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Marc Leishman had a simple summary of his 4-over final round of 75 at The 153rd Open Championship that saw him finish tied for 52nd as Scottie Scheffler added the third leg of a potential career grand slam.
“Some days you have it, and some days you don’t. Today I didn’t,” was Leishman’s summation of his last trip around Royal Portrush that included five bogeys and two birdies.
“You have days like that sometimes, and obviously you don’t want them to be on Sunday of a British Open. We’d like to have had a better score but didn’t.”
It was a failure to take advantage of the par-5s, which he played in 2-under for the week and ranked 77th in the field, that hurt the Victorian, who also identified his slow starts halting his charge up the leaderboard and potentially more major starts in 2026.
“I didn’t start very well any round. Like today, I had to get off to a good start and didn’t, and sort of everything seemed a little bit out of reach and just struggled after that,” he said.
“My ball striking was decent. I missed a few drives right. I’ve had a few driver issues this year just with them breaking. Not me breaking them, but them breaking.
“I had one break on the way over here, and I finally found one which is good. I’ll take that as a positive this week. I found a driver that I love, just couldn’t string enough good holes together, I guess.
“Par-5s needed a bit of improvement this week. Apart from that, I thought it was pretty decent.”
Disappointed but far from down and out, Leishman will be immediately back in action playing the LIV Golf League’s UK event next week, but not before some downtime and perhaps a little more of the local flavours.
“Yes,” he said with a laugh when asked if a Guinness was in his near future plans as part of letting his hair down.
“Actually going to Dublin tomorrow. My family fly out Tuesday out of Dublin … Probably do a little tour of Dublin with the kids and do another tour of Dublin later in the nighttime, us boys.”
At the top of the leaderboard, Scheffler was never truly challenged as he added a birdie at the first to reach 15-under with Rory McIlroy’s challenge peaking at 10-under through nine before a double bogey ended the home hopes.
Scheffler recovering from a double bogey of his own at the eighth with birdie at the next and eventually finishing on 17-under and four shots clear of runner-up Harris English, while last week’s Scottish Open winner Chris Gotterup made it an all-American podium with his 12-under total.
Scheffler, who only made three bogeys all week to go with his Sunday double, has now won four majors in 39 months and only needs the US Open title to join McIlroy, Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, Ben Hogan and Gene Sarazen as winners of the career grand slam.
“It’s a very special feeling, it takes a lot of work to get to this point in my career,” Scheffler said of his win.
The world No.1 not overly engaging in talk of joining Rory in one of golf’s smallest clubs in the immediate aftermath of his win with his own national Open at Shinnecock Hills some 11 months away.
“I don’t focus too much on that stuff (career grand slam).”
Australasian Scores
T52 Marc Leishman, (Ev)
MC Jason Day, (+2)
MC Daniel Hillier (NZ), (+2)
MC Ryan Fox (NZ), (+2)
MC Elvis Smylie, (+3)
MC Lucas Herbert, (+4)
MC Min Woo Lee, (+5)
MC Curtis Luck (+8)
MC Cameron Smith, (+8)
MC Ryan Peake, (+8)
MC Adam Scott, (+9)
As the only Australian left at Royal Portrush, Marc Leishman has low Aussie honours wrapped up but the Victorian is aiming for more major starts after another strong performance on the Northern Irish links in the third round of The 153rd Open.
Rested, and having enjoyed the flavour of Ireland in the form of a Guinness (or two) on Friday evening, Leishman fired a 3-under 68 on Saturday to sit 4-under overall and 10 back of leader Scottie Scheffler in a tie for 22nd.
Opening his day with two perfectly struck, and placed, irons, Leishman would three putt the first hole as roars went around the Northern Irish coast for a hole-in-one to England’s John Parry before the Aussie nearly followed suit at the third.
There was just over a foot left for his tap-in birdie at the par-3 before Leishman added another at the par-4 fifth in a 1-under front nine.
“Felt really good today actually. Played good, hit good shots into the first and then three-putted, but hit two shots exactly where I wanted to hit them, and the putt was actually good,” Leishman said.
“Hopefully I can do something silly tomorrow and try to sneak into that top 5 or 10.”
The back nine got off to a better start for Leishman when birdieing the 11th, however a fairway bunker at the 12th halted his climb up a congested leaderboard as he seeks what would be the most unlikely Claret Jug, but more realistically more time at the game’s biggest events.
“I deserved to make 6 on 12. Hit three bad shots, so you don’t mind making sixes if you deserve to make them,” he said.
A top four finish at Portrush this week would pave the way for Leishman’s return to Augusta National and The Masters, while a top 10 ensures he will play The Open for a 13th time when it returns to Royal Birkdale in 2026.
“Obviously there’s the carrot dangling to try to get into the top 4 but also to try to get in The Open next year,” Leishman said of his Sunday motivations.
“Yes, you want to do something silly and try to go crazy low, but you also want to make sure you try to get back in … and give yourself a chance to get into the other majors.
“Probably more so looking at that. I’m nine back. Probably going to be more than ten back at the end of the day the way he (Scheffler) is playing. That will be too many, unless I do something really, really silly. He’s probably going to get to 20-under. I’m not going to shoot 56.”
Doing those chances no harm were birdies at the back nine par-3s –13 and 16 – with the latter perhaps feeling like more than a shot against par and the field given the difficulty of ‘Calamity Corner’.
“It feels like a birdie if you walk out of there with a par … It’s a very difficult hole. Not just difficult for me, difficult for everyone,” Leishman said of the 16th that he has played par-par-birdie this week,
It was a par at the penultimate hole before Leishman’s birdie putt at the 18th hole ran out of steam short of the hole, with the 41-year-old off to follow his Friday post round hydration.
“What time is it?,” Leishman quipped when asked if he would enjoy a beer again on Saturday and confirming it was on the cards.
His Guinness likely enjoyed while undergoing a post round debrief with golf mad eldest son Harvey.
“He loves it. Inquisitive, I guess I would say, and he really wants to learn,” he said of Harvey.
“He’ll ask me about some shots I hit today, maybe good or whether it was bad. Maybe the driver I hit off 12, might ask me why I did that.”
Also headed for some relaxation after his round was Rory McIlroy, who elated the local crowds during a 5-under 66 that lifted him to 8-under overall.
The Australian bound Masters champion starting his day by watching the British and Irish Lions defeat the Wallabies before a round where he birdied three of the first four holes, unearthed a long ago lost buried golf ball on the 11th and gave him an extremely outside chance of a second 2025 major and denying Scheffler the same feat.
“I played well. I rode my luck at times, but yeah, it was an incredible atmosphere out there. I feel like I’ve at least given myself half a chance tomorrow,” McIlroy said.
All four rounds of The 153rd Open Championship will be broadcast live on Fox Sports and Kayo.
Australasian Scores
T22 Marc Leishman, (-4)
MC Jason Day, (+2)
MC Daniel Hillier (NZ), (+2)
MC Ryan Fox (NZ), (+2)
MC Elvis Smylie, (+3)
MC Lucas Herbert, (+4)
MC Min Woo Lee, (+5)
MC Curtis Luck (+8)
MC Cameron Smith, (+8)
MC Ryan Peake, (+8)
MC Adam Scott, (+9)
New Yorker Chris Malec will tee it up alongside Rory McIlroy at the Australian Open in December after a last-minute decision to enter paid the ultimate dividend at the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia Qualifying School in Georgia.
Marking the first time that the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia offered a Qualifying School outside Australia, the 72-hole qualifier at Kinderlou Forest Golf Club ended in unfortunate and dramatic fashion.
Malec (68) and Patrick Healy (67) finished level at the top of the leaderboard at 8-under par, a playoff needed to determine who would be crowned medallist and exempt into every event of the 2025/2026 season.
Malec and Healy were on the green at the second playoff hole when Healy realised that he had a 15th club in the bag, having returned a second putter to his bag prior to the playoff in preparation to leave the golf course.
A 34-year-old journeyman with limited starts on the Korn Ferry Tour and Canadian Tour stretching back a decade, Malec had a good look at birdie on the second playoff hole, stunned when Healy conceded defeat due to the rules infraction.
“I feel for him. Really, I do. It’s just an unfortunate thing,” said an emotional Malec.
“I really wanted to hit that birdie putt. It’s OK. I’ll take the result.”
Bogey-free in the final round and with Healy playing in the group ahead, Malec had to make par on the final hole to force a playoff.
He can now look ahead to a summer playing golf Down Under including starts in DP World Tour co-sanctioned events at the BMW Australian PGA Championship and the Australian Open at Royal Melbourne Golf Club, an unfathomable thought even a week ago.
“It is just so hard for me to wrap my head around that I have to plan my way over to Australia now,” said Malec.
“This was kind of a spur-of-the-moment sign-up. I signed up last minute. I just heard about it and felt like it was a good opportunity and here I am and it worked out.
“I’ve been kind of grinding my way along on all these other mini tours, fell short in Canada Q School and honestly, the cash was running low.
“I just kind of believed that I was playing well, although my results weren’t there.
“I’m just grateful that I came and it worked out.”
While devastated at the manner in which the playoff ended, Healy is one of seven players who receive a category for the upcoming Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia season that starts with the PNG Open at Royal Port Moresby Golf Club from August 14-17.
The other players to receive a category are Dustin White (71), Harrison Davis (68), Jayce Hargrove (70), Ty Gingerich (71), Jaron Leasure (71) and New South Wales amateur Hamish Murray (74).
Marc Leishman will be the sole member of the nine Australians to play the weekend of The 153rd Open Championship after producing some quality golf to rise to a tie for 26th on a Friday that included golf’s most dreaded shot for the Victorian.
Waking at 4am to tee it up in the first group of the second day at Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland, Leishman showed why many have considered The Open to be his best chance at major glory during a 3-under 68.
The Warrnambool product relishing his return to links golf and golf’s oldest Championship via his finish at last year’s Australian Open with his play in Round 2 lifting him to 1-under overall, nine shots back of world No.1 Scottie Scheffler’s 10-under mark.
Recording five birdies in his first 12 holes, Leishman looked as though he might not only lead the Aussie charge by day’s end, but find himself in the late groups come Saturday afternoon before bogeys at 13 and 14.
Admitting he may have needed a little more time to cool down before fronting the media on Thursday, a significantly more jovial Leishman couldn’t help but laugh as he described his round and how his dropped shot at the par-3 13th eventuated when hitting the hosel of his 8-iron.
“Drove it well, didn’t hit any fairway bunkers today, which was good. That’s what killed me yesterday,” the 41-year-old said.
“That little mishap on 13 there. It’s a bit scary when that happens. Two-hole stretch that didn’t sort of do a whole lot wrong apart from that tee shot on 13. Happy with the day.
“Obviously you try to block it out of your head, but they do say the hardest shot in golf is the one after a shank. I felt like every shot coming in was that shot. It was tough, but you’ve got to laugh about it and hope it doesn’t happen again for a while.”
Avoiding the hosel, and numerous heavy showers that came after he had signed his card, successfully, Leishman nearly holed his second shot at the 18th before failing to convert for a sixth, and final, birdie then detailing his plans for the afternoon.
“Obviously I would have liked to go a little bit lower, but we always do as golfers. Happy to be watching it on TV. I’ll probably have a pint or two of Guinness and enjoy my afternoon,” he said.
The rest of the Aussie contingent were certainly far from enjoying their afternoons, with Jason Day fighting valiantly to make the cut that eventually fell at 1-over after teetering until late in the day.
The former world No.1 breaking an eight hole par streak after a second shot to just 10 inches at the 17th hole to reach 2-over before another birdie nearly followed at the 18th. Day’s putt from 45 feet looking every chance of finding the bottom of the cup most of the way, but ultimately staying above ground and costing the major winner weekend golf.
The two New Zealanders in the field, Daniel Hillier and Ryan Fox, no doubt also refreshing the leaderboard constantly throughout the afternoon having finished on the same 2-over total as Day, and eventually being left disappointed
Adding to a difficult golf course and testing conditions, Elvis Smylie’s Open tilt was conducted while ill, with the disappointed Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit winner able to hold his head high for a fighting 1-under second round that ultimately left him 3-over-par.
“I mean I always fight till the end, so I knew that it was going to be a tough grind to be able to post a good score and potentially make the cut, but I haven’t been feeling a hundred percent lately,” Smylie said.
“I’m proud of the fight, but then again, I’m just a little bit disappointed that I wasn’t able to give a hundred percent.”
Curtis Luck another of those to fight hard on Friday, with the West Australian who continues to battle injury problems and a lack of tournament golf improving his score by 10 shots for a 1-under 70 that included a bogey at the last for an 8-over total.
The 2022 Open Champion Cameron Smith finishing on the same score, so too debutant Ryan Peake, while Lucas Herbert (+4), Min Woo Lee (+5) and Adam Scott (+9) will look ahead to the 2026 majors for their next chance.
“I just didn’t convert anything. It’s a course where it can bite you in the butt pretty quick. I didn’t obviously play too good the first, these two rounds and onto the next year of majors,” Lee said no doubt representing the views of his compatriots outside Leishman.
All four rounds of The 153rd Open Championship will be broadcast live on Fox Sports and Kayo.
Australasian Scores
T26 Marc Leishman, (-1)
MC Jason Day, (+2)
MC Daniel Hillier (NZ), (+2)
MC Ryan Fox (NZ), (+2)
MC Elvis Smylie, (+3)
MC Lucas Herbert, (+4)
MC Min Woo Lee, (+5)
MC Curtis Luck 80 (+8)
MC Cameron Smith, (+8)
MC Ryan Peake, (+8)
MC Adam Scott, (+9)
The first day of the 153rd Open Championship got off to an inauspicious start for the nine strong Australian contingent when the first out at Royal Portrush, Cam Smith, “almost missed” his opening tee shot, before ultimately finishing on 1-over-par and equal best of his countrymen alongside Adam Scott.
The Aussie pair five shots back of the lead held by Jacob Skov Olesen of Denmark, China’s Haotong Li, Matt Fitzpatrick, South African Christiaan Bezuidenhout and American Harris English at 4-under, while Kiwi Dan Hillier managed the best round of the Australasians, an even par 71.
Out in the third group of the day, Smith’s tee shot at the first hole, uniquely flanked by out of bounds both left and right, hooked and hooked quickly, travelling only 153 yards. The 2022 Champion Golfer of the Year seeing the funny side post his 72.
“I think I tried to hit that one underground,” Smith, who recovered for bogey, joked of his opening tee shot.
“Not the greatest start to a major championship I’ve ever had, but from there it was actually all right.”
Finding humour and patience on a difficult day was a common them for the Aussies, with Jason Day and Marc Leishman a shot back of Smith and Scott, while late bogeys were the story of the day for Lucas Herbert and Min Woo Lee during rounds of 74.
Smith acknowledging some frank self-talk and proud of his ability to hang in and play the back nine in 2-under to sit in a share of 45th.
“Could have really got away from me, I think,” he said. “Gave myself a little bit of a talking to through nine and played that last nine really solidly.”
Similarly, Scott showed some grit on the second nine after starting his way home with two bogeys before back-to-back birdies at 12 and 13 that had the 2013 Masters winner looking likely to hold top Aussie honours until a frustrating bogey at the 18th.
“It could have got away,” Scott said of his 72. “I don’t know; it felt like we teed off in the rain and played the whole lot in the rain. It was tricky at times. But my golf was okay. Shame about the last.
“It is handy having birdies. I’d like to have some more stretches like that. It’s always an equation at the majors of how much do you press, how much are you going to go and try and hit it close.”
Positive about his ball striking and putting on Thursday, Scott is hoping for friendlier weather early on Friday for his second round, and despite his disappointing finish couldn’t help but fire a friendly shot across the bow at fellow Queenslander Day when asked his opinion on his loud outfits this week.
“I’m a supporter of fashion in golf … Whether it’s Ian Poulter or Jason Day, they’re expressing their personalities. I didn’t realise Jase had such personality,” Scott said with a wry smile and laugh.
No doubt preferring his golf to be the focus, Day finished with a round of 2-over 73 after opening with a bogey and closing out the front nine with two more. Another dropped shot at the par-5 12th via a three putt mixed in with two birdies during a grinding back nine for the former world No.1.
“That’s all you can do,” Day said when asked if he was happy with his efforts to not slide further down the congested leaderboard on the back nine.
“My process out there was actually quite horrific … After I got onto the back side, I started kind of focusing a little bit better, get the process right.”
Like Scott, Leishman and Herbert fell victim to the par-4 18th, with Leishman three putting the last for his 2-over round, while Herbert also dropped a shot at the 17th in his 74.
Lee likely the most disappointed of the Australians after standing on the 15th tee at even par only to be three shots worse by the time he arrived at the 18th having missed three consecutive tee shots to the right resulting in three straight bogeys and a 3-over total.
Elvis Smylie and New Zealand’s Ryan Fox have work to do if they are to play the weekend after 4-over 75s, while Ryan Peake on major championship debut signed for a 6-over 77, with Curtis Luck rounding out the Aussies on 9-over.
All four rounds of The 153rd Open Championship will be broadcast live on Fox Sports and Kayo. Round 1 coverage begins at 3:30pm Thursday AEST.
Australasian Scores
Daniel Hillier (NZ), 71 (E)
Cameron Smith, 72 (+1)
Adam Scott, 72 (+1)
Jason Day, 73 (+2)
Marc Leishman, 73 (+2)
Lucas Herbert, 74 (+3)
Min Woo Lee, 74 (+3)
Ryan Fox (NZ), 75 (+4)
Elvis Smylie 75, (+4)
Ryan Peake, 77 (+6)
Curtis Luck 80 (+9)
The score wasn’t what Australian Ryan Peake was looking for on major debut at The Open Thursday, however the West Australian, who has been a focal point for media attention all week at Royal Portrush, did walk away with some lessons and souvenirs from an opening 6-over 77.
Surrounded by local media on Tuesday to answer questions about his past and redemption story from jailed bikie to New Zealand Open winner, which earned him an Asian Tour card and soon to be DP World Tour player courtesy of his finish on the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit.
Peake’s big week got bigger when he discovered he would playing alongside Phil Mickelson the first two days.
No doubt reflecting when the week is over, a week he hopes will extend into the weekend by finding some better play and luck on Friday, Peake maintained his sense of humour when speaking after a round in heavy winds that finished just before the afternoon rain hit.
“It was pretty good. I just asked for his golf ball and got him to sign a golf glove for me after,” Peake said of the experience of playing alongside his fellow left hander on Thursday morning.
“I know everyone is going to look at it and say you take the experience in and stuff like that, but obviously very disappointed with the round.
“I was like Father Christmas out there; I was just handing out presents to the golf course. I just kept throwing them away, and it was just very frustrating.”
Despite the frustrations and constant scrambling to attempt to save pars, Peake did produce a highlight on one of the famed Northern Ireland links’ toughest holes when making his second birdie of the day.
The par-3 16th, ominously named ‘Calamity Corner’, saw a near perfect 5-iron from Peake which appeared to have eyes for the hole before coming up 2-feet short.
“It was just perfect number, perfect club. I had just made a poor bogey. Was on a bit of a bad run as well. I’m sure if I was 2-under going on that hole, that hole looks a little bit more daunting. But when you’re 7-over, not much worse can happen,” he said,
Although suggesting immediate reflection wasn’t on the cards in his 24 hour break between rounds one and two, the to show off his souvenirs to his father Mel, a big Mickelson fan, will surely be another special moment in a special week for Peake.
“He just introduced himself, which I don’t think he needs to introduce himself; I was well aware of who he was,” Peake joked of the interaction he shared with Mickelson, who opened with a 1-under 70, on the first tee.
“We chatted. He’s very friendly. We just had a lot of normal chitchat, talked about family. We talked about different things. Nothing in particular.”
“But yeah, I grabbed his putter off him a few times and had a little feel of it. That’s the OG; that’s the one from The Masters.
“There was a couple cool things. Like I said, his caddie gave away golf balls as we were walking off the tee, and I yelled out, what about me, and he had a laugh, thought I was being sarcastic, and he said, ‘Are you serious?’
“I said, ‘No, I’m deadly serious … Can you sign a glove as well?’
All four rounds of The 153rd Open Championship will be broadcast live on Fox Sports and Kayo. Round 1 coverage begins at 3:30pm Thursday AEST.
Brisbane Professional Zachary Maxwell is daring to defy conventional thinking that winning builds belief, insisting that he built the belief he needed in order to win last year’s Optilease Redcliffe Pro-Am.
Maxwell returns to Redcliffe Golf Club on Thursday as a largely unheralded defending champion competing for a $90,000 prize purse against former DP World Tour winners, players with current DP World Tour status and 22 former winners on the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia.
The field was just as strong 12 months ago when Maxwell shot 64 in the final round to win by one stroke, including a hole-in-one.
But more on the significance of that ace later.
It was a timely win ahead of Maxwell’s first full season on the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia but the 25-year-old has been on a journey of self-fulfilling belief dating back to the inability to play during the COVID-19 restrictions of 2020.
“I became very internally focused because obviously we couldn’t play golf and I was obsessed with golf and getting better,” Maxwell explains.
“I thought about the one aspect of golf that you can train when you’re not on the course and that’s mental.
“I went nuts. I think I went through four or five different sports psychs. I was reading books, listening to podcasts. I was just learning, writing, reading, meditating pretty much the whole of COVID.”
Two years ago, Maxwell linked with Dr James Clark at The Mental Switch, described as a “transformative coaching and mental resilience program”.
Like former US Open champion Matthew Fitzpatrick documents every shot he ever hits, a key component for Maxwell in training belief is to document how he feels after each round or practice session.
By writing it down, Maxwell is effectively building a bank of positive reinforcement that he can tap into when a particular shot needs to be executed.
“Our No.1 mantra is belief in how we obtain that and how we can protect that,” Maxwell says of his work with Dr Clark.
“You get that through the ways we practise and how we use our memories.
“When I was playing Redcliffe (in 2024), I was using memories from members comps, tour events, pennant matches from when I was a junior.
“It’s constant memory collecting and memory exporting into executing the shot.
“I’ll write down in my book my feels for the day. It changes every day. I just make sure I document it.
“It doesn’t matter if I read it or not. I just know that if you write it down on paper, it retains the memory stronger.”
Now, back to that hole-in-one.
At every level, golf is littered with stories of hole-in-ones that are followed almost instantly by disaster, blips that are soon forgotten in the retelling of golf’s perfect shot.
Trailing accomplished pro Aaron Pike by four strokes at the start of Round 2 at Redcliffe last year, Maxwell made birdies at 10 and 12 before his ace at the par-3 13th, his fourth hole of the day.
That he followed that with another birdie at the par-4 14th is testament, he believes, to the mental training he has committed to the past five years.
“Hole-in-ones are actually pretty dangerous in tournament golf,” Maxwell says.
“It sounds outrageous to say – you’re 2-under for one hole, it should be pretty good for you – but more bad can come from it if you don’t control it.
“Not only have you got to deal with your own emotions, usually a hole-in-one will get all the people who might be watching absolutely rowdy. All of a sudden you’ve taken on all these different people’s emotions.
“Having the right tools to retain your flow and all the memories to get back on track, I did really well. I was very proud of myself after that.”
The Optilease Redcliffe Pro-Am tees off at 10am on Thursday with the second and final round to be completed Friday.
Adam Scott’s final preparations for the 153rd Open Championship included playing a practice round with Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit winner Elvis Smylie and being serenaded on the 10th tee as he seeks to add to his major tally.
Making his way into the final group at the US Open in his last major start, Scott turned 45 on Wednesday as he prepares for his 25th consecutive start at the game’s oldest major. Although others speak glowingly of his potential milestone of 100 straight major starts that would arrive at next year’s US Open, the Queenslander is more focused on another number.
“Yeah, the numbers are getting big. What’s not big is my major wins, so I’d like to change that, double it this week,” Scott told Australian media on Wednesday afternoon at Royal Portrush.
“I’ve worked hard to keep myself in this spot and I really don’t have any results to show for how good I feel like I’ve played this year, which is part of golf and frustrating.
“But the reality is, I mean, I don’t know, I hope I can do this for another 10 years, but that’s going to be … it only gets harder and harder.
“So this week’s my best opportunity to win a major. That’s every major I play probably from now on. That’s how I’m going to feel and I still feel like I sacrifice a lot to keep myself in this position, so I want to make the most of it.”
Part of the formula to make the most of the return to Northern Ireland for The Open is caddie John Limanti picking back up his bag, while the return to links golf fits the former world No.1’s eye and game that still shows plenty of power with his drives regularly besting Smylie during a friendly money game.
“He was here in ‘19 with me, so not that we did any good, but he’s been here before, done it. It’s nothing new,” he said of Limanti who carried his bag for Scott in 2019 when Shane Lowry lifted the Claret Jug and the first Australian to win The Masters missed the weekend.
“I think that’s the big thing, but it’s nice to have him back on the bag. We worked three years together before and a familiar face and we’re kind of in our second honeymoon still, so that’s good news. We’ll see how this week treats us, but we’ll keep the love going for the moment.
“My game’s in good shape. I mean the course is great and it’s demanding. It’s going to require a lot of good shots this week. I think scrambling all week’s going to be tough around here, so you really want to be hitting some greens and hopefully the game can hold up for four days and take some of the stress out of a major away.”
Out alongside Rickie Fowler and Ethan Fang for the first round, Scott was also in the hunt during the US PGA Championship before his US Open challenge, suggesting his mission to add a second major title to his haul is not out of the question this week.
Scott’s playing partner for the final day of practice, Smylie, certainly impressed by his game, albeit slightly sheepish as he admitted he forgot it was his a special day for his “role model” until the crowd broke into song at the 10th not that Scott was too worried.
“I actually did, but I completely forgot when I got to him on the first tee,” Smylie said of Scott’s birthday.
“But it was a really nice moment on the 10th hole, there was about 50 guys, volunteers, players, spectators started singing him happy birthday and I’m like, oh yeah, I actually, I do remember now. And then I’m like, ‘I’m sorry I didn’t say that on the first. He’s like, mate, I’ve stopped counting them’.”
He might have stopped counting years, but with a clear fire in his belly Scott is certainly still counting majors and hopes to make a significant addition this week.
All four rounds of The 153rd Open Championship will be broadcast live on Fox Sports and Kayo. Round 1 coverage begins at 3:30pm Thursday AEST.
The 4-hybrid that Grace Kim hit into the 72nd hole and on the second hole of the playoff at the Amundi Evian Championship will go down in history as two of the greatest shots hit by an Australian in major championship golf.
Here, her long-time coach and PGA Professional Khan Pullen outlines the key to consistent strikes with hybrid clubs and why every club golfer in Australia should be using them.
The first tip for amateurs in hitting hybrids more consistently is to make sure that they all have at least one (probably more!) in their bag.
Even if you look at the highest levels of the men’s game, where their clubhead speeds are typically significantly higher than the females, there are a lot more hybrids and fairway woods in bags because they’re so much easier to use, much easier to get elevated and are more forgiving.
Hybrids are easier to hit because of the wider sole and the lower centre of gravity. The wider sole can help to get it through the grass a little bit better if the contact’s not quite perfect and the lower and further-back centre of gravity helps to get the ball up into the air a lot easier than a long iron. They are also better for hitting out of the rough and fairway bunkers.
When hitting hybrids, the mentality and swing technique is like hitting an iron, that is, having a slightly downward angle of attack on the ball to use the club effectively.
Go and see your PGA Professional and get a proper fit for the right carry, the right height and the right spin rate for you.
Hitting a hybrid certainly proved effective for Grace at Evian.
The High Performance Manager at Golf NSW, Khan Pullen has been a PGA Professional since 1993 and in 2023 was named the PGA NSW/ACT Coach of the Year – High Performance.
Photo: Philippe Millereau KMSP
It is the venue that turned Cameron Smith into an Open believer and now the 2022 champion has vowed to tap into that mindset to overturn a recent run of indifferent form.
Smith is part of a nine-strong Australian congregation to gather in golf’s grandest cathedral, the 153rd Open Championship at Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland to absorb the attention of almost the entirety of the golf world this week.
Even before he ran down Rory McIlroy at St Andrews in 2022, Smith spoke of how his performance at Portrush had convinced him that an Open Championship was in the realm of possibility.
“That was basically the first time I’d ever played really decent golf in the UK,” Smith said in Aussies At The Open on the back of his tie for 20th at Portrush in 2019.
“I do now feel like it is a championship I can win. Definitely at the start I didn’t think it was.
“My mindset has definitely changed on The Open.”
Joined by Ripper GC teammates Marc Leishman and Lucas Herbert in Portrush for the 2025 edition, Smith reiterated those thoughts ahead of a Round 1 tee time alongside Marco Penge and Justin Hastings.
“Years of trying to get something out of it and never really got anything out of it type of thing,” Smith said of his early frustration at The Open.
“This was really the first time I ever played well on a links course and I think I just went back to simplifying it.
“I was trying to play a little bit too links-style I guess before that and just went back to what we normally do, and it worked.
“That’s when I fell in love with links golf; before that I was pulling my hair out.”
Given his year on LIV Golf to date, it’s a shock Smith’s iconic mullet has remained intact.
Adamant that the work away from the golf course is as productive as it ever has been, Smith admits it has been challenging to transfer it to the golf course.
“It’s been a really frustrating year,” said Smith.
“Everything feels good, particularly on the range on the putting green and stuff like that. I just have struggled to take it to the course.
“I feel like I’m getting more confidence and committing to more shots and maybe hitting the shot that I don’t necessarily feel comfortable with, but the right shot. That’s when I play my best.
“I don’t think much has been able to click from kind of practise to tournament play and it’s not from lack of hard work. I think it’s just been lack of commitment out on the golf course.
“I can’t remember really the last time I’ve ever had an issue with that. It’s kind of been a bit weird, but swing feels good, looks good. I just need to go out there and actually do it.”
Smith will be the first of the Aussies to tee off on Thursday at 3:57pm AEST, followed shortly thereafter by Jason Day (4:08pm), New Zealand Open champion Ryan Peake (4:19pm) and Lucas Herbert (4:52pm).
Photo: Warren Little/Getty Images
Round 1 tee times AEST
The 153rd Open Championship
Royal Portrush Golf Club, Northern Ireland
3:57pm Cameron Smith
4:08pm Jason Day
4:19pm Ryan Peake
4:52pm Lucas Herbert
6:25pm Ryan Fox (NZ)
8:26pm Marc Leishman
8:58pm Daniel Hillier (NZ)
9:09pm Adam Scott
9:20pm Elvis Smylie
11:37pm Min Woo Lee
1:05am Curtis Luck
Recent champion: Xander Schauffele
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: $US17m
TV times: Live Thursday and Friday 3:30pm-5:30am Fox Sports 503 and Kayo. Saturday 7pm-11:15pm Fox Sports 505 and Kayo. Saturday 11pm-5am Fox Sports 503 and Kayo. Sunday 6pm-4am Fox Sports 503 and Kayo.
PGA TOUR
Barracuda Championship
Tahoe Mountain Club (Old Greenwood), Truckee, California
11:56pm Aaron Baddeley
12:29am* Cam Davis
1:13am* Jason Scrivener
Recent champion: Nick Dunlap
Past Aussie winners: Geoff Ogilvy (2014), Greg Chalmers (2016)
Prize money: $US4m
TV times: Live 8am-11am Friday, Saturday on Fox Sports 505; Live 8am-11am Sunday on Fox Sports 506; Live 8am-11am Monday on Fox Sports 505 and Kayo.
Korn Ferry Tour
Price Cutter Charity Championship
Highland Springs Country Club, Springfield, Missouri
10:22pm Rhein Gibson
5:06am* Harry Hillier (NZ)
Recent champion: Matt McCarty
Past Aussie winners: Anthony Painter (1998), Cameron Percy (2014)
Prize money: $US1m
HotelPlanner Tour
German Challenge
Wittelsbacher Golfclub, Neuburg an der Donau, Germany
4:20pm* Danny List
8:40pm Tom Power Horan
9:10pm Sam Jones (NZ)
Recent champion: Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen
Past Aussie winners: Nil
Prize money: €300,000
Epson Tour
Casella Golf Championship
Pinehaven Country Club, Guilderland, New York
Australasians in the field: Su Oh, Jess Whitting
Recent champion: Lauren Stephenson
Past Aussie winners: Lindsey Wright (2003), Sarah Jane Smith (2008), Breanna Elliott (2015)
Prize money: $US200,000
LET Access Series
Islantilla Open
Islantilla Golf Resort, Spain
5:15pm* Belinda Ji
5:35pm* Kristalle Blum
5:45pm* Justice Bosio
10pm* Abbie Teasdale
10:10pm Stephanie Bunque
Recent champion: Inaugural event
Past Aussie winners: Nil
Prize money: €100,000
