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 ?
In-form Royal Fremantle Associate Azer Pehlic will take a two-stroke lead into day two of the ADH Club Car WA PGA Associate Championship presented by Acushnet at Wembley Golf Course in Perth.
A winner of PGA Open Matches at Melville Glades and Marylands in the past month, Pehlic opened with a superb 5-under 67 on Monday to sit two shots clear of fellow West Australians Aaron Dobson (Marangaroo Golf Course) and Arno Madel (Seaview GC) who both signed for rounds of 3-under 69.
With $10,000 in prize money on offer, top Associates from Victoria and New South Wales have made the trip to WA but it was the locals, led by Pehlic, who came to the fore on day one.
Out in the first group of the day, Pehlic dropped a shot at the par-5 first but responded in brilliant fashion, making three straight birdies to set the pace up front.
“I made a quick bounce-back birdie on two so that was really, really good,” said Pehlic.
“Hit it to about 20 feet and then drained the putt and pretty much did the same for the next two holes.”
There was another bogey at the long par-4 fifth but a birdie at nine and eagle at the par-5 11th once again made Pehlic the man to catch.
His third and final bogey of the round came at the par-4 12th but his strategy to place a premium on positioning off the tee paid dividends with further birdies at 15 and 17.
“Just put the ball in play was my main mindset,” said Pehlic. “Make sure I’ve given myself an opportunity to hit a good approach shot.
“Most of the time it did work and then if I did hit it in the bush, just make sure I take my medicine if it’s in a rough spot.
“Controlling the bads over trying to really capitalise on the goods was really good about my game so happy with that.”
With players to complete 36 holes on Tuesday, Pehlic is adamant that his strategy of controlled aggression won’t change.
“Don’t take my foot off the pedal,” is Pehlic’s plan.
“I’m a pretty aggressive player, so just try and attack every pin like I normally do and try to go as low as I can.”
Round 2 begins at 6:20am AWST on Tuesday followed by a quick turnaround for Round 3 commencing at 11:32am local time.
Fledgling Victorian professional Sid Nadimpalli has received a Sport Australia Hall of Fame scholarship for 2025.
As he prepares for his first full season on the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia, 20-year-old Nadimpalli, who plays out of Spring Valley Golf Club in Melbourne, was announced as part of the broader naming of 16 scholarships today.
He will receive a grant of $2500 toward sporting expenses under the Hall of Fame’s scholarship and mentoring program, invitations to SAHOF events, educational seminars and additional sessions with SAHOF members as guest speakers.
Nadimpalli, runner-up in this year’s Master of the Amateurs, tied-fourth in the adidas Australian Amateur and winner of the 2022 Tasmanian Amateur, made his debut as a professional at the PNG Open in Port Moresby in August, where he missed the cut.
He applied for the scholarship after receiving a tip from Tour staff that it could be available.
“It’s a privilege to be part of this,” he said.
“I’m hoping that it helps me going forward. It’s not just the grant, it’s the one-on-one mentoring that I’ll get. I’m looking to grow my game and grow as a person as well.”
Nadimpalli took up golf as a four-year-old growing up in Melbourne, and completed a fine amateur career by taking a spot on the Victorian team which won at the Golf Australia Interstate Matches in Queensland in May.
PHOTO: Sid Nadimpalli is playing on the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia this season.
There was playoff pleasure and pain as Kelsey Bennett broke through on the LET Access Series but Richard Green was denied yet again on the PGA TOUR Champions.
Forced to endure the worst of the conditions that resulted in the Hauts de France Pas de Calais Golf Open being reduced to a 36-hole tournament, Bennett drained a 35-foot birdie putt at the first extra hole to record her first international professional win.
The champion at The Athena in February, Bennett has now moved up to ninth in the LET Access Series Order of Merit with the top six to earn promotion to the Ladies European Tour in 2025.
“This win means a lot,” said Bennett.
“I missed the cut at the Rose Ladies Open last week and I was wanting the week off.
“I spoke to my team and they pushed me to come and play this week because a win can give you so many points on the leaderboard.
“So now I’ve done it, it feels really good.”
Green is still chasing that winning feeling in the US after yet another heartbreaker at the Sanford International in South Dakota.
Fellow Aussie Michael Wright led the field into the final round yet it would once again be Green who was fighting it out late on the final day.
Tied for the lead with Steve Stricker shortly after the turn, Green dropped shots at both 13 and 14 to fall two shots back.
Stricker’s bogey on 18 gave Green a glimmer of hope, the Victorian piloting home his birdie putt from outside 20 feet to force extra holes.
He narrowly missed what would have been a winning birdie putt at the first extra hole and lipped out for birdie at the third, Stricker taking the title for a third straight year with birdie at the fourth playoff hole.
A three-time winner on the Legends Tour in Europe, it is Green’s fourth runner-up finish this season which includes three top-three finishes in major championships. He remains fourth on the Schwab Cup standings with total prize money this year of $US1.66 million.
Lucas Herbert’s tie for sixth was the pick of the Aussies at LIV Golf’s final individual tournament of the year in Chicago while Cassie Porter dropped to 10th in the Race For The Card despite finishing tied ninth at the Epson Tour’s Tuscaloosa Toyota Classic.
Photos: Federico Capretti/LETAS (Bennett); Alex Goodlett/Getty Images (Green)
Results
PGA TOUR
Procore Championship
Silverado Resort (North Cse), Napa, California
T32 Min Woo Lee 68-69-73-71—281
T50 Aaron Baddeley 68-73-72-72—285
MC Jeffrey Guan 69-75—144
MC Tim Wilkinson (NZ) 76-74—150
DP World Tour
Amgen Irish Open
Royal County Down GC, Co Down, Northern Ireland
1 Rasmus Hojgaard 71-68-71-65—275 €920,329.68
T52 Jason Scrivener 74-69-77-70—290 €19,272.79
66 Sam Jones (NZ) 71-73-79-72—295 €12,451.52
MC Ryan Fox (NZ) 73-72—145
MC Daniel Hillier (NZ) 75-70—145
MC David Micheluzzi 79-72—151
LIV Golf
LIV Golf Chicago
Bolingbrook Golf Club, Bolingbrook, Illinois
1 Jon Rahm 69-64-66—199 $US4 million
T6 Lucas Herbert 68-69-68—205 $534,500
T23 Matt Jones 71-72-67—210 $190,715
T30 Danny Lee (NZ) 73-68-70—211 $162,500
T34 Marc Leishman 74-70-68—212 $144,000
52 Cameron Smith 73-73-74—220 $50,000
Japan Golf Tour
ANA Open Golf Tournament
Sapporo Golf Club (Watatsu Cse), Hokkaido
1 Akira Iwasaki 66-67-69-66—268 ¥30m
T23 Brad Kennedy 69-71-70-68—278 ¥1.33m
MC Anthony Quayle 75-68—143
MC Brendan Jones 72-72—144
Korean PGA Tour
Golf Zone Doray Open
Golf Zone County Seonsan
1 Ham Jeong-woo 65-65-67-66—263
T14 Sungjin Yeo (NZ) 64-70-65-69—268
T40 Kevin Chun (NZ) 67-68-71-67—273
MC Wonjoon Lee 71-68—139
MC Junseok Lee 68-72—140
MC Changgi Lee 74-71—145
Korn Ferry Tour
Simmons Bank Open for the Snedeker Foundation
Vanderbilt Legends Club (North Cse), Franklin, Tennessee
1 Paul Peterson 64-63-67-66—260 $US270,000
T55 Rhein Gibson 70-66-70-69—275 $6,270
MC Brett Drewitt 69-69—138
MC Karl Vilips 74-68—142
Epson Tour
Tuscaloosa Toyota Classic
Ol’ Colony Golf Complex, Tuscaloosa, Alabama
1 Ingrid Lindblad 67-66-67—200 $US35,625
T9 Cassie Porter 71-66-70—207 $5,070
T37 Fiona Xu (NZ) 74-69-69—212 $1,589
T63 Maddison Hinson-Tolchard 73-70-75—218 $798
Challenge Tour
Open de Portugal at Royal Óbidos
Royal Óbidos Spa & Golf Resort, Vau Óbidos, Portugal
1 Matt Oshrine 70-65-69-69—273 €43,200
T25 Hayden Hopewell 68-70-69-73—280 €2,295
LET Access Series
Hauts de France Pas de Calais Golf Open
Golf Saint Omer, Lumbres, France
Event reduced to 36 holes due to rain
1 Kelsey Bennett 67-73—140 €6,400
Won at the first hole of sudden-death playoff
T45 Wenyung Keh (NZ) 73-77—150
PGA TOUR Champions
Sanford International
Minnehaha Country Club, Sioux Falls, South Dakota
1 Steve Stricker 67-68-67—202 $US315,000
Won on fourth hole of sudden-death playoff
2 Richard Green 68-65-69—202 $184,800
T5 Steven Alker (NZ) 70-67-67—204 $92,400
T5 Michael Wright 67-65-72—204 $92,400
T13 Stuart Appleby 70-67-70—207 $40,950
T15 John Senden 73-68-67—208 $33,642
T15 Greg Chalmers 70-68-70—208 $33,642
T15 Steve Allan 67-70-71—208 $33,642
T37 Rod Pampling 69-71-73—213 $11,130
T42 Mathew Goggin 70-71-73—214 $8,610
T68 Jason Norris 78-71-71—220 $1,848
76 David Bransdon 75-78-72—225 $1,218
WD Mark Hensby 71
Legends Tour
European Legends Cup
Golf Almerimar, Andalucia, Spain
1 Adilson Da Silva 71-68-68—207
Won at the first hole of sudden-death playoff
T8 Scott Hend 69-73-69—211
T11 Michael Campbell (NZ) 71-73-68—212
T28 Michael Long (NZ) 76-73-67—216
New South Wales rookie Jye Pickin has stamped himself as a player to watch this summer after matching the course record to win the PSC Insurance Brokers Wagga Wagga Pro-Am.
A star-studded field plundered birdies and eagles on day one of the $50,000 event, one of the most popular on the adidas PGA Pro-Am Series schedule.
Pickin shot 5-under 67 in Round 1 yet trailed by four, a deficit he would rein in late in Friday’s second round.
Forced to keep the foot down for the entire round, Pickin made birdie at each of his final two holes to match Andrew Kelly’s 2019 course record of 10-under 62 for a 15-under total, one clear of Jay Mackenzie (67) with Border Open champion Kyle Michel third (66) at 13-under.
It marks Pickin’s second win since turning professional in May and provides a timely confidence boost ahead of the continuation of the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia season next month in Western Australia.
“Seeing the kind of guys that were out here this week, I knew I had to play well. You had to come out here and play well and the fact that I did is a huge confidence boost for me,” said Pickin, who also shot 62 to win the Northbridge Pro-Am in July.
“To go out there against the star-studded field like we had the last couple of days was awesome. And to shoot a score like that today was awesome.”
HOW THE WINNING ROUND UNFOLDED
Trailing overnight leaders Jay Mackenzie and Corey Lamb by four strokes, Pickin made a steady start that gathered momentum as the round went on.
He began with a birdie at the par-4 eighth and continued to chip away at the deficit.
Pickin picked up shots at 11, 13, 15 and 17 but it was the final flurry that got him ultimately to the top of the leaderboard.
Starting with a two at the par-3 second, the 24-year-old snared five birdies in his final six holes to match Kelly’s mark of five years prior and earn the biggest win of his young career.
WHAT THE WINNER SAID
“All day I had that chasing mindset of being behind; I must like playing in that position,” said Pickin.
“You didn’t have to not only get off to a good start, but you had to finish strong as well.
“The pin on 17 was sort of middle right and a perfect number for me.
“Nine-iron was about 147 back into a little wind so I knew I could be confident and hit a strong shot.
“Just drew off the pin a little bit to 15 foot left of it, which was an ideal shot in my mind at the time.
“There was actually a member that was a few feet behind me on a similar line and I got a good read off his to roll that one in and follow that one in on the last was awesome.”
LEADERBOARD RUNDOWN
1 Jye Pickin 67-62—129
2 Jay Mackenzie 63-67—130
3 Kyle Michel 65-66—131
T4 James Conran 64-69—133
T4 Toby Walker 65-68—133
T4 Larry Austin 67-66—133
T7 Corey Lamb 63-71—134
T7 Emma Ash 69-65—134
NEXT UP
The next event in the New South Wales Open regional qualifying series tees off on Tuesday at Wollongong Golf Club to be followed by the South Coast Open at Catalina Country Club starting Saturday, September 21.
Driving ranges, indoor simulators and mini golf facilities will be recognised for the first time when the 2024 Queensland Golf Industry Awards are staged at The Star – Gold Coast on Thursday October 10.
A record number of nominations have been received that will honour the outstanding contributions of individuals, tournaments and golf facilities over the past 12 months.
Coordinated by the PGA of Australia, Golf Australia, Golf Course Superintendents Association of Queensland and Golf Management Australia, the Queensland Golf Industry Awards will acknowledge high-performing off-course facilities for the first time.
The finalists for Off-Course Golf Facility of the Year are Big Swing Golf Virginia, Clubhouse Golf, Fairways Golf Simulator and Bar (Mackay), Golf Central, KDV Sport and Victoria Park Golf Complex, all of whom provide new and innovative ways for people to engage in golf.
“The increase in off-course facilities and their growing popularity has been one of the most significant developments in golf in recent years,” said Queensland/NT State Manager (Membership Services) for the PGA of Australia, Broc Greenhalgh.
“We thought it only fitting that we acknowledge the contribution these facilities now make to the game and to celebrate those who are delivering exceptional service and experiences to golfers throughout Queensland.”
Other hotly contested awards include Coach of the Year in both High Performance and Game Development, Club Professional of the Year, Tournament of the Year, Golf Club of the Year, Junior Program of the Year and Superintendents Achievement Award.
The finalists for their respective awards (in alphabetical order) are:
PGA (QLD) Coach of the Year (High Performance)
Grant Field (Pelican Waters Golf Club)
Chris Gibson (Royal Queensland Golf Club)
Ji McBryde (Sanctuary Cove Golf & Country Club)
Ryan Mouque (Ryan Mouque Golf)
Richard Woodhouse (KDV Sport)
John Wright (Maroochy River Golf Club)
PGA (QLD) Coach of the Year (Game Development)
Asha Flynn (The Brisbane Golf Club)
Brenton Fowler (Toowoomba Golf Club)
Ryan Mouque (Ryan Mouque Golf)
Jake Newbery (KDV Sport)
Dave Simpson (Royal Queensland Golf Club)
John Wright (Maroochy River Golf Club)
PGA (QLD) Club Professional of the Year presented by Coca-Cola
Chris Adnams (Redcliffe Golf Club)
Jamie Corkill (Yamba Golf and Country Club)
Jeff Hoy (Rockhampton Golf Club)
Anthony Newey (Victoria Park Golf Complex)
Angus Porter (Carbrook Golf Club)
Jeff Reid (Mackay Golf Club)
PGA (QLD) Management Professional of the Year
Shane Tempest (Burleigh Golf Club)
John Victorsen JNR (Drummond Golf – Rockhampton)
Dale Williamson (Pelican Waters Golf Club)
PGA Tournament of the Year
Elgin Valley Beerwah Legends Pro-Am
Gold Coast Senior PGA Championship (Lakelands GC)
Optilease Redcliffe Pro-Am
Sanctuary Cove Legends Pro-Am hosted by Adam Scott and Peter Senior
Bartons/BMD Paul King Memorial Legends Pro-Am (Wynnum GC)
Bartons/BMD Wynnum Pro-Am
Metropolitan PGA Tournament of the Year
Panasonic Air Conditioning Burleigh Pro-Am
Reside Communities Pacific Pro-Am
Optilease Redcliffe Pro-Am
Southport Pro-Am
Breakas Beach Resort Vanuatu Virginia Pro-Am
Bartons/BMD Wynnum Pro-Am
Regional PGA Tournament of the Year
Biloela Pro-Am
PIMS Group Mackay Pro-Am
Roy Powell Security Pioneer Valley Pro-Am
Ian Weigh Toyota Rockhampton Pro-Am
JET Group Tieri Pro-Am
Lexus Townsville Golf Classic
PGA Legends Tournament of the Year
Elgin Valley Beerwah Legends Pro-Am
Urangan Smash Repairs Fraser Coast Classic
Gold Coast Senior PGA Championship (Lakelands GC)
Queensland Senior PGA Championship
Sanctuary Cove Legends Pro-Am hosted by Adam Scott and Peter Senior
Bartons/BMD Paul King Memorial Legends Pro-Am (Wynnum GC)
Assistant Superintendent Achievement Award presented by Greenway Turf Solutions
Trevor Ridge (Sanctuary Cove Golf & Country Club)
Andrew Lothian (Sanctuary Cove Golf & Country Club)
Jesse McGilvary (Palmer Colonial Golf Course)
Superintendents Achievement Award presented by Living Turf
Graeme Andrews (Tamborine Mountain Golf Club)
Luke Helm (Meadowbrook Golf Club)
Peter McNamara (Ashgrove Golf Club)
Taylor Willis (Gailes Golf Club)
Jason Lavendar (Mt Warren Park Golf Club)
Matt Hartup (Pacific Harbour Golf & Country Club)
Alec Ross (Mirage Country Club)
Superintendents Environment and Safety Excellence Award
Mick McCombe (Maleny Golf Club)
Garry McClymont (Twin Waters Golf Club)
Golf Course Turf Apprentice of the Year presented by Toro
Jack Wojcicki (Meadowbrook Golf Club)
Dylan Buttigieg (Windaroo Golf Club)
Ben Karsten (Links Golf and Wellbeing)
Jonathan Daffy (Cairns Golf Club)
Liam Sunley (Gailes Golf Club)
Golf Club Staff Member of the Year Award presented by CPR Group
Merriden Diehm (Sanctuary Cove Golf and Country Club)
Tony Giles (Noosa Golf Club)
Teegan Negreira (Redcliffe Golf Club)
Golf Club Board Member of the Year Award
Mark Bentley (Gatton Golf Club)
Chris Dewar (Redcliffe Golf Club)
Jeff Lauchkan (Bribie Island Golf Club)
Geoff Moore (The Brisbane Golf Club)
Christopher Sarquis (Kingaroy Golf Club)
Dr Max Whitten AM (Maleny Golf Club)
Golf Club of the Year Award presented by MiClub
Carbrook Golf Club
Links Golf and Wellbeing
Oxley Golf Club
Pacific Golf Club
Redcliffe Golf Club
Distinguished Manager Award presented by Asahi Schweppes
Matt Bolton (Cairns Golf Club)
Norman Studt (Beenleigh RSL and Mt Warren Park Golf Club)
Bernard Wilson (Wynnum Golf Club)
Volunteer of the Year
William Bailey (Clifton Golf Club)
Ray Cook (Mackay Golf Club)
John Dalton (Kingaroy Golf Club)
Dr Penny Edwards (Maleny Golf Club)
Gary Ellis (Glasshouse Mountains Junior Golf Association)
Roman ‘Ray’ Janczuk (Gailes Golf Club)
Leanne Le Lievre (Redcliffe Golf Club)
Janet Nathanson (The Brisbane Golf Club)
Christopher Sarquis (Kingaroy Golf Club)
Ash Sturmer (The Brisbane Golf Club)
Golf Club of the Year (Under 400 Members) presented by Inside Golf
Isis Golf Club
Kingaroy Golf Club
Sarina Golf Club
Golf Supplier of the Year Award
Asahi Schweppes
Coca-Cola Europacific Partners
Greenway Turf Solutions
MiClub
Red Tape Busters
The CPR Group
TrackMan
Junior Golf Program of the Year Award
Bulimba Golf Club
Cairns Golf Club
City Golf Club
KDV Sport
Keperra Country Golf Club
Maroochy River Golf Club
Meadowbrook Golf Club
Redland Bay Golf Club
The Brisbane Golf Club
Townsville Golf Club
Virginia Golf Club
Woodford Golf Club
Off-Course Golf Facility of The Year
Big Swing Golf Virginia
Clubhouse Golf
Fairways Golf Simulator and Bar (Mackay)
Golf Central
KDV Sport
Victoria Park Golf Complex
Additional awards presented at the Queensland Golf Industry Awards Night that don’t attract finalists include:
• Services to Golf Award
• Superintendents Industry Recognition Award
• Male Amateur Golfer of the Year
• Female Amateur Golfer of the Year
• Junior Female Amateur Golfer of the Year
• Junior Male Amateur Golfer of the Year Early bird tickets are available until September 17.
To secure your place, or for further details about the Queensland Golf Industry Awards Night, please visit www.qldgolfindustryawards.com.au.
David Micheluzzi is regarded as one of the best putters on the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia. His long-time coach, Martin Joyce, shares the fundamental they check most often to ensure his best chance of success on the greens.
Every week that David is playing on Tour, we know that the greens are different, the speeds are different and the surfaces are different.
I’m big on making sure that the ball rolls end over end so that is an element of David’s putting that we will check every day.
Loft of the putter, shaft lean and ball position can all impact how quickly the ball begins its true roll so we will make whatever adjustments we need to get that ball to roll correctly.
Ideally, that true roll will happen as soon as possible off the putterface and I will monitor it by taking a video of the first couple of feet after the strike.
There’s a simple way that you can check your roll.
Head out to the golf course early when there is some dew on the ground and practice hitting putts from 30 feet.
You will immediately see when the ball starts to stick to the ground and roll properly.
Move to a different spot, play with your hand position and ball position, and try to get the ball rolling end over end as soon as possible.
Make it a complete putting drill by picking a spot on your intended line and see whether the line that the ball leaves through the dew travels over it or not.
Rolling the ball correctly on the target line is a great start towards making more putts.
Based at Spring Valley Golf Club in Melbourne, Martin Joyce is the High Performance Director for Victoria and National Coach for Golf Australia and has been a PGA Member since 2005.
Paris Olympian Jason Day will return home to Queensland to play in the 2024 BMW Australian PGA Championship on November 21-24.
In a huge boost for the tournament, Day will make his first appearance in a PGA Championship at Royal Queensland Golf Club, joining defending champion Min Woo Lee as feature players for the event co-sanctioned by the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia and DP World Tour.
Part of an elite group of Australian golfers to reach No.1 in the Official World Golf Ranking and win a major championship, the world No.33 will be hunting his first victory in one of Australian golf’s majors.
The 2015 US PGA champion has had five top-10s in 2024, continuing a career resurgence over the past two years which re-established him as one of the world’s best players.
As Australia’s No.1, he earned a place alongside Lee in Australia’s men’s golf team at the Olympics where he finished T9 and he was an automatic selection in this year’s International Team for the Presidents Cup in Canada this month.
“I’m extremely excited to be coming back home to Queensland this summer to contest the BMW Australian PGA Championship at Royal Queensland,” said Day.
“Wearing the green and gold for Australia at the Olympics in Paris was an extremely proud moment for myself and my family and it will be very special to get back on home soil and play in front of the Aussie fans.
“I’ve seen the amazing atmosphere at ‘RQ’ the past few years and can’t wait to experience it for myself.”
PGA of Australia CEO Gavin Kirkman said Day was an exciting addition to this year’s BMW Australian PGA Championship field.
“I know there will be thousands of golf fans who will keen to come out and see Jason play at Royal Queensland,” Kirkman said.
“After learning the game in Beaudesert, Jason has gone on to become one of the best players of his generation.
“We’re delighted to welcome him back home and to see him challenge for his first Joe Kirkwood Cup.”
Queensland Minister for Tourism and Sport, Michael Healy said: “Jason Day is Australian golf royalty and to have him play in the 2024 BMW Australian PGA Championship is absolutely sensational, his first ever at Royal Queensland.
“It’s terrific to welcome a player as accomplished as Jason back to our state to compete in this world-class event, especially when they’re Queenslanders.
“The Australian PGA continues to go from strength to strength with tens of thousands of fans expected to flock to this event, contributing $17 million into Queensland’s local visitor economy.”
Brisbane Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner said the event coming to the Royal Queensland fairways would be an unmissable showdown.
“Brisbane is Australia’s lifestyle capital and our major events bring more to see and do to our suburbs,” Cr Schrinner said.
“With a suite of world class athletes confirmed to play, the BMW Australian PGA Championship is going to be a must-see event for local and visiting golf fans.
“The benefits of this world-class tournament will be felt across the region, delivering millions in economic support to local Brisbane restaurants, hotels and tourism businesses.”
The BMW Australian PGA Championship is supported by the Queensland Government through Tourism and Events Queensland, and Brisbane City Council via Brisbane Economic Development Agency.
Jason Day is a Testimonee for Rolex a major partner of the PGA of Australia and the BMW Australian PGA Championship.
For tickets, click here https://premier.ticketek.com.au/shows/show.aspx?sh=PGAGOLF24
A new name joins the Aussie contingent on the PGA TOUR this week with New South Welshman Jeffrey Guan to make his debut at the Procore Championship in California.
The club champion at Bexley Golf Club in Sydney at just 12 years of age, good judges have been closely monitoring Guan’s progress for close to a decade.
He won the 2022 Junior PLAYERS Championship in record-setting fashion and represented the International team in the Junior Presidents Cup that same year.
With three top-10 finishes on the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia as an amateur during the 2022/2023 season, Guan finished atop the Future Tour Order of Merit. That provided a direct pathway onto his home Tour, a Tour he joined as a professional last November at the Queensland PGA Championship.
Guan logged his first top-five finish in just his second start at the Victorian PGA Championship, had top 10s in two Webex Players Series events and was added to the Golf Australia Rookie Squad in February this year.
Last month he signed with management company, Sportfive, joining a stable of stars that boasts major winners Jon Rahm, Phil Mickelson, Keegan Bradley and Brian Harman.
Thanks to a sponsor invitation, the 20-year-old will now tee it up alongside the likes of Wyndham Clark, Max Homa, defending champion Sahith Theegala and fellow Aussies Min Woo Lee and Aaron Baddeley at the Silverado Resort.
In announcing Guan’s signing to Sportfive, President of Global Golf, Steve Loy, said he was eager to help Guan’s growth on the world stage.
“We are very excited about Jeff, an excellent young player with the skills and dedication to succeed at the highest level,” said Loy.
“He’s talented, determined, and ambitious, and we have the perfect worldwide set-up to guide him throughout his career.”
Guan has played four events on the Challenge Tour in Europe this year, his best result a tie for 10th at the Le Vaudreil Golf Challenge, a tournament in which he had a share of the lead at the halfway mark.
As Guan begins his PGA TOUR career, Cameron Smith and his Ripper GC teammates play their final individual event of the 2024 LIV Golf season in Chicago.
Winner of the inaugural Chicago event in 2022, Smith enters the week sixth in the individual standings, Ripper GC third in the team standings. If Ripper GC can hang onto third, they will earn a first-round bye in next week’s Dallas Team Championship.
Jason Scrivener and David Micheluzzi will fly the Aussie flag at the Amgen Irish Open, Karl Vilips can lock up a PGA TOUR card at the Korn Ferry Tour’s Simmons Bank Open and there are nine Aussies in the field for the Sanford International on the PGA TOUR Champions.
Photo: Aurelien Meunier/Getty Images
Round 1 tee times AEST
PGA TOUR
Procore Championship
Silverado Resort (North Cse), Napa, California
12:11am* Aaron Baddeley
1:50am* Jeffrey Guan
5:27am* Tim Wilkinson (NZ)
5:38am Min Woo Lee
Defending champion: Sahith Theegala
Past Aussie winners: Nil
Prize money: $US6 million
TV times: Live 3am-11am Friday; Live 3am-11:30am Saturday; Live 8:30am-11:30am Sunday; Live 8am-11am Monday on Fox Sports 503 and Kayo.
DP World Tour
Amgen Irish Open
Royal County Down GC, Co Down, Northern Ireland
5:40pm Sam Jones (NZ)
6:30pm David Micheluzzi
9:40pm Ryan Fox (NZ)
11pm* Jason Scrivener
11:10pm Daniel Hillier (NZ)
Defending champion: Vincent Norrman
Past Aussie winners: Brett Rumford (2004), Lucas Herbert (2021)
Prize money: $US6 million
TV times: Live 10pm-3am Thursday; Live 1am-3am Saturday; Live 9:30pm-2.30am Saturday, Sunday on Fox Sports 503 and Kayo.
LIV Golf
LIV Golf Chicago
Bolingbrook Golf Club, Bolingbrook, Illinois
Australasians in the field: Cameron Smith, Marc Leishman, Matt Jones, Lucas Herbert, Danny Lee (NZ)
Defending champion: Bryson DeChambeau
Past Aussie winners: Cameron Smith (2022)
Prize money: $US20 million
TV times: Live 3:15am Saturday, Sunday, Monday on 7 Plus.
Japan Golf Tour
ANA Open Golf Tournament
Sapporo Golf Club (Watatsu Cse), Hokkaido
8:50am Anthony Quayle
9:05am* Brad Kennedy
12:20pm Brendan Jones
Defending champion: Hideto Tanihara
Past Aussie winners: Graham Marsh (1979), Kurt Barnes (2011), Brendan Jones (2016)
Prize money: ¥150 million
Korn Ferry Tour
Simmons Bank Open for the Snedeker Foundation
Vanderbilt Legends Club (North Cse), Franklin, Tennessee
11:25pm* Brett Drewitt
3:29am* Karl Vilips
3:51am Rhein Gibson
Defending champion: Grayson Murray
Past Aussie winners: Cameron Davis (2018)
Prize money: $US1.5 million
TV times: Live 3am-6am Friday on Fox Sports 503; 12pm-1:30pm Saturday; 5pm-6:30pm Sunday; Live 5am-8am Monday on Fox Sports 503 and Kayo.
Epson Tour
Tuscaloosa Toyota Classic
Ol’ Colony Golf Complex, Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Australasians in the field: Fiona Xu (NZ), Cassie Porter, Maddison Hinson-Tolchard
Defending champion: Isabella Fierro
Past Aussie winners: Nil
Prize money: $US237,500
Challenge Tour
Open de Portugal at Royal Óbidos
Royal Óbidos Spa & Golf Resort, Vau Óbidos, Portugal
5:20pm Hayden Hopewell
Defending champion: Marco Penge
Past Aussie winners: Dimitrios Papadatos (2018)
Prize money: €270,000
LET Access Series
Hauts de France Pas de Calais Golf Open
Golf Saint Omer, Lumbres, France
Australasians in the field: Kelsey Bennett, Wenyung Keh (NZ)
Defending champion: Lejan Lewthwaite
Past Aussie winners: Nil
Prize money: €40,000
PGA TOUR Champions
Sanford International
Minnehaha Country Club, Sioux Falls, South Dakota
Australasians in the field: Steven Alker (NZ), Steve Allan, Stuart Appleby, David Bransdon, Greg Chalmers, Richard Green, Mark Hensby, Rod Pampling, John Senden, Michael Wright.
Defending champion: Steve Stricker
Past Aussie winners: Nil
Prize money: $US2.1 million
TV times: 1:30pm-3pm Saturday; 11:30am-1pm Sunday; 11am-12:30pm Monday on Fox Sports 503 and Kayo.
Legends Tour
European Legends Cup
Golf Almerimar, Andalucia, Spain
Australasians in the field: Michael Campbell (NZ), Michael Long (NZ), Scott Hend
Defending champion: Inaugural event
Past Aussie winners: Nil
PGA of Australia has announced a new major partnership with Rolex, the prestigious Swiss watchmaker.
The agreement sees Rolex become Official Timekeeper of the BMW Australian PGA Championship, one of Australian golf’s majors, as well as a Major Partner of the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia and WPGA Tour of Australasia.
Commenting on the partnership, PGA of Australia CEO, Gavin Kirkman, said: “We are delighted to welcome Rolex as a Major Partner of the PGA of Australia; our premier tournament, the BMW Australian PGA Championship; and our tours which are producing the new generation of stars.
“Rolex is synonymous with golf with a rich history in our sport, and through major championships around the world, that dates back almost six decades.
“Rolex shares our dedication to enhancing the game for future generations and we look forward to the mutual benefits that will come from having Rolex at the heart of professional golf in Australia through the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia and WPGA Tour of Australasia.”
The iconic Rolex clock, which has become a feature of golf events at all levels of the game across the world, will sit beside Royal Queensland’s first tee at the BMW Australian PGA Championship on November 21-24 in Brisbane.
Managing Director of Rolex Australia, Benoit Falletti, commented: “Rolex is proud to expand its support of golf in Australia, a country with more than 3.5 million active golf players and some of the world’s top ranking golf courses.
“The PGA of Australia promotes a thriving industry of golf professionals and presents a world-class tournament with the annual Australian PGA Championship event.
“We look forward to this exciting new partnership and to further developing the alignment between Rolex and Golf in this region.”
The PGA of Australia is the third oldest Professional Golfers Association in the world and traces its origins back to 1911 when a group of expatriate Scottish golf Professionals formed a national association to promote the game of golf and elevate the vocation of the golf Professional within Australia.
Rolex has deep roots with Australian golf, with its long-standing support including having 2013 Masters champion Adam Scott and 2015 PGA Championship winner Jason Day among its family of Testimonees.
ABOUT ROLEX AND GOLF
Rolex is committed to the permanent quest for excellence in all its endeavours and has been a long-term supporter of golf in its pursuit of the same. The brand’s enduring relationship with the sport began almost 60 years ago, in 1967, when Arnold Palmer, joined by Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player, became the brand’s first golfing Testimonees.
Known together as The Big Three, these legendary players changed the face of golf forever, and their partnership with Rolex marked the beginning of a relationship based on the shared commitment to continuous improvement and unwavering precision.
Since then, the affiliation has grown and flourished, permeating every level of the game worldwide. From elite players and golf legends to all the game’s Major championships, where success represents the pinnacle of achievement in the sport, as well as the foremost professional tours and worldwide amateur championships, Rolex is ever-present.
Rolex is deeply committed to the amateur game and is a partner of important amateur tournaments across the globe, including the ground-breaking Augusta National Women’s Amateur launched in 2019, The British Amateur Championship, U.S. Amateur Championship, European Amateur Championship, Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship, Latin America Amateur Championship and Women’s Amateur Latin America Championship.
Rolex also supports the leading amateur team competitions, the Arnold Palmer Cup, Walker Cup, Curtis Cup, Junior Ryder Cup and World Amateur Team Championships.
A week in the company of two of the greats of Australian golf has lit the fire within Min Woo Lee ahead of his Presidents Cup debut at Royal Montreal Golf Club.
Lee will tee it up in this week’s Procore Championship in California, his first PGA TOUR appearance in a month and what will be his final hit-out prior to joining the International team in Canada from September 26-29.
A thrill-a-minute crowd favourite wherever he plays in the world, the 26-year-old shapes as a lightning rod for an International team craving home course advantage so close to the United States.
But rather than looking for ways to ignite a parochial Canadian crowd, Lee will have the words of wisdom from two icons of Australian golf ringing in his ears.
Selected to represent Australia at the Paris Olympic Games, Lee was urged by teammate and former world No.1 Jason Day and Captain and seven-time major champion Karrie Webb to do what’s required to realise his promise of becoming one of the best players in world golf.
“Obviously we did the Olympics together and Jason has been such a big help over the last couple of months and put my mindset in a different spot,” Lee revealed.
“He’s my opponent most weeks but he is a good friend. He has put a good mindset in me, saying that I have the potential to be a really good golfer and to just work hard and not waste my potential.
“Same as Karrie, she said the same thing. Just a little bit of a mindset switch, I guess.
“I’m not saying I don’t work hard – I do work hard – but just doing that extra little bit that I should be doing because I’m still young and I can still do it and my body’s healthy.”
Lee was one of six Captain’s picks named by Mike Weir last week, joining fellow Australians Day and Adam Scott in an International team chasing its first win since the Peter Thomson-led team of 1998.
The additional Aussie influence comes courtesy of Assistant Captain Geoff Ogilvy, who is also excited at the prospect of the energy Lee will bring to the team.
“It really is a tournament where you can, not show off as such, but just go full enthusiasm more than you can in a 72-hole strokeplay tournament,” said Ogilvy, a veteran of three Presidents Cup campaigns.
“The format I think will really suit Min. He’s clearly one of the best players in the world, hits hit miles and will really bring his enthusiasm and excitement to it.
“That has an effect not just on the course, but that has an effect in the team room, too.”
But while a social media profile now boasting 598,000 followers on Instagram alone brings an audience all his own, Lee insists he won’t go to extra lengths to whip the Canadian crowd into a frenzy.
“I know it’s going to be very exciting. The crowd’s going to bring it,” added Lee, currently ranked No.40 in the Official World Golf Ranking.
“I know the Canadians love their hockey, love their sport, and there’s a few Canadians on the team so it’s going to be a massive deal.
“I’m just going to do my thing. Nothing planned, but at the end of the day we’re trying to play as good as we can.
“Nothing to hinder my golf, but a lot of excitement and a lot of support, which would be great.”
Photo: Courtesy PGA TOUR
