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He’d waited seven months, so another three hours wasn’t going to faze Adam Scott.
The Australian No.1 looked every bit the player who powered to Masters victory in 2013 in reaching 4-under when play was called off for bad light as he stood over another birdie putt on the 11th hole.
Scott’s charge put him within three of Paul Casey’s clubhouse lead, still with seven first-round holes – and hopefully one putt – to play when round one resumes tomorrow.
That interruption came courtesy of a wild deluge of rain in the first hour of scheduled play, forcing players off the course for almost three hours.
But just when many began to think it was the pandemic-ravaged 2020 having yet another negative twist, the skies cleared and left an almost defenceless Augusta National with sodden greens ripe for scoring.
And while the final groups out still have nine holes to play, so stunning was the field’s attack that it is on pace to shoot a record low average score, currently at 71.77 and ahead of the 1992 mark of 72.06 strokes.
That number was helped along by a generally good performance by the five-strong Australian contingent.
Marc Leishman began in the drizzle and bogeyed the 10th before play was delayed. Then, kickstarted by the tournament’s first eagle on the 13th and despite a cool putter, the Victorian carded a fine 70 to share 21st place.
Jason Day overcame a sluggish start with five birdies in seven holes from the eighth, but gave up ground when his approach to the long 15th trickled back into the water and consigned him to 70 alongside Leishman.
Melbourne amateur Lukas Michel was the only Aussie who completed his round over par, but on his Masters debut showed some amazingly deft hands to ensure his four-over-par 76.
Michel, who qualified by winning the 2019 US Mid-Amateur Championship, hit just four fairways in his first competitive round at Augusta National, but chipped in for birdie on the 12th and made some spectacular par saves to keep alive his chances of making the cut.
Cam Smith will resume his first round tomorrow on the second tee at even par with an opening bogey on the 10th cancelled out by a birdie on the 13th in an uneventful start for the Queenslander.
But Aussie eyes will fall primarily on Scott, who has 8m left on the 11th for what would be a third birdie in four holes.
Scott dodged his long-time nemesis, the first hole, with a par, then played a stupendous little chip from the back of the second green to set up his first birdie.
He followed that by coming within inches of an eagle on the short par-four third hole and then making a clutch 3m par putt on the fourth to establish himself.
After blocking his drive way right on the seventh, he eventually made a stellar up and down from the front bunker – his curling 4m par roll ultimately laying the platform for what followed.
A drive into the fairway bunker on the eighth forced a layup on the par five, but he cashed in on a great approach there before lipping in for consecutive birdies on the ninth.
He narrowly missed his “hat-trick” on the 10th, but is again in position on the 11th tomorrow with the key scoring area of the course – the 13th through 16th – ahead if he can maintain his roll.
Officials said at the close of play that the second round wouldn’t be completed tomorrow, but hoped the third round would be finished on day three thanks to a vastly improved weather forecast.
LEADERBOARD:
1 Paul Casey -7, F
T5 Adam Scott -4, 10
T21 Marc Leishman -2, F*
T21 Jason Day -2, F
T51 Cameron Smith E, 10*
T85 Lukas Michel +4, F
Two of our biggest superstars led the way in Dubai and Houston, while two of our brightest young talents also showed what they’re capable of.
This week provided the last chance for our leading Aussie men to prepare for next week’s Masters and they made the most of the opportunity.
Jason Day was not without a chance of victory at the Houston Open and while he didn’t do enough to take home PGA TOUR win number 13, the World No.41 will head to Augusta with a top 10 under his belt following a lean month.
Adam Scott’s return to golf after contracting COVID-19 a fortnight ago also provided a confidence boost. Australia’s top-ranked male golfer broke 70 three times in Houston on his way to a T32 result.
Amateur Gabi Ruffels showed her immense class once again on the pro stage, the USC student cracking the top five at the Symetra Tour’s season-ender.
Rookie pro Steph Kyriacou has shown she’s not afraid of the bright lights in 2020 and the St Michael’s member was terrific again this week in Dubai.
Three straight rounds of 71 secured Kyriacou a T17 result, following on from her scorching hot streak of four consecutive top 10s in Europe.
But our #AussieOfTheWeek shone brightest in the Dubai night sky as our highest-ranked golfer, superstar Minjee Lee, saluted in a playoff.
A sensational birdie putt on the first playoff hole was enough to sink fellow former ISPS Handa Vic Open champion Celine Boutier, earning the West Australian an eighth professional win and clear #AussieOfTheWeek honours!
LADIES EUROPEAN TOUR
Omega Dubai Moonlight Classic
Emirates Golf Club – Faldo Course, Dubai
Won by Minjee Lee (AUS) at -10 in a playoff over Celine Boutier
1 – Minjee Lee, -10, 72-65-69
T17 – Steph Kyriacou, -3, 71-71-71
T44 – Whitney Hillier, +9, 77-73-75
PGA TOUR
Houston Open
Memorial Park Golf Course, Texas
Won by Carlos Ortiz (MEX) at -13 by two shots
T7 – Jason Day, -7, 67-68-67-71
T32 – Adam Scott, -1, 68-69-74-68
T50 – Greg Chalmers, +3, 68-73-72-70
63 – Matt Jones, +6, 69-72-77-68
68 – Cam Davis, +15, 67-76-77-75
EUROPEAN TOUR
Cyprus Showdown
Aphrodite Hills Resort, Paphos
Won by Robert MacIntyre (SCO) at -7 by one shot
T41 – Maverick Antcliff, -4, 70-68
RET – Jason Scrivener, E, 72-19*
SYMETRA TOUR
Symetra Tour Championship
River Run Country Club, North Carolina
Won by Frida Kinhult (SWE) at -10 by four shots
T5 – Gabi Ruffels (am), -1, 76-72-68-71
T18 – Hira Naveed, +5, 77-74-71-71
T18 – Robyn Choi, +5, 74-71-77-71
MC – Steph Na, +11, 82-73
PGA TOUR CHAMPIONS
Charles Schwab Cup Championship
Phoenix Country Club, Arizona
T16 – Rod Pampling, -6, 69-71-67
T50 – David McKenzie, +2, 71-72-72
72 – Stephen Leaney, +8, 73-74-74
A second PGA Tour title and a spot back inside the Top 100 in the Official World Golf Rankings go on the line when Matt Jones heads a list of five Australians who will contest this week’s Bermuda Championship at Port Royal Golf Course.
The idyllic locale was not enough to lure any of the Aussies preparing for The Masters in two weeks’ time but for those who have made the trip there is a golden opportunity to secure their immediate playing futures.
It’s been six years since Jones chipped in to defeat Matt Kuchar for the 2014 Shell Houston Open crown but his consistent play has seen him qualify for the FedEx Cup Playoffs the past two years.
Currently 101st in the FedEx Cup and 109th in the world rankings, the two-time Australian Open champion is out in the first group of the tournament at 9.35pm AEDT Thursday alongside three-time Major champion Padraig Harrington and 2011 US Amateur champion Kelly Kraft.
A top-10 finish at the Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship has Cameron Percy well positioned early in the season at 53rd in the FedEx Cup standings, a chance to again display his mastery in the Bermuda winds and improve on that further.
The other Aussies in the field are John Senden, Aaron Baddeley and Rhein Gibson along with Kiwi Tim Wilkinson.
The European Tour breaks new ground this week with the inaugural Aphrodite Hills Cyprus Open, Cyprus becoming the 50th nation to host a European Tour event.
South Australian Wade Ormsby has returned to Australia and begun his two-week stint in quarantine, leaving just Maverick Antcliff and Jason Scrivener to chase glory in what is also a spectacular setting.
Stephen Leaney, David McKenzie and Rod Pampling are teeing it up in the first TimberTech Championship on the Champions Tour and Robyn Choi, Stephanie Na and Hira Naveed are at the famed Pinehurst Resort in North Carolina to contest the Carolina Golf Classic.
Round 1 tee times (AEDT)
PGA Tour
Bermuda Championship
Port Royal Golf Course, Southampton, Bermuda
9.35pm Matt Jones, Padraig Harrington, Kelly Kraft
9.55pm John Senden, Camilo Villegas, Peter Uihlein
10.35pm Aaron Baddeley, Ben Martin, Arjun Atwal
2.25am Tim Wilkinson, Cameron Percy, Josh Teater
3.35am Rhein Gibson, Roger Sloan, Eric Dugas
Defending champion: Brendon Todd
Top Aussie prediction: Cameron Percy
TV times: Live 3am-6am Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday on Fox Sports 503
European Tour
Aphrodite Hills Cyprus Open
Aphrodite Hills Resort, Paphos, Cyprus
4.35pm Michael Campbell, David Drysdale, Julian Suri
6.05pm Maverick Antcliff, Niklas Lemke, Jamie Donaldson
7.10pm Jason Scrivener, David Horsey, Lorenzo Gagli
Defending champion: Inaugural event
Top Aussie prediction: Maverick Antcliff
TV times: Live 8.30pm-1.30am Thursday, Friday; Live 9pm-1.30am Saturday; Live 8.30pm-1am Sunday on Fox Sports 503
Champions Tour
TimberTech Championship
The Old Course at Broken Sound, Boca Raton, Florida
Aussies in the field: Stephen Leaney, David McKenzie, Rod Pampling
Defending champion: Inaugural event
Top Aussie prediction: Rod Pampling
TV times: Live 6am-8.30am Saturday, Sunday, Monday on Fox Sports 503
Symetra Tour
Carolina Golf Classic
Pinehurst No.9, Pinehurst, North Carolina
11.03pm Robyn Choi, Julie Aime, Samantha Wagner
11.25pm Hira Naveed, Casey Danielson, Vicky Hurst
12.42am Stephanie Na, Katelyn Dambaugh, Cindy Ha
Defending champion: Inaugural event
Top Aussie prediction: Robyn Choi
Local product Aaron Pike will lean on the teachings of renowned performance psychologist Phil Jauncey after joining Nathan Barbieri at the top of the leaderboard heading into the final round of the Tailor-made Building Services NT PGA Championship.
Pike’s second round of 5-under 66 was the best on Saturday and vaulted him to the top to join the New South Wales amateur at 8-under par, one shot clear of European Tour player Deyen Lawson with Australian Amateur champion Jed Morgan and former US PGA Tour player Michael Sim both at 6-under.
Sim is actually spending the week staying in the Pike family home that sits adjacent to the 11th hole at Palmerston Golf and Country Club, the course where Pike learned the game before moving to Queensland in 2003.
Victory on Sunday would be considered very much a home-town triumph but the 34-year-old hopes that the work he has been undertaking on his mental approach will prevent him from getting caught up in the emotions around a win on the course where he played his junior golf.
In addition to working with Warren Kennaugh, Pike sought out Jauncey at the start of the year, Jauncey’s client base featuring the Australian cricket team and Brisbane Broncos and South Sydney NRL teams.
It’s an area of his game Pike says has been deficient in the past but one he feels better equipped to deal with on Sunday.
“Warren helps me immensely with my practice and Phil is more around how we get the best out of the situation that we’re in,” said Pike.
“Those two guys have helped me a lot and coming to play events like this, that’s where I can test it and see what works for me.
“I’ve taken the opportunity to really work on the mental side of things which is something that I have always thought has been a big problem of mine.
“I wouldn’t be in this situation if I hadn’t already put that stuff into practice.
“Phil’s a little different and a little left-field which I feel that I am.
“How he approaches his philosophies was something that I was really taken by.”
Using local knowledge to scramble pars and rattle off four birdies in his closing six holes on Saturday, Pike enters the final round having shot 67 in last Sunday’s Palmerston club comp.
His 35 Stableford points wasn’t enough to win a week ago but the 2018 Victorian PGA champion insists being the local favourite won’t enter into his thinking until the completion of 18 holes on Sunday.
“It doesn’t mean more or less in all honesty. 175m at Palmerston Golf Club is the same as 175m at Royal St George’s,” said Pike, who was denied a maiden Open Championship appearance this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I’m not the type of person who feels that difference just because of where it is.
“Unfortunately that mantra just can’t come into it. It’s just another shot.
“That’s something that I’ve really had to come to grips with and work on a hell of a lot.
“Not letting things get to me, keep working and going to the next shot, worrying only about what do we do next.
“When everything goes down on Sunday, then I’ll know.”
Runner-up at the Keperra Bowl a week ago, Jed Morgan was left to rue three misses from inside 10 feet on his back nine on Saturday to sit two shots back with a round to play.
Despite the deficit, Morgan is planning on applying early pressure on the front-runners with an aggressive mindset.
“Being out in front is a different experience because you have to keep pushing if you want to stay in the lead,” said Morgan.
“Coming from behind is good for some people because they just feel like they’re chasing and it helps their focus.
“I feel like I’m a person who needs to push regardless of the situation. I think anyone needs to do that, whether you’re a few shots back or a couple in front, always push and push and push.
“Both Nathan and Aaron could bring it back to the field because you can make some doubles around here.
“You’re going to have to play good and take your chances when you get them but I don’t know if it’s going to take anything silly.”
As a recent recipient of a Sport of Australia Hall of Fame scholarship, Morgan now boasts Ricky Ponting as a mentor but is not expecting any words of wisdom from the Australian cricket legend prior to Sunday’s final round.
“It will be a surprise if he does,” Morgan admitted. “I can’t imagine he’s looking at the Northern Territory PGA scores but if he knew I was playing he might have a look.
“It would be an awesome feeling if he texted me tonight and wished me luck for tomorrow.
“He’s probably got bigger things to worry about, even though he does love his golf.”
Leading scores after Round 2
134: Aaron Pike, Nathan Barbieri (a)
135: Deyen Lawson
136: Jediah Morgan (a), Michael Sim
137: Justin Warren
139: Bradley Doherty, Jake Hughes (a), Jack Thompson (a)
View the full leaderboard at pga.org.au.
Image: Taylah Somerville Photography
It was a quieter week around the world for our Australians abroad as our top pros prepare themselves for the year’s final majors.
Young Queenslander Robyn Choi led the way for our women by stretching her run of top 25s on the Symetra Tour to six events.
Choi’s breakout year began with a T6 finish at the ISPS Handa Vic Open in February and she hasn’t missed a cut since.
Victorian Zach Murray returned to form in Scotland this week as the only Australian to make the weekend’s action on the European Tour.
The amateurs dominated at the Nexus Risk WA Open at Royal Fremantle, with 18-year-old local Hayden Hopewell holding on to join Murray (in 2018) and Curtis Luck (in 2016) as winners of that event prior to turning pro.
Jason Day was inside the top 10 and ready to strike as he started his final round in Las Vegas but unfortunately, a neck injury suffered while warming up forced him to withdraw after one hole.
That left fellow Queenslander Cam Smith to fly the flag and he fired back-to-back 68s to surge to a share of 11th on the standings.
It was the ultra-consistent Smith’s best return anywhere in the world since winning the Sony Open in January and for cracking the top 25 in consecutive weeks, he takes out our #AussieOfTheWeek!
PGA TOUR
The CJ Cup
Shadow Creek Golf Course, Nevada
Won by Jason Kokrak (USA) at -20 by two shots
11 – Cam Smith, -9, 69-74-68-68
T52 – Marc Leishman, +1, 73-71-70-75
WD – Jason Day, E, 70-70-66
EUROPEAN TOUR
Scottish Championship
Fairmont St Andrews, Scotland
Won by Adrian Otaegui (ESP) at -23 by four shots
T67 – Zach Murray, +1, 69-73-72-75
MC – Min Woo Lee, +2, 76-70
MC – Wade Ormsby, +2, 73-73
MC – Jake McLeod, +2, 74-72
MC – Scott Hend, +10, 75-79
SYMETRA TOUR
Mission Inn Resort and Club Championship
Mission Inn Resort & Club, Florida
Won by Matilda Castren (FIN) at -12 by five shots
T21 – Robyn Choi, +1, 73-76-71
T32 – Steph Na, +4, 72-78-73
ISPS HANDA PGA TOUR OF AUSTRALASIA
Nexus Rish WA Open
Royal Fremantle Golf Club, Perth
Won by Hayden Hopewell (am) (WA) at -7 by one shot
1 – Hayden Hopewell (am), -7, 72-69-68
2 – Haydn Barron (am), -6, 71-71-68
3 – Brody Martin, -5, 71-68-72
4 – Oliver Goss, -2, 71-73-70
5 – Jordan Jung (am), -1, 73-74-68
PGA TOUR CHAMPIONS
Dominion Energy Charity Classic
The Country Club of Virginia, Richmond
Won by Phil Mickelson (USA) at -17 by three shots
T18 – Rod Pampling, -6, 72-69-69
T35 – David McKenzie, -3, 69-71-73
T44 – Stephen Leaney, -2, 74-70-70
The joy of a new baby daughter and the pain of having the TX Civil & Logistics WA PGA Championship snatched from his grasp two years ago will be the driving forces behind Brody Martin’s claim to the Nexus Risk WA Open crown at Royal Fremantle Golf Club on Sunday.
For the second day in succession Royal Fremantle kept WA’s best professionals and amateurs at arm’s length with Martin opening up a two-shot buffer at the top of the leaderboard at 5-under courtesy of a 4-under par round of 68.
Rising amateur star Hayden Hopewell is the nearest challenger having moved to 3-under with a birdie at the par-5 18th hole, he and veteran Brett Rumford the only other players to break 70, Rumford joining amateur Haydn Barron at 2-under par to be three shots back.
Starting from the 10th tee on Saturday, Martin’s considered approach to a firm and fast Royal Fremantle layout paid dividends from the outset, taking 4-iron from the tee at his opening hole, hitting 7-iron to eight feet and starting his round with a birdie.
He added two more in his next three holes to vault to the top of the leaderboard and open up a handy lead, further birdies at two, four and five elevating him to 5-under with one round to play.
It’s a position Martin found himself in two years ago at the WA PGA at Kalgoorlie only to be run down by a Michael Long course record to lose by a shot.
It was a disappointment that he has only just shaken but Martin believes the challenge the course is presenting will make such a scenario unlikely on Sunday.
“I was in this situation in 2018. I had a couple of shots on Simon Hawkes, three on Jarryd (Felton) and five on Michael Long and Michael shot a course record at Kalgoorlie to beat me by a shot,” Martin recalled.
“I thought about that for a solid 18 months. Every time I practised, every time I played golf I thought about the shots I hit. There was a 2-iron in that final round that I’ve practised 1,000 times since.
“Those poor memories do come into it but it also taught me a lot too.
“I’m playing good enough, I just need to play sensible.
“If the conditions are as hard as they have been the last two days I can’t really see much better than 5 or 6-under being posted. And if someone does that they obviously deserve to win the golf tournament.”
One of those hoping to bridge the gap with a low round on Sunday will be amateur Haydn Barron.
Selected to represent Australia at both the Nomura Cup and Asia-Pacific Amateur this year – two events that were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemis – Barron’s plans to turn professional have been put on hold and he knows it will take something special to chase down Martin.
“If Brody is 5-under still that’s incredible playing,” Barron said prior to Martin completing his round.
“I don’t think there’s a super-low round out there. I can’t see someone shooting more than 5-under, at absolute best.
“Someone will shoot 3 or 4-under and that will be it.
“I feel like I haven’t been in contention for a long time so I definitely had some nerves out there today. I just tried to keep myself as calm as I could all day, regardless of what happened.
“For me it’s a matter of going as low as I can early and hold on down that really difficult stretch at the end.”
Whether month-old Indiana will be part of the gallery on Sunday is still to be decided but Martin hopes she will be there at the end to share in the victory celebration with wife Courtney.
“It’s a similar situation of what had me defeated last time but the only thing that will help me to defend it will be these conditions,” Martin said.
“Even par could be good enough. If I can keep playing sensible golf, try and make 14 or 15 pars tomorrow, I think I’m going to be in there come the last hole.
“You’ve got to look at the golf course and see what kind of scores you can shoot. For me, I’m going to go home, same game-plan tomorrow and really look at the holes I need to make birdies and capitalise on those.
“The scores aren’t going to be hot because of the greens and they’re putting the flags in hard spots.
“There is a little bit of a game-plan but just respecting the holes that I need to respect.”
Leading scores
139: Brody Martin
141: Hayden Hopewell (a)
142: Haydn Barron (a), Brett Rumford
144: Oliver Goss
145: Darren Garrett, Joshua Greer (a), Adam Brady (a), Tom Addy (a), Ben Ferguson
Amateur Ryan Peake is one of the shock leaders after the opening round of the Nexus Risk WA Open at Royal Fremantle Golf Club.
Veteran Scott Strange appeared set to lead through 18 holes when he got to 2-under late in his round but dropped shots at the seventh and eighth holes – his 16th and 17th – saw him fall to even par. Brody Martin too also reached 2-under in tricky scoring conditions at the ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia tournament, but also made a late mistake to drop to a share of the lead with five others at 1-under.
One of those six players tied for the lead is 27-year-old Ryan Peake, who has recently rekindled his love affair with the game of golf with a view to rejoining the professional ranks.
Tied for 60th at the 2010 Australian Open at The Lakes Golf Club in Sydney at just 17 years of age, Peake turned professional prior to the 2012 WA Open but quit golf before playing another tournament.
Earlier this year he qualified for the final 16 of the Australian Amateur Championship at Royal Queensland before falling 1-down to star amateur Elvis Smylie and last week was tied for 20th at the TX Civil & Logistics WA PGA Championship.
A two-time winner of the Aglime Sand Greens Championship of WA – “The greens this week are definitely a little bit quicker than those things” – Peake said he was surprised that his score of 1-under 71 was good enough to earn a share of the lead.
“I wasn’t really lighting it up or anything but I felt all right,” Peake said.
“I hit three balls off 18 because I thought they were out of bounds but I ended up finding my first ball and made par to turn square.
“On the back nine I continued to hit the ball well and gave myself lots of opportunities to make a few birdies but I made a few bogeys out of nowhere as well.
“I didn’t think it was that hard out there but obviously looking at the scores everyone is finding it a bit tricky.
“Maybe I need to give myself a little more credit. Maybe it was pretty tough out there and I played better than I thought.”
Goss was just as surprised as Peake at his lofty position at his home club.
The winner of the WA Open as an amateur in 2012, Goss walked away from professional golf at the end of 2018 to pursue coaching.
Now the Junior Development Manager at Royal Fremantle, Goss watched two of his academy members hit ceremonial tee shots before going out and recording the equal best score of the day.
“The course is definitely tough. It’s firm, it’s fast, it’s very difficult but I still thought someone would break away and shoot 3 or 4-under and it just hasn’t happened,” said Goss, who recovered after an early double bogey to notch three birdies over the following 14 holes to shoot 71.
“It’s anyone’s game at this point.
“I play about once a month in the club comp and that’s about it.
“I just wanted to go out and enjoy it and not put any pressure on myself to play well.
“I just want to go out there and play golf and enjoy the course while it’s in absolutely amazing condition.”
Joining Peake, Goss and Martin at the top of the leaderboard heading into day two on Saturday are amateurs Haydn Barron and Joshua Greer along with Ben Ferguson, five players sitting just one shot further back.
A double bogey to start from the 10th tee put tournament favourite Jarryd Felton on the back foot as he opened with a 3-over 75 while three consecutive birdies late rescued Brett Rumford’s round as he finished at 1-over 73 and tied for 12th.
Leading scores
71: Ryan Peake (a), Haydn Barron (a), Joshua Greer (a), Oliver Goss, Brody Martin, Ben Ferguson
72: Scott Strange, Scott Barr, Hayden Hopewell (a), Tom Addy (a), Marty Van Eldik (a)
73: Connor Fewkes (a), Rick Kulacz, Adam Brady (a), Glenn Paul, Brett Rumford, Jordan Jung (a)
It is with regret that the Australian golf industry announces this summer’s premier events – the Australian PGA Championship, Australian Open and Women’s Australian Open – have been cancelled.
PGA of Australia chief executive Gavin Kirkman, ALPG chief executive Karen Lunn and Golf Australia chief executive James Sutherland confirmed all three events, which were to have been played in February, won’t proceed because of the global pandemic.
“It’s unprecedented and a real blow for Australian golf and its fans,” Kirkman said.
“We have collectively spent months in exhaustive consultation with all relevant authorities and our sanctioning partners to try to find a way to stage all three events safely and at that world-class level to which we’ve all become accustomed.
“But even with multiple contingency plans, it has reached a point where decisions have to be made and this, regrettably, is the one we’ve had to take.”
A raft of measures were considered – including players entering a hub and competing while serving a strict quarantine period, as well as restricting crowd numbers and movement – but all options were unviable.
“We look forward to bringing all three tournaments alive again when they return as normal for summer 2021-22,” Kirkman said.
The Australian Open and Australian PGA Championship – the feature events on the PGA Tour of Australasia – were originally slated for a late November and early December window, to be played at Melbourne’s Kingston Heath and Brisbane’s Royal Queensland, respectively.
Both were postponed in recent months in the hope a late-summer timeslot – potentially near the Women’s Australian Open – would buy time to host the time-honoured tournaments.
But the impacts of Covid-19, most notably in assembling international fields and ensuring the safety of players, spectators and officials, has forced the decision.
It will be the first time since 1945, the final year of the second World War, that the men’s Open will not have been staged; it’s the first time since 1995 that the PGA will miss; and the first time since 2006 that the women’s Open will not be contested.
Sutherland said the decisions – made in consultation with staging partner SPORTFIVE – were taken with an incredibly heavy heart given the tournaments’ history and international significance.
“On the advice of relevant domestic government authorities and, with consideration for the global nature of our fields and partners, the call was made with the health and wellbeing of the golfing community as the priority,” Sutherland said.
“The events rely on significant support from players and tours around the world, so given current quarantine restrictions, we believe the field strength of all three events would be severely compromised.
“This, in turn, is unsatisfactory for spectators, broadcasters and our events’ commercial partners.”
Lunn said the decision’s timing was expedited by the needs of players and international partners, including the European Tour and LPGA Tour.
“It’s extremely disappointing when all tournament stakeholders have worked so hard to build a history and a place on busy global calendars for our flagship events here in Australia,” Lunn said.
“The Women’s Australian Open has grown from strength to strength in recent years since moving to its new home in Adelaide, and its continued success is very much dependent on the support of our leading Australian players, along with our overseas guests from the LPGA Tour who come from all corners of the globe.
“While this has been a heart-wrenching and incredibly difficult decision, logistically there are just too many variables which could put at risk the event’s fine reputation and standing.”
The PGA of Australia, ALPG and Golf Australia remain in consultation with all stakeholders about other events on the respective domestic tours this summer.
Jarryd Felton has won the 2020 TX Civil & Logistics WA PGA Championship following a course record-equalling 8-under final round at Kalgoorlie Golf Course.
The 2019 WA PGA runner-up started the third and final round just one stroke back from leaders Brett Rumford and Braden Becker and quickly set about closing the gap.
From the penultimate group Felton started his round with a birdie on the first, but it was a streak of birdies from holes 10 to 14 that saw him rocket out to a four-stroke lead.
An 18th-hole chip in for eagle from Brett Rumford was not enough to reign in Felton’s 13-under total, Rumford finishing just one stroke back at 12-under.
A final round of 4-under saw Daniel Fox move up to take outright third place, ahead of Becker in fourth. Daniel Hoeve took out fifth place.
The victory is Felton’s third on the ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia, adding to his 2015 NSW PGA Championship and 2017 NZ PGA Championship wins.
More to come.
View the final TX Civil & Logistics WA PGA Championship leaderboard here.
Lucas Herbert made the most of favourable conditions to take a one shot lead into the weekend at the Aberdeen Standard Investments Scottish Open.
The Australian added a second round of 65 to his opening 66 at The Renaissance Club to top the leaderboard at 11 under par as he goes in search of a second European Tour title in 2020 following his victory in Dubai in January.
“I’m pretty happy. To be honest I turned up here on Wednesday and hit it all over the place. Sort of not really expecting too much the last few days, but it’s kind of all come together nicely,” Herbert said.
“Links golf is a lot of fun and it’s definitely a different challenge from probably what we play most of the year. It takes some imagination and I feel like I’ve got a fair bit of that, so it’s good fun. You come back here every year and you kind of learn new things and add to your knowledge about the golf course, things that you just don’t spot the first time around, so the more times you can play it the better.
✅ Lowest round of the year
— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) October 2, 2020
✅ Leader by one
The best of Lucas Herbert's second round at the #ASISO.#RolexSeries pic.twitter.com/IkJ1FpSxKv
“A second victory would be great at the moment, but yeah, Rolex Series would be pretty cool. I would like to look at Johnny walking around with a gold caddie bib on, so that’s definitely something that I’d like to do. I really haven’t played that well in the Rolex Series so far in my career, so it would be a good step forward this week to put in a good result, whether it’s a win or whether it’s a top 10 or a top 20. I think that would be a good step forward.”
South Australian Wade Ormsby remains in the mix, currently tied for 9th at 6-under the card.
Maverick Antcliff, Min Woo Lee and Scott Hend also progress to the weekend, sitting T28, T41 and T53 respectively.
On the Korn Ferry Tour Australians Curtis Luck and Brett Coletta sit just one stroke off the lead with two rounds to play at the Savannah Golf Championship.
36-hole scores @savgolfchamp …
— Korn Ferry Tour (@KornFerryTour) October 3, 2020
• @Kev_Dougherty -13
• Evan Harmeling -13
• Kyle Jones -12
• @brett_coletta -12
• @tula_etulain -12
• @Ben_Martin87 -12
• @CurtisLuck6 -12
• @maxgreyserman -12
• Seven at -11#KornFerryTour pic.twitter.com/tzFHzdSJrl
