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West Australian Minjee Lee has been awarded the Greg Normal Medal for the second time in four years at a gala dinner held at Brisbane’s City Hall on Tuesday night.
Victorious in 2018, Lee edged out a hot field to receive Australian golf’s highest honour, a field that included her younger brother Min Woo.
A celebration of the 2021 performances by the country’s high-performing men and women on the golf course, the Greg Norman Medal also serves as the official launch of the 2021 Fortinet Australian PGA Championship and Fortinet Australian WPGA Championship to be played at Royal Queensland Golf Club starting Thursday.
About to commence her eighth season on the LPGA Tour, the consistency that has been the hallmark of Lee’s career was again evident in 2021 but the high point came with a maiden major title at the Amundi Evian Championship.
A five-time winner on the LPGA Tour prior, a major was all that was missing from Lee’s list of accomplishments, coming back from a seven-stroke deficit to defeat Jeongeun Lee6 to join Jan Stephenson, Karrie Webb and Hannah Green as Australia’s only winners of women’s major championships.
“Winning a major championship was the realisation of a lifelong dream and to be able to cap it off with the Greg Norman Medal makes it even more special,” said Lee, who had a total of seven top-five finishes on the LPGA Tour, won $US1,542,332 in prizemoney and ended the year ranked No.7 in the world.
“There were so many outstanding results by Australian golfers in 2021 so to be recognised in this way is a great honour.
“The fact that my brother was also nominated is also a great source of pride and joy for our family.
“Being awarded the Greg Norman Medal in 2018 was a significant achievement in my career and winning it for a second time only adds to a year that I’ll never forget.
“I’d also like to congratulate all of the winners in the other categories in what was a great year for Australian golf.”
TPS Victoria champion and Order of Merit winner Brad Kennedy was named PGA Tour of Australasia Player of the Year while two-time Ladies European Tour winner Stephanie Kyriacou was awarded WPGA Tour of Australasia Player of the Year.
The Greg Norman Medal also recognises the coaches and PGA Professionals who have achieved high levels of success in their own endeavours.
Coach of Cameron Smith and 2021 Australian Amateur champion Louis Dobbelaar, Grant Field was named High Performance Coach of the Year, Albert Park’s Jamie McCallum received the Game Development Coach of the Year gong, Port Macquarie Golf Club PGA Professional James Single was named Club Professional of the Year and Luke Altschwager the Management Professional of the Year for the transformation he has overseen of Parkwood Village on the Gold Coast.
Greg Norman Medal winners list
Greg Norman Medal: Minjee Lee
ISPS Handa PGA Tour of Australasia Player of the Year: Brad Kennedy
WPGA Tour of Australasia Player of the Year: Stephanie Kyriacou
SParms Legends Tour Player of the Year: Andre Stolz
PGA of Australia National Coach of the Year (High Performance): Grant Field (Pelican Waters Golf Club)
PGA of Australia National Coach of the Year (Game Development): Jamie McCallum (Albert Park Driving Range)
PGA of Australia National Club Professional of the Year: James Single (Port Macquarie Golf Club)
PGA of Australia National Management Professional of the Year: Luke Altschwager (The Club at Parkwood Village)
PGA of Australia National Associate of the Year: Elliott Beel (Mackay Golf Club)
The Karrie Webb Cup has been officially unveiled as Royal Queensland in its pomp prepares for Australia’s newest women’s tournament.
WPGA Tour Australasia chief executive Karen Lunn and long-time touring professional Sarah Jane Smith did the honours on the balcony of Royal Queensland’s clubhouse on Monday in the absence of seven-time major champion, who is at her US home in Florida this week.
This Thursday to Sunday marks the first playing of the Fortinet Australian WPGA Championship alongside the Fortinet Australian PGA Championship at RQ, women making their way into the event in a 24-player field with the same first prize – $180,000 – plus the newly-struck trophy in Webb’s name.
“It’s fantastic,” said Lunn. “Obviously Karrie’s one of our greatest-ever champions, if not our greatest ever champion. To have her put her name to this trophy in the inaugural year of the Fortinet WPGA Championship means a lot.
“I think that it shows what a great champion Karrie has been and also what she does to give back to our sport in Australia. The fact that she gives support to our younger players, gives advice and is always there when they need anything. I’m sure everyone playing this week is going to want to be the first name on that trophy.”
Smith, the Queenslander who recently passed through the gruelling eight-round LPGA Q-series to regain her LPGA Tour card, said her relationship with Webb had stretched over many years and two distinct phases.
“If there’s a trophy you’d want to put your name to, it’d be something to do with Karrie Webb,” she said. “She’s been an incredible role model to all Australians really. She’s been incredible to me and I’m lucky enough to call her a friend.”
When they met, Smith was Sarah Jane Kenyon and a budding young professional out of Geelong on Victoria’s Surf Coast, and starry-eyed at meeting the woman she idolised.
“I feel like there’s the ‘before I knew Karrie’ and the ‘after I knew her’,” said Smith, who is now based in America but also spends time on the Sunshine Coast. “I kind of see them as two different people because I just admired her so much.
“When I first got to know her, I found it really hard to be myself. I was just constantly ‘Oh my God! It’s Karrie Webb!’ But she’s just one of the most genuine people to be around and she has done everything she can for us. We love her and she’s a great person to be around.”
Smith has played 15 years on the LPGA Tour, where she travels with husband and caddie Duane and their two-year-old son Theo. When she started out, Smith thought she would play a few years in the US and come home to Queensland.
“Things change,” she admitted. “I still love what I do. I’m lucky enough to have my husband with me, which makes it easier to be on the road.”
As for toddler Theo, “he’s very forgiving of us”.
Now qualifying as a veteran on the tour at 37, she feels that this phase of her career – as a mother – could see improvement.
“I think it just gives you perspective. In the long run I think it’s going to make me a better player.”
This week’s event has put a spring in the step of Lunn, a former tour star herself.
“I think everyone’s just happy to be back playing again,” she said. “Obviously we’ve got some challenging circumstances this week as everyone has out there in the community.
“Everyone’s glad to be here playing and I think any time the men and women here are playing together there’s a very different vibe and everyone really enjoys the experience.”
Television coverage is with Foxtel and streaming through Kayo Sports as well as with Kayo Freebies from Thursday.
Brad Kivimets rode his good fortune in amongst some more gritty golf to maintain his lead through three rounds of the Victorian PGA Championship at Moonah Links today, but he has been joined by three challengers.
Seeking to win his first top-level professional title, the Portsea Golf Club teaching professional scrambled to a 75 with a double bogey at the par-three 17th when he flared his tee shot wide to the right into deep rough.
It opened the door for others and a trio of them have joined him in a four-way tie at the top at nine under par overall – order of merit champion Brad Kennedy (69 today), New South Wales star Blake Windred (also 69) and defending champion Chris Wood (71).
Queenslander Michael Sim (74) is just a shot farther back at eight under in what shapes up as a fabulous finish tomorrow on the Mornington Peninsula.
There are 10 players within four shots of the lead, leaving it as a wide-open contest tomorrow.
Kivimets followed rounds of 68-64 with a three-over round on the tougher Open course, starting out with a remarkable birdie at the first hole from deep rough down the left, apparently nerveless.
“Looks can be deceiving,” he said later, to correct the false impression. “There was a bit of luck involved, but I’ll take it.”
Soon afterward he caught at least two great breaks – at the par-five fourth hole where his flared drive clanged off the top of a tree and back into play, and at the par-four ninth hole where he was millimetres from driving out of bounds on the left.
The Victorian’s ball came to rest so close to the painted out-of-bounds line there that it required two rules officials to adjudicate that he could play it into the green.
Veteran rules official Trevor Herden ultimately deemed that part of the ball was in bounds, and that he could play on, and Kivimets was relieved.
“That’s what I thought,” he told Herden, then stood up and knocked his short iron shot on to the green and made par.
“My understanding was the ball had to be completely over the line, which it wasn’t,” he said later.
“That’s what the rules official said straight away. That was pretty fortunate.”
Kivimets, 27, has previously won three pro-ams in Australia but no higher echelon events, and he only found his place in the field by winning the PGA Professionals Championship of Victoria title in Melbourne a couple of weeks ago.
“It was a lot of fun, I enjoyed it,” said the Melburnian.
“It was tough work for me today. I was grinding out there today, made some nice saves here and there but unfortunately made some bad swings at the end that cost myself a bit.
But at least I walked off and I’m still tied for the lead. That’s never a bad thing. If you had said to me on Thursday morning we’ll put you tied for the lead with a few other people, I would’ve jumped at it.”
The lowest score of the day in tricky winds was 69, and Kennedy was one of those, perhaps the stand-out of the others.
The Queenslander rattled home with four back-nine birdies including a miraculous four at the par-five 15th hole after he lost his second shot way right, luckily found it in the mulga, and made “a pretty amazing up-and-down” from there.
Kennedy has just resumed playing and practising after spending five months overseas this year taking up the privileges of his order of merit win – a start in the US Open, the Open Championship and the World Golf Championship.
“I haven’t practised since I got back from the WGC in August,” he said.
“I’ve been working hard on my training trying to get ready for next year. I only picked up my golf clubs last Thursday. But it’s nice to play a few rounds under these conditions and see where your game’s at.”
The experience of playing against the world’s best left him with something to work with.
“You’re always try to match yourself against the best and to play the same course as they play gives you a perspective of where you’re at. I learnt a lot about myself but also the quality of play out there in the US and in Europe is amazing.”
Plenty of others made runs on the day, with Wood having a four-metre birdie putt at the last to take the outright lead but missing.
Windred and Paul Rodney lead the pro-am challenge at 24 under par entering the final round.
Queenslander Michael Sim surged to the top of the leaderboard at the Victorian PGA Championship this morning with a six-under par round of 66.
Sim, 37, moved to ten-under for the tournament courtesy of seven birdies which included birdies on all four par-5s on the Moonah Links Legends Course.
His stellar opening two rounds have surprised himself as he entered the summer of golf with minimal preparation and uncertainty surrounding travel arrangements.
“I was really umming and ahhing on whether or not I was going to come down from Queensland. We had to leave before the borders open and I only decided to come down on Sunday,” he said.
“The last four weeks I’ve probably had two rounds of golf. I haven’t been playing. I came down here with no expectations. I just wanted to get back into playing tournament golf.
“That was probably my first round in the morning since the NSW Open. I’ve been doing some coaching, but I haven’t been playing. I’ve done a little bit of practice in the last few weeks but I wanted to come down here and just see how the week went, and then play next week and get into the Australian PGA in January.
“I’m a bit shocked to be leading the tournament after the morning round, but I’ll just play two more rounds of golf and see how I go.”
Two shots back from Sim is defending champion Christopher Wood who entertained those watching with nine birdies in a round of 67.
“I actually didn’t realise that I’d had nine birdies,” he said.
“The putter has been pretty good this week, especially from the 6 to 10 foot range. There are a lot of birdies out there for us so I’m happy to make them.”
Wood, 30, is defending a title for the first time in his career, but he believes that the lack of tournament golf in recent times has removed the extra expectation that comes with being the reigning champion.
“It’s all new to me. I wouldn’t say there’s a lot of pressure, I’m just trying to enjoy getting back into competitive golf.”
European Challenge Tour player Blake Windred was another who shot five-under par for the day to be four shots back from Sim.
Windred had the chance to make greater inroads, but he slipped back with two bogeys in the closing six holes.
“Through the front nine I made a fair few birdies in a row, but it was a disappointing finish again.
“It’s something to build on, but I definitely need to work on my long game.
“I 100% know my putting is up to standard and I can hole most putts on the green. It’s just about giving myself the right putt and giving myself that opportunity. The way I’ve been hitting it is a little bit hit and miss so I’ll be on the range this afternoon sorting it out.
The 24-year-old returned home recently from the European season and has relished being able to work on his game since being back in Australia.
“I was able to have a week off when I got back from Spain. It’s been good to see my coach and have some free time to practise,” he said.
“That’s the thing I missed while I was overseas, I just didn’t have much time to practise because you’re flat out playing and competing. Which is great, but it’s something I can definitely adjust heading into next season in Europe.”
Queenslander Shae Wools-Cobb also continued to push up the leaderboard as his round of 68 moved him to seven-under for the tournament.
In the teams event – the Victorian Celebrity Amateur Challenge – the top 20 teams progress to the weekend and the pairing of Brock Gillard and Charlotte Thomas entered the clubhouse in the lead after the morning groups completed their rounds.
Jockeys Damien Oliver and Glen Boss are likely to finish inside the top 20 as are former AFL players Brendan Fevola and Dale Thomas.
Unheralded Kevin Smith has taken the first round lead in the Victorian PGA Championship at Moonah Links after an opening 67 in windy conditions on the Mornington Peninsula.
Teaching PGA Professional Smith put his stellar opening round down to “dumb luck”, but he made six birdies and just the one bogey at the par-three third hole where he missed a putt of less than a metre.
The 38-year-old secured his place for this week by finishing in the top three of the PGA Professionals Championship of Victoria at Commonwealth last month. He leads by a shot from Brad Kivimets, Peter Lonard, Josh Clarke, Dimitrios Papadatos, James Grierson, Michael Sim, and Andrew Martin.
“Just luck. I’ll put it down to luck,” Smith said after his five-under par round on the Legends course in the morning.
“I know it sounds ridiculous, but it was just luck. It was windy. But the course is awesome. You see it pretty early on and as long as you get the ball rolling on line it’s not going to miss. The greens are so good.
“So it was just dumb luck. It could be the absolute opposite tomorrow. I finished fourth to last or something here last year, so if I improve on that, I’m happy. I know that sounds ridiculous.”
Smith, who hails from Waverley Golf Club in Melbourne, turned professional in 2012 but lost his playing card after a year and turned to teaching. He completed a greenkeeping apprenticeship at his home club, and more recently worked as the manager at Warburton Golf Club outside Melbourne and he is now teaching and in the shop at Drummond Golf in Dandenong.
“I’m just happy to play,” he said. “Someone will go lower, someone will shoot nine under today, one of these guys who’s a decent player. You can tell. Someone will go crazy.”
No one did “go crazy” as the 50km/h morning winds proved the best time of the day to play.
Portsea club pro Kivimets, who also graduated to the field via last month’s event in Melbourne, and two-time Australian Open champion Lonard, took advantage of the early conditions to card 68s.
“On the sixth hole the wind really started to pick up, but I was somewhat comfortable with these conditions. It forces you to hit one shot and you can’t overthink it,” Kivimets said.
In the afternoon, the New South Wales trio of Clarke, Papadatos and Grierson, plus Queenslander Sim, slogged it out to put themselves in a good position in the tournament’s initial stages.
For Papadatos, things looked far more bleak when he was two-over through three holes and thinking “maybe 78. I was packing my bags”.
“I got off to a terrible start. I missed a really easy birdie on one and bogeyed two and three, so it wasn’t looking good. I just hung in there and hit a couple of good shots coming in.”
Meanwhile, 28-year-old Grierson relished the challenges the weather and the course presented today.
“I had a fair bit of control over my ball, which was nice,” he said.
“I tried to hold myself to my high standards, and if I signed for 73 or 68 or whatever it is, treat myself to how I can do it and go from there.”
“I love hard golf. It means you have to hit the fat of the green, pars are gold, and for some reason I love that type of golf.”
Defending champion Christopher Wood is two shots from the lead alongside Victorians Ben A Campbell and Edward Donoghue, New South Welshmen Andrew Dodt and Justin Warren, and Queenslander Shae Wools-Cobb.
Only 26 professional players in the field of 90 broke par for the day and they’ll tackle the Legends Course again tomorrow to try to secure their place for the weekend which will be staged on the Open Course.
Unheralded PGA professional Kevin Smith has taken the early lead in the Victorian PGA Championship at Moonah Links after an opening 67 in windy conditions on the Mornington Peninsula.
Smith put his lofty position down to “dumb luck”, but he made six birdies and just the one bogey at the par-three third hole where he missed a putt of less than a metre.
Smith, 38, found his way into the field by finishing in the top three of the PGA Professionals Championship of Victoria at Commonwealth last week. He leads by a shot from Portsea club pro Brad Kivimets, who also graduated to this field via last week’s event in Melbourne, and veteran Peter Lonard, both of whom shot 68s in winds that gusted to 50 km/h.
“Just luck. I’ll put it down to luck,” Smith said after his five-under par round on the Legends course in the morning.
“I know it sounds ridiculous, but it was just luck. It was windy. But the course is awesome. You see it pretty early on and as long as you get the ball rolling on line it’s not going to miss. The greens are so good.
“So it was just dumb luck. It could be the absolute opposite tomorrow. I finished fourth to last or something here last year, so if I improve on that, I’m happy. I know that sounds ridiculous.”
Smith, who hails from Waverley Golf Club in Melbourne, turned professional in 2012 but lost his playing card after a year and turned to teaching. He completed a greenkeeping apprenticeship at his home club, and more recently worked as the manager at Warburton Golf Club outside Melbourne and now teaching and in the shop at Drummond Golf in Dandenong.
He has no illusions about his ability to stay on top of the leaderboard, though. “I’m just happy to play,” he said. “Someone will go lower, someone will shoot nine under today, one of these guys who’s a decent player. You can tell. Someone will go crazy.”
He has played more high-level competitive golf than any other player in the field in 2021 yet Champions Tour regular David McKenzie is playing down any sense of expectation ahead of the RM Williams Australian PGA Seniors Championship starting in Sydney on Thursday.
This is the fifth year in a row that Richmond Golf Club in Sydney’s west will host Australia’s leading over-50s male players, the 2021 field boasting such familiar names as McKenzie, Peter Lonard, Peter O’Malley, Peter Fowler and Mike Harwood.
While international playing opportunities have been limited for many, McKenzie returned to Melbourne three weeks ago after playing 19 events on the Champions Tour in the US, recording two top-six finishes to finish 53rd on the moneylist and retain his card.
With brother Justin seriously ill, McKenzie skipped the final event of the year to return home early but despite being the most credentialed player in the field is playing down any expectation that he is the man to beat this week.
“I saw ‘Chooky’ Fowler leaving the gym when I arrived on Tuesday and he was in there again when I was getting my bacon and eggs this morning so I’m under no illusion that Chooky wants to play well,” said McKenzie.
“Whenever I’ve had high expectations of myself or thought that I was the better player or a better chance to win I’ve never performed at my best.
“I’ve always tried to play down my expectations of what I want to do in a tournament because the golf ball doesn’t know that you’re the form player and the hole doesn’t know you’re meant to hole more putts than somebody else.
“Generally speaking, I just go about the process of doing the work that I need to do to be ready to play. Then I go out, let it rip and see how it goes from there.”
Third behind Michael Long and Peter Senior at Richmond in 2018, McKenzie has missed the past two Australian Senior PGA Championships but showed his class with back-to-back wins on the SParms Legends Tour in March this year.
And although he admits the likes of Lonard, O’Malley, Harwood and Fowler had stronger careers in their earlier days, he is coming off a fourth straight season on the world’s most competitive senior tour.
“I always see those guys as being hard to beat,” said McKenzie, who has been drawn to play with Guy Wall and Shaquill Mongol in Thursday’s two-tee start.
“Peter O’Malley, Mike Harwood, Peter Lonard, Michael Long, all those guys had way better careers when they were younger than I did but at the moment I’m playing at a higher level than what they are.
“To me, that evens things out and I might be even sharper because I’m doing it that little bit more and at that little bit of a higher level.
“That doesn’t mean you’re going to win but I’ll be fortunate in the sense that I can play not at my best and still be competitive.”
The 54-year-old has taken to Google Maps to familiarise himself with the Richmond layout but believes the weather forecast may have an even greater impact on who holds the trophy aloft on Saturday.
“Looking at some Google Maps and from memory it is a very narrow course,” McKenzie added.
“It’s not necessarily long but it’s going to be interesting to see how it plays this week because I’m assuming it’s going to be wet.
“It’s going to be a test of your patience and resilience to be able to keep your head on and bring the best golf when you can.”
All groups will tee off between 7am and 8.50am AEDT from the first and 10th tees on Thursday with the top 50 and ties after 36 holes to advance to the third and final round on Saturday.
Lucas Herbert will have the best of both worlds next year as he intends to balance his schedule between the PGA Tour and the new DP World Tour.
The boy from Bendigo won on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean this year – and he has status on each major tour as a result – but he will not be abandoning Europe in 2022.
“I don’t want to turn my back on Europe and I’d like to play as many Rolex Series events as I can. It was the European Tour that helped me out when I first came out on Tour in extending me invitations to play,” Herbert told Australian golf writer Bernie McGuire for Golf, by TourMiss.
“Those invitations kick-started what I have been able to do in recent years, so I don’t want people to be thinking now that I have my PGA Tour card I will be forgetting about the new DP World Tour.”
Herbert wrapped up his breakthrough season at the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai last night – he came T21 – and he now returns home for the first time since January with clear plans for next year.
“I’m just looking forward to getting back, having a few weeks off and then heading to Hawaii for the Sentry Tournament of Champions,” Herbert said.
“I’ll play Hawaii, the Farmers Insurance, Phoenix and the Genesis Invitational so it’s a very nice early new season schedule as I am not going to play too many events in a row to be nice and ready to play The Masters.”
After the completion of the three US majors, the 2020 Irish Open champion will be heading back to the Emerald Isle to defend his crown and possibly play his way to St Andrews.
“I’m starting my season in the States but I will be back to Ireland to defend the Irish Open,” he said.
“It’s important to me to defend the tournament and I see from the new 2022 schedule it’s returning to Mt Juliet and that’s great news, so I’ll be going there looking to win for a second time.
“I’m also not into The Open, so I may need to win to get myself in The Open at St Andrews.”
Herbert secured his place at The Masters and the US PGA Championship with his victory at the PGA Tour’s Butterfield Bermuda Championship, but he needs to remain inside the top 50 in the world – he is currently No. 45 in the Official World Golf Rankings – to guarantee his spot in the field at The Open and the US Open.
In order to maintain, and hopefully improve upon, his ranking, the Victorian has declared the need for greater consistency in his game – despite winning on the PGA Tour already this season, he has missed the cut in his other three events.
“I need to get better as a golfer to have every golf course suit me and I just shouldn’t turn up to a venue and go: ‘oh, this place doesn’t suit’,” he said.
“I need to get better so that every tournament venue suits me and if a golf course I need to walk onto doesn’t suit me, then I have to get it sorted so that I can figure it out and get comfortable.
“And rather than thinking that with PGA Tour and European Tour membership means I can probably pick-and-choose where I want to play, it’s not about that.
“It shouldn’t matter whether it’s Bay Hill, Riviera or Augusta, every golf course should suit me and that is the level I want to get to.”
Dylan Perry has made a bright start to his quest for a breakthrough Japan Golf Tour title while Stephanie Kyriacou has a share of the lead with one round left to play of the Ladies European Tour event in Saudi Arabia.
It looked as though Min Woo Lee might make it a triumvirate of early Aussie front-runners at the European Tour’s AVIV Dubai Championship but dropped shots at two of his final three holes saw him post 5-under 67 on day one, level with fellow West Australian Jason Scrivener in a tie for seventh at the completion of their opening rounds.
Playing in his 10th event in the past 13 weeks, Perry’s best results in that time are top-20 finishes at the ANA Open (T13) and Tokai Classic (T16) and his career-best finish in Japan is a tie for third at the HEIWA PGM Championship.
A solid round of 3-under 67 on day one of the Mitsui Sumitomo VISA Taiheiyo Masters that needed just 26 putts has put the Queenslander in prime position to better that and perhaps secure his biggest victory as a professional.
Seeking a second victory of the season, Kyriacou went on a birdie barrage in the second round of the Aramco Team Series-Jeddah in Saudi Arabia to vault up the leaderboard.
Starting the second round four strokes off the lead, Kyriacou fired four straight birdies from her second hole of the day, making the turn in 5-under after starting day two from the 10th tee.
Less than two weeks out from her 21st birthday, Kyriacou moved to 6-under with another birdie at the par-4 second, handing it back with a dropped shot at the par-4 fifth.
Back-to-back birdies on her final two holes rounded out her score of 7-under 65 for a two-round total of 10-under, level with Spain’s Carlota Ciganda and current Order of Merit leader Atthaya Thitikulheading into Friday’s final round.
Currently sixth in the Race to Dubai standings with just two events left to play, Lee made a slight stumble out of the games at the Greg Norman-designed Fire Course at Jumeirah Golf Estates, falling to 1-over with a bogey at the par-3 11th.
He got that back with a birdie at the very next hole before reeling off six birdies in the space of eight holes around the turn.
Returning to Europe after playing in the Korn Ferry Tour Qualifying School Finals, Scrivener also went backwards before going forward, a bogey at the 10th offset by four birdies on his opening nine and two more on the back to match Lee’s 67.
Needing to move up three places on the Order of Merit by week’s end to keep his card, Scott Hend made a bright start to be 2-under early in his opening round.
New Zealand will host consecutive events on the PGA Tour of Australasia schedule for the first time since 2019 following the announcement of the host venue for the 2022 New Zealand PGA Championship.
The PGA of New Zealand announced on Wednesday morning that the 2022 NZ PGA Championship will return to Auckland from April 7-10 at the Gulf Harbour Country Club, bringing top-level golf back to the country’s largest city for the first time in seven years.
“We are delighted to partner with Auckland Unlimited, Gulf Harbour Country Club and the ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia in staging this important event on the New Zealand golf calendar,” says PGANZ President Dennis M Clark.
“The event is a key vehicle to deliver on the vision of PGA Professionals, inspiring more people to play this great game. We have so many talented players and it’s exciting that Kiwis will get to experience and witness this up close.”
Added Clark: “Over the years we have taken the tournament around New Zealand and seen first-hand the excitement it creates – at the host club, the golfing community and in the local region with this Championship.
“Testament to this was Tae Koh (pictured) putting on a showcase of golfing excellence in April with great crowds of supporters enjoying the event which was held at the Te Puke golf course.
“We plan to bring a top-class field of players to Auckland, one week after the New Zealand Open Championship in Queenstown.”
Richard Clarke, Director of Arts, Entertainment and Events at Auckland Unlimited, says it’s fantastic to have a prestigious event in Auckland next year.
“Tāmaki Makaurau has some of the best golf courses in the world and the picturesque Gulf Harbour layout will be a superb venue to host one of the most significant events on the New Zealand golfing calendar. We will be delighted to extend true Auckland manaakitanga to our visitors,” Clarke says.
The NZ PGA Championship has a proud record dating back to 1920, and has featured many famous champions including Andy Shaw, Peter Thomson, Kel Nagle, Sir Bob Charles, Tony Jacklin, John Lister, Greg Turner, Frank Nobilo, Brad Kennedy, Steven Alker and Michael Hendry.
The tournament is also a great event for fostering talent with Major Championship winners Jason Day and Bubba Watson all being past competitors.
“The ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia is excited to again have the NZ PGA Championship part of the Tour schedule and to have back-to-back events in New Zealand for the first time since 2019 is something I know all of our members will be looking forward to,” said Nick Dastey, Tournaments Director Australasia of the PGA of Australia.
“Auckland is a beautiful city and Gulf Harbour a fantastic setting and golf course that has been a great host of events on our tour previously.
“I anticipate Auckland golf fans will be treated to a high-quality field of players eager to add their name to the illustrious honour roll of previous champions.”
Returning to Auckland in 2022 after an absence of seven years from New Zealand’s largest city, support for the Championship has grown significantly over the years, drawing increasing crowds and building a reputation as a unique community sporting event.
Updated 2021/2022 PGA Tour of Australasia schedule
Dec 9-12 Victorian PGA Championship, Moonah Links Resort
Dec 16-19 Gippsland Super 6, Warragul Country Club
Jan 13-16 2021 Australian PGA Championship, Royal Queensland Golf Club
Jan 20-23 2021 Queensland PGA Championship, Nudgee Golf Club
Feb 3-6 TPS Victoria pres. by Webex by Cisco, Rosebud Country Club
March 3-6 TPS Sydney pres. by Webex by Cisco, Bonnie Doon Golf Club
March 10-13 TPS Hunter Valley, Oaks Cypress Lakes Resort Hunter
March 31-Apr 3 New Zealand Open pres. by Sky Sport, Millbrook Resort
April 7-10 New Zealand PGA Championship, Gulf Harbour Country Club, Auckland
April 21-24 2021 City of Kalgoorlie Boulder WA PGA Championship pres. by TX Civil & Logistics, Kalgoorlie GCse
April 28-May 1 2021 Nexus RISK WA Open, Royal Fremantle Golf Club
May 5-8 2021 Tailor-made Building Services NT PGA Championship, Palmerston Country Club
TBA NSW Open
TBA Vic Open
