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Fairways and greens are set to heat up across southern New South Wales next week when the NSW Open Golf Regional Qualifying Series returns.
Competition will be fierce with a substantial $50,000 purse on offer. Importantly, the top three players who are not already qualified will lock away a coveted spot in the NSW Open at the magnificent Murray Downs Golf & Country Club from November 14-17 and the chance to go head-to-head with 2022 Open Champion and LIV Golf’s Ripper GC Captain Cameron Smith.
Supported by Destination NSW, the NSW Government’s tourism and major events agency, the six-event series brings Australia’s brightest up-and-coming golfers to compete at some of the state’s best regional courses.
The series continues at Wollongong Golf Club next Tuesday, September 17, with a capacity field set to tee off at the city course. The series moves to Catalina Club at Batemans Bay (September 20-22), then finally onto Queanbeyan Golf Club for the sixth and last event of the series on September 23-25.
Some of the biggest names in Australasian golf will be in action, including four-time Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia winner Dimi Papadatos, as well as Korn Ferry Tour (US) Member John Lyras. Canberra’s Matt Millar, a dominant force with two wins in the first three qualifiers, will also be out to claim a record fifth regional crown.
Four former NSW Open champions – Harrison Crowe (2022), Josh Younger (2019), Aaron Townsend (2008) and Rick Kulacz (2006) – are also in town for the tournament.
There will be plenty of hometown interest at Wollongong next week, with several local hopes in the 120-plus strong field.
Port Kembla-based touring professional Lincoln Tighe will be a player to watch. The big-hitting Tighe will be out to secure his spot in the NSW Open after a disappointing finish in the series’ first event at South West Rocks last month. Adding to the local flavour, three-time Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia winner Jordan Zunic will also be competing.
Local amateur hopes playing include Australian Junior Champion Sam Cascio, NSW and Australian Mid-Amateur champion Colin Mitchell, and the Wollongong trio Axel Thomsen (WGC club champion), Zac Oyston and Thomas Heaton.
Olivia Wilson, General Manager – Golf at Golf NSW, said the 2024 Regional Open Qualifying Series was an important vehicle for aspiring professionals and elite amateurs looking to kick-start their Australian Summer of Golf.
“The series offers a fantastic platform for future stars to elevate their careers, with substantial prize money and the chance to secure a spot in the NSW Open,” he said.
“We expect some fierce competition, not just at Wollongong but at all of the remaining Qualifiers.”
Graeme Phillipson, Chief Operating Officer at Golf NSW, emphasised the positive impact of these tournaments on local communities.
“The Regional Open Qualifying Series brings a welcome financial boost to the host clubs and their surrounding towns. The influx of players and spectators significantly benefits the local visitor economy,” Phillipson stated.
Entry is free for spectators giving those attending the rare opportunity to walk the fairways alongside the players and witness the drama up close as the sport’s future stars emerge.
The final round of each qualifying tournament will be broadcast via Golf NSW’s broadcast partner, the Sports Entertainment Network (SEN) on the NSW Open Tournament website, nswopen.com.
Qualifying Series Schedule
Wollongong Golf Club: September 17-18
Catalina Club Batemans Bay: September 21-22
Queanbeyan Golf Club: September 23-25
(Previous qualifying series tournaments in this series):
South West Rocks: August 3-4 (Won by Matt Millar – ACT)
Coffs Harbour: August 6-7 (Won by Brett Rankin – QLD)
Teven Valley: August 9 &10 (Won by Matt Millar – ACT)
The Men’s NSW Open Golf Regional Qualifying Series is proudly supported by Destination NSW, the NSW Government’s tourism and major events agency.
Photo: Dimi Papadatos
After lifting the trophies in front of record crowds in 2023, Chile’s Joaquin Niemann and South Africa’s Ashleigh Buhai have today confirmed they will defend their titles at the 2024 ISPS HANDA Australian Open in Melbourne.
Played again in the world-first format of men, women and all abilities alongside one another, the ISPS HANDA Australian Open will be held at Kingston Heath Golf Club and The Victoria Golf Club from November 28 to December 1.
Claiming her second consecutive Patricia Bridges Bowl in 2023, after winning across the same host venues on Melbourne’s famed Sandbelt in 2022, Buhai will seek to become the first woman, and second player ever, to win a consecutive hat-trick of Australian Opens.
“I have a long history with Australia and have always loved visiting, and especially competing in the Australian Open which I’m thrilled is returning to the Melbourne Sandbelt,” Buhai said.
A major champion in 2022 when winning the AIG Women’s Open, Buhai already has a place among highly decorated company with fellow multiple winners Karrie Webb, Laura Davies and Yani Tseng all ranked as world No.1 during their careers.
“The names on the Australian Open trophy are special to be included alongside. Fortunately, I have had two years of looking at the trophy and I am hoping to make it a third this year.”
Lifting the Stonehaven Cup at The Australian last December following a thrilling play-off with Japan’s Rikuya Hoshino, Niemann will defend a title for the first time in a professional career that includes five wins around the globe and seven at home in Chile.
Considered one of the rising stars of men’s golf, Niemann’s victory in Sydney was part of a bountiful run that saw the 25-year-old earn a special invitation to The Masters at Augusta National.
“To have the opportunity to defend a title, especially a national Open, is something truly special that I am greatly looking forward to. I thoroughly enjoyed the Australian Open experience last year and think it will be a fantastic way to end a successful year,” Niemann said.
“Having played on the Melbourne Sandbelt previously, I can’t wait to try and go back-to-back across Kingston Heath and Victoria at this year’s tournament.”
The two defending champions join Min Woo Lee among the confirmed players for the 2024 ISPS HANDA Australian Open.
“Having our men’s and women’s defending champions now confirmed as returning for the 2024 ISPS HANDA Australian Open is a magnificent boost for the tournament,” Golf Australia CEO James Sutherland said.
“Ash has the chance to do something we haven’t seen before, while Joaquin is hoping to defend a title for the first time, and both have the chance to do so on two of Australia’s finest courses.”
The 2024 ISPS HANDA Australian Open will be broadcast on Fox Sports and Kayo, as well as the NINE Network.
Limited first release tickets for the ISPS HANDA Australian Open are available now via Ticketek. Save 20% off all tournament day passes until September 17.
Queenslander Cory Crawford has his eyes on the summer of golf after earning his second adidas PGA Pro-Am Series win of the year at Yamba.
Returning from a long layoff due to a back injury with zero status on the national pro-am circuit, Crawford added to his win at Ballina with a commanding five-shot victory at the Ray White Yamba Pro-Am at Yamba Golf and Country Club.
With international experience playing in China, Asia and Canada, Crawford lost all associated status required to play regularly in the adidas PGA Pro-Am Series.
Now 39th on the Order of Merit, that situation has now been rectified with Crawford eyeing off even bigger scalps during the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia season.
“I had five months off and was planning on playing some pro-ams but I looked at my ranking and I had no status, which I had no idea,” said Crawford.
“I hadn’t played a pro-am for four years so my goal was to try and get into 10 events somehow.
“I was able to do that and then obviously make enough money to get some status for next year to give me the option to go play.
“Now that I’ve been able to tick that box I’m going to play the Tour starting in October and play all the way through until March.”
HOW THE WINNING ROUND UNFOLDED
Tied with Order of Merit leader Brett Rankin after matching rounds of 6-under 66 on day one, Crawford patiently waited for scoring opportunities to present themselves on the tight Yamba layout.
Playing in the group behind, Rankin moved one clear with birdie at the short par-4 fourth but momentum would shift sharply at the par-5 eighth.
As Rankin made bogey to drop to even par on his round, Crawford made eagle to establish a two-stroke advantage.
That lead became three with birdie at the par-4 11th but Rankin fought back with birdies at 13 and 14.
Crawford took command again when Rankin dropped a shot at 15, his final winning margin ballooning from two to five when he birdied 18 and Rankin made double-bogey.
WHAT THE WINNER SAID
“Got off to a bit of a slow start yesterday but got it going after that,” said Crawford.
“Just drove it really well, which made it a little nicer to play the golf course and just played really steady.
“It’s pretty narrow. If you’re in the fairway a lot, you’re going to have plenty of good looks.
“I was able to do that, which I’ve been able to do the last month as well.
“Getting it in play was huge.”
LEADERBOARD RUNDOWN
1 Cory Crawford 66-68—134
T2 Brett Rankin 66-73—139
T2 Andrew Campbell 69-70—139
T4 Jay Mackenzie 69-71—140
T4 Lucas Higgins 71-69—140
T4 Aaron Townsend 72-68—140
NEXT UP
Focus of the adidas PGA Pro-Am Series now turns to the southern end of New South Wales, starting with the PSC Insurance Brokers Wagga Wagga Pro-Am at Wagga Wagga Country Club starting Thursday.
Travis Smyth’s stunning Sunday assault came up just short in Korea as Scott Hend also had to settle for second at the Legends Open de France.
Trailing by three at the start of the final round of the 40th Shinhan Donghae Open, a tournament co-sanctioned by the Asian Tour and Japan Golf Tour, Smyth unleashed an astonishing birdie barrage to earn a share of the lead.
The New South Welshman peeled off a career-best seven consecutive birdies to start his final round and added an eighth at the par-4 ninth to go out in 28.
It would have been regarded as one of the finest nine-hole scores ever recorded on the Asian Tour but, as preferred lies were in play, can not be recognised as official.
Regardless, it put Smyth in prime position to challenge for a second Asian Tour title.
But the flood of front nine birdies dried up on the more challenging inward nine, Smyth’s nine pars to finish seeing him fall just one shot short of Japan’s Kensei Hirata.
“Bittersweet, after shooting eight under, but not winning,” said the 29-year-old, who now moves to sixth on the Asian Tour Order of Merit.
“Seven-under yesterday and then 8-under today; amazing weekend.
“To fall one short sucks a bit, but my game is in a good spot; I think I am pretty close. I am just proud of the way I played.
“The front nine, obviously everything went my way. I do have the ability to hit good shots but to hit so many good shots in the space of nine holes is pretty amazing.
“Never had seven birdies in a row, that’s another PB of mine.”
Hend’s hopes of a second Legends Tour title were also bolstered by a strong start to his final round.
He wiped away a two-shot deficit with birdies at his opening two holes and looked the man to beat when he added a third at the par-5 fifth.
But a bogey-free 4-under 68 would not be enough as Scotland’s Greig Hutcheon stormed home with an 8-under 64 to win by two strokes.
West Australian Jason Scrivener produced his best result in close to two years to ignite his hopes of qualifying for the DP World Tour playoffs.
Scrivener’s closing round of 3-under 67 was enough for a tie for fourth at the Omega European Masters. He climbed 45 spots to 78th in the Race to Dubai Rankings and moved up 117 spots on the Official World Golf Ranking.
Cameron Percy took another step towards securing his future on the PGA TOUR Champions with a tie for sixth at the Ascension Charity Classic, projected to move up six spots to 31st in the Schwab Cup standings.
Photos: Jung Yeon-Je/AFP via Getty Images (Smyth); Phil Inglis/Getty Images (Hend)
Results
DP World Tour
Omega European Masters
Crans-sur-Sierre GC, Crans Montana, Switzerland
1 Matt Wallace 64-62-73-70—269 €496,979.28
Won in sudden-death playoff
T4 Jason Scrivener 64-69-72-67—272 €135,061.43
MC Haydn Barron 70-70—140
MC Sam Jones (NZ) 67-75—142
MC David MIcheluzzi 72-71—143
MC Andrew Martin 77-71—148
Asian Tour/Japan Golf Tour
The 40th Shinhan Donghae Open
Ocean Course at Club72, Korea
1 Kensei Hirata 71-67-62-66—266 $US191,343.96
2 Travis Smyth 68-70-65-64—267 $116,932.42
T40 Brad Kennedy 69-65-71-74—279 $5,515.45
MC Anthony Quayle 67-75—142
MC Kevin Yuan 73-71—144
MC Brendan Jones 72-75—147
MC Junseok Lee 76-74—150
MC Wonjoon Lee 75-76—151
PGA TOUR Champions
Ascension Charity Classic
Norwood Hills Country Club, St Louis, Missouri
1 YE Yang 65-69-66—200
Won at first hole of sudden-death playoff
T6 Cameron Percy 69-69-67—205
T8 Richard Green 71-69-66—206
T15 Rod Pampling 68-68-72—208
T20 Steven Alker (NZ) 74-70-65—209
T23 Stuart Appleby 72-71-67—210
T23 Steve Allan 67-73-70—210
T23 Greg Chalmers 70-68-72—210
T31 David Bransdon 70-72-69—211
T31 Mark Hensby 70-70-71—211
T60 Michael Wright 69-75-72—216
T64 John Senden 71-74-72—217
Challenge Tour
Big Green Egg German Challenge
Wittelsbacher Golfclub, Neuburg an der Donau, Germany
1 Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen 69-73-67-64—273 €43,200
MC Hayden Hopewell 72-72—144
PGA TOUR Americas
Fortinet Cup Championship
TPC Toronto (North Cse), Caledon, Ontario
1 Will Cannon 72-65-69-69—275 $US40,500
MC Grant Booth 71-74—145
MC Harry Hillier (NZ) 78-67—145
Epson Tour
Guardian Championship
Capitol Hill Golf Club, Prattville, Alabama
1 Fatima Fernandez Cano 69-66-67—202 $US39,375
T41 Fiona Xu (NZ) 71-71-71—213 $1,341
T41 Cassie Porter 76-68-69—213 $1,341
MC Maddison Hinson-Tolchard 75-71—146
MC Su Oh 74-80—154
LET Access Series
Rose Ladies Open
The Melbourne Club at Brocket Hall, England
1 Helen Briem 68-69-66—203 €13,600
T17 Momoka Kobori (NZ) 72-71-68—211 €1,320.33
MC Kelsey Bennett 76-72—148
MC Stephanie Bunque 73-76—149
MC Munchin Keh (NZ) 77-75—152
MC Wenyung Keh (NZ) 79-76—155
Legends Tour
Legends Open de France
Le Touquet Golf Resort (La Forêt Cse), France
1 Greig Hutcheon 69-70-64—203
T2 Scott Hend 69-68-68—205
11 Michael Long (NZ) 70-69-69—208
T40 Michael Campbell (NZ) 76-73-68—217
Victorian Kyle Michel has put on a superb display of iron play to take out the 67th cluBarham Border Open at CluBarham Golf and Sports Club.
The longest running event on the adidas PGA Pro-Am Series circuit, the two-day tournament attracted a field full of familiar faces but it was Michel who added his name to an impressive honour roll of past winners.
A one-stroke leader after Round 1, Michel wasted no time in asserting his ascendancy in Round 2 on Sunday.
His bogey-free round of 9-under 64 gave him a 13-under total and five-shot win from fellow Victorians Lachlan Armour (70) and Josh Younger (70).
Faced with windy conditions, Michel showed wonderful control of his ball flight which yielded birdies on three of the four par 3s.
“Your iron control had to be important on a windy day like today,” said Michel.
“I managed to get the distances right on pretty much all of them and roll in a few putts.”
HOW THE WINNING ROUND UNFOLDED
Starting his round from the par-4 fourth hole for the second straight day, Michel opened with a par before embarking on a birdie blitz.
He picked up shots at five, six and seven and then made it four in the space of five holes with birdie at the par-3 ninth.
Birdies at the par-5 11th and par-3 12th got Michel to 6-under through nine holes, finishing up a faultless round with closing birdies at 18, two and three.
WHAT THE WINNER SAID
“I got off to a really good start birdieing three of the first four holes,” said Michel.
“I made another birdie on my sixth hole, the par 3, and managed to get to 6-under through the first nine holes and kind of went on with it from there.”
LEADERBOARD RUNDOWN
1 Kyle Michel 69-64—133
T2 Lachlan Armour 68-70—138
T2 Josh Younger 68-70—138
4 Andrew Kelly 66-73—139
5 Bradley Kivimets 67-73—140
T6 Konrad Ciupek 72-69—141
T6 James Gordon 67-74—141
T6 Michael Isherwood 71-70—141
NEXT UP
The adidas PGA Pro-Am Series moves further north into New South Wales on Thursday for the $50,000 PSC Insurance Brokers Wagga Wagga Pro-Am at Wagga Wagga Country Club.
Tournament officials, the PGA of Australia and the Lae Golf Club Tournament Committee have made the decision to cancel the staging of the 2024 PNG Senior Open.
The 54-hole PGA Legends Tour event worth $80,000 was due to begin on Friday but Round 1 was cancelled after the course received 91mm of rain on the eve of the tournament.
The weather system intensified on Friday with a further 190mm of rain falling on the golf course between 6am and 5pm.
With further rain expected into Sunday, the decision was made at 4pm on Saturday afternoon to cancel the event completely.
“The current course condition and forecast weather system has cast a continued negative synopsis,” officials said in communication with players.
“This decision is based on the ability to conduct the event proper, including a composite course, and other alternatives.
“Consideration for player and course welfare was paramount in the decision-making process, whilst upholding the status and integrity of the event.”
“All feasible options to run the event were explored, factoring in all stakeholders, most notably, all professionals.”
The next event on the PGA Legends Tour schedule is the two-day LDC Moree Legends Pro-Am at Moree Golf Club from September 19-20.
A three-year adidas PGA Pro-Am Series drought ended for Steven Jeffress who revealed his PGA Tour Champions ambitions after he won the Ledonne Constructions Grafton Pro-Am today.
A 6-under-par 66, including birdies on his final two holes, gave the 48-year-old a one-shot margin over fellow Queenslander Dillon Hart and NSW Northern Rivers local Sam Brazel.
Although he doesn’t play competitively as much as he used to, and couldn’t quite remember his last pro-am victory, Jeffress had shown that a win might not be far off when he finished T4 at Kooralbyn Valley last month and then claimed a share of second at McLeod in Brisbane on Tuesday.
“I haven’t played a lot the last couple of years but the last month and a half I’ve actually started to do a bit of work on my game,” Jeffress said.
“I’ve been putting some hours in and it’s good to see it working.
“I want to keep playing because my overall goal is, at the end of next year, to go to Champions Tour Q-School in the States.
“Looking at how some of our Aussies like David Bransdon and Michael Wright have done it, you need to keep playing and competing before you hit 50.”
National Pro-Am Order of Merit leader Brett Rankin, who won at Grafton last year, finished in a share of fourth.
HOW THE WINNER’S SCORE UNFOLDED
Jeffress’s winning round featured seven birdies and the solitary bogey.
He started fast with a three on the par-4 third before dropping a shot two holes later.
Birdies then arrived with regularity at the sixth, ninth, 11th and 14th to move him to 4-under before the win was secured with back-to-back birdies on his final two holes.
An eight-metre putt secured a two on the 135m par-3 first and a two-putt after hitting the green with a 5-iron approach produced the winning birdie on the 462m par-5 second
WHAT THE WINNER SAID
Jeffress said: “The plan was that there was no plan apart from hitting good shots and the shots I wanted to hit.
“I figured 5-under wasn’t going to be enough. When you’ve been out here a while you get a sense of what’s needed.
“I thought I had to get to -6 to win outright. I wouldn’t get beat at six.”
LEADERBOARD RUNDOWN
66: Steven Jeffress (Qld)
67: Dillon Hart (Qld), Sam Brazel (NSW)
68: Brett Rankin (Qld), Jayden Cripps (NSW), Jack Pountney (NSW)
69: Sam Slater (Qld); Jack McLeod (NSW)
NEXT UP
There’s two 36-hole events coming up in New South Wales in the adidas Pro-Am Series. The Ray White Yamba Pro-Am will be held this weekend at Yamba Golf Club followed by the PSC Insurance Brokers Wagga Wagga Pro-Am at Wagga Wagga Country Club on Wednesday and Thursday next week.
Legendary NRL superstar and current Queensland State of Origin coach Billy Slater has been announced as the keynote speaker for the Australian Golf Summit.
Slater, often called the greatest fullback in the history of rugby league, has moved on from his stellar playing career to enhance his reputation as a leader through coaching Queensland to two Origin victories against fierce rivals New South Wales.
He played 323 NRL games for Melbourne Storm, winning four grand finals, five Dally M awards and two Clive Churchill Medals, as well as his remarkable career for Queensland and Australia’s Kangaroos.
Blessed with a fierce competitive drive and a relentless work ethic to go with his natural athleticism and talent, Slater is one of the most respected figures in all of Australian sport.
He will speak about effective coaching, managing setbacks and leading successful teams at the Golf Summit on October 16-17 at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre.
“I am looking forward to joining the Golf Summit this year to share some of the learnings from my career journey,” said Slater.
PGA of Australia CEO Gavin Kirkman is delighted to have Slater at the head of the list of speakers for Melbourne in October.
“Billy Slater is revered in Australian sport with good reason,” said Kirkman. “Beyond his magnificent playing career, he’s shown himself to have really special qualities in terms of leadership that we believe will be inspiring to everyone who comes to the Summit.”
Golf Australia CEO James Sutherland said: “It’s fabulous to have access to a person like Billy Slater for the Golf Summit. The first-hand ideas on leadership that Billy owns, we believe, are very relatable to everyone and very much transferrable to all walks of life.”
The Golf Summit is run by Australian Golf’s peak bodies – the PGA of Australia and Golf Australia – to bring the industry together to engage and influence key decision makers to lead, grow and innovate Australian golf. Attendees will have the chance to network, share ideas, strategies and best practices to take back to their business to help drive growth and success.
A highlight of the Summit will be the diverse range of panel sessions addressing critical business outcomes within the industry. There will be a panel tackling championing change for women and girls in golf, along with the impact of technology on golf coaching.
The two-day conference will also feature sessions on promoting diversity and inclusion, talent retention and management, biodiversity and sustainability in golf, and leveraging social media for commercial success.
Confirmed speakers for the 2024 Golf Summit:
NRL legend & Queensland Maroons Coach, Billy Slater
Former PGA Tour caddie, Steve Williams
World-renowned PGA Professional, Will Robins
Paralympian, Elle Steele
Richmond Football Club triple-premiership player, Bachar Houli
PING VP Engineering, Dr Paul Wood
CEO PGA of Australia, Gavin Kirkman
CEO Golf Australia, James Sutherland
CEO WPGA Tour of Australasia, Karen Lunn
Deputy General Manager – 13th Beach Golf Links, Sally McKenna
2023 PGA National Coach of the Year – Game Development, Asha Flynn
General Manager – Pacific Golf Club, Amber Williams
PGA Professional – Golf coach and golf educator, Hugh Marr
Biodiversity and Sustainability expert, Monina Gilbey
Biodiversity and Sustainability expert, Kate Torgersen
Lecturer – The University of Melbourne, Emma Power
READ MORE ABOUT THE SESSIONS HERE
The Asia-Pacific region’s premier event welcoming the entire golf industry, tickets for the 2024 Golf Summit are on sale now.
SECURE YOUR TICKETS HERE
Chris Wood played “smart” golf to tear up the back nine at Murwillumbah Golf Club and score a one-shot win in the Coca-Cola Murwillumbah Pro-Am.
With a run of six birdies in eight holes, the Queenslander played the second nine of the picturesque NSW Northern Rivers layout in 6-under-par 30 on the way to a 5-under 67 to snare his fourth adidas PGA Pro-Am Series victory of 2024.
National Pro-Am Order of Merit leader Brett Rankin, Cory Crawford and Bailey Arnott shared second place at 4-under.
HOW THE WINNER’S SCORE UNFOLDED
Playing in the afternoon field and starting on the sixth hole, Wood made five straight pars to begin his round. Once he made it to the back nine, the fireworks started with birdies at the 11th and 13th holes and then four in a row from hole 15.
The Queenslander’s only dropped shot of the day came with a three-putt on the par-4 first.
WHAT THE WINNER SAID
Wood said: “The putting was a bit better today. I put a bit of work in the last couple of days to get that fixed up because that’s what had been costing me.
“Every time I’ve played here previously, I’ve tried to overpower the course. Today I tried to take what I guess you’d call a smarter approach to the game. Just keep it in play off the tee and give myself as many chances as possible.
“Was fortunate the putter got hot, especially around the back nine. That six to 10-foot range was pretty crucial.”
LEADERBOARD RUNDOWN
66: Chris Wood
67: Brett Rankin, Cory Crawford, Bailey Arnott
68: Daniel Stephenson, Andrew Campbell (NSW), Alex Simpson (NSW), Will Florimo, Brenton Parrish (NSW)
NEXT UP
There’s two 36-hole events coming up in New South Wales in the adidas Pro-Am Series. The Ray White Yamba Pro-Am will be held this weekend at Yamba Golf Club followed by the PSC Insurance Brokers Wagga Wagga Pro-Am at Wagga Wagga Country Club on Wednesday and Thursday next week.
Catching the ‘golf bug’, as cliché as it sounds, is a very familiar feeling for those who have become hooked on our great game, however catching the bug for working in golf is slightly less common, yet that is exactly what happened for PGA Institute graduate Tom Keane though, who now works in a role he loves at RACV Cape Schanck Resort.
After playing the game on and off throughout his teenage years, Keane’s true passion in golf was realised when he took up a job working at Centenary Park Golf Course in Melbourne’s South.
“It came to a thing of like, ‘Oh man, I really want to start working in golf now’,” Keane said of starting at Centenary Park in 2022.
“So, I decided in 2023 that is what I wanted to do, and that year I started doing the Diploma of Golf Management at the PGA Institute.”
In his time at Centenary Park, Keane became particularly fascinated in the golf operations and management side of the industry.
“Running the operations area was sort of the main thing, and working in the pro shop and communicating with the customers was something I really loved,” he said.
A little Googling and chatting with his colleagues in the industry led Keane to the PGA Institute, and particularly the Diploma of Golf Management (now Diploma of Golf Business and Management).
With a career in the industry front of mind for Keane, his time at the PGA Institute helped refine that dream, and indeed make it reality.
“The best thing about the Institute was tour teacher, the trainer, Glenn (Burbidge), who was just the best,” said Keane.
“He’s just so knowledgeable on all kind of areas of the golf industry.
“I learned heaps about how to operate social groups and running big days, managing big days, managing finance and stuff — which was the thing I was most stressed about.”
Another aspect of the PGA Institute which Keane credits a lot of his learnings to is the diversity of his fellow students.
“I was really lucky because the class that I was in was actually with a lot of the international students as well as some local students, so you got a good perspective of what golf is to different cultures,” he said.
“So that was actually really awesome that in class I was learning about different cultures with students from different areas such as Indonesia and Hong Kong.”
Since graduating from the PGA Institute late last year, Keane has landed his dream role at RACV Cape Schanck, where he is enjoying tackling new challenges every day.
“I have taken on a lot more leadership stuff than I had at Centenary Park,” he said.
“My role is mostly in the golf operations area, so helping run the pro shop and managing stock.”
“The best thing at Cape Schanck is having more responsibility running some competitions and running corporate events and social events with members and guests that come into the hotel.”
From Warren Young and Jack Donaldson at Centenary Park to Glenn Burbidge at the PGA Institute, to now Andy Smith at Cape Schanck, Keane feels lucky that he has had great mentors throughout his journey, and although he is loving his current role, he is excited to always keep learning.
For information on the education opportunities available through the PGA Institute, visit pgaigi.com
