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The Webex Players Series has reached its final event of the season with players staying in New South Wales for a week at the picturesque Oaks Cypress Lakes Resort for TPS Hunter Valley, Hosted by Jan Stephenson & Peter O’Malley.
The ledger for the Webex Players Series currently sits at two to one in favour of the women with Min A Yoon victorious at TPS Victoria, Sarah Jane Smith securing a ground-breaking win at TPS Murray River and David Micheluzzi furthering his Order of Merit lead at last week’s TPS Sydney.
Micheluzzi’s Bonnie Doon brilliance – where he shot a 10-under par 61 in the final round to lift the trophy – pushed him one big step closer to securing one of the three lucrative DP World Tour cards up for grabs for the best place finishers on the ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit and he will again be leading the charge this week.
Aaron Pike is back to defend his title fresh off being the best of the Australians at the DP World Tour’s Thailand Classic, while Dimitrios Papadatos is also back on Australian shores after also teeing it up on the formerly named European Tour.
Recent Korn Ferry Tour winner Rhein Gibson is a welcome addition to the field as he returns home for the first time since before the Covid-19 pandemic eager to continue his winning ways and spend time with his golf family.
This week also marks a significant opportunity for the likes of Deyen Lawson (4th among eligible players), Justin Warren (sixth among eligible players) and Haydn Barron (seventh among eligible players) to make up ground in the Order of Merit standings as Andrew Martin (second among eligible players) and Tom Power Horan (third among eligible players) take a week off.
Among the WPGA Tour of Australasia players rookie professional Kelsey Bennett is chasing a maiden professional victory and amateur June Song will be a player to watch after she impressed at Bonnie Doon.
The Players Series’ primary goal is to provide quality playing opportunities and genuine pathways for Australia’s next generation of male and female professionals that complement the existing events on both tours.
Prize money has increased significantly in 2023 with $1 million in prize money to be won across the four tournaments.
The final two rounds will be broadcast on Fox Sports, Kayo Sports and Sky Sport NZ starting from 12pm on Saturday and 12.30pm Sunday AEDT.
How to follow: For live scoring and the latest news visit www.pga.org.au. Exclusive content and tournament updates will also be posted regularly on the PGA of Australia’s social media channels.
Instagram: @pgatouraus, @wpgatour
Twitter: @PGAofAustralia, @WPGATour
Facebook: @PGAofAustralia, @PGATourAus, @WPGATour
Official hashtag: #TPSHunterValley
How to watch: Catch the action of the third and final rounds on Saturday and Sunday, broadcast live, on Foxtel (Channel 505), Kayo Sports and Sky Sport NZ.
TV Times (AEDT)
Round 3
Saturday February 25
LIVE 2.30pm – 5.30pm on Fox Sports and Kayo Sports
Round 4
Sunday February 26
LIVE 12.30pm – 5.30pm on Fox Sports and Kayo Sports
Event overview
TPS Hunter Valley, presented by Webex and hosted by Jan Stephenson & Peter O’Malley, is an event on the ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia and WPGA Tour of Australasia schedule with both men and women competing in the same field for the same prize purse and one trophy. Total prize money is $250,000.
The Webex Players Series also looks to the future of amateur golf by including juniors to the weekend to play to rub shoulders with the best of the best.
Players to watch
How to attend: Entry is free for all spectators.
The women are two-for-two in this year’s Webex Players Series but they get a tournament all to themselves at this week’s Vic Open at 13th Beach Golf Links on the Bellarine Peninsula.
The tournament that spawned the mixed-gender format celebrates its 10th year at 13th Beach in 2023 where men and women will once again play together but in two separate tournaments, each worth $420,000.
LPGA Tour players Grace Kim and Su Oh added their considerable star power to the women’s Vic Open field on Monday, a field that also includes recent Players Series victors Min A Yoon (TPS Victoria) and Sarah Jane Smith (TPS Murray River).
Seven-time major champion Karrie Webb will have taken confidence from her top-20 finish at TPS Victoria while LPGA players Sarah Kemp and Karis Davidson, Epson Tour regular Robyn Choi, Melbourne International champion Cassie Porter and former world No.1 Jiyai Shin create exceptional depth in the women’s field.
The men’s field is also stacked as the ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit race heats up.
The champion at 13th Beach in 2014 and third last year, Matthew Griffin is a perennial Vic Open contender.
A regular on the Korn Ferry Tour, Ryan Ruffels will tee it up in his home state for the first time since the 2018 Vic Open while tour winners this season in David Micheluzzi (WA PGA), Andrew Martin (Vic PGA), Deyen Lawson (WA Open), Aaron Wilkin (Qld PGA) and Tom Power Horan (Gippsland Super 6) will be out to add to their Order of Merit points tally.
Adding to the intrigue of a Vic Open built upon inclusivity, the world’s No.1-ranked player with a disability and Australian All Abilities Championship winner, England’s Kipp Popert, will tee it up in the men’s field.
Fans can walk the fairways with pooches and players throughout the course of the four days or watch the enthralling action unfold each and every round on Fox Sports and Kayo Sports.
Live coverage is from 1.30pm-5.30pm Thursday, Friday and Sunday with third round coverage on Saturday to run from 3pm-7pm AEDT.
How to follow: For live scoring and the latest news visit www.vicopengolf.com. Exclusive content and tournament updates will also be posted regularly on the PGA of Australia, Golf Australia and WPGA Tour of Australasia social media channels.
Instagram: @VicOpenGolf, @GolfAust, @pgatouraus, @wpgatour
Twitter: @VicOpenGolf, @GolfAust, @PGAofAustralia, @WPGATour
Facebook: @GolfAust, @PGATourAus, @WPGATour
Official hashtag: #VicOpenGolf
How to watch: You’ll be able to catch the action of all four rounds from Thursday-Sunday, broadcast live, on Foxtel (Channel 505) and Kayo.
Times (AEDT)
Round 1: Thursday, February 9
1.30pm – 5.30pm
Round 2: Friday, February 10
1.30pm – 5.30pm
Round 3: Saturday, February 11
3pm – 7pm
Round 4: Sunday, February 12
1.30pm – 5.30pm
Event overview:
The Vic Open is a world-leading event, with the format setting the tone for inclusive golf tournaments around the world, most notably the 2022 ISPS HANDA Australian Open in December.
The men’s, women’s, the Australian Wheelchair Championship and Victorian Inclusive championships take place at the same time on the same courses, with the prize pool for men and women equal at $420,000 each.
The Vic Open continues to be a ground breaker, providing great experiences for players and intimate viewing for fans. Free entry and a ‘no ropes’ policy allows fans to walk the fairways alongside the professionals and some of the best amateurs in the country, the best seat in the house for all.
The Vic Open is a dog-friendly tournament and patrons are welcome to bring along their furry friends to enjoy a day out at the golf together.
Players to watch
Karrie Webb: Seven-time major champion, World Hall of Famer
Jiyai Shin: Former world No.1 and two-time major winner
Grace Kim: Winner on Epson Tour in 2022, LPGA Tour card for 2023
Cassie Porter: Recent winner of Melbourne International
Sarah Jane Smith: Veteran LPGA Tour player, TPS Murray River winner
Sarah Kemp: Long-time LPGA Tour player
Su Oh: LPGA Tour player
David Micheluzzi: WA PGA champion, currently 2nd on Order of Merit
Andrew Martin: Vic PGA winner, currently 3rd on Order of Merit
Matthew Griffin: 2014 champion, 3rd in 2022
Ryan Ruffels: Making first start in Australia since 2018 Vic Open
Mathew Goggin: Five-time winner on the Korn Ferry Tour
Kipp Popert: World’s No.1-ranked player with a disability, Australian All Abilities champion
How to attend: Entry to spectators is free all four days.
A stellar field has been confirmed for TPS Murray River in honour of Jarrod Lyle which tees off at Cobram Barooga Golf Club from Thursday.
After becoming the third woman anywhere in the world to win a 72-hole professional mixed-gender event with her triumph at TPS Victoria on Sunday, South Korean Min A Yoon will be in action for this week’s event on both the ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia and the WPGA Tour of Australasia schedules with $250,000 in prize money up for grabs.
Entry is free for spectators all four days of the tournament with television coverage to kick on for the third and final rounds on Saturday and Sunday.
Live coverage will run from 2.30pm-5.30pm AEDT on Saturday on Fox Sports and Kayo Sports with the entire final round to be broadcast live from 12.30pm Sunday on Fox Sports and Kayo Sports.
Last year’s TPS Murray River created worldwide headlines when Hannah Green became the first female winner of a mixed-gender 72-hole event on a major tour and the next wave of future stars are eyeing off their own slice of history.
A host of Australian golf’s rising stars are teeing it up including Cassie Porter – who already has a win on the WPGA Tour of Australasia this season – and rookie professionals Kirsten Rudgeley and Kelsey Bennett who produced brilliant amateur careers and are determined to register a maiden victory as a professional.
Likewise rookie professionals Connor McKinney and Hayden Hopewell will also be out to make a statement with a first win as a professional, but the younger brigade will face stiff competition from their more experienced rivals.
A regular on the LPGA Tour since 2006, Sarah Jane Smith will be a formidable force as will David Micheluzzi (WA PGA Championship), Deyen Lawson (WA Open), Andrew Martin (Victorian PGA Championship), Aaron Wilkin (QLD PGA Championship) and Tom Power Horan (Gippsland Super 6) who all tasted victory in the first half of the season.
That quintet along with 151st Open Championship-bound Haydn Barron sit inside the top ten on the ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit as they seek to earn the DP World Tour pathway opportunities available to the top finishers at the end of the 16-event season.
All Abilities golfers made their TPS debut last week and inaugural champion, and Australia’s top ranked golfer with disability, Cam Pollard will lead the charge once again.
Top junior golfers will also be in action amongst the professionals and amateurs across the weekend as they play for the junior title.
To begin the week, Wednesday’s Pro-Am will feature England cricket legend Sir Ian Botham, AFL legend Dermott Brereton, radio broadcaster and The Project regular Steve Price, and The Block’s Keith Schleiger.
Off the course, TPS Murray River is in memory of Jarrod Lyle who passed away in August 2018, weeks away from his 37th birthday. Entry to TPS Murray River is via gold coin donation to Challenge, supporting kids with cancer, along with various fund-raising initiatives for Challenge.
Event schedule & information
TV Guide
The event will be televised across Saturday and Sunday on Foxtel and Kayo in Australia. Times in AEDT, check your guide for local times.
Round 3: Saturday 4 Feb: 2:30pm – 5:30pm
Round 4: Sunday 5 Feb: 12:30pm – 5.30pm
Social media:
Offical hashtag: #TPSMurrayRiver
Instagram @pgatouraus
Twitter @PGAofAustralia
Facebook @PGATourAus
It took five birdies across five drama-fuelled playoff holes on the par-5 18th hole at Moonah Links’ Open Course for Andrew Martin to eventually become a Victorian PGA Championship winner for the first time.
Martin ended the fourth round in a four-way tie for first alongside overnight leader Adam Bland, fellow Victorian Brett Coletta and New South Wales bomber Lincoln Tighe at nine-under par after Martin, Bland and Tighe all squandered opportunities to secure victory on their respective 72nd holes.
Tighe made his first trip down the 18th for the day in the final group alongside South Australian Bland with a one shot advantage but a bogey courtesy of a shank from a greenside bunker brought him back to the pack.
Bland watched and waited as Tighe slipped up and suddenly his birdie putt was for the win, but he could not make it drop.
Roughly 45 minutes earlier Martin left short his birdie putt at the closing putt, which later revealed to be for the win, although that miss proved vital to his triumph in the end.
The 38-year-old from Bendigo produced the best round for the day amongst the playoff quartet with a bogey free, four-under 68 and he carried that momentum into the decider.
Bland and Coletta’s pars at the first playoff hole knocked them out, and then it came down to a one-on-one battle between Martin and Tighe’s contrasting styles.
“That hole actually really doesn’t suit me. I don’t have links length,” Martin said.
At the second and third playoff, Tighe’s distance set up consecutive two putt birdies, while after being able unable to reach the green in two, Martin produced a short game masterclass in getting up-and-down and holing nervy mid range putts from a similar spot to that miss on the final hole in regulation.
On their fourth journey down the 18th of the playoff, disaster appeared to have struck for Martin however.
Tighe was once again on the periphery of the green in two and the Victorian sprayed his second shot out to the right, nearly 50 metres wide of the green.
Martin’s misstep was responsible for two of the most brilliant shots so far this season with a wedge to 15 feet and another putt from that similar spot.
“18 doesn’t get any easier every time you play it,” he said. “I’ve played here plenty of times and knew there was a little bit of room around the green. Missing it right, I did get a little bit lucky as it was a good angle for me.
“I certainly wasn’t as calm as I appeared on the outside over the putt. I just tried to take a deep breath and compose myself. The putts I had were very similar to the putt I left short in regulation. It doesn’t do too much so I was able to improve the speed and hole it thankfully.”
Tighe holed a similar birdie putt of his own to extend the contest but the tide turned on the fifth playoff hole.
Martin found his “links length” to reach the green in two for the first time, while the New South Welshman had to re-acquaint himself with the front left bunker that proved his undoing around an hour earlier.
The door had opened for Martin’s second win on the ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia – he triumphed at TPS Sydney in 2021 – and he was not going to miss his chance this time.
He rolled his first putt to tap-in range and duly knocked it in for birdie as Tighe two-putted for par.
“I don’t think I’ve seen five drives off 18 like that since I’ve been coming down here to play. That was pretty impressive by Lincoln and he definitely had a good week,” Martin said.
“I played very well and the putter was definitely hot. It’s amazing to get the win.”
Queensland PGA Professional Douglas Klein and Melbourne businessman Darren Reukers won the teams event by five shots at 39-under par after a final round 60 that included two eagles.
He is one of the Aussie summer of golf’s marquee attractions yet Lucas Herbert has unfinished business prior to his return home to Australia.
Herbert was back in Bendigo two weeks ago to serve as a groomsman at a mate’s wedding – a wedding that was subsequently postponed due to flooding – but is this week in South Africa to try to extend his DP World Tour season.
Before he tees it up at the Fortinet Australian PGA Championship at Royal Queensland, the 26-year-old wants to play his way into the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai and has set the bar high for how to get there.
Currently ranked No.63 in the DP World Tour rankings, Herbert needs to move inside the top 50 by the conclusion of this week’s Nedbank Golf Challenge to add another event to his schedule and knows the best way to achieve it.
“By my own maths, somewhere around the top 10 will be pretty close but a win would probably do it as well so that’s the main focus,” Herbert told Australian media this week.
“It’s been a bit of an up-and-down year. I had some good results – finished top-15 in two of the majors which I was really proud of – and played really nicely at some of the invitational events over in the States.
“First year on the PGA TOUR, all pretty much brand new courses that I’d never played before and competing against the best players in the world. It was a challenging year, but I felt like it was pretty good results given all the different circumstances around it.”
Herbert’s last appearance on Australian soil was his tie for 12th at the 2020 Vic Open.
That came two weeks after his maiden DP World Tour title in Dubai, adding a second at the Irish Open in 2021 along with a breakthrough PGA TOUR title.
He acknowledges that Cam Smith is the man to beat at both the Australian PGA Championship and Australian Open in the weeks to come but is ready to meet the challenge.
“Everyone else in the field will be looking at Cam as the guy they’ve got to beat,” Herbert admitted.
“It’s shaping up to be a really good summer of golf in Australia with the Aus Open and the Aus PGA basically getting all our best players back from overseas to come and play at two really good venues.
“I know Cam will be down there trying to win so he’s someone I would love to go up against coming down the back nine on Sunday at both of those events.”
As Herbert plots a path to the season finale, Kiwi Ryan Fox still harbours a desire to rein in DP World Tour No.1 Rory McIlroy over the coming two weeks while Min Woo Lee will be eager to improve his current position of 40th on the Order of Merit in South Africa.
As the 2022 season draws to a close, eight Aussies are hoping to earn a place on the 2023 DP World Tour at the Final Stage of Qualifying School in Spain.
Aaron Pike, Dimitrios Papadatos and Louis Dobbelaar were exempt into Final Stage courtesy of their finish on the ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit while Jarryd Felton, Jordan Zunic, Hayden Hopewell and Kyle Michel all progressed at Second Stage last week.
Queenslander Maverick Antcliff is the eighth Aussie playing the six-round marathon after finishing 155th on the DP World Tour Order of Merit.
Jason Day is the lone Australian in the field for the PGA TOUR’s Cadence Bank Houston Open, there are nine teeing it up at the International Series Egypt event on the Asian Tour and 2007 champion Brendan Jones and Brad Kennedy are the Aussies contesting the Taiheiyo Masters in Japan.
Hannah Green leads the five Aussie women playing the LPGA Tour’s Pelican Women’s Championship in Florida and Rod Pampling is the only Australian to qualify for the season-ending Charles Schwab Cup Championship on the Champions Tour.
Round 1 tee times AEDT
DP World Tour
Nedbank Golf Challenge
Gary Player CC, Sun City, South Africa
6pm Min Woo Lee, Sam Horsfield, Richard Mansell
7.06pm* Lucas Herbert, Scott Jamieson, Kalle Samooja
7.50pm Ryan Fox (NZ), Adrian Meronk, Tommy Fleetwood
Defending champion: Tommy Fleetwood (2019)
Past Aussie winners: Marc Leishman (2016)
Top Aussie prediction: Min Woo Lee
TV times: Live 7.30pm-1am Thursday, Friday, Saturday; Live 6.30pm-12am Sunday on Fox Sports 505.
PGA TOUR
Cadence Bank Houston Open
Memorial Park Golf Course, Houston, Texas
11.51pm* Danny Lee (NZ), Peter Malnati, Alex Noren
12.24am Jason Day, Hideki Matsuyama, Sebastián Muñoz
Defending champion: Jason Kokrak
Past Aussie winners: Bruce Devlin (1972), Bruce Crampton (1973, 1975), David Graham (1983), Stuart Appleby (1999, 2006), Robert Allenby (2000), Adam Scott (2007), Matt Jones (2014)
Top Aussie prediction: Jason Day
TV times: Featured Groups live from 12am Friday, Saturday on Fox Sports +; Live 5am-8am Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday on Fox Sports 505.
Asian Tour
International Series Egypt
Madinaty Golf Club, Egypt
3.30pm Cory Crawford, Sangchai Kaewcharoen, Shinichi Mizuno
3.30pm* Todd Sinnott, Jaco Ahlers, Kosuke Hamamoto
3.50pm* Travis Smyth, Phachara Khongwatmai, Chan Shih-chang
4.20pm* Brett Rumford, Miguel Tabuena, Poom Saksansin
4.30pm Sam Brazel, Tanapat Pichaikool, Khalifa Mohamed Khalifa
8.05pm* Kevin Yuan, Itthipat Buranatanyarat, Cole Madey
8.25pm Scott Hend, Angelo Que, Chase Koepka
8.45pm* Jake Higginbottom, Doyeob Mun, Viraj Madappa
8.55pm Daniel Fox, Suradit Yongcharoenchai, S Chikkarangappa
Defending champion: Inaugural event
Past Aussie winners: Nil
Top Aussie prediction: Todd Sinnott
TV times: Live from 8.30pm Thursday; Live from 8pm Friday, Saturday; Live from 7pm Sunday on Fox Sports +.
Japan Golf Tour
Sumitomo Mitsui VISA Taiheiyo Masters
Taiheiyo Club (Gotemba Cse), Shizuoka
10.50am Michael Hendry (NZ), Hiroki Abe, Hirohiro Ichihara
11.05am* Brendan Jones, Taiga Sugihara, Yuta Kinoshita
12.45pm* Brad Kennedy, Kohei Okada (a), Akio Sadakata
Defending champion: Hideto Tanihara
Past Aussie winners: Graham Marsh (1987), Roger Mackay (1991), Greg Norman (1993), Brendan Jones (2007)
Top Aussie prediction: Brad Kennedy
Ladies European Tour
Aramco Team Series Jeddah
Royal Greens Golf and Country Club, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
Aussies in the field: Whitney Hillier
Defending champion: Pia Babnik
Past Aussie winners: Nil
Top Aussie prediction: Whitney Hillier
TV times: Live 11pm-2am Thursday, Friday on Fox Sports 506; 4.30pm Sunday on Fox Sports +.
LPGA Tour
Pelican Women’s Championship
Pelican Golf Club, Belleair, Florida
10.55pm Karis Davidson, Gerina Mendoza, Emily Kristine Pedersen
10.55pm* Sarah Kemp, Jennifer Chang, Isi Gabsa
11.06pm Stephanie Kyriacou, Brittany Lang, Yealimi Noh
3.42am Su Oh, Frida Kinhult, Ruixin Liu
4.15am* Hannah Green, Lydia Ko (NZ), Nelly Korda
Defending champion: Nelly Korda
Past Aussie winners: Nil
Top Aussie prediction: Hannah Green
TV times: Live 2am-5am Friday, Saturday on Fox Sports 505; Live from 4.30am Sunday, Monday on Fox Sports +.
Champions Tour
Charles Schwab Cup Championship
Phoenix Country Club, Phoenix, Arizona
Australasians in the field: Steven Alker (NZ), Rod Pampling
Defending champion: Phil Mickelson (2020)
Past Aussie winners: Nil
Top Aussie prediction: Rod Pampling
TV times: Live 8am-10.30am Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday on Fox Sports 505.
DP World Tour Qualifying School-Final Stage
Lakes Course, Infinitum, Tarragona, Spain
Aussies in the field: Aaron Pike, Dimitrios Papadatos, Jarryd Felton, Jordan Zunic, Maverick Antcliff, Louis Dobbelaar, Kyle Michel, Hayden Hopewell
He has history in his sights yet Deyen Lawson is determined to stay in the moment as he seeks to close out a wire-to-wire win at the Nexus Advisernet WA Open in Perth.
Lawson has had The Western Australian Golf Club at his mercy from day one, his six-under 64 on Saturday his worst score of the week to establish an eight-shot advantage with one round to play.
A four-time runner-up on the ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia, the 31-year-old will be paired in the final round with second-year professional Lawry Flynn (62) and amateur sensation Jeffrey Guan (64).
A bogey at 17 reduced his lead to seven but a bunker shot on 18 that he described as “the best shot I’ve hit all week” set up a closing birdie to reach 21-under through 54 holes.
The tournament low score relative to par – 23-under set by Ryan Fox in 2014 – is almost certain to fall while Lawson can also challenge Kel Nagle’s record 11-stroke win in 1951 for the largest winning margin in tournament history.
Yet rather than ponder a place in Australian golf folklore, Lawson reiterated the mantra that has been on repeat all week.
“Just be where my feet are and try and play solid,” Lawson said of his final-round approach.
“You want to think about winning and putting yourself in a position but, at the same time, be where your feet are and just stay in the moment a bit more and enjoy it.
“Just go out and play. You know someone’s going to play good so I need to just keep trying to make birdies and hopefully get in a position where I can play the last hole with a big lead.
“That would be ideal.”
Six shots up at the start of play, Lawson’s lead grew to seven when both Michael Sim (67) and Adam Brady (70) bogeyed the par-3 first.
Six birdies between the fourth and 12th holes put him 10 strokes clear, sending shockwaves through those valiantly trying to reel him in.
“We could see Deyen on a couple of the holes, because they were quite close,” said Flynn, who made eight successive ‘3s’ from the eighth hole.
“We were on the 15th green looking at the scoreboard. At the time I was six-under before putting on that green and I’m playing pretty good and I was still 10 shots back.
“He’s playing some unbelievable golf. It’s pretty hard to catch him.”
A gap wedge that spun back off the 13th green led to just his third bogey of the week, another dropped shot at 17 offering the chasing pack a glimmer of hope.
But a 3-wood from the right trees into the bunker right of the green on 18 provided the perfect dress rehearsal for the pressure he will feel on Sunday afternoon.
“Probably the best shot I’ve hit all week to be honest, under the circumstances,” said Lawson, who will head to DP World Tour Qualifying School early next month.
“After bogeying 17 I was very happy with that one.
“If I missed it was going to be a little bit heavy and roll out a bit but I got it absolutely perfect.
“It nearly went in in the end and just a three-footer up the hill to finish.”
Flynn shared round-of-the-day honours with WA amateur Connor Fewkes, his eight-under 62 pushing him up into a tie for sixth with one round to play.
Winner of the Junior Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass last month, Guan went bogey-free in his round of six-under 64 to play his way into the final group.
Saturday also saw the first round of the WA Open All Abilities Championship, Cameron Pollard 10 shots clear following a superb round of five-over 75.
One of only four Australians who will contest the Australian All Abilities Championship at the ISPS HANDA Australian Open, Pollard won last week’s WA PGA All Abilities Championship in Kalgoorlie and was one-over through his first 10 holes on Saturday.
It promises to be a tight tussle for the minor placings with Lachlan Smith, Gary Burgess and Scott Smith all within one shot of each other.
Play will commence at 7.51am AWST on Sunday morning with the lead group to tee off at 9.52am.
Click here for Round 3 scores and Round 4 draw.
Three eagles and two crucial par saves at the turn have propelled Deyen Lawson to a six-shot lead at the halfway mark of the Nexus Advisernet WA Open at The Western Australian Golf Club in Perth.
Following on from his eight-under 62 on day one, Lawson arrived for his 12.36pm tee time trailing WA amateur Adam Brady (63) by one.
A 3-iron and holed wedge from 127 metres later, Lawson’s name returned to the top of the leaderboard.
On top of his extraordinary start at the par-4 10th, he would eagle the par-5 sixth and eighth holes to go with four birdies, a bogey and double bogey in a round of seven-under 63 and 36-hole total of 15-under, leaving fellow players gob-smacked in the process.
Lincoln Tighe (67, T5) called Lawson’s 62 on day one “insane”. Michael Sim (64, T2) remarked, “Are you serious?” when told of Lawson’s pair of eagles at the par 5s.
When asked to sum up his playing partner’s play for the past two days, Jack Murdoch (71, T31) could only reply, “Very good. With as many verys as you want to put in front of it.”
Four times a runner-up on the ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia, Lawson knows he has never been in better position to log a maiden tour win.
“Because I’m 15-under and not eight behind,” Lawson said of his prospects of a win.
“I’m just getting a bit older. I’ve been out here a little while now. I’ve been in Europe since 2018 and played with some of the best in the world. It’s not a coincidence why they’re the best in the world, the way they go about it.
“Nothing seems to faze them. They do get frustrated but you watch someone like Cam Smith and (Rory) McIlroy, it just looks like they’re having a bit of a stroll.
“They’re good players but the way they handle it is really impressive.”
Lawson found the green with his 3-wood from 259 metres and 239 metres respectively at six and eight but admitted that it was two putts mid-round that kept his round on track.
He made a six-footer for par on the par-5 18th and a 10-foot par save at the par-3 first after finding the bunker right of the green.
“They’re probably the key moments,” said Lawson, who will return to DP World Tour Qualifying School in early November. “Especially after making a pretty poor double on 16.
“To make those really good pars and go to the second where I hit a really good gap wedge to a foot just really got the round going in the right direction again.
“It could have slipped very easily. Miss a couple of par putts and you’re back to level after a hot start.
“I fought on and hit some really good shots the last six, seven holes.”
Brady and Sim are Lawson’s nearest challengers at nine-under par followed by Victorian Tom Power Horan (66, eight-under) and Tighe and Chris Wood (66) at seven-under.
Runner-up to WA teammate Connor McKinney at the St Andrews Links Trophy earlier this year, Brady is the latest in the glut of golf talent coming out of the west and is excited at the prospect of playing in the heat of a professional event.
“The heart will be racing I’m sure on the first tee but that’s why I play. I’m excited for it,” said Brady, who plays his golf out of The Vines.
“My parents are in Spain so they won’t be here but I’m sure they’ll be cheering me on. Hopefully get some people out from the golf club to come and watch. That’d be great.”
Brady led at St Andrews after 54 holes only to be run down by McKinney on the final day, bringing home valuable lessons of what it takes to win.
“You can’t control winning but I learnt from the position I was in,” Brady added.
“Just trying to control your emotions. I know what that felt like so I’m prepared for it tomorrow.”
A total of 60 players survived the cut-line that fell at even par.
The field will be led out on the weekend by competitors in the WA Open All Abilities Championship, Sawtell Golf Club’s Cameron Pollard the favourite following his win at the WA PGA All Abilities Championship last week.
The All Abilities Championship will start play at 7.56am AWST with the WA Open lead groups to tee off at 9.57am.
Click here for Round 2 scores.
West Australian Jarryd Felton will seek to make his Kalgoorlie dominance official when he takes a one-stroke lead into the final round of the CKB WA PGA Championship presented by TX Civil and Logistics.
One of three players tied for the lead at the start of play on Saturday, Felton holed out for eagle from 66 metres at the par-4 12th and came home with six straight pars for a round of five-under 67 to lead the field at 14-under.
On a day where the course record of eight-under 64 fell to Victorian Cameron John, David Micheluzzi’s seven-under 65 elevated him to 13-under and a date in the final group alongside Felton on Sunday.
Runner-up in 2019, Felton was victorious at Kalgoorlie Golf Course in 2020 but COVID-19 border restrictions saw the tournament played with a limited field and over 54 holes.
As a result, that win is not considered an official ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia victory, an asterisk Felton is hoping to wipe clean on Sunday.
“I beat a really good field that year as well and played really good,” said Felton, who has three official PGA Tour of Australasia titles to his name.
“It was 54 holes but with COVID that’s how it was. It would be really good to get the official 72-hole win around here.
“I love coming out here and playing. It suits my eye really well and hopefully I can get the official win this year.”
Nipping at his heels is a group of players seeking to win on tour for the first time.
Micheluzzi (65), Jack Murdoch (69), James Marchesani (67) and Matias Sanchez (71) are all within reach, Felton aware of the threat posed by players hungry for success.
“I’m the guy that’s going to be hunted,” Felton acknowledged.
“They’ve got nothing to lose. They’re going to go out and attack pins and hopefully I can do the same. Make some early birdies just to take the pressure off.
“We’ve got 18 holes tomorrow around a really hard course and the conditions are going to add to that as well. It’ll be a tough day but got to keep to the game-plan.”
There is a calm intensity to Micheluzzi as he seeks to start the new season in the best way possible.
A star amateur who turned professional just months before the COVID-19 pandemic shut down the world, Micheluzzi leant on his putter on Saturday to play his way into the final group.
Putts for birdie from outside 20 feet at both two and four gave his round early momentum but paled in comparison to the 50-foot bomb he dropped on the par-3 eighth.
Stellar wedge play and a cooperative flatstick put him one clear of Murdoch and three ahead of Brett Rankin (67), Marchesani and Sanchez.
“This is where I wanted to be at the start of the week,” said Micheluzzi, whose best result on tour to date is a runner-up finish as an amateur at the 2018 WA Open.
“I made double bogey on the first hole on Thursday so just proud of myself for not having the head blow off like it usually does.
“I’m excited. I’m going to go and do my thing.
“I haven’t been in a final group in a long time. When I have been I think I’ve done all right but I’m not setting my expectations too high.
“All I want to do is shoot under par tomorrow. All the routine stuff, all the stuff I’ve been working on I’ll try and do tomorrow. If it means a win, it’s a win, if it doesn’t, it doesn’t matter, I’m happy to start out like this at the start of the season.
“It means that things are trending in the right direction.”
On a day in which there were 257 birdies and nine eagles, it took Felton only until the third hole to pick up his first shot of the day.
He followed that up with another at the fourth before backing up his birdie at the par-5 11th with his eagle at 12.
Yet his most spectacular shot may have been an explosion shot from the desert at the back of the 15th green that led to a par save at a crucial time in the round.
“It was not a very good spot but I made up-and-down there which saves one, maybe two (shots),” he added.
“I just needed to get it up so I tried to hit it as hard as I could, catch behind the ball and hope that it doesn’t go 700 metres.
“You practice those shots on Monday and Tuesday and you kind of hope when you hit it out on the course that it’s not going to go too far.
“That’s Kalgoorlie holding on towards the end. Those last six holes are really tough. I had my chances to make birdies there but at the end of the day it’s a stress-free kind of finish to a hard golf course.”
Although John (nine-under 63) made history by supplanting Min Woo Lee (2015), Callan O’Reilly (2016), Chris Thorn (2016) and Michael Long (2018) as the new Kalgoorlie course record holder, he was not the first player to reach nine-under on Saturday.
Starting from the 10th tee, Territorian Jake Hughes made the turn in seven-under 29. Birdies at two and six put the course record within his grasp only for bogeys at seven and nine to suck some of the excitement out of an otherwise wonderful round of seven-under 65.
In the inaugural WA PGA All Abilities Championship pre-tournament favourite Cameron Pollard has established a commanding six-shot lead after Round 1.
Already a winner of All Abilities titles in WA, South Australia and New South Wales, Pollard posted seven-over 79 to lead Scott Smith and Gary Burgess, Pollard’s fellow Sawtell Golf Club product Lachlan Smith just one stroke further back in fourth position.
Play will commence at 9.45am on Sunday with the final group to tee off at midday AEDT.
Click here for Round 3 scores and Round 4 draw.
It was double-delight at Yarra Yarra’s picturesque sixth hole on Monday, as Jayden Cripps and William Flitcroft each made aces to catapult themselves to the top of the leader board after the first round of the PGA Professionals Championship.
Designed to showcase the outstanding playing ability of PGA Professionals, the 36-hole event – run in partnership with Acushnet and Club Car – saw twenty-one players go under par in stunning conditions on Melbourne’s Sandbelt.
A third career hole-in-one for Cripps, his 48-degree wedge landed past the hole and spun back into the cup, the New-South Welshman not sure of the final result until he made his way onto the green.
“I knew I hit it well, but I just kind of saw it disappear,” he said. “To be quite honest I thought it had spun off into the front bunker or the gulley short of the green.”
Energised by the hole-in-one, it kickstarted a run up the leader board for Cripps, who would finish the day with seven birdies and four bogeys to finish with 67.
“The first few holes I was just missing it in the wrong spots, which you really can’t afford to do around here – not with how quick and firm the greens are.
“I worked out pretty quickly that I just needed to keep the ball below the hole, you combine that with hitting fairways then there is certainly a chance to make a good score.”
Having found his groove, Cripps birdied seven of his last nine holes, including holing a nerveless twenty-footer on the last to claim the lead outright.
Due reward for effort, Cripps feels that his performance today is a reflection of the work he has put in recently – and the people with whom he surrounds himself.
“I’ve been spending a lot of time with Kelsey Bennett and Deyen Lawson,” said Cripps. “Working on my wedge game, distance control and just learning from them.
“You spend time around good people and it’s funny what can happen.”
For Flitcroft, there was no doubt that his 54-degree wedge was destined for the cup on the sixth.
“One of the boys actually called it mid-flight,” he laughed. “It’s my first one in thirteen years and first as a professional, so I’m very happy that it came today.”
It was the continuation of momentum for Flitcroft, who made an eagle on the sixteenth and a birdie on the eighteenth, after starting with bogeys on fourteen and fifteen in the afternoon field shotgun start.
“Those two (sixteen and eighteen) kind of got me moving, so it was great to add the hole-in-one there as well to keep it tracking in the right direction.”
Steady thereafter, Flitcroft also capitalised on the par-five ninth hole with another birdie, to finish the day at three-under, in a three-way tie for fourth. An impressive effort for his first time around the course, he is confident he knows what it will take to get the job done tomorrow.
“It’s all about where you leave it out there,” Flitcroft explained. “As soon as you’re above the hole you’re in trouble, but if you leave it in the right spots, then you can definitely post a good score.”
2018 Champion, Scott Laycock showed his class once again in pristine Melbourne conditions, firing an impressive four-under 68 to sit in a tie for second place.
Despite starting with two early bogeys, Laycock enjoyed a remarkable run through the middle of his round, playing a seven-hole stretch in six-under to make his way up the leader board.
“It was a bit of a funny start – it took me a while to get the speed of the greens,” said Laycock, who has prepared for the event by playing with the members at Royal Hobart.
“Then through that middle patch I didn’t miss many opportunities, so that was nice.”
Joining Laycock in second place is Queenslander Brenton Fowler, whose four-under round was highlighted by two eagles at the fifth and the ninth as he made his way around the front nine in just 31.
Fellow Queenslander TJ King also shone in the morning group, firing a three-under 69, to back up his impressive second-placed finish at the Links Hope Island earlier this year.
The final round nicely poised for tomorrow, the double shot-gun start will allow for the leaders to tee it up at 12:40pm, fighting for $50,000 in prizemoney and one of two exemptions into the 2022 Fortinet Australian PGA Championship.
Follow the event scores and updates HERE
A field of more than 160 will tee it up today at the PGA Professionals Championship at Yarra Yarra Golf Club, competing for $50,000 in prizemoney, as well as exemptions into the 2022 Fortinet Australian PGA Championship and 2023 Vic Open.
Open to all Vocational PGA Professionals without a ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia category, the field will compete over 36 holes on the 10th and 11th October, as the tournament brings together some of Australia’s leading club, teaching and management Professionals.
Designed to showcase the outstanding playing ability of PGA Professionals, the event – run in partnership with Acushnet and Club Car – is set to be hotly contested, with the top two in the field gaining a place in the Australian PGA Championship at Royal Queensland Golf Club.
Tournament Director, Broc Greenhalgh, is thrilled to be welcoming such a strong field for an exciting couple of days of golf on Melbourne’s famed Sandbelt.
“It’s wonderful to be in Victoria and to see the best of our PGA Professionals on show,” Greenhalgh said.
“PGA Professionals are the heartbeat of Australian golf, so it’s wonderful that they will have the chance to go out and test themselves on such an iconic golf course.
“There is plenty to play for, so we are looking forward to a great exhibition of golf.”
Reigning champion and Head Professional at Pacific Dunes Golf Club, Jamie Hook, is keen to repeat the dose, after his two-shot victory at Links Hope Island set up a strong string of performances this year.
“It would be nice to defend the title,” he said. “To gain another exemption into the Australian PGA would be awesome.”
Hook performed well at the Australian PGA in January, his two-under score enough to tie for 31st place.
“I get such great support from the members at Pacific Dunes, whenever and wherever I play,” explained Hook. “I’m keen to get out there and do them all proud.”
Along with Hook, TJ King (Mount Coolum Golf Club) and Matthew Guyatt (Nudgee Golf Club) have just returned from representing Australia at the Four Nations Cup.
Australia performed strongly at the inaugural competition, earning a second-place finish in South Africa in September. No doubt any potential for international honours will serve as added motivation down the stretch on Tuesday.
Similarly, in the female section of the field, Bree Arthur, Jessica Dengate, Katy Jarochowicz, Grace Lennon and Katelyn Must will all be fighting for more than the title, as an exemption into the 2023 Vic Open is also on the line.
“There is plenty to play for next week,” Greenhalgh said. “For both the men and the women in the field, strong performances will certainly give them the chance to keep playing on the big stage.
“This is one of the wonderful attributes of our Vocational PGA Professionals; that their skills are do diverse both on and off the golf course, so the PGA Professionals Championship gives them another opportunity to showcase that.”
It shapes as a big week for past champions too, as Scott Laycock (Royal Hobart Golf Club), who won in 2018 and was runner-up in 2019, chases a return to the top of the podium. Additionally, 2016 winner Chris Duke (Nudgee Golf Club) will be looking to cap off his recent move to Queensland with a strong showing at Yarra Yarra.
“There are so many great stories coming into the week,” Greenhalgh explained. “And there is bound to be another one come Tuesday evening.”
The Championship kicks off this morning with a double shotgun start (7.30am and 12.30pm).
To follow the Championship click HERE
