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Left-hander Ryan Peake achieved a career first and set a new course record in taking out the Bennco Group Karratha Pro-Am by three strokes at Karratha Country Club.
A project eight years in the making, Karratha Country Club last year completed a course redesign by Richard Chamberlain, the 29-strong field playing the 18 grass greens for the first time in the long history of the Karratha Pro-Am.
Major sponsor Bennco bolstered the prize money from $11,000 in 2022 to $20,000 and Peake took full advantage.
One of the form players of the WA Swing of the adidas PGA Pro-Am Series, Peake plundered seven birdies in his first nine holes in a round of 5-under 68 and a breakthrough win.
Bogeys at eight and nine brought Peake back to the field somewhat but he steadied with birdies at each of his final two holes, 12 and 13, to finish comfortably clear of Jarred McCosh (71) and Simon Houston (71).
Given the changes to the golf course make Peake’s 68 a new course record, a mark those who return in 2024 will have firmly in their sights.
Adding to the excitement at this year’s Karratha Pro-Am were novelties on every hole and a $10,000 hole-in-one prize that kept players keenly interested in every shot throughout the warm, sunny afternoon.
Players now head two hours north to Port Hedland for this weekend’s $30,000 Roy Hill Golf Classic Pro-Am on the distinctive red sand scrapes of Port Hedland Golf Club.
A mindset that he says is the best of his career has finally yielded a win for Sunshine Coast’s Shae Wools-Cobb at the Protech Middlemount Pro-Am at Middlemount Golf Club.
The second event of the Onsite Rental Group Mining Towns Series featured one of the strongest fields ever seen at Middlemount, Wools-Cobb and first year PGA Associate Ryley Martin sharing the win with matching rounds of 7-under 65.
They finished one shot clear of Doug Klein (66) as Brett Rankin, James Macklin and Will Bruyeres shared fourth with rounds of 5-under 67.
Second at the North Queensland Series that concluded on Monday at Pioneer Valley, Wools-Cobb is now one back of Tim Hart in the Mining Towns Series and riding a building wave of confidence.
“This is probably the best mindset I’ve ever had in my golfing career so far,” said an excited Wools-Cobb.
“The change in mindset six months ago has really helped out with the way I’m playing at the moment.
“I think I’ve had five bogey-free rounds this whole trip so it feels like there are no errors in the game at the moment.”
Making just his sixth start on the adidas PGA Pro-Am Series, a breakthrough win also provides a confidence boost for Martin.
Winner of the Norris Motor Group Royal Queensland PGA Associate Pro-Am in January, Martin credited his share of victory with some adjustments to his swing that he made earlier in the week.
“The game’s feeling really good and really looking forward to the next couple of events,” said Martin.
“Made a couple of swing changes at the start of the week and things are starting to really improve.”
A regular on the Mining Towns Series in recent years, Wools-Cobb praised the improving standard of the golf courses in small towns that rely so much on volunteer contributions.
“Courses are looking unreal. The greens have been so much better than the last few years; they’re getting better and better each year,” said Wools-Cobb.
“The surfaces are great; I really can’t fault the golf courses up here at the moment.”
The Onsite Rental Group Mining Towns Series now moves to Tieri for the $41,500 Tieri Pro-Am starting Saturday, voted the PGA Regional Tournament of the Year at the 2022 Queensland Golf Industry Awards.
Defending champion Tim Hart has taken an early lead in The Onsite Rental Group Mining Towns Series courtesy of a three-stroke win at the Moranbah Mini Earthmovers Pro-Am.
It was Hart’s fourth straight victory at Moranbah Golf Club and the Queenslander did it in style, shooting 10-under 62 in the second and final round for a 15-under total to finish three clear of Anthony Choat (65) with Doug Klein (67) solo third at 11-under.
A birdie straight out of the blocks at the par-5 second set the tone for the big-hitting Hart, who attacked the golf course at every opportunity.
Unaware of where he stood on the leaderboard until he had just two holes to play, Hart made four birdies on the trot from the fifth hole and was 6-under through nine holes after adding another birdie on 10.
He asked playing partner Brett Rankin for a leaderboard update with two holes to play, putting the result beyond doubt by picking up shots at both of his remaining two holes.
“My phone doesn’t work out here so I couldn’t look at the leaderboard all day,” Hart revealed.
“I asked ‘Bretto’ who I was playing with what the standings were with two to go so I knew I was a couple in front. I then managed to birdie the last two as well to put the nail in the coffin.”
The reigning adidas PGA Pro-Am Series champion, Hart has dominated the Mining Towns swing through Queensland the past few years and revelled in the comforts of Moranbah once again.
“It’s always good coming back here. I just seem to play well here,” he added.
“I think the course sets up well for me with a few drivers out there. If I can get that on a bit of a string I tend to get going early and then just keep going from there, knowing that you’ve got to stay aggressive.
“With the field that was out here this week you’ve just got to keep making birdies to try to keep them at bay and I managed to do that again.
“It was good to play well again and find my form a bit out here, which I tend to do each year.”
The Mining Towns Series moves on to Middlemount on Thursday for the Protech Middlemount Pro-Am where Hart is again the defending champion.
Rising WA star Hayden Hopewell has created history for a second time in taking out the $50,000 Mitchell and Brown Spalding Park Open in Geraldton.
Taking command of the tournament courtesy of a course record 10-under 62 on day one, Hopewell began the third and final round leading by two from Ryan Peake.
That lead was cut to one when Peake eagled the first to Hopewell’s birdie but that would be as close as anyone would get.
Hopewell’s birdie at three and Peake’s bogey saw the lead once again push out to three, Hopewell signing off on a tournament record total of 18-under par 198 and six-stroke win with a closing round of 7-under 65.
Two-under through nine holes of his final round, Hopewell showed his class to win going away, making birdies at 10, 11, 13, 15 and 16 to clinch his first adidas PGA Pro-Am Series win and move to the top of both the WA and National Pro-Am order of merits.
“It’s an honour coming up here and winning this event,” said Hopewell, the WA Open champion in 2020.
“I’m stoked with how I played, stoked with how the week went overall.
“The greens staff here have done an amazing job. The course conditions were perfect from start to finish. They should be very happy with how the course was presented this week.”
Admitting that he found it difficult to follow up his spectacular Round 1 performance, Hopewell said that the way he finished his second round of 1-under 71 provided the blueprint for his Sunday heroics.
“Having such a good first round, it’s always tough to back up a round like that,” he added.
“I held myself in there all the way to the end in Round 2 and that highlighted some stuff to me that I needed to take into the final round.
“I was a bit more calm and collected today which was a big key for my finish.”
As Peake struggled, it was 2022 winner Scott Strange who was moving up the leaderboard.
A front nine of 4-under 32 moved Strange to 9-under through the turn, picking up three further birdies at 11, 15 and 16 to finish outright second at 12-under.
Peake (74) had to settle for third while Victorian Cameron Kelly (69) snared fourth, Queensland’s Steve Jones (66) borrowing his wife’s putter to earn a share of fifth with South West Open champion Jose De Sousa (69).
Next year marks the 50th anniversary of the Spalding Park Open, and with major sponsor Mitchell & Brown confirming they are back on board, it promises to be an unmissable event.
The tour moves north to Karratha Golf Club on Thursday for the start of the NW Swing, the Bennco Group Karratha Pro-Am.
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.
