“I did say that I thought I would win something soon,” admitted Jones admitted, whose last win on the adidas PGA Pro-Am Series was at Wynnum Golf Club in Brisbane in December 2017.

That prediction came to fruition less than a week later with a two-stroke victory at the Dallas Building and Maintenance Northern Pro-Am at Northern Golf Club on Tuesday.

After a slight stumble with a bogey at his second hole, Jones put the foot down… and kept it down.

“I gave myself a mission this morning before I teed off that if I do start going well again to just keep going,” he added.

His round of 7-under 65 gave him a two-stroke buffer from good friends Darcy Brereton (67) and Ed Donoghue (67) with Zach Maxwell (68), Gavin Fairfax (68) and Brock Gillard (68) sharing fourth.

HOW THE WINNING ROUND UNFOLDED

Starting from the third hole, Jones made bogey at his second hole, the par-3 fourth, but he would be back in red numbers shortly thereafter.

One of the longest hitters on tour, Jones made eagle at the 314-metre par-4 seventh and followed it with birdie at the par-5 eighth.

Two further birdies followed at 10 and 11 and he went back-to-back again at 15 and 16, a final birdie at two the exclamation point on what will be a popular win throughout Australian golf.

WHAT THE WINNER SAID

“I’ve been playing really well and getting close.

“I’ve been putting in some work on the game and it’s come to fruition which is great.

“I had about five years off and didn’t play at all so probably the Wynnum Pro-Am back in 2017 or 2018.

“It’s been a while so it’s good to get the trophy.

“I like Keysborough, it’s a good course. It’s got five par 5s which suits me. Have played well there in the past too so looking forward to that, should be a good test.”

LEADERBOARD RUNDOWN
1          Steven Jones                65
T2        Darcy Brereton             67
T2        Edward Donoghue       67
T4        Zachary Maxwell          68
T4        Brock Gillard                68
T4        Gavin Fairfax                68

NEXT UP

There are just three events left in the 2023/2024 adidas PGA Pro-Am Series season, starting with the Bendigo Bank Dingley Village Community – Keysborough Golf Club Pro-Am at Keysborough Golf Club on Thursday.

An eagle at the par-4 fifth would prove crucial at day’s end, Kivimets’ round of 4-under 63 enough for a second adidas PGA Pro-Am Series win at The Valley Golf Sport and Leisure.

He finished one clear of Martin Doyle (64) and Alex Edge (64) at a layout he admitted is very much to his liking.

“Being a bit shorter probably does play into my hands a little bit,” said Kivimets.

“Sometimes I can be accurate, sometimes not so much but around here, the holes where you need to make birdie I’ve played those quite well.

“Some of the trickier ones where you need to just get it in play and make a par and get out of there, I’ve been able to do that.”

HOW THE WINNING ROUND UNFOLDED

It took only until Kivimets’ second hole before he collected his first birdie of the day at the par-5 10th.

He gave that shot back with a bogey on 11 but made three birdies on the trot from the 232-metre par-4 14th to climb towards the top of the leaderboard.

He remained patient as he picked off six straight pars and then collected what he conceded was a “bonus” when he holed out for eagle at the 360m par-4 fifth.

From that point it was a matter of holding his round together, a bogey on seven the only backward step as he added to his victory at The Valley in 2020.

WHAT THE WINNER SAID

“It was an interesting round. I’d had a good result here in the past so it was good to come back and see some of the holes and remember some of the shots that I hit.

“I got a good break and made a two on the fifth for eagle which helped calm me down a bit. From there I was just trying to not hit it over the fence really.

“There are only three other courses that I’ve played and had a win on for the Pro-Am Series so it’s nice to come back. First time back since that 2020 event so it’s always good.

“I seem to really like the greens here. Rolled a few putts in and it’s nice to have those good feelings and memories to draw on.”

LEADERBOARD RUNDOWN
1          Bradley Kivimets          63
T2        Martin Doyle                64
T2        Alex Edge                    64
T4        Tim Elliott                     65
T4        Cameron Kelly              65
T6        Michael Choi                66
T6        Ruben Lal                     66

NEXT UP

With just four events remaining on the 2023/2024 schedule, the adidas PGA Pro-Am Series moves on to Northern Golf Club in Melbourne for the Dallas Building and Maintenance Northern Pro-Am on Tuesday.

The winner at Heidelberg in 2015, Pilkadaris shot a 4-under-par 68 that was matched by Jake Hughes and DJ Loypur on a crowded leaderboard that featured 13 players within two shots.

Ranked as high as 153^rd in the world at the peak of his career, Pilkadaris has missed most of the Australian Summer of Golf after tearing a rib muscle “trying to hit it too hard” in November.

He made his comeback on the PGA Legends Tour earlier this week with a tie for sixth place at Southern Golf Club and then a share of second behind Terry Price at Settlers Run before heading back to the adidas PGA Pro-Am Series.

“I’m old so the body’s not working too well,” he joked.

One of the professionals who took part in the start of the Victorian Pennant season last weekend, playing in the No.3 spot for Kingston Heath, Jake Hughes brought in some hot form, clinching his match 4&3 before playing on to shoot 8-under for the 17 holes he played at The National.

Pilkadaris and Loypur will head to the season-ending National Tournament Presented by BMW on the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia starting on March 14.

HOW THE WINNING ROUNDS UNFOLDED

All three Heidelberg winners played in the afternoon wave with Hughes teeing off the fourth, Loypur the 10th and Pilkadaris the 17th.

Hughes was -4 after just six holes but bogeys on the 17th and third prevented him from going lower as he finished with six birdies for the day.

Loypur, who also mixed in six birdies with two bogeys, had a chance to win on his final hole. But after picking up shots on the three previous par-5s he played, could only manage a par on the 479m ninth.

The only bogey for Pilkadaris came on the par-4 eighth.

WHAT THE WINNERS SAID

Pilkadaris described his round as “nice and steady”.

“I kept the ball in play off the tee. Heidelberg is quite a tight course and tried to keep the ball below the hole because the greens were quite quick. I thought I had it there (a 67) on my final hole, but it wasn’t to be.”

DJ Loypur was thankful he holed some putts after being “a little all over the place”.

“I had to figure out where I was going out here because I hadn’t been here for a few years. Had a couple opportunities late to make another birdie but missed them unfortunately.”

Hughes said: “I started off hot, but then got into a bit of a lull with pars on two par-5s on the back nine. From there, I cruised on in.

“I’ve been playing solid, getting the handicap down to +5 at Kingston Heath. I’m hoping to get an invite into The National and continuing on in the Order of Merit.”

LEADERBOARD RUNDOWN

68: Jake Hughes, DJ Loypur, Terry Pilkadaris

69: Darcy Brereton, Wade Lowrie, Rick Kulacz, Steven Jones

70: Michael Dean

71: Dylan Higgins, Lachlan Aylen, Toby Walker, Matt Dowling, Alex Edge

NEXT UP

The 2023/24 adidas Pro-Am Series reaches its conclusion in Victoria next week with events at Northern, Keysborough, Eynesbury and Geelong.

Birdies on his final two holes secured Page, who only turned pro last year, a one-shot win over a group of three NSW professionals – Bryce Hohnen, James Conran and Robbie Minns.

Page secured his Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia card at Qualifying School at Moonah Links in April and has had a best finish of equal eighth at the Heritage Classic in his rookie Tour season to sit 65^th on the Order of Merit.

After missing out on qualifying for this week’s New Zealand Open, a pro-am victory with soothe some of that disappointment ahead of the Tour finale at The National in a fortnight.

Like Page, Hohnen and Minns posted their 66s in the morning wave, while Conran’s 5-under was the best of the afternoon field.

HOW THE WINNING ROUND UNFOLDED

Starting his round on the second hole in the morning shotgun start, Page had five straight pars on one of the layout’s most testing stretches of holes before gaining some momentum with birdies on the seventh and ninth.

It was a late charge that secured his win, with the Victorian picking up four shots in his last five holes, including back-to-back birdies on the par-5 18th and first.

WHAT THE WINNERS SAID

“I had a quick look at the course with a mate when we drove up on Monday. It’s a lovely course with some great views,” Page said of the beachside course.

“I missed a couple of putts early but got it going late then drained a few nice 10-footers to keep things rolling.”

LEADERBOARD RUNDOWN

65: Nathan Page

66: Bryce Hohnen, Robbie Minns, James Conran

67: Sung Park, Luke Parker

68: William Bruyeres, Andrew Richards, Arthur Barakat, Alexander Simpson, Dillon Hart, Gavin Fairfax, Patrick Joseph

NEXT UP

The 2023/24 adidas PGA Pro-Am Series reaches its conclusion in Victoria next week with events at Northern, Keysborough, Eynesbury and Geelong.

After making a rare appearance on the adidas PGA Pro-Am Series at Waratah on Wednesday, Bridges found form in familiar territory at Toukley.

His 7-under 65 was five clear of Josh Clarke (70), Jonathan Pepper (70) and Gavin Fairfax (70) and is particularly well timed given he will marry Alexa this weekend.

“Managed to get a couple of days off. Played Waratah yesterday where I crumbled coming home but was able to get the win today,” said Bridges, who played regularly on the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia from 2015-2018.

“Got my wedding coming up on Saturday so was able to get a couple of dollars to pay off the nice, cheap wedding that’s about to happen.”

HOW THE ROUND UNFOLDED

The Newcastle native wasted little time in making an impression on the leaderboard in the afternoon wave.

He birdied his opening hole – the par-4 18th – and then expertly navigated his way around the twisting, tight Toukley layout.

Bridges made it two-from-two when he birdied the par-5 first and then went one better when he made eagle at the par-5 fourth.

His lone bogey of the round came at the par-4 fifth but he made further birdies at seven, nine, 12 and 17 to win by five, capping off a spectacular round with a 50-footer for birdie on his final hole to better Mitchell Brown’s previous course record of 66 by one.

WHAT THE WINNER SAID

“Everything just went my way today.

“I hit it really well and holed heaps of putts. When I put myself in a bad spot I was able to get away with it. And capped it off at the last with a nice 50-footer to shoot seven (under).

“It’s tight off the tee and you’ve got to shape your shots off the tee. I was able to get myself in the middle of the fairway on pretty much every hole. If I was off the fairway I was only just off.

“I was able to get myself in play and then give myself good chances and managed to hole them.

“It all lined up for me.”

LEADERBOARD RUNDOWN
1          Clayton Bridges            65
T2        Josh Clarke                   70
T2        Jonathan Pepper          70
T2        Gavin Fairfax                70
T2        Aaron Townsend          70
T6        Michael Smyth             71
T6        Dylan Grogan              71
T6        Larry Austin                 71
T6        Alexander Simpson      71
T6        William Bruyeres          71
T6        Anthony Choat            71
T6        Robert Hogan              71

NEXT UP

There is a double booking of adidas PGA Pro-Am Series events on Friday with the Hahn Shelly Beach Golf Club Pro-Am on the NSW Central Coast and the De Bortoli Heidelberg Golf Club Pro-Am in Melbourne.

An ace at the 144-metre par-3 third was the major highlight in Richards’ round of 7-under 64, good enough to finish one clear of Victorian Nathan Page (65) with Josh Clarke (66) and Aiden Didone (66) sharing third.

With his driver wayward for much of the round, Richards leant on his wedge play to post a score in the morning wave, including a perfectly executed pitching wedge at the third hole.

“I hit a pitching wedge,” Richards said of the club selection that yielded his ace.

“I was in between clubs; had 9-iron and then switched back to the pitching wedge and gave it a good hit.

“I couldn’t see it, couldn’t see where the hole was exactly but it landed about eight feet behind it and spun back in.”

Pick it out of the hole and pose.

Congrats to Andrew Richards on his hole-in-one on the 144m 3rd hole at Waratah Golf Club in today's Waratah Pro-Am.#adidasPGAProAmSeries pic.twitter.com/Egx0F3bn4X

— PGA of Australia (@PGAofAustralia) February 28, 2024

HOW THE ROUND UNFOLDED

Two bogeys in his opening five holes gave little indication of the fireworks that were to follow.

Starting his round from the 10th tee, Richards made bogey at 10 and 14, offset slightly by a birdie at the par-5 12th.

A birdie on 16 allowed the 27-year-old to make the turn at even par and then he unleashed a scoring blitz on the Waratah Golf Club front nine.

Birdies at one and two were trumped by the ace on three, adding further birdies on five, seven and nine for a front nine of 7-under 28 and a breakthrough win.

Nathan Page had a hot streak in the middle of his round of 6-under 65, peeling off five birdies in six holes around the turn to snare outright second.

WHAT THE WINNER SAID

“The course was soft but you could tell that the greens were going to be spinning but they held up really well all day.

“I hit a lot of good wedges today. Early on I hit some pretty bad drives so I would pitch it out and then pitch it close.

“I only hit one fairway on the par 5s and I made par on that one.

“Just wedging it close and being tidy around the greens.”

LEADERBOARD RUNDOWN
1          Andrew Richards          64
2          Nathan Page                65
T3        Josh Clarke                   66
T3        Aiden Didone              66
5          Nathan Miller               67
T6        Jason Perkin                 68
T6        Jayden Cripps              68

NEXT UP

The adidas PGA Pro-Am Series remains in the NSW Hunter Valley on Thursday for the Great Northern Toukley Pro-Am at Toukley Golf Club before returning to Melbourne on Friday for the De Bortoli Heidelberg Golf Club Pro-Am at Heidelberg Golf Club.

The Head PGA Professional at Yarrambat Park Golf Course, Gillard’s pro-am starts have been infrequent yet his recent form has raised the possibility of returning to Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia Qualifying School in April.

Winner of the Maffra Pro-Am on December 11 and runner-up at Settlers Run on January 5, Gillard’s 6-under 65 in the morning round at Cardinia Beaconhills Golf Links would hold up all afternoon as Alex Edge (66), Kyle Michel (66) and Wade Lowrie (66) all got within one. Cameron Kelly and Lachlan Armour would round out the top five with rounds of 4-under 67.

HOW THE ROUND UNFOLDED

Starting his round from the 11th tee, Gillard was quick out of the blocks.

He birdied his second hole and then added two more at 14 and 15 to be 3-under after five.

A dropped shot at 16 was quickly forgotten with birdies at 17 and 18, heading to the front nine at 4-under par.

A second bogey at the par-3 second threatened to suck the life out of a round that showed so much promise early but he steadied with birdies at three and seven, separating himself from the field with a closing birdie at the par-5 10th.

WHAT THE WINNER SAID

“I haven’t been playing that much but when I have been playing I’ve been hitting it really straight, which is a nice change, and the putter has been running a little bit hot.

“It’s been really nice for everything to be clicking.

“I did not touch a club at all (over Christmas). The 5-under at Settlers Run was a surprise and it’s a surprise again today.

“I really worked on my game last year and didn’t get the results that I wanted. It’s just shining through now.

“Q School is definitely on the radar. Haven’t made my decision just yet though. Need to see how things align with that but it’s definitely an option.

“I wouldn’t mind seeing a little bit more of this form before I dive more deeply back into it.

“It’s very nice to be able to turn up and actually post a nice score and enjoy your day.”

LEADERBOARD RUNDOWN
1          Brock Gillard                65
T2        Wade Lowrie                66
T2        Alex Edge                    66
T2        Kyle Michel                   66
T5        Cameron Kelly              67
T5        Lachlan Armour           67

NEXT UP

The adidas PGA Pro-Am Series heads north into New South Wales on Wednesday for the 35 Latitude Waratah Pro-Am at Waratah Golf Club in Newcastle.

While McLellan banked his birdies before the weather turned foul, Michel was forced to play catch-up.

The pair both finished the day with rounds of 2-under 68, along with Ryan Lynch (69) the only three players in the field to break par.

PNG Open champion Lachlan Barker (71) and Victorian Andrew Kelly (71) were tied fourth at 1-over par, one clear of Jose De Sousa (72) and Jack Murdoch (72).

HOW THE ROUND UNFOLDED

Starting from the fifth tee, Michel bogeyed each of his opening two holes. He got back to even par with birdies at 13 and 14 and then moved into red figures with a birdie at the par-4 17th.

He dropped back to even par again with a bogey on 18 but took advantage of the par-5 third and short par-4 fourth to match McLellan’s score of 2-under.

McLellan began his round from the ninth tee and quickly made an impression on the leaderboard.

Three birdies on the trot from the par-5 11th and a fourth at the tricky par-4 16th had him 4-under through seven holes.

The weather turned not long after, McLellan only faltering at the 18th and fourth holes on his way into the clubhouse.

WHAT THE WINNERS SAID

Kyle Michel: “I got off to a bit of a slow start, starting bogey-bogey, but managed to claw it back with a couple of birdies right before the really bad weather came in this afternoon.

“Managed to hold it together and knew that I had a couple of easier holes coming in and managed to finish off with a couple of birdies to get to 2-under.”

Brad McLellan: “I started on the ninth hole today and had a couple of pars to start. Birdied 11, 12, 13 and 16 and was just hanging on from there.

“The weather started to get pretty wild at about 16. It was raining sideways for most of the rest of the round so had a couple of bogeys coming in but managed to hold it together.”

LEADERBOARD RUNDOWN

T1        Kyle Michel                   68
T1        Bradley McLellan          68
3          Ryan Lynch                  69
T4        Lachlan Barker              71
T4        Andrew Kelly                71

NEXT UP

The adidas PGA Pro-Am Series resumes on Monday, January 15 with the PK Community Foundation Pro-Am on the North Course at Peninsula Kingswood Country Golf Club.

Setting a new tournament low, Wood’s round of 7-under 65 was two strokes to the better of Brock Billard (67) and Brett Coletta (67) with a group of five players finishing a further stroke back at 4-under.

The Victorian PGA champion at Moonah Links three years ago, Wood has come out of the Christmas break with intent for the second half of the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia season.

With the season to resume next week at the Heritage Classic, the Brisbane native will take confidence from a win built on the work he has put in since the ISPS HANDA Australian Open.

“I had a week off after the Aussie Open and I wanted to come out and play well in these pro-ams and get off to a good start into the second half of the season,” said Wood.

“I didn’t get off to a great start last year for the second half of the season so I wanted to pull my finger out and not have such a long break.

“Put the work in and obviously it has paid off today.”

HOW THE WINNING ROUND UNFOLDED

Starting his round from the 14th tee, it was not until midway through his round that Wood began to make an impression on the leaderboard.

A birdie at his opening hole was encouraging and he followed it with a second two holes later at the par-5 16th.

Three pars preceded a dropped shot at the par-3 second but birdies at four, six and seven put him in contention for his first adidas PGA Pro-Am Series win since victory at his home club in November at the Bartons/BMD Wynnum Pro-Am.

A birdie at the par-5 ninth saw Wood draw level with Gillard’s morning total of 5-under, pulling clear with further birdies at 10 and 13.

WHAT THE WINNER SAID

“It was a round that I kept building on as the round went on.

“I didn’t really get off to a great start but just stayed in the round and capitalised on the holes that I should have birdied and made some good pars.

“Playing this event the past three or four years, the scoring hasn’t really been that great.

“That is obviously a testament to how tough the course can play, generally.

“It is a long course so with a round like today it’s going to give me a lot of confidence for next week and the weeks to follow.”

LEADERBOARD RUNDOWN

1          Christopher Wood      65
T2        Brock Gillard                67
T2        Brett Coletta                67
T4        William Bruyeres          68
T4        Ben Wharton               68
T4        Darcy Boyd                  68
T4        Andre Lautee               68
T4        Andrew Kelly               68

NEXT UP

Next stop on the adidas PGA Pro-Am Series is the Geelong BMW Lonsdale Links Pro-Am at Lonsdale Links.