Players the calibre of Lachlan Barker, Austin Bautista and Ashley Hall teed it up at Eastwood but Gold Creek Country Club Associate Lachlan Chamberlain blitzed the field with a superb round of 5-under 67.

It was four strokes clear of Barker, Ruben Lal and Lachlan Aylen while eight players shared fifth place at even par.

Chamberlain walked the course with good friend Matt Millar 12 months ago and said the prolific adidas PGA Pro-Am Series winner has been pivotal in his development as a player.

“He is a big help,” said Chamberlain. “Just being able to play with him a little bit back home and chat to him about what he kind of does and how he goes about things.”

HOW THE WINNING ROUND UNFOLDED

Second group off the first tee on Tuesday morning, Chamberlain started out with two pars and then made back-to-back birdies at three and four.

He dropped a shot at the long par-3 eighth but got that one back and then some with a birdie on 10 followed by eagle at the par-5 12th.

A second bogey at the par-5 13th was a slight setback but he rebounded with birdies at 16 and 18 to set a mark that the afternoon groups would never threaten.

WHAT THE WINNER SAID

“This is the second time I’ve been here,” said Chamberlain.

“The first time I was here I just went for a walk around watching last year.

“So the first time I’ve played here and really enjoyed the course. It’s in very good condition considering the few bits of rain they’ve got here and there and played well today.

“Managed to hit the ball where I needed to and made a couple of good putts.”

LEADERBOARD RUNDOWN
1          Lachlan Chamberlain    67
T2        Ruben Lal                     71
T2        Lachlan Aylen               71
T2        Lachlan Barker              71
T5        Alexander Pitty             72
T5        Toby Walker                 72
T5        Caleb Bovalina             72
T5        Jayden Cripps              72
T5        Harvey Young              72
T5        Ryan Lynch                  72
T5        Luke O’Sullivan            72
T5        Ashley Hall                   72

NEXT UP

The adidas PGA Pro-Am Series has a short break now before resuming on Thursday, December 12 with the AB Comsure Invitational at Ryde-Parramatta Golf Club.

Earning his card at Q School at Moonah Links in April, Siporin shot even par 72 at Friday’s IK Harrison Pro-Am at Elanora Country Club to be declared joint winner with New South Welshman Jay Mackenzie (72).

In Australia since the WA PGA Championship at Kalgoorlie, Siporin has missed all five cuts to date but hopes to use his Elanora win as a springboard into the rest of the season.

“I’m hoping I’ve turned a little bit of a page here,” said the California native.

“What made me come down was just the chance to play on a tour somewhere else.

“I’d heard that the Australian tour is an up-and-coming and developmental tour with good players and decent purses. I just wanted to explore the world and see a new place and meet new people and played different tracks.

“I came out here and made the trip and making lasting memories. That’s what it’s about.”

Siporin had three birdies and three bogeys in his even-par round, Mackenzie’s round consisting of a lone birdie at two and a single bogey at the short par-3 17th.

The pair finished one stroke clear of a group of seven players at 1-over 73 including Monash Country Club Head Professional, Torie Blakemore.

HOW THE WINNING ROUNDS UNFOLDED

When Mackenzie began his round with a bogey on 17, a winning speech at presentations was the furthest thing from his mind.

It took just three holes to get back to square with the card courtesy of a birdie at the par-5 second and then Mackenzie peeled off 14 straight pars to close out his round.

Starting from the par-4 14th, Siporin was 2-under on his round after birdies at 16 and two but made bogeys at four, nine and 10 to drop to 1-over. The short par-4 13th would be Siporin’s final hole, successfully finding the birdie that would tie the lead.

WHAT THE WINNERS SAID

Siporin: “The course was just magnificent. I hadn’t seen it before teeing off today and it far exceeded all expectations that I had coming into it. It was great. It was challenging, it was fair. The pin locations were good, it’s a great track. Glad I came out here and played some good golf.”

Mackenzie: “It was a good day. I played with a couple of nice guys and Anthony Choat, which was nice. Chipped and putted well. Probably didn’t hit the ball the best, but chipped and putted good so that kept me in it.”

LEADERBOARD RUNDOWN
T1        Jay Mackenzie              72
T1        Matthew Siporin          72
T3        Andrew Richards          73
T3        James Grierson            73
T3        Torie Blakemore           73
T3        Joseph Owen               73
T3        Jayden Cripps              73
T3        Anthony Choat            73
T3        Aaron Maxwell             73

NEXT UP

The adidas PGA Pro-Am Series is at Pymble Golf Club on Monday for the NSW/ACT PGA Foursomes Championship and then heads to Melbourne on Tuesday for the Eastwood Golf Club Pro-Am.

Asquith Golf Club welcomed a strong field on Thursday, Simpson’s form at the NSW Open where he finished tied for second behind Herbert and level with Smith holding up in a round of 6-under 64.

He was one of three players to post 64, joined on the winner’s podium by fellow New South Welshman Aaron Townsend and West Australian Joseph Owen.

As he eyes a return to the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia at next week’s Victorian PGA Championship, Simpson was happy to see his Murray Downs form carry over.

“It’s definitely a massive boost of confidence, being able to hold my own in that company and have a nice result there,” said the 41-year-old.

“I felt that today. Just feeling good about my game and that things are heading in the right direction.

“Looking forward to playing the tour events for the remainder of the season and finishing as high up as I can there and see what happens.”

Victorian Aiden Didone (65) finished one shot back to grab solo fourth as five players returned scores of 3-under 67.

HOW THE WINNING ROUNDS UNFOLDED

Three-under through 10 holes, Simpson needed a late surge to join Townsend and Owen at the top of the leaderboard.

His round began with a par at the par-4 16th and with six birdies and a bogey, Simpson was 5-under with three holes to play.

Simpson made birdie at the par-5 13th but dropped a shot at the par-3 14th, an eighth and final birdie at the par-5 15th getting him to 6-under.

Owen, too, needed a final flurry to earn just his second adidas PGA Pro-Am Series win in his rookie season.

Owen had just one birdie in his first nine holes but had four birdies, a bogey and an eagle at the par-5 first to finish at 6-under.

There was just a lone bogey in Townsend’s round of 64, three successive birdies from the par-5 eighth crucial in joining Owen and Simpson at the top of the leaderboard.

WHAT THE WINNERS SAID

Simpson: “The conditions were pretty conducive to low scoring. I thought it was pretty soft and the greens were rolling nicely. Managed to roll a few in early and just kept it going.”

Owen: “I had never played here so I thought I was going to play it fairly conservative and just build my way into the round, which I did. “Got hot late where I made a few birdies in a row and eagled one, which was my third last hole. It was a slowish start and then got hot at the end, which got me up there leaderboard.”

Townsend: “It’s a fun golf course to play. I got off to a nice start, made a couple of birdies early, but I just hit the ball in play a lot. I made a couple of nice putts early and that’s what you need, to see the ball go in. The greens were fantastic. Tiny bit slow, but that’s probably expected for the hot weather we’ve had but they rolled incredibly well.”

LEADERBOARD RUNDOWN
T1        Aaron Townsend          64
T1        Joseph Owen               64
T1        Alex Simpson               64
4          Aiden Didone              65
T5        Alex Edge                    67
T5        Andre Lautee               67
T5        Luke Malcolm              67
T5        Dean Mulley                 67
T5        Jay Mackenzie              67

NEXT UP

The Sydney swing continues on Friday with the I.K. Harrison Elanora Pro-Am at Elanora Country Club and then on Monday Pymble Golf Club hosts the NSW/ACT Foursomes Championship.

A day after Ed Donoghue broke through for his maiden success on the adidas PGA Pro-Am Series at Traralgon, this time it was Zinyo Garcia (NSW) earning his first title, shooting a 4-under-par to sit alongside Matt Millar (ACT) and Alex Edge (NSW).

The trio was two shots clear of their nearest rivals.

While it was victory No.1 for Garcia, Millar’s pro-am win count now sits in excess of 50 in the past 10 years alone.

Edge’s victory added to his Tasmanian Open title in April.

HOW THE WINNER’S SCORE UNFOLDED

Garcia came into the event a bit under-prepared after making a late commitment to the final leg of the Gippsland swing.

However made a fast track with three birdies in his first four holes. He ended up with a tally of eight birdies for the day, including two to close out his round to claim a share of top spot.

Miller’s round featured five birdies, including going back-to-back twice at the third and fourth and eighth and ninth as he posted a front nine of 33. The back nine had just the one birdie at the par-4 13th.

Meanwhile Edge was 1-over through his first five holes before picking up shots on the fifth, eighth, ninth, 10th and 12th.

WHAT THE WINNERS SAID

Garcia said: “It feels pretty good because it’s been a bit tough of late. The game feels like it’s there but the scores haven’t been really showing it. The course is on a great bit of land, the land is really good and it’s a club that’s volunteer run. It’s absolutely amazing really. If anyone is down this way, I’d recommend playing it.”

Edge said: “I kept it in play all day and that gave me some chances. It was nice to come back and play here again. There’s a bit of emphasis on where you need to hit your next shot from and I enjoy that type of golf rather than trying to bludgeon it everywhere.”

Millar said: “It’s exciting to get a win again. It’s been a bit up and down the last few weeks or so. It’s always a pleasure to come back to Yarram. They do a wonderful job here. A lot of golf courses could take note of what they do here as a group of volunteers. It’s just amazing.”

LEADERBOARD RUNDOWN

68: Matthew Millar (ACT); Zinyo Garcia (NSW); Alex Edge (NSW)

70: Jack Chrystie (Vic); Toby Walker (Vic)

71: Rick Kulacz (WA)

72: Dean Mulley (NSW); Darren Bowman (Vic); Samuel Slater (Qld); Anthony Choat (Vic); Alexander Simpson (NSW); Tom Ryan (Vic)

NEXT UP

The adidas PGA Pro-Am Series welcomes a new event at Hidden Valley Golf and Country Club, north of Melbourne, on Sunday.

Rounds of 66-69 for a 9-under-par total at Traralgon Golf Club gave Donoghue a one-shot margin over first-round leader Andre Lautee (63-73) and Peninsula-Kingswood amateur Matthew Dahlsen (67-69).

The breakthrough victory on the adidas PGA Pro-Am Series is a nice confidence boost for the 27-year-old heading into the NSW Open on the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia, starting at Murray Downs on Thursday.

Donoghue is currently sitting in 49th place on the Order of Merit after two top-30 finishes in his opening four events.

HOW THE WINNER’S SCORE UNFOLDED

Donoghue’s bogey-free 6-under round on day one featured a 5-under-par 32 on the front nine at Traralgon.

After starting a very windy day two at the second hole, he had five straight pars before a birdie arrived at the par-5 seventh.

His first bogey of the event came at the par-4 12th, but the fourth year pro seized the lead with consecutive birdies on 16, 17 and 18, his round of 3-under-par 69 matching the best score on Friday.

Meanwhile, Lautee was brought undone by four bogeys in the middle of his round.

WHAT THE WINNER SAID

“I’ve had a lot of seconds so I didn’t want to come second again,” Donoghue said.

“It’s nice to finally win and getting that monkey off the back definitely helps. It will give me some confidence I think.”

LEADERBOARD RUNDOWN

-9: Ed Donoghue (Vic) 66-69

-8: Andre Lautee (Vic) 63-73; Matthew Dahlsen (Vic) (a) 67-69

-7: Harry Goakes (Vic) 66-71; Matthew Stenson (Vic) 66-71; Caleb Bovalina (Vic) 66-71

-4: Kyle Michel (Vic) 69-71

-3: Samuel Slater (Qld) 72-69; Nathan Page (NSW) 68-73; Alexander Simpson (NSW) 69-72

NEXT UP

The Gippsland swing ends with The Middle of Everywhere Yarram Pro-Am on Saturday.

The Assistant Professional at The National Golf Club’s Long Island course and a member at Peninsula-Kingswood, Murphy had an eagle and a birdie in his final three holes to finish one shot clear of Harrison Wills (65) with Matthew Millar (66) third.

An infrequent starter on the adidas PGA Pro-Am Series, Murphy believes not having visited Trafalgar previously actually helped in compiling his bogey-free round.

“First time I’m seeing the course so it’s probably a blessing in disguise really where you don’t know where the trouble is,” said Murphy.

“Drove it well, holed a few putts and turned out to be 64.”

HOW THE WINNING ROUND UNFOLDED

Playing in the morning move and starting from the ninth tee, Murphy began his round in positive fashion with birdies at 10 and 12.

He went 3-under on his round with birdie at the short par-4 16th but then had to play the waiting game in a run of seven straight pars.

He broke that streak with an eagle at the par-5 sixth and added a final birdie at the par-4 seventh to close out his round of 64.

WHAT THE WINNER SAID

“Phenomenal,” was how Murphy described the presentation of the Trafalgar layout in West Gippsland.

“Seriously, as a country course, this is as pure as it gets.

“Perfect fairways, perfect greens, cool layout. Great golf course.”

LEADERBOARD RUNDOWN
1          Ben Murphy                 64
2          Harrison Wills               65
3          Matthew Millar             66
4          Andre Lautee               67
T5        Aiden Didone              69
T5        Caleb Bovalina             69

NEXT UP

The Gippsland swing of the adidas PGA Pro-Am Series continues on Thursday with day one of the $30,000 Traralgon Latrobe City WIN Network Pro-Am Classic at Traralgon Golf Club before moving on to Yarram Golf Club on Saturday.

Coming off a victory at Box Hill, Panopoulos shot a 2-under-par in the morning wave at Sale only to be pipped by Page’s 3-under 68 in the afternoon.

The 21-year-old was back on the pro-am circuit after bypassing the Queensland PGA Championship on the Challenge PGA Tour of Australasia as he managed a groin complaint which he hopes doesn’t affect his plans for the rest of 2024.

“I just couldn’t do the six days in a row,” Page said.

“It probably came at a good time because I wasn’t in a good mental space either.”

HOW THE WINNER’S SCORE UNFOLDED

Beginning his round at the seventh hole, Page reeled off six straight pars before birdies came at the 13th, 15th and 18th with a solitary bogey at the 17th.

He birdied the first to make it four birdies in seven holes before parring his way to the end.

Meanwhile, Panopoulos was 4-under before two bogeys cost him the chance of the another title.

WHAT THE WINNER SAID

Page said: “It was a good steady round. I just wanted to go out there and be positive. That’s something I’ve been working on a bit the last few weeks. Just trusting that what I’m doing will come.

“I made a few nice par putts early and then was able to work my way into it nicely.

“The greens are pretty small and the fairways are tight so you’ve got to be pinpoint and then the wind made it even more difficult which you can definitely see in the results with 3-under winning.”

LEADERBOARD RUNDOWN

67: Nathan Page (Vic)

68: Mark Panopoulos (NSW); Caleb Bovalina (Vic)

69: Chris Mueck (Vic)

71: Jayden Cripps (NSW); Steven Jones (Vic); Cameron Kelly (Vic); Michael Choi (Vic); Hayden Webb

NEXT UP

The Gippsland swing for the adidas PGA Pro-Am Series continues with the Community Bank Trafalgar & District Pro-Am at Trafalgar Golf Club on Wednesday

The Concord-based professional shot a round of 3-under-par 68 to beat a pair of Victorians, Cameron John and Ryan Lynch, by a stroke to claim his second adidas PGA Pro-Am Series title for 2024.

Panopoulos has another five pro-ams on his schedule before he attempts to qualify for the $800,000 NSW Open at Murray Downs later this month and has the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia Qualifying School as a longer term target.

Lynch’s round was the best of the morning field, while John birdied his final hole to grab a share of second.

HOW THE WINNER’S SCORE UNFOLDED

The winner’s scorecard featured five birdies, including one on his opening hole, the par-4 eighth, and one to finish at the par-5 seventh to claim the outright victory.

His only dropped shots came at the par-3 11th and at the longest par-4 at Box Hill, the 423m second.

WHAT THE WINNER SAID

Panopoulos: “I played solid all day after getting off to a good start on my first hole. I hadn’t played here before I was just focussing on keeping the ball in play and not pushing it too much.

“Sometimes that works for me, where I don’t get too aggressive and play the safer and smarter shots.

“I had a look at the scoreboard with five or six to play, I like to do that, and realised I had a couple of par-5s in my last few holes and knew I might have some chances there. Nice to have them there as a back-up.”

LEADERBOARD RUNDOWN

68: Mark Panopoulos (NSW)

69: Cameron John (Vic); Ryan Lynch (Vic)

70: Harvey Young (Vic); Matt Dowling (Vic)

71: Nathan Kungl (Vic); Jack Chrystie (Vic)

72: Cameron Kelly (Vic); Josh Younger (Vic); Jayden Cripps (NSW); Wade Lowrie (Vic); Caleb Bovalina (Vic)

NEXT UP

The Gippsland swing for the adidas PGA Pro-Am Series begins with the Sporting Legends Pro-Am at Sale on Sunday followed by events at Trafalgar, Traralgon and Yarram