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Four birdies and an eagle in a six-hole stretch has propelled Ben Ferguson to a share of victory at the German MotorWerks Wembley Golf Course Pro-Am.
A quality field of 60 professionals laden with DP World Tour, Korn Ferry Tour, Asian Tour and PGA Tour of Australasia winners took full advantage of the ideal scoring conditions, 41 players finishing level par or better at Wembley’s Old Course.
Ferguson and Scott Strange finished tied at the top with rounds of 7-under 65 but it took something special from Ferguson to do it.
Starting from the 11th hole with back-to-back birdies, Ferguson took a small step back with a bogey at 13.
That dropped shot would soon be forgotten, however, as he made eagle at the par-5 17th hole and then four straight birdies after making the turn.
Bogeys at six and eight dropped Ferguson down the leaderboard but only momentarily, closing out his round with birdies at nine and 10 to match Strange at 7-under.
It was a far less stressful round for Strange, the three-time DP World Tour winner going bogey free to also earn a share of first place.
Just one stroke back in a tie for third at 6-under 66 were Braden Becker and Marcus Fraser with
Michael Sim and Brody Martin rounding out the top five with rounds of 5-under 67.
The Wembley Pro-Am signified the end of their WA tour for a number interstate professionals, many praising the quality of golf courses on the WA swing. Combined with the incredible run of weather over the first week of the circuit, it was a great advertisement for elite professional golf in WA.
The adidas PGA Pro-Am Series’ final event in the Perth metropolitan area will be the Carine Parkside Sun City Pro-Am on Friday.
For those wanting to get a glimpse of alternate-shot professional golf, the WA PGA Foursomes Championship will take place at Nedlands Golf Club from midday Thursday.
Rising amateur star Tom Addy used home course advantage to its full effect, upstaging a host of big names to take out the Metal West Recycling Joondalup Resort Classic.
Although unable to share in the $40,000 prize money on offer at Joondalup Country Club, Addy displayed the talent and temperament that marks him as a prospective success in the professional game.
The unique format – adopted for the first time in 2023 – saw the top 40 professionals and four amateurs qualify for the second round where they played Joondalup’s Quarry Nine twice.
An early north-westerly breeze added to the challenge and with an excellent turn out from the public helped to create a big-tournament feel for the players.
Defending champion Michael Sim, WA Open champion Deyen Lawson and PGA Tour of Australasia Rookie of the Year, Haydn Barron, were among those hoping to make a Sunday charge.
Yet the battle for top spot would be largely contained to the final group of Addy, David Bransdon and overnight leader Alex Edge.
Runner-up to Ollie Marsh at the WA Amateur, Addy and Bransdon birdied the second hole to join Edge at 6-under, with Bransdon adding another at the following hole to take the outright lead.
Edge responded brilliantly with four birdies in succession from the fourth through to the seventh hole create a three-shot lead from his playing partners at the turn.
But it was hometown favourite Addy who stepped up on the back nine, birdieing 10 and 11 to get to 9-under, Edge’s bogey at 11 dropping him back into a tie for the lead.
Bransdon was not going away however, and when he birdied the 11th and 14th holes, the Victorian momentarily joined the lead with Addy and Edge on 9-under.
It was short-lived, as Addy made a birdie of his own on 14 to move into the outright lead at 10-under.
When Bransdon (69) bogeyed the following hole, and the birdies dried up for Edge (70), it was Addy (67) who would calmly par the final four holes to claim the title by two strokes
An appreciative cheer from the local crowd reverberated around the quarry as the future star in the making beat a stellar field of professionals, a number with Australasian and international tour wins to their name.
The next event on the WA swing of the adidas PGA Pro-Am series is Monday at the GNW Wembley Pro-Am.
A host of PGA Tour of Australasia and DP World Tour winners will headline a week of professional golf in Townsville starting Monday.
Commencing with the PGA Professionals Championship of North Queensland – a qualifier to contest the National Final at The Heritage Golf and Country Club in October – Townsville Golf Club will be witness to some of the most talented players in the country.
Steven Jeffress (2014 Fiji International), Sam Brazel (pictured, 2016 Hong Kong Open) and Chris Wood (2021 Victorian PGA Championship) have entered to play the three-day $50,000 Lexus Townsville Golf Classic starting Friday, May 26.
They and fellow PGA Professionals will share their knowledge with junior golfers from the area at a junior coaching clinic that will take place on Wednesday with a Calcutta to be held on Thursday night ahead of Friday’s opening round that will tee off from 6.30am.
Other functions that golf fans can enjoy include the LEXUS Shootout on Friday, Players Dinner and Q&A on Saturday and final presentations at the end of play on Sunday.
Also entered to play are reigning adidas PGA Pro-Am Series champion Tim Hart, Doug Klein, Jack Munro, Shae Wools-Cobb, Brett Rankin and Michael Wright.
Two star WA amateurs threatened to steal the show but it was New South Welshman Alex Edge who ended Round 1 in front at the Metal West Recycling Joondalup Resort Classic.
Players tested their games across the Lake and Quarry nines at Joondalup Country Club on Saturday but will play the Quarry Nine twice on Sunday in a shotgun start that will ensure a thrilling finale at one of Australian golf’s most distinct settings.
A round of six-under 66 will see Edge start the final round in the final group from the first hole with a one-stroke lead, paired with WA amateur Tom Addy (67), David Bransdon (67) and Ethan Andrews (69).
Edge went to school on Joondalup’s slick greens in Friday’s sponsor day and put his learnings into practice in a bogey-free round.
“The greens were very slick so you had to put it in the right positions. A bit more thinking about there to hopefully leave yourself more uphill putts than the sliders,” Edge said.
“I had to chip one from on the green today because it was diabolical if I’d had to putt it. It was nice to get that one up and down.”
Stellar iron play was a feature of Edge’s round, providing straightforward birdie opportunities at the Quarry Nine’s two par 3s, three and seven.
“I hit a couple of really nice shots on two of the par 3s; it makes life easy when you’ve got a couple of tap-ins because it’s a big-boy course out there,” Edge added.
“The Lake Course is supposed to be easier but if you’re off it can still catch you out a little bit.”
A strong easterly wind added to the challenge in Round 1, WA State representative and Joondalup member Celine Chen all too familiar with the conditions.
She snared the early lead with three successive birdies and then birdies on 10 and 12, split by a bogey on 11, had Chen out in front at 4-under. A late double bogey on the difficult par-3 17th dropped her back to the chasing pack at 2-under and tied for eighth.
Fellow Joondalup member and WA State team-mate Tom Addy is right in the hunt, making the most of his home course knowledge with a round of 67.
Addy was joined at 5-under late in the day by Bransdon who stormed home by picking up five shots in his final six holes, including an eagle at the par-5 18th.
Defending champion and Joondalup favourite, Michael Sim, had to settle for an even par 72 and will have to go low in the final round to catch the leaders.
The unique format that will see the final round played around the Quarry nine twice necessitated a cut to the top 40 pros and four leading amateurs. Four professionals were tied in 38th position, meaning a shootout was required to determine the final two spots on Sunday.
A short 66-metre pitch across the lake onto the 18th green was used as the shootout hole with Brendan Chant, Cooper Geddes, Bruce Parker and Jarred McCosh all hitting their approaches within 12 feet of the cup.
McCosh holed first, Parker narrowly missed and when Chant calmy rolled in his five-foot putt it was left to Geddes to take it to extra holes. Unfortunately for Geddes, the putt slid low and gave Chant and McCosh the final two positions in the final round.
Play commences with an 11am AWST shotgun start for the final round, which promises to provide non-stop action throughout the afternoon.
The re-routing of the nine will see the leader’s final hole taking place across the cavernous quarry, with a large crowd expected to welcome home the winner.
Adding to Sunday’s fanfare will be a Tag Heuer hole-in-one prize at the par-3 ninth/18th.
Any player that can execute the perfect shot will win themselves a Tag Heuer Connected Golf Edition watch valued at $4,000.
A dropped shot on his final hole meant that Aaron Wilkin had to share victory with Marcus Fraser at the DJ Di Stasio Kwinana Pro-Am south of Perth.
The greens at Kwinana Golf Club were true and fast, yielding plenty of birdies and the odd nervy par-save.
The reigning Queensland PGA champion, Wilkin came to his final hole – the par-5 first – needing just a par to claim the win outright.
Yet a bogey – his only one for the day – would open the door for Fraser to finish tied at the top at five-under 67.
With recent changes to the third hole at Kwinana, Fraser and Wilkin (pictured with Dan Di Stasio) also now share the course record.
Starting his round at the par-4 fifth, Fraser began his round with a bogey.
The three-time DP World Tour winner would not record another blemish, peeling off six birdies including a run of three on the trot from the 12th hole.
The early pace-setter was Brendan Chant, who picked up five birdies in his first 12 holes without a dropped shot.
A bogey on the difficult par-4 eighth was costly, dropping him into a tie for third with David Bransdon, Braden Becker and Edward Donoghue who all shot 68.
It was Donoghue who would be feeling the hardest done by.
The Victorian reached his final hole, the par-3 sixth at six-under par before a double bogey five ended his run at the title.
The next event on the adidas PGA Pro-Am Series starts Saturday at the Metal West Recycling Joondalup Resort Classic.
Defending champion Michael Sim joins an already stellar field with play to commence at 9am Saturday at Joondalup Resort.
By his own admission it wasn’t great, but Deyen Lawson’s game was good enough to snare a one-stroke win at The Green Lakelands Pro-Am at Lakelands Country Club.
The second event on the WA swing of the adidas PGA Pro-Am Series drew a quality field containing DP World Tour winners and many champions from the most recent ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia season.
Lawson was one of those, flirting with scoring records on his way to victory at the WA Open at The Western Australian Golf Club last October.
Less than 20 kilometres up the road in Perth’s northern suburbs, Lawson’s six-under 66 earned the win by a shot from DP World Tour-bound Tom Power Horan (67), Alex Edge (67) and Darcy Brereton (67).
With the course in immaculate condition and warm, calm weather, low scores were in the offing.
It was Edge who jumped out to an early lead, with two opening pars on the fourth and fifth holes followed by four birdies in a row.
His only bogey of the day followed on the ninth, however Edge steadied with birdies on both par 5s on the back nine to secure a share of second.
Starting from the seventh hole, Lawson’s first birdie didn’t come until the 11th hole, adding two more at 13 and 15 to be three-under through nine holes.
He rounded out the Lakelands back nine with three consecutive pars before picking up birdies at one, four and five to post the number that would stand tall at day’s end.
“I played reasonably solid. I think I was bogey-free,” said Lawson, who will return to Asia either on Sunday or in a few weeks’ time.
“Didn’t feel like I drove it great but just drove it in spots where it was still playable, obviously being a tighter course.
“The ones I did miss were, fortunately, still OK.
“Short game was pretty good, iron play was reasonable, pretty solid all round.”
Scott Strange, Dean Alaban, Ryan Peake and Marcus Fraser were the next best at Lakelands, each shooting four-under 68s.
Recent Membership Pathway Program graduate, Joshua Herrero, momentarily held the lead midway through the day after picking up four birdies and an eagle at the par-5 eighth before three bogeys in his closing four holes saw him sign for a two-under 70.
The next event on the WA swing is the DJ Di Stasio Transport Kwinana Pro-Am at Kwinana Gol Club on Thursday.
Brett Rumford’s proficiency with the putter came to the fore in the playoff as he claimed the 75th Sanwell Cottesloe Open at Cottesloe Golf Club.
After the wild and windy conditions of Round 1 players were greeted by perfect May weather for Sunday’s final round of the first event of the WA swing of the adidas PGA Pro-Am Series.
Young gun Hayden Hopewell began the day with a two-stroke lead but he would be joined at nine-under by day’s end by Rumford and now part-time golfer Ollie Goss.
Rumford and Goss both shot rounds of four-under 68 on day two, Hopewell making an eagle at the par-5 14th in his round of two-under 70 to book a spot in the playoff.
A six-time winner on the DP World Tour, Rumford would be the first to play his approach shot at the first playoff hole after Goss and Hopewell both thumped their tee shots down the fairway yet the wily veteran made it count when it mattered.
Goss could only find the front fringe with his wedge shot and came up short with his birdie try. With Hopewell eyeing off a 12-foot birdie putt of his own, Rumford stepped up to convert a tricky 30-footer downhill over the ridge to make birdie and take the ascendancy.
When Hopewell’s birdie putt to extend the playoff slid past the hole, the title was Rumford’s.
Earlier it was Goss who made the early move.
He picked up three shots in the first four holes, including an eagle at the par-5 fourth.
Rumford, playing alongside Hopewell in the final group, also burst out of the blocks with three birdies in his first four holes to join Goss in the lead as Hopewell made bogey on three to fall one back.
The 2020 WA Open champion countered with two successive birdies on holes five and six to regain the lead.
The leaders traded pars throughout the middle stages of the round, setting up a tense conclusion down the stretch.
Three-time PGA Tour of Australasia winner Tom Power Horan set the clubhouse lead with a superb six-under 66 to finish at eight-under for the tournament.
When both Rumford and Hopewell dropped shots on the 12th hole, and Hopewell followed with another bogey on 13, Goss found himself with a two-stroke advantage.
Hopewell bounced back with his eagle on 14 to rejoin Goss in the lead momentarily.
A birdie on 16 elevated Goss to 10-under before an untimely bogey on 18 put him back into a tie for the lead at nine-under with Hopewell.
Rumford joined the pair with a birdie of his own on 17 and when both Hopewell and Rumford parred the last hole, a sudden death playoff would be required to split the trio.
In the Lyndsay Stephen Cottesloe Invitational being played concurrently, Scott Barr was victorious with a two-round total of 138 (six-under par), winning by four shots from WA’s Wayne Smith.
The low amateur winner was Joshua Greer with rounds of 69, 70 for a five-under total.
The next event on the adidas PGA Pro-Am Series is Tuesday at The Green Lakelands Pro-Am at Lakelands Country Club.
A near flawless seven-under 65 has given emerging WA professional Hayden Hopewell a two-stroke lead heading into the final round of the 75th Sanwell Cottesloe Open at Cottesloe Golf Club in Perth.
Marking the start of the WA swing of the adidas PGA Pro-Am Series, a stellar field boasting numerous DP World Tour winners descended on Cottesloe where they were met by wet and windy conditions at the coastal layout.
The 2020 WA Open champion, Hopewell started on the 10th hole and began with two straight birdies. His only bogey of the day came at the difficult par-3 13th hole, momentarily halting his progress.
He bounced back immediately with birdie on 14 and followed up with another birdie on the 17th to turn three-under.
Four more birdies on his inward nine set an early target for the rest of the field.
It looked like Hopewell would be upstaged by fellow Royal Fremantle Professional, Oliver Goss, who made six birdies in his first 11 holes in the first group out in the afternoon.
Two loose tee shots on the 12th and 13th holes led to a bogey and double bogey respectively for Goss, before he steadied with two birdies to sign for a five-under 67 and match Brett Rumford’s morning round.
Pro-Am stalwart, Brendan Chant, was also brilliant in the afternoon winds, starting with four straight birdies – four of eight on his round – to shoot 67.
Chant’s 67 has him leading the Lyndsay Stephen Cottesloe Invitational by one shot from Scott Barr who carded a 68, with Wayne Smith in third at two-under 70.
The leading amateur is Lake Karrinyup Country Club’s Joseph Owen who shot 67.
The final round concludes on Sunday with the final groups teeing off at 12.40pm local time.
Michael Bainbridge is already plotting his title defence after finishing three points clear at the Air Adventure 7th King Island Pro-Am.
The Head PGA Professional at Colac Golf Club in Victoria’s Western District, Bainbridge brought three Colac members to King Island for the first time to play Cape Wickham Golf Links and Ocean Dunes.
It was not Bainbridge’s first King Island excursion and he felt that prior knowledge proved critical in harnessing the challenging weather conditions.
“I feel that having been there before it helped me be able to get around in those conditions,” Bainbridge explained.
“I knew that there were holes you needed to just hang on and others where you could make a good score.”
With a score of 32 points Bainbridge trailed Andy Rogers by one after the opening round at Cape Wickham. His score of 31 points on day two at Ocean Dunes gave him a total of 63 points for a three-shot advantage from Rogers (33-27) and Ashley Hall (30-30).
The unique format that allows PGA Professionals to invite three team-mates to contest the teams event is one that Bainbridge says he will continue to support.
“My team-mates were all locals from Colac Golf Club who hadn’t been to King Island before,” Bainbridge added.
“This event will stay a permanent fixture on my calendar for the years to come.
“What Air Adventure have done is put together a great event at a spectacular location plus, now that I’ve won, I have to come back to defend don’t I?”
ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia Rookie of the Year Haydn Barron and three-time winner Tom Power Horan are two of the stars to have signed on for the WA swing of the adidas PGA Pro-Am Series starting Saturday at Cottesloe.
Starting on May 13 and running through until mid June, the Western Australian leg of the Pro-Am Series has already attracted prominent names of the past along with stand-outs from the most recent Australasian Tour season.
Ahead of his major championship debut at Royal Liverpool in July, Barron (pictured) will tee it up at the $30,000 Sanwell Cottesloe Open starting Saturday along with Power Horan, winner of both Gippsland Super 6 and The National Tournament this past season.
By virtue of finishing second to David Micheluzzi on the Order of Merit, Power Horan will join the DP World Tour at the end of the year and is expected to feature prominently during his stint in the west.
Joining Barron and Power Horan at the 75th staging of the Cottesloe Open will be multiple DP World Tour winners in Brett Rumford, Marcus Fraser and Scott Strange while defending champion Braden Becker will seek to add a second champion’s jacket in 2023.
Over the course of the next six weeks players will vie for their share of the $340,000 in prize money on offer, culminating with the WS6 Broome and the $36,000 Broome Furnishings Carpet Paint & Tile Pro-Am at the stunning Broome Golf Club on June 24.
“The adidas PGA Pro-Am Series continues to grow year-on-year, with a 13 per cent increase in prize money across the WA swing in 2023,” explained WA Membership Manager of the PGA of Australia, Brendon Allanby.
“Golf clubs and facilities enjoy showcasing their courses through elite professional golf, at the same time providing their members a chance to play with the current and future stars of our game.
“We sincerely thank clubs, sponsors and our PGA Members for their continued commitment to deliver outstanding events to WA.”
The Lyndsay Stephen Cottesloe Invitational will be staged alongside the Cottesloe Open, with current European Senior Tour players Peter Fowler and Michael Long expected to contend for this year’s title. Glenn Joyner, Guy Wall, Mike Clayton and David Diaz are other familiar names that will be battling it out for this special trophy.
The adidas PGA Pro-Am Series continues in Perth the following week, with The Green Lakelands Pro-Am and DJ Di Stasio Transport Kwinana Pro-Am before players head to Joondalup for the reigning WA PGA Tournament of the Year, the Metal West Recycling Joondalup Resort Classic on May 20-21 where Michael Sim will defend his title.
With a boost in prize money to $40,000 and a unique format in 2023, the Metal West Recycling Joondalup Resort Classic will provide an action-filled weekend for spectators. Saturday will see 60 professionals and 12 elite amateurs playing the Quarry and Lake nines, before a cut to 40 pros and four amateurs will be made for the final round.
Sunday will feature the spectacular Quarry nine being played twice – a unique order of play delivering a dramatic finish over the quarry. A shotgun start from 11am will provide fans and corporate hospitality non-stop entertainment throughout the day.
Sun City Country Club returns to the adidas PGA Pro-Am Series schedule with the Opal Health Care Sun City Pro-Am on May 26 that will serve as a fitting end to the metropolitan leg of the series.
Heading south for the Jetline Kerbing Capel Pro-Am and Urban Quarter Dunsborough Lakes Pro-Am, players will enjoy the best of WA’s south west golf and hospitality over the week. The South West Isuzu South West Open at Bunbury Golf Club is one of the longest running events on the calendar and also sees an increase in prize money in 2023, pushing up to $40,000.
Players then head north to Geraldton for the $50,000 Mitchell & Brown Spalding Park Open from June 9-11, an increase of $15,000 from 2022 and now the richest event on the WA Pro-Am schedule.
The $20,000 Bennco Group Karratha Pro-Am has seen prize money almost double from last year and coincides with 18 grass greens in play for the first time.
The $30,000 Roy Hill Pro-Am at Port Hedland remains a favourite stop with players and is now the sole sand green event in 2023, taking place on June 17-18.
For the full schedule of the WA swing of the adidas PGA Pro-Am Series and scores, please visit pga.org.au.
