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Dating a major champion would provide its own motivation but it is Hannah Green’s growing influence on the game of golf in Australia that has inspired Jarryd Felton to also start giving back.
On Friday Green and Felton will face off against each other in the WA Golf Guns Charity Shootout Challenge at Gosnells Golf Club in Perth, Green partnering with 2019 IMG Academy Junior World Championship runner-up Maddison Hinson-Tolchard against Felton and WA Boys’ State team member Josiah Gilbert.
It’s the first of two charity events that Green and Felton have put their names to in addition to the time they are spending with juniors at their respective home clubs of Mount Lawley and Gosnells.
Friday’s nine-hole match that will be broadcast on Instagram Live from 4pm AEST will raise money for Challenge and the Wright family and on 5 July Green and Felton will be joined by Braden Becker, Hayden Hopewell, Haydn Barron and Kathryn Norris in a ‘Birdies for Breast Cancer’ initiative at The Cut Golf Club.
Felton acknowledges that he is playing second fiddle to the reigning Women’s PGA champion and Greg Norman Medal winner but has been inspired to do what he can to support worthy causes and promote golf in a positive manner.
“Hannah’s doing a lot of stuff for Mount Lawley playing with the juniors which has been great and I thought I could do something similar,” said the 2017 NZ PGA champion.
“I was never really too big on it but what she has been doing made me want to get involved as well.
“I’m obviously not in as good a position as Hannah is in, I’m really just following on behalf of her.
“She’s in a position where she can really grow the game and perhaps one day take over from what Karrie Webb has done.
“She knows herself that she’s got some shoes to fill in that department. Once Karrie finishes up I think she and Minjee (Lee) will be the ones to grow the game at a junior level in particular.
“It’s been a tough road the past three or four months sitting around and doing nothing so if we can do our best to help out these families and raise some money – and stay competitive – then that’s something positive.”
Both the causes that Green and Felton are supporting in the next few weeks are close to their heart.
In addition to raising funds for Challenge, Friday’s match will benefit the Wright family who lost their son Luan in tragic circumstances less than four years ago.
“I knew Luan on a personal level. He was a junior member at the golf club for quite some years before he passed away so I knew him quite well,” Felton revealed.
“It was pretty crazy because it all happened so fast. He was fine one day – he was doing his Year 12 exams – and then all of a sudden he had a brain tumour and no one knew what was going on.
“It was only three or four months later that he passed away so it was quite sudden.
“It just happened way too fast and just shows you how short life is that’s for sure.”
Captain of the WA Womens State team, Kathryn Norris’s mother Lynda is currently undergoing treatment for breast cancer and is the inspiration for the 5 July fundraiser where the six golfers will attempt to play 18 holes in 27-under par playing a twoball ambrose format and try to raise $20,000.
“We grew up with Kathryn in the state team,” Felton adds.
“Hannah and I are both a little bit older than Kathryn but she grew up playing golf around the same time as us so we know the family quite well.
“She asked if Hannah and I could come on board to help out and we jumped at it.”
While both days are first and foremost in aid of charity, Felton concedes that it is an opportunity to get the competitive juices flowing again before both he and Green return to the European and LPGA tours in the near future.
“We play nine holes every now and again and it’s pretty competitive sometimes,” said Felton.
“We don’t play as much golf together as what people would think. Coming into tournament time we play a fair bit together but at the moment Hannah’s going to Mount Lawley and I come to Gosnells so we go in two separate directions.
“Hopefully it’s not over too quickly on Friday and Josiah and I don’t get fleeced too much.”
The WA Golf Guns Charity Shootout Challenge will be broadcast live on Friday at 4pm AEST through the Gosnells Golf Club Instagram page (@gosnellsgolfclub).
If you would like to support the ‘Birdies for Breast Cancer Challenge’ on July 5 visit the GoFundMe page at www.gofundme.com/f/birdies-for-breast-cancer-challenge.
A rust-free Cameron Smith shapes as the best chance of ending a 14-year Aussie drought at Hilton Head as the PGA TOUR continues with the RBC Heritage at Harbor Town Golf Links.
Four Aussies and Kiwi Danny Lee are entered at Harbour Town that has a history of Australian winners dating back to Graham Marsh in 1977 and where growing up playing in windy conditions is a decided advantage.
Smith made his first appearance at Hilton Head in 2015 and showed an instant affinity with the golf course, a pair of 67s across the weekend taking him to a tie for 15th and a four-round total of 9-undr par.
Up until last year’s missed cut Smith had played all four rounds in each of his previous three visits to Harbour Town, coming into this week with a scoring average of 69.93 from 14 previous rounds.
The Sony Open champion in January, Smith missed the cut at the Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial last week, in large part to a second shot finding the water at the par-4 ninth in the second – his last of the day – that led to a double bogey and finishing two shots shy of the cut line.
Finding the fairways at Colonial was something of an issue, a problem that continues to plague Smith as he currently sits 166th on the PGA TOUR with a driving accuracy percentage of 57.35 per cent for the season.
The last Australian to win at Harbour Town was Aaron Baddeley in 2006, the first of his four PGA TOUR titles to date.
Fresh from a humble dad-brag to son Jeremiah after making an ace at Whisper Rock Golf Club a week ago and having welcomed a sixth child into the family in February, Baddeley returns for his first tournament since the cancellation of The Players Championship on March 12.
He does so at a venue with many happy memories, not only the site of his breakthrough tour win but a venue where he also finished runner-up in 2008 and been top-15 on three further occasions.
The only Australian to make the cut in the Tour’s return last week, Matt Jones has not played Harbour Town since 2016 while Jason Day also heads back to Hilton Head after a four-year hiatus, finishing top 30 in four of his previous five appearances.
The Korn Ferry Tour stays in Florida and starts a day earlier than normal this week, six Australians taking part in The King & Bear Classic at World Golf Village at a course co-designed by Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus.
Jamie Arnold comes in full of confidence after posting the low round of the week in last week’s Korn Ferry Tour Challenge and where he was the only Aussie to play in all four rounds.
Round 1 Tee Times
PGA TOUR
RBC Heritage
Harbour Town Golf Links, Hilton Head, South Carolina
8.45pm* Aaron Baddeley, Doc Redman
9.18pm Cameron Smith, Kevin Tway, Sergio Garcia
9.51pm* Jason Day, Nate Lashley, Bubba Watson
2.21am Danny Lee, Sepp Straka, Christiaan Bezuidenhout
4am Matt Jones, Jhonattan Vegas, Kevin Streelman
Past Australian champions: Graham Marsh (1977), Greg Norman (1988), Peter Lonard (2005), Aaron Baddeley (2006)
Top Aussie prediction: Cameron Smith
TV schedule: 6am-9am Friday and Saturday; 3am-8am Sunday and Monday on Fox Sports 503
Korn Ferry Tour
The King & Bear Classic at World Golf Village
The King & Bear Course at WGV, St Augustine, Florida
9pm* Brett Coletta, Tyson Alexander, John VanDerLaan
10.03pm Curtis Luck, Justin Lower, Jimmy Stanger
10.03pm* Ryan Ruffels, Dawie van der Walt, Wade Binfield
10.13pm* Tim Wilkinson, Joey Garber, James Hahn
10.34pm Jamie Arnold, Sebastian Cappelen, Dan McCarthy
2.25am Brett Drewitt, Robert Allenby, Zecheng Dou
Past Australian champions: Inaugural event
Top Aussie prediction: Brett Drewitt
* Starting from 10th tee
First came the voluntary saliva test at his home in Atlanta, Georgia.
Then, when Jamie Arnold arrived in Florida for the Korn Ferry Tour’s first tournament back since the COVID-19 pandemic forced the suspension of the season, he had to pass through four drive-thru check-points before the invasive nasal swab “up the back of your brain” to test again for coronavirus.
“It took 10 or 15 seconds but it felt like an hour.”
As he awaited yet another negative result that would grant him a lanyard indicating his all-clear status, Arnold was permitted to practise at Dye’s Valley Course at TPC Sawgrass, but only after subjecting himself to another thermal temperature check.
There were hand sanitising stations on the driving range, on the tee box of almost every hole and food consisted wholly of pre-packaged fare.
It’s a far cry from the Sydney native’s debut season on the secondary US Tour in 2017 but he knows such measures are necessary if the roadshow is to continue into The King and Bear Classic at World Golf Village starting Wednesday and beyond.
“It’s definitely very different but at least we’re out there playing,” said Arnold, who posted the low round of the week – a 7-under 63 in the second round – in the Korn Ferry Challenge at TPC Sawgrass last week.
“We know that we’re only one outbreak away from the season being done or events not being on.
“We know that. The Tour has stressed so much the No.1 thing is practising social distancing not only on the golf course but at home or wherever you’re staying.
“We know that if we’re not careful and we start high-fiving and going to eat out and doing things that we used to do, one person getting it and spreading it can shut us down as quick as we opened back up.
“We’re just trying to do our best and be safe, all the little things we can do so hopefully we can play the rest of the season.”
Tied for 10th at the Australian Open in December, Arnold missed graduating to the PGA TOUR last year in heartbreaking fashion and had made a positive start to his 2020 campaign, making the cut in the first four events and posting a tie for 12th at the Country Club de Bogota Championship.
A dozen balls on the range following his opening round last Thursday gave Arnold the confidence to shoot 63 the following day – “I could have shot in the 50s” – and the belief that an extended wrap-around season that will conclude with the 2021 Korn Ferry Tour finals will work in his favour.
“The longer season creates more opportunities for me to win and to play well more consistently,” said the 36-year-old Cronulla Golf Club product.
“It’s possible that by the end of the season we could end up with 49 events so I’m looking at it as a plus.
“If the season is longer consistent players who play 40-odd events and play well should be able to finish inside the top 25.
“The downside is that we’re not going to graduate up onto the PGA TOUR this year but I thought this was a better option than having only 12 events.
“It makes it more of a marathon than a sprint.”
Thankful to be back out playing and planning on teeing it up in five of the first six events of the season resumption, Arnold revelled in an extended stay at home.
Creative matches at his home club of Druid Hills Golf Club in Atlanta and visits to TPC Sugarloaf to play in mini tournaments organised by former Open champion Stewart Cink were mixed in with practice, walks with the dogs and home-schooling his young son Luke.
“It made me realise that having the life that we live, you do miss a lot of stuff at home,” said Arnold, Luke learning to ride a bike a highlight of his COVID-19 isolation.
“There are a lot of people who see the glamour of travel and the money that people can make but there’s something really nice about waking up in your own bed, being with your family and being able to spend all those moments together.
“I slept the best I’ve ever slept during this break. There’s always so much pressure in golf. You’re always thinking about what you can do better. I feel like your brain’s always on and when I was home and knew we weren’t going to be playing for a while I slept so good.
“I woke up every day feeling so refreshed. I feel like I’ve never really had that before, where I’ve had nothing to worry about.
“Hanging out together as a family was really cool. I enjoyed it.”
Stress-free living, protein shakes and spaghetti bolognaise.
That’s the secret formula to a bulkier physique that West Australian Jarryd Felton hopes will make his body more durable when tournament play resumes.
As Bryson DeChambeau threatens to reshape what a golfer looks like with his new polo-stretching build and the 350-plus yard drives that it was able to unleash, Felton revealed that he too has spent a good part of the COVID-19 constructing a bigger, stronger body.
Whippet-thin at just 69 kilograms when the PGA Tour of Australasia was forced to suspend its season following the New Zealand Open, the 2017 NZ PGA champion has added seven kilograms of muscle that while not designed to launch bombs should provide a boost back out on tour.
“I’ve not necessarily done a Bryson but I’ve tried to put on some weight and go to the gym as much as I can, build some strength,” revealed Felton, who was top-15 at both the Queensland Open and NZ Open in his two most recent starts prior to the coronavirus shutdown.
“Playing tournament golf, it’s impossible to maintain your strength and I’m always coming back lighter with lost weight and a bit of stress in that as well. My body has been the No.1 focus, trying to get that to a level where I can maintain it for the rest of the year.
“I’ve had a couple of hip surgeries when I was younger that I’ve had to maintain throughout my playing career.
“It’s not necessarily added any more distance but just for my body’s sake, it’s maintaining how good I’m feeling each day.
“I’m not waking up sore or in pain and able to lift heavy weights which has been really good.”
With status on the European Challenge Tour, Felton received a welcome e-mail on Tuesday morning detailing the two events in Austria from July 9 that would mark the resumption of the Challenge Tour.
Such is his status that Felton is unsure how many events he would be eligible to play on the six-week European Tour swing in the UYKL that would follow two weeks in Austria, making a return to Europe still a difficult question to answer.
“I saw that e-mail this morning. I haven’t really read through it too well but that’s got to be a positive sign,” said Felton.
“We can go over there and we’re playing for money which is great but in this time you don’t really know what the best thing to do is.
“It’s hard to commit. The money’s great but if you’re going from country to country it’s going to be pretty difficult.”
In the meantime, Felton will stoke his competitive fire with regular nine-hole matches with his girlfriend and Women’s PGA champion Hannah Green.
The pair have committed to two charity exhibition matches in the next month, the first of which is Friday’s WA Golf Guns Charity Shootout Challenge at Gosnells Golf Club that will be broadcast on Instagram Live.
“The new pro here Scott McLean came up with an idea of having a nine-hole Instagram Live type match so we thought we should try and do something for charity at the same time,” Felton added.
“It’s been a tough road the past three or four months sitting around and doing nothing so if we can do our best to help out these families and raise some money – and stay competitive – then that’s something positive.”
It was time to dust off the rust and get the competitive juices flowing again and it was two-time Australian Open champion Matt Jones who did it best among the Aussies returning to tournament golf in the US.
There were 13 Aussies in action at the PGA TOUR’s Charles Schwab Challenge and the Korn Ferry Tour’s Korn Ferry Challenge at TPC Sawgrass but only one Australian played in all four rounds at each event, Sutherland Shire boys Jones and Jamie Arnold.
Normally clean-shaven and sharply dressed, Jones looked as though he’d lost his razor in isolation, sporting a bushy beard and a shaggy hairdo that made him almost unrecognizable from the man who triumphed at The Australian Golf Club in December.
It didn’t impact his golf game in any negative fashion, marking the PGA TOUR’s return after 91 days with a bogey-free 4-under 66 in the opening round to be tied for 16th.
Rounds of 69-70 saw Jones start the final round in a tie for 33rd and he looked like making a Sunday impression when he completed the front nine in 2-under 33 to get to 7-under.
A failure to get up-and-down from the greenside at the par-4 10th halted his forward momentum and two more in the following two holes and a birdie at 13 saw him sign for an even par 70 and a tie for 38th, American Daniel Berger claiming the crown with a playoff victory over Collin Morikawa.
While they didn’t qualify for the weekend rounds first start back there were some positive indicators for the other five Aussies who teed it up in Texas.
Veteran John Senden played the first two rounds in 1-under while Cameron Davis, Marc Leishman and Cameron Smith each had one round in the 60s as they gear up for a busy schedule ahead.
As Kareela Golf Club junior Matt Jones led the way at Fort Worth it was a Cronulla Golf Club product who was the best of the Aussie contingent on the Korn Ferry Tour courtesy of the low round of the week at TPC Sawgrass.
Opening with a 2-over par round of 72, Jamie Arnold generated momentum at the start of his second round with a birdie at the par-3 11th – his second hole of the day – and kept the hammer down, his eight birdies and lone bogey thrusting him inside the top 10 at the halfway mark.
Birdies at the first and fifth holes further entrenched Arnold near the top of the leaderboard early in the third round but he played the next 27 holes in 10-over par, birdies at 16 and 18 a positive way to end his tournament return and a tie for 46th.
Kiwi Tim Wilkinson was two shots further back of Arnold in a tie for 56th as American Luke List claimed victory by a stroke from Shad Tuten and Joseph Bramlett.
Although he failed to make the cut, West Australian Curtis Luck left TPC Sawgrass with a memory to savour, registering the first hole-in-one of his professional career in round one at the 229-yard par-3 11th.
PGA TOUR
Charles Schwab Challenge
Colonial Country Club, Fort Worth, Texas
T38 Matt Jones 66-70-69-70—275 $US32,625
MC John Senden 69-70—139
MC Danny Lee 70-70—140
MC Cameron Davis 73-68—141
MC Marc Leishman 69-72—141
MC Cameron Smith 69-73—142
MC Jason Day 70-72—142
Korn Ferry Tour
Korn Ferry Challenge
TPC Sawgrass (Dye’s Valley Course), Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida
T46 Jamie Arnold 72-63-72-74—281 $US2,655
T56 Tim Wilkinson 66-71-75-71—283 $2,496
MC Brett Drewitt 72-69—141
MC Harrison Endycott 70-72—142
MC Brett Coletta 73-69—142
MC Curtis Luck 67-77–144
MC Steven Alker 71-73—144
MC Ryan Ruffels 71-74–145
MC Robert Allenby 73-72—145
Australian golf will find a new home in the heart of Melbourne’s Sandbelt with a new state-of-the-art facility to be built.
The Australian Golf Centre will be the new headquarters for Golf Australia, PGA of Australia, Golf Victoria and Sandringham Golf Links Management.
The $18.8 million project, majority funded by the Victorian Government’s $15.3 million investment, will create one of the country’s premier golf facilities on the site of Sandringham Golf Links, opposite the world-renowned Royal Melbourne Golf Club.
The facility will feature a new public 30-bay driving range with target greens, the redevelopment of the existing 18-hole golf course, a public café and the National High Performance Centre, which will help shape the next generation of golf heroes.
The industry-leading centre will also feature:
The contract for the building construction work, to be undertaken by local firm 2Construct and expected to generate 24 jobs, was signed this week. The projected completion date for these works is April 2021.
Redevelopment of nine holes has been completed, with the remaining nine holes to be finished by December 2020. The course redesign and construction is being undertaken by Australian golf architects Ogilvy Cocking and Mead, with help from the Royal Melbourne Golf Club.
PGA of Australia chairman Rodger Davis said the project was another sign of the increasing unity in Australian golf.
“The Australian Golf Centre will help unify golf’s peak bodies and create efficiencies that will introduce more participants to our great game,” Davis said.
Golf Australia chairman Andrew Newbold said the centre would generate many benefits.
“Not only for our emerging talent but for Australian professionals as well, which gives the entire industry a base and a place to inspire the next generation into the sport,” Newbold said.
Stephen Spargo, president of Golf Victoria which is the project principal, was excited about the centre’s potential to be a nationally unifying force for the golf community.
“It’s fantastic to see those in the sport rally behind such a great project and we’re delighted that it can take place in the heartland of Melbourne golf,” Spargo said.
Victorian Minister for Tourism, Sport and Major Events Martin Pakula said the new centre would enhance the state’s reputation as “the home of golf in Australia” and continue to help the community’s re-emergence from the impacts of COVID-19.
“Golf is a great employer at the local and elite levels and investments like this are important in setting up the industry to thrive on the other side of the pandemic,” Pakula said.
Victorian Marc Leishman will have the honour of being the first Australian to tee off in the PGA TOUR’s resumption when he begins his first round of the Charles Schwab Challenge at 10.34pm on Thursday night.
After 91 days of COVID-19-induced suspension the richest tour in world golf begins again with no crowds, new innovations and players itching to compete once again.
Each of the top five players in the world are all playing at famed Colonial Country Club along with Aussies Marc Leishman, Cameron Smith, Jason Day, Matt Jones, John Senden and Cameron Davis along with Kiwi Danny Lee.
Starting from the 10th tee, Leishman is the first of the Australians to kick-start their season alongside major champions Graeme McDowell and Patrick Reed while Day will play with Keegan Bradley and Si Woo Kim in the opening two rounds.
In stringent medical testing that makes the Tour’s resumption possible all players in the field have tested negative to coronavirus but PGA TOUR Commissioner Jay Monahan recognises that starting again is only one part of the process.
“If there’s one thing you learn as you look back over the last 90 days and you go forward, there’s steps that you take,” Monahan said.
“We’ve passed some important hurdles. These are important steps. But now we get inside the field of play.
“Now you think about all the things that we’re asking our players and caddies and everybody that’s here in this small bubble to do, we need to execute on that.”
Four Australians have won at Colonial dating back to Bruce Crampton in 1965 but for those in action this week it is a venue they have to reacquaint themselves with.
Leishman hasn’t played in the event since he was tied for 34th in 2017 while Day’s absence stretches back to 2011, his best finish coming two years earlier when he was tied for fourth.
It’s a debut appearance for Cameron Davis but he will be able to lean on one of his playing partners in the opening two rounds for insight having been drawn to play with 1997 champion David Frost.
In addition to the PGA TOUR season restarting the Korn Ferry Tour is also back this week with seven Australians to play in the inaugural Korn Ferry Challenge on the Valley Course at TPC Sawgrass in Florida.
The promotion of the top 25 on the moneylist to the PGA TOUR the following year has been scrapped for 2020 yet there will be performance benefits made available to those inside the top 10 at the end of the year.
Born in Florida, Ryan Ruffels logged two top-15 finishes in his first three events on the Korn Ferry Tour to start the year and is excited by where his game is heading.
“I feel like everything is building,” Ruffels told PGATOUR.com’s Adam Stanley.
“I’m not going to make a huge jump from where I am now to being the No.1 player in the world in six months but I feel like everything is gradually building and moving in the right direction and that’s what’s pretty exciting for me.
“I can keep working on what I’m working on now and that will keep moving me forward.”
PGA Tour
Charles Schwab Challenge
Colonial Country Club, Fort Worth, Texas
Tee Times
10.34pm* Marc Leishman, Patrick Reed, Graeme McDowell
11.51pm Danny Lee, Mackenzie Hughes, Brian Gay
3.33am Cameron Smith, Joaquin Niemann, Adam Long
4.17am* Jason Day, Keegan Bradley, Si Woo Kim
4.28am* Matt Jones, Scott McCarron, Byeong Hun An
4.50am* John Senden, Nick Watney, Erik van Rooyen
5.12am Cameron Davis, David Frost, Franklin Corpening
TV times: 6am Friday; 6am Saturday; 3am Sunday; 3am Monday on Fox Sports 503
Past Australian champions: Bruce Crampton (1965), Bruce Devlin (1966), Ian Baker-Finch (1989), Adam Scott (2014)
Top Aussie prediction: Matt Jones
Korn Ferry Tour
Korn Ferry Challenge
TPC Sawgrass (Valley Course), Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida
9pm* Tim Wilkinson, Adam Svensson, Kyle Reifers
9.44pm* Curtis Luck, David Kocher, Braden Thornberry
10.17pm Robert Allenby, Anders Albertson, Tyson Alexander
11.12pm Harrison Endycott, Sebastián Vázquez, Brent Grant
2.41am Ryan Ruffels, Mark Anderson, Greyson Sigg
2.52am Brett Drewitt, Jamie Lovemark, Drew Weaver
3.25am Jamie Arnold, Tommy Gainey, Rob Oppenheim
3.36am Steven Alker, Dan McCarthy, Austin Smotherman
3.58am Brett Coletta, Robert Streb, Grant Hirschman
Australian champions: Inaugural event
Top Aussie prediction: Ryan Ruffels
Ninety-one days since the cancellation of the second round of The Players Championship 13 Australians will join the recommencement of tournament golf in the United States starting Thursday.
World No.15 Marc Leishman leads a contingent of six Aussies confirmed to play the PGA TOUR’s Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial Country Club in Texas from Thursday evening AEST while seven Australians return where golf shut down as the Korn Ferry Tour resumes with the Korn Ferry Tour Challenge at TPC Sawgrass.
Joining Leishman at Colonial are Cameron Smith, Jason Day, Cameron Davis, Matt Jones and John Senden with Cameron Percy currently the second alternate and hoping that a spot will open up prior to Thursday’s opening round. New Zealand’s Danny Lee is also in the field.
Winner of the Farmers Insurance Open in January, Leishman is making his first appearance at Colonial since he was tied for 34th at the then-named Dean and Deluca Invitational in 2017, his best finish at the venue coming a year earlier when he was tied for 13th.
Another of the Aussies to notch a win prior to the 12-week shutdown was Cameron Smith. The Sony Open winner is currently ranked No.35 in the world but has not fared well in his two appearances at Colonial, missing the cut in both 2018 and 2017.
When he finished fourth at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in February many thought Jason Day had emerged from an injury-riddled period in a position to win tournaments again. After missing the cut at the Genesis Invitational where Adam Scott triumphed, Day withdrew from the Arnold Palmer Invitational four holes into his second round with stiffness in his back, the pandemic-enforced layoff allowing him to rehab his injury and increase his workload in recent weeks ahead of the Tour’s return.
Now ranked 51st in the world, Day is returning to Colonial for the first time since he was tied for 31st way back in 2011, his best result at the venue a fourth-place finish in 2009.
Veteran Robert Allenby will feature on the Korn Ferry Tour for just the third time in almost three years along with a host of talented youngsters such as Ryan Ruffels, Brett Coletta, Harrison Endycott and Curtis Luck. Brett Drewitt, Jamie Arnold and Kiwi pair Steven Alker and Tim Wilkinson will also tee it up at Dye’s Valley Course at TPC Sawgrass.
Sitting in 26th position on the moneylist, Drewitt is currently the highest-ranked Australian on the Korn Ferry Tour Order of Merit but with the secondary tour implementing a wrap-around season as a result of the coronavirus disruption, only the top 10 finishers will be granted performance benefits at the end of the year. ‘Battlefield’ promotion to the PGA TOUR for three wins in a single season remains.
The Korn Ferry Tour has sat idle since El Bosque Mexico Championship concluded on March 1, Harrison Endycott securing his place in the field this week courtesy of his top-25 finish at El Bosque Country Club.
Sanctuary Cove PGA Professional Michael Jones never once considered cancelling his second annual ‘Morning Tee’ in aid of the Cancer Council in this age of COVID-19, he just had to find a different way to deliver it.
Jones and Oregon State University representative and Sanctuary Cove member Isabelle Taylor last week hosted three clinics for lady members at Sanctuary Cove Golf and Country Club on the Gold Coast, the restrictions on public gatherings keeping each clinic to a maximum of eight participants.
It’s a far cry from the 75 ladies who attended the inaugural ‘Morning Tee’ conducted by Jones last year but represents an opportunity to do some good as so many people are doing it tough.
“I had testicular cancer when I was 30 and went through the whole gamut of chemotherapy, the whole lot,” explains Jones, who in addition to his role as Golf Instructor at Sanctuary Cove has worked with tour players such as Brad Kennedy and Matthew Millar.
“The treatments have come a long way since then and that’s in large part because people have been able to help research by raising money.
“As a golf pro I thought about what I could do and so last year we had the first of our ‘Morning Tee’ clinics where we raised around $3,500.
“Even though we are in the middle of this coronavirus pandemic it shows that people are still trying to do things to benefit people going through cancer treatment, diagnosis and recovery.
“So many things are having to be cancelled due to the coronavirus and the restrictions but I just thought that if there was a way and a means of doing it, why not.”
Despite the country being in lockdown for much of the past three months, the ladies at Sanctuary Cove responded just as Jones expected they would when he announced that he and Isabelle would be conducting the clinics again.
“We sold out the clinics in about 45 minutes. It was like they were tickets to a U2 concert or something,” says Jones, laughing.
“We put on two clinics and they sold out really quickly, put on a third and that also sold out. We could probably have put on two more if we’d wanted to.
“There are a few ladies here going through breast cancer and ovarian cancer so the cause is quite close to them and they got behind it straight away.
“It’s another good example that while we’re in a bit of a holding pattern at the moment, if we can still help out some people who are doing it a bit tougher than us then why not.”
Given the number of members who are residents at Sanctuary Cove, demand for tee times and lessons has been high as Aussies have been forced to stay close to home.
And not only have existing members increased the frequency of their play, Jones is seeing some former golfers return to the sport in strong numbers.
“I’ve got a number of lessons this week with people who are getting back into golf. With all the restrictions people are genuinely looking at activities they can participate in,” says Jones.
“They might have played when they were a kid and because they can get out and play have dusted off the clubs and got back out there.
“The overwhelming feeling during this time here has been gratitude. The members at Sanctuary Cove have all been terrific in accepting the way they have had to play their golf the past couple of months and they all adhered to it really quickly. Like most courses, they recognised that something was better than nothing.
“Teaching-wise it’s been probably one of my busiest periods because whatever people are allowed to do, they seem to be doing a lot of it.
“We have a lot of elderly members here who might live on their own these days so if they don’t come to golf they don’t get the opportunity to talk to too many people.
“I’ve spent quite a few half-hour lessons just talking to people more so than worrying about hitting golf balls.
“In this current climate people are searching for something positive and to at least have the satisfaction that they did something with their day and golf has been able to provide that for them.”
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Dubai Desert Classic champion Lucas Herbert will give it a miss while Zach Murray has expressed his intention to go as the European Tour confirmed the resumption of its 2020 season with a six-week stretch in the United Kingdom starting July 22.
With the PGA TOUR set to resume with the Charles Schwab Challenge on June 11, the complicated travel implications of the European Tour made its return to the calendar difficult to predict.
But in a release overnight detailing just how the Tour plans to move forward and the dates for four Rolex Series events towards the end of the year, Chief Executive Keith Pelley conceded that the diversity that the European Tour celebrates each week has been problematic in plotting a return to tournament play.
“Without question we have had to think differently about the remainder of our 2020 season which is reflected in today’s announcement,” Pelley said in the release.
“As golf’s global Tour, diversity is ordinarily one of our biggest strengths, but in this instance it has become one of our biggest challenges.
“Initially, therefore, based on the expert guidance we received, playing in clusters, in one territory, is the best option in terms of testing, travel and accommodation.
“I would therefore like to take this opportunity to thank Betfred, Close House, Marriott, The Forest of Arden, Hanbury Manor, The Celtic Manor Resort and The Belfry for sharing our vision for this ‘UK Swing’ and we look forward to returning to tournament play in July with this innovative stretch of six events.”
The Tour will play its first event since the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters concluded on March 8 at the Betfred British Masters at Close House Golf Club starting July 22, the first of six straight events that will feature back-to-back events at the Celtic Manor Resort in Wales, site of the 2010 Ryder Cup.
The European Tour recently guaranteed that all players with 2020 status would retain their existing category through until the end of the 2021 season, taking the pressure off those with limited playing opportunities who may be unsure about travelling internationally during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Welcoming the run of events that will be played without spectators present and “subject to stringent safety and testing protocols set out in the Tour’s comprehensive Health Strategy which will continue to evolve, aligned with international Government guidance and health guidelines”, the likes of Zach Murray and Jake McLeod intend to seek Australian Government approval for exemption from the international travel ban to travel to the UK.
West Australian Jason Scrivener remains undecided while Lucas Herbert’s place in the fields for both the World Golf Championships-FedEx St Jude Invitational from July 30 and the US PGA Championship starting at TPC Harding Park on August 6 means that his return to Europe won’t happen until the beginning of the Rolex Series events in October.
“It’s great to see the Tour back up and running again and it’s going to be great for those communities where the tournaments are going to be played,” said Herbert, who earned a two-year European Tour exemption with victory at the Omega Dubai Desert Classic in January.
“Because I’ve qualified for WGC event in Memphis and the PGA the following week, with quarantine I’d only get to play one event out of the six so I’ll take more time to prepare for the Rolex Series at year’s end.
“Hopefully everything goes according to plan, the tournaments all go ahead safely and I can head over later in the year.”
Other Aussies currently with status in Europe include Vic Open winner Min Woo Lee, Hong Kong Open champion Wade Ormsby, Scott Hend, Maverick Antcliff, Dimi Papadatos, Deyen Lawson and Jarryd Felton along with reigning PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit winner Ryan Fox from New Zealand.
European Tour revised schedule
July 22-25
Betfred British Masters hosted by Lee Westwood, Close House Golf Club, England
July 30- August 2
English Open, Marriott Forest of Arden, England
August 6-9
English Championship, Marriott Hanbury Manor, England
August 13-16
Celtic Classic, The Celtic Manor Resort, Wales
August 20-23
Wales Open, The Celtic Manor Resort, Wales
August 27-30
UK Championship, The Belfry, England
Rolex Series
October 8-11
Aberdeen Standard Investments Scottish Open, The Renaissance Club, Scotland
October 15-18
BMW PGA Championship, Wentworth Club, England
December 3-6
Nedbank Golf Challenge Hosted by Gary Player, Gary Player CC, South Africa
December 10-13
DP World Tour Championship, Dubai
