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The Jack Nicklaus-designed St John Course will rejoin the ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia tournament rotation with the return of the Heritage Classic at The Heritage Golf and Country Club.
The 36-hole facility, the jewel of the Yarra Valley’s golf offering north-east of Melbourne, will kick off the second half of the 2023/2024 PGA Tour of Australasia season.
To be played January 11-14, the 2024 Heritage Classic is the first in a three-year commitment that will re-establish The Heritage Golf and Country Club as a first-class tournament venue and highlight the Yarra Valley as a golf destination with a wide array of off-course opportunities.
A then promising amateur, three-time DP World Tour winner Lucas Herbert lost to David Bransdon in a playoff when the Heritage Classic was last held in 2013.
The Heritage Golf and Country Club CEO, Brett Nelson, is excited to launch a new era for the Heritage and once again showcase the country’s best players.
“The Heritage Classic gives us the opportunity to highlight The Heritage Golf and Country Club to the broader golfing community,” said Nelson.
“We are especially excited of how this tournament can be used as a vehicle to engage and benefit many local businesses, including highlighting the Yarra Valley as a golfing destination.
“St John, the signature course, was designed to host tournament golf, so the opportunity to watch the best golfers in the country play the Nicklaus-designed course will be mouthwatering.
“We are thankful to the PGA of Australia for supporting the club’s vision for a promising future as we continue to restore our reputation as a premier golfing facility.”
The 2024 Heritage Classic will offer $200,000 in prizemoney and further bolsters a growing ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia season.
In addition to the Heritage Classic in 2013, The Heritage Golf and Country Club hosted the 2014 Victorian PGA Championship won by New Zealand’s Gareth Paddison.
PGA of Australia Tournaments Director Australasia, Nick Dastey, said that it was a major boost to the Tour and its players that The Heritage was making a return on a three-year commitment.
“There is no question that the facilities and golf courses make for an outstanding tournament venue and we’re thrilled to be once again working with the team at The Heritage Golf and Country Club,” Dastey said.
“The St John course not only represents a great test for our players but is visually stunning.
“We’re looking forward to showcasing it to golf fans both on site and through the live weekend broadcast on Fox Sports and Kayo.
“The Heritage Classic adds to what is shaping as another huge summer on the back of success of last season and, as the first event of the new year, will kick off the second half of the season and the countdown to the all-important Order of Merit.”
The 2023/2024 ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia season will be highlighted by the Fortinet Australian PGA Championship at Royal Queensland Golf Club (November 23-26), the ISPS HANDA Australian Open at The Australian Golf Club (November 30-December 3) and the NZ Open Presented by Sky Sports (Feb 29-March 3).
Fellow Stanford alumni Tiger Woods won’t be there but Aussie amateur Karl Vilips will join the elite of world golf after qualifying for the US Open to be played next week at LA Country Club.
The 21-year-old – who goes by the nickname of ‘Koala Karl’ – was the only Australian to earn one of the 45 spots on offer to the 645 players who teed it up in US Open Final Qualifying.
Dubbed ‘Golf’s Longest Day’, 13 Aussies contested 36-hole qualifiers across America but only Vilips was victorious in advancing, earning co-medalist honours with US amateur Isaac Simmons at Woodmont Country Club in Maryland.
A two-time Junior Presidents Cup representative, Vilips opened with a round of 3-under 68 on Monday morning and followed it up with a 1-under 70 to finish at 4-under and secure a maiden major appearance.
After a bogey at the par-4 17th, Vilips birdied his final hole to finish one shot clear of what would have been a five-for-three playoff scenario.
Vilips’ qualification takes the total number of Aussies who will contest the US Open to seven, joining Cameron Smith, Lucas Herbert, Cam Davis, Min Woo Lee, Adam Scott and Jason Day, Lee dropping a “See you there,” complete with koala emoji on Vilips’ Instagram post.
Of those who narrowly missed out, Marc Leishman came closest, also at Woodmont Country Club.
Two shots from first spot at the start of the second round, Leishman had a run of four bogeys on his front nine to turn in 2-over, ultimately signing for a 3-over 74 to be tied for eighth.
Bogeys at 14 and 17 in his second round effectively ended the hopes of Matt Jones at Hillcrest Country Club in Los Angeles as Harrison Endycott and Justin Warren finished in a tie for 14th and 18th respectively at Canoe Brook Country Club in New Jersey.
Hailing from Perth, Vilips first came to notice within world golf when he won the US Kids World Championship at just seven years of age.
That early success brought Vilips to the attention of schools within the US and he attended high school at Saddlebrook Prep in Florida.
His success in the junior ranks – he rose to No.1 in the American Junior Golf Association junior rankings in 2018 – opened the doors to the best college golf programs within the US.
With an alumni that includes Woods and Tom Watson, Vilips elected to attend Stanford University where he has continued to forge an outstanding amateur career.
He won the gold medal representing Australia at the 2018 Youth Olympics, was named to the All-Pac-12 Newcomer Team as a freshman and was a member of the Stanford team that won the 2023 Pac-12 Championship, finishing tied for sixth in the individual standings.
US Open Final Qualifying
Woodmont Country Club
Rockville, Maryland
60 players for 4 spots
T1 Karl Vilips (a) 68-70—138
T8 Marc Leishman 68-74—142
T21 Travis Smyth 73-73—146
Hillcrest Country Club
Los Angeles, California
89 players for 5 spots
T13 Matt Jones 71-67—138
T17 Grant Booth 67-72—139
Old Chatham Club
Durham, North Carolina
76 players for 5 spots
54 Jimmy Zheng (a, NZ) 74-71—145
WD Rhein Gibson 71
Brookside G&CC and The Lakes G&CC
Columbus, Ohio
103 players for 11 spots
T24 Aaron Baddeley 69-71—140
T31 David Micheluzzi 72-70—142
T43 Daniel Gale 74-69—143
MC Nick Voke (NZ) 67-77—144
WD Geoff Ogilvy 78
Canoe Brook Country Club
Summit, New Jersey
67 players for 4 spots
T14 Harrison Endycott 72-70—142
T18 Justin Warren 72-72—144
Hawks Ridge Golf Club
Ball Ground, Georgia
43 players for 3 spots
31 Hamish Murray (a) 76-73—149
Lucas Herbert has added loft to his irons out of a respectful eye for Rory McIlroy on the cusp of his appearance at The Memorial Tournament in Ohio this weekend.
The 27-year-old Australian says he wants to bomb the ball high at the course designed by the great Jack Nicklaus and on to greens which he observed were unusually firm.
“I felt like I had to be launching the ball a lot higher than I have been in recent times,” said Herbert from Ohio. “I’ve played a bit with Rory recently, and he’s basically hitting it through his left nostril with most of his iron shots. I felt like I need to be giving myself more of a chance to be able to get it close to these tough pins you get out here on the PGA Tour.
“You get a ‘flier’ in the rough, the way my irons were set up it was like it was never coming down when I did a flier that I didn’t pick. This will give us a better chance to be more attacking and get closer to more pins out here on tricky courses. I think it’ll help here this week on firm greens.”
Herbert is one of five Australians in the field for The Memorial in Ohio with its $US20 million purse.
He has had an indifferent 2022-23 season on the PGA Tour interspersed with his brilliant win in the DP World Tour’s ISPS HANDA Invitational in Japan in April.He missed the cut in Texas last week meaning his Fedex Cup ranking has slid to 152nd.
“I thought I played better than I played at the PGA (Championship) where I was 40th”, “ he said. “I was two or three shots out from maybe getting to a top-20 there and that which would’ve look more indicative of the way I played that week, because it was tough and I scrapped it out well. I got a reasonable result and I would have thought it’d be better.
“That’s the story of my year on the PGA Tour at least, I just haven’t been able to polish off results the way I’d like. It’s not where I like to be at this time of the year. A lot of areas are just a bit off. I went home over the weekend and worked really hard on them and I’ve worked hard the last couple of days.
“I’ve made some equipment changes, worked hard on some technique stuff, Jamie (Glazier) my mental coach is here and we’ll work hard on the mental stuff the next couple of days and hopefully get some results in this week. I absolutely love being back at Muirfield Village for Jack’s event. It’s a great event, the golf course is unbelievable. I think it’s playing into my hands this week being firmer and faster than it normally is, so look, I’m doing everything I can to get a result this week and I feel like something’s coming at least.”
Herbert, who has won three times on the DP World Tour as well as on the PGA Tour in 2021 is trusting his workload to put him into a good position as the US Open and the Open Championship approach.
“I don’t think I play my best golf when I’m confident on a Tuesday,” he said. “I’ve got to try to build through the week, so I’m trying to look at it like that. If I look at the work I’ve been putting in and the habits I’ve been creating around myself, I think only good results are coming.”
Herbert also was announced this week as the first committed male player for the mixed-gender ISPS HANDA Australian Open in Sydney in late-November.
A critic of the format after a long day on the course at Victoria in 2022, he is grateful that Golf Australia has tweaked it with no third-round cut among a raft of changes.
“What I think’s really commendable from Golf Australia and the PGA is they went back and had a good, hard look at themselves and find out for themselves,” he said. “They spoke to me, they spoke to a bunch of players on what things didn’t go well, what things could be improved, what could be better for the 2023 Australian Open.
“To give them their credit they’ve done extremely well, they’ve made a lot of changes, it’s going to be a better event for everyone involved I think. It looks like all three – the men, the women and the All Abilities — are going to get their time in the spotlight to shine.”
World No. 5 Minjee Lee heads the bunch of Australians teeing it up this weekend on the LPGA Tour in New Jersey, while the DP World Tour heads to Hamburg in Germany.
PHOTO: Lucas Herbert wants his irons to fly high at Muirfield Village. Photo: Getty
Round One tee times AEST
PGA TOUR
The Memorial Tournament
Muirfield Village GC, Dublin, Ohio
9.48 pm Matt Wallace, Seamus Power, Cam Davis
10.05* Jason Day, Jon Rahm, Collin Morikawa
10.29* Adam Scott, Zach Johnson, Cameron Young
2.05am Will Gordon, Eric Cole, Ryan Fox (NZ)
3.12 Davis Riley, Lucas Herbert, Brandt Snedeker
3.48* Kazuki Higa, Thriston Lawrence, David Micheluzzi
Defending champion: Billy Horschel
Past Aussie winners: Greg Norman (1995), Greg Norman (1990), David Graham (1980)
TV Times: Friday-Saturday: 9.30pm-4am Featured Groups, 4am-8am. Sunday-Monday: 2.30am-8am Fox Sports 503 and Kayo Sports
LPGA Tour
Mizuho Americas Open
Liberty National GC, Jersey City, New Jersey
9.26pm* Peiyun Chien, Karis Davidson, Amanda Doherty
9.37* Lauren Hartlage, Bronte Law, Sarah Jane Smith
2.15am* Stephanie Kyriacou, Emily Kristine Pedersen, Mariah Stackhouse
2.26* Celine Borge, Julieta Granada, Sarah Kemp
3.10* Ayaka Furue, Grace Kim, Maja Stark
3.32* Lydia Ko (NZ), Minjee Lee, Lilia Vu
Defending champion: inaugural year
TV Times: Friday-Saturday: 2-4am. Sunday-Monday: 2.30am-8am Fox Sports 505 and Kayo Sports
Japan Tour
Japan Tour Championship
Shishido Hills Country Club, Ibaraki
7.20am Adam Bland, Tomofumi Ouchi, Taiki Sakurai
8.00 Masashi Hidaka, Andrew Evans, Nobuaka Oda
10.48 Anthony Quayle, Naoyuki Kataoka, Ryuko Tokimatsu
12.12pm Todd Baek, Brad Kennedy, Brendan Jones
2.16 Dylan Perry, Koichiro Ishika, Tadahiro Takayama
Defending champion: Kazuki Higa
Past Aussie winners: nil
DP World Tour
Porsche European Open
Green Eagle golf courses, Hamburg, Germany
3.40pm JC Ritchie, Niklas Norgaard, Jason Scrivener
4.40* Dale Whitnall, Daniel Hillier (NZ), Wilco Nienaber
12.30am* Emilio Cuartero Blanco, Anton Albers, Blake Windred
Defending champion: Kalle Samooja
Past Aussie winners: Michael Campbell (NZ) (2002), Mike Harwood (1991), Peter Senior (1990), Greg Norman (1986), Graham Marsh (1981)
TV Times: Thursday-Friday 9pm-2am. Saturday-Sunday 10.15pm-1.30am: Fox Sports 505 and Kayo Sports
Ladies European Tour
Helsingborg Open
Allerum GC, Helsingborg, Sweden
Aussies competing: Whitney Hillier, Momoka Kobori (NZ), Wenyung Keh (NZ), Hanee Song (NZ). Tee times TBA
Defending champion: Not played since 2015
Past Aussie winners: Rebecca Artis (2013)
Korn Ferry Tour
UNC Health Championship
Raleigh Country Club, North Carolina
8.55pm* Spencer Levin, Curtis Luck, Kevin Dougherty
9.06* Rhein Gibson, Chandler Phillips, Matt McCarty
9.37 Paul Barjon, Brett Drewitt, Jose de Jesus Rodriguez
2.21am* Bo Van Pelt, Sam Saunders, Dimi Papadatos
Defending champion: Davis Thompson
Past Aussie winners: Mark Hensby (2000)
Challenge Tour
D+D Real Czech Challenge
Panorama Golf Resort, Kacov, Czech Republic
5.10pm Ryan Ruffels, Pep Angles, Roope Kakko
9.23* Cormack Sharvin, Jack Singh Brar, Connor McKinney
10.29 Jordan Zunic, Christopher Feldborg, Albert Venter
10.29* Maverick Antcliff, Craig Ross, Luke Jerling
10.40 Rhys Nevin, Jarryd Felton, Victor Ryu
Defending champion: Nicolai Kristensen
Past Aussie winners: nil
PGA Champions
Principal Charity Classic
Wakonda Club, Des Moines, Iowa
Aussies playing: Richard Green, David McKenzie, Mark Hensby, Rod Pampling, Robert Allenby, John Senden. Tee times TBA
Defending champion: Jerry Kelly
Past Aussie winners: nil
Epson Tour
Champions Fore Change Invitational
Taberna Country Club, New Bern, North Carolina
Aussies competing: Gabriela Ruffels, Robyn Choi, Amelia Garvey (NZ), Hira Naveed, Su Oh, Cassie Porter, Emily Mahar. Tee times TBA.
Defending champion: inaugural tournament
Past Aussie winners: nil
PGA Tour Latinoamerica
Interrapidisimo Golf Championship
Club El Rincon de Cajica, Bogota, Colombia
9.20pm Jose Narro, Denzel Ieremia (NZ), Adam Navigato
10.00 Charlie Hillier (NZ), Myles Creighton, Miguel Sancholuz
3.20am* Harry Hillier (NZ), Briggs Duce, Roland Massimino
Defending champion: Cristobal Del Solar
Lucas Herbert and Mark Hensby have produced clutch playoff shots under pressure to secure wins on the DP World Tour and PGA TOUR Champions respectively.
Less than 24 hours after Herbert made birdie from a bare lie on the second playoff hole at the ISPS HANDA Championship in Japan, Hensby out-lasted Korean Charlie Wi to take the Invited Celebrity Classic in Texas at the fourth extra hole.
A winner on both the DP World Tour and PGA TOUR, Hensby had to birdie the final hole at Las Colinas Country Club to match Wi’s 12-under total. He blasted a 3-wood to the fringe of the par-5 closer and holed a four-footer to birdie to finish tied at the top.
His hopes looked sunk when his second shot at the first playoff hole bounced back into the water fronting the green but the Tamworth native made a superb up-and-down for par to extend the playoff to a second hole.
Hensby and Wi both made par the second trip down 18 before the pair moved to the par-3 17th for the third extra hole.
Wi again had the upper hand with a tee shot to 12 feet right of the hole, his birdie putt refusing to fall in from the right side as Hensby could only watch on.
A fourth playoff hole was needed where Wi failed to clear the water with his second to give Hensby the edge.
Rather than go for the green the 51-year-old played safely out to the left, his third shot to six feet all but sealing the deal.
After Wi three-putted from long range to make double bogey, Hensby used two of the three putts available to him to become the first Australian winner on PGA TOUR Champions since Rod Pampling in 2021.
It is the 35th win by an Australian on PGA TOUR Champions, joining Bruce Crampton (20), Graham Marsh (six), David Graham (five), Rodger Davis, Bruce Devlin and Pampling.
Playing on conditional membership, ten months ago Hensby announced that 2022 would be his last on tour. He has now secured his future with a two-year exemption and a winner’s category.
“After last year almost not playing anymore, coming out and having a goof start this year, it’s nice to obviously win on this tour,” said Hensby.
“When you win anywhere these days it’s an accomplishment. I didn’t have my best today but overall, obviously excited.”
Herbert too had to fight his way back to force his way into a playoff with Canadian Aaron Cockerill at the ISPS HANDA Championship.
An ISPS HANDA ambassador, Herbert played Round 1 sight unseen after travel delays en route from America. He leant on long-time caddie Nick Pugh all week, the pair completing a third DP World Tour victory with a birdie at the second playoff hole.
One of Herbert’s few wayward tee shots all week, the Victorian had a stroke of good fortune when his ball came to rest on a cart path right of the fairway. His free drop left him with a sand wedge off a bare lie from 129 yards, making crisp contact to leave himself a 10-foot putt for the win.
The right-to-left putt went in dead centre with perfect weight to clinch a return inside the top 50 in the Official World Golf Ranking.
Minjee Lee had six birdies in her final 12 holes to finish as the leading Australian at The Chevron Championship in Texas, Cameron Smith earned a share of third at LIV Golf Adelaide and Rhein Gibson solidified his place inside the top five on the Korn Ferry Tour points list with a tie for eighth at the LECOM Suncoast Classic.
Results
Champions Tour
Invited Celebrity Classic
Las Colinas Country Club, Irving, Texas
1 Mark Hensby 66-65-70—201 $US300,000
Won on the fourth hole of sudden death playoff
T4 Richard Green 70-68-65—203 $108,000
T11 Steven Alker (NZ) 69-69-70—208 $37,750
T11 Stuart Appleby 68-68-72—208 $37,750
T19 Rod Pampling 68-72-69—209 $23,657
T40 David McKenzie 68-73-71—212 $8,800
T65 John Senden 72-73-71—216 $2,140
DP World Tour
ISPS HANDA Championship
PGM Ishioka GC, Omitama, Japan
1 Lucas Herbert 67-63-68-67—265 €310,208.52
Won on the second hole of sudden death playoff
T23 Daniel Hillier 65-69-69-71—274 €18,156.32
T70 Brad Kennedy 65-72-71-78—286 €3,102.08
LPGA Tour
The Chevron Championship
The Club at Carlton Woods, The Woodlands, Texas
1 Lilia Vu 68-69-73-68—278 $US765,000
T41 Minjee Lee 70-75-77-69—291 $26,118
T49 Stephanie Kyriacou 68-76-76-73—293 $19,116
T56 Karis Davidson 70-72-75-79—296 $15,106
MC Sarah Kemp 76-71—147
MC Lydia Ko (NZ) 71-76—147
MC Grace Kim 75-73—148
MC Hannah Green 75-74—149
LIV Golf
LIV Golf Adelaide
The Grange Golf Club, Adelaide, South Australia
1 Talor Gooch 62-62-73—197 $US4m
T3 Cameron Smith 69-66-66—201 $1m
T21 Marc Leishman 71-69-65—205 $230,000
T24 Danny Lee (NZ) 67-71-68—206 $207,500
42 Matt Jones 72-73-69—214 $135,000
43 Jediah Morgan 76-71-68—215 $132,500
PGA TOUR
Zurich Classic of New Orleans
TPC Louisiana, Avondale, Louisiana
1 Nick Hardy/Davis Riley 64-66-63-65—258 $1,242,700 each
MC Greg Chalmers/Cameron Percy 68-69—137
MC Geoff Ogilvy/Kevin Stadler 68-72—140
MC Aaaron Baddeley/Harrison Endycott 70-72—142
Korn Ferry Tour
LECOM Suncoast Classic
Lakewood National Golf Club (Commander Cse), Lakewood Ranch, Florida
1 Scott Gutschewski 67-66-62-68—263 $US180,000
Won on the first hole of sudden death playoff
T8 Rhein Gibson 69-67-64-66—266 $26,538
MC Brett Drewitt 72-68—140
MC Curtis Luck 72-72—144
Tom Power Horan has already secured DP World Tour playing rights for next season and is battling through an endurance test of 11 tournaments in 12 weeks, but he is far from done.
The Melburnian shot a brilliant 6-under-par 66 at the Moonah course today to seize the lead in The National Tournament presented by BMW as the ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia season draws to a close.
Starting out three shots back from midway leader Elvis Smylie, Royal Melbourne’s Power Horan had a hot streak going birdie-birdie-eagle from the seventh to jump into the lead as Smylie tread water.
At one point he led by three shots, but the Moonah course with a southerly breeze presents challenges, especially on the closing stretch, and bogeys at the 16th (from the fairway trap) and 17th (from long and left of the green) brought the Victorian back to the field.
Closing out with a par at the 18th he posted 14-under overall following rounds of 68-68 on Thursday and Friday, and his lead is a shot from Sydney’s John Lyras at 13-under.
In a bunched leaderboard 20-year-old wunderkind Smylie (71 today) and Murwillumbah professional Lucas Higgins, who threatened the course record and ultimately posted 64, are next in line at 12-under and well in contention.
Power Horan, 30, has had his best-ever season having switched across to the coaching of the South Carolina-based Australian Brad Hughes, winning the Gippsland Super 6 and picking up one of the three playing cards offered for the DP World Tour in 2023-24 as a top-three finisher in the Order of Merit.
He has worked hard for it, missing just one week of tournament play in the past three months, and he looks forward to a break next week before he heads over to the Asian Tour for the middle part of the year.
But he is not complaining in the slightest. “It’s been good,” he said. “I played great which makes it a lot easier, and I actually feel pretty good.
“I’m a bit more relaxed this week. It’s the last event and there’s not as much on the line for me.
There’s not as much pressure, and it’s been great staying with the boys and pretty low key.”
Smylie began with a two-shot lead in the afternoon and struck the ball nicely early, but his frustration grew as chances went begging on the greens, and by the end he was scrambling for pars with gutsy saves at the 14th and 18th mixed with bogeys at 14 and 16 and a bomb for birdie at the par-3 17th that drew a fist pump from the young Gold Coast professional.
Both Smylie and Lyras are chasing their first wins on tour, the Sydneysider making a nice eagle at the par-5 second hole with driver-wedge and a two-metre putt, then hanging tough on the back nine to put himself in the mix again.
The 26-year-old Lyras can jump into the top-five on the Order of Merit with a win this week, which would give him significant exemptions at overseas tour schools; similarly Smylie has a lot to play for other than the obvious carrot of a win and $36,000 prizemoney.
The surprise packed of the day was 23-year-old New South Welshman Higgins, who is playing for his tour card this week, currently 63rd and needing to get inside the top 50 to retain his rights.
He made two eagles and five birdies for the day including a remarkable birdie from close range at 10 after he feared he had lost his ball in deep rough.
“I’ve been playing average on the weekends, so it’s kind of nice to finally put a good round together and give myself a chance tomorrow,” said Higgins.
As for Power Horan, equation is simple in his eyes.
“There’s money on the line, and I like to win,” he said. It would be a great way to finish the season.”
Sunday’s final round will be televised live from noon by Fox Sports, Kayo Sports and Spark (NZ).
Budding star Elvis Smylie played one of the rounds of his young life to seize the lead in The National Tournament on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula today.
Smylie’s course record 63 on the Moonah course, with nine birdies and not a single blemish, vaulted him up the field and put him in contention to win his first tournament as a professional.
Long touted as the Next Big Thing of Australian golf, the 20-year-old Gold Coast left-hander rolled in six birdie putts including a couple of bombs on the front nine, then kept it together on the more difficult back nine to post his score, nailing another birdie putt at the tough par-3 17th and narrowly missing a 20-footer for a 62 at the par-4 18th.
He leads by two shots from Sydney’s John Lyras and Daniel Gale, who both posted 66 in conditions that were unpleasant with the rolling rain showers, but score-able because the greens were soft and the wind not as strong as Thursday.
First-round leader and Order of Merit champion David Micheluzzi dropped back, four shots behind after a second-round 71 today.
It was Smylie’s day. A Golf Australia Rookie Squad member and former Australian Boys’ champion, he is at 11-under par overall after opening with a 2-under 70 on Thursday.
Grouped with Lyras and Blake Windred, they formed the hot group of the day. “It was pretty easy to play some good golf out there, watching Elvis today,” said Lyras. “I think it’s probably the best golf I’ve ever seen up close and personal. It was nice to be able to feed off that and keep chasing him.”
Sweet-swinging Smylie was white hot with the putter, making everything on the greens and using his imagination with former touring pro Mike Clayton on the bag. His 63 lowers the Moonah course record of 66 set by Micheluzzi on Thursday.
“It was weird, I mean everything seemed to go in my favour today,” said the Queenslander, whose mother Liz won four Grand Slams on the tennis circuit.
“I just played really good golf. It got a little bit windy out there which I like. I love the windy conditions. You have to shape your shot and control your ball flight really well. I did a good job of that and made a couple of long putts that I probably shouldn’t have made, but it was a really good day and I’m excited for the weekend.”
Smylie had not played the Moonah course prior to this week, but not surprisingly, it fits his eye.
“I love this style of golf,” he said. “It’s my favourite style, especially when it gets a little bit tricky. I love it when it gets hard, and it definitely separates the men from the boys.”
Smylie is 10th on the ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit for 2022-23 and a win this week would push him into the top five, giving him direct access to the final stage of the Q-School on the Korn Ferry Tour in the United States, and potentially the same for the DP World Tour.
But he was philosophical about his position today. “For me it’s about focusing on the little step-by-step things that I’m doing well at and controlling the things that I can control. That’s all noise for me, so for me it’s what I can control and see what happens from there.”
Lyras is a regular on the top of the leaderboard who is still chasing his first win on tour, and he has again put himself in the mix.
In fact the 26-year-old from St Michael’s could have gone lower than his 66; he left several putts in the jaws, and made a double bogey 6 at the par-4 sixth hole after finding the deep bunker on the left and leaving one in the sand.
Close at the NSW Open a couple of weeks ago – he was in the final group but fell away to tied-eighth suffering with a shoulder injury – Lyras was happy to make himself prominent again.
“You can’t win tournaments from 10 shots behind often. It’s nice to be up the top and close to the lead going into the weekend,” he said.
The National Tournament is the season-ending event on the Australasian Tour with the Order of Merit and all its exemptions to be decided on Sunday along with the $200,000 prize pool.
Saturday and Sunday’s play will be telecast live on Fox Sports, Kayo Sports and Spark (NZ).
Two Australians have locked in a chance to compete for a major championship with Min Woo Lee off to The Masters next month and Travis Smyth set for The Open in July.
Lee confirmed that he will be at Augusta National for a second straight year by winning one of his three group matches at the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play in Texas to earn an invitation via keeping his world ranking inside the top 50 at No.47.
The 24-year-old lit up the first major of the year in 2022 with a front nine 30 to finish inside the top 15 and he will head down Magnolia Lane brimming with confidence courtesy of his stellar performances in recent months that includes a tied sixth finish at The Players Championship and six top 10 results on the DP World Tour.
Smyth has also started the year in impressive fashion with the Sydneysider chalking up three top 10s on the Asian Tour and he continued his good form with a third-place finish at the World City Championship in Hong Kong to grab one of the four Open spots on offer.
The 27-year-old will make his major debut at Royal Liverpool after he closed out the third and final round – the tournament was reduced to 54 holes due to inclement weather – with a second consecutive four-under par 66.
Smyth joins defending champion Cameron Smith, Adam Scott, Asia-Pacific Amateur champion Harrison Crowe, ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit winner David Micheluzzi, Lee and Haydn Barron – who both earned spots at the ISPS HANDA Australian Open – as Australians who have already confirmed their place in the field.
“I am super excited, as I haven’t played a major before,” Smyth said. “The Open at a links course means tough conditions and a tough major championship which I really look forward to.”
Vic Open champion Michael Hendry came runner-up to Taichi Kho of Hong Kong, but the New Zealander booked in a third trip to The Open having previously played in 2017 and 2018.
Jason Day’s rankings rise continues with the former world No.1 moving to 33rd in the Official World Golf Rankings.
Day reached the quarterfinals at Austin Country Club where he went down to world No.1 Scottie Scheffler 2&1. He infamously suffered from vertigo when he collapsed at the 2015 US Open and during his match with Scheffler, Day was experiencing head spins and cloudiness, but he eased concerns by confirming that those symptoms were related to allergies.
Only weeks ago, Day’s place at The Masters was in the balance but after missing the chance to compete for the green jacket last year, he has comfortably met the criteria to receive an invite for a shot at a second major title.
Day and Lee’s addition to the field stretches out the Australian contingent to five with Smith, 2013 champion Scott and Crowe already invited.
The news was not as kind for Lucas Herbert who will not be in the field at Augusta National with his Round of 16 loss to Rory McIlroy not enough to push him inside the world top 50. The 27-year-old made seven birdies to McIlroy’s nine in the contest that went to the 18th hole, and he has moved from No.56 to No.51 in the world.
Brett Drewitt registered the best result of an Australian this week with a tied fourth finish at the Korn Ferry Tour’s Club Car Championship in Georgia.
Drewitt has come inside the top eight in four of his five Korn Ferry Tour starts this year and he is currently eighth on the Points List with the top 30 at season’s end to be awarded PGA Tour membership.
Gabi Ruffels backed up her win last week by coming in a tie for sixth at the Epson Tour’s IOA Championship, while Sam Brazel, Zach Murray, Brett Coletta and Deyen Lawson all shared ninth place to round out a strong Australian showing on the Asian Tour.
New Zealand’s Steven Alker shone on the PGA Tour Champions once again with a runner-up result at the The Galleri Classic where Rod Pampling was tied 10th.
Hannah Green was the only Australian to make the cut at the LPGA’s Drive On Championship in Arizona and she strung together back-to-back rounds of 69 on the weekend.
Results
PGA Tour
World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play
Austin Country Club, Austin, Texas
Corales Puntacana Championship
Puntacana Resort & Club (Corales GCse), Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
LPGA Tour
LPGA Drive On Championship
Superstition Mountain G&CC, Gold Canyon, Arizona
Asian Tour
World City Championship
Hong Kong Golf Club, Hong Kong
Korn Ferry Tour
Club Car Championship
The Landings Golf & Athletic Club (Deer Creek), Savannah, Georgia
Epson Tour
IOA Championship
Morongo Golf Club at Tukwet Canyon, Beaumont, California
PGA Tour Champions
The Galleri Classic
Mission Hills Country Club, Rancho Mirage, California
PGA Tour Lationamerica
Roberto de Vicenzo Memorial 100 Years
Ranelagh Golf Club, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Victorian Lucas Herbert looks to have come up agonisingly short of his Masters dream despite taking Rory McIlroy to the 18th hole at the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play in Austin, Texas.
It took a birdie on the final hole for McIlroy to get past Herbert 2 up in the Round of 16 as Jason Day advanced with a 1 up win over Matt Kuchar in a match in which he never trailed.
Three birdies and an eagle in the opening six holes of the quarter-finals gave Day an early 3 up advantage over Scottie Scheffler before the world No.1 fought back with birdies at nine, 12 and 13 to flip the tables and go 2 up, booking his place in the semi-finals with a 2&1 win.
Realistic about his prospects in the Round of 16 should McIlroy arrive with his “A game”, Herbert went 1 down to McIlroy’s birdie at the opening hole but never let the four-time major champion get more than two holes up.
The Victorian birdied five and six to square the match but McIlroy responded with birdies at seven and nine to be 2 up at the turn.
Herbert’s birdie on 10 reduced the deficit to one but McIlroy’s birdie on 12 – as Herbert’s ball came to rest against a wooden sleeper beside the green – again extended his advantage.
Showing tremendous spirit, Herbert fought back with a birdie of his own on 13, McIlroy forced to birdie each of the final three holes to keep Herbert at bay and move on to the quarter-finals.
“I’ve got nothing but just pride for the way I played,” Herbert said following the match. “Pushed him all the way to the end.
“I got beaten by the best player in the world probably playing the best golf of anyone in the world would today.
“I just didn’t feel like there was a hell of a lot more I could have done. I played really, really nicely. Played nicely for four days in a row, so it’s frustrating to finish the tournament here. Just really proud of myself.”
Adding to Herbert’s pain is the projected change to his Official World Golf Ranking.
Coming into the week ranked 56th and needing to move into the top 50 to secure a spot at The Masters, unofficial projections suggest Herbert will be 51st when the rankings are updated and will not receive a late invite to Augusta National.
Although he didn’t progress out of the group stage Min Woo Lee will hold on to his top-50 ranking to play The Masters for the second year running while Day continues his ascension back toward the pointy end of the ranking.
The 35-year-old halved each of the first four holes against Kuchar with pars before taking a 2 up lead with a birdie on five and eagle at six.
A former winner, Kuchar fought back with birdies at nine and 13 to level the match before Day edged clear again with a birdie on 16 for a 1 up win.
Day’s fast start put Scheffler on the back foot, but not for long.
After going 1 up on 13, Day’s bogey on 14 gave Scheffler a 2 up lead, the pair trading birdies on 15 and 16 before the Texas native closed out a 2&1 win with a tee shot to two inches on the par-3 17th.
“The game is looking nice,” said Day, who returns to Augusta National after missing the 2022 tournament.
“There’s still some stuff swing-wise that pops in every now and then, like the wedge shot on 14 that – it’s just in between patterns. I’ve just got to kind of work out those kinks.
“I feel happy with where I’m at.”
Round of 16
Rory McIlroy def Lucas Herbert 2 up
Jason Day def Matt Kuchar 1 up
Quarter-finals
Scottie Scheffler def Jason Day 2&1
A win or tie in Round 3 will be enough for both Jason Day and Lucas Herbert to advance out of the group stages at the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play in Austin, Texas.
Day got the better of Frenchman Victor Perez 2&1 on day two as Herbert accounted for England’s Tyrrell Hatton 2&1 thanks to birdies on the 16th and 17th holes, Cam Davis the other Aussie to win in the second round with a 3&1 victory over American Tom Hoge.
Adam Scott (1 down to Sam Burns), Min Woo Lee (2&1 to Matt Fitzpatrick) and Kiwi Ryan Fox (2&1 to Andrew Putnam) all went down in their matches, leaving Day and Herbert as the only Aussies with their fate solely in their hands.
A win or tie against Collin Morikawa will be enough to secure Day’s spot in the knockout stage while Herbert can secure safe passage with either a win or a tie against American Ben Griffin.
The remaining Aussies are not guaranteed to advance even with wins in their final matches that will pit Adam Scott against Adam Hadwin, Lee against the undefeated JJ Spaun and Davis against Aaron Wise.
A two-time Match Play champion in 2014 and 2016, Day’s recent resurgence suggested he would mount a strong campaign at Austin Country Club.
He surrendered a 2 up advantage with consecutive bogeys on seven and eight – but his finishing stretch indicated those aforementioned signs of sky-high potential.
After Perez won the par-5 12th with a chip-in eagle to go 1 up, Day answered with back-to-back winning birdies at 13 and 14. Day drained an 11-foot birdie to win the par-5 16th, and a routine two-putt par at the par-3 17th sufficed to tie the hole and close the match.
“The intensity will be so much more than what it has been over the last two days, so that’s exciting,” Day said of his match-up with Morikawa.
“I guess the willingness to grind it out is going to be more imperative to handle or take care of business tomorrow.
“I’m just not really looking too far ahead. I’ve just got to stick to that process and try and take on every shot the best I can. At the end of the day if that’s good enough to beat Collin, great; if not, then go back to the drawing board and get after it again.”
Herbert didn’t lead in his match with Hatton until the 16th hole and then closed out the result at the next.
Hatton was 1 up to the par-5 12th hole, but Herbert uncorked a 412-yard drive, leading to a 166-yard approach to nine feet and subsequent winning eagle to tie the match.
The match remained tied to the par-5 16th, which Herbert won with a six-foot birdie, and he closed the deal with a five-foot birdie at the par-3 17th after Hatton couldn’t convert from 22 feet.
Given he is currently ranked 56th in the world, the deeper Herbert can travel into the knockout phase the greater his chances of earning a late invitation to The Masters.
“I was in the same position last year and lost and then lost the playoff so I’m very aware that I need to play better than I did last year,” said Herbert, who fell at the hands of Takumi Kanaya 12 months ago.
“I need to have a different mindset to what I did last year.
“I want to finish 3-0 and get through to that next round and be playing on Saturday. The way to do that is to make sure I win tomorrow, don’t give anything up, don’t give the other guys a chance.
“That’s a good position to be in.”
Lee ran into a red-hot Fitzpatrick in their round two match, the reigning US Open champion making five birdies over his first 13 holes to go 1 up.
Lee missed a 10-footer for par at 15, and Fitzpatrick doubled his lead. Fitzpatrick made a clutch 17-foot birdie putt at 17 to match Lee and stay 2 up. Fitzpatrick then walked in a 16-foot birdie putt at 17 (his seventh birdie) for the win he needed.
Scott’s match with Sam Burns was a scrappy affair for the most part and ended in unfortunate circumstances for the 2013 Masters champion.
Burns won the eighth hole with a bogey when Scott made double bogey and then went 1 up at 13 when he had a short look for birdie and Scott bladed a chip.
Scott tied the match with an approach to 17 inches at the par-4 15th and the score stayed that way until 18 where Scott drove it left into a penalty area.
He made bogey, leaving Burns two putts from 22 feet to move to 2-0.
All square with Hoge through the opening six holes of their match, Davis went 1 up when Hoge made bogey at the par-3 seventh.
Hoge won the eighth hole with a birdie to tie the match again, Davis taking control again with a birdie on 10.
From there he was never headed, moving 3 up with birdies on 13 and 14 before closing out the match by winning the 17th hole with a birdie.
Round 2 results
Jason Day def Victor Perez 2 &1
Lucas Herbert def Tyrrell Hatton 2&1
Cam Davis def Tom Hoge 3&1
Adam Scott lost to Sam Burns 1 down
Min Woo Lee lost to Matt Fitzpatrick 2&1
Ryan Fox (NZ) lost to Andrew Putnam 2&1
Round 3 draw
Jason Day v Collin Morikawa
Lucas Herbert v Ben Griffin
Min Woo Lee v JJ Spaun
Cam Davis v Aaron Wise
Adam Scott v Adam Hadwin
Ryan Fox (NZ) v Will Zalatoris
Mercurial David Micheluzzi pulled off a stunning last-day coup at Rich River to win his third tournament of a remarkable season at the PLAY TODAY NSW Open on Sunday.
The 26-year-old Victorian has closed out the ISPS HANDA PGA Tour Order of Merit with his two-shot win in the $400,000 tournament, unreachable at the top with just one tournament remaining next week.
He has previously won the WA PGA Championship and the TPS Sydney tournaments, and he looks ready to take on the world.
It is the first three-win season on the Australasian Tour since Robert Allenby’s famous 2005 triple crown.
A former world top-five amateur, Micheluzzi will get that opportunity soon; his Order of Merit victory will give him a start in the 2023 Open Championship at Royal Liverpool, and top-three on the OOM gives him a ticket to play on the DP World Tour from the start of the 2023-24 season.
Micheluzzi grabbed the Kel Nagle Cup and a $72,000 prize cheque with a dazzling 65, coming from five shots back, and at 20-under he won by two from Kade McBride, the Queenslander who led into the final round.
New South Welshmen Lincoln Tighe (63 today), Dylan Perry and Nathan Barbieri were tied-third at 17-under par.
It was quite a day for the Melburnian who grew up playing junior golf at Cranbourne Golf Club in Melbourne’s southern suburbs, and quite a day for McBride, the Queenslander who took a three-shot lead into the final round but watched it disappear and then had the championship wrenched away from him at the 72nd hole.
McBride was steady for most of the day and four shots ahead early in the final round, but by the time he reached the 18th tee, the reachable par-5, he was tied with Micheluzzi at 20-under, the Victorian watching from the scorers’ enclosure and waiting.
A birdie at 18 would give the Gold Coast professional the win, and par would force a playoff with Micheluzzi.
But the 28-year-old had to lay up short of the green after his drive went slightly left, and his wedge from 100 metres out caught the collar of a greenside bunker by a factor of centimetres. From there, he blasted out beyond the flag, made double bogey, and had to sign for a 1-over-par 72 and second place. “It just missed by a ‘smidge’,” said McBride. “And in that bunker is as dead as dead gets.”
Over in the scorers’ area, Micheluzzi emerged to be drenched with sports drinks by the likes of friend Harrison Crowe. His parents Frank and Claudia had driven up from Melbourne to witness the final day’s play, and they were on the scene soon as well.
His round had been ignited by a chip-in from the fringe of the par-4 9th, but he played brilliant golf overall, call it “the best tournament I’ve ever played tee-to-green”. Further birdies at 10, 11 and from close range at the 17th put the pressure on McBride that he needed to create.
“It feels pretty awesome,” said Micheluzzi. “I hit it awesome, didn’t putt my best but gave myself enough chances, and I’m stoked to be here.”
The Victorian intends playing the final tournament of the season at The National in Victoria from next Thursday before a break.
But today it was time for celebrations. “I wouldn’t mind some KFC wouldn’t mind some Coke,” he said. “I might watch the F1 qualifying. I’m not sure what I’ll do, but KFC’s on my mind.”
The Open Championship in July will be his first-ever appearance in a major. “It’s amazing to be playing the first major at the Open,” he said. “It’s the best major in my opinion and to be at Hoylake will be so exciting. It’s going to be a fun week.”
McBride has not won on the primary tour and he will take a lot from this week. After his final-hole issues, he was still able to speak to media.
“I’m alright with it. I was playing to win,” he said.
Rich River was a genial host and the NSW Open moves along the river to beautiful Murray Downs next year, under an announcement by the Deputy Premier of NSW, Paul Toole, today.
