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 ?
Murray River local Baxter Droop has come within a whisker of setting a new course record as he assumed top spot at the Victorian PGA Associate Championship at Club Tocumwal on Thursday.
Completing the Membership Pathway Program under his father, Evan Droop, at Yarrawonga Mulwala Resort just 30 minutes up the Murray, Droop surged to a two-stroke lead with a superb 8-under 64 in Round 3.
That was just one short of the course record at the Captain’s Course but, at 8-under heading into the final round, provides a handy two-shot buffer from 36-hole leader Jack Wright (72).
Sheradyn Johnson (70) is third at 5-under followed by Daniel Gill (68) with Toby Walker (67) and Joseph Hodgson (69) in a tie for fifth at 3-under.
Trailing Wright by seven shots after Round 2, Droop was just 2-under on his round as he made the turn. From there he threw the after-burners to max, making six birdies in his next eight holes with what he claimed was a very simple strategy.
“Just focused on hitting fairways, as cliché as it sounds,” Droop said.
“Spent some time on the range concentrating on my driver and 3-wood to get myself in the best positions off the tee.”
Late on day three it appeared likely that there would be a tie at the top heading into the final round, only for Wright to drop shots at each of his final two holes in his round of 72.
The NSW/ACT Associate champion in 2023, Wright looms as Droop’s greatest threat as he seeks to go two better than his third-place finish in this event 12 months ago.
Although he will start the final round seven shots off the lead, Victorian Associate Noah Best has produced one of the most remarkable performances of the championship.
An opening round of 9-over 81 put Best in a difficult position to make the cut but back-to-back rounds of 5-under 67 will see him start the final round inside the top 10 and in red figures.
Queensland’s Jack Wright has his sights set on a second state Associate Championship after establishing a one-stroke lead at the halfway mark of the Victorian PGA Associate Championship at Tocumwal Golf Club.
In a dominant first season in 2023, Wright claimed the NSW/ACT Associate Championship and finished runner-up in his home state.
With rounds of 71-67 at Tocumwal’s Captain’s Course, Wright leads at 6-under par, one stroke clear of Damon Stephenson (69-70) with Sheradyn Johnson (69-72) from The National Golf Club two strokes further back in outright third at 3-under
Trailing Baxter Droop by three after Round 1, Wright started his second round from the 10th hole and soared up the leaderboard with three straight birdies from the 12th hole.
He dropped a shot on 18 but it would be only a temporary setback, picking up shots on his inward nine at four, six and nine to shoot 5-under and assume top spot.
Stephenson had five birdies and three bogeys in his second round of 2-under 70 while Johnson bounced back impressively after starting day two with a double bogey. She played her back nine in 3-under 33 to remain in the hunt heading into Round 3.
Joining Wright, Zac Wood and Noah Best with the equal best round of the tournament to date was NSW Associate Cameron Shearer, who shot an impressive 6-under par 30 on his back nine to sit in a tie for sixth and just five shots off the lead.
Runner-up 12 months ago, Joel Mitchell is in a tie for fourth after rounds at 74-68, level with Wood at 2-under.
The cut fell at 7-over with 56 Associates advancing to the final two rounds.
Those in the Murray River region are welcome to watch some superb golf live in person or you can follow the live scores here.
Australian Jason Day has credited a shift in mindset for his career resurgence as he prepares to defend his CJ Cup Byron Nelson crown at TPC Craig Ranch in Texas.
It had been five years between Day’s 12th and 13th PGA TOUR career victories and the circumstances were a mix of planets aligning and the golf gods rewarding persistence.
As his caddie wore the name of Day’s late mother on his bib and the final round falling on Mother’s Day, Day held off a fast-finishing Si Woo Kim (63) with a round of 9-under 62 to fast-track his climb up the world rankings.
Twelve months on he is Australia’s No.1-ranked male player, looks set to become an Olympian for the first time at Paris in August and will return to the International team for the Presidents Cup for the first time since 2017.
After years of juggling family life and the struggles through persistent back injuries, Day said that it was a switch in mentality that provided the path forward.
“Playing from more of a position of like love and passion of the game is I think far healthier to play from than having a chip on your shoulder,” Day reflected.
“It’s easy to find motivation when you have a chip on your shoulder because people are talking against you and all that stuff.
“Certain players play well with that, but I feel like that’s a limited period of time where that can happen.”
No one, according to Day, reflects the power of that mindset better than world No.1 Scottie Scheffler.
The winner of four of his past five tournaments – including a second Masters title – Scheffler is not in the field this week as he and wife Meredith await the birth of their first child.
For Day, seeing the apparent ease in which Scheffler is dominating world golf is a reminder of the power of positive thinking.
“There are guys that play from a good position of balance and love,” Day added.
“Looking at Scottie Scheffler right now, he is playing some of the best golf we’ve seen in a long time, probably since the Tiger (Woods) days. He seems like a very well-balanced person.
“It’s very difficult to do. For me personally, I’m just trying to find that balance in amongst professional life and personal life, business and everything this comes along with being a professional golfer.”
There is always more to learn for @JDayGolf.
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) May 1, 2024
His victory last year @CJByronNelson was his first win in five years.
The 13-time TOUR winner has his eyes set on successfully defending his title in Texas. pic.twitter.com/7RZ4J5CuA2
And, as a father of five himself, what advice did Day offer Scheffler for the juggle he is about to begin?
“He’s going to have to adjust a little bit. It took me a year to really adjust to being a father,” Day conceded.
“I could not find my identity in being a father because of how selfish this game can be.
“Once I found that out and I could understand it a little bit more, that’s when I started becoming a better father.
“This is going to be a whole new world that’s going to open up.
“It’s going to be for the better.”
Day is one of five Aussies in the field at the Byron Nelson, a tournament Aussies have enjoyed success in dating all the way back to Peter Thomson in 1956, Thomson’s lone PGA TOUR victory in the US.
Northern Territory golfer George Worrall played his way into this week’s Volvo China Open on the DP World Tour via a two-round pre-qualifying tournament, the tournament making its return to the schedule for the first time since COVID-19.
There are 12 Aussies in Korea for the Asian Tour co-sanctioned GS Caltex Maekyung Open and the Cameron Smith-led Ripper GC team will be gunning for back-to-back team wins at LIV Golf Singapore.
There are five Aussies in the field for the Insperity Invitational on the PGA TOUR Champions and Scott Hend and Peter Fowler join Kiwis Michael Campbell and Michael Long for the first Legends Tour event of the season in Barbados.
Photo: Tim Heitman/Getty Images
Round 1 tee times AEST
PGA TOUR
THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson
TPC Craig Ranch, McKinney, Texas
10:45pm* Jason Day
10:56pm Aaron Baddeley
3:55am Adam Scott
4:06am Min Woo Lee
4:39am Ryan Fox (NZ)
4:39am* Harrison Endycott
Defending champion: Jason Day
Past Aussie winners: Peter Thomson (1956), Bruce Devlin (1969), Adam Scott (2008), Steven Bowditch (2015), Jason Day (2023)
Prize money: $US9.5 million
TV times: Live 9:45pm-9am Thursday, Friday; Live 11pm-8am Saturday; Live 10:30pm-8am Sunday on Fox Sports 503 and Kayo.
DP World Tour
Volvo China Open
Hidden Grace GC, Shenzhen, China
10:20am* Daniel Hillier (NZ)
1:40pm* Kieran Muir (NZ)
2:30pm* Jason Scrivener
3:40pm* George Worrall
Defending champion: Mikko Korhonen (2019)
Past Aussie winners: Scott Strange (2009), Brett Rumford (2013)
Prize money: $US2.25 million
TV times: Live 3pm-8pm Thursday, Friday; Live 3:30pm-8pm Saturday; Live 2pm-7pm Sunday on Fox Sports 503 and Kayo.
Asian Tour
GS Caltex Maekyung Open
Namseoul Country Club, Korea
7:41am Brendan Jones
8:03am Deyen Lawson
8:03am* Kevin Yuan
8:36am Jack Thompson
8:36am* Won Joon Lee
8:58am Justin Warren
9:09am* Kevin Chun (NZ)
9:31am Junseok Lee
1:03pm* Jed Morgan
1:14pm Travis Smyth
1:14pm* Andrew Dodt
1:58pm Zach Murray
2:31pm* Todd Sinnott
Defending champion: Jung Chan-min
Past Aussie winners: Mike Clayton (1984)
Prize money: KRW1,300,000,000
TV times: Live 2pm-6pm Thursday, Friday; Live 1pm-4:30pm Saturday on Fox Sports 505; Live 1pm-5pm Sunday on Fox Sports 507 and Kayo.
LIV Golf
LIV Golf Singapore
Australasians in the field: Cameron Smith, Marc Leishman, Matt Jones, Lucas Herbert, Danny Lee (NZ)
Defending champion: Talor Gooch
Past Aussie winners: Nil
Prize money: $US20 million
TV times: Live from 11:15am Friday, Saturday, Sunday on 7 Plus.
Japan Golf Tour
Chunichi Crowns
Nagoya Golf Club (Wago Cse), Aichi
8:30am Anthony Quayle
12:30pm Brad Kennedy
1:10pm* Michael Hendry (NZ)
Defending champion: Hiroshi Iwata
Past Aussie winners: David Graham (1976), Graham Marsh (1977, 1981), Greg Norman (1989), Peter Senior (1993), Roger Mackay (1994), Brendan Jones (2011)
Prize money: ¥110,000,000
PGA TOUR Champions
Insperity Invitational
The Woodlands CC, The Woodlands, Texas
1:20am Steven Alker (NZ)
1:52am* Richard Green
2:23am Mark Hensby, Rod Pampling
2:44am* John Senden
2:55am* Stuart Appleby
Defending champion: Steven Alker
Past Aussie winners: Nil
Prize money: $US2.7 million
TV times: Live 2:30am-5am Saturday; Live 5am-8am Sunday, Monday on Fox Sports 505 and Kayo.
Legends Tour
Barbados Legends hosted by Ian Woosnam
Apes Hill Barbados, Saint James
Australasians in the field: Michael Campbell (NZ), Michael Long (NZ), Scott Hend, Peter Fowler
Defending champion: Inaugural event
Past Aussie winners: Nil
Epson Tour
Casino Del Sol Golf Classic
Sewailo Golf Club, Tucson, Arizona
12:44am Cassie Porter
1:50am Su Oh
5:56am* Fiona Xu (NZ)
6:40am* Amelia Garvey (NZ)
Defending champion: Gigi Stoll
Past Aussie winners: Nil
Prize money: $US250,000
PGA TOUR Americas
KIA Open
Quito Tenis Y Golf Club, Quito, Ecuador
10:50pm Jason Hong
2:50am Harry Hillier (NZ)
3:30am* Charlie Hillier (NZ)
Defending champion: Toni Hakula
Past Aussie winners: Nil
Prize money: $US225,000
PING’s Dr Paul Wood, who oversees a team of close to 100 engineers and scientists at one of the world golf’s leading equipment brands, is the latest keynote speaker to be locked in for this year’s Golf Summit in Melbourne.
Wood is the Vice President of Engineering at PING where he coordinates a department responsible for innovation, design, testing and commercialisation of new golf clubs.
He graduated from St Andrews University with a MSc and PhD in Applied Mathematics and started at PING in 2005, working on the physics of ball flight, impact dynamics, advanced measurement tools and innovations in club fitting.
Wood has a passion leading his team and for making the highest performing clubs in the world.
At Golf Summit on October 16-17, he will speak on PING’s extensive research collaborations with top golf coaches from around the world.
Through data-driven analyses, his team tackles pressing questions on golf technique every day such as the advantages of shot shapes, optimal wedge techniques, swing dynamics, and equipment specifications for elite players, demonstrating their systematic approach to addressing key coaching inquiries.
These questions and constant consultation with players and coaches drive the innovation and quality that Wood and his team aspire for at PING.
Out of the PING office, Wood is a passionate supporter of All Abilities golf, a field hockey player and a keen trail runner.
His interesting and unique perspective from within the golf industry is not to be missed at the 2024 Golf Summit later this year.
The Asia-Pacific region’s premier event welcoming the entire golf industry, tickets for the 2024 Golf Summit are on sale now.
Find tickets HERE.
The Golf Summit is proudly supported by the Melbourne Convention Bureau and the State Government’s National Business Event Program
With golf as the regular family outing growing up in Byron Bay on the New South Wales North Coast, Jess Dengate was born to live, breathe and work in the game.
Having played in elite amateur teams, it was a natural choice for Dengate to turn professional.
However, while she was plying her trade on the WPGA Tour of Australasia (then the ALPG Tour), she was also completing the PGA Membership Pathway Program at Yarra Yarra Golf Club, becoming a PGA Professional in 2017.
“I tried to play a little bit, wasn’t quite good enough, but I had some pretty awesome experiences on tour as well,” says Dengate.
“I came back in 2017 to settle into, I guess, normal life if you will, in club-land.
“I wanted to use my PGA qualifications, work in pro shops and coach for a little while.
“I gradually found my way into the admin team where I am now at Latrobe.”
Working as the Operations Manager at Latrobe Golf Club in Melbourne’s north-east, Dengate is making use of her vast experience in the world of golf, as well as her learnings from studying at the PGA Institute.
Then known as the PGA International Golf Institute when she was a student, Dengate undertook the Diploma of Golf Management. That created several opportunities for a Tour player such as herself looking at the next step in their career.
“Leaving the Tour, I knew I had to find a bridge between the practical sense of the game and getting some business education,” she adds.
“I wasn’t quite ready for the step into full-time university yet, so the Institute was a great stepping stone.
“That first year, getting those credits for a university degree provided a great pathway into the golf industry.”
The PGA Institute has a proud list of partners with higher education providers. Students today can go on to study selected bachelor degrees with Griffith University, Deakin University, Torrens University, Victoria University and Holmesglen TAFE with the credits they earn.
On top of the pathways the Institute opened for Dengate, the flexible nature and self-driven study options suited her well.
“The flexibility was great too, working as well as studying, being able to do both and figure out my path,” she says.
“The opportunity to do it remotely, rather than on-site, for me made the biggest difference.”
As well as her role at Latrobe, Dengate has been a proud WPGA Tour of Australasia board member since 2016.
Now Vice President, her passion for women in golf stretches from the professionals all the way down to grassroots at club-land.
“When I started on the board, we only had three tournaments for the 2017 season,” Dengate says.
“To see where the Tour is now is pretty special in terms of growth for women’s golf.
“Golf Australia, the PGA, and the WPGA all working together in a much closer sense than they used to has definitely helped equality in the women’s game at club level.”
Dengate is an invaluable asset to both Latrobe Golf Club and the WPGA Tour of Australasia.
With her wealth of knowledge within the golf industry, coupled with her PGA Institute studies, she understands the needs of the members she works for, and represents them in a meaningful way.
For more information on additional education and training available through the PGA, visit pga.org.au/education/.
The PGA Legends Tour will return to Western Australia for the first time in four years as the WA swing of the adidas PGA Pro-Am Series reaches new heights again in 2024.
A shift from its traditional June long weekend slot will see the $40,000 South West Isuzu South West Open start the WA stretch this weekend at Bunbury Golf Club.
It marks the beginning of a run of tournaments worth $275,000 with three Legends Tour events added worth a total of $75,000.
The Lyndsay Stephen Cottesloe Invitational will be played in conjunction with the Sanwell Cottesloe Open from May 11-12 and the veterans will play alongside the youngsters again at the inaugural Mitchell & Brown Spalding Park Legends Open.
The $25,000 Busselton Legends Pro-Am will conclude the Legends Tour’s foray in WA, their return helping to further elevate professional golf throughout the state.
“The Legends Tour boasts familiar names that golf fans throughout Western Australia would love to see play in person,” said Loretta Hughes, WA Tournaments and Membership Services Coordinator.
“We’re thrilled that they are able to return this year and that we will have them play alongside the current crop on the adidas PGA Pro-Am Series at both Cottesloe and Spalding Park.”
A few of the names to have committed already to the Legends Tour swing are reigning Order of Merit champion Andre Stolz, current Order of Merit leader Chris Taylor and Australian Senior PGA champion Jason Norris.
The adidas PGA Pro-Am Series stretch has also drawn a host of big names.
DP World Tour winners Scott Strange and Marcus Fraser are both locked in to play the South West Open starting Saturday where they will be joined by Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia tournament winners in Cameron John, Braden Becker, Daniel Fox and Rick Kulacz.
Other notable names who will tee it up during the WA swing include DP World Tour player Jason Scrivener, Korn Ferry Tour player Curtis Luck, Jarryd Felton, James Marchesani and Josh Greer.
“With our own home-grown talent and those making the trip across from the eastern states, the quality of golf we will see over the next month will be exceptional,” added Hughes.
“Our host golf clubs and sponsors have done a wonderful job in growing their events to the point where our top players now see the WA swing as an important part of their schedule.”
The GMW & Radlink Wembley Pro-Am at Wembley Golf Course will follow the South West Open on May 8 to be followed a day later by the WA PGA Foursomes Championship at Nedlands Golf Club.
Now playing the DP World Tour, Haydn Barron has vowed to team up again with good mate Ben Ferguson to go one better than their runners up finish last year to Brett Rumford and Scott Strange.
Barron’s home club, The Western Australian Golf Club, makes a welcome return to the adidas PGA Pro-Am Series for the Toro Australia – TQUIP Pro Am on May 13 before play moves five hours north to Spalding Park Golf Club.
The 2024 Mitchell & Brown Spalding Park Open will be the 50th anniversary of arguably the most popular tournament of the swing, and winner of the WA PGA Tournament of the Year in 2023. It promises to be an unforgettable event with the introduction of the PGA Legends Tour over the three days.
Sun City Country Club will host the Total Tree Services Perth Sun City CC Pro-Am for the second year after a very successful return to the schedule in 2023 where players will be asked to wear yellow as the event will incorporate the club’s Doing It For Jarrod fundraiser.
The Sun City Pro-Am was Lyle’s last professional win, his winning score remains the current course record.
The Urban Quarter Dunsborough Lakes Pro-Am will take place at Dunsborough Lakes Golf Club on May 24 before a two-week break leading into the Bennco Karratha Pro-Am in the state’s north-west.
Recent winner of the WA Regional Golf Facility of the Year and 12 months on from all 18 grass greens being in play, prize money at Karratha has increased again to $35,000, a 300 per cent increase in just two years.
The only sand green course on the WA swing, Port Hedland Golf Club will host the two-day Roy Hill Golf Classic Pro-Am from June 15-16 with the Broome WS6 and Carpet Paint & Tile Broome Pro-Am once again completing the WA leg of the adidas PGA Pro-Am Series for 2024.
Click here for PGA Legends Tour schedule
Click here for adidas PGA Pro-Am Series schedule
West Australian Hannah Green has set her sights on doubling her career win tally after joining an exclusive list of Aussie greats with a fifth LPGA Tour win in Los Angeles.
Playing in the final group with fellow Aussie Grace Kim in defence of her JM Eagle LA Championship crown, Green produced a superb back nine to sign for a Sunday round of 5-under 66 and 12-under total, three clear of Sweden’s Maja Stark (68) with a further three shots to Korea’s Haeran Ryu (69).
It was her third LPGA win inside 12 months and fifth of her career, dating back to her breakthrough KPMG Women’s PGA Championship victory in June of 2019.
The 27-year-old now joins Karrie Webb (41), Jan Stephenson (16), Minjee Lee (10) and Rachel Hetherington (8) as the only Australians with at least five LPGA Tour titles but has no intention of slowing down.
“That’s really cool. Didn’t know that stat,” said Green in her winner’s press conference.
“It’s a great honour to have my name up there along with them.
“Hopefully I keep pushing and try and get into double digits.”
Starting the final round at 7-under, Green was even par through 11 holes before a chip-in for birdie at the par-3 12th impelled her drive to the finish line.
A chip in to extend her lead 🤯@hannahgreengolf is in her element right now 🫣 pic.twitter.com/hnz83ISOgx
— LPGA (@LPGA) April 28, 2024
She backed that up with a birdie at the par-5 13th and then all but wrapped up her second straight victory at Wilshire Country Club with an eagle at the par-5 15th.
A birdie at 16 provided an extra cushion that she savoured on the 72nd hole, in particular.
“I’m really grateful that I’ve been able to step up and win by a few,” said Green, who passed $US5 million in career earnings with the winner’s cheque of $US562,500
“When I chipped in on 12, I felt like I really snagged one there.
“When I made eagle on 15 that kind of sealed the deal.
“I did see that Maja got it to 9-under so I knew what I needed to do but usually I make it really tricky on myself and only win by a shot.”
Victorious at the HSBC Women’s World Championship earlier in the season, it marks just the second multiple-win season of Green’s career. Ranked No.18 in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Ranking at the start of the week, the win also puts Green within reach of locking up a spot at the Paris Olympics in August.
“It’s definitely been on my mind,” said Green, who finished just three shots out of the medals at Tokyo 2020.
“Obviously still have six or seven weeks until the team is announced, so still a lot that can happen between now and then.
“Now that I’ve had two wins in the season, obviously this jumps me close to the top 10 in the world and solidifies my spot, but I don’t want to assume I’m on the team.
“Whatever I do between now and then, I’m just going to try and play my best golf and hope to make that team.”
Good night from Adelaide 🏆#RipperGC #LIVGolf pic.twitter.com/glkdSeSXcG
— Ripper GC (@rippergc_) April 28, 2024
There was an Aussie celebration closer to home, too, with Cameron Smith and Marc Leishman securing victory for Ripper GC in the first ever playoff in the teams event at LIV Adelaide.
After American Brendan Steele claimed individual honours at The Grange Golf Club, Smith and Leishman went out against Louis Oosthuizen and Dean Burmester of Stinger GC in the two-man aggregate format.
Two pars on the second playoff hole would be enough to claim the win, Smith and Leishman joined in wild celebrations by teammates Lucas Herbert and Matt Jones.
Results
LPGA Tour
JM Eagle LA Championship
Wilshire Country Club, Los Angeles, California
1 Hannah Green 67-69-70-66—272 $US562,500
T25 Grace Kim 64-66-76-77—283 $31,864
T39 Sarah Kemp 71-69-71-74—285 $17,644
T57 Karis Davidson 69-71-70-77—287 $9,909
MC Stephanie Kyriacou 75-71—146
MC Minjee Lee 74-72—146
MC Robyn Choi 71-75—146
MC Gabriela Ruffels 76-71—147
MC Hira Naveed 74-78—152
PGA TOUR
Zurich Classic of New Orleans
TPC Louisiana, Avondale, Louisiana
1 Rory McIlroy/Shane Lowry 61-70-64-68—263 $US1,286,050 each
T4 Garrick Higgo/Ryan Fox (NZ) 63-72-65-65—265 $234,181
MC Erik Barnes/Harrison Endycott 67-73—140
DP World Tour
ISPS HANDA Championship
Taiheiyo Club (Gotemba Cse), Gotemba, Japan
1 Yuto Katsuragawa 70-65-65-63—263 €356,625.02
T11 Daniel Hillier (NZ) 68-67-67-68—270 €32,755.56
MC Haydn Barron 70-68—138
MC Kazuma Kobori 69-70—139
MC Anthony Quayle 69-72—141
MC Brad Kennedy 70-72—142
MC Jason Scrivener 72-71—143
LIV Golf
LIV Golf Adelaide
The Grange Golf Club, Adelaide, South Australia
1 Brendan Steele 66-64-68—198 $US4m
T9 Matt Jones 66-68-68—202 $385,500
T9 Danny Lee (NZ) 64-67-71—202 $385,500
T14 Lucas Herbert 73-65-65—203 $275,000
T14 Marc Leishman 67-71-65—203 $275,000
T14 Cameron Smith 68-65-70—203 $275,000
Korn Ferry Tour
Veritex Bank Championship
Texas Rangers Golf Club, Arlington, Texas
1 Tim Widing 62-63-65-63—253 $US180,000
MC Brett Drewitt 67-69—136
MC Rhein Gibson 66-70—136
MC Steven Bowditch 76-68—144
WD Dimi Papadatos 71
Ladies European Tour
Investec South African Women’s Open
Erinvale Country and Golf Estate, Cape Town, South Africa
1 Manon De Roey 69-67-66-72—274 €48,000
T2 Momoka Kobori (NZ) 69-70-68-71—278 €24,000
PGA TOUR Champions
Mitsubishi Electric Classic
TPC Sugarloaf, Duluth, Georgia
1 Stephen Ames 71-64-67—202 $US300,000
T4 Steven Alker (NZ) 65-71-71—207 $108,000
T6 John Senden 67-70-71—208 $76,000
T17 Mark Hensby 72-71-69—212 $28,280
T17 Richard Green 67-72-73—212 $28,280
T26 Michael Wright 74-66-74—214 $17,000
T35 Stuart Appleby 74-72-70—216 $10,460
T35 Steve Allan 69-69-78—216 $10,460
T46 David McKenzie 73-73-72—218 $6,800
66 David Bransdon 73-77-74—224 $2,400
Challenge Tour
UAE Challenge
Saadiyat Beach Golf Club, Abu Dhabi, UAE
1 Rasmus Neergard-Petersen 65-72-70-67—274 €44,752.94
T25 Connor McKinney 69-69-69-75—282 €2,293.59
MC Hayden Hopewell 77-75—152
MC Tom Power Horan 77-76—153
Korean PGA
2024 Woori Finance Championship
Ferrum Club (East-West Cse)
1 Seongjae Lim 70-67-71-69—277 KRW300m
T23 Wonjoon Lee 73-69-73-70—285 KRW13.8m
T44 Kevin Chun (NZ) 69-74-77-70—290 KRW7.26m
T49 Junseok Lee 68-73-74-76—291 KRW6.78m
Epson Tour
IOA Championship
Morongo Golf Club at Tukwet Canyon, Beaumont, California
1 Juliana Hung 64-64-67—195 $US30,000
2 Fiona Xu (NZ) 68-69-67—204 $19,053
T54 Su Oh 71-71-75—217 $797
MC Cassie Porter 74-74—148
MC Amelia Garvey (NZ) 81-74—155
PGA TOUR Americas
Diners Club Peru Open
Los Inkas Golf Club, Lima, Peru
1 Stuart Macdonald 69-66-65-71—271
T18 Harry Hillier (NZ) 68-70-71-71—280
T62 Jason Hong 69-73-77-74—293
MC Charlie Hillier 73-73—146
We have four on home soil and 32 players spread between the US, South America, South Africa, Asia and the Middle East in another massive week for Australia’s best golfers.
Cameron Smith, Marc Leishman, Lucas Herbert and Matt Jones return to The Grange Golf Club this week for the second edition of LIV Golf Adelaide as Hannah Green defends her JM Eagle Championship on the LPGA Tour in Los Angeles, the field boasting all nine Aussies who played last week’s Chevron Championship.
Japan Golf Tour regulars Brad Kennedy and Anthony Quayle join West Australians Jason Scrivener and Haydn Barron at the DP World Tour’s ISPS HANDA Championship where Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit winner Kazuma Kobori has been drawn to play with fellow Kiwi Daniel Hillier for the opening two rounds.
Queenslander Scott Hend narrowly missed out on adding to the eight-strong Aussie contingent for the PGA TOUR Champions Mitsubishi Electric Classic, he and Greg Chalmers both falling just short at the pre qualifier.
Tom Power Horan, Connor McKinney and Hayden Hopewell are playing the Challenge Tour’s UAE Challenge in Abu Dhabi, Sydney’s Jason Hong is in Lima for the PGA TOUR Americas Diners Club Peru Open and Harrison Endycott has paired up with Erik Barnes for the Zurich Classic, the PGA TOUR two-man teams event.
Ahead of her title defence, Hannah Green is ready to look past the disappointment of a missed cut at a major, and she has history on her side.
The 27-year-old missed the cut at last week’s Chevron Championship in Texas, pointing to her disastrous start on Thursday for putting her back against the wall.
Yet if she was concerned that it will hamper her return to Wilshire Country Club in Los Angeles, Green needs only look back 12 months to find a formula that proved fruitful.
“Last year I also missed the cut at Chevron and came into the week and obviously won,” Green recalled.
“I am pretty good at taking results from the previous week and putting them aside, but it’s maybe a little bit more pressure now that I’ve actually won here.
“I’m looking forward to the challenge. It helps that I like the golf course. I wish that I could say that about every course we played and had the same feeling.
“It’s kind of the same when we go to Portland. I won there and had some good results and I get the same type of feelings.
“Even just playing the back nine kind of remembering the putts that I holed, I kind of recreated the putt that I holed on 18 in regulation. Just things like that really make it helpful and give me more confidence.
“I don’t want to get too ahead of myself. I still need to make sure I play four solid days of good golf.”
Round 1 tee times AEST
PGA TOUR
Zurich Classic of New Orleans
TPC Louisiana, Avondale, Louisiana
10:13pm* Garrick Higgo/Ryan Fox (NZ)
11:44pm* Erik Barnes/Harrison Endycott
Defending champions: Davis Riley, Nick Hardy
Past Aussie winners: Cameron Smith/Jonas Blixt (2017), Cameron Smith/Marc Leishman (2021)
Prize money: $US8.9 million
TV times: Live 10pm-8:30am Thursday; Live 11:15pm-8:30am Friday; Live 11pm-8am Saturday; Live 1am-8am Monday on Fox Sports 503 and Kayo.
LPGA Tour
JM Eagle LA Championship
Wilshire Country Club, Los Angeles, California
12:48am Stephanie Kyriacou
12:59am Grace Kim
1:10am* Minjee Lee
1:21am* Hannah Green
1:43am* Robyn Choi
1:54am Karis Davidson
5:48am Sarah Kemp
6:21am* Hira Naveed
6:32am* Gabriela Ruffels
Defending champion: Hannah Green
Past Aussie winners: Minjee Lee (2019), Hannah Green (2023)
Prize money: $US3.75 million
TV times: Live 8:30am-11:30am Friday, Saturday; Live 8am-11am Sunday, Monday on Fox Sports 503 and Kayo.
DP World Tour
ISPS HANDA Championship
Taiheiyo Club (Gotemba Cse), Gotemba, Japan
7:10am Jason Scrivener
12:30pm Kazuma Kobori (NZ), Daniel Hiller (NZ)
1:10pm* Anthony Quayle
2:20pm* Brad Kennedy, Haydn Barron
Defending champion: Lucas Herbert
Past Aussie winners: Lucas Herbert (2023)
Prize money: €2 million
TV times: Live 1pm-6pm Thursday, Friday; Live 1pm-5:30pm Saturday; Live 12:30pm-5:30pm Sunday on Fox Sports 503.
LIV Golf
LIV Golf Adelaide
The Grange Golf Club, Adelaide, South Australia
Shotgun start 11.45am
Australasians in the field: Cameron Smith, Marc Leishman, Lucas Herbert, Matt Jones, Danny Lee (NZ)
Defending champion: Talor Gooch
Past Aussie winners: Nil
Prize money: $US20 million
TV times: Live 11:30am-4:30pm Friday, Saturday and Sunday on Channel 7 and 7 Plus.
Korn Ferry Tour
Veritex Bank Championship
Texas Rangers Golf Club, Arlington, Texas
10:36pm Steven Bowditch
10:59pm Dimi Papadatos
3:36am* Rhein Gibson
4:34am* Brett Drewitt
Defending champion: Spencer Levin
Past Aussie winners: Nil
Prize money: $US1 million
Ladies European Tour
Investec South African Women’s Open
Erinvale Country and Golf Estate, Cape Town, South Africa
6:35pm* Momoka Kobori (NZ)
Defending champion: Ashleigh Buhai
Past Aussie winners: Nil
Prize money: €320,000
TV times: Live 9pm-1am Thursday, Friday, Saturday on Fox Sports 505; Live 9pm-1am Sunday on Fox Sports 503 and Kayo.
PGA TOUR Champions
Mitsubishi Electric Classic
TPC Sugarloaf, Duluth, Georgia
Australasians in the field: Steven Alker (NZ), Steve Allan, Stuart Appleby, David Bransdon, Richard Green, Mark Hensby, David McKenzie, John Senden, Michael Wright
Defending champion: Stephen Ames
Past Aussie winners: Nil
Prize money: $US2 million
TV times: Live 2am-5am Saturday; Live 6am-8am Sunday; Live 5am-8am Monday on Fox Sports 505 and Kayo.
Challenge Tour
UAE Challenge
Saadiyat Beach Golf Club, Abu Dhabi, UAE
12:40pm Tom Power Horan
5:40pm* Connor McKinney
6:30pm Hayden Hopewell
Defending champion: Maximilian Rottluff
Past Aussie winners: Nil
Prize money: €300,000
Epson Tour
IOA Championship
Morongo Golf Club at Tukwet Canyon, Beaumont, California
Australasians in the field: Amelia Garvey (NZ), Cassie Porter, Su Oh, Fiona Xu (NZ)
Defending champion: Miranda Wang
Past Aussie winners: Nil
Prize money: $US200,000
PGA TOUR Americas
Los Inkas Golf Club, Lima, Peru
10:25pm Charlie Hillier (NZ)
2:55am* Jason Hong
3:25am Harry Hillier (NZ)
Defending champion: Marcos Montenegro
Past Aussie winners: Nil
Prize money: $US225,000
The five women-strong team who will represent Australia in this year’s Women’s PGA Cup in Oregon in October has been decided today after two days of qualifying at Sandhurst Club.
Queenslander Katelyn Must and Victorian Jenna Hunter made sure they would be on the Australian team, both tied at the top of the qualifying at 5-under after the two rounds.
Grace Lennon from Victoria finished in third place, and previous Australian captain Lisa Jean, who coaches at Royal Canberra finished fourth after 36-holes.
Tied for fifth after today’s round, a playoff was needed to determine who would make up the final spot on the team between Sienna Voglis and Jessica Cook.
Heading back to the first tee of the Champions Course at Sandhurst, Cook pulled her tee-shot left, and struggled from there while Voglis held steady to secure the final spot.
Captain of Australia in the first edition of the Women’s PGA Cup in 2019, Lisa Jean was emotional post-round, relieved she will get another chance to represent her country.
“Full of emotion at the moment. I played pretty bad today, and I knew the scores coming up 18,” she said.
Playing in the final group, a par on 18 would have put Jean into the playoff with Cook and Voglis, a bogey or worse and she wouldn’t be on the team.
“I just stood up and smashed driver, had 105-metres slightly into the wind, clubbed up to 9-iron and hit a great shot to about a metre-and-a-half,” she said.
“I was pretty nervous over the putt, and then just finally hit a really good solid putt.
“I seemed to put it all together when it mattered. I guess all those years on the European Tour paid off!”
Jean and her team mates will be looking to lean on that tour experience again in October, with all of this year’s qualifiers having plenty of past playing experience past.
“We’ve all played on tour, yeah we’re club pros now but I think that being ex-tour players and competitive, we might go alright,” said Jean.
“We’ve got a good team this year, Sienna and I are the originals we call ourselves from the first team. Then Katelyn played in the second Cup two years ago, and Grace and Jenna are just great golfers.”
The Women’s PGA Cup will be held at Sunriver Resort in Oregon from October 1-5 later this year, with Australia up against teams from Canada, Great Britain & Ireland, South Africa, Sweden and the United States.
Photo: Lisa Jean, Sienna Voglis, Katelyn Must and Grace Lennon. Absent: Jenna Hunter.
One of the unsung heroes of the Australian golf industry, Ray Walkerden, has passed at the age of 90.
Founder of Walkerden Golf in 1977, Walkerden passed suddenly last week having left an indelible mark on Australian golf.
The Managing Director of a successful pharmaceuticals company in Thailand, Walkerden was invited to make a career switch in his early 40s to become partners with colleague Geoff Howarth in a newly-established golf accessories business.
Sensing the opportunity to provide a more complete service to PGA Professionals and golf clubs throughout Australia than was being provided by major distributors, Walkerden drew parallels with what he had experienced in the pharmaceuticals game.
As Howarth covered Newcastle and northern New South Wales, Walkerden went on the road, covering an estimated 1 million kilometres travelling from golf club to golf club.
Such were his travels that Walkerden once received an award from Mercedes Benz acknowledging the 250,000 kilometres he had covered in the space of just four years.
Specialising in software such as headwear, apparel, socks and accessories, Walkerden grew the business to the point where Walkerden Golf became the Australian distributors for Softspikes, Texace and Lyle & Scott, among others.
Walkerden became sole proprietor in 1981 and developed it into very much a family business, wife Brigita taking care of the accounts back in Sydney as she raised their two boys, Brent and Clinton, both of whom continue to build on the Walkerden Golf legacy.
A club golfer at Oatlands Golf Club in Sydney, Walkerden received the Services to Golf Industry Award at the PGA Show dinner in 2002, the highest honour that the PGA can bestow on a non-Member.
“Dad’s golfing highlight was winning the C Grade Club Championship one year but to be recognised by golf professionals for his services to the industry was something he clearly treasured,” said Clinton.
In addition to servicing PGA Professionals in their retail business, Walkerden Golf was a long-time supporter of the PGA’s Trainee Program, further entrenching their positive influence on the Australian golf industry.
PGA of Australia CEO Gavin Kirkman paid tribute to the contribution Walkerden made to PGA Professionals and golfers across Australia.
“Sourcing equipment back in the 1980s and 1990s was not as easy as it is now,” Kirkman said.
“I first met Ray in 1990 and he was passionate about providing a complete service to PGA Professionals far and wide.
“Many thousands of golfers across the country will have purchased equipment distributed by Walkerden Golf without perhaps understanding the effort it took to put various items in their pro shop.
“We are deeply saddened to learn of Ray’s passing but will never forget the contribution that Walkerden Golf has and continues to make to golf in Australia.”
