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Golf Australia and the PGA have today reached out to the Victorian Government advocating for the covid-safe reopening of golf courses in Victoria, the only state yet to do so.
Golf Australia chief executive James Sutherland said that while the Victorian golf industry supports the public health efforts regarding the pandemic, there are ways in which golf clubs and facilities can play their part in the solution moving forward.
“It’s no secret that golf provides significant benefits to the mental and physical wellbeing of its participants, while conducted outdoors in an appropriately socially distant manner,” Sutherland said.
“During this latest lockdown it is distressing to see that more people than ever, of all ages, are reaching out to mental health services citing issues including emotional wellbeing, loss, and grief. That’s why we have offered assistance to the government to help with the roadmap out of restrictions.”
Mr Sutherland said that Victorian golf clubs and facilities had done it tougher over the past 18 months than any other state due to forced closures, and believed it was time to reward those doing the right thing with access to the game.
PGA chief executive Gavin Kirkman said that golf continues to be in a unique position to offer an environment that can aid both mental and physical wellbeing while working with the essential distancing guidelines that help manage and eradicate the further spread of Covid-19.
“The importance of exercise and outdoor activity and related effects on the health and wellbeing of Victorians is well documented,” Kirkman said.
“We wish to play our part in the solution and help in any way we can. Our offer of assistance to the government has extended to providing venues and promotion of the COVID-19 vaccination program with potential marketing reach to an extensive database of millions of Australians.”
“We recognise these decisions aren’t made in isolation but remain ready and willing to do whatever we can to help.”
Both parties congratulated the Victorian golf industry for its continued compliance while facing ever increasing challenges during the pandemic.
“From golf club and facility managers, staff and pros, to superintendents and volunteers – we applaud you for every bit of hard work you are doing to ensure that our golf spaces are ready and safe to come back to.
“We know it’s frustrating but rest assured we’re doing all we can to work with government for the benefit of all.”
The most daring hairdo in world golf has taken Tokyo by storm and now Cameron Smith’s mullet has received an Olympic endorsement.
Smith and Marc Leishman will become our latest golf Olympians on Thursday morning when they tee it up in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic golf men’s competition, Leishman paired with local hero Hideki Matsuyama and Canadian Corey Conners from 9.41am AEST with Smith to follow at 11.14am alongside Norwegian Viktor Hovland and South Africa’s Garrick Higo at Kasumigaseki Country Club.
When golf made its return to the Olympics in 2016 at Rio de Janiero Scott Hend, Marcus Fraser, Minjee Lee and Su Oh represented Australia with pride, Fraser finishing tied for fifth and Lee tied for seventh.
As he reflected on his own experience five years ago, Hend said that there could not be two more deserving players to represent the men’s golf team than close mates Smith and Leishman.
The pair combined earlier this year to win the Zurich Classic on the PGA Tour and Hend believes that even in an individual strokeplay competition, that camaraderie will thrive in the Olympic environment.
“I couldn’t think of anyone better than Cam and ‘Leish’ to be there having a crack at it and wearing the green and gold,” said Hend from Ireland where he is playing the ISPS HANDA World Golf Invitational this week.
“Cam and Leish get on like a house on fire so I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re egging each other on and they do really well just because of that.
“There’ll be a lot of team spirit amongst those guys and ‘Finchy’ (Australian golf captain Ian Baker-Finch) is great at that too, he’s a great guy to have in that position.”
Admitting to having mixed emotions about Smith’s latest alteration to his distinctive hairstyle – “I didn’t know whether to laugh or throw up!” – Hend has seen the mullet that now has ‘AUS’ carved into the side of Smith’s head develop from its formative stages.
“He’s a legend,” said Hend.
“We went around to his house for a barbecue a few months ago and he was starting to grow it, saying stuff like, ‘How good’s this!’ And then he started to shave the sides and I was like, Dear me.
“I called him Joe Dirt. He should be out west riding motorbikes and shooting kangaroos with that mullet.
“He’s a good lad.”
If team spirit is the secret weapon of the Aussie men it is pure form that gives Hend cause for optimism for a medal among our women when they compete next week.
Hannah Green won the 2019 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship while Minjee Lee will arrive in Tokyo as the game’s latest major champion following her victory at the Aumundi Evian Championship last week.
“If you look at current form, you’ve got to be thinking Minjee’s a pretty good chance for a medal,” added Hend.
“It’s probably a good thing that she gets a week off, gets a bit of a break between actually going to have to play and she can settle down a little bit after winning.”
Debate has raged over the merits of individual strokeplay being used as the competition format at the Olympics and while Hend is a proponent of a team event, he says that vying for one of three medals requires a different approach to that of week-to-week tournament play.
“The only way it feels different is that you know you’ve only got three spots to play for,” said Hend, who has his Australian Olympic jacket proudly framed and hung at home.
“How do you put that into your head? Do you go and play like a Saturday comp and go for everything? Because you know it’s only first, second and third; if you come fourth it doesn’t matter anyway.
“You’ve got to go for it but it was hard to think how to approach it when you got there. I just tried to go for broke and that obviously didn’t work.
“It’s something very special. As a golf pro I’m very fortunate to be able to represent Australia every week when I’m out playing on international golf tours but to do it under the Olympic banner is something that they can’t take away from ‘Frase’ and I.”
Olympic men’s golf tee times Thursday AEST
9.41am Marc Leishman, Hideki Matsuyama, Corey Conners
9.52am Ryan Fox, CT Pan, Anirban Lahiri
11.14am Cameron Smith, Viktor Hovland, Garrick Higgo
The senior leadership structure of the PGA of Australia has been confirmed through until 2024 with Australian golf legend Rodger Davis to remain on as Chair and Gavin Kirkman to continue as Chief Executive Officer.
Davis was re-elected unopposed for a second term at the recent Annual General Meeting where the Board also endorsed Kirkman’s contract to continue in his role as CEO for a further three years.
At a time when golf’s popularity is booming yet the ongoing management of the COVID-19 pandemic makes forward planning challenging, Davis said that it was a positive that the PGA could provide a sense of certainty around its leadership team.
“The past 15 months have been obviously very challenging for everyone but golf in Australia has experienced a massive surge in interest and popularity,” said Davis.
“There have been logistical challenges in terms of staging golf tournaments yet our PGA Professionals around the country have gone above and beyond to make golf available in a COVID-safe environment at a time when many sports were unable to continue.
“Like everyone we are hoping that the worst is behind us and that we will return to a full summer of golf featuring both the Australian PGA Championship and Australian Open at the end of the year.
“I’m delighted to serve again as Chair for a second term and hope that myself and the Board of Directors can do our part to build on this surge in interest into another golden period for Australian golf.”
In reappointing Kirkman to the position of CEO, Davis and the PGA of Australia Board believe they have both rewarded his leadership in a difficult time and provided a much-needed sense of stability within the organisation.
It comes during an exciting time in Australian golf, with the PGA and Golf Australia set to move into a shared facility, the Australian Golf Centre, located opposite Royal Melbourne in Sandringham, and promises to reshape how golf is administered.
The alignment of Australia’s two biggest golf bodies will create efficiencies that will benefit the growth of the game at grassroots and professional level.
“Gavin has a long and distinguished history of working within the PGA and he and his team have navigated the past 18 months as well as could be expected,” Davis added.
“He is a proud promoter of our Vocational Members, is working closely with Golf Australia on creating a better overall environment for Australian golf and is actively engaged in the Australian Golf Industry Council.
“Gavin’s global golf relationships with the PGAs and Tours have put our association in a strong position and to think globally and act locally is key for our sport in Australia.
“We’re delighted that Gavin will be leading the PGA of Australia for the next four years.”
Executive of PGA Queensland from 2002-2007, Kirkman spent six years as the PGA’s National Chief Membership Officer before stepping into the role as CEO in March 2017 and was thrilled to have his contract extended.
“I’m a great believer in the important role that PGA Professionals play in the health of golf in this country and overseas and I’m thrilled to continue as CEO of the PGA of Australia for a further three years,” Kirkman said.
“We have a host of outstanding young players ready to take their games to the world and our Vocational Members are working hard at the grassroots level and across all areas in golf to provide new and established golfers with a wonderful experience every time that they visit a golf facility.
“Our close collaboration with the WPGA Tour of Australasia is an exciting initiative with benefits at a number of different levels and we continue to work together and align with Golf Australia on a national strategy for the betterment of the game in Australia.
“Collectively we’re working on a number of industry projects, including engaging more women to play our game and improved opportunities to have careers in golf, strengthening our Tour opportunities for aspiring and existing professional golfers, and building on the success of non-traditional golf, such as driving range, mini golf and simulator golf facilities.
“I have no doubt that we are on the verge of a very exciting and critical time for the game in Australia and I am delighted that I will get to play a part in that.”
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.
