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Only four players stand in the way of Victorian David Micheluzzi claiming the 2022/2023 ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit ahead of the season’s penultimate event starting Thursday.
As a Band 2 tournament, the $400,000 Play Today NSW Open will distribute a total of 2,000 Order of Merit points with the three DP World Tour cards for the top three finishers on the Order of Merit still very much up for grabs.
Micheluzzi arrives at Rich River Golf Club with a 228-point buffer from New Zealand Open champion Brendan Jones, who in turn has a gap of 142.36 points to the fourth-placed Andrew Martin.
Successive victories in the coming two events would yield the winner a total of 570 points, meaning that there are only four eligible players capable of denying Micheluzzi the No.1 spot and all its subsequent rewards.
As they won’t play the minimum four events necessary to be eligible for the Order of Merit, Cameron Smith (third), Min Woo Lee (seventh), Adam Scott (eighth) and Jason Scrivener (10th) are no longer vying for the various exemptions on offer.
The most prized of these are the three cards on the DP World Tour for the 2024 season, one of which is safely within Micheluzzi’s grasp.
“To win twice in a season is extremely impressive and David has shown all season that he is very deserving of one of the cards on the DP World Tour,” said PGA of Australia Tournaments Director Australasia, Nick Dastey.
“He started the season with a win at the WA PGA Championship at Kalgoorlie and then produced one of the great final rounds to win again at TPS Sydney last month.
“Not only that, but he has finished runner-up twice and recorded four additional top-10s so there’s no question David has earned his ticket to the DP World Tour.”
But while his pathway to Europe is now clear, Micheluzzi is not yet guaranteed the Order of Merit crown.
With additional exemptions associated – including a spot at The Open Championship at Royal Liverpool in July – there are four additional players still in the mix.
Almost all are predicated on Micheluzzi adding very few points to his tally in the coming two tournaments yet there are ways for Brendan Jones, Andrew Martin, Tom Power Horan and Michael Hendry to play their way into No.1.
If Jones wins this week – and Micheluzzi finishes worse than a tie for second – the 48-year-old will move to the top. He would then need to play his fourth event for the season at The National and finish equal or better than Micheluzzi to finish on top.
The Vic PGA champion at Moonah Links late last year, a win this week would see Martin move past Micheluzzi but only if Micheluzzi finishes 39th or worse at Rich River.
Power Horan and Hendry both need to win this week and have a high finish at The National to be any chance of reigning in Micheluzzi.
Depending on whether Jones plays the final event of the season, the race for the final DP World Tour cards could fall down as far as Deyen Lawson (ninth), Brett Coletta (11th), John Lyras (12th) and Justin Warren (13th).
“Our aim in moving to a points-based system for the first time this year was to reduce the disparity between the various tournaments on our schedule,” Dastey added.
“Given the number of different scenarios that can play out over the next two events – and the number of players still in contention for those exemptions – we feel confident that we have achieved that aim.
“The quality of our winners and the depth of the field at each of the events is a testimony to the support that the players have shown for the format and the opportunities that it affords them.
“We’re heading for a thrilling final two weeks starting Thursday at Rich River and culminating at The National.”
The primary Order of Merit is not the only source of interest.
With majority of the focus being on the prize at the top of the OOM, there is also a lot of pressure on players to keep their cards for next season by finishing inside the top 50, providing strong playing opportunities for next year.
Currently David Bransdon sits on the number (50th) with 111.40 pts with many below looking to leap-frog into the top 50.
Amateurs competing through the Future Tour Affiliation can also secure playing rights for next season through gaining points equivalent to the professionals from the position they have finished in each tournament.
Those currently lower than 50th will be trying to advance their positions inside the top 50 to earn one of three opportunities to secure a category for the 2023/24 season.
Rising star Jeffrey Guan is currently equivalent to 49th on the Order of Merit and will earn status should he remain inside the top 50 while South Australian Jack Buchanan can enhance his chances with a strong showing this week.
ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit (through NZ PGA)
1. David Micheluzzi 1,031.67 (13)
2. Brendan Jones 803.67 (2)
3. Cameron Smith 772.76 (2)
4. Andrew Martin 661.31 (13)
5. Tom Power Horan 609.23 (12)
6. Michael Hendry 571.68 (7)
7. Min Woo Lee 470.00 (2)
8. Adam Scott 456.05 (2)
9. Deyen Lawson 446.46 (13)
10. Jason Scrivener 431.30 (3)
Must play minimum four events to be eligible for Order of Merit
Order of Merit leader David Micheluzzi wants to close out the season-long ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia title with a win at the Play Today NSW Open beginning on Thursday at Rich River, and put to bed the notion that he can be overhauled when a tantalising Open Championship spot is in his sights.
The 2022/2023 season reaches its climax over the next three weeks, with the $400,000 NSW Open on the Murray this week, and closing out at The National in Victoria from March 30.
With 1,031.67 points, 26-year-old Micheluzzi has a lead of 228 points on Canberra’s Brendan Jones, who vaulted into contention by winning the NZ Open in Queenstown.
But Jones will likely overhaul the Melburnian if he wins this week and collects the 380 points available to the winner at Rich River.
Micheluzzi may have been tempted to check the points machinations – this is the first season that the Tour has used points rather than dollars to calculate Order of Merit rankings – but ultimately, he stripped it back to basics after his early struggles as a professional.
“I’m just trying to win,” he said on the eve of the first rounds. “If I win, I’m safe. I want to play a good tournament and if I do, the points take care of themselves.”
Micheluzzi was a world top-five amateur and finished inside the top five in an Australian Open as a teenager, but his early years as a professional were difficult. He has said that he grew so anxious about results that he feared where the ball was going, but he appears to be through the worst of that, winning twice on Tour this season.
“I’m playing golf,” he said. “That’s what I did as a kid, but I kind of lost sight of that. I lost the enjoyment of the game because I was playing bad golf. Everyone goes through that… Or I’m sure that if they haven’t yet, they will at some stage. If you don’t, you’ve had an unreal career.
“I’ve gone back to what I was doing as a kid, playing so much. Even weeks off, I’m playing so much, and making it competitive as well so that when I come out here, it feels normal. I’m playing for money, your four-ball in your group, all of that.
“That makes golf fun for me. It might not do it for other people, but the competing is what I love. Hopefully I can keep that trend going.”
Micheluzzi skipped the NZ PGA Championship after a long stint of tournament play, went home and put his feet up.
It’s left him fresh.
“I had a week off to recharge,” he said. “I’d played six weeks in a row, and I had a first, a second and a third in those weeks and the mental energy was low.
“I went home and I didn’t play a round of golf for five days, which felt like a long time for me, because I play a lot. I played Saturday and Sunday, but it was nice to see friends and family.
“I’ve fixed a couple of things in my swing. It feels great. I’m ready to go.
“I thought I’d be around about here, but I didn’t expect to be exactly where I’m at now, which is cool. Because all the stuff I’ve done behind the scenes is working and we’re heading in a good direction compared to a couple of years ago. I’m just excited to play again, compete and see what happens.”
As for Jones, his situation exemplifies how important this week is for all the players who have a string of exemptions attached to the Order of Merit, including DP World Tour cards for the top three.
The 48-year-old had been in a rut before he won the NZ Open; now he can claim another Open Championship spot at Royal Liverpool in July if he can catch Micheluzzi on top of the Order of Merit.
He needs a good result this week, or it’s back to his usual job on the Japan Tour, where he has two more years of playing rights. If he’s in contention for the OOM title, he will tee it up at The National in a fortnight.
“It’s the reason why I’m here now,” Jones said. “I’ve got a lot to play for this week, like a lot of players do.
“Others are playing for DP World Tour cards and things that can help their careers out. I’m here for another reason. I’d love to play another Open.
“It’s just nice to be playing well again. I had a lean year last year, but I’ve hit the ground running.”
In the strongest field seen in a NSW Open for some years, Micheluzzi goes at 8.15am Thursday with NZ PGA winner Louis Dobbelaar and defending champion Harrison Crowe, one of the best amateurs in the world. Jones is in the next group off the 10th with Brad Kennedy and Kiwi Michael Hendry, another Order of Merit contender.
Scores are likely to be low in warm conditions, given that at the qualifying round you needed six-under to get through and 61 led them home.
It is a welcome return to big tournament golf for the resort, which hosted both the Rich River Classic and the Australian Senior PGA in the 1980s.
The tournament will be televised live on Friday, Saturday and Sunday on Fox Sports and Kayo Sports.
PLAYTODAY CC has streaming and feature groups from 1pm Thursday and from 10am Friday at https://playtoday.cc.
Photo by Dylan Robinson/Golf NSW
A five-hour wait to see whether he’d made the cut has become a remarkable New Zealand Open triumph for Australian Brendan Jones.
Out in the eighth group of the day on Saturday after his 36-hole total of four-under just scraped inside the cut-line, Jones shot nine-under 62 in Round 3 and then backed that up with a five-under 66 in Sunday’s final round to win by three at the Millbrook Resort.
He began the final round four strokes adrift of 54-hole leader Shae Wools-Cobb but took little time in elevating himself into the logjam at the top of the leaderboard.
As Wools-Cobb made a disastrous start with a bogey and double bogey to start his final round, contenders came from all corners.
Sydney’s John Lyras (64) was the first into the clubhouse at 15-under at which point there was a five-way tie at the top.
Jones was among those but separated himself with a birdie on the par-5 14th and then a sensational 8-iron shot into the par-3 15th that he thought, momentarily, may have even gone in.
Despite flirting with the out of bounds right of the green with his second, Jones added a birdie on 17 to get to 18-under. After holing out with a regulation par on the par-3 18th was doused in champagne by 12 mates who flew in from Canberra on Sunday and roared home every par save and birdie try of his final round.
“This is just incredible,” said Jones.
“I ground my arse off those first two rounds because I didn’t have my best stuff and then yesterday, that round was pretty special.
“I two-putted from about 60 feet on the last hole, holed a nice little five-footer which, at the time, I didn’t think too much of.
“Without that, I wouldn’t be here.
“I don’t know what’s happened but I’ve won it and I played some pretty awesome golf, for an old guy anyway.
“It’s a dream come true.”
Aware that the 54-hole front-runners had come back to the pack early in the round, Jones set about adding his name to the mix before producing two shots he rates among the greatest of his career.
“I’ve hit probably two of the greatest shots I’ve ever hit back-to-back on the par 5 and then the par 3,” Jones said of his shots into the 14th and 15th greens.
“That second shot into 14 was probably the best 3-wood I’ve ever hit in my life and to then hit that 8-iron into the following hole was unexpected but, at the same time, I felt like I knew where the ball was going.
“It’s nice to be able to do that while I’m nervous and under pressure.
“A lot of my friends have won this – Matty Griffin, Brad Kennedy – plus all the legends that have come before me.
“To have my name engraved on the trophy is going to be pretty special.”
Six Australians who have lifted the New Zealand Open trophy gathered in Queenstown on Monday night to mark the return of one of the most popular events on the ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia schedule.
Peter Fowler (1993), Dimitrios Papadatos (2014), Jordan Zunic (2015), Matt Griffin (2016), Zach Murray (2019) and Brad Kennedy (2020 & 2011) posed with the trophy their names are etched on at Millbrook Resort as they relived past glories and shared their delight to be across the Tasman for the first time since 2020.
Japan Tour regular Griffin has triumphed on seven occasions throughout his career spanning the Japanese, Australasian, One Asia and Korean Tours, but he regards his thrilling victory with a final hole birdie to overcome Japan’s Hideto Tanihara by a shot as his most significant.
“The New Zealand Open is always one of my favourite weeks of the year, and being unable to play the last two years has been really frustrating,” Griffin said.
“Playing events that you have won in the past always fills you with great memories.
“In 2016, I had my now wife, parents and friends at the tournament, which made winning extra special.
“My manager had a tour group in Queenstown and brought a bottle of Grange with him in case one of his players won. We drank that from the trophy and had a big party with around 30 people.”
Griffin is a member of an illustrious club of Australians to have won the New Zealand Open.
Five-time Open champion Peter Thomson’s name appears on the trophy more than anyone else’s with the Australian golf icon taking out the title on nine occasions.
Such was the impact Thomson made during his battles with the likes of fellow Open champions Kel Nagle and Sir Bob Charles that in 2019 he became the first Australian to be inducted into the New Zealand Golf Hall of Fame.
Thomson also helped grow the event by bringing Gary Player, Harold Henning and David Thomas to compete in 1958.
Nagle is the equal second most decorated golfer alongside New Zealand’s Andrew Shaw with seven titles, while 1991 Open champion Ian Baker-Finch is the other Australian major winner on the honour roll.
Among the crop of Australian past champions teeing it up this week, Papadatos has a unique connection with Thomson and Nagle.
The New South Welshman joined those two legends of Australian golf as a multiple champion of the Vic Open with his victory at 13th Beach last year, and he wants to replicate that feat with a second New Zealand Open crown.
“Obviously some great players have won this event, it’s a massive honour,” Papadatos said.
“Coming back to Queenstown is always a highlight on the calendar. Definitely one of the best tournaments in the world at one of, if not, the best place in the world.
“The New Zealand Open was my first professional win and I’d love to win another one.”
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.
