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It marked four straight for Brett Rankin and a breakthrough win for Dillon Hart as the pair shared top honours at the Roy Powell Security Pioneer Valley Pro-Am.
Rankin’s affinity for Pioneer Valley Golf Club stretches back to his maiden win at the venue in 2020 while Gold Coast-based Hart has made a strong first impression in his rookie season on the adidas PGA Pro-Am Series after obtaining his card at Qualifying School.
Despite his strong history at Pioneer Valley, Rankin stumbled out of the gates, making bogey at the par-4 first.
He bounced back immediately with a birdie at two and then picked up shots at seven and eight to turn in 2-under.
Starting with a birdie at the par-4 11th, Ranking made four threes in succession to move to 6-under on his round, completing a score of 7-under 65 with birdie at the par-3 17th.
In just his fourth start on the Pro-Am circuit, Hart had to deliver something special late to match Rankin’s 65.
Starting his round from the fifth tee, Hart made birdies at seven and nine and then played the back nine in 3-under courtesy of birdies at 13, 15 and 18.
Two back with four holes to play, Hart needed just one hole to make up the deficit, eagle at the par-4 first ensuring a share of victory for the first time.
It continued a strong run of form for Hart who was second to Sam Brazel at the PIMS Group Mackay Pro-Am and now has a strong foundation leading into the Mining Town Series starting Tuesday.
Three players shared third spot with Tim Hart, Nathan Page and Zach Maxwell all posting rounds of 6-under 66 to finish one back.
The Pioneer Valley Pro-Am also served as the conclusion to the five-round North Queensland Series sponsored by Mackay Regional Council.
That went to Sarina Pro-Am champion Andrew Campbell at 18-under par with Shae Wools-Cobb and Brad Burns sharing second at 16-under par.
Players now move on to the Moranbah Mini Earthmovers Pro-Am at Moranbah Golf Club, the first event in the Onsite Rental Group Mining Town Series.
Burly left-hander Ryan Peake will start the final round of the Mitchell & Brown Spalding Park Open just two strokes back after eating into Hayden Hopewell’s Round 1 advantage on day two.
Hopewell’s course record 10-under 62 on Friday seemingly gave the 21-year-old a stranglehold on the tournament at Spalding Park Golf Club in Geraldton.
He began Round 2 with a five-stroke lead but turned in 1-over par to open the door to the chasing pack.
Leading that charge was Peake, following on from his 5-under 67 in Round 1 with an equal best Round 2 score of 4-under 68 that had eagles, triple bogeys and everything in between.
Knocking on the door of a win throughout the WA Swing of the adidas PGA Pro-Am Series, Peake started his round with back-to-back birdies at 10 and 11. A dropped shot at 14 was offset by a birdie at 16, picking up another shot on 18 to make the turn in 3-under.
He moved to 5-under for the day with an eagle at the par-5 first before a triple bogey at the 292-metre par-4 fifth temporarily quelled his quest to rein in Hopewell.
Peake closed out his round with birdies at eight and nine to ensure Hopewell is well within reach when the pair tee off on Sunday.
Like Peake, Hopewell started his round from the 10th tee in the afternoon wave and was 1-over when he reached the first tee.
The 2020 WA Open champion dropped another shot at the par-4 third to fall to 2-over on his round, launching a late fightback with birdies at five, eight and nine for a round of 1-under 71.
His 36-hole total of 11-under gives him a two-stroke buffer from Peake with Ben Ferguson (69) and Andrew Crabb in a tie for third at 6-under par.
The third and final round commences Sunday morning from 8am local time, with the leaders teeing off at 10am.
A course-record 10-under 62 has given Hayden Hopewell a five-stroke lead heading into the second round of the Mitchell & Brown Spalding Park Open in Geraldton.
The richest event on the WA Swing of the adidas PGA Pro-Am Series, the $50,000 prize purse enticed a stellar field to Spalding Park Golf Club but none could come close to Hopewell’s extraordinary display of scoring.
Out in one of the first groups of the day, Hopewell began with a birdie and never let up.
Birdies at three, five, six and nine saw Hopewell turn in 5-under, moving to 6-under with a birdie at the par-4 11th.
A run of three straight pars was something of an anti-climax yet it was merely the calm before a four-hole birdie blitz to finish.
“It’s my second course record but it’s my new lowest personal best, so stoked with that,” said Hopewell, whose previous best was a course record 63 at his home course, Royal Fremantle Golf Club.
“The conditions were perfect all morning, was looking at pins all day and managed to roll in some six and seven-footers all day.
“I started a little slow on the back nine but managed to make a few birdies to get my head back in the game and birdied the last four to end up at 10.”
Hopewell’s group finished day one an incredible 15-under par with playing partner Andrew Crabb posting 5-under 67 to sit in second position, Crabb joking that he felt as though he’d played, “Just OK” given what he witnessed from Hopewell.
Playing in the afternoon wave, Ryan Peake matched Crabb’s score of 67 to share second with Crabb, Ben Ferguson and Brendan Chant two shots further back at 3-under with two rounds to play.
The second round tees off at 7.21am Saturday with Hopewell and Crabb teeing off at 11.38am local time.
Lismore’s Sam Brazel turned despair into fuel to record a one-stroke victory at the PIMS Group Mackay Pro-Am at Mackay Golf Club.
One of five players to lead after Round 1 with scores of 5-under 66, Brazel bounced back from a double bogey late in his second round of 6-under 65 to finish one clear of Brendan Smith (69-63) and Dillon Hart (66-66).
One of the most accomplished players on the adidas PGA Pro-Am Series circuit, Brazel was left spurned after finishing 46th at the CMR Recycling Sarina Pro-Am, arriving at Mackay Golf Club determined not to make the same mistakes twice.
“I was pretty motivated,” said the 2016 Hong Kong Open champion.
“I played pretty poorly and let a few things get to me in Sarina so had a bit of a point to prove.
“I’ve got good memories here, I know the course fairly well and wanted to come and get the job done.”
Playing in the final group with Doug Klein, Brazel had four birdies and a bogey in his first seven holes to edge his way clear.
He would take full command of the two-day tournament with five straight birdies from the ninth hole, his charge coming to a sudden halt with a double bogey at the par-3 14th where planning and execution failed to meet.
“Just poor execution of a shot. I think the right shot was selected, just poorly executed,” was Brzel’s summation.
“I’d been playing good up to that point. I was driving it good, knew I was putting it good so it was just about keeping my cool.
“I knew I had a few more birdie holes coming home if I could stay in the right frame of mind.
“Just tried to stay patient and I knew that good things were in front.”
A bogey on his final hole meant that Smith shared the clubhouse lead with Hart, Brazel making par at each of his final four holes to finish one stroke clear.
An eagle at the par-5 ninth was the highlight of Klein’s round of 3-under 68, enough for a share of fourth with Lucas Higgins (65) and prolific SParms PGA Legends Tour winner Brad Burns (68).
The North Queensland swing of the adidas PGA Pro-Am Series continues on Sunday with the Roy Powell Security Pioneer Valley Pro-Am at Pioneer Valley Golf Club.
Rookie professional Jose De Sousa has wasted no time in accumulating winner’s cheques, taking out the rain-shortened $40,000 South West Isuzu South West Open at Bunbury Golf Club.
In an outstanding amateur career, De Sousa qualified for the 2014 WA Open at just 14 years of age and is in his maiden season on the adidas PGA Pro-Am Series.
He finished just outside the top 10 at the Cottesloe Open last month and built a two-stroke lead after the opening round at Bunbury with a round of 6-under 66.
It would prove to be the winning score as lightning and torrential rain that dropped 27mm after 4pm meant that the second round was unable to be completed, the scores reverting to the 18-hole totals and De Sousa awarded the $7,190 winner’s cheque.
With the threat of bad weather in the forecast, play started early on day two. Capel Pro-Am winner Braden Becker rose to 8-under to take the ascendancy as De Sousa tried to keep pace in the group behind.
Lightning and a second suspension of play would ultimately decide De Sousa’s fate as he earned a maiden professional win.
“I kept on getting asked by people how it was feeling and the game’s been feeling really good. Finally it paid off in a little bit of a circumstance,” De Sousa said.
“It was a little bit of a hectic day. Got off to a pretty average start for how I was feeling but it turned itself around.
“Obviously the first round was amazing. It just kind of flowed. That’s the only word that I can think of right now.
“Great event to do it at. I played a lot of junior golf down here, I played this event as an amateur quite a fair few times so I knew the course pretty well.
“It’s always a pleasure to get to play in front of people and against the best in the business
“Just very wholesome that it came at this time to be honest.”
Unsure as to what the rest of his pro-am season would consist of, the status of the South West Open provides De Sousa with a higher exemption category and likely greater playing opportunities.
“I actually didn’t realise that at all so that’s made me think a little bit differently,” he added of the South West Open’s divisional tournament status.
“Maybe I will add a few more to the roster and go and experience a few more pro-ams and hopefully bigger tournaments the rest of the year.”
Becker would have to be content with a share of second alongside Rick Kulacz at 4-under 68, WA Amateur champion Ollie Marsh tied for fourth with Ryan Peake with rounds of 3-under 69.
As a result, Marsh claimed both the Jim Barr Medal (Leading Amateur) and the Phil Stott Memorial Trophy (Leading Junior).
But arguably the biggest news of the day came courtesy of 16-year-old Busselton amateur Chloe Veeran.
Playing in the first group to reach the designated party hole – the 137-metre par-3 17th – Veeran made a hole-in-one to win a car worth $60,000 donated by major sponsor South West Isuzu.
The left-hander is a member of the GolfWA Talent Development Program and was understandably overcome when the perfectly struck tee shot landed on the front portion of the green and rolled in centre-cup.
A change to the Rules of Golf from January 1, 2022 allows for amateurs to collect hole-in-one prizes in a tee-to-hole competition regardless of value, making it a shot she will remember for the rest of her life.
“I wasn’t thinking of holing it, I just wanted to hit it close to the pin,” said Veeran.
The party hole was a welcome addition to the event, with music and beverages enjoyed by many over the course of the weekend.
The next event on the adidas PGA Pro-Am Series is the $50,000 Mitchell & Brown Spalding Park Open. The richest event on this year’s schedule starts Friday in Geraldton.
The old adage of ‘drive for show, putt for dough’ yielded a two-stroke victory for Andrew Campbell at the 36-hole CMR Recycling Sarina Pro-Am at Sarina Golf Club south of Mackay.
Now based at Coffs Harbour Golf Club on the NSW North Coast, Campbell has been in form since retaining his ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia card at Qualifying School at Moonah Links yet a win had proved elusive.
That was until he delivered a bogey-free round of 6-under 57 on Sunday to finish two shots clear of Shae Wools-Cobb (56) at 11-under par with Will Bruyeres (58) a further shot back in outright third.
“It’s been a long time between wins so it’s nice to get across the line,” said Campbell, whose last victory on the adidas PGA Pro-Am Series was at the Pioneer Valley Pro-Am four years ago.
“I’ve been in some form so it’s really nice to continue that and get across the line today.”
Tied with Chris Wood at 5-under after Round 1 and starting the final round from the third hole, Campbell matched Wood’s birdie at the par-5 fifth and then edged two shots clear with birdies at seven and eight.
Back-nine birdies at 12 and 14 kept Campbell clear at the top but he credited two par saves at 10 and 15 for maintaining momentum down the stretch.
“Any time that I can keep a clean card I know I’m going to be in with a chance,” said Campbell.
“I hit a good drive on 10. It got up on the green and rolled a little bit long. I hit an ugly chip shot up, putted up to about four feet and had a little left-to-right putt for par and holed that.
“It was the same on 15. I had to make a five-footer for par and those momentum shifts keep you going in a good round.
“I’ve been putting really well and driving it really well so the combination of those two things is deadly for me when I’m playing good golf.”
Prolific pro-am winner Tim Hart (59) was fourth at 7-under with Wood (62) sharing fifth with Blake Proverbs (59) at 6-under par.
The North Queensland swing of the adidas PGA Pro-Am Series now moves to Mackay for the PIMS Group Mackay Pro-Am starting Thursday.
Par saves early in his round proved pivotal as Murwillumbah’s Lucas Higgins claimed the Abbot Point Operations Bowen Pro-Am by one stroke at Bowen Golf Club.
A six-time winner on the adidas PGA Pro-Am Series circuit, Higgins struggled with his ball-striking out of the gates, relying on his putter to keep bogeys off the card.
They would ultimately be the difference between winning and losing by day’s end, his bogey-free 6-under 64 edging veteran Sam Brazel (65) by a single shot.
Higgins and Toby Walker (68) were the only two players from the top 14 not to register a bogey in their round, Higgins grateful not to give up shots straight out of the gates.
“I started off a bit average ball striking-wise,” Higgins conceded.
“Holed a few nice putts early for par at my second and third hole and from there steadied the ship and started to hit it a lot nicer and make a few putts as well.”
Starting his round from the second hole, Higgins picked up shots at five and eight but was only 2-under through his opening 10 holes.
His tee shot at the par-3 12th would provide another surge in momentum as he closed out his round with four birdies in his final eight holes.
“I was 3-under through 11 and then hit a really mint 6-iron on the 12th, the par 3 which was pretty tough,” Higgins added.
“Hit it to about eight feet and then rolled that in. That helped to kick the round on a little bit and get me up there a little bit more.”
Brazel had four birdies in five holes in his round of 5-under 65 to finish one clear of Zach Maxwell (66), Mark Panopolous, Tim Hart, George Worrall, Chris Wood, James Macklin and Andrew Campbell all tied for fourth with rounds of 67.
Brady Watt is making his pay days count, picking up a second victory inside a week at the Urban Quarter Dunsborough Lakes Pro-Am at Dunsborough Lakes Golf Club three hours south of Perth.
Outside the prize money at both Wembley and Capel Pro-Ams, Watt added to his joint victory with Haydn Barron at Sun City with a one-stroke win from Ryan Peake (67) at Dunsborough Lakes.
Injury not only prevented Watt from playing the WA swing of the adidas PGA Pro-Am Series 12 months ago but curtailed the start to his 2023 campaign.
He is now chipping away at any rustiness within his game as he eyes off strong season on the ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia.
“Couple of wins and a couple of missed monies in a couple of weeks… It’s been a weird week but balancing life and enjoying golf again,” explained Watt.
“The more rounds I get under my belt, the better.
“Cottesloe was my second official pro-am for the year so I’m pretty rusty and still trying to figure it out.
“This is like the start of my season so hopefully by October when the bigger events start to come around my form will be a bit sharper.”
PGA Life Member and Dunsborough Lakes Pro-Am founder Len Thomas was present at the end of play to present the trophy to Watt.
Starting his round with a bogey at the par-3 11th, Watt’s familiarity with the Dunsborough Lakes layout ensured it was only a minor setback on his way to a round of 6-under 66.
“I actually bogeyed the first, a par 3, but knowing the configuration of the course I knew I had three par 5s in the next four,” said Watt.
“Got through them and birdied all of them. Kept it out of the water, got my up and downs when I needed to and just had a really good day with my playing partners.
“Guys were really chatty, similar interests and made for a really enjoyable day.
“What’s there not to like about Dunsborough. Just to be down south playing golf again. I sat out last year with an ankle injury so playing and enjoying golf again.”
Cameron Kelly and Daniel Fox shared third place with rounds of 4-under 68, Queensland’s Steve Jones and WA’s Ben Ferguson rounding out the top five one stroke further back.
Former WA Open champion Braden Becker (pictured) shot 1-over 73 at Dunsborough Lakes a day after taking out the Jetline Capel Pro-Am at Capel Golf Club.
Intermittent showers across the picturesque Capel layout took the edge off the normally lightning-fast greens, Becker taking full advantage to successfully defend the title he won in 2022.
Playing with the major sponsors from Jetline, Becker had two eagles and four birdies in his round of 7-under 65 to finish two strokes clear of Pro-Am rookie Jose De Sousa and tour veteran Daniel Fox.
Rick Kulacz, Brendan Chant and Cooper Geddes finished a further three shots back in a tie for fourth at 2-under 70.
A number of activations at the turn, and a shootout after the day’s play provided an entertaining experience for all in attendance.
The final leg of the South-West Swing of the adidas PGA Pro-Am Series takes place at Bunbury Golf Club from Saturday with the $40,000 South West Isuzu South West Open.
Urban Quarter Dunsborough Lakes final scores and prize money
A short game focus within his practice regime has paid immediate dividends for Brett Rankin who won the $50,000 Lexus Townsville Classic at the first playoff hole on Sunday.
Identifying the short game as an area that needed improvement in the wake of the 2022/2023 ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia season, Rankin went to work.
Chipping was a primary area of concern and the time he has invested yielded instant results in the 54-hole tournament’s closing moments at Townsville Golf Club.
Needing to par the 185-metre par-3 18th to secure a place in the playoff alongside Shae Wools-Cobb at 11-under par, Rankin hit his 5-iron left of the green for the third straight day.
But, for the third day in a row, he got up-and-down from a difficult position, a feat he repeated in the playoff to claim victory.
“To test myself on the 54th hole, to try and get up and down to make the playoff, which I did, and then to win it with an up-and-down in the playoff is definitely something I’m pretty proud of,” Rankin said.
“It definitely tested me out. The fact that something I’ve been working pretty hard on the last week, to be tested in the fashion that I was and to pull it off is definitely a big win for me.
“Hit 5-iron at the last like I had all three days, pulled it left like I had every day and I knew how bad it was over there.
“Somehow made four up-and-downs the four times that I played it and that was definitely what won the event.”
Four strokes back of 18 and 36-hole leader TJ King at the start of the final round, Rankin made birdie at the par-3 third and then picked up three shots in the space of four holes before the turn.
Spurned by an experience at the PNG Open in 2017, Rankin monitored the leaderboard throughout the back nine and knew exactly what was required as he neared the end of his round.
“I had my eye on the scoreboard all day. I like to watch the leaderboards,” Rankin explained.
“I had a situation a few years ago in PNG where I didn’t know the leaderboard. I thought I’d won the event but then I found out that I’d lost by a shot.
“Playing the last two holes I knew where I was. I knew if I could birdie 17 that would have been really nice because it would have given me a shot buffer heading to a really difficult last hole and a hole that I haven’t played well at all this week.”
With Wools-Cobb in the clubhouse after a round of 7-under 64, Rankin couldn’t produce the extra birdie he needed to avoid a playoff but his short game came up trumps once again to seal the win.
“I saw what the scores were like after the first round and thought that you didn’t need to do too much here this week,” said Rankin, who shot 65 in the final round for an 11-under total.
“The course is good. It asks a lot of questions strategically. Sometimes I quite like that. You’ve got to have a good game-plan and you’ve got to execute well.”
Coffs Harbour-based Andrew Campbell (64) birdied 14, 15, 16 and 17 to finish outright third one shot out of the playoff as King (72) shared fourth spot with Chris Wood (70).
The next event on the North Queensland swing of the adidas PGA Pro-Am Series is the Abbot Point Operations Bowen Pro-Am at Bowen Golf Club on Thursday.
It was a welcome return for Brady Watt who earned a share of victory with Haydn Barron at the Carine Parkside Sun City Pro Am at Sun City Country Club.
It was a welcome return too to the adidas PGA Pro-Am Series for Sun City, the spectacular golf course matched by the atmosphere as the club hosted its first pro-am since Jarrod Lyle claimed his final professional win six years ago.
Special memories were created on Friday as Watt’s round of 4-under 68 was enough to match Barron at the course where he learned the game as a youngster.
Watt’s round was highlighted by a run of five birdies in the space of eight holes from the 12th hole, Barron needing to birdie his final hole to finish level with Watt.
Destined for The Open Championship at Royal Liverpool in July, Barron began his round with a birdie at the par-4 second and closed out his round in the same manner.
Earlier it was West Australian rookie Jose De Sousa who burst to the top of the leaderboard.
Three-under through nine holes, De Sousa picked up another shot at the par-4 seventh to move to 4-under.
A bogey on his final hole would prove the difference, however, as he dropped into a share of third with Rick Kulacz and JeongWoo Ha.
With a five-day break, the next event on the WA Swing sees the players moving to the picturesque South West with the Jetline Capel Pro-Am teeing off next Wednesday.
