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Golf’s popularity explosion is set to get an Olympic-sized boost following the announcement that Brisbane will host the 2032 Olympic Games.
A week out from the Olympic competition taking place as part of Tokyo 2020, confirmation that south-east Queensland will welcome the world’s leading athletes in 11 years’ time is set to give golf even further impetus first generated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The men’s and women’s golf competitions will both be played at Royal Queensland Golf Club in Brisbane’s east, the host course of the Australian PGA Championship to be played from December 2 this year.
The recent Sport Australia AusPlay survey revealed that golf witnessed an increase in participants of more than 250,000 in 2020 and the prospect of Olympic gold on home soil will give aspiring golfers even greater motivation to continue in the game.
“Young golfers grow up dreaming of winning a major championship yet now they can also aspire to win an Olympic gold medal,” said Brad James, Golf Australia High Performance General Manager.
“As a game we have been fortunate to see many new people come into the game in the past year which includes an influx of junior boys and girls.
“This will be the first time that Australia has hosted an Olympic golf competition and I have no doubt that we will see a high level of excitement among our juniors and elite amateurs as we draw closer and closer to Brisbane 2032.”
Booked-out tee times, high demand for lessons and overflowing driving range facilities have been a feature of golf’s COVID-induced boom throughout the country.
The news that the best male and female golfers on the planet – including our very own – will all converge on Brisbane in 2032 will only further fuel golf’s popularity for the next decade.
“It has been a challenging time for everyone during the pandemic but our golf facilities and our PGA Professionals have done a wonderful job in making the game available to people in a safe manner whenever possible,” said PGA of Australia CEO Gavin Kirkman.
“Not since the days of Greg Norman’s reign as No.1 have we seen so many people engaged in the game of golf at every level and hosting an Olympic competition in 2032 will only add to that enthusiasm for the game.
“Australian golf has a proud history of hosting major events such as the Presidents Cup, World Cup and our own prestigious tournaments such as the Australian Open, Women’s Australian Open and Australian PGA Championship but there may not be a bigger sporting event in the world than the Olympic Games.
“That Australia will have the opportunity to host the world’s best players on one of our magnificent golf courses will only help to strengthen the game in this country for the next decade to come and beyond.”
With rising stars such as Stephanie Kyriacou and Gabi Ruffels joining the likes of Minjee Lee and Hannah Green on professional golf’s world stage, hosting the Olympics will serve as another crucial step in engaging girls in the game of golf.
“We saw at the start of this year through The Players Series and The Athena the wonderful young talent coming through our ranks at the moment,” said CEO of the WPGA Tour of Australasia, Karen Lunn.
“Led by our Tokyo Olympians in Minjee Lee and Hannah Green this is an extremely exciting time for the women’s game in this country and hosting the Olympics in 2032 will only serve to further fuel that enthusiasm.
“The deeds of our current professionals are already inspiring the next generation of junior golfers and the prospect of going for gold in Brisbane makes this next decade one of the most exciting times in the history of the game in Australia.”
The 2020 Olympic golf competition will be played at Kasumigaseki Country Club where Cameron Smith and Marc Leishman will take part in the men’s competition from July 29-August 1 with Minjee Lee and Hannah Green to represent Team Australia in the women’s competition from August 4-7.
Three of the four members of Australia’s golf team to be captained by Ian Baker-Finch – Smith, Lee and Green – have come through the Golf Australia High Performance program funded by the AIS with Lee recently becoming the first graduate to contribute some of her own money via the ‘Give Back’ initiative.
The Paris 2024 Olympic Games golf competition will be conducted at Le Golf National with the famed Riviera Country Club to serve as host course in Los Angeles in 2028.
Scottish Open champion Min Woo Lee will have the honour of being the first Australian to tee off at the 149th Open Championship starting Thursday afternoon AEST from Royal St George’s Golf Club in England.
The last of the 11 Australians to qualify for The Open by virtue of his playoff victory at The Renaissance Club on Sunday, Lee will tee off at 4.30pm AEST alongside South African Christiaan Bezuidenhout and England’s Sam Horsfield in his first start in a major championship.
The release of the draw has highlighted some marquee groupings featuring some of Australia’s leading contenders.
Victorian Marc Leishman has been paired with 2018 Open champion Francesco Molinari and England’s Matt Wallace, Adam Scott will play the first two rounds alongside American Justin Thomas and local hope Tommy Fleetwood with Cameron Smith to follow in the group behind Scott with major champions Rory McIlroy and Patrick Reed.
In his first Open championship since 2012 Brad Kennedy has been paired with two-time Open champion Padraig Harrington and England’s Sam Forgan while Matt Jones has been grouped with Kiwi qualifier Daniel Hillier and Germany’s Marcel Siem.
There will be 47 hours of live coverage of The Open on Fox Sports 505 starting from 3.30pm Thursday afternoon.
Round 1 tee times AEST Thursday
4.30pm Min Woo Lee, Christiaan Bezuidenhout, Sam Horsfield
6.14pm Lucas Herbert, Sam Burns, Jorge Campillo
9.20pm Jason Day, Joost Luiten, Johannes Veerman
9.31pm Aaron Pike, John Catlin, Romain Langasque
9.42pm Brad Kennedy, Padraig Harrington, Sam Forgan
10.04pm Ryan Fox, Patrick Cantlay, Matthew Fitzpatrick
10.15pm Marc Leishman, Francesco Molinari, Matt Wallace
10.37pm Jason Scrivener, Keith Mitchell, Sam Bairstow (a)
11.37pm Matt Jones, Daniel Hillier, Marcel Siem
12.10am Adam Scott, Justin Thomas, Tommy Fleetwood
12.21am Cameron Smith, Rory McIlroy, Patrick Reed
12.54am Deyen Lawson, Kurt Kitayama, Poom Saksansin
Round 2 tee times AEST Friday
4.19pm Jason Day, Joost Luiten, Johannes Veerman
4.30pm Aaron Pike, John Catlin, Romain Langasque
4.41pm Brad Kennedy, Padraig Harrington, Sam Forgan
5.03pm Ryan Fox, Patrick Cantlay, Matthew Fitzpatrick
5.14pm Marc Leishman, Francesco Molinari, Matt Wallace
5.36pm Jason Scrivener, Keith Mitchell, Sam Bairstow (a)
6.36pm Matt Jones, Daniel Hillier, Marcel Siem
7.09pm Adam Scott, Justin Thomas, Tommy Fleetwood
7.20pm Cameron Smith, Rory McIlroy, Patrick Reed
7.53pm Deyen Lawson, Kurt Kitayama, Poom Saksansin
9.31pm Min Woo Lee, Christiaan Bezuidenhout, Sam Horsfield
11.15pm Lucas Herbert, Sam Burns, Jorge Campillo
TV schedule
Thursday: Live 3.30pm-5am on Fox Sports 505
Friday: Live 3.30pm-5am on Fox Sports 505
Saturday: Live 7pm-5am on Fox Sports 505
Sunday: Live 6pm-4am on Fox Sports 505
Episode #211: On the eve of the US Open, we chat with the super-chilled Matt Jones about his prospects and then catch up with another Sydneysider, Grace Kim, as she continues her dream tour of the USA.
And in the interim, we catch up with Visionary of the Year award winners and burgeoning media stars Pam and Marg Kim at the ground-breaking Hamilton Golf Club.
All this and a whole lot more from hosts Alison Whitaker and Mark Hayes.
Episode 210 is in the can with Alison Whitaker and Martin Blake on deck.
We chat with Stephen Allan about qualifying for next week’s US Open 11 years after his first.
Kim Felton from the PGA and Brad James from Golf Australia talk us through a new initiative around elite amateurs.
Some Jon Rahm Covid drama in Ohio and Ali takes us through some horror stories at tournaments in the wake of Scott Hend’s wardrobe problems in Germany.
As a 17-year-old from Brisbane, Cameron Smith couldn’t imagine winning a more important tournament than the 2010 Greg Norman Junior Masters.
Ten years on and Smith has completed another career ambition by claiming the 2020 Greg Norman Medal.
In a year of professional golf wildly disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, Smith was able to record a maiden individual PGA TOUR title at the Sony Open and his best result in a major championship, enjoying a share of the lead at the halfway mark before finishing second to Dustin Johnson at a November Masters tournament at Augusta National.
Shortly after having Australian sports fans in the captivated grip of another potential green jacket, Smith played in the Shark Shootout, he and Norman advancing their relationship from mutual lawn admiration on Instagram over dinner with 2018 Greg Norman Medal winner Marc Leishman.
Suspicious at the behaviour of his management team in Bud Martin and Ian Davis and girlfriend Jordan, the realisation of Smith’s medal win only became apparent when Norman’s familiar face appeared larger than life on his laptop.
“It was pretty surprising. I was obviously in a bit of shock because I didn’t really know what was going on,” Smith said of his video call with the Australian golf icon.
“My girlfriend and my agent were trying to play a bit of a trick on me and try and surprise me and when Jordan said she had to be on the call as well I thought, That’s weird.
“I was thinking of so many different scenarios – just weird scenarios – and then as soon as the Shark popped up on screen I knew what it was and that Jordan had something in her pocket.
“It’s something that has been on the goal list for a few years now. To tick that one off is really nice and I was saying to Bud and Ian, it would be nice to get another four or five before I’m all said and done.”
Although at 27 years of age Smith only caught the tail end of Norman’s extraordinary career, his status in the game was such that anything with the Norman name attached added a sense of gravitas for any young Aussie golfer.
“That’s who we basically grew up watching so at the time I thought that as the biggest tournament in the world,” Smith said of his Junior Masters win, 2018 Greg Norman Medal winner Minjee Lee winning the girls section that same week.
“It’s pretty funny to think back like that now and think of those things.”
With an enforced layoff in 2020 that gave Smith an insight into how he can best manage his playing schedule to maximise his performances in golf’s biggest events, the COVID-19 pandemic also had an impact on the way he and long-time coach Grant Field communicated.
They had to rely entirely on video and phone calls to make minor adjustments that would yield such a strong finish to the year but when the swing has changed so little over the course of 15 years it was a simple transition to make.
Field and Smith first came into contact when Smith was selected in a junior development squad at 10 years of age, his father Des making the shrewd observation that Field was the right coach to develop his son into the player he is today.
“It was basically my old man’s decision at the start. I was too young to think about what golf was,” Smith says of linking up with Field.
“I was still playing golf and walking around after Dad. He was making all the decisions at that age. I think I was only 10 years old when I first started seeing Grant.
“There’s a lot of stuff in my swing today that we’ve been talking about for 15 years. Which is crazy when you think about it because your body changes so much; everything changes so much.
“On one side it’s really annoying but we know that we’ve got a good thing going and we don’t need to reinvent the wheel to get my swing back to where it needs to be sometimes.
“We generally try and keep everything as simple as possible. He does a good job of dumbing it down for me sometimes.
“We just love each other. When we’re spending time together it’s a bit of a bromance. We love each other’s company, we love hanging out together and we’ve basically got the same interests in life.
“He’s just a good bloke and he knows what he’s talking about, so that’s all the areas ticked.
“It was obviously a good decision in the end.”
Past Greg Norman Medal winners
2015: Jason Day
2016: Jason Day
2017: Marc Leishman
2018: Minjee Lee
2019: Hannah Green
The Greg Norman Medal also features the PGA National Awards, which are given to the leading experts in golf, the PGA Professionals, in various categories, including golf management, game development and coaching.
2020 PGA National Club Professional of the Year
Winner – Joanne Bannerman
For a time in 2020 they became the most prized commodity in golf.
At many golf facilities that demand has continued into 2021 and posed a question that has not needed to be asked for a number of years: How do you squeeze more tee times into a fully-booked timesheet?
In her 16th year at Cumberland Country Golf Club in Sydney’s western suburbs, Joanne Bannerman had never seen anything like it but her relationship with her staff, with club management and with the members helped the club to navigate the tricky waters of juggling member and public play during a period of high demand.
2020 PGA National Coach of the Year
Winner – Richard Woodhouse
Richard Woodhouse’s philosophy is as simple as it is obvious: How can he expect his players to improve if he doesn’t improve as a coach?
Winner of the PGA National Coach of the Year award in 2016, Woodhouse has again been crowned our best coach based not only on the performances of the professional and elite amateur players under his tutleage but for his own educational advancement and willingness to share that knowledge with other PGA Members.
2020 PGA National Game Development Professional of the Year
Winner – Mark Tibbles
Sometimes when trying to introduce new people to the game, it’s not about the golf.
In a year in which existing golfers have increased their frequency and former golfers have returned to the fairways in droves, 2020 also encouraged many people otherwise unable to partake in their regular exercise to give golf a try.
PGA Professionals such as Mark Tibbles were front and centre to make sure that the first impression was a good one and one that lasted.
2020 PGA National Management Professional of the Year
Winner – Josh Madden
The challenge of change was one that was thrust upon every golf facility in Australia in 2020 in ways none of us could ever have expected.
The COVID-19 pandemic brought with it course closures, new operating protocols and an explosion in memberships and rounds that all required nimble management, constant communication and buy-in from every staff member across each aspect of the business.
The way Wembley Golf Course in Perth dealt with all of these unique challenges and how they embraced change to improve their operations has earned General Manager Josh Madden the 2020 PGA National Management Professional of the Year award.
PGA National Trainee of the Year
Winner – Darcy Boyd
He is little more than a year down the path to becoming a PGA Professional yet Darcy Boyd is already helping to providing an environment at Kiama Golf Club that will foster the next wave of golfers in the region.
With outstanding results both in his playing and education performance, Boyd has been selected as the 2020 Trainee Professional of the Year after deciding to pursue a passion for coaching and postpone the prospect of becoming a touring professional.
There’s one shot in particular he would like back but Sydney’s Justin Warren says he will take a great deal of pride from the way he fought back to finish second at the Moonah Links PGA Classic on Thursday.
With two early birdies and an eagle at the par-5 fourth Warren found himself with a three-shot advantage as he neared the halfway mark of the final round.
A dropped shot at the par-3 seventh was the first of three in a run of four holes but rather than falling completely off the leaderboard Warren pressed on and had a chance to force a playoff on the 72nd hole.
Short-sided behind one of the Open Course’s infamous pot bunkers on the par-5 18th, Warren played an exquisite flop shot that finished four feet from the hole, his birdie putt not enough to haul in the 18-under mark posted by Victorian Bryden Macpherson.
Tied for fifth at the Victorian PGA Championship that finished in the same spot five days ago, Warren leaves Moonah Links with plenty of positives and just one shot in the final round that he would like over.
“If I could go back I’d probably like to hit my second shot on nine again,” said Warren, who had rounds of 67-69-67-68 to finish outright second at 17-under.
“I had 95 metres to a front-left pin, pretty simple pitch shot. Just had to land it a little bit past and to the right and let it spin back toward the hole.
“I had an awkward stance, ball above my feet on a bit of an upslope and I just absolutely smothered this thing and hit it so far left, 20 metres past where I was trying to hit it.
“I put myself in a horrendous position and realistically wasn’t going to get up-and-down from but gave myself a chance at making par.
“If I could go back I’d love to hit that second shot again.”
In order to get the field through the final 36 holes in one day on a course as large as the Open Course at Moonah Links, players were in carts for both rounds on Thursday and gave Warren little time to compose himself as he struggled mid-round.
“When you’re in a cart, if you hit a bad shot you’re up at your ball in 45 seconds,” said Warren, who has experience playing tournaments in carts from his days playing college golf in the US.
“I made a few bogeys through the middle and it all felt like it happened quite quickly.
“You make a bogey then you’re off to the next hole, then you make another one and you’re going hole by hole quite quickly.”
Although he tried to keep his eyes from scanning the leaderboard in the scoring app being used by the players, Warren gathered that he held a handy advantage early in his final round but managed to avert his gaze until the final hole with the tournament on the line.
“We were doing the live scoring through the app but I didn’t want to check it all day,” said Warren, who will tee it up at The Murray Open at Corowa Golf Club next week.
“I heard whispers here and there and John (Lyras) was having a bit of a look so I did know that at one point on the front nine I had a three-shot lead but it wasn’t until I got to 18 tee that I thought I should have a look and see what I had to potentially do down the last.
“Definitely proud of the way I fought back. I made a nice birdie on 11 and a good birdie on 15, unfortunately made a soft bogey on 16 but holed a bomb on 17 for birdie and had to hole the third shot on 18 to force a playoff.
“It was probably never going in but I gave it a really good chance so I can’t be too hard on myself.”
Bryden Macpherson has spent the past decade roaming the globe searching for the moment that would come 30 minutes from his childhood home on the Mornington Peninsula in winning the 2021 Moonah Links PGA Classic.
An eagle and four birdies over his final six holes rocketed Macpherson to 18-under and the clubhouse lead before Sydney’s Justin Warren came to the last needing an eagle to force a playoff.
Warren’s flop shot over a greenside bunker finished four feet from the hole to give Macpherson a maiden ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia title and put something of an end point of an extraordinary 10-year journey back close to where it all began.
Victory at the 2011 British Amateur first thrust Macpherson into the upper echelon of world golf – if only for a week at a time – and then he turned professional after playing The Masters in 2012, one of the perks that came with his win at Hillside Golf Club.
He has won three times in China, wrestled with golf’s vagaries on the secondary Korn Ferry Tour in the United States and endured heartbreak at qualifying school in trying to play his way onto the European Tour but he has never been better placed to make an impression on the golf world than he is right now.
“As I’ve grown up and spent time around lots and lots of people in lots and lots of places I’ve learned that, as cliche and terrible as it sounds, you’ve just got to stay with what you’re doing,” said Macpherson, whose final round of 8-under 64 was the best of the day by two strokes.
“It’s my fourth professional win and it’s starting to look a little bit more like a career.
“Winning at home is awesome, and on the Peninsula even better, but there are much bigger events on this tour.
“I look forward to trying to compete in them over the next few years.”
With the prospect of border closures, the final 36 holes of the Moonah Links PGA Classic were played on Thursday, groups of two sharing a cart for the final two rounds across the rolling expanse of the Open Course at Moonah Links.
In a wildly fluctuating final day, Kiwi Michael Hendry edged out in front early in the fourth round before Warren used birdies at one and six and an eagle at four to establish a three-shot lead.
But three bogeys in the space of four holes around the turn brought the Sydneysider back to the pack and gave Macpherson a window to launch an audacious final assault.
“I was in a really calm headspace. All I could see was good shots and I was getting out of the way and letting them happen,” said Macpherson.
“I holed a putt on 13, just missed one on 14 but was feeling really good and then the heavens opened.
“I holed a 30-footer on 15 and then holed a great 10-footer on 16, 30-footer down the hill at 17 and then hit two of the best golf shots I’ve hit all week on 18. Roasted driver and then roasted 3-iron onto the green to make things a bit easier for me, rolled it down to a couple of feet and tapped it in.”
Top-five finishes at both the Gippsland Super 6 and The Players Series Victoria were followed by a tie for 16th at the Vic PGA also held at Moonah Links, a run of form that Macpherson credits to the work he has done with former Aussie touring pro Brad Hughes for the past 18 months.
Frustrated by his putting and in a place where he was “scared to hit it”, Hughes has given Macpherson the basic framework that has taken him back to his days as a freewheeling teenager.
“When I was 15 I was this little arrogant shit who would hit it hard, hit it kind of far and putt OK sometimes and I’d win stuff. And it feels like I’m back to that,” said Macpherson.
“And ‘Hugo’ has given me that, he really has. He is the reason why I have it and I’m so thankful for it.
“It’s very simple what we work on. It’s all about post-impact and ground connection, that’s all it is. The control that gives you is incredible.
“I can focus on the same thing for 72 holes – which I’ve never been able to do before – and be on the golf course hitting shots instead of making swings. That’s huge.
“My game right now is the best it’s ever been. If I can work over the next little while at tidying things up – because it still is a little untidy – then I would think there will be some more solid results in the pipeline.”
Warren finished outright second at 17-under followed by Hendry at 16-under and three players tied at 14-under, Dimi Papadatos, 54-hole co-leader John Lyras and Travis Smyth.
John Lyras on his happy return to the Open Course at Moonah Links, Maverick Antcliff’s equipment upgrade pays off and Justin Warren finds himself in contention yet again.
John Lyras (66, 6-under)
On starting his opening round with a birdie
“I had a pretty average warm-up but striped one down the first and hit a nice wedge in there. I rolled the putter really nicely today. Everything scared the hole so I knew that was there as a back-up in case the driver didn’t quite work out which was the case for most of the day. I stayed patient and as long as you stay patient out here at Moonah you can pick apart the golf course a little bit. And I felt like I did that really nicely today.”
On the highlights of his round
“It was driver, sand wedge into 10 and all the birdies were fairly commercial. To be honest it was a different round of golf for me. I didn’t really drive the ball all that well on the par 5s but just plotted my way around and really happy with a bogey-free round out here considering the way I hit it off the tee.”
On the conditions in the morning
“The wind picked up a little bit and got a little bit tricky on the back nine but just had to stay really patient and put the ball in the right spots all day. I didn’t really leave myself any hard up-and-downs either, even though I had to chip out a few times and wedge up and get up-and-down from the fairway a few times. They were real momentum builders. It was just really nice to get that round in the books and keep it clean for the most part.”
On returning to the Open Course after earning Tour card 13 months ago
“I really enjoy playing this golf course. It’s kind of similar to St Michaels off the tee in the fact that you can shape it each way that you want. It doesn’t really force you to hit a shape, particularly like Rosebud. It’s just enjoyable to come back to a place with a few good memories. I had to birdie the last to avoid a playoff last year at Q School so that was a nice feeling. The golf course is always in good shape and just visually it’s quite well framed off the tee. It’s always pure too so it’s a joy to play.”
On his golf the past 18 months
“I went to Asian Tour Q School last year when the first four events of the year were going on but after COVID kicked off I really didn’t play much golf until August. I had a few little wrist problems that I had to sort out so took four months off the game doing rehab and that proved to be quite good for me. I was rejuvenated and really needed a break from the game, even though I didn’t want to. Physically I just wasn’t in good enough shape to play and practice so it was probably one of the best things that could have happened to me. I’ve been able to pick up a little bit from where I left off at the beginning of the year and started playing some really good golf at the end of last year. Working with my coach John Serhan, getting into the physio and strength and conditioning and picking up some speed off the tee. I won a pro-am a couple of weeks ago at Merewether up at Newcastle and played Belmont. For me it’s more mental application on the golf course that I probably gained over that time and able to reflect on my rounds of golf that I’ve had. COVID gives you a little bit more gratitude for everything and we are lucky to be playing golf and lucky to be living in Australia.”
On confidence gained from top-20 finish at The Players Series
“Definitely. That was the first cut I made as a professional so any time that’s the case that’s quite a good moment. I’ve felt like the game’s been pretty solid. There are a few holes in the short iron play at the moment but that came around a bit more for me today nicely. At the end of the day it’s just trying to keep your head real positive and calm the whole way around.”
On missing the cut at the Vic PGA
“The first round last week was very different because it was perfect conditions and you’re just kicking yourself anytime you don’t make birdie. It was just one of those weeks where I couldn’t really buy a putt and really struggled reading the greens there and got a bit frustrated. I know the game’s right there and if I’m mentally in the right spot then I can achieve some things.”
Maverick Antcliff (67, 5-under)
On being 6-under through six holes
“It was nice to get off to a quick start, I haven’t done that in a while. Got it going early and then the wind picked up a little on the back. I hit some OK shots but didn’t really get much going and then made a couple of solid pars when the wind really picked up. It should be quite challenging in the afternoon.”
On birdie at par-3 13th
“The wind was down slightly off the left and the pin was back left so I hit a knock-down 4-iron. I was just trying to get it to scoot up that back ridge. It got to the top and then just sat on it and I holed a nice 14-footer. That was really nice, just to keep the momentum going after hitting a couple close early.”
On withdrawing after two rounds at The Players Series
“I got food poisoning on the Friday night. I wasn’t feeling great but by Wednesday last week I was back to full-strength and played last week no worries.”
On the quick turnaround at Moonah Links
“I actually went and got a new driver. I went and saw the Titleist guys and got the TSi3 in a 10-degree with the new Fujikura shaft and it felt a lot better than the driver I’d been using. It took care of itself; I could just aim where I wanted to and hit it as hard as I wanted which was nice. The fitting I had previously was just out of my two-week quarantine when I came back from Europe so I probably wasn’t swinging it the best. It was doing what we wanted to at the time but then you get back into playing and on the course with different shots so didn’t feel as nice. I like to see the ball move left to right so I was just looking for something with less torque and a head that didn’t spin as much on the mis-hits. It looked good yesterday but then seeing what it did on course it matched up nicely.”
On playing the same course two weeks in a row
“I played the same course in Cyprus two weeks in a row at the end of last year but it was Thursday-Sunday, Thursday-Sunday so you spent three days sitting around twiddling your thumbs because you’d already seen the golf course so much. Playing two days on the Legends, two on the Open and then a day off, it actually felt like a day off because of weather. It kind of feels like a day was cancelled and then you’re back out there. I’m sure it will feel weird on Wednesday and Thursday and feel like an awfully long week.”
Justin Warren (67, 5-under)
On the slow start to his first round
“I got off to a bit of a rough start. I took a day off yesterday so I was a bit shaky down 10 and made a bogey on 11 but after that I got into a bit of a groove. I didn’t really miss too many shots and when I did I missed in the right spots.”
On the highlights of his round
“I made a great up-and-down on 15 to get back to even, turned even and just knew that I’d been playing well the past couple of weeks. I just had to stay patient and hit fairways and greens and knew that I could get something going. I hit it close on 1, hit a 3-wood into the middle of the green on two, hit driver-driver onto the front edge on the fourth hole and two-putted for a birdie. That gave me a bit of confidence on the last few holes to chase birdies, made a nice one on seven and rolled in a 30-footer on the ninth which was a nice way to end the day.”
On what he learnt from having the 36-hole lead at Vic PGA
“Last week I played really well on the Legends Course, just didn’t really do anything wrong for two days and we had pretty favourable conditions. Saturday-Sunday we were out on the Open Course, much tougher golf course, much tougher conditions. It wasn’t that I did anything crazy or was feeling nervous or anything like that, it was simply playing a lot harder than the first two days and I just didn’t play as well as I did the first two. I still hit a lot of great shots, still hit a lot of really good putts so I couldn’t be too hard on myself for what I did on Saturday and Sunday. I just knew that I had to relax and stay patient. It’s a golf course that rewards patience because there are a few holes there where you can be aggressive and get going. I’ve worked out where to go and where to play safe and it paid off for me today.”
On what he has learned from being in contention
“It takes a lot of guts to really get out there and be aggressive, especially under the pump. These guys out here are really good and obviously with COVID we’re quite fortunate to have a number of guys back here playing these events that wouldn’t normally be here, they’d be overseas playing tours elsewhere. Since turning pro I have managed to get myself into contention quite a few times in some big events and the more you can put yourself in that position, the more comfortable you become. It’s a numbers game. Eventually you’re going to get over the line and get one done and when you do, it’s a hurdle that you get over and you become even more comfortable when you are in that position again. Being in contention is a great feeling, it’s always awesome to be up there in those last couple of groups on Saturday and Sunday, it’s simply working out a bit better game plan for when I get into certain situations where I may need to step away and think about the shots that I’m going to be hitting.”
On the people he seeks advice from
“Matt Jones is a friend of mine and if I’m ever struggling or needing any advice he’s someone that I can talk to and bounce a few ideas off. And my coach Gary Barter of course, he’s seen it all over his career. Being one of the rookie guys out here I’ve become close with a few of the guys who have been out here a few years and they’re always happy to have a chat and lend a bit of advice. I was even speaking to Brad Kennedy on the putting green last week and this week in regards to some stuff with my putting and just getting better. Brad’s a great putter and has had a lot of success around the world and being able to speak to him for 15 minutes on the putting green is something that I appreciate very much and always look forward to, learning from guys who have been there and done it over the years.”
On best piece of advice he has received from Matt Jones
“The night before the last round of the NSW Open in 2019 when I was leading I was struggling to go to sleep because I had so much adrenaline and was just wanting to go out and compete but I didn’t know what to do with that because it was 10 o’clock at night and I’m trying to get a good night’s rest. I sent him a text and asked what I should do and he said just to treat it like any other day. Don’t hype the situation up any more than what it is, you’re simply going back out there to play another round of golf. It’s so simple but it’s stuck with me because the more you treat golf and competition anything bigger than what it really is, you can really spin yourself out a little and blow it out of proportion. I’ve been a little angry the past couple of days from not quite executing on Saturday and Sunday but we’re out here playing again, it’s an awesome feeling and I’m just grateful. And that’s a nice feeling to have when you’re out there playing.”
An unexpected birdie at 17 and a clutch putt from three feet at the 72nd hole has carried Queenslander Chris Wood to a one-stroke victory at the Victorian PGA Championship at Moonah Links.
Overnight leader James Anstiss shot out to a three-shot lead with birdies at the third and fourth hole but with the might of the Open Course and strong winds keeping the leading players in check the back nine was full of twists and turns.
New South Welshman Blake Windred bobbed his head in front with five holes to play but dropped a shot at 14 that saw him fall back into a four-way tie with Wood, Anstiss and Michael Sim.
Playing in the group ahead, it wasn’t until the 17th hole that Wood realised that he was tied at the top and as he monitored the reactions of the group behind closed with two birdies to claim the first PGA Tour of Australasia title of his career.
“I just knew that 6-iron wasn’t getting there and the front bunkers were a no-go zone so I hit 5 and just tried to give myself a putt,” Wood said of his tee shot from 164 metres at the par-3 17th.
“It was a pretty good shot actually but I wasn’t really trying to hit it that close. I was just trying to get it on the green.
“On 16 I was very aware of what they were doing. I was up on the 17th green and I knew that the boys hit it in there fairly close. I just listened to the crowd and nobody really clapped for a birdie. I knew that they’d missed it and I had a great chance on 17 for a birdie.
“It went in end over end and was probably the purest roll I hit all week. That’s when I got nervous, walking to the 18th tee knowing I’m one in front. I know 17’s a hard hole, they’re going to have to hit a great shot in there to make birdie.
“I just tried to have two more good swings on 18, dump it on the green and two-putt and that’s what I did.”
Winner of the 2017 Morobe Open in PNG, Wood posted 20-under and then had to watch and wait as the final group all chased the eagle that would have forced a playoff, birdies by Anstiss and Sim leaving Wynnum Golf Club’s latest hero one shot clear at the top.
“It’s been a whole bag of mixed emotions but at the moment just so happy with how I hung in there all week and kept my emotions in check,” said Wood, whose final day 5-under 67 was bettered only by veteran Michael Wright (66) and Victorian David Micheluzzi (66).
“From 18 onwards to now nervous and then an anxious wait. Then when the boys didn’t make the eagles up the last to force a playoff just happy and a sigh of relief to finally get a win.”
Starting the last round at 18-under par and one shot in front, Anstiss described the birdie by Wood at 17 as “ridiculously good” as he wrestled with a putter that failed to fire on the final day.
“I just never really got any momentum going,” said Anstiss. “Obviously I made a few birdies early and was going nicely. I hit the flag on two and it ricocheted and came back and I ended up making par but I was 2-under through four and just chipping away.
“Really never got the putter warmed up; missed a couple of short opportunities on the front. Didn’t hole enough in that 6-10 foot range today.
“Obviously you’re trying to make some birdies but at the same time it’s so easy to make a mistake and make a bogey that you are playing for par sometimes.
“I saw after the 15th hole that all four of us were at 18-under so obviously it was tight and no one could really get away. Then Chris birdied 17 which is just ridiculously good because that was playing very tough and then birdied the last.”
Tied for third at the Moonah Classic in 2009, Sim battled to stay in the mix over the front nine and was pleasantly surprised to find himself with no one ahead with only four holes left to play after making birdie at the par-4 14th.
He lipped out for birdie on 15 and had good looks again at 16 and 17 but just couldn’t find that extra shot to draw level with his fellow Queenslander.
“I had my chances coming in but I was just proud of myself for how I grinded out the front nine just to give myself a chance there at the end,” said the 36-year-old.
“It was a bit of a grind for me the front side. I got the ball up and down quite a bit but James and Blake were hitting the ball well.
“James probably could have made a couple more putts but it was hard to know what Chris was doing in front because there was only one leaderboard driving around in a cart.
“I didn’t really look at the leaderboard until the 17th tee when it was right in front of us and I saw Chris make 2 and go to 19-under.
“I was just trying to focus on what I was doing. I wasn’t really trying to focus on winning the tournament just because I struggled so much the front nine with my ball-striking.”
The PGA Tour of Australasia stays at Moonah Links for the return of the Moonah Classic to the schedule, the Open Course to resume its hosting duties for four days starting on Tuesday.
Two eagles and a birdie at the 72nd-hole have propelled Brad Kennedy to a one-stroke win after a pulsating final day of The Players Series Victoria at Rosebud Country Club.
A day after his first career albatross flew him to the top of the leaderboard and a two-stroke lead through 54 holes, Kennedy had to fight off his own swing struggles, a popped hip and the unbridled enthusiasm of youth in the form of amateur Elvis Smylie and LPGA Tour player Su Oh.
Kennedy, Smylie, Oh and veteran Matt Millar were locked together at 14-under with only a few holes to play until Kennedy followed up his chip-in eagle at the par-4 second with his second of the day at the par-5 16th to lead by two.
Oh was unable to add to her birdie tally over the closing two holes, Millar bogeyed the last after an unfortunate stance for his approach shot to the final hole but Smylie underlined his bright future with three birdies in succession to post the clubhouse lead at 16-under par.
Six-over through his first 14 holes on Thursday, Smylie played the final 58 holes in 22-under par to come up one short after Kennedy played a brilliant approach shot from 153 metres and converted the birdie putt from three feet to extend his lead at the top of the ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit.
In discomfort from the third hole with a hip injury that made staying down through the shot problematic, Kennedy mustered all his mental strength to never fall out of the lead and claim the 14th win of his career.
“I went to the well and back,” Kennedy said of fighting to a 3-under 68 and winning total of 17-under par.
“I really had to pull out all the stops on what I knew that I could do, pulled out all the information on the golf swing and what I can and can’t control.
“The discipline that I showed on the back nine is something that I’ll be able to take for a long time, that grit and guts and discipline. Even to the point that I wasn’t worried about the consequence anymore because I just had to knuckle down and start doing some work otherwise I was going to let it slip.
“I just wasn’t going to let it go. It was one of those events where I felt like I was playing well all week and had to regroup and really found a way in the end.
“That gives me that mental belief so much more. That it doesn’t matter how you’re playing, if you can get through it anything is still possible.”
Kennedy felt his hip pop while walking down the third fairway. He tried in vain to stretch and loosen it up, reaching down his left leg in pain after his tee shot at the par-3 11th missed to the right of the green. Unable to get up-and-down for par, Kennedy said a decision on the 12th tee was critical in playing the final seven holes in 4-under par.
“I stood on the 12th tee and told myself I had to go to Plan B and either change it and get going again or this is the path you’re going down,” said Kennedy, who has now won consecutive ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia events following his New Zealand Open triumph last March.
“The proudest moment was being able to try and change my game plan, change my swing a little bit and just take what I had and try to get the best out of it.
“To finish with a birdie up the last, that’s what you dream of as a player.”
First round leader Nathan Barbieri challenged Kennedy early with three birdies straight out of the blocks but a triple bogey at seven and double bogey at nine saw him finish level with Oh in a tie for third at 14-under.
Oh had an opportunity to take the outright lead on the 15th hole but her eagle putt grazed the right edge of the hole, that birdie and another at 16 getting the Victorian to 14-under. She finished as the leading female in the field with West Australian amateur Kirsten Rudgeley the next best in a tie for 14th.
Some of the largest cheers of the afternoon were saved for those competing in the Junior Players Series. Royal Melbourne Golf Club member Jack Holland birdied the final hole to finish two shots clear of local favourite Molly McLean, who chipped in for birdie at 17 and played a spectacular approach into 18 for another birdie and a round of 2-under 69.
The conclusion to the inaugural Players Series event was a promoter’s dream and established that the format deserves a permanent place on the Australian golf calendar.
“It’s going to help all areas of golf. It’s going to help the men’s game, help the ladies getting to a different demographic of people coming out and watching them play and even the juniors. The juniors were fantastic and so talented,” Kennedy added.
“It helps them to understand the type of pressure that you’re going to get under when you do turn professional and start to play for money. Having cameras in front of you, having crowds walk around and having to block them out and just play your game and be able to hit shots under pressure.
“That’s going to be a huge learning curve for their development as they go through their amateur careers and turn pro.”
View the final The Players Series Victoria leaderboard at pga.org.au.
