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Professional golfers Zac Murray and Matt Griffin are digging deep to assist the firefighters and people affected by the devastating bushfires engulfing eastern Victoria and south-east New South Wales.
The two stars will donate 25 per cent of their prizemoney earnings from the Blitz Golf Pro Series to the Australian Red Cross Appeal set up to help the thousands of Australians who have been directly impacted by the catastrophic fires.
Dozens have died or are unaccounted for, as hundreds of properties have been lost in one of the most widespread fires in the country’s history.
Athletes from a number of sports have united to pledge thousands of dollars to support the donation drive, which was triggered by tennis ace Nick Kyrgios.
Murray, a winner at last year’s Blitz event in Glenelg and the two-day overall winner, said he was inspired by Kyrgios’ impassioned plea for sports stars to assist their compatriots impacted by the bushfires.
“Being an Australian, we’ve got to try and look after each other as much as we can,” Murray said.
“My family is all safe and sound, but if they weren’t, this would mean the world to me. I feel as though it’s not much out of my pocket but it has the capacity to have a really strong impact on those affected.
“Hopefully we can encourage others to get behind this great cause. Even if one more person got on board, it would really help.
“I don’t think I really understood how significant these bushfires were. I did a little bit of research and found the veracity of the fires and its scale confounding. Over the last couple of days the smoke has been unlike anything I’ve seen before.”
By committing a percentage of his potential earnings, Griffin says he’s determined to give his all to ensure the bushfire appeal is well supported.
“Seeing the generosity of other athletes from different sports made me feel compelled to do my bit to assist those doing it tough,” Griffin said.
“Living in the city, it can be hard to help, so the best way we can contribute is tucking into our wallets.
“In the end donating a percentage has spurred me on to give my absolute all so we can make the strongest contribution to the appeal.”
The Blitz Golf event organisers will donate $5 for every birdie and $50 for every eagle a Professional golfer scores during the series.
To support the Australian Red Cross, visit https://bit.ly/2ZTF0PZ
The Blitz Golf Pro Series returns for the second year running with three events to take place in three states:
Sunday 5 January – Curlewis Golf Club, Vic
Friday 10 January – Links Hope Island, Qld
Sunday 12 January – Glenelg Golf Club, SA
This year the overall prizepool has increased to $150,000, as men and women will for the first time compete against each other for the same purse.
Adam Scott has won the 2019 Australian PGA Championship over New Zealand’s Michael Hendry at RACV Royal Pines Resort.
Adam Scott has won the 2019 Australian PGA Championship over New Zealand’s Michael Hendry at RACV Royal Pines Resort.
The Queenslander took victory with rounds of 70, 67, 69 and 69 for a tournament total of 13-under the card.
This becomes Scott’s first tournament victory in three years and his second Australian PGA Championship title after claiming the Joe Kirkwood Cup in 2013.
An eagle at his best hole of the tournament – the 15th – took Scott to a two-shot lead that all but secured the victory.
More to come.
It’s the position he has craved throughout 2019 and now Adam Scott can end a winless streak stretching back more than three years by holding off a chasing pack at the Australian PGA Championship on the Gold Coast on Sunday.
Two late birdies at 16 and 18 propelled Scott from out of the throng of players clamoring for position to assume sole ownership of the lead at 10-under going into the final round, long-time friend Wade Ormsby (9-under) and Nick Flanagan (8-under) to share the final group spotlight.
Flanagan only just made the cut thanks to a birdie late in his second but equalled the course record with a scintillating round of 9-under 63, he and Alejandro Canizares making light work of benign conditions early on Saturday that became gradually more difficult as the day progressed.
Midway through the third round five players enjoyed a share of the lead but the likes of Nick Cullen, Anthony Quayle and China’s Yuan Yechun dropped back just as Scott was making his move.
The 39-year-old has recorded 21 top-10 finishes since his last victory at the WGC-Cadillac Championship in March 2016 and expects to have to fight until the 72nd hole if he is to claim the Joe Kirkwood Cup for a second time.
“It’s incredibly bunched, and if it’s windy tomorrow it’s going to be hard for anyone to really separate themselves unless they just play an incredible round of golf, go out there and roll in a lot of putts,” said Scott, 17 players sitting within five shots of the leader.
“For me, my strategy’s going to be the same.
“Unless I hole a lot of long putts, I don’t see myself just running away with this thing. I’m in for a fight.
“It would be nice to cap off this year with a win here at home because I know what the confidence of that can do going into next year and just kind of make things a little more comfortable running into the Masters time.”
Ormsby is yet to claim one of Australia’s major events having finished runner-up at Royal Pines five years ago and third at the Australian PGA at Coolum in 2006.
For the second time this week Ormsby navigated his way around the Graham Marsh layout without dropping a shot on his way to a 2-under 70 and expects that another mistake-free round will give him the opportunity to avenge his loss to Scott at the South Australian Junior at Royal Adelaide more than 25 years ago.
“It’s hard to kind of get out in front and go, but I guess any course, if you hit enough good shots and hole enough putts, you can get going,” said Ormsby.
“You need to putt well in order to do that, but you’ve still got to play the golf course on its merits.
“There’s going to be some tricky flags tomorrow and there’ll be some gettable ones, so I’ll just keep plodding my way around and play the same type of golf I’ve been playing and see where that leaves me.
“I want to play in the last group, especially when it’s so bunched. It’s nice to be right at the end there where you feel like you’ve got not control, but you know what you have to do.”
Kiwi Michael Hendry shot a 2-under par round of 70 which was most notable for a rib injury that caused significant discomfort over the closing five holes.
On three separate occasions Hendry’s left hand came free of the club due to the pain and he admitted that even sitting two shots back of Scott the injury may prevent him from teeing it up at all on Sunday.
“I’ve had a little bit of physio during the course of the week, but it hasn’t really been an issue until today,” Hendry said.
“I’ll go and see the physios now and hopefully they can figure out a plan of attack to make sure it’s OK for tomorrow.
“It’s a little bit painful at the top of the swing and I’ve just got to man up and hit the shot and hopefully it won’t hurt too much, but it’s pretty tricky.
“I am a little (concerned I won’t be fit to play) but I’m pretty confident in the guys’ ability.
“If I can just get myself out there and warm up to the point where I can swing the club, even if I hit a few one-handed shots, so be it.”
Hendry will play alongside Yuan and West Australian Min Woo Lee in the second-to-last group with two-time defending champion Cameron Smith five shots back of Scott at 5-under.
It was only a few years ago that frisbee golf held more appeal to Nick Flanagan than the real thing but the expectant father has roared into contention with a course record-equalling 9-under 63 in the early stages of Round 3 of the Australian PGA Championship.
The 35-year-old only squeezed into the weekend field by virtue of a birdie at his penultimate hole on Friday and adopted a more relaxed mindset, an approach that proved extremely effective in benign morning conditions.
Out in the second group of the day, Flanagan put the foot down from the outset, making a birdie from 10 feet at the first hole and adding three more on the trot to be 4-under through four, building momentum with putts of 10, five and 12 feet.
A fifth birdie followed at the par-4 seventh where he hit 9-iron to kick-in distance and then with no 3-wood in his bag the Novocastrian chose to lay up with 7-iron off the tee at the 252-metre par-4 eighth, a lob wedge to 10 feet moving him to 6-under through eight holes.
Yet while there were three more birdies on the back nine to equal Ross McGowan’s RACV Royal Pines Resort it was par saves at nine and a 35-foot bomb at 11 that Flanagan credited with an excellent round into one with potentially life-changing ramifications.
“That’s kind of what happened the last two events, those momentum changes I just wasn’t making those 10 or 15-footers,” said Flanagan, who shot 62 in the opening round of the ISPS HANDA Vic Open in February and was tied for sixth at Royal Pines 12 months ago.
“Then I’d make a bogey at the next hole and instead of going one direction it would go the other way quick.
“I hit a good drive down nine and flared a 5-iron into pretty much the only spot you can’t get up-and-down from, in between the bunkers. Just dead.
“It’s tricky to hit those high lob wedges off this kind of grass and flubbed it into the bunker but then got that up and down, holed an eight-footer for par.
“That was the thing that kept me going and then I hit two good shots into 10.
“That’s the difference. I could have gone back to 5 (under) but I make that putt at nine, make birdie at 10 and all of a sudden I’m 7-under.
“Then to make that 40-footer (at 11) was what kept the round going.”
Incredibly, Spaniard Alejandro Canizares was playing in the group in front and going almost as low, an eagle at the eighth and birdies at 10 and 13 getting him to 7-under on his round, bogeys at 14 and 15 followed by birdies at 16 and 17 for an 8-under 64 and a tie for sixth.
Having missed out on a European Tour card by failing to qualify for the final two rounds at Final Stage of Qualifying School, a win would secure Flanagan status on a main tour for the first tim since 2015 and provide a career kick-start for the 2003 US Amateur champion.
“I’d love to play in Europe. That’s kind of why I decided to go to Q School this year,” said Flanagan, who would secure Category 16 status with a win on Sunday.
“I really wanted to play over there next year, so obviously if things went great tomorrow, then that would definitely be something that I’d be excited to do. Hopefully, that happens.
“Obviously today being out second group, there’s not a lot of people around, it just felt like another round. The adrenaline started pumping there the last three or four holes when I was trying to get to 10 or 11 coming in so I could really be up there.
“It will be different tomorrow. I’ll have to get back to kind of being intense again, but obviously staying relaxed enough that it’s not a big deal.
“If things don’t work out, I’ve got a baby due in five weeks and that’s really what I’ll be thinking about.
“But obviously I would love to go out there and win, it’s just finding that balance again.”
Chinese No.5 Yuan Yechun flirted with the course record and showed impressive resolve late to assume sole ownership of the lead through two rounds of the Australian PGA Championship at RACV Royal Pines Resort.
As close friends Adam Scott and Wade Ormsby reached 7-under at the completion of their second rounds in the morning, the primary Friday charge came from two-time defending champion Cameron Smith until word of Yuan’s round started to filter throughout the course.
Birdies at the first, third, fifth and seventh holes elevated Yuan to 6-under but his rise took on further significance when he eagled the par-5 ninth hole to play the front nine in 30.
A dropped shot at 10 stunted any talk of a possible sub-60 round and after rattling off three successive birdies from the 11th hole to be 8-under for the day – including a monster putt at the par-4 13th – Ross McGowan’s course record of 63 drifted from reach when he bogeyed both 15 and 16, his tee shot at the par-5 15th hole finding the water hazard left of the fairway.
A spectacular approach at the 17th hole to four feet was an impressive response, a regulation par at 18 rounding out a 7-under 65, tied with Smith as the best of the week thus far.
A graduate of the University of Washington and now playing on the secondary Korn Ferry Tour in the US, Yuan played alongside Phil Mickelson at the WGC-HSBC Champions in China in November where he came away with a renewed sense of confidence in his ability.
“It was my second time playing actually, so I knew the course a little better,” Yuan said of his HSBC Champions experience.
“I got to play with Phil Mickelson on Saturday. That was awesome. He has an unbelievable short game.
“That was great. I learnt a lot from that and got a lot of confidence from playing with the big boys.”
First drawn to golf at nine years of age and inspired by Tiger Woods, Yuan won on the PGA TOUR Series-China tour shortly after turning professional and was tied for 17th at the WGC event last month, beating home major champions Henrik Stenson, Francesco Molinari and Mickelson himself.
A strong weekend at Royal Pines will aid Yuan’s hopes of representing China at the Tokyo Olympics next year but he knows that every great round comes with some good fortune.
“It was going good at first and I got some fortunate breaks, I have to say that,” admitted Yuan, who missed the cut in this event last year.
“It was a great day, honestly. I played great, played smart, stick to the plan.
“I was fortunate enough that I got a couple of really long putts that dropped through the round. Yeah, I made two little mistakes, but really pulled myself together and kept it going.”
Quayle’s rise up the leaderboard coincides with his pseudo-honeymoon after he and his partner Sophia were married on the Gold Coast last Sunday.
The 25-year-old showed no signs of the struggles that plagued him during the middle part of the Japan Golf Tour season as he used an eagle putt from 35 feet at the 15th as the backbone of a 6-under 66.
“I don’t want to ever shy away from how I struggled earlier this year. I think that is part of why I am who I am,” Quayle admitted, missing five cuts and withdrawing from another in an eight-event stretch where his best finish was a tie for 60th.
“Going through that has made me a lot tougher at the moment mentally, and any opportunity like this, you just enjoy it and have a little bit of fun.
“Obviously getting married on Sunday, to be honest, this week is a little bit of a holiday for me. I plan to keep it that way, just keep having a little bit of fun with it.”
Lying in wait behind Yuan and Quayle are Ormsby and Scott at 7-under with Gippsland Super 6 winner Tom Power Horan and Kiwi Michael Hendry locked together a further shot back in a tie for fifth following rounds of 66 and 68 respectively.
Smith (65) and South African Bryce Easton (68) are tied for seventh at 5-under par with a group of eight players locked together at 4-under.
American drawcards Cameron Champ and Stewart Cink both remain in contention for the Joe Kirkwood Cup at 3-under and 2-under respectively.
First groups will tee off the third round from 7.02am with Yuan and Quayle to tee off at 11.25am AEST.
One was scared to hit a full shot two weeks ago at the Australian Open, the other was forced back to Q School 12 months ago yet Lucas Herbert and Brett Rankin are the unlikely first round leaders at the Australian PGA Championship at RACV Royal Pines Resort.
Greeted by idyllic conditions, the morning groups fared best on day one but it was a struggle for two-time defending champion Cameron Smith who fought back to end his opening round at 2-over.
Conversely, a chip in birdie at the 11th hole – his second of the day – and an eagle at the par-5 12th saw Herbert race to 4-under through three holes and set a cracking early pace.
He stumbled with bogeys at the 13th, 14th and 18th holes to turn in 1-under but got one back at the first and birdied three of his final four holes to end the day at 5-under and level with Rankin to share the lead on day one.
Battling a ligament injury in his right hand, Herbert played hesitantly as he missed the cut at the Australian Open a fortnight ago but was troubled on any a couple of occasions in his round of 67.
“It’s probably seven weeks today since I did it, so it’s kind of at the point now with a ligament injury that it should start calming down and not hurting as much,” Herbert said.
“I can still just feel it a little bit at times. There was one shot into the eighth today that I felt it a bit and it was bit sore,
“At the Open I was kind of flinching and trying to not hurt my hand whereas I’m not really doing that now. Whether it’s a wedge that you’ve got to take a pretty steep divot with, I’m actually OK with doing that, whereas I wasn’t two weeks ago.
“Hand’s really good, can’t complain there. It’s good to be healthy again and able to play.”
Where Herbert struggled through his second year on the European Tour, Rankin is enjoying a career resurgence in 2019 courtesy of seven pro-am wins throughout Australia and overseas and a breakthrough win at the Northern Territory PGA Championship.
Wins at such diverse places as Lae in Papua New Guinea, Reynella in South Australia, Dysart in North Queensland, Coolangatta and Casino saw Rankin finish second on the Ladbrokes Pro-Am Series, form he has carried into one of Australia’s major tournaments.
“I’m really happy with the year,” Rankin said.
“It’s been a year of firsts and I’m definitely happy with where the game is at the moment.
“Winning the NT PGA gives you that confidence you know you can do it, that your best golf can win on this tour.
“It’s a tough tour, there’s so many good players out here. You gain that confidence from winning multiple pro-ams and you take that to the next level.
“You win a tour event, and the next you’re like, OK, I belong here. You gain confidence just from doing that.”
Five players are in a share of third one shot adrift of Herbert and Rankin with a quartet of Kiwis – Ryan Fox, Nick Voke, David Smail and Harry Bateman – in a group of seven players to return a score of 3-under 69 on Thursday.
In the group of 17 players at 2-under par are 2013 champion Adam Scott and 2009 Open champion Stewart Cink, Scott making up for a double bogey at the 13th hole with an eagle at 15 while Cink gave up shots at each of his final two holes to sign for a 70.
Scott, Cink and Min Woo Lee (68) will be the first group off the 10th tee at 6am on Friday morning with Jason Norris (69), Rhein Gibson (71) and Dimi Papadatos (72) to commence proceedings from the first.
The group of Cameron Smith, Ryan Fox and Cameron Champ will begin their second rounds from the first tee at 11am AEST.
There were scrambles, sluggishness and the hint of a shank, yet two-time defending champion Cameron Smith remained within reach of the top of the leaderboard following his opening round at the Australian PGA Championship at RACV Royal Pines Resort.
In the opening group of the tournament along with American drawcard Cameron Champ and Kiwi Ryan Fox, Smith relied on his short game to register six pars and a birdie in his opening seven holes to be 1-under.
But a bogey at the par-4 17th was a precursor to a difficult period to come after the turn.
A double bogey at the par-3 second and subsequent birdies at three and four saw the crowd favourite fall to 4-over and in danger of having the chance of a threepeat evaporate after just 18 holes.
A birdie at the short par-4 sixth and two-putt birdie at the par-5 ninth gave Smith some momentum heading into Friday and with time to replenish the energy stocks prior to Friday’s second round.
Coach Grant Field sensed no sign of fatigue in Smith despite the 3am wake-up call but the 26-year-old conceded the early grind eventually took its toll.
“Once I got going, that’s when I started to kind of struggle,” Smith said.
“Usually it’s the other way around, usually I kind of start slow on the range and then once I get into it, it’s fine.
“Just used up maybe a little bit too much energy trying to make those putts early in the round and trying to get something going and then just a couple poor swings on the back nine.
“I didn’t really know where it was going. It was just one of those kind of days where a par was a good score.
“I was 4-over at one point and had a couple birdies to get it back, so I got something to look forward to at least for tomorrow.”
Smith’s round really began to unravel when he hit 6-iron long and left at the par-3 second and failed to get the ball up the steep bank and onto the green and then a tree branch disrupting his backswing led to a further dropped shot at the third hole.
“I didn’t think I was going to hit the branches there on my backswing,” Smith said.
“Kind of got me by surprise and threw me off a little bit, but I hit the tree and actually got quite lucky that it went that way and not the other way.”
Lucas Herbert and Brett Rankin had the best of the morning rounds with 5-under 67s with Nick Cullen, Travis Smyth and Kiwi Chisnall a further shot back at 4-under par.
Australia’s latest major champion Hannah Green has capped an extraordinary 2019 season by receiving the most prestigious award in Australian golf, the Greg Norman Medal.
The West Australian was recognised for her two-win season on the LPGA Tour in the United States at a gathering of the who’s who of Australian golf at RACV Royal Pines Resort on Tuesday evening, host venue for this week’s Australian PGA Championship.
Following in the footsteps of fellow West Australian Minjee Lee, Green becomes the second consecutive female recipient of the award, recognition of her major championship triumph at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship which she followed up with victory at the Cambia Portland Classic.
“It probably wasn’t expected from myself or my peers that I would win a major as my first event and to go back two months after and win another one it just shows that you never know what can happen with golf,” said Green.
As she did at Hazeltine National, Australian legend Karrie Webb was present to help celebrate Green’s latest honour which she hopes to use to further inspire juniors at her home club at Mount Lawley and throughout Australia.
“Karrie’s done a great job to give the scholarship to us so I’d love to do as much as I possibly can, especially to juniors in WA,” said Green, who was a recipient of the Karrie Webb Scholarship in 2015.
“It’s hard for us to go to Aussie Opens, even mens events. I never had that luxury until Karrie took me to the US Open so that’s why I’m so grateful for her showing me as much as possible in one week.
“I’d love to open other little girls’ or boys’ eyes to see what it is actually like on tour.
“When I was young I didn’t really look up to too many people. Probably my dad at the start because he’s the person that plays in my family. He was my first real idol.
“Karrie became my idol when I went to the 2015 US Open. That was the first time I’d ever met her and seen her play in person. I got to know her not as Karrie Webb the golfer but as Karrie Webb the person.
“Since then she’s been an idol and a big sister.”
Gavin Kirkman, the CEO of the PGA of Australia, said Green’s career-defining year has elevated the young star to hero status and will encourage more juniors to take up golf.
“Hannah has had an extraordinary year. To win her maiden major then back it up with another win on the LPGA Tour demonstrates Hannah is a proven champion,” Kirkman said.
“It’s such a thrill to award this prestigious honour to another talented woman. Hannah’s rapid rise has encouraged more people to take up golf. She has paved the way for the next generation of golfers.
CEO of the ALPG Karen Lunn said Hannah was a shining example of how hard work and dedication can pay off.
“Hannah truly deserves this award for all her hard work. She is an inspiration to a new wave of young girls eager to take up golf,” Lunn said.
“Women’s golf, thanks to Karrie Webb, Minjee Lee and Hannah, has never been stronger.”
Since her success, Green’s popularity has soared to new heights, the demands on her time one of the trappings of such fame.
Due to celebrate her 23rd birthday on Friday, Green has recently joined the IMG management stable to coordinate her various commitments, her dedication to the promotion of golf in Australia to continue to be a high priority.
“I’ll definitely say yes to as many things as I can do,” said Green.
“Playing Vic Open and Aussie Open I’ve already got requests to do lots of clinics and media things during both of those weeks.
“I want to make sure that I can do as much as I can those weeks because I love playing at home and that’s the only time I really get to play in front of a home crowd.
“Everyone’s really great in supporting me out on the golf course so I want to give back as much as possible.”
Her commitment to Australian golf will likely include representing her country at the Tokyo Olympics in July next year alongside Minjee Lee, the blazer she tried on during the men’s Australian Open a fortnight ago further motivation to carry her 2019 form into the new year.
“I won’t start my season until February at the Vic Open but I’m more motivated than ever because I now know what it tastes like and I want to have it again,” said Green.
“I’ve been trying on some stuff and filing out some forms so it’s been really exciting. I can’t imagine what it’s like for other athletes competing just for the Olympics.
“I don’t really know that I believe golf should be in the Olympics but if I have the opportunity to represent my country and possibly win a gold medal I’ll definitely want to be there.”
Greg Norman Medal Honour Roll
2019 Hannah Green
2018 Minjee Lee
2017 Marc Leishman
2016 Jason Day
2015 Jason Day
OTHER AWARD WINNERS:
2019 MyGolf Deliverer of the Year
Gary Booby, The Ridge Golf Club
2019 National Trainee Professional of the Year
Joint winners – Ben Pisani, Royal Melbourne Golf Club, and Cooper Eccleston, Victoria Park Golf Complex
2019 PGA National Club Professional of the Year
Jason Roach, Cairns Golf Club
2019 PGA National Management Professional of the Year
Darren Richards, Nudgee Golf Club
2019 PGA National Game Development Professional of the Year
Lachlan Foulsham, Empower Golf
2019 PGA National Coach of the Year
Ritchie Smith, Royal Fremantle Golf Club
2019 ALPG Player of the Year
Sarah Kemp
2019 Ladbrokes Legends Tour Player of the Year
Mike Harwood, VIC
2019 ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia Player of the Year
Ryan Fox, NZ
The US PGA TOUR’s newly crowned long drive king and the 2018 European Tour’s biggest hitter have been drawn alongside two-time defending champion Cameron Smith in a power-packed group for the opening two rounds of the Australian PGA Championship at RACV Royal Pines Resort.
The US PGA TOUR’s newly crowned long drive king and the 2018 European Tour’s biggest hitter have been drawn alongside two-time defending champion Cameron Smith in a power-packed group for the opening two rounds of the Australian PGA Championship at RACV Royal Pines Resort.
Two-time PGA TOUR winner Cameron Champ and ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit leader Ryan Fox will partner Smith for the first 36 holes with Fox in the unfamiliar position of playing with someone who regularly hits it further than he does.
In 2018 Fox averaged a touch under 322 yards in driving distance on the European Tour, falling one spot from his mantle this year behind West Australian sensation Min Woo Lee.
At the conclusion of the Tour Championship Champ was feted as the PGA TOUR’s new purveyor of poundage with an average driving distance of 317.9 yards, adding a further 10 yards to that number in the early stages of the 2019/2020 season.
Not since his early days playing on the Australasian Tour alongside Newcastle’s Lincoln Tighe has Fox come up against a player with superior power and admits he will have to fight his own competitive instincts to stop from getting into a long drive competition with the California native.
“I’m looking forward to seeing it first-hand,” Fox said.
“It might be a bit of a novel thing for me to be honest. Hopefully I’ll try not to get caught up in the long drive comp.
“The first time I saw him was on the range at the US PGA Championship this year.
“It was freezing cold, it was windy, it was wet and they had the Toptracer set up on the range. He had me by 10 miles an hour in ball speed; he was almost 190 (m/h) ball speed and that with four layers on.
“Me, my coach and my caddie were standing there just laughing.
“I’m not short and I don’t think I’ve got that in 30 degrees with just a shirt on and feeling really good about myself.”
Where the burly Fox leaves no doubt as to the impression he makes on the back of the golf ball, Champ’s power is generated by a more effortless-looking speed, a power Fox compared to South African legend Ernie Els.
“Ernie was renowned as the ‘Big Easy’ but he hit it as hard as anyone,” said Fox, who will begin his Australian PGA tilt alongside Champ and Smith from the 10th tee at 6am on Thursday morning.
“He just generated the speed at the right time and his rhythm was really good and Cameron looks like he has that.
“It’s obviously quick, it looks quick but I’m sure if you put my swing and his swing side by side I look like I try to hit it harder. I think he’s just one of those really gifted athletes.
“I’ve talked to his coach Sean Foley about it a little bit at a couple of the majors and he’s pretty excited about where Cameron can go.
“Sean’s an excitable guy and a numbers guy but when you see how excited he is about Cameron Champ you know there’s something special there.
“I’m looking forward to seeing it first-hand.”
Winner of the ISPS HANDA World Super 6 Perth tournament in February, Fox’s record at Royal Pines is only average but the 33-year-old has no doubt power is a plus around the Graham Marsh layout.
“There’s a lot of bunkers you can take out of play if you really bang it,” said Fox, who was tied for 52nd last year.
“There’s still enough trouble around here where you can get caught out but it certainly makes some of the par 5s a bit easier.
“I know for most of the field the third hole is almost out of reach and for me it’s touch and go if I hit a really good one. You add 30 or 40 yards on to that which I think Cameron’s got it all of a sudden becomes a fairly reachable par 5. The same with 12. That can be a pretty nasty hole at times and when you’re going in there with a 7-iron instead of a 4-iron the shot should theoretically be a little bit easier.
“I know what it’s like a little bit. Length is good when it’s going where you want it to go, it’s a curse when it’s not.
“Obviously Cam’s been playing some pretty good golf of late having a win a couple of months ago so I’m sure he’s in a good space and I’m sure the golf course will set up well for him.”
It’s golf’s first and to this day ultimate party trick; who can hit it the furthest?
When Cameron Champ first visited the Ping Testing Centre in Phoenix, the lure of the back net was impossible to resist.
Although he doesn’t possess the same soaring ball flight of many of golf’s longest hitters, Champ teed it up, aimed high and let it fly.
“They have a high fence and I don’t really hit it high but I tried to a few times and I hit it over,” Champ said ahead of his maiden appearance in Australia, this week’s Australian PGA Championship at RACV Royal Pines Resort on the Gold Coast.
“They kind of told me not to do that anymore, which was funny.”
On Monday he was taken to one of the most picturesque settings on the Gold Coast and asked to launch balls 310 yards across Currumbin Alley onto Palm Beach, a feat he was able to achieve comfortably despite an unsure, sandy footing.
With athletic gifts that allow him to propel a golf ball extraordinary distances through timing rather than simply brute force, Champ averaged 317.9 yards off the tee to lead the PGA TOUR in Driving Distance in 2018-19, four yards clear of the next best, Irishman Rory McIlroy.
Since his days as a teenager the now 24-year-old has left seasoned golf coaches gobsmacked with the way he can deliver immense power so efficiently into the back of the ball and it has already delivered two wins on the PGA TOUR in little more than 12 months.
Spectators will come to Royal Pines to see and hear how differently Champ hits a golf ball but he hopes that they leave with a far broader understanding of what he believes in.
“I want to be known as a good guy. I could care less about distance or any of that stuff,” Champ added.
“The game is drawn to that no matter what. If you look at ‘DJ’ (Dustin Johnson), DJ now has the accolades of winning so that’s pushed it aside but it’s still there.
“To me it’s never going to go away, it’s just all based on results really. That’s how our world operates.
“When I’m playing good everyone’s for it; when I’m playing bad everyone’s saying that his this, that and that.
“For me I just want to be known as a good son, a good husband, a good grandson and everything else after that is what it is.”
Headlining the Australian PGA Championship alongside Queensland favourites Adam Scott and two-time defending champion Cameron Smith, Champ is joined in the field by fellow Americans Stewart Cink and Smylie Kaufman.
Comfortable with his standing as a tournament drawcard, Champ is also ready for any potential anti-American sentiment that may carry over from Sunday’s pulsating Presidents Cup finale.
“I’m all for the fun and games,” said Champ, who planned to familiarise himself with nine holes of the Royal Pines layout Monday afternoon.
“That was an incredible match on both sides.
“It came down to one match. After all that it came down to Kuchar’s match and he was able to pull it out.
“I’m not going to try and put any extra pressure on myself from being one of only a few guys from the States. I’m just going to enjoy my week and have fun.
“When I played Dunlop in Japan a few weeks ago I played really well, got washed out the last day which was unfortunate. Then my coach Sean Foley came in for a few days last week and I’m hitting it well.
“I’ve been playing as much as I can, fitting it in with the weather and the cold fronts (in Houston). “My game feels good, I feel confident so we’ll see what happens.”
