truckee, California
12:40am Tim Wilkinson (NZ)
1:24am* Jason Scrivener
6:39am* Aaron Baddeley
Defending champion: Akshay Bhatia
Past Aussie winners: Geoff Ogilvy (2014), Greg Chalmers (2016)
Prize money: $US4 million
TV times: Live 7am-10am Friday, Saturday, Sunday; Live 8am-11am Monday on Fox Sports 505 and Kayo.
LPGA Tour
Dana Open
Highland Meadows Golf Club, Sylvania, Ohio
9:15pm Robyn Choi
10:10pm Stephanie Kyriacou
10:32pm Karrie Webb
10:43pm Sarah Kemp
3:21am Hira Naveed
3:26am* Grace Kim
4:05am Su Oh
4:21am* Sarah Jane Smith
Defending champion: Linn Grant
Past Aussie winners: Rachel Hetherington (2002)
Prize money: $US1.75 million
TV times: Live 4am-7am Sunday on Fox Sports 505; Live 3am-6am Monday on Fox Sports 507 and Kayo.
Ladies European Tour
Dutch Ladies Open
Hilversumsche Golf Club, Netherlands
4:41pm* Kelsey Bennett
5:03pm Whitney Hillier
5:36pm Momoka Kobori (NZ)
5:36pm* Amy Walsh
Defending champion: Trichat Cheenglab
Past Aussie winners: Corinne Dibnah (1993), Stephanie Kyriacou (2021)
Prize money: €300,000
Korn Ferry Tour
Price Cutter Charity Championship
Highland Springs Country Club, Springfield, Missouri
9:55pm* Rhein Gibson
10:06pm* Dimi Papadatos
10:50pm Brett Drewitt
11:12pm Curtis Luck
3:37am* Steven Bowditch
5:05am* Karl Vilips
Defending champion: Pierceson Coody
Past Aussie winners: Anthony Painter (1998), Cameron Percy (2014)
Prize money: $US1 million
PGA TOUR Americas
Bromont Open
Golf Chateau-Bromont, Québec
11:10pm Grant Booth
11:20pm Harry Hillier (NZ)
3:40am* Charlie Hillier (NZ)
Defending champion: Inaugural event
Past Aussie winners: Nil
Prize money: $US225,000
Epson Tour
Twin Bridges Championship
Pinehaven Country Club, Guilderland, New York
10:30pm* Fiona Xu (NZ)
3:19am* Amelia Garvey (NZ)
4:03am* Maddison Hinson-Tolchard
Defending champion: Jenny Bae
Past Aussie winners: Sarah Jane Smith (2008), Breanna Elliott (2015)
Prize money: $US237,500
Challenge Tour
Euram Bank Open
GC Adamstal, Ramsau, Austria
3:50pm Jeff Guan
4pm Blake Windred
4:20pm* Hayden Hopewell
Defending champion: Casey Jarvis
Past Aussie winners: Nil
Prize money: €270,000
Two-time runner-up Nathan Barbieri believes he has unlocked a winning formula ahead of the $80,000 Optilease Redcliffe Pro-Am at Redcliffe Golf Club starting Thursday.
The two-day event is one of the richest on the adidas PGA Pro-Am Series schedule and has drawn a field to match.
Winners on the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia such as Brad Kennedy, Deyen Lawson, Jordan Zunic and Daniel Gale have all returned from international tours to tee it up alongside established names including defending champion Michael Sim, Marcus Fraser, Matthew Millar, Sam Brazel and Aaron Pike and stars of tomorrow including Barbieri, Lawry Flynn and Cameron John.
Barbieri was just months into his professional career when he finished second to Doug Klein at Redcliffe in 2021.
Wins seemed a matter of formality, but it has taken the New South Welshman almost three years to find a formula for success.
Following the heartbreak of failing to retain full playing rights at the season-ending tournament at The National, Barbieri chose to attend Qualifying School a fortnight later to potentially improve his status.
He won, and although not an official tour event, claims it as his first as a pro.
“I count it as a win, I got paid for it,” he said on Wednesday.
It may prove to be a significant moment in his career, given not only did it solidify his place in the biggest events of the coming season but showed what it took to win as a professional.
And he didn’t stop there.
On a stint playing the Pro-Am Series in Western Australia, Barbieri teamed up with Josh Greer to win the WA PGA Foursomes Championship, edged Curtis Luck at the Cottesloe Open and shot 7-under to win the Sun City Pro-Am.
“It was a monkey off the back,” Barbieri admitted.
“Everyone believes they can do it and then once you do it, it’s a great feeling.
“It’s just the confidence it builds for yourself. You know you can do it and you just keep pushing.
“I was playing well at Cottesloe and then I sort of stalled a bit and I honestly said, ‘I’m not letting this happen again.’
“I’ve had it too many times. I just said in the back of my mind, I don’t want this to happen again. I just need to do this. I need to finish it off and get a win.”
Full of confidence in his game, Barbieri also arrives at Redcliffe with good thoughts about the golf course.
He fired matching 65s to finish one back of Sim last year and said the test that the course provides feeds into the way he likes to play the game.
“You’ve got to hit every shot, for sure,” said Barbieri, part of the John Serhan coaching stable.
“There’s nine holes right-to-left and nine left-to-right and there are a couple of tricky greens that are elevated.
“I just find it really enjoyable to play. You can get some low numbers and the field this year is as good as a Tour event so it should be good.”
Given the quality of field and that the start of the 2024-2025 season is now less than a month away, Barbieri is viewing this year’s Redcliffe Pro-Am as a platform to build on over the course of the year.
“I wasn’t going to originally go to Q School but sort of took a chance and backed myself and it came out good,” said Barbieri, who has entered to play the PNG Open from August 15-18.
“Hopefully this season’s a good one, maybe grab a couple wins and push for that Order of Merit spot.”
Throughout her professional life, Catherine Odgers has always demonstrated an unwavering work ethic and discipline.
That, along with her willingness to experience every aspect of the wide-ranging golf industry, has seen her rise to the role of Director of Sport at one of Australia’s most prestigious clubs.
Four years into her career as a fully qualified PGA Professional, Odgers has been heading up the sporting operations at Peninsula Kingswood Country Golf Club since September 2023.
“I knew I wanted to be somewhere that is busy,” she says of finding the right work environment.
“I love meeting people, interacting with members and the whole social side of the role appealed to me.
“And that is what I get here at ‘PK’. The variety is great.”
Although her rise has come quickly and brings with it extensive responsibility, it has been a relatively seamless transition for Odgers, who demonstrated an aptitude for hard work as soon as she became a PGA Professional.
Splitting her time between Woodlands Golf Club and Peninsula Kingswood, Odgers was working 50-hour weeks; predominantly as a golf coach at Woodlands and in her first administrative role at ‘PK’.
“I was certainly flat out, but I wanted to keep doing both,” she reflects.
“I had just set up a women’s program at Woodlands and we had 50 women come through for the first year and a similar number register for the second.
“I wanted to be there to help see it through and I was also doing 30 hours a week here at ‘PK’.”
A busy time, it helped Odgers develop the skills she needed to succeed in the industry, and proved to those at Peninsula Kingswood that she was ready to take the position as Director of Sport.
A wide-ranging role, ‘PK’ boasts two championship golf courses, a gym, pool, tennis courts and a bowls facility, meaning that no two days are alike for Odgers and her team.
“I am only nine months in, so now moving into winter I am keen to keep looking at what we can do with all of the facilities that we have on offer here,” she says.
“Ultimately, it is about ensuring our members and visitors understand what they can do and how they can maximise it.
“Whatever it might be, there is always something different to focus on,” she explains. “Just recently we have had club championships, the culmination of the Pennant season, as well as regular corporate days to accommodate.”
A lot to balance, Odgers notes that while there is plenty to learn, she takes confidence from her already bountiful experience and grounding as a PGA Professional.
“I did not expect to be in this position so quickly, but I am finding out that I was already doing lots of these sorts of things before in my role as an Assistant Professional,” she adds.
“Now it is about learning and taking on extra responsibility – whether that is retail or the financial side of the business, I am keen to embrace it all.”
Also keen to keep getting more women into golf, Odgers believes programs like the one she established at Woodlands – and a similar one that is thriving at Peninsula Kingswood – are essential.
“The growth in the women’s game has been the biggest change I’ve seen whilst working in golf,” she explains.
“Having a female PGA Professional presence is so important when new women come into the game, and I am proud to help play a role there.
“I do still love coaching and would love to keep doing a bit here, to help those women who are new to golf.
“As always, it is just about balancing out those priorities.”
Royal Troon, this week’s host course for the Open Championship, has some famous holes. Writer and architect Mike Clayton runs the rule over it, and assesses the Australian chances.
Royal Troon, this week’s host course for the Open Championship, has some famous holes. Writer and architect Mike Clayton runs the rule over it, and assesses the Australian chances.
One of the many great things about the country where golf originated is the ‘Right to Roam’.
So long as you stay off the greens, anyone in Scotland can walk across a golf course and, in the case of so many including Royal Troon, it allows for easy access to the local beach.
There are no fences nor locked gates and most links are an integral part of the towns they are almost invariably named after. (Royal Rose Bay, Seaton or Black Rock, anyone?)
Troon is a course broken up into three parts. The opening six, the ones before you get into the noticeably more interesting ground around the turn, are almost nondescript in comparison.
The opening trio are short par-4s especially when the usual wind is blowing from behind and woe anyone who gets to the fourth tee over par. In the 1989 Open playoff, the one Australians need no reminding of, Greg Norman opened with two birdies, Mark Calcavecchia a par and a birdie and Wayne Grady’s pedestrian pars all but cruelled his chance.
The most memorable holes play through and over the big dunes at the far end of the course only 600 metres from Prestwick, the host of the first dozen Opens on their original 12-hole course.
I once suggested an 18-hole course on a small site be broken up into a six-hole par-3 course and a full sized 12-hole course, only to be asked if there was any precedent for 12-hole golf. “The first dozen British Opens,” probably was not a reply they were expecting!
All but one hole from the turn at Troon, the par-4 12th, plays back into the prevailing wind and coming into and off the left is not a whole lot of fun, not if you are off your game anyway.
Going out, the one hole into the same wind is maybe the most famous par-3 in the world, outside of the two holes we see annually at Augusta and at the Players Championship.
The front of the green at the Postage Stamp is barely 100 metres from the tee but as Tiger Woods noted in the press: “Just hit the ball on the green. That’s it. Green good, miss green bad. It doesn’t get any more simple than that.”
It’s one of the holes everyone should at least see, and hopefully play, at least once in their lives and it shows a short hole, without resorting to the defence of water, can still be both demanding and scary.
Ben Crenshaw perhaps best summed up the place of the under 135-metre one-shotter when he said: “I do not mean to imply that short par-3s do not exist anymore, though its type is not frequently attempted by many architects today. But quite selfishly, I would enjoy seeing more of them, for it’s one of the many ways to check unbridled power, and occasionally, make those long hitters’ knees tremble.”
Before the end of the week there are sure to be a few of Crenshaw’s trembling knees.
The other famous hole at Troon is the dangerous 11th a long par-4 bordered by gorse on the left and, on the right, an ancient stone wall and the railway line from Prestwick and beyond.
Formerly a par-5, it was always an easy hole to par – even if Jack Nicklaus did make a 10 there in his first Open – but with the stroke of a pen it goes from being one of the ‘easy’ holes to the hardest.
Nothing changed – save except perhaps adding a back tee as part of the arms-race to keep up with modern equipment – but mentally it’s more onerous because a five is somehow seen as dropping a shot. If the conditions get smelly, a five at the 11th, might he half a shot dropped but nothing more.
We have six players only this week, likely the fewest number since the age of Thomson and Nagle when 1400 pounds was the winner’s prize. “Of course,” Thomson once told me, “You could buy a house for that in the 1950s!”
Until the mid-1980s the leading half dozen players on the Australian money list earned a start, but it was cut to three and eventually one. And the qualifying, where almost 300 players compete for 16 spots, is little more than a token gesture these days.
Cameron Smith is our most likely winner although it’s more difficult to gauge the state of his game now he’s on the LIV Tour. As always with him, if his driver is in check he plays well.
Adam Scott was terrific at the Scottish Open last week and his swing shows no signs of getting shorter, less fluid and less attractive. It’s a dozen years now since Lytham and those four bogeys but if ever a mid-40s swing is capable of winning, it’s the Queenslander’s.
And The Open gets it’s first Elvis. I’ve caddied a bit for Elvis Smylie these past few years and his game has always been terrifically promising.
He obviously needs somewhere outside of Australia to play regularly and qualifying here is another step on the way. He’s always naturally hit with a touch of draw so the back nine with a left to right wind is perhaps to the advantage of a leftie, if for no other reason than it’s the least favoured wind for the rest.
Finally, there is Rory McIlroy. This is the 40th major since he walked off the 72nd green, a champion at Valhalla in the PGA Championship of 2014.
If anyone had suggested he would go a full decade without winning one since, they would have been certified.
Yet here we are.
PHOTO: Royal Troon’s signature hole, the short par-3 sixth, known as the Postage Stamp. Image: R&A Media
A hole-in-one 40 years in the making made Anthony Choat’s share of victory at the NewGen Caravans Tin Can Bay Pro-Am one to savour at Tin Can Bay Country Club.
A joint winner at Biloela Golf Club two weeks ago, Choat again had company at the top of the leaderboard as Alex Simpson and Josh Clarke matched his total of 7-under 65.
Surprisingly, all three players were in the morning wave, their clubhouse mark unmatched in the afternoon as Harry Goakes, Dean Jamieson and Aaron Maxwell all posted 6-under 66.
Choat had barely signed his scorecard before video of his first ever hole-in-one hit the socials, the 46-year-old raising his arms to the skies when he found his Titleist at the bottom of the cup at the par-3 13th.
“I was playing with Wade Hooper who is probably a foot taller than me,” Choat said.
“He goes, ‘I think that’s gone in.’ He’s calling it on the tee and I can’t see anything.
“I keep walking, walking, walking, Wade gets his camera out and starts filming.
“As soon as I saw it in, it was a massive release because 40 years of golf and none. I’ve had them flying the hole, bounce off the green, spin back, lip out.
“I reckon I can count 10 that should have gone in so to actually have one go in was just huge.”
HOW THE WINNING ROUND UNFOLDED
The 18th hole was Choat’s first and he began with a birdie.
He added two more at two and three but it was two eagles in the space of four holes that provided the backbone to his score.
The first came with a three at the par-5 10th before the long-awaited ace at 13.
Choat birdied 14 to get to 9-under on his round but made double-bogey on his final hole, the par-4 17th.
Like Choat, Simpson began with a birdie at his opening hole, the par-5 eighth, but it was a stretch of four birdies in the space of five holes late in his round that enabled him to match Choat and Clarke at 7-under.
Clarke took a step back with a bogey at his first hole but accumulated eight birdies from that point, six of which came in his final eight holes to also finish at 7-under.
WHAT THE WINNER SAID
“I didn’t really think a win would come from the morning. It was cold and the ground was wet. There was no wind, but I thought we were losing lots of distance with the wet and cold conditions.
“I actually arrived in Townsville with some form and then it quickly dropped off and I really started to doubt myself. Hanging around with a lot of these young players is really good. They talk about their games a lot and it’s a very open forum.
“Through conversations and positivity of some of the young ones, I’ve felt the need to just keep pushing and pushing and it was the second round at Emerald where I really started to find something and I probably haven’t really looked back since.”
LEADERBOARD RUNDOWN
T1 Alex Simpson 65
T1 Anthony Choat 65
T1 Josh Clarke 65
T4 Harry Goakes 66
T4 Dean Jamieson 66
T4 Aaron Maxwell 66
NEXT UP
With a proud history and a record $80,000 in prize money, the Optilease Redcliffe Pro-Am tees off on Thursday with a Tour-quality field to do battle across two rounds at Redcliffe Golf Club.
The final men’s major of the year is upon us, with players descending upon the historic Royal Troon in Scotland for the 152nd Open Championship.
Most recently hosting the 2016 Stenson versus Mickelson showdown, this will be the 10th occasion The Open heads to Royal Troon.
Ten Australasians will be teeing it up, with a strong batch of young stars joining seasoned major champions Jason Day, Adam Scott and 2022 Open Champion, Cameron Smith.
DEFENDING CHAMPION: Brian Harman (USA)
PRIZEMONEY: $US17 million
LIVE SCORES: https://www.theopen.com/leaderboard
TV COVERAGE: The Open Championship is live on Fox Sports, available on Foxtel and Kayo.
*All times AEST.
Round 1: Thursday 3:30pm – Friday 5:30am (Fox Sports 503/Kayo)
Round 2: Friday 3:30pm – Saturday 5:30am (Fox Sports 503/Kayo)
Round 3: Saturday 7pm–8:15am (Fox Sports 507/Kayo), Saturday 9pm–10pm (Fox Sports 505/Kayo), Saturday 10:30pm – Sunday 5am (Fox Sports 503/Kayo)
Final Round: Sunday 6pm – Monday 4am (Fox Sports 503/Kayo)
AUSTRALASIAN PLAYER PROFILES
JASON DAY
Age: 36
The lowdown: Playing in his 12th Open Championship, former world No.1 Day will be hoping to go one better at Royal Troon than he did a year ago at Royal Liverpool. Finishing in a tie for second behind Brian Harman last year was Day’s best finish in The Open, a result which marked a comeback of sorts.
When The Open was last held at Troon, Day finished in a tie for 22nd, which was incredibly his worst result in a major that year.
Day has showed glimpses of his electrifying 2015 form – his PGA Championship victory the pinnacle – but will need more than a glimpse to become a two-time major winner this week.
Although having some encouraging results in 2024, a win has eluded the world No.30, Day’s most recent win coming at the 2023 AT&T Byron Nelson more than 12 months ago.
Having played his way onto the Australian Olympic team for the Paris Games in August, The Open marks the start of a big couple of weeks of golf for Day.
RYAN FOX
Age: 37
The lowdown: Since topping the PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit in 2019, New Zealander Ryan Fox has never looked back, and will this week tee it up in his eighth Open Championship.
With four DP World Tour wins under his belt, Fox is now making waves on the PGA TOUR. His biggest career win came late last year at the BMW PGA Championship in England, where his raw power off the tee was in full flight.
Fox did not play in the 2016 Royal Troon Open and has had a mixed bag of results in the championship. His best finish at The Open came in 2019 at Royal Portrush, a T16 marred only by a disappointing second round.
Although currently ranked 64 in the world, a major win would not look out of place on Fox’s already impressive resume.
MICHAEL HENDRY
Age: 44
The lowdown: Granted a medical exemption to Royal Troon after a diagnosis of leukaemia last April prevented him playing at Royal Liverpool last year, New Zealander Hendry’s comeback to golf has been nothing short of inspirational.
Having qualified last year in the World City Championship in Hong Kong as part of the Open Qualifying Series, Hendry was forced to give up the game for seven months.
Returning through last season’s Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia, Hendry finally gets his chance to take up his well-earned spot.
His return has been highlighted by a win at the For The Players By The Players event on the Japan Golf Tour in May, Hendry reminding everyone that he is a force when his game is on. This will be the New Zealander’s third Open Championship, having played in both 2017 and 2018.
Having missed the cut in his previous two attempts, Hendry will be striving to play all four days at Troon.
DANIEL HILLIER
Age: 25
The lowdown: Plying his trade almost exclusively on the DP World Tour, New Zealander Hillier will be playing in his third Open Championship at Royal Troon.
Hillier’s biggest career win came at last year’s Betfred British Masters, which earned him a spot in the 2023 Open Championship at the final hour.
This season has been relatively lean for Hillier, however a T46 at the Genesis Scottish Open last week spelled a positive bounce-back after a couple of consecutive missed cuts.
KAZUMA KOBORI
Age: 22
The lowdown: Kobori’s fairytale rookie year as a professional continues this week, his spot at Royal Troon thanks to topping last season’s Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit.
It will not be the New Zealander’s first major appearance however, Kobori extended an invite to this year’s US PGA Championship, where he unfortunately missed the cut.
Becoming a three-time winner on the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia months after turning professional, Kobori burst onto the scene and quickly showed the world that he is there to win every time he pegs it up.
With Troon playing long this week, Kobori will have to lean on his famed short game to gain shots on the field.
MIN WOO LEE
Age: 25
The lowdown: Playing in his fourth consecutive Open Championship, Lee is playing some of the best golf of his life right now.
The world No.31 has made an immediate impression in his first year on the PGA TOUR, with two runner-up finishes, the most recent only weeks ago behind fellow Australian Cam Davis at the Rocket Mortgage Classic.
Having had success in Scotland before – Lee won the 2021 Genesis Scottish Open – and taking into consideration his current hot form, Lee may well be Australia’s best hope this week at Royal Troon.
Lee will also be joining Day on the Australian Olympic team headed to Paris the following week.
ADAM SCOTT
Age: 44
The lowdown: Scott’s unbelievable major championship streak continues this week, where he will tee it up in his astonishing 24th Open Championship.
A streak that begun at the 2001 Open Championship, this will be Scott’s 93rd major championship in a row and, remarkably, he comes in playing some of the best golf he has in a long time.
An unbelievable finish from Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre denied Scott victory at last week’s Genesis Scottish Open by a single shot, the runner-up finish the Queenslander’s best this year.
The 2013 Masters Champion has finished just about everywhere on The Open Championship leaderboard except the very top. His best chance came at the 2012 Open at Royal Lytham and St Annes where he gave up a strong lead down the stretch to finish runner-up to Ernie Els agonisingly by one shot.
Scott boasts five career top-10s at The Open, and his playing last week at The Renaissance Club shows he may add to that tally, or perhaps go one better and add a Claret Jug to go with his green jacket.
CAMERON SMITH
Age: 30
The lowdown: The only Australasian past champion in the field, 2022 Open winner Smith showed the world two years ago at St Andrews that he had not only had the game, but the fight to take down the world’s best golfers on the biggest stage of all.
Since hunting down Rory McIlroy and hoisting the Claret Jug, Queenslander Smith has established himself in that group of the world’s best and is always one to watch come major championship time.
Having joined the LIV Golf League following his Open Championship victory, much of Smith’s recent success has come on that circuit. With multiple individual and team wins, including his Ripper GC’s triumph at LIV Adelaide earlier this year, Smith has been keeping up his form for when he returns to the majors.
Smith had a strong week at The Masters this year finishing T6 but failed to ruffle many feathers at the PGA Championship and US Open. The rest of the field have learned to never count Smith out and he should be a strong feature come Sunday.
ELVIS SMYLIE
Age: 22
The lowdown: Having earned his spot in this year’s Open Championship through Final Qualifying, up and coming Queenslander Smylie will make his major championship debut at Royal Troon.
Although making his Open debut, then 14-year-old Smylie was at Royal Troon in 2016 to watch Henrik Stenson and Phil Mickelson put on a showdown for the ages.
Leaning on his long-time mentor Mike Clayton, Smylie has been informed on some of the intricacies of Royal Troon, former tour professional and course architect Clayton having played the course in the 1989 Open Championship.
While still chasing his first professional win, Smylie has already proved in his young career in Australia that he has the ability to go super low, and his playing at Final Qualifying demonstrates that this ability translates to links golf, too.
JASPER STUBBS (a)
Age: 22
The lowdown: A spot in The Open Championship at Royal Troon was one half of the incredible prize that awaited the winner of the 2023 Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship. Having outlasted China’s Wenyi Ding in the playoff at Royal Melbourne, Stubbs secured that prize.
The other half came in April when Stubbs teed it up at The Masters, his week at Augusta one that he will cherish for a lifetime.
The Victorian’s approach to his second major has been slightly different to The Masters. Arriving in Europe more than a month ago, Stubbs has been playing in a number of prestigious amateur events. He qualified for the matchplay section of The Amateur Championship and has been sharpening his game and getting used to British links conditions.
Having missed the cut at The Masters, that is Stubbs’ primary goal for this week. Ahead of that he has his eyes set on low amateur honours, and beyond that, the Claret Jug.
THE COURSE
Originally designed by George Strath and Willie Fernie in 1888, Royal Troon’s Old Course was later redesigned and lengthened by James Braid in 1923. Martin Ebert was also brought in to make slight changes to Troon specifically for this year’s Open.
The first six holes follow the sea, the course sitting on the West Coast of Scotland. Often played downwind, this opening offers players the best chance to score.
Turning inland from the seventh hole onwards, this part of the course is where Royal Troon earns its name as one of the toughest tests of golf on The Open rota.
The eighth hole at Royal Troon is one of the most famous holes in the world. The shortest hole The Open Championship visits, “Postage Stamp” is a stout 112 metres, however its skinny and heavily sloped green protects it well.
The 11th hole, “The Railway”, is also famous at Troon for both its beauty and difficulty. With a railway line marking out-of-bounds all down the right, players face a blind tee-shot to a relatively narrow fairway. Beyond that, a lengthy second shot into a small green awaits.
Since its most recent hosting in 2016, where Phil Mickelson and Henrik Stenson were able to post scores of 17-under and 20-under respectively, Royal Troon has been significantly lengthened.
Now stretching to 7,385 yards (6,753 metres), Royal Troon will be playing incredibly long, and scoring will be largely dictated by the ferocity of the wind.
(Photo by Ross Parker/R&A/R&A via Getty Images)
Jasper Stubbs is in new territory, but still has a familiar feeling as he confronts his first Open Championship at Royal Troon this week.
The 23-year-old Melbourne amateur has been watching the Open on television in the wee, small hours at home for years; his first memory of the tournament, albeit not a pleasant one, was Adam Scott’s meltdown with four consecutive bogeys to finish in a loss to Ernie Els at Royal Lytham in 2012.
More enjoyable was his visit with family to watch the final day at Royal Liverpool in 2014 when Rory McIlroy had his coronation. “It was an awesome experience,” he said this week. “We waited in the grandstand for six hours on 18 for them all to come through and watched the winning putt.”
Stubbs in the field at Troon as a benefit of having won the Asia-Pacific Amateur at Royal Melbourne last October, a victory that also secured a start for him in the Masters at Augusta National in April, where he missed the cut.
He is one of six Australians playing this week.
The Peninsula Kingswood member and member of Golf Australia’s High Performance programs has been in Europe for an extended period including a trip to play the European Amateur, and he had already played Troon twice prior to this week as part of his preparation.
Consecutive birdies on the famous eighth, the Postage Stamp, were a highlight of his practise; downwind a the 623-yard (580-metre) par-5 sixth hole he got home with a 3-iron, but also noticed players not reaching with 3 woods on a different day.
He senses a desire with the tees pushed back for a tougher test after Henrik Stenson’s record-breaking win at Troon in 2016 at 20-under par ahead of Phil Mickelson in one of the sport’s greatest head-to-head duels.
“It’s an amazing golf course,” Stubbs said. “It’s obviously pretty close to a true links. It’s seven out, two in a little loop and nine back in. It’s cool to play golf that way.
“I like it, but it’s a brutal golf course once that wind gets up. The back nine is going to play super tough with a few new tees they’ve put in since Phil and Stenson played here. They want some higher scores, I think.”
Stubbs’ experience at the Masters was incredible and he feels that it has prepared him well for this week. “It was my first major. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect that week. Coming into this week I’ve got more expectation of what major golf looks like, I’ve seen what the best in the world do, and I think I’ve adapted to what they do.
“It feels a bit more like home, but it’s still going to be a nerve-wracking. I’m going to get on the first tee and I’ll be nervous, but that’s cool.”
Stubbs is not planning to rush into turning pro. He is headed soon to the United States to play the US Amateur and the Western Amateur, and also intends playing the Asia-Pacific Amateur in Japan later this year. “From there, we’ll see how we go,” he said.
PHOTO: Jasper Stubbs checks out Troon with caddie Simon Clark this week. Image: Getty
Converted birdie chances and crucial par saves were the cornerstone as Euan Walters claimed a three-stroke win at the Belle Property Mt Coolum Legends Pro-Am at Mt Coolum Golf Club.
Although a Victorian through and through, Walters has always had an affinity with the putting surfaces in Queensland and found the Mt Coolum greens very much to his liking.
Renowned for its tight fairways, Mt Coolum kept most players in check, Walters picking up six birdies in his round of 4-under 68 to win by three.
Recent PGA Legends Tour winners Simon Tooman and Chris Taylor shared second at 1-under 71 with Mike Harwood with four players a further shot back in a tie for fifth.
It is Walters’ second win of the 2024 season and moves him up to seventh on the Order of Merit.
“The hole looked a bit bigger today and I managed to hit it where I was aiming it, so I think it was just my day,” said Walters.
“There were a couple of tee shots that were pretty ordinary but I loved the greens out there.
“They were true – as most Queensland greens are – and I did manage to put well, which was great.”
HOW THE WINNING ROUND UNFOLDED
One-under through four holes, it took a late surge for Walters to separate himself from the field.
He birdied his third hole – the par-5 sixth – but dropped a shot soon after at the par-4 ninth.
A birdie at the par-3 10th got Walters back in red figures and despite a second bogey at 16, birdies at 15, 17, two and three ensured a comfortable margin of victory.
WHAT THE WINNER SAID
“I putted really well all day,” said Walters.
“It wasn’t all plain sailing, but I’d chip it to 10 foot and then hole the putt for par.
“They kept the round going – I did that a couple of times – and then hit it close to the hole a couple of times and holed those.”
LEADERBOARD RUNDOWN
1 Euan Walters 68
T2 Michael Harwood 71
T2 Simon Tooman 71
T2 Chris Taylor 71
T5 Stephen Woodhead 72
T5 Scott Laycock 72
T5 Marcus Cain 72
T5 Brad Burns 72
NEXT UP
The PGA Legends Tour has a short break before resuming with a two-tournament stint in Toowoomba, starting with the Advanced Electrical Toowoomba GC Legends Pro Am at Toowoomba Golf Club on July 25.
Connor McDade didn’t believe 5-under was enough yet his morning score could not be bettered as five players joined him at the top of the leaderboard at the Maryborough Pro-Am.
McDade was out in the morning wave at Maryborough Golf Club and despite starting with a bogey, recovered sufficiently to shoot 65 and give the afternoon players something to chase.
And chase they did.
Brady Watt, James Marchesani, Ben Henkel, Bailey Arnott and James Conran all got to 5-under but none would surpass it, joining McDade with a share of victory.
“It’s a good bunch of guys to share it with,” said McDade after his second adidas PGA Pro-Am Series win.
“I honestly kind of counted myself out of it a little bit. I saw there were maybe five or six guys that were within a shot with nine holes to play.
“I’m not really sure how 5-under held up, but it did, so I’ll take that for sure.”
HOW THE WINNING ROUND UNFOLDED
Six players ended the day at 5-under but they did so in a variety of ways.
After an opening bogey on three, McDade responded with three consecutive birdies from the fifth hole to get his scorecard heading in the right direction.
Along with birdies at his first and final holes the highlight of Watt’s round was an eagle at the par-4 sixth while Marchesani finished eagle-birdie after finding himself 2-over early in his round.
Conran needed four birdies in his final six holes to join the leaderboard logjam, Arnott had four straight birdies in the middle of his round while Henkel was 6-under through nine holes before also finishing at 5-under.
WHAT THE WINNER SAID
“Kind of just proved to myself again that I can compete out here and compete with some of these players that have played a lot of good golf in their career,” who was the joint winner with Arnott and Henkel at the JET Group Clermont Pro-Am.
“The two wins I’ve had, I’ve been over-par through one hole, so I wasn’t too phased by it. I know that there’s birdies out here, so I just kept doing my thing and saw what happened.
“It’s good to share a win with players such as those guys. They’ve done a lot more than I have in a professional sense… but wouldn’t mind winning an event without Bailey and Ben Henkel there.”
LEADERBOARD RUNDOWN
T1 Connor McDade 65
T1 Brady Watt 65
T1 James Marchesani 65
T1 James Conran 65
T1 Ben Henkel 65
T1 Bailey Arnott 65
T7 Josh Clarke 66
T7 Brett Rankin 66
NEXT UP
Tin Can Bay Country Club hosts the NewGen Caravans Tin Can Bay Pro-Am on Tuesday followed by the $80,000 Optilease Redcliffe Pro-Am starting Thursday.
Elvis Smylie didn’t think it would take this long to play his first Open Championship.
That may seem outlandish for a young man who turned 22 in April, but almost everyone who watched his meteoric entry into the world of professional golf thought the same.
Why wouldn’t you when, as a 19-year-old amateur, he very nearly won the very first Webex Players Series Victoria event at Rosebud Country Club in January 2021.
Beating the pros while still an amateur is a rite of passage for the very elite, but it was the way in which Smylie finished second that started the frenzy.
Tied for 97th after a 75 on day one, Smylie stormed home with matching 8-under 63s on the weekend to finish just one back of Brad Kennedy
A month later, in his first event as a professional, Smylie was tied for third at Webex Players Series Sydney. Three weeks after that, he was tied for second at the NSW Open at Concord Golf Club.
Within the space of two months he had exploded into golf’s consciousness, climbing from a 1,571st-ranked amateur to the 494th-best player on the planet with the world at his feet.
A few months later he was taking up sponsor invitations to play against the likes of Sergio Garcia, Viktor Hovland and Martin Kaymer on the DP World Tour, but the transition has been far from seamless.
While he continued to showcase his considerable talent on home soil, the silky left-hander missed the cut in all 10 DP World Tour events he has played on foreign soil to date.
It wasn’t supposed to be this way, yet a 22-year-old wise beyond his years now believes it is the path he was destined to take.
“Looking back on it, I think it’s been a blessing in disguise,” says Smylie ahead of his major championship debut at The Open Championship at Royal Troon this week.
“Everything that I’ve gone through from Rosebud to now is going to help shape me into the person that I’ll be in five, 10 years’ time.
“As much as it’s a little bit odd saying this, maybe it’s a good thing that everything’s happened this way.
“I’ve learned how to dig deep at certain times and get myself out of little holes that I’d been in. “As time’s gone on, I think I’ve appreciated everything that has happened. I’ve got a better perspective on how I can manage everything as well as I can moving forward.”
Sporting blood
Expectation is nothing new to Elvis Smylie.
Father Peter played doubles at three tennis Grand Slam championships and mother, Liz, featured in 13 doubles Grand Slam finals, winning the women’s doubles at Wimbledon in 1985 and the mixed doubles with fellow Australian John Fitzgerald at the 1983 US Open.
Yet while he played as a junior, tennis was never their youngest child’s calling.
“With tennis, you always needed somebody to hit with,” Smylie reasons.
“At the time, my two sisters were living overseas, my mum’s knee was no good and my dad wasn’t in the best shape.”
Growing up living at The Glades on the Gold Coast, golf was always available, and Smylie took every opportunity to feed his insatiable passion for the game.
A torch enabled extra practice on the chipping green late into the evening but it would be Adam Scott’s Masters win in 2013 that proved pivotal in setting Smylie’s path.
“I was at Southport Golf Club and about to go out and play,” he recalls of that fateful Monday morning.
“I was 11 at the time and stuff like that gave me goosebumps.
“Seeing Adam win I was like, ‘That’s what I want to do for a career’.”
Although he has gravitated towards a different sporting pursuit to his accomplished parents, Smylie says that their understanding of professional sport has been vital in navigating the challenging waters of injury and inconsistent form the past two years.
“You have a respect for Mum and Dad knowing that they’ve gone through what I’m going through, just in a different sport,” Smylie adds.
“It’s a very lonely sport, golf, and it’s very important to be able to surround yourself with people that not only want the best for you as a golfer but want the best for you as a person.
“Especially when you’re in those moments that aren’t very nice. Those moments where you’re missing cuts, you really have to rely on those people that are close to you, like your parents.
“To be able to give you that perspective of tough times won’t always last and just keep building towards what you think is the right path.”
Open learnings
Smylie had barely got his clubs in the car after finishing in a tie for second at Final Qualifying at Royal Cinque Ports two weeks ago before messages on Troon came flooding in from Mike Clayton.
A nine-time Open starter – including at Royal Troon in 1989 – Clayton has served as caddie and confidante during Smylie’s formative years in professional golf.
He is one of the most respected voices in world golf and shapes as an ace up Smylie’s sleeve, albeit from tens of thousands of kilometres away.
“He sent me a great e-mail with what to look out for at Troon,” says Smylie.
“The first six holes are the holes that you need to make your score on. And then the back six, I think from 13 to 18, the prevailing wind is straight into your face off the left, so you’re going to have to hit a lot of those low bullet shots that I’m quite familiar and comfortable with.
“Heading into the week, I’ve got a pretty good idea on what shots are required and how I’m going to come up with a really good game plan.”
It won’t be Smylie’s first time to Troon, having attended The Open with his parents as a 14-year-old back in 2016.
It was his first exposure to links golf and sprinkled an additional layer of inspiration into his competitive DNA.
There are plans afoot to play practice rounds with Adam Scott and Min Woo Lee – which could also include Viktor Hovland and Rory McIlroy – but Smylie does not view his debut Open Championship as an end-goal he has finally reached.
No, this is the start of the journey he now feels finally ready to begin.
“I do feel like I belong and I do feel like I can compete,” says Smylie, who joined the Ritchie Smith coaching stable in January after a long association with Ian Triggs.
“I’ve spoken to Min briefly about it and he is a really good guy to be able to try and learn off and see what areas of his game make him a top-30 player in the world.
“To be fair, I don’t feel like I’m too far away from that. I just need to have more experience.
“This is going to be a great stepping stone for me in the right direction.”
Photo: Tom Dulat/R&A/R&A via Getty Images
