Want to recieve exclusive news, videos, tournament highlights, golf important tips and more ?
Want to recieve exclusive news, videos, tournament highlights, golf important tips and more ?
They’ve been boyhood rivals and teamed up against their old man, now Pickin brothers Bryce and Jye are sharing the professional stage.
Two years Bryce’s junior, Jye (pictured, right) turned professional in May of last year after an amateur career highlighted by victory at the 2023 South Australian Amateur and countless Golf NSW representative teams.
The Newcastle native made an immediate impression on the professional game by taking out one of the most coveted events on the adidas PGA Pro-Am Series just months later, shooting a course record 62 in Round 2 to win the PSC Insurance Brokers Wagga Wagga Pro-Am.
Jye is the lone Pickin in the field for this week’s Webex Players Series Murray River tournament at Cobram Barooga Golf Club, the 24-year-old hoping to further advance his position on the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit.
Bryce’s entry into professional golf has come via a different path.
The left-hander was also an outstanding amateur who played pennants alongside Jye for Avondale Golf Club in Sydney and won the boys division of the 2018 Faldo Series Australia Championship. Ladies European Tour player, Kelsey Bennett, won the girls division.
Yet a move into professional golf would come later. He flirted with a move into full-time work before taking up a position in the golf shop at Newcastle Golf Club.
For someone Jye says is a golf tragic, it was the perfect mix of employment and passion.
It led directly to Bryce starting the PGA of Australia’s Membership Pathway Program last year under Andrew Bowles at Newcastle Golf Club.
Bryce’s performances in the MPP tournaments in 2024, where he won three times, earned him an invite to make his Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia debut at the PNG Open last August where he and Jye played a Tour event together for the first time.
Bryce received another invite to play Webex Players Series Perth where he not only made the cut, but he and Jye were paired together for Round 3 at Royal Fremantle Golf Club.
“Oh, this was the dream. Absolutely,” said 26-year-old Bryce of playing on Tour.
“It feels a little bit surreal. It’s awesome.
“When I started the Membership Pathway Program, I started to play OK. Got a little bit of Tour status and then the opportunities came.”
Jye got the better of the brotherly battle that day in Perth to the tune of 70-75 yet the collective experience outweighed any thought of one-upmanship.
“It was pretty surreal. It was awesome,” said Bryce. “We played so many Saturdays together; it’s pretty different here.”
“I feel like it relaxed the nerves a whole lot for sure, seeing him walking onto the first tee,” added Jye, who went on to finish tied for 15th.
“Obviously a Saturday of a Tour event is pretty cool. And then to play with your brother is awesome again.
“To have that sibling rivalry is something that we’ve had since we were 10 years old. To have it at this level was priceless.
“To come to a tour event and for him to be sleeping in the room next to me and doing everything together, it’s awesome. It has that home feel to it as well, which is even better for players that travel so much.
“To have your brother alongside you is awesome.”
While the rivalry will never leave completely – they were joint winners with Robbie Minns of the Wyong PGA Open Match last June – the pair did team up as kids to get one up on the old man.
“We had a bet between us of our combined handicaps against our Dad’s handicap,” Jye recalled.
“The first time we beat him, he played in the morning at Charlestown and we both played in the afternoon.”
“We were having a swim in the pool at around six o’clock when the scores went into GolfLink and we pipped him,” said Bryce.
“He was like 8.1 or 8.2 and we were 4.1 and 3.9.”
Adds Jye: “Deep down I think he was happy to hand over the dozen balls.”
Lucas Herbert is set to return to Queenstown for the New Zealand Open presented by Sky Sport in what will be his fourth start on the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia this season.
The event, which takes place at Millbrook Resort between February 27 and March 2, promises to deliver world-class competition, with Herbert among the top players gunning for a share of the NZ$2 million prize pool.
Herbert, part of the 2024 LIV Golf team championship winning Ripper GC, owns five professional wins, including the Bermuda Championship on the PGA TOUR, three victories on the DP World Tour and most recently the Ford NSW Open on his local Tour.
A runner-up in 2020 when finishing two shots back of fellow Aussie Brad Kennedy, Herbert is excited to be making his way back to world renowned region to contest a national Open.
“I’m absolutely stoked to be returning to Queenstown for the New Zealand Open,” Herbert said.
“It’s one of the most beautiful places I’ve played, and since I last played at Millbrook Resort all I keep hearing is how the tournament is growing and getting better and better.
“The courses are challenging, the crowds are great, and the competition is always top-notch. I’m really looking forward to being a part of such a fantastic event and seeing if I can go one better.”
Herbert’s return to the New Zealand Open adds to a field already filled with top-tier professionals who will contest the pro-am format event that is co-sanctioned by the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia and Asian Tours and in partnership with the Japan Golf Tour.
“We’re thrilled to have Lucas heading back to Queenstown next month,” Tournament Director Michael Glading said.
“He is a very exciting player to watch, having come really close a few years ago and we know fans are going to be thrilled to see him in action. With Lucas joining an already competitive field, this year’s New Zealand Open is shaping up to be one of the strongest fields we have ever had.”
The 104th New Zealand Open tees off at Millbrook Resort in Queenstown from February 27 to March 2.
Approaching his 51st birthday next month, Michael Wright says he is playing the best golf of his life and he converted it into a playoff victory over Jak Carter at Webex Players Series Victoria today.
A par on the second playoff hole – after the veteran Queenslander hit an exquisite bunker shot to inside a metre – shut out South Australian Carter who stumbled to a double-bogey to lose a third playoff of the season on the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia.
A victor on Tour for the first time since the 2011 WA PGA Championship, Wright shot a final-round of 2-under-par 68 at Rosebud Country Club, while Carter, 10th overnight, stormed up the leaderboard with an equal best round of the day, a 6-under 64, to finish at 15-under-par.
Victorian Andrew Martin and Queenslander Brad Kennedy shared third place, one shot out of the playoff, after both shot final rounds of 68.
Heading out for the final round as joint leader with Corey Lamb, Wright, who has his scratch-golfer son Noah as fulltime caddie, pulled clear by three shots after birdies at the eighth and 10th holes.
But a bogey on the long par-4 15th, after Carter had birdied 16 and 17, left them level until the playoff was over.
“It feels fantastic (to win) and to have my son on the bag too made it even more special,” the PGA TOUR Champions member said.
“This was one for the old boys. It’s pretty cool.”
Wright says he’s a more relaxed golfer compared to when he was full-time on the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia where he had five top-10 finishes in 2023 before going on to successfully negotiate PGA TOUR Champions Qualifying School.
He finished his rookie season in the US 52nd on the moneylist, highlighted by two top-10 finishes.
As he prepares to return to America for a second campaign, Wright said such a win is testament to playing against the likes of major winners Bernhard Langer, Ernie Els, Stewart Cink, Fred Couples and Justin Leonard every week.
“Having played over on the Champions for a year now has given me a lot of experience,” he said.
“I’ve never been on a tour where I’ve played week in, week out. Playing on that tour, I played 23 events and it was like playing 23 Australian Opens.”
Carter has now experienced the disappointment of a playoff loss at the WA Open, Queensland PGA and at Rosebud in the 2024/25 season but has climbed to 10th on the Order of Merit.
After being the joint leader with Wright after rounds two and three, Lamb (73) endured a difficult Sunday with an uncooperative putter to drop to 10-under-par. His only birdie on Sunday came at the par-4 fifth.
Reigning Vic Open champion, Ashley Lau (Malaysia), ended up as highest-placed woman, in equal seventh at 11-under after two rounds of 68 at the weekend.
Queensland’s Cassie Porter (68) and WA’s Abbie Teasdale (68) finished strongly at 10-under but their 2025 campaigns will now head in different directions – Porter to the LPGA Tour for the first time and Teasdale to Webex Players Series Murray River next week.
Kelsey Bennett’s 65 was the low Sunday round for the women and lifted her to a tie for 28th.
Carter’s 64 was matched by Cam John as the men’s best score in the final round, John joining those in a share of seventh.
The Webex Players Series Victoria All Abilities title was won by Curlewis Golf Club’s Noah Schammer (72-73), who finished two shots ahead of Sandy Links-based professional Tom Ryan (72-75).
It’s the 16-year-old plus-3 handicapper’s first Webex Players Series title.
The top two will meet again at Cobram Barooga next weekend.
Riversdale Golf Club’s Arena Tran (71-73) won the Webex Players Series Juniors event thanks to holing from off the green on the first hole of a playoff against Huntingdale’s Elbert Kim (69-75).
A sensational career-best run of seven straight birdies to start his round has helped to lift Michael Wright into a share of the lead with ultra-consistent Corey Lamb, giving him the chance to end a 14-year title wait at Webex Players Series Victoria.
At age 50, Wright, who finished with a 5-under-par 65, will tomorrow seek his first Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia victory since the WA PGA in 2011.
Meanwhile, Lamb, who had a 1-under 69 today, will desperately want to end his run of near-misses on Tour which has included three runner-up finishes in the past 18 months.
The duo sit at 13-under-par, two clear of Queenslanders Brad Kennedy (62) and Jake McLeod (71), Victorian Andrew Martin (66) and Wales’ Lydia Hall (68).
Fourteen players will start Sunday within four shots of the lead, setting up a super showdown on the Mornington Peninsula.
After starting the third round four shots adrift of Lamb and McLeod, Wright surged into the lead with a remarkable string of birdies from the first to the seventh, just two short of the all-time Tour record.
The par-3 eighth hole ended the streak – and in a big way – with the PGA TOUR Champions member finding the ditch in front of the green and walking off with a double-bogey.
“That was a lot of fun that first seven holes,” Wright, a three-time winner on Tour, said.
“I’ve never done that before and I wish I could keep doing it every time I play because it’s a lot of fun making that many birdies.
“I sort of said after a couple ‘oh, you can’t birdie ’em all if you don’t be the first two’. And I said it again after three and four and five and then it’s seven.
“And then I come back to reality on eight. Didn’t hit that bad a shot, but it wasn’t good enough. I just got punished, a severe penalty there and hit a poor putt.
“I actually played pretty nice on the back nine, to be honest. The putts just didn’t drop, whereas they dropped a bit on the front.”
Lamb held the outright lead at -14 until he bogeyed the final hole – only his third dropped shot on the opening three days.
“It was sort of a slow day,” the NSW Hunter Valley pro said.
“It was good to not have my best stuff and still come out on top (of the leaderboard).”
Wright wasn’t the only 50-year-old to have a good Saturday at Rosebud.
Playing in just the fifth group of the day, Queensland’s Brad Kennedy shot the low round of the event so far, an 8-under-par 62, to rocket onto the leaderboard at -11.
The Japan Golf Tour regular, who won this event three years ago, parred his first three holes but then birdied five of his next six, the only missing piece being a bogey at Wright’s nemesis, the par-3 eighth.
He then had a similar birdie splurge on the back nine, picking up shots on 11, 12, 13 and 15. His chance at a 59 disappeared with a par on the gettable par-5 16th,
“The last two days, it’s been a bit scrappy,” Kennedy said.
“Today I really started to keep consistent one shot after another and got my putter back online. So it was nice to see a lot of putts drop today.
“Hitting off at 20 past nine is never a good thing on a Saturday, but it also sometimes gives you an option to free wheel it and really push yourself forward.”
After an up-and-down day, Lydia Hall (68) saved her best for the 18th hole where she holed out from 140m with a six-iron for an eagle to jump from T9 to the group in third on 11-under, the Welsh visitor remaining the leading women’s contender with a round to play.
“It was kind of slipping away after double on 15,” Hall said.
“Happy with that finish and hopefully I can do a bit more tomorrow.”
Impressive Victorian amateur Jazy Roberts is just three shots behind after producing a 67 today, including a run of four straight birdies on the front nine, to follow opening rounds of 67-66.
LPGA Tour-bound Cassie Porter improved her position with a 65 to be five back.
Sandy Links-based professional Tom Ryan and amateur Noah Schammer lead the All Abilities event after opening 72s, eight clear of their nearest challenger.
The leading junior is Elbert Kim, from Huntingdale Golf Club, who carded a 69.
TV COVERAGE: Webex Players Series Victoria is live on Fox Sports, available on Foxtel and Kayo.
*All times AEDT.
Final Round: Sunday 1pm-6pm (Fox Sports 503/Kayo)
A player looking to return to the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia Tour winner’s list after a lengthy absence and another who has been so close to a breakthrough first victory over the summer are the joint leaders at the halfway mark of Webex Players Series Victoria.
The former is Queensland’s Jake McLeod (62-66) who is back in contention for the second straight tournament after finishing equal fifth at Webex Players Series Perth a fortnight ago.
The latter is NSW’s Corey Lamb (63-65) who appears to the next in line to be a first-time winner on Tour, with three runner-up finishes and a third placing in the past 18 months.
At 12-under-par at Rosebud Country Club, the duo lead Andrew Campbell (64-66) by two shots.
The two leading women, last week’s Drummond Golf Melbourne International winner, WA’s Abbie Teasdale (65-66), and Welsh visitor Lydia Hall (64-67), share fourth place with Queenslander Blake Proverbs (66-65) at 9-under.
McLeod, whose last win on Tour came in 2018 when we went on to claim that season’s Order of Merit title, started the second round with a one-shot lead and built that to five by the time Lamb teed off for his afternoon round.
His 66 in much more favourable conditions than Thursday’s windswept afternoon included seven birdies to take his two-day total to 13, plus an eagle.
However he slipped up with three bogeys on day two, including two very unexpected ones on par-5s.
“I did a good job today. Played pretty nicely for the most part,” McLeod said.
“I just feel like I’m hitting the ball so nicely and haven’t really put myself into any trouble, which has been good.
“I think the weather is looking good, so it’ll probably be a little easier on the weekend.”
Finished by lunchtime, McLeod was expecting someone in the chasing group to catch him later in the day and Lamb achieved just that by holing a lengthy birdie putt on his second last hole, the par-3 eighth.
“Today was pretty average, I thought,” the former NSW and Queensland Junior Amateur champion said.
“I sort of got away with a few shots that I probably shouldn’t have.”
“I’m good mates with ‘Clouds’ (McLeod), so it’ll be a fun day tomorrow, I’m sure.”
Third-placed Campbell, another player who has been on many leaderboards in the past two seasons without finishing with the trophy on Sunday, has had just one bogey in the windy conditions – at the par-4 12th – today.
Hall kept her status as the leading woman, this time sharing the honours, after bouncing back from a double-bogey at the par-4 sixth with a run of three consecutive birdies to finish the front nine.
In just her third pro event, Teasdale completed her second nine today in just 31 strokes to move into contention.
Also in the mix at 8-under-par, four shots back, is 50-year-old Queenslander Michael Wright (65-67) who is getting himself ready for a new PGA Champions season after a solid debut campaign last year which saw him finish 54th in the Charles Schwab Cup standings with two top-10 finishes.
This week will be his last start for the summer on the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia before he heads back to the United States.
“It’s always good to come back and play in your home country and especially against the young guys because I’ve been playing with geriatrics all year,” Wright joked.
“It was real challenging actually the last two days with the wind being so strong. It was a little bit stronger yesterday than today, but it was definitely a challenge.
“I’m really happy with the way I’ve been playing in the wind.”
LPGA Tour-bound Cassie Porter birdied three of her last four holes to safely make the weekend play at 3-under following a day two 68.
Thailand’s Colcheva Wongras climbed into the top 10 with the low women’s round of the day, a 5-under 65, while Victorian amateur Jazy Roberts and former Athena champion Grace Lennon carded 4-under 66s. Roberts shares eighth place, while Lennon climbed to T41.
The father-daughter duo of Peter and Chloe Wilson, at 2-over and 17-over respectively, both missed the halfway cut which came at 2-under-par.
TV COVERAGE: Webex Players Series Victoria is live on Fox Sports, available on Foxtel and Kayo.
*All times AEDT.
Round 3: Saturday 3pm-6pm (Fox Sports 503/Kayo)
Final Round: Sunday 1pm-6pm (Fox Sports 503/Kayo)
Harry McMillan knows that the world of golf is now open to him after completing the Membership Pathway Program by being named the 2024 PGA of Australia Associate of the Year.
Now employed as an Assistant Professional at The Lakes Golf Club where he was offered an opportunity to begin the MPP after writing a letter, McMillan scored 69 in his final exam and finished with a playing average of 0.63.
Nominated for the award by his supervising Professional, Russell Skennerton, McMillan received the majority vote by the Vocational Members Council and has been lauded as a worthy recipient.
For McMillan, his PGA credentials represent the necessary grounding to build a career in golf.
“You’re always a little bit surprised when you receive such high praise and recognition is awarded to you,” said McMillan.
“It was just nice recognition for the efforts given at The Lakes, both with the assignments, playing well in the four-rounders this year and helping out around The Lakes both with member events and then helping with the juniors where I can.”
In putting forth the nomination, Skennerton highlighted the ways in which McMillan has positively contributed to The Lakes over the past three years.
“Harry has an outstanding work ethic and he always puts the business first before any personal needs that he has,” Skennerton wrote.
“He is always willing to stay back or work an extra shift where needed.
“He accepts responsibility for jobs that go way beyond his scope as an Associate Member.”
Introduced to golf by his father growing up in Coffs Harbour on the New South Wales North Coast, McMillan was a talented soccer player and cricketer.
It wasn’t until the age of 16 that he made golf his priority and saw a way to make a career in the sport through the Membership Pathway Program.
And he didn’t have to look far for inspiration.
Good friend Bill Stocks completed the MPP at Bonville Golf Resort south of Coffs Harbour and after stints at Cape Kidnappers and Kauri Cliffs in New Zealand is now working at prestigious Southampton Golf Club in New York.
“We’re lucky in that the PGA of Australia is so highly regarded amongst other countries such as the US, throughout Europe and Asia,” said McMillan.
“It’s pretty cool to be able bounce around the world off the back of being a PGA Member. And I think having The Lakes Golf Club as an employer for the past four years will go a long way, too, if I was to explore opportunities over there.”
Although he has aspirations to move into management roles at golf clubs in future, McMillan first wants to scratch the itch of seeing whether he can play on Tour.
Winner of the Wagga Wagga Associate Pro-Am and 12th at the PGA Associate National Championships in November, McMillan will attend Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia Qualifying School in April buoyed by how his game has developed through weekly matches over the past three years of the MPP.
“As a player, I’ve certainly become a lot more consistent through the program,” he added.
“Having to play majority of Mondays, different golf courses, different conditions each week, learning to adapt and know your game a little more rather than just playing at your home club week in, week out and then trying to go and win an amateur event or even professional events.
“It’s good just having something to play each week and just your game, develop your skills a little bit.
“The reason I went down the MPP path instead of putting all your eggs in the one basket, being able to get in and secure a PGA Membership as a Vocational Member.
“You can then explore management roles down the track, whether that’s immediately after or in 10 years’ time.
“That’s the advantage of doing the Membership Pathway Program.”
Defying the strong afternoon winds that hit Rosebud Country Club, Queensland’s Jake McLeod surpassed his own expectations to take the outright lead after round one of Webex Players Series Victoria.
McLeod thought early on that a 2-under-par score that would leave him five shots behind the morning leaders would be a pleasing result given the difficult conditions he was facing.
He ended up smashing that mark, posting an 8-under-par 62, including playing the last six holes in 5-under, to lead NSW-based trio Corey Lamb, Harrison Crowe and Nathan Barbieri by a shot.
It’s the second consecutive Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia event that McLeod has led after round one. He ended up finishing equal fifth at Webex Players Series Perth at Royal Fremantle.
“Once we got to about hole eight, (the wind) started pumping. It was pretty crazy out there,” the former Order of Merit champion said.
“I was only a couple under at that time and I was just hoping to finish a couple under, to be honest, in that wind.
“I never really hit any trouble. It was pretty much every fairway, most probably 16 greens or something, so that was very impressive in that sort of wind, being able to control the ball like that.”
Lamb, Crowe and Barbieri all played in the benign morning conditions, as did the leading woman, Lydia Hall from Wales, and another New South Welshman, Andrew Campbell, who finished with 6-under-par 64s.
With two T2s and a third place on his record this season to be seventh overall on the Order of Merit, Lamb is the highest ranked player on the season long points list in the field this week and he played like it today with seven birdies and no bogeys on his card.
Playing his first event for 2025, the 23-year-old rattled home with four birdies in his closing six holes.
Lamb was quick to sing the praises of his new Callaway Elyte driver which kept him on the short grass on all but one occasion after a pre-event tweak worked almost to perfection.
“It is pretty elite,” he said.
“I didn’t really like it on Tuesday and then Coops (Daniel Cooper), the Callaway guy, put it down a degree (from 10.5 to 9.5 degrees) and it come out a lot better. I thought ‘Why not give it a go? I mean, I love new stuff, so it was, why not?’.”
“I feel comfortable hitting it.”
Crowe, who had top-10s at both the BMW Australian PGA Championship and ISPS HANDA Australian Open, is also chasing the benefits a strong Order of Merit finish can bring and has committed to playing the rest of the local Tour season.
“I had a really, really lovely break over Christmas,” he said.
“I think I had about three or four weeks off the clubs, so definitely come back very refreshed for sure.”
Barbieri hit 16 out of 18 greens in his bogey-free 63 on one of his favourite courses on Tour to visit.
“A lot of people think this is my home track,” Barbieri said.
“I’m obviously from Sydney, so this is my home track in Melbourne, I think. I don’t mind this joint. It suits my game well and everything sort of falls together here which is nice.”
Former Ladies British Masters champion Lydia Hall may be from much further away from the Mornington Peninsula, around 17,000km in fact, but doesn’t mean the Welshwoman doesn’t feel at home.
“Australia is always a place that I love to come to,” Hall said.
“Last year was a bit scrappy on the European Tour, but I managed to finish it off with a nice win at Duntryleague. So the form has been good and I played solidly today.
“I absolutely love playing with the guys. They’re so aggressive with their golf and there’s so much to be learned and respected from their game.
“I did pretty well a couple of years ago here. I think it was in the last couple of groups and finished sixth to 10th. So I’ve had good memories from this course.”
Another person right at home at Rosebud, the three-time club champion James Marchesani, threatened to go very low on day one, turning in six-under-par 29.
Playing alongside his brother Anthony, the reigning Rosebud club champion, Marchesani’s momentum stalled with a bogey on his 10th hole, the par-4 first, and he eventually came home in 1-over 36 to post a 5-under-par 65. Anthony carded a 1-over 71.
Reigning Vic Open champion Ashley Lau and West Australian Abbie Teasdale, who won the Drummond Golf Melbourne International last week, are the second highest-placed women, at 5-under.
Peter and Chloe Wilson created history when they teed off, becoming the first father-daughter combination to play professionally in the same Tour event, Peter eventually taking the family honours with a 68 to Chloe’s 78.
TV COVERAGE: Webex Players Series Victoria is live on Fox Sports, available on Foxtel and Kayo.
*All times AEDT.
Round 3: Saturday 3pm-6pm (Fox Sports 503/Kayo)
Final Round: Sunday 1pm-6pm (Fox Sports 503/Kayo)
Japanese golf sensation Ryo Ishikawa will headline a strong contingent of players from Japan competing in the New Zealand Open when the tournament tees off of on February 27 at Millbrook Resort in Queenstown.
The New Zealand Open, presented by Sky Sport, will see Ishikawa join 2024 New Zealand Open Champion Takahiro Hataji as the headline players from the Japan Golf Tour.
Ishikawa, 33, has enjoyed a storied career both on the PGA Tour and the Japan Golf Tour, with 21 professional victories to his name and a reputation for his impressive ball-striking and calm demeanour under pressure.
“I’m excited to visit New Zealand and compete in the Open,” Ishikawa said.
“I have heard a lot about the tournament and the courses at Millbrook Resort from the other players on tour who have played in the event, and everything I have heard has been really positive.”
The New Zealand Open is the only national Open in the world to be played as a pro-am, has grown in stature over the years, attracting golfers from around the world.
It is co-sanctioned by the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia and the Asian Tour.
“We are thrilled to welcome Ryo Ishikawa and all of the Japanese players to this year’s New Zealand Open,” said Tournament Director Michael Glading.
“I first spoke to Ryo in Japan a few years ago, and have never given up on bringing him to New Zealand. He really is an icon in the golfing world, and I know that will certainly add huge excitement to the field.
“It’s an honour to have such a prestigious golfer participate, and we can’t wait to see what he brings to the tournament.”
The 2023 New Zealand Open champion, Brendan Jones, another big golfing figure in Japan, was equally excited to have Ryo come and play the New Zealand Open.
“I have played many competitive rounds with Ryo in Japan, and know what a great player and fine person he is. I have told him many times about how much he would enjoy playing in Queenstown, and am delighted that he has decided to now see for himself. I know he will love it,” Jones said.
Joining Ishikawa in the field will be several rising stars and accomplished players from Japan, including a return by the No.6 ranked player in Japan, Ryosuke Kinoshita, who recorded nine top-10 finishes on the Japan Golf Tour in 2024.
In addition, Mikumu Horikawa and Taihei Sato who both finished top 25 in Queenstown last year will join the field.
Overall the strongest Japan Tour field on record brings nine of the top 20 ranked players from 2024 to New Zealand, a sure sign that Hataji’s victory in 2024 has fuelled the flame of the New Zealand Open in the land of the Rising Sun.
New Zealand Open 2025 – Japan Golf Tour Invitations
The 104th New Zealand Open will tee off at Millbrook Resort in Queenstown between February 27 and March 2. For more information, please visit nzopen.com.
The ink is still drying on his DP World Tour card yet Elvis Smylie has unveiled his ambition to play his way onto the PGA TOUR inside 12 months.
Guaranteed a place on the DP World Tour for the next two seasons by virtue of his BMW Australian PGA Championship triumph at Royal Queensland, the 22-year-old is now eyeing off one of the PGA TOUR cards given to the top 10 on the Order of Merit at season’s end.
Currently sixth heading into this week’s Ras Al Khaimah Championship where he spent Tuesday playing nine holes with fellow Aussie Jason Scrivener and Kiwi pair Ryan Fox and Daniel Hillier, Smylie knows the opportunity in front of him.
“I’m really looking forward to keeping the momentum going,” Smylie told DP World Tour Media.
“I played OK last week in my first Rolex Series event in Dubai. Looking to build on some good momentum here in the Middle East.
“You obviously want to build on some great momentum and at the end of the year, there’s 10 cards up for grabs on the PGA TOUR.
“So that’s very much a goal of mine to try and get in the top ten in the Race to Dubai and getting off to a fast start definitely helps.
“That win back in December in Australia, back home in Brisbane, was life-changing for me, to be able to have the chance now to compete on the DP World Tour for two years and compete against some of the best players in the world.
“It’s only going to help my game moving forward and just being able to travel to some amazing places around the world.”
Helping Smylie make the transition to the top echelon of professional golf is another Aussie looking more and more established on the DP World Tour.
Now in his second year in Europe by virtue of winning the 2022-2023 Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit, David Micheluzzi was tied for eighth in Dubai and has become a valuable ally for Smylie.
“Dave Micheluzzi is a good mate of mine and he’s a real bubbly personality,” he said.
“As much as you are competing against them on tour, you’re also competing against the golf course, so whenever I get off the course, I’ll always try and hang out with ‘Micha’ and some of the other Aussies as well.”
Scrivener is the first of the Aussies to tee off this afternoon at 2:10pm AEDT with Micheluzzi off at 3:30pm and Smylie at 7:05pm.
There’ll be a special competition within the competition when the Wilson family creates a world first at Webex Players Series Victoria, starting on Thursday.
Long-time Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia member Peter Wilson will play alongside, and against, his daughter Chloe, who is one of the newest members of the WPGA Tour of Australasia just four years after taking up golf.
With the Webex Players Series events offering the unique format of men and women competing on the same course for the same trophy and prize money, it’s the first time that father and daughter professionals have teed it up as rivals.
Chloe, 20, made her pro debut at last week’s Drummond Golf Melbourne International at Latrobe Golf Club, finishing tied for 26th, while Peter has played 246 Official World Golf Ranking events since in 2002, including winning the 2012 WA PGA Championship.
“It’s going to be fun,” Peter said. “I’ve never competed against my daughter before in a pro event so there’s a first time for everything in this game.”
But it’s definitely not the first time the duo has gone head-to-head on the golf course, with family matches a regular event.
Chloe has yet to win one of those but with her game quickly improving, she came very close earlier this month at Woodlands Golf Club, leading by a shot coming to the last hole only to record a bogey while her determined dad birdied to keep his streak alive.
“I don’t want her to beat me,” Peter laughed.
“And it’s tricky this week because we always play together and I’m advising her on shots, but this week I can’t because we are opponents in a professional tournament. It’s going to be really tricky in that area.
“I think it’s a two-shot penalty if I said, ‘Chloe, you need to hit a little left or right shot here’. I can’t say anything.”
Although she’s been around golf all her life, Chloe hadn’t shown much interest in following her dad’s sporting career until she was 16, preferring dancing instead.
But when she did start swinging the club there was a clear intention – turn pro inside five years.
“Ever since I was little, I was always caddying for my dad at all these pro-am events,” Chloe said.
“I guess I was somewhat learning the game without even playing, which was quite cool.”
Peter recalls: “She goes, ‘Dad, I’m going to play golf now and I’m going to be a professional in five years.’ And I’m like, ‘Chloe, you haven’t even got any golf clubs.’
“So that’s where it started back in 2020. And she did, which is amazing.”
Chloe’s goal to turn pro was achieved at the WPGA Tour of Australasia Qualifying School at the end of 2024 where she finished tied 33rd.
“I have to remind her that she’s quite good,” said Peter, whose son Keefer represented Australia in skateboarding at the Paris Olympic Games.
“She’s only been playing four or five years, so some of the mistakes she makes are like, ‘Chloe, you’ve only been playing four years, so you don’t really know how to do everything.’
“I’m very proud of her. Very proud of all my kids. My son was in the Olympics and my daughter (Aaliyah) only just missed out on being in the Olympics. I’m proud of all my kids.”
Still very much in the development phase of her career, Chloe is approaching her four-round professional tournament debut with a mixture of nerves and excitement.
Having her dad alongside will help and she’ll be quickly on the phone to her mum if she does finally manage to be the “low Wilson”.
“I’m excited,” she said.
“It’s not like something everybody gets to do, get to play a professional tournament with their dad and competing against each other. I’ll just enjoy it and try to beat him.
“I’ll definitely be nervous on the first tee, that’s for sure. Very nervous. But then I think once you’ve done your first tee shot, you kind of relax and you’re like, OK, I can just play golf now.”
The Wilsons tee off in the first round at 1.35pm on Thursday with Queenslander Tim Hart completing the group.
