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TGL presented by SoFi, the new team golf league that includes Australians Min Woo Lee and Adam Scott, will appear on Fox Sports in Australia when its inaugural season begins in January next year.
Backed by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy’s TMRW Sports, TGL presented by SoFi consists of six teams of PGA TOUR superstars competing in a progressive, fast-paced form of team golf within the custom-built SoFi Center, a 250,000 square foot, steel-supported venue on the campus of Palm Beach State College in Florida.
Scott will be lining up for the Boston Common team that includes McIlroy, while Lee has committed to the TGL but has yet to be allocated to a team.
The TGL will add to the list of golf events available live or on demand on Fox Sports Australia via Foxtel and Kayo Sports. It is also home to the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia and the best international golf including the PGA TOUR, The Masters, PGA Championship, US Open, The Open, Presidents Cup, Ryder Cup and LPGA Tour.
“Golf is truly a global game and as we plan the launch of TGL presented by SoFi in 2025, we’re focused on expanding TGL’s global footprint. We’re starting with media rights partnerships across three strong golf markets: Australia, Japan, and South Korea. We’re energised by the enthusiasm from these partners and the momentum we’re seeing in additional markets around the world,” said Mike McCarley, CEO and founder of TMRW Sports.
Additional media partners and markets being added as the league approaches its debut in January 2025, which will be broadcast by ESPN in the U.S.
What is the TGL?
TGL will launch on the first three Tuesdays of January 2025, starting with Tuesday, January 7 in primetime on ESPN and ESPN+ in the U.S.
The SoFi Center is an unprecedented, tech-infused arena for golf and will create an intimate and unique “greenside” fan experience with 1500 seats wrapping around TGL’s field of play, which at nearly 100 yards long and 50 yards wide is almost the size of a football field.
Within TGL’s competitive matches, the integration of the league’s technology mix starts with teams teeing off in the ScreenZone from real grass tee boxes to play custom-designed, virtual holes projected onto a 3,000-square-foot screen (64’x46’), more than 20 times larger than a standard golf simulator screen (144 square feet, 16’x9’).
Once teams are inside approximately 50 yards they will transition to live action and finish each hole within TGL’s GreenZone, a 22,475-square-foot short game complex that transforms between holes.
The GreenZone will use advanced technology to make each hole a unique challenge for the teams, including its 41-yard-wide turntable that rotates the green and three bunkers to change approach angles and using nearly 600 motorized actuators as part of Full Swing’s Virtual Green technology embedded under the synthetic putting surface to morph its topography.
TGL’s technology mix allows for every shot to be broadcast live, teams playing within a 40-second shot clock, all players being mic’d, delivery of advance shot data, and other broadcast enhancements. To learn more about TGL and the six teams, competitive format, and technology, visit TGL’s Explainer Page.
The TGL teams
Team brands and community-building activities for TGL’s six inaugural teams will continue to be unveiled this year, as will the season schedule and other fan-centric elements. Each TGL team is comprised of four PGA TOUR players and will have three players compete in each match:
Atlanta Drive GC: Led by Arthur M. Blank, AMB Sports and Entertainment (Atlanta Falcons, Atlanta United, PGA TOUR Superstores). Team Roster: Justin Thomas, Patrick Cantlay, Billy Horschel, and Lucas Glover
Boston Common Golf: Led by John Henry, Tom Werner, Mike Gordon, and Fenway Sports Group (Boston Red Sox, Liverpool FC, Pittsburgh Penguins, RFK Racing). Team Roster: Rory McIlroy, Keegan Bradley, Adam Scott and fourth team member to be announced.
Jupiter Links Golf Club: Led by Tiger Woods’ TGR Ventures and David Blitzer (Philadelphia 76ers, New Jersey Devils, Cleveland Guardians, Washington Commanders, Crystal Palace FC, Real Salt Lake). Team Roster: Tiger Woods and remaining roster to be announced.
Los Angeles Golf Club: Led by Alexis Ohanian, Seven Seven Six, Serena Williams, and Venus Williams; as well as limited partners the Antetokounmpo brothers, Alex Morgan, Servando Carrasco, Michelle Wie West, and Tisha Alyn. Team Roster: Tommy Fleetwood, Sahith Theegala, Collin Morikawa, and Justin Rose
New York Golf Club: Led by Steven A. Cohen (New York Mets), Cohen Private Ventures. Team Roster: Rickie Fowler, Xander Schauffele, Matt Fitzpatrick, and Cameron Young.
TGL San Francisco: A group led by Avenue Sports Fund with Marc Lasry, Stephen Curry; as well as limited partners Andre Iguodala and Klay Thompson. Team name and roster: To be announced.
Additional committed TGL players: Wyndham Clark, Max Homa, Tom Kim, Min Woo Lee, Shane Lowry, and Kevin Kisner.
Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, Seve Ballesteros, Nick Faldo, Sam Snead and Zach Johnson. That’s the elite list of golfers, including the biggest names in the history of the men’s professional game, that Australia’s Cam Smith will be looking to join by winning the 2024 Masters next week.
That special group of six are the only men in history to win an Open Championship on the Old Course at St Andrews and the Masters at Augusta National.
Smith completed half the task two years ago, seeing off Rory McIlroy on the final day at The Home of Golf, and will be back at Augusta next week for his second shot at becoming the first Australian to win at both fabled venues.
Last year, he tied for 34th – an unusual outlier on a record that features four top-10s, including a tie for second behind Dustin Johnson in 2020 when he became the first player to shoot in the 60s in all four rounds.
Smith comes into Masters month after a three-week break from tournament golf following his runner-up finish in the LIV Golf event in Hong Kong where he was beaten in a playoff by Abraham Ancer.
Since then he’s been working hard at his US base, especially on shaping shots to suit what he expects to encounter at Augusta.
“It’d be unreal. The Open at St Andrews is pretty special. To double it up with a green jacket would be unbelievable,” he said of joining the St Andrews-Augusta club.
“I desperately want to get it and it would be awesome if I did.”
An avid TV watcher of the Masters at home in Brisbane’s northern suburbs since he was “five or six-years-old”, Smith says his mind turns to the year’s first major as soon as the Christmas-New Year break ends.
“You’re straight into it and you’re definitely thinking about Augusta,” he said.
“I don’t think there’s really anything specific. It’s kind of in the back of your mind.
“Obviously there’s tournaments in between the New Year and Augusta that you’re trying to prepare for as well.
“But the last three weeks I’ve been trying to get out on the course a little bit more and really focus on some kind of shot, shaping and controlling flight, which I think is pretty crucial for playing good around there.”
Smith will be one six confirmed Australians in the Masters field, joining former champion Adam Scott, Jason Day, Min Woo Lee, Cam Davis and first-time participant Jasper Stubbs.
Smith and Stubbs, who qualified for his first trip to Augusta National as the winner of last year’s Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship, are near-neighbours at the moment – both in Florida preparing for the first major championship of the year, starting on Thursday week.
Smith is heading to a LIV Golf event in Miami, starting on Friday, while Stubbs is staying at Australian Golf House in Orlando before making the short trip to Georgia this weekend.
The former Open champion, who will be playing at the Masters for the eighth time, today described the Masters as “probably the best week of the year for everything”.
“(My advice to Jasper is) Just to enjoy it. I’m sure a lot of the boys will be keen to catch up with him and play 18 holes with him some day early in the week,” Smith said of his country’s newest Masters debutant.
“It’s such a cool tournament. He’ll love it.
“For a golfer, it’s pretty perfect. The golf course itself is unbelievable, the condition is unbelievable and also just the stuff around there for all the patrons.
“All the different things make everyone’s experience pretty special.”
The continued excellence of Minjee Lee and emergence of Min Woo Lee as Australian golf’s next superstar have seen Ritchie Smith earn a seventh nod as Coach of the Year – High Performance at the Western Australian Golf Industry Gala Dinner on Friday night.
Representatives from throughout the WA golf industry gathered at Crown Casino in Perth to recognise outstanding performers across all aspects of the game in 2023.
A record number of rounds at Busselton Golf Club saw Grant Williams named Hilary Lawler WA PGA Club Professional of the Year, Nicole Martino was awarded PGA Management Professional of the Year for her work at The Western Australian Golf Club and Wembley Golf Course’s Andrew Thomas edged a strong list of finalists to be again named Game Development Coach of the Year.
Smith (Royal Fremantle Golf Club, pictured with PGA of Australia CEO Gavin Kirkman) and David Milne (Lake Karrinyup Country Club) were the two nominees for High Performance Coach of the Year, Smith’s stable of players all advancing their development around the world.
Maddison-Hinson Tolchard continued her outstanding college career and made her US Women’s Open debut at Pebble Beach, Hannah Green won a third LPGA Tour title, Ryan Peake enjoyed his best season on the adidas PGA Pro-Am Series circuit and amateurs Abbie Teasdale and Josiah Edwards excelled locally and abroad.
But perhaps Smith’s greatest feat was to oversee a putting change in his star pupil that saw Minjee Lee win twice towards the end of 2023 and return to the top five in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Ranking.
“Sometimes when you have a problem like this you need to make a big change and we got rid of a putter that we won two majors with,” Smith said as he accepted the Greg Norman Medal on Minjee’s behalf last November.
“We looked at the reasons why we had problems from about 15 different angles and we’ve found a formula that we think is going to work.
“So far it has been a good change.”
This past year will also be remembered for the way Min Woo Lee announced himself on the world stage.
He played his way into the final group alongside world No.1 Scottie Scheffler at THE PLAYERS Championship, won on the Asian Tour in record fashion and sent shockwaves throughout Brisbane with his pulsating victory at the Fortinet Australian PGA Championship.
Named in honour of a PGA Professional who had a strong focus in the servicing of his customers, being a mentor to other PGA Professionals and an absolute custodian of the sport, Williams received the Hilary Lawler Club Professional of the Year for the impact he has had at Busselton in a short space of time.
The Head PGA Professional at Busselton since April 2022, Williams has instituted major improvements to tee sheets to cater for the record number of rounds played, a 90 per cent conversion from evaluation lessons to coaching packages sold, a stronger retail offering and a new prepayment policy for group bookings which delivered the club $100,000 in additional revenue.
Thomas was named Game Development Coach of the Year for the second year running not only for the enormity of lessons conducted at Wembley Golf Course but also his visit to Newman to coach indigenous youth at Clontarf Aboriginal College and students at Newman Primary School.
A member satisfaction rating of in excess of 80 per cent highlighted the impact that Nicole Martino had this past year at The Western Australian Golf Club.
As Golf Manager, Martino successfully managed a club calendar of more than 70,000 rounds and various special events, empowered her team with development budgets and worked collaboratively with course, house and admin teams to ensure the best possible member experience.
Two WA legends were honoured for their contribution to the game over many years with Ross Metherell awarded the WA Golf Industry Distinguished Service Award and Stephen Leaney inducted into the WA Golf Industry Hall of Champions.
2023 WA Golf Industry Award Winners
WA PGA Coach of the Year – High Performance
Ritchie Smith, Royal Fremantle Golf Club
WA PGA Coach of the Year – Game Development
Andrew Thomas, Wembley Golf Course
Hilary Lawler WA PGA Club Professional of the Year
Grant Williams, Busselton Golf Club
WA PGA Associate of the Year
Fritz Arnold, Lake Karrinyup Country Club
WA PGA Tournament of the Year
Mitchell and Brown Spalding Park Open
WA PGA Management Professional of the Year – Proudly sponsored by Golf Car World
Nicole Martino, The Western Australian Golf Club
Course Apprentice of the Year – Proudly sponsored by AFGRI Equipment
Beschen Pou, Rockingham Golf Club and Links Kennedy Bay
Course Superintendent of the Year – Proudly sponsored by AFGRI Equipment
Tom Tristram, Secret Harbour Golf Links
WA Golf Industry Distinguished Service Award
Ross Metherell
WA Golf Industry Hall of Champions Inductee
Stephen Leaney
Outstanding Game Development Program of the Year Award
Womens 22 Week Beginner Program at Lake Karrinyup Country Club
Employee of the Year – Proudly sponsored by MiClub
Jessie Krznaric, Royal Fremantle Golf Club
Volunteer of the Year – Proudly sponsored by Bowra and O’Dea
Graeme Durward, Busselton Golf Club
Regional Golf Course of the Year – Proudly sponsored by ADH Club Car
Bunbury Golf Club
Metropolitan Golf Course of the Year – Proudly sponsored by ADH Club Car
Joondalup Resort
Regional Golf Facility of the Year
Karratha Country Club
Metropolitan Golf Facility of the Year – Proudly Sponsored by Golf Car World E-Z-Go
Wembley Golf Course
Outstanding Golf Achievement Award – Proudly sponsored by NGI Insurance
Minjee Lee
Queenslander Quinn Croker will be one of the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia’s rookies to watch in 2024/25 but before then he has his sights on some big amateur events in the United States.
With a sequence of outstanding results in the recently completed Tour season, Croker locked up the Future Tour Order of Merit by a wide margin to secure a Tour card which ensures he can bypass the upcoming Qualifying School at Moonah Links.
A member of Australia’s team at last year’s Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship, Croker made the cut in all nine Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia tournaments he contested, highlighted by a second-place finish at The Heritage Classic in January.
And he finished outside the top 15 in only two events, gaining great experience to take into the next stage of his career and impressing those who saw his game first-hand and on the Fox Sports telecasts.
PGA.org.au caught up with the 21-year-old after his final Tour event as an amateur, The National Tournament, to get some key takeaways on his fantastic season.
What reflections do you have on the 2023/24 season overall?
I enjoyed it this year. It was fun. I played plenty of different tournament and got the chance to go to plenty of different places. It was a good year.
What did you learn most about what life as a touring professional would be like?
Something that sticks out the most is the uncontrollables. There’s so many things you can get mad at or angry at, your feelings towards them, that don’t really matter. You can deal with them after if you have to.
It’s no use getting annoyed about something that doesn’t really matter and then bringing that out on the golf course. You just have to go out and play the 18 holes.
I played a couple of events and realised that ‘my game is kind of there so if I just let it happen it will turn into a good result’. I showed myself that I could play out here and some good golf, not perfect golf, can get it done some times.
What was your favourite event of the season?
I really liked the two events in WA, the Open and the PGA. Joondalup was a really cool course.
Heritage was obviously the best finish, the most I was under-par, and it was good to get used to the TV cameras following me and having to manage my time with some extra requirements. That was a learning curve that week.
Who sticks in your mind as someone who was really enjoyable to play with?
Playing with Griffo (Matt Griffin) in the final round at The Heritage was pretty big. Just being able to have a good chat with him while he’s trying to win a golf tournament. You just can’t chat like two mates walking down the fairway because you still have a job to do, but I really enjoyed his company. He’s a good bloke who knows a lot and is open to helping you. He has so much knowledge.
Also what comes to mind is the Sandbelt Invitational. I played with Geoff Ogilvy the first day and then Nico Colsaerts the next day. To with able to play with them on back-to-back days, and play some pretty good golf in front of them, was really good. I thought ‘wow, I’m playing with a US Open winner and the vice-captain of Europe’s Ryder Cup team’. That was pretty cool.
What’s your plans for the next few months?
We’re going to work pretty hard on my game in the next couple of months and hopefully get some progression then there’s some amateur events in the US that I hope to tap into and play. It’s going to be tough in terms of knowing a schedule.
We’ll try to play as many events as we can over there in their summer and then come home. I think by that time, it might be the start of the new season here so then I might be looking to use the Future card and play a season as a professional on this Tour.
Qualifiers from the seven events staged across Australia will play for an increased prize purse when the PGA Professionals Championship National Final returns to Heritage Golf and Country Club in October.
Tasmania’s Claremont Golf Club will host the first 2024 PGA Professionals Championship qualifier on April 5 to be followed by the PGA Professionals Championship of North Queensland at Townsville Golf Club on April 22.
The PGA Professionals Championship of South-East Queensland on July 31 will finalise the National Final field where the total prize money has increased to $65,000.
There are also two places in the field at the Australian PGA Championship up for grabs and, for the first time in the event’s history, female PGA Professionals will have an opportunity to play for the Women’s PGA Professionals Championship trophy.
The Women’s PGA Professionals Championship will see at least one female from each state qualifying event advance to the National Final, where they too can showcase their exceptional abilities on the golf course.
“Our PGA Professionals are often feted for the way they help golfers to play better but they are just as passionate about their own games,” said PGA of Australia General Manager of Membership and Education, Geoff Stewart.
“To become a PGA Professional you must display a high level of playing proficiency.
“While that may not be their primary focus as they work within the industry, we are proud to provide our PGA Members with the platform to showcase their skills and play their way into our flagship event, the Australian PGA Championship.”
The $65,000 total prize money is a 30 per cent increase on the 2023 PGA Professionals Championship won for a fourth time by Matt Docking.
Now the Head PGA Professional at Murray Downs Golf and Country Club, as defending champion Docking is exempt from state qualifying and excited about the prospect of a return to Heritage Golf and Country Club.
“I am looking forward to defending my title,” said Docking.
“Although I have been fortunate enough to win the event on four occasions, I haven’t necessarily played as well as I would have liked at the Australian PGA Championship once I have qualified.
“I would love to change that in 2024 and therefore the first step is getting there.”
The PGA is proud to partner with championship partners Acushnet and Club Car.
Both partners have supported PGA Vocational Professionals for extended periods, be it at their golf facilities or their professional playing ambitions.
2024 PGA Professionals Championship schedule
Friday, April 5
PGA Professionals Championship of Tasmania (Claremont GC)
Monday, April 22
PGA Professionals Championship of North Qld (Townsville GC)
Friday, June 28
PGA Professionals Championship of South Australia (West Lakes GC)
Monday, July 8
PGA Professionals Championship of Western Australia (The Western Australian GC)
Thursday, July 11
PGA Professionals Championship of NSW/ACT (Concord GC)
Monday, July 22
PGA Professionals Championship of Victoria (Keysborough GC)
Wednesday, July 31
PGA Professionals Championship of South East Qld (Nudgee GC)
October 22-24
PGA Professionals Championship National Final (Heritage G&CC)
Jenna Hunter, the head golf coach at Mt Derrimut Golf Club in Melbourne’s north-west, has been selected as the inaugural winner of the Karrie Webb Coaching Scholarship.
Adding to the two player scholarships that the seven-time major winner has offered each year since 2008, the coaching scholarship aims to acknowledge, support and further develop young female golf coaches who have aspirations to excel in their coaching careers,
Twenty nominations from across Australia were received in the coaching scholarship’s inaugural year.
A PGA Professional since 2012, Jenna’s submission received the highest marks from the selection panel of Karrie Webb, PGA of Australia CEO Gavin Kirkman, Golf Australia Women and Girls Pathway Manager Stacey Peters and PGA of Australia Senior Manager – Coaching Programs Nick Bielawski.
Jenna has worked as a teaching pro in New Zealand and Australia, and has a love for coaching with players of all levels and abilities. She has also competed on the WPGA Tour of Australasia.
As the first scholarship recipient, Jenna will receive $7,500 to help enhance her high-performance coaching skills.
“I am so grateful, honoured and humbled to be the first ever recipient of the Karrie Webb Coaching Scholarship,” Jenna said.
“I wish to express my deepest gratitude to Karrie, the selection committee, and everyone who made this possible.
“I’m keen to continually develop my coaching career and the resources from this scholarship are going to give me the opportunity to learn from some world-class coaches and mentors.”
Karrie Webb said she was impressed by the number of applicants who submitted applications in the first year of the scholarship.
“It was encouraging to see how many great female coaches we have in Australia who also want to continue to up-skill and grow their business,” she said.
“It was a really tough decision to make but I’m excited for Jenna to be our first ever recipient and look forward to watching her career continue to grow.”
PGA of Australia Senior Manager – Coaching Programs Nick Bielawski said: “We’re really happy with both the number and quality of applications received. The decision was challenging as there were so many worthy recipients.
“It’s fantastic to see so applicants running great programs in both their local communities and in a high performance environment.”
Meanwhile, the race to win this year’s Karrie Webb Scholarships, awarded annually to two of Australia’s best women golfers based on their performances in the KW Series and place on the Women’s Amateur Golf Ranking, is close to the finish line.
The 2023/24 KW Series presented by Nippon Shaft wraps up at the South Australian Amateur Classic this week with last week’s Riversdale Cup winner Caitlin Peirce currently heading the series rankings. Maddison Hinson Tolchard, who is in her senior year at Oklahoma State University, is the No.1 Australian in the world rankings.
The playing scholarship winners will get the chance to spend a week with Karrie Webb, as well as receiving $15,000.
“This year’s KW Series presented by Nippon Shaft has witnessed some superb golf across the 11 events so far with Caitlin the standout so far with two event wins and a high finish at the Women’s Australian Open,” Stacey Peters said.
“Maddison continues to put together an outstanding amateur record, including playing in the US Open for the first time last year and winning the Big 12 Championship.
“We’re very grateful for the increased support that our partners Nippon Shaft have provided to our player scholarship winners, who will enjoy a fantastic week with Karrie.”
Although they weren’t quite able to make it into the top three on the Order of Merit to earn a DP World Tour card, there were plenty of players on the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia who definitely trended in the right direction in season 2023/24.
Here’s a look at some of our biggest improvers in the top 20.
Andrew Campbell – Up 88 to No.14
The winner of this year’s adidas PGA Pro-Am Series Order of Merit also made the biggest jump into the top 20 of the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit. Campbell’s Tour campaign featured six top-10s, including a runner-up finish at Webex Players Series South Australia at Willunga. Until this season, he hadn’t produced a top 10 on Tour, making the Coffs Harbour professional a prime contender for status as the most improved touring professional in the country.
Ben Eccles – Up 85 to No.8
The feel good story of the first half of the season was the Victorian pro who broke through for his first win in eight years at the CKB WA PGA Championship in Kalgoorlie where he had a five-shot margin over runner-up Haydn Barron. He almost made it a double at the Vic PGA, eventually finishing second behind a charging David Micheluzzi after weekend rounds of 66-68.
Austin Bautista – Up 67 to No.16
Bautista produced a brilliant final day 64 to claim the inaugural Webex Players Series South Australia title by a shot, riding a hot putter to come from four shots back on Sunday. He was back in the mix three events later at the Vic PGA at Moonah Links, claiming a tie for sixth to be right in the hunt for a DP World Tour card into the second half of the schedule.
Matt Griffin – Up 57 to No.4
The former Order of Merit champion was a frequent presence on leaderboards, especially after the Christmas-New Year break. He kicked off January with a runaway win at The Heritage Classic, starting with a brilliant 61 before going on to post a 72-hole total of 24-under-par. The Victorian was also in final day contention at the New Zealand Open, eventually finishing in a tie for third before also challenging at the season finale at The National..
Cameron John – Up 56 to No.7
On his way back from wrist surgery that curtailed his end to the 2022/23 season, the Victorian was having a solid but unspectacular campaign until he arrived at The National Tournament presented by BMW. An impressive 16-under-par tally around the Moonah Course gave him a three-shot margin over Daniel Gale and opened the door to some new career possibilities.
Lachlan Barker – Up 50 to No.10
One of the first-time winners on Tour in 2023/24, Barker was the early leader in the Order of Merit race. He backed up his maiden success at the PNG Open with a share of third at the CKB WA PGA Championship and a T9 at the Tailor-Made Building Services NT PGA.
Jak Carter – Up 49 to No.6
The South Australian’s fine form started in Western Australia with a T6 at the WA Open followed by a T9 at the WA PGA. All up, he had five top-10 finishes across the season, highlighted by a tie for second behind Matt Griffin at The Heritage Classic and a third at the Gippsland Super 6. Not only did he finish just outside the DP World Tour cards, his world ranking halved from No.1899 to No.900.
Nick Voke – Up 26 to No.13
The New Zealander was the joint 36-hole leader after a day two 62 at the Queensland PGA Championship, eventually figuring in an eight-way tie for second behind amateur Phoenix Campbell, and was again well in the hunt on the final day of the Vic Open, sharing top spot after 54 holes, before finishing T6. A share of 14th at the NZ Open presented by Sky Sports solidified his place inside the top 15 on the Order of Merit.
With their first majors of the year looming, Cam Smith and Minjee Lee are trending in the right direction.
Smith, the 2022 Open champion, was beaten in a playoff by Mexico’s Abraham Ancer in the latest LIV Golf event in Hong Kong, his best result for 2024 with the trip to Augusta National now just a month away.
After rescuing a par thanks to a great approach shot on his final hole, Smith finished alongside Ancer and England’s Paul Casey at 13-under after three rounds, highlighted by a 6-under 64 on day two.
Ancer birdied the playoff hole, while his opponents had to settle for a bogey.
“It was a step in the right direction this week,” said Smith, who had started the final day six strokes back.
“Played some really patient golf over the weekend. A lot different than the first few weeks.”
Smith came into Hong Kong with a previous season best of T8 in his opening event of the year.
In China, Minjee Lee was in contention throughout the Blue Bay LPGA tournament, eventually finishing in a tie for fourth at 13-under, six shots behind the winner, American Bailey Tardy.
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The world No.5, who won this event in 2016, led after a first-round 65 but gave up her advantage with a 72 on day two.
The first women’s major for 2024, the Chevron Championship, starts on April 18.
On the PGA TOUR, Cam Davis was the best-placed Australian at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, finishing in equal 18th after a closing round of 2-under 70 at Bay Hill improved his position by 13 places.
Only four players shot in the 60s on Sunday, led by a 66 from world No.1 Scottie Scheffler who triumphed by five shots.
Gabi Ruffels turned in a solid week in her second LPGA event of 2024 to end up T15.
On the secondary Epson Tour, Cassie Porter started her year in fine style, finishing third, just two shots out of a playoff, at the Florida’s Natural Charity Classic.
Meanwhile, on the PGA TOUR Champions, Greg Chalmers produced a top 10 on debut, claiming a share of seventh at the Cologuard Classic, just four shots behind the winner, Joe Durant.
“I am so excited!! T7 gets me into the next event in a week..this has been one of the most enjoyable experiences of my career,” Chalmers said on X/Twitter.
PGA TOUR
Arnold Palmer Invitational
Arnold Palmer’s Bay Hill Club & Lodge, Orlando, Florida
1 Scottie Scheffler 70-67-70-66–273 US$4,000,000
T18 Cam Davis 72-70-74-70–286 $289,000
T36 Jason Day 70-74-73-73–290 $88,375
T44 Min Woo Lee 69-73-76-73–291 $64,000
MC Adam Scott 73-76
Puerto Rico Open
Grand Reserve Golf Club, Rio Grande, Puerto Rico
1 Brice Garnett 66-66-68-69–269 US$720,000
T23 Aaron Baddeley 70-69-67-70–276 $32,333
T42 Harrison Endycott 69-71-68-70–278 $13,423
MC Gareth Steyn (a) 71-73
MC Geoff Ogilvy 71-75
LPGA Tour
Blue Bay LPGA
Jian Lake Blue Bay Course, China
1 Bailey Tardy (USA) 68-70-66-65–269 US$330,000
T4 Minjee Lee 65-72-70-68–275 $95,907
T15 Gabi Ruffels 72-71-68-70–281 $29,247
MC Karis Davidson 72-75
MC Robyn Choi 75-73
DP World Tour
Jonsson Workwear Open
Glendower Golf Club, Edenvale, South Africa
1 Matteo Manassero 68-61-67-66–262 €255,000
T17 Jason Scrivener 68-66-70-68–272
LIV Golf
LIV Golf Hong Kong
Hong Kong Golf Club, Sheung Shui, Hong Kong
1 Abraham Ancer 63-62-72–197 US$4,000,000
T2 Cam Smith 67-64-66–197 $1.875,000
T2 Paul Casey (Eng ) 66-67-64–197 $1.875,000
(Ancer won on first playoff hole)
T15 Lucas Herbert 70-64-67–201 $278,750
T21 Matt Jones 64-68-71–203 $204,286
T29 Marc Leishman 68-68-69–205 $165,000
Champions Tour
Cologuard Classic
La Paloma Country Club, Tucson, Arizona
1 Joe Durant (USA) 67-66-67–200 US$330,000
T2 Steve Alker (NZ) 69-68-65–202 $161,333
T7 Greg Chalmers 67-70-67–204 $59.086
T17 David Bransdon 66-70-70–206 $32,065
T21 Steve Allen 71-68-68–207 $23,833
T21 Mark Hensby 71-66-70–207 $23,833
T27 Michael Wright 72-69-67–208 $18,260
T32 John Senden 71-67-71–209 $14,850
T43 Richard Green 75-67-69–211 $8800
T49 Rod Pampling 70-70-72–212 $6380
T61 Stuart Appleby 70-73-72–215 $3300
Korn Ferry Tour
Astara Chile Classic
Prince of Wales Country Club, Santiago, Chile
1 Taylor Dickson 68-67-70-66–271 US$180,000
T47 Curtis Luck 65-75-70-71–281 $4310
MC Rhein Gibson 75-66–141
MC Brett Drewitt 72-70–142
MC Charlie Hillier (NZ) 75-70–145
Epson Tour
Florida’s Natural Charity Classic
Country Club of Winter Haven, Winter Haven, Florida
1 Valery Plata (Col) 70-66-70–206 US$37,500
3 Cassie Porter 69-69-70–208 $17.092
MC Amelia Garvey (NZ) 77-73
MC Su Oh 76-79
For Australian David Micheluzzi, there was no question about taking a break from the DP World Tour and returning to Queenstown for his second New Zealand Open which is set to be a pivotal battleground in the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit race.
The reigning Order of Merit champion has his sights on retaining his title and comes into this week ranked fourth behind Kazuma Kobori, Daniel Gale and Brett Coletta, who are all in the field.
A win at Millbrook Resort could vault Micheluzzi back to No.1 with just one event, The National Tounament (March 14-17), remaining.
“Who wouldn’t want to come back to Queenstown,” said Micheluzzi. “Everything just adds up to me being here this week.
“To have two Order of Merit wins in a row, I don’t think that has been done in a long time so to have that, I think would be satisfying and I’m just looking forward to the whole experience.”
After enjoying a continuation of his 2022/23 form at the beginning of his season, including a win at the Vic PGA and a dramatic T2 with seven other players in the Queensland PGA Championship, Micheluzzi was propelled into second place on the Order of Merit, leadng a shift in his plans for the year.
“I did not expect to have a second and a win in my first two events of the season,” he said.
“That vaulted me up to second on the Order of Merit, so it changed my plans a little bit.
”There are a few events on the DP World Tour over the next few weeks but there is also a lot up for grabs this week.
“It’s quadruple (OOM) points this week and then we’ve got The National… If I can play really well, then that will set my year up very well.”
Preparing for his second appearance in Queenstown, Micheluzzi says he is feeling confident in his game, in particular his skill in shaping shots to navigate the Coronet and Remarkables courses.
“I’m hitting it okay at the moment so right now [my game] isn’t too bad. You have to shape your game to the pins and the slopes around here,” he said.
Micheluzzi is also comfortable to be playing a different, more relaxed tournament style, teaming up with an amateur partner over the first two days and hopefully again into the weekend.
“I love the format. I personally think there should be a lot more of these because there is a lot more to golf than what everyone sees and when you’re inside the ropes. I think it’s really cool,” he said.
“To see what the pros do right then, and right there, it is a massive thrill.
“If this tournament wasn’t here, the area wouldn’t be what it is.”
The only place to watch every upcoming event on the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia live is on Fox Sports, available on Foxtel and Kayo.
Kiwi Daniel Hiller will enter the New Zealand Open presented by Sky Sports, starting on Thursday, with some advice from his country’s No.1 men’s golfer firmly in his mind.
While Ryan Fox is unable to be at Millbrook Resort as he commits to his first full year on the PGA TOUR, his influence remains strong with young New Zealanders such as Hillier, a winner on the DP World Tour for the first time in 2023 at the British Masters.
Fox’s tip to Hillier is simple and current for any week on tour – don’t change anything in his game to suit the golf course, no matter how spectacular the setting.
“There will be golf courses out there that suit me more than the others,” Hillier, the world No.150, said.
“I have played pretty well here in the past so if I play my game, and have a solid plan that I can trust and execute, hopefully you will see my name near the top of the leaderboard.”
In four starts on the DP World Tour in 2004, Hillier has made three cuts with a best finish of T23 at the Ras Al Khaimah Championship.
He was equal 12th in his home open last year, five shots behind the winner, Brendan Jones, after shooting four rounds in the 60s.
“My form has been OK. I haven’t played my best stuff for the first part of the year,” he said at today’s pre-tournament media conference.
“I know there is a long year ahead so I am not too fazed how the year has started. It would be nice for everything to click this week as it is obviously an exciting week ahead.
“The course is pure as always which is great. The rough is up a little bit but I did not spend much time in it today so hopefully I can keep that up.”
Hillier was part of an interesting practice group pairing on Tuesday, joining rookie Kazuma Kobori who has already claimed three Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia victories this year to lead the Order of Merit and have one hand on a 2024/25 DP World Tour card.
“He is really impressive to watch and you can see why he has done so well in Aussie this year,” Hillier said of his countryman.
“You can see he wants to get his hands on the trophy as well. I’m playing the first two rounds with him as well so we will be seeing a bit of each other.”
The star NZ duo will be on the Remarkables course on Thursday morning followed by the Coronet layout on Friday afternoon.
Photo: Daniel Hillier at the 2023 NZ Open presented by Sky Sports. Credit: Hannah Peters/Getty Images
The only place to watch every upcoming event on the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia live is on Fox Sports, available on Foxtel and Kayo.
