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An eagle and birdie at two of his final three holes has propelled New South Welshman Alex Edge to a one-stroke win at The Big Garage Bairnsdale Golf Club Pro-Am at Bairnsdale Golf Club.
Without a start at either the Fortinet Australian PGA Championship or ISPS HANDA Australian Open, Edge was itching to get back out on the adidas PGA Pro-Am Series.
He was tied for fourth first-up at Warragul and then fired a brilliant 6-under 65 to finish one clear of Gavin Fairfax at Bairnsdale.
“I’ve been stinging for golf the last month or so,” said Edge, whose most recent appearance on the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia was at the Victorian PGA at Moonah Links.
“This is the first time I’ve got to play for a while so it hasn’t felt like it has been that far off but it’s just nice to play some rounds and, knowing I’ve got this whole week to play, I’ve been looking forward to it a lot.”
HOW THE WINNING ROUND UNFOLDED
A bogey at his second hole, the par-3 fourth, was a backward step early but Edge soon responded with birdies at six, nine and 10.
A pared-back tree canopy flanking the fairways gave Edge a greater level of comfort off the tee.
A birdie on 13 was erased with a bogey on 14 but he remained patient.
The first in a run of four consecutive ‘threes’ on the card came at the par-4 16th but the highlight was his eagle on 18.
He backed that up with a birdie at the gun-barrel straight par-4 first followed by a comfortable two-putt for par to close out victory at the par-4 second.
Fairfax (66) birdied his final hole – the par-4 ninth – to finish one shy of Edge but two strokes clear of Warragul joint winner Lucas Higgins (68), Matthew Millar (68) and Cooper Geddes (68).
WHAT THE WINNER SAID
“The course has been opened up a lot so it was a bit friendlier off the tee. It just felt a bit more freeing.
“I just managed to string some threes together at the right time on the tough holes and then a par 5.
“To be fair, that was the first time I’d holed an eagle putt for a long time so that was nice.
“When I saw that there was someone near me I managed to make another birdie which was good to seal it.
“(The first) is almost too straight and too short. I decided to shape a shot off the tee to be a bit more engaged in the shot and ended up in the middle. Hit a good pitch shot from a good yardage to pitch from and made a birdie.
“Just putting it in the right spot all day and my patience paid off at the end.”
LEADERBOARD RUNDOWN
1 Alex Edge 65
2 Gavin Fairfax 66
T3 Lucas Higgins 68
T3 Matthew Millar 68
T3 Cooper Geddes 68
NEXT UP
The adidas PGA Pro-Am Series stays in regional Victoria on Tuesday for the inaugural Sporting Legends Sale Pro-Am at Sale Golf Club.
Early birdies proved to be crucial as Lucas Higgins and Andrew Kelly defied heavy rain to share victory at the Gippsland BMW Warragul Country Club Pro-Am.
Host to the Gippsland Super 6 tournament last month, Warragul Country Club was again in outstanding condition, albeit affected by a deluge that fell over the course of the day.
The wet weather had little affect on both Higgins and Kelly, who each shot rounds of 7-under 64 to finish three shots clear of Victorian Peter Wilson.
Tied for 22nd at the Fortinet Australian PGA Championship, Kelly was thrilled to turn strong recent form into another victory on the adidas PGA Pro-Am Series.
“I was hoping to do well because I’ve been playing OK so very satisfying,” said Kelly.
“This is a big pro-am. I’ve played it every year since it’s been back, it’s a good purse and a great day so I was very satisfied.”
The win was Higgins’ ninth in the past two years and his first since the Bowen Pro-Am in June.
“I’ve had quite a few pro-am wins now so I’ve got experience when I get up near the top of the leaderboard,” said Higgins.
“Each win is special in its own right so it’s nice to notch up another one and try and keep it rolling into the next week of pro-ams.”
HOW THE WINNING ROUND UNFOLDED
Both Higgins and Kelly credited their scores to their strong start in challenging conditions.
After starting his round with a birdie at the par-4 ninth, Higgins followed it up with birdies on 11 and 12 to make an early impression on the leaderboard.
Also playing in the afternoon field and starting on the back nine, Kelly was 2-under through his first seven holes.
He rocketed into contention with three birdies on the trot from the sixth hole – his 15th – to match Higgins’ score of 7-under.
Wilson responded to a bogey at his opening hole – the par-4 13th – with a birdie on 14 and secured outright third ahead of a group of five players at 3-under with a final birdie on 12 and a round of 4-under 67.
WHAT THE WINNERS SAID
“It feels good to be back in the winner’s circle, played really well,” said Higgins.
“We were both a few clear so it just goes to show that our score out there today was really good.
“It was raining the whole day but there wasn’t too much wind, which was nice. It was just tough to keep everything dry.
“I was lucky enough to get off to a good start. Stumbled a little through the middle of the round but managed to get the putts to go in again and finished it off well.”
“The course was in great nick but obviously lots of rain. I’m not sure I’ve played in rain like that for quite a while,” Kelly added.
“I got off to a good start and so I could ignore the rain a little bit and not let it stress me out.
“That was the main thing, being able to feel comfortable in the rain.”
LEADERBOARD RUNDOWN
T1 Lucas Higgins 64
T1 Andrew Kelly 64
3 Peter Wilson 67
T4 Matt Dowling 68
T4 Cameron Kelly 68
T4 Alex Edge 68
T4 Gavin Fairfax 68
T4 Dillon Hart 68
NEXT UP
The adidas PGA Pro-Am Series continues its run in regional Victoria with the Sporting Legends Sale Pro-Am at Sale Golf Club on Tuesday, a new event on the schedule in 2023.
A decision to delay his Australian Open prep by one day paid off handsomely for home-club favourite Chris Wood at the $40,000 BMD/Bartons Wynnum Pro-Am at Wynnum Golf Club.
Almost 20 years since he joined as a pre-junior, Wood applied all that home-course knowledge to perfection on Monday, finishing one-stroke clear of Gold Coaster Dillon Hart with a round of 7-under 62.
After missing the cut at the Fortinet Australian PGA Championship, Wood would have been forgiven for heading to Sydney early to prepare for the Australian Open but was always ging to honour his commitment to the club that made him an honorary member in 2012.
“It was a pretty easy decision,” Wood said.
“Being a Wynnum boy, I wanted to come back and represent the club and see a lot of familiar faces.
“It was definitely the right decision to make at the end of the day.”
At event presentations, PGA Chair, Rodger Davis, was also on hand to present major sponsor Mick Power with Lifetime Honorary PGA Membership for his investment and service to the golf industry and, in particular, PGA Professionals.
HOW THE WINNING ROUND UNFOLDED
In a star-studded field that boasted legends such as Rod Pampling, Ian Baker-Finch and Terry Price, Wood’s bogey-free round of 62 was highlighted by an impressive run around the turn.
After early birdies at two and three, Wood birdied both nine and 10 and then made eagle at the par-5 12th to edge ahead.
After playing the back nine – his front nine – in 5-under Hart loomed as Wood’s greatest threat.
A dropped shot at the 412-metre par-4 fourth would prove costly in the end, birdies at six and seven leaving Hart just one short of matching the winning score.
WHAT THE WINNER SAID
“It’s always been a goal of mine to win this event outright. It was obviously good in 2018 to win and get my name up there but it’s a bit more special to get the win on your own.
“Playing here a lot, I know the birdie holes and the holes where you’re happy with par.
“Got off to a fairly solid start but a birdie on 10 and eagle on 12 got me going a bit.
“I wanted to birdie holes seven and eight, the short par 4s but didn’t manage to do that. Through the middle of the turn was a big momentum swing.
“The rain we had last week definitely greened up everything. The fairways are always good here, greens were rolling great today and there have been a lot of improvements to the course overall with cart paths and some trees taken out.
“The course is definitely heading in the right direction.
“I probably hadn’t played here since the pro-am last year so it was definitely good to come back and wind back the clock.”
LEADERBOARD RUNDOWN
1 Christopher Wood 62 $7,190
2 Dillon Hart 63 $4,294
T3 Neville Hogan 64 $2,163.33
T3 Simon Tooman 64 $2,163.33
T3 Samuel Eaves 64 $2,163.33
NEXT UP
The adidas PGA Pro-Am Series now heads south to Melbourne for the Victorian PGA Head Club Professional Championship at Woodlands Golf Club on December 4 to be followed by the Eastwood Golf Club Pro-Am on December 5.
Victorian Konrad Ciupek is ready to step up in class after recording a one-stroke win at the Gorilla Ladders Box Hill Pro-Am at Box Hill Golf Club.
The maiden victory of Cuipek’s young career on the adidas PGA Pro-Am Series, Ciupek set up his day with birdies at each of his opening two holes.
Starting from the fifth tee, Ciupek made birdie at the par 5 and then followed it with a birdie at the par-3 sixth.
Three birdies and a bogey in the space of five holes on the back nine moved Ciupek out to 3-under, coming up with what would be the deciding birdie at the short par-4 first for a round of 4-under 67.
That was good enough to finish one clear of Caleb Bovalina (68) and Carl Smedley with Ben Ford (69) and Michael Choi rounding out the top five.
The 25-year-old’s next start will be the Monday qualifier for the Gippsland Super 6 tournament starting Thursday, the first of four Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia qualifiers he hopes to advance from.
“The next four weeks I’m entered for the pre-qualifying for the four Tour events,” Ciupek said.
“Fingers crossed I can get through a few of those, play well and make the most of it.
“This win does give me a lot of confidence. It’s been an up and down start to my pro career over the last year or so but this definitely gives me a lot of confidence to see that my good golf can stand up.”
Despite his strong start, Ciupek resisted the temptation to monitor the leaderboard until an unintended glance close to home.
“I didn’t really know where I sat all day, to be honest,” said Ciupek.
“I accidentally had a look on one hole and saw that I was maybe second or third but after that I tried to stay away from it and stick to my process.
“I had some tricky holes coming in but I kept my head and I was really happy to finish it off.”
Although he shot 79 to finish in a tie for first, Kew Golf Club Director of Golf Simon Angliss produced one of the highlights of the day with a hole-in-one on the sixth hole, hitting 6-iron from 159 metres.
The next event on the adidas PGA Pro-Am Series is the Bite Me Bakehouse Asquith Pro-Am at Asquith Golf Club in Sydney.
Finlay Bellingham left it late to make his tee time and then did the same down the stretch to earn a share of victory at the Anglesea Golf Club Pro-Am.
A superbly twisting, undulating layout on the Bellarine Peninsula, Anglesea only allowed five players under par on Tuesday, Bellingham taking a break from his day job as the Head Teaching Professional at Keysborough Golf Club to finish on top with Ryan Haywood and Michael Choi.
Encouraged by his playing partners to finish eagle-eagle to steal victory, Bellingham did the next best thing.
He lipped out for eagle on his way to a birdie at the par-5 18th and then eagled the par-5 first to join Haywood and Choi at 2-under 71.
“I actually lipped out on the eagle putt on 18 but then holed the eagle putt on the first which was nice,” said Bellingham.
Haywood and Choi both had five birdies and three bogeys in their respective rounds of 71, Choi bouncing back after a bogey on 17 to birdie the last and finish tied at the top.
HOW THE WINNING ROUND UNFOLDED
Despite having to make the trip from Keysborough to Anglesea on the morning of the tournament, Bellingham made a bright start of his round.
He birdied the par-5 second to kick things off but gave it back at the very next hole.
Birdies at eight and nine saw him make the turn in 2-under but his hopes took a hit when he followed a double-bogey at the par-5 12th with another dropped shot at the par-3 13th.
Yet, after four straight pars and the suggested finish of those in his group, Bellingham conjured what he needed to claim his first win on the adidas PGA Pro-Am Series.
WHAT THE WINNER SAID
“I came straight here from work over at Keysborough. Left there at 10.30 so I was cutting it fine.
“Had a few practice putts and got on to the first tee. Had a birdie on the first, bogeyed the next, got it to 2-under and was pretty solid.
“Made double-bogey on a par-5 which was unfortunate but finished birdie-eagle on my last three holes which got me the win.
“I was looking at the scores and I said to my playing partners that I probably needed birdie-eagle here. They said, ‘Why not just go eagle-eagle?’”
LEADERBOARD RUNDOWN
T1 Ryan Haywood 71
T1 Michael Choi 71
T1 Finlay Bellingham 71
T4 Dylan Higgins 72
T4 Darren Bowman 72
NEXT UP
There is now a short break before the adidas PGA Pro-Am Series resumes on November 3 with the Gorilla Ladders Box Hill Golf Club Pro-Am.
Four years after having victory stolen away by wet weather, Jack Wilson has triumphed in another rain-affected PSC Insurance Brokers Wagga Wagga Pro-Am at Wagga Wagga Country Club.
Players were called from the course in Round 1 due to heavy rain and were unable to complete their rounds until the morning of Round 2.
Holing out for eagle at the par-4 ninth was the highlight of Wilson’s opening round of 2-under 70, putting him two strokes back of Bryce Hohnen and Brad Kivimets.
Starting Round 2 from the second hole, Wilson picked up birdies at three, four and six but it was his birdies on 16 and 17 that would prove the difference in his round of 4-under 68 and two-stroke win.
Ten years after making history as the first trainee to win a Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia tour event at the 2013 Goldfields WA PGA Championship, Wilson is now a real estate agent based in Canberra.
He looked destined to win the 2019 Wagga Wagga Pro-Am until the entire second round had to be cancelled just a few holes from the finish and Round 1 leader Andrew Kelly was declared the winner.
In what would prove a prophetic text, he even sent a message to Kelly who is playing the WA PGA Championship in Kalgoorlie on his way from Canberra to Wagga.
“I sent Andrew Kelly a message when I was driving over here and said, ‘Geez I’m glad to see you’re in WA. It’s time this year for me to claim that one you stole from me’,” said Wilson.
“I love this place so much, it means a lot to me. They’ve supported me, they’ve taken me in as one of their own and to be able to give back, put a show on and to come back and support the sponsors who have put so much money into this event over the years, it’s a real privilege to get my name on that trophy.
“Of all the pro-ams I’ve played, there’s no event that’s done like this. There’s no event, I think, that the sponsors get around with the hospitality and how they look after the pros from start to finish.
“It is special to get a win here and I’m super proud to get my name on that cup.”
Now a restricted tournament member of the PGA, Wilson is limited to just three tournaments a year.
He made the most of a rare appearance on the adidas PGA Pro-Am Series with some clutch putts down the stretch under pressure.
“I hit some great shots today but the highlights were the two putts I made on my third-last hole and my second-last hole,” said Wilson.
“Eight-footers up the hill, middle of the cup for birdie and for par.
“They’re the ones that mean the most.
“The easiest thing is that I don’t have any expectations now. There’s not as much consequence and it makes it a little bit easier to put those numbers up.”
Wilson finished two strokes clear of Patrick Joseph (70) and Darren Bowman (70) at 4-under with former Tour winners Matt Stieger (71) and Ashley Hall (70) tied for fourth with Daniel Gill (70) and Brad Kivimets (73) at 3-under par.
Matt Millar isn’t sure how much of the upcoming Summer of Golf his body will allow him to tackle, but he showed he’s in great form by winning the Stockland The Gables 2023 Pro-Am at Lynwood Country Club.
The PGA Tour of Australasia veteran, who has been battling on-going back issues, shot back-to-back 67s to score a four-shot win ahead of a group of five players in the $50,000 event.
Returning to competition after a layoff and an MRI on his back in the week of the Lynwood event, Millar is unsure what his future holds for this summer.
“It’s my first win after some time out again,” Millar said.
“(This summer) is a little bit up in the air to be honest. If I’m able to play, I’m confident I can do the right things myself.
“It’s just a matter of what this is going to let me do.
“I’ve played seven of the last eight days, including today, and today I was really, really sore. That’s not a great sign.
“We’ll wait and see what the MRI turns up and go from there.”
HOW THE WINNING SCORE UNFOLDED
After his 67 in round one, Millar trailed Jordan Zunic by one shot and was tied with Neven Basic.
But while Zunic dropped back with a 73 on day two, Millar showed his consistency with another 67 to put a gap in the field despite a bogey on the long par-four final hole.
WHAT THE WINNER SAID
“I was really blown away by the layout,” Millar said of his first visit to Lynwood.
“There’s some really quality holes that ask a lot of you, particularly No.8 which is a very intimidating hole.
“I can imagine this place would be quite a monster in a 30kph wind that’s for sure.”
LEADERBOARD RUNDOWN
-8: Matt Millar
-4: Neven Basic, William Bayliss, Darcy Boyd, Drew Herbert, Jonathan Pepper
-3: Jordan Zunic, Dillon Hart
-2: Aaron Townsend
NEXT UP
The next adidas PGA Pro-Am Series event is at Wagga Wagga Country Club in the NSW Riverina with a $50,000 prize purse up for grabs on October 12-13.
Melbourne’s Caleb Bovalina has cashed a winner’s cheque in his first start on the adidas PGA Pro-Am Series, edging out Jak Carter at the first playoff hole at the Murray Bridge Pro-Am.
One back of Carter and PNG Open champion Lachlan Barker at the start of the second round at Murray Bridge Golf Club, Bovalina needed to produce something special to force the tournament to extra holes.
After back-to-back bogeys at 12 and 13, Bovalina got back to within one with a birdie at the par-3 14th but took until the final hole to draw level, draining a lengthy birdie putt on 18 for a round of 1-under 67 to tie Carter at 1-under for 36 holes.
His flatstick again came to the fore at the first extra hole, sealing a maiden pro-am victory with yet another birdie on 18.
Hailing originally from Cobram on the Murray River but now based out of Commonwealth Golf Club, Bovalina was somewhat stunned to have won in his very first attempt.
“I’ve had a pretty cool week. First time here and played some solid golf,” said Bovalina, the first player to win a pro-am on debut since Lawry Flynn at Maroochy River Golf Club in 2021.
“I had my ups and downs – I made a couple of silly bogeys this afternoon – but a nice putt on 18 to get into the playoff and then a nice one to win.
“I only turned pro four months ago at Q School and this is actually the first pro-am that I’ve played.
“This will always sit pretty high up.”
Bovalina turned professional after obtaining status on the PGA Tour of Australasia at Q School at Moonah Links in April.
He teed it up at the recent DP World Tour First Stage of Qualifying School at Rosebud Country Club and felt right at home at Murray Bridge.
“I love playing country tracks. It tends to suit me quite well,” he added.
“I tend to hit it quite straight so I knew that would be at a premium this week.
“The greens were fantastic. I’m used to playing on fast greens so touch was vital around here.”
Bovalina will next head to Western Australia in the first week of October to attempt to pre-qualify for the WA Open and has entered the WA PGA Championship at Kalgoorlie.
Close friends Carter (68) and Barker (69) finished second and third respectively with Peter Cooke (68) and Anthony Choat (68) rounding out the top five.
A two-round total of 16-under par has seen Deyen Lawson defend his Border Open title by five strokes at cluBarham Golf and Sports Club in Barham.
A winner of the adidas PGA Pro-Am Series event in Deniliquin earlier in the week and runner-up to Aaron Wilkin at the recent Asian Development Tour in Vietnam, Lawson gave no one else a look in as he claimed the 66th edition of the Border Open.
A round of 9-under 64 on day one gave the Gold Coast-based Victorian a three-stroke lead heading into Round 2, matching the best score of the day with a 7-under 66 to win by five from rookie Nathan Page (66).
Lawson’s lone bogey of the tournament at the par-3 12th on Sunday briefly gave the chasing pack hope but he closed out a commanding title defence with three straight birdies from the 14th hole.
“To make three in a row when they were starting to push was really solid,” said Lawson.
“I hit a couple of good wedge shots into a foot and a couple of feet, which is one of the things I’ve been working hard on.
“I knew if I just kept playing solid and hit a couple of good wedge shots then I would be OK.”
With his WA Open championship defence less than a month away, Lawson is seeing the hard work he has done with coach Darrell Brown transfer to low scores and good results.
“That’s the thing with golf, when you do put the hard work in it doesn’t necessarily translate into results so it feels really good to go back-to-back,” he said.
“I’m more focused on the process more than anything. But obviously when you get good scores and results it makes the hard work worth it.”
Adding to the opportunity to shoot low scores, Lawson praised the presentation of the golf courses in both Deniliquin and Barham for rewarding good play.
“The condition of the courses is really good so you tend to score well if you play well,” he added.
“There are some really gettable par 5s so if you can get it going you can go quite low.”
The adidas PGA Pro-Am Series completes its Murray River run with the inaugural Murray Bridge Pro-Am over two days, starting Thursday.
Just one stroke separated the top-11 finishers as four players shared top spot at the Stuart Appleby Cohuna Pro-Am at Cohuna Golf Club.
The Murray River swing of the adidas PGA Pro-Am Series continued in Cohuna with one of the tightest leaderboards in recent memory.
James Gordon’s 3-under 69 was the best of the morning wave but the best scores would come later in the afternoon, despite a change in the weather on the back nine.
PNG Open champion Lachlan Barker burst out of the blocks to be 5-under through eight holes but ultimately had to hold on for a round of 4-under 68 and tie Ryan Peake, Anthony Choat and Ryan Lynch for top honours.
Gordon was one of seven players to finish just one shot back at 3-under, Barker thankful for the early birdies and a final one at his penultimate hole to secure a share of victory.
“A very hot start, that’s how I’d describe it,” Barker said of his round.
“Early on the putter was very warm. I was 5-under through eight holes and the conditions were really good to start.
“After that the afternoon groups had to put on their wet weather gear and battle it out on the back nine.
“I dropped a couple of shots but really hung on and made one late birdie to end up shooting 4-under 68.”
While the putter took the plaudits for the early run of birdies, Barker said that his shot selection from the tee was integral in providing the opportunities for the putter to run hot.
“You had to have a good strategy so I used anywhere from 4-iron right through to driver. Made the right club choices on a lot of occasions and gave myself looks at birdies and was able to convert.
“I attribute my score to the putter and the tee shots.”
Like Barker, Peake and Choat both had six birdies and two bogeys in their rounds of 4-under while Lynch dropped just the one shot to also end the day on top.
Last year’s Cohuna Pro-Am was also disrupted due to rain, Barker praising the presentation of the course on his second visit to Cohuna.
“The course was in the best condition that I’ve seen it and from all reports, from the people who have been coming here for years and years, this is the best it’s been,” said Barker.
“That back nine was a struggle. The weather really packed it in so it was a tale of two nines today.”
The adidas PGA Pro-Am Series moves further along the Murray River for the 66th Border Open Pro-Am at cluBarham Golf and Sports Club starting Saturday.
