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Justin Warren is three strokes clear following a mid-round rampage that netted an eagle and five consecutive birdies at a weather-affected Victorian PGA Championship at Moonah Links.
Warren is 15-under after closing round two 8-under the card in an almost unblemished performance that catapulted the young gun clear of Michael Sim, Victorian Terry Pilkadaris and Josh Clarke.
Meanwhile, Pilkadaris avoided an early wake-up call on Saturday morning after racing the daylight to take a share of the lead in a second round twice disrupted by thunderstorms at the Victorian PGA Championship at the Moonah Links Resort on Friday.
With close to three-and-a-half hours of play lost due to rain and thunderstorms on Friday afternoon, 30 players returned to the Legends Course from 7.30am this morning to complete their second rounds before those who make the cut move across to the Open Course for the final two rounds.
Pilkadaris joined Michael Sim (66) at the top of the leaderboard at 12-under par with a second round of 7-under 65, racing through the final holes with help from playing partner Jason Norris to avoid an early start Saturday.
“I didn’t want to have to come back in the morning at 7.30 to play one hole and then wait around to tee off again at 12.30,” said Pilkadaris, who shot 65 in the final round of The Players Series Victoria last week to finish tied for sixth.
“Jason Norris missed the cut but he asked what I wanted to do and I said, ‘Let’s go. Let’s get through.’
“Steve Jeffress was in front of us and he told us to hit so we played the last hole with them, which was nice of them. The last three holes were a par 5, medium par 4 and long par 4 and I reckon we played them in 20 minutes.”
Sim and Pilkadaris finished third and fourth respectively at the 2009 Moonah Classic played on the Open Course and Sim is excited to reacquaint himself with a layout that set the tone for a breakout year.
“I haven’t played it since the Moonah Classic,” said the 36-year-old, who would earn promotion to the PGA TOUR via his three-win season on the Nationwide Tour in 2009.
“I played it a little bit when I was in the AIS golf program so I do know my way around the golf course quite well so definitely looking forward to it.
“I probably need to hit a few more cleaner iron shots out there than on the Legends Course but happy to be in a good position for the next two days and looking forward to the weekend.
“It’s a much bigger test out there with a greater premium on your ball-striking and with the wind forecasted for the weekend it’s still anyone’s tournament.”
Now based on the Gold Coast and completing his PGA of Australia bridging course to continue teaching at Lakelands Golf Club, Sim made his return to tournament golf at last week’s Players Series event where he finished tied for 28th.
“That was probably the first time I’ve played four rounds of golf in 10 months. Competitive golf anyway,” said Sim, who was runner-up to close friend Aaron Pike at the 54-hole NT PGA last October.
“I had some nice rounds and felt like if I missed a green I didn’t get up and down or threw in a silly three-putt.
“It wasn’t terrific but I made the cut and managed to put four rounds together. You need to play tournament golf to know what you’ve got to work on.”
With fond memories of his own of his performance at the Moonah Classic more than a decade ago, Pilkadaris conceded that changing courses adds a new dimension to the final two rounds.
“The Open Course plays differently because it’s a completely different golf course,” said Pilkadaris, still chasing a maiden ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia title.
“I played a nine-hole practice round out there on Wednesday and the greens were quicker. It’s a whole different dynamic.”
Thursday’s early leader Josh Clarke has five holes left to play in his second round and sits one shot off the lead at 11-under along with Blake Windred (69), James Marchesani (69) and Aaron Wilkin (70).
Zach Murray’s 7-under 65 matched Pilkadaris and Matt Millar for the equal best round of the day and places him in a five-way tie for seventh at 10-under alongside round one leader Cameron John (72), Anthony Quayle (69), Justin Warren (3-under through 13) and Damien Jordan (5-under through 10).
Central Coast’s Dimi Papadatos looked set to take a two-shot lead into the third round after reaching 14-under but struck disaster on the par-3 16th, hitting two tee shots out of bounds on his way to a seven and a two-round total of 9-under par.
Round two of the Victorian PGA Championship is underway on the Legends Course at Moonah Links on the stunning Mornington Peninsula.
Co-leaders Cameron John and Dimi Papadatos are expecting the Moonah Links Legends Course to bite back hard after players used benign conditions to plunder birdies and eagles in round one of the Victorian PGA Championship on Thursday.
New South Welshman Josh Clarke shot to prominence when he established a new course record of 9-under 63 in the morning wave but with a rare calm day placing the course at their mercy John and Papadatos set a new benchmark with matching rounds of 10-under 62.
Queensland’s Aaron Wilkin closed with consecutive birdies to join Clarke in a tie for third at 9-under with David McKenzie, Blake Windred and James Marchesani all a shot further back after posting 8-under 64 in their opening rounds.
A member at both Commonwealth Golf Club in Melbourne and more recently Peninsula-Kingswood, John has extensive experience playing the courses of the Mornington Peninsula and conceded that the conditions for scoring on Thursday could not have been better.
And that the predicted forecast for Friday was unavoidable.
Heavy rain, strong winds and possible thunderstorms are all expected but John says good scoring will still be possible for those who approach it in the right manner.
“Today’s conditions were as good as it will ever get down here,” said John, whose best score in an ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia-sanctioned event is 11-under 60 in the 2018 Morobe Open in Papua New Guinea.
“It wasn’t windy so it was a matter of just looking at the holes and if you put a decent swing on it it’s not going to move off line.
“(Bad weather) is bound to happen once probably every week you come down here. If you come down here for a week one day’s going to be bad. You’ve just got to grin and bear it and hold onto your hat as much as you can.
“I’m sure the scores won’t be as good tomorrow but if I hit it as solid as I did today it’s always an opportunity to shoot a really good number.”
Papadatos opened the Gippsland Super 6 tournament a fortnight ago with a 6-under 66 and used an eagle at his opening hole – the par-5 ninth – to get into stride quickly at Moonah Links.
“I knew the scoring was good so I was aware that even though I was probably 5-under pretty early I needed to keep pushing on from there,” said Papadatos, who set up his opening eagle by hitting 3-iron from 215 metres to 10 feet.
“It’s a good position to be in but I still had a lot of opportunities so I wanted to make the most of my round.
“I made quite a few birdies going out and then I had the easier nine coming in so I wanted to make sure I made the most of it to finish off the round.”
With a previous tournament best of 64, the Central Coast native took a moment prior to playing his final approach shot to sharpen his focus on a rare opportunity.
“I was in the middle of the fairway on the last and thought, Geez it would be nice to birdie this because I haven’t had 10-under before,” said the 2017 Vic Open champion.
“I stepped back away from it and thought about hitting it in there close and hit a good one in there to eight feet and rolled it in.
“I think my best score in a tournament before today was 64 so this is something different for me.”
David McKenzie had to be convinced by his wife to play a practice round at all on Wednesday and skipping two holes didn’t affect him, the 2013 Vic PGA champion making birdie at both the 13th and 14th holes in his round of 64.
“I made a few nice putts, that was the big thing,” said McKenzie.
“I made a six-footer on the first and the second hole I drove it onto the front edge of the green and putted it almost off the other side of the green and then holed a 20-footer coming back.
“Ultimately I made a lot of putts in the 15-20 foot range and that’s how you have your low rounds.”
Novocastrian Blake Windred was on his way to posting a round that would have positioned him mid-field until an eagle at the par-5 sixth and birdies at seven and eight elevated him to within two shots of the lead.
“My caddy, Jack Pountney, with three holes to go he told me there was a score of 9 in when I was at 4,” said Windred.
“We kind of recognised that we needed a couple more birdies and then I made eagle at six, hit it to a foot from 85 metres on the next and then holed an 18-footer on the last across the slope.
“He gave me a nudge to make me realise that 5 or 6-under wasn’t going to be that good today. It actually helped me a lot and made me go into that last hole trying to finish off with a couple of birdies.”
A total of 31 players began their Vic PGA campaigns with rounds of 5-under or better including last week’s winner at The Players Series Brad Kennedy, who recorded two eagles for the second round in succession in a 6-under 66.
For the round 1 #VicPGA leaderboard visit pga.org.au.
Past heartaches including a Moonah Links near miss are driving local hope Terry Pilkadaris to earn a breakthrough ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia title at this week’s Victorian PGA Championship.
To be conducted concurrently with the Celebrity Amateur Challenge, the Victorian PGA is the first of two consecutive events at Moonah Links, the Legends Course and Open Course both in use this week with the Open Course assuming sole hosting rights for the Moonah Classic the following week.
It was on the Open Course 12 years ago that Pilkadaris came up just short at the Moonah Classic that for three years was co-sanctioned with the secondary US Nationwide Tour.
A three-time winner on the Asian Tour – two of which came in consecutive weeks in 2004 – Pilkadaris has regularly featured on Australasian leaderboards without ever ending the week as the one on top.
In 2011 he was runner-up in three consecutive events on the Australasian Tour but it was the 2018 New Zealand Open that cuts deepest.
Taking a five-stroke lead into Sunday, a final round 70 wasn’t enough to hold off a stunning 62 by Queenslander Daniel Nisbet, a defeat that remains difficult for the 47-year-old to stomach to this day.
“The New Zealand Open hurt the most,” Pilkadaris admitted.
“I was leading by five and just didn’t get it done on Sunday. That one hurt the most out of the lot.
“I’ve had four or five runner-ups in Australia as well, there was three in a row at one stage back in 2011.
“I know I can win, it’s just a matter of putting it all together. The putting was holding me back so now it looks like we’ve turned the corner with the putting.”
Ahead of a two-week stint at Moonah Links Pilkadaris also reflected on the 2009 Moonah Classic where he finished tied for fourth, four strokes back of fellow Victorian Alistair Presnell.
“I regret two tee shots. One tee shot on Saturday and one tee shot on Sunday, that cost me the event there,” he added.
Tied for third prior to the match play section of the Gippsland Super 6 event, Pilkadaris returned the next best score to amateur Elvis Smylie’s 8-under 63 on Sunday to finish tied for seventh at The Players Series Victoria.
With the rust knocked off and an adjusted putting stroke that elusive first win may be closer than ever before.
“You’ve got to knock the rust off first. We played a couple of pro-ams and I felt like my wedge play and pitching wasn’t that great so I contacted Tim Wood,” said Pilkadaris, of Wood who was named Coach of the Year at the Victorian PGA Vocational Awards announcement in December.
“He gave me a suggestion and then all of a sudden the pitching and chipping started to come really good. It was just a matter of connecting the dots with the putting which we’ve done and off we go.
“I went to claw putting inside 10 feet and that’s made a big difference. I started that (at Gippsland Super 6).
“After the first hole at Yallourn I had a 10-footer left-to-right and hit it off the toe and went left and I thought, I’m over this. I went to the claw and was rolling it nicely.”
Brad Kennedy is backing up from his victory at The Players Series and there are seven former Vic PGA champions in the field in 2019 champion Campbell Rawson, Aaron Pike (2018), Damien Jordan (2017), two-time winner Ashley Hall (2007 and 2016), Aaron Townsend (2015), David McKenzie (2013) and Steven Jeffress (2006).
Other former Victorian PGA champions include Peter Thomson, Kel Nagle, Bruce Devlin, American Lanny Wadkins, Rodger Davis, Peter Senior, Stuart Appleby and Marc Leishman.
Brad Kennedy has won the inaugural The Players Series Victoria hosted by Geoff Ogilvy with a spectacular final score of 17-under 267 at Rosebud Country Club.
Kennedy won by one shot over amateur star Elvis Smylie in second place with a total of 16-under. A second shot to three feet on the last was the winning shot for Kennedy who won the ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia tournament with a birdie on the last.
The victory is Kennedy’s 14th professional win, 6th on the ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia and second in 12 months following his New Zealand Open in February 2020.
Amateur Jack Holland has won The Junior Players Series Victoria with a final score of 4-under 138.
More to come.
The final round of the inaugural Players Series at Rosebud Country Club is underway, where 2020 NZ Open champion Brad Kennedy leads by two strokes over Nathan Barbieri. Click here for live scores.
A harsh lesson and a holed bunker shot for eagle has enabled rookie professional Nathan Barbieri to smash the course record and take a three-stroke lead midway through the opening round of The Players Series Hosted by Geoff Ogilvy at Rosebud Country Club.
On an ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia leaderboard boasting winners on the US PGA Tour, European Tour, Japan Golf Tour, Asian Tour and China Golf Tour within the first dozen, Barbieri’s scintillating 10-under 61 not only set a new personal best but obliterated Rosebud’s previous course record of 64.
Host Geoff Ogilvy is the closest challenger after opening the tournament bearing his name with a 7-under 64, one shot ahead of Matias Sanchez at 6-under and with a two-shot gap to Matthew Griffin and Aaron Pike at 5-under as the afternoon groups take to the course.
An eagle at the par-5 ninth – her final hole of the day – elevated LPGA of Japan Tour player Karis Davidson into a tie for 11th and the leading female player in the field in the innovative format that pits men and women directly against each other.
Male or female, no one could match the pace set by Barbieri as he began his round with three straight birdies and then holed his greenside bunker shot at the par-5 ninth to make the turn in just 29 strokes.
A week ago Barbieri was 5-under through his opening six holes at the Gippsland Super 6 tournament and admitted that counting birdies was a habit he made sure to break on Thursday.
.@rosebudccgolf course record 61 for Nathan Barbieri 👏
— #ThePlayersSeries (@PGAofAustralia) January 28, 2021
Brilliant stuff in difficult windy conditions with gusts of up to 60km/h 💨#ThePlayersSeries #PGAProud pic.twitter.com/55DjHeWEJ1
“I definitely got ahead of myself last week,” Barbieri conceded. “Just counting the birdies I’d had and wondering what I was through the amount of holes.
“Every time I thought of that today I had to erase everything and tell myself to start again.
“It was near to perfect golf. Obviously starting well last week gave me a bit of confidence coming in. It was a good day.”
With winds gusting to more than 50km/h at times the Rosebud layout was by no means benign, Ogilvy surprised by his own score of 64 let alone Barbieri’s record-setting round up front.
“I didn’t see that out there. I didn’t see what I shot out there so 61… That’s a great score,” said Ogilvy, whose round consisted of eight birdies and a lone bogey at the par-3 seventh.
“I putted really well and made a lot of putts so he must have done the same.”
Ogilvy played alongside LPGA Tour player Su Oh in the opening round and although Oh finished her round at 2-over 73, the 2006 US Open champion and active course design enthusiast thought the course set-up was fair to both guys and girls.
“Obviously I was an interested observer as to where she was hitting hit relative to me and Elvis (Smylie) and it seemed about right,” Ogilvy added.
“It was a brutal day. She just had a few lip-outs, which happens. She played a few shots better than the score showed.
“As far as I can tell, to this point, I think the balance is pretty good.
“It was really, really windy, but they were smart in that they didn’t cut the greens and they didn’t roll the greens.
“We would have had issues if we’d had the greens a bit faster. But they played fine, it was all fair and it was there if you hit good shots.”
Karis Davidson suffered some bad breaks as she dropped three shots late in her round but climbed towards the top 10 courtesy of an eagle on her final hole, the par-5 ninth. Her 2-under 69 places her tied for 11th in her first four-round tournament in 12 months.
“I had a couple of little unlucky things happen a few holes before so it was nice to get rewarded on that last hole,” said Davidson, who made double bogey on five after her ball finished beside a tree root and a bogey on six when her approach shot hit the flag and ricocheted off the green.
“It was into the wind and I pumped driver right down the middle and had about 180 metres into the green, which would have been playing around 200 with the wind.
“I hit a 3-wood and it was just hunting the pin. It was a perfect shot and got up there and it was on the green.
“It was quite a tricky putt. It was downhill and I absolutely nailed it.
“I’m really pleased but it’s only round one so I’ve just got to keep my feet on the ground and focus on tomorrow.”
Marcus Fraser has won the #GippslandSuper6 with a final match victory over Alessandro Noseda at Yallourn Golf Club.
Fraser got off to the perfect start in the final match, birdieing the first to take the advantage.
Noseda then dropped a shot on the par-3 2nd hole – normally the 8th – to give Fraser a two-stroke advantage.
Noseda recovered a shot with a birdie at the fourth to reduce Fraser’s lead to one.
Par each through the fifth meant it came down to the sixth and final hole.
Brilliant play from Fraser saw him get to the green in two with the ball landing just three meters from the pin.
Fraser holed the putt to be crowned the #GippslandSuper6 champion.
More to come from Yallourn Golf Club.
Marcus Fraser wins the #GippslandSuper6!
— #GippslandSuper6 (@PGAofAustralia) January 24, 2021
He scores a birdie on the last to win by two over Alessandro Noseda 👏
Congratulations to Frase and all of our players this week. Brilliant effort from all ⛳️#PGATA pic.twitter.com/w1FOox6mvL
He’s led since day one but No.1 seed Deyen Lawson has declared that any of the 24 qualifiers are capable of walking away as champion as the Gippsland Super 6 moves into the match play phase on Sunday.
The top eight qualifiers through 54 holes of stroke play have earned a direct path through to round two and the final 16 with Blake Windred and Brett Rankin securing a spot in the top eight in a playoff that consigned Bryden Macpherson to ninth spot.
Macpherson and the remaining qualifiers now need to win five six-hole matches to take the title with Justin Warren, Michael Wright, Cory Crawford, David Bransdon and Rick Kulacz having to make their way past a seven-for-five playoff to qualify for the match play.
Rather than traditional match play, each match will be played as a six-hole aggregate stroke match across the first, eight, second, 16th, 17th and 18th holes at Yallourn Golf Club and Lawson knows given the quality in the field it is now well and truly anyone’s tournament to win.
“The guys who played just OK today and scraped into the 24, they’re going into tomorrow feeling like they’re starting again,” said Lawson.
“Any of the 24 guys now could win, where if it was over four rounds there are probably only three or four guys who could win.
“If I was the guy in 24th spot I’d be feeling bloody great. I’ve just snuck in, let’s start again. The guy who has finished eighth is probably feeling the best. He’s four back but he’s now in the exact same position as me.
“It’s exciting for anyone watching tomorrow because genuinely anyone can win.”
One of those danger players is prolific PGA Pro-Am Series winner Tim Hart, who along with Kiwi Daniel Hillier equalled the course record set by Lawson in round one of 8-under 64 on Saturday.
Five times a top-five finisher in ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia events, the Queenslander couldn’t deny the significance of a potential breakthrough win and how he intends to go about it.
“It’s going to be foot to the floor and try and make as many birdies as I can,” said Hart, who faces a tough assignment first-up against Japan Golf Tour regular David Bransdon.
“(Winning) is definitely something that’s on my mind. I won’t let it consume my mind but it’s definitely there.
“I’ve got to get through the first few rounds to even start thinking about that sort of stuff.
“It’s definitely a course and a format that I feel pretty comfortable in. I like my chances tomorrow to make a run.”
Perhaps the only player in the final 24 who knows exactly what to expect heading into tomorrow’s final round is New Zealand’s Daniel Hillier.
Tied for third at the completion of the stroke play, Hillier can now call upon his experience of winning the Brian Green Property Group New Zealand Super 6’s at Manawatu Golf Club in March last year.
“We just brought the same format in back home in New Zealand which I managed to play quite well at,” said Hillier, who will play the winner of the Chang Gi Lee v Dimi Papadatos match.
“I’ll take the same approach that I’ve had all week. Relatively aggressive. Nothing stupid but enough to give me some really good chances if I’m hitting the ball well off the tee.
“Keep doing that and then hopefully if I shoot well I’ll be in that final match.”
Twice a starter in the WGC-World Match Play in 2013 and 2016, Marcus Fraser also secured a bye in the first round with a round of 6-under 66 on Saturday and knows that a conservative approach won’t cut it on Sunday.
“You’re going to have to be aggressive. Over six holes, if you try and play cautiously at some point it’s going to catch you out,” Fraser said, headed for a showdown with either Andrew Martin or Cory Crawford in round two.
“You’re going to have to be aggressive and even if you’re out of position try and salvage a par somehow and limit the damage. If you make a double bogey in six holes you’re pretty much gone I’d think.
“There’s going to be a bit of strategy to it but you’re going to have to be aggressive for sure.”
A three-time winner on the China Golf Tour in 2019, Queensland’s Maverick Antcliff looked an unlikely qualifier early in his third round but played his final nine holes in 6-under 30 to qualify 11th and remain in the hunt.
“Match play is totally different,” said Antcliff following his 7-under 65, drawn to play wily veteran Michael Wright in round one.
“If you can hit fairways and greens and apply pressure, obviously if they hit a few loose ones or they’re out of position it gets a little bit trickier with the greens being hard and fast. Just applying pressure through good golf and take it from there.
“You can make a lot of birdies out here so there should be some good matches. All of these guys are good players so you’ve just got to beat whoever is in front of you to make the final.”
Two-time World Match Play champion Geoff Ogilvy failed to advance after a 2-over 74 on Saturday with Blitz Golf Glenelg winner Matthew Millar, Champions Tour regular David McKenzie and defending champion Tom Power Horan also falling just short.
Round 1 matches AEDT
Match 1 (7.15am) Daniel Gale v Charlie Dann
Match 2 (7.23am) Bryden Macpherson v Rick Kulacz
Match 3 (7.31am) Andrew Martin v Cory Crawford
Match 4 (7.39am) Josh Younger v Justin Warren
Match 5 (7.47am) Chang Gi Lee v Dimitrios Papadatos
Match 6 (7.55am) Maverick Antcliff v Michael Wright
Match 7 (8.03am) Tim Hart v David Bransdon
Match 8 (8.11am) Alessandro Noseda v Ben Eccles
Round 2 matches
Match 9 (9.05am) Deyen Lawson v Winner of Match 1
Match 10 (9.15am) Blake Windred v Winner of Match 2
Match 11 (9.25am) Marcus Fraser v Winner of Match 3
Match 12 (9.35am) Terry Pilkadaris v Winner of Match 4
Match 13 (9.45am) Daniel Hillier v Winner of Match 5
Match 14 (9.55am) Peter Cooke v Winner of Match 6
Match 15 (10.05am) Brett Rankin v Winner of Match 7
Match 16 (10.15am) Jason Norris v Winner of Match 8
Some of Australia’s most prominent golfing stars will be looking to fight their way into the top 24 of the #GippslandSuper6 standings on moving day as the third round gets underway at Yallourn Golf Club.
Sunday’s knockout match play section will see scores from the first three rounds put to the side and the leaderboard reset but a spot in the top eight at the conclusion of today’s play will earn its player a bye in the first round of matches.
Backing up his course record 8-under 64 with a 2-under 70 on Friday morning, Deyen Lawson starts the third round with the outright lead at 10-under par, two shots clear of New South Welshman Dimi Papadatos with another two-shot gap back to a group of four players tied at 6-under par.
U.S. Open winner Geoff Ogilvy has started the third round eight strokes behind Lawson at 2-under with the primary objective now to ensure he is within the top 24 on Saturday evening having navigated his way past the first cut.
Four-over through his opening nine holes on Thursday, Ogilvy recovered to shoot 72 in his first round and followed it up with a 2-under 70 on Friday to be tied for 27th.
“Clearly the job for the first three days is to make the match play,” said Ogilvy after his round, his WGC-Match Play wins coming in 2006 and 2009.
“And then the further up you can get you get that bye in the first round which would be a big advantage too.
“The match play’s the key. You can’t win the tournament if you don’t make it and if you do make the match play you can win the tournament.
“It’s a strange tournament like that. Normally you’d be eight back and thinking you’ve got a long way to go on the weekend but I’ve just got to make sure I get in the match play tomorrow and then anything can happen over six-hole matches.”
The leading group of Deyen Lawson, Dimi Papadatos and Peter Cooke will tee off from the first tee at 10:45am AEDT.
Follow live scores from Yallourn Golf Club at pga.org.au.
