After a frustrating two days on the Sandbelt where he missed the cut at the ISPS HANDA Australian Open, Rankin made an adjustment to his putting stroke, and it paid off.

In cold and windy conditions that were a far cry from Sunday at Victoria Golf Club, Rankin recovered from a disastrous start to post three-under 69 and a two-shot win from Michael Choi (71).

If a bogey at his opening hole – the par-3 fifth – wasn’t bad enough, Rankin fell to three-over when he made double at the par-4 10th.

With a putter that had defied his best ball-striking efforts only days earlier, Rankin suddenly started to hole them, making six birdies in his final 10 holes to turn frustration into triumph ahead of the next event on the ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia schedule.

“This is exactly what I needed, was to go a shoot a good score today and see the ball go in the hole and get ready for later in the week,” said Rankin after his sixth adidas PGA Pro-Am Series win of the year.

“Especially the way I’ve been hitting the ball, if I can get the ball to go in the hole I feel like I’ll be a big chance this week for sure.

“Last two weeks have been frustrating. I’ve hit the ball pretty well tee to green and just been letting myself down on the greens. I had seven three-putts over the two days at the Australian Open and hit 30 greens (in regulation).

“I made a little set-up change with the putter. I spoke to the coach before the round so it was nice to go out there and execute and actually see the ball go in the hole.

“Definitely frustration to a bit of relief.”

Choi had four birdies and three bogeys to be the only other player in the field of 61 under par, Rankin’s performance even more impressive given the crazy conditions.

“I thought the golf course was brutal today,” was Rankin’s frank assessment.

“Two, three-club wind, especially after the start I had. I had a double bogey on my sixth hole but then I played the last 12 in six-under.

“Just putted really well, which is something that I have been struggling with the past few weeks.

“It was nice to finally see a few go in and shoot a score.”

Click here for final scores and prize money.

Celebrating the club’s 100-year anniversary, the inflated prize pool is the richest on the 2022 adidas PGA Pro-Am Series with Gale and Macklin posting 7-under 63 to snare the lion’s share of the prize money.

Tied for fourth at the Queensland PGA Championship a week earlier, Gale missed the cut at the Fortinet Australian PGA Championship at Royal Queensland.

The New South Welshman is hopeful that his bogey-free round at Wynnum will help to regenerate momentum ahead of this week’s ISPS HANDA Australian Open in Melbourne.

“Last week was close,” Gale said.

“Coming off a good week at Queensland PGA the week before, I definitely thought I could keep that momentum going and it just stalled a bit last week. Bad round on Friday which made me miss the cut by a couple.

“It was a good, steady round. Got off to a good start. Had a couple of eagle putts the first couple of holes; didn’t make either of them but two two-putt birdies to start.

“It’s just good to get out of the gates well. It’s not an overly long course, you’ve got to plot your way around. If you get into the trees you’re in a bit of trouble but I played the tough holes really well and just plotted my way around nicely.”

In a field littered with players who competed at the Australian PGA, Macklin was somewhat a surprise co-winner.

A PGA Associate at Jindalee Golf Club in Brisbane, Macklin swooped late to win the Queensland PGA Associate Championship last year and won the Murwillumbah Pro-Am last December.

With an eye to advancing his playing career further in 2023, Macklin credited a hot day with the putter for his share of victory.

“It was just one of those days where everything went in,” Macklin said.

“I didn’t necessarily hit it the best I’ve ever hit it but the cup was like the size of a bucket. Everything just wanted to go in today. It was a good day definitely for that to happen.”

One-over through two holes, Macklin got back into red numbers with birdies at 12 and 13 and then holed his wedge from 90 metres for eagle at the par-4 14th.

Playing in the morning wave, Macklin turned in four-under but after bogeys at one and four made birdie at four of his final five holes to set the score for Gale to chase.

“I knew a good score was going to be needed to win around Wynnum from past history of all the other pro-am scores here,” said Macklin.

“I’ve been lucky enough to win a couple of good events through the Associate events including the Associate Champs last year and I won a pro-am but this is biggest.

“It’s awesome to be able to play for this kind of prize money and all that the PGA and the sponsors provide for us, we certainly appreciate it.”

For now, Macklin will return to his Associate education but wants to concentrate his energies on on-course performance in 2023.

“Hopefully not as many shop hours, let’s put it that way,” Macklin joked.

“I’ve got a couple of assignments to finish off and hopefully I’ll be able to practice a bit more next year and see what status I get through the Associate stuff and see where I go from there.

“I’ll probably give playing more of a crack and I’m excited to see what the next year holds.”

Click here for final scores and prize money.

Medway’s close proximity to the Maribyrnong River raised doubts as to whether the tournament could go ahead yet the club’s greens staff were able to present the course in fantastic condition as players tune up for a five-week run of tournaments on the ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia.

Seeking his first win on the adidas PGA Pro-Am Series in more than a year, John mentally switched gears on his way to the golf course on Friday and it paid dividends.

Rather than all-out attack, John made the decision to keep the headcover on the driver and plotted his way around the Medway layout with surgical precision.

Although he began his round with a bogey at the 224-metre par-3 sixth, seven birdies in a round of six-under 64 saw John finish three clear of Harrison Gilbert and Ashley Hall.

“Every time I come here I typically stand on a tee, hit driver and go for the green,” John said post-round.

“Driving here this morning I thought, I’m not going to do that today. For the first time ever I’m actually going to play the golf course how it’s supposed to be played.

“I hit a lot of irons and relied on my wedge shots to be close.

“I started with a bogey on six but I knew that was going to be a pretty tough hole to get going, a 240-metre par 3.

“From there I just tried to stay really patient and made seven more birdies.

“It was really impressive that we even got out here with all the rain that we’ve had lately.

“It’s so close to Maribyrnong River that I didn’t give it much chance but the greens staff did an amazing job.”

Starting with next week’s Victorian PGA Championship at Moonah Links, the next five weeks will have a critical influence on the all-important PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit.

John has one top-10 already this season at the CKB WA PGA Championship at Kalgoorlie where he set a new course record of nine-under 63.

He also jointly shares the course record at the Moonah Links Legends Course – 10-under 62 – and

“I like Moonah, I played really well there last year and the year before I set the course record,” said John.

“If there’s one that I feel like I might have a sniff, this is a good chance for me and good to build into the big events, the Aus PGA and Aus Open.”

Click here for final scores and prize money.

On a perfect day for golf, the result was always in the balance, with several players making moves but few able to hold the lead for any length of time.

Several hopefuls jumped out fast, including Tim Hart, who had four straight birdies to begin his round and his Queensland counterpart Will Bruyeres, who cruised to six-under par after six holes.

As the round wore on, several others joined the fray, including Justin Warren, former Japan Tour player Neven Basic and the above pair, Austin and defending champ Millar.

With no one making a clean break, Millar got to the clubhouse first courtesy of back-to-back birdies on 17 and 18.

Austin, however, was the man of the moment. After starting day two, the local from nearby Bungendore and a member at Queanbeyan put on a clinic, firing six birdies on his way to a blemish-free 64 and a share of the clubhouse lead.

Lautee, playing in the final group alongside overnight leader Matias Sanchez, remained steady throughout and, with a brace of birdies from the 11th to 13th, made it to eight-under. Sadly, chances proved hard to convert on the way home for the young Victorian, and he eventually signed for a second consecutive 66.

The playoff, another first in the NSW Regional Open Series, was an enthralling affair. After the trio made pars on their return to the 18th the first time, Lautee bowed out first, failing to get up and down from the back of the green, leaving Austin and Millar to fight for the spoils.

Three more holes ensued, with Millar looking likely to convert a chance on two occasions. A misbehaving putter – first from about 10 feet and then from about four – didn’t behave, and the Canberran was left rueing the missed opportunities.

After four loops of the 18th, the decision by officials to switch the battle to the par-3 eighth proved pivotal for Austin.

With honour, he managed to rifle his approach to within nine feet. Millar responded with a pearl of his own to about 10 feet, but like the two previous playoff holes, his putter again didn’t respond.

Austin, now with a real chance to convert for the first time in the playoff, made no mistake, slotting his putt for a well-deserved and extremely popular win amongst the following gallery.

“Matty and I have known each other for a long time,” a delighted Austin said after his win. “We did our traineeship together and I knew if I gave him too many chances, it would be game over.

“He had a close one, and thankfully he didn’t make it. We did one more hole and I was finally able to close it out.”

Austin admitted he had doubts over the final putt, but a piece of sound advice from his caddie helped put him straight.

“I thought it was going to break a bit more, and my caddie, Leon, talked me out of it a bit,” Austin revealed.

“We went with a straighter roll, and it was right.”

The win also secured Austin a spot in the 2023 PLAY TODAY NSW Open, an especially fitting reward after coming so close to securing a start at the 2022 NSW Open in the South Open earlier this year at Moruya.

“I’m stoked about winning a spot in the NSW Open,” said Austin.

“I’m happy to do it at my home club, in front of so many members and with so much support.”

Click here for final scores and prize money.

The 24-year-old has plenty of challengers snapping at his heels, though, with 13 players within three shots of the lead after the opening day’s play at Queanbeyan Golf Club just outside the ACT.

“It was pretty good out there,” a happy Sanchez said. “I played well.”

Sanchez admitted post-round that he didn’t exactly jump out of the gates as quickly as he would have liked, but a brace of solid par putts early on kept him towards the top of the leaderboard.

“I was hitting good shots early on, but I had to hole three five-footers in a row – all for par – to keep myself in it,” Sanchez added.

The Victorian finally started his day with a birdie on the sixth. However, he gave it straight back with a bogey on the demanding par-4 seventh.

“I birdied six, the par 3, and that felt really good. I was going all right but nothing special,” he said.

With the field battling conditions more like winter than summer, Sanchez stayed calm as the round progressed. After missing a couple of chances early in his back nine, his patience was finally rewarded with a well-timed eagle on the par-5 13th.

“I missed a couple (of putts) early in the back nine, but then holed out from about 50 metres on the 13th, out of the rough with a lob wedge,” he explained.

“It snuck in the front lip, so that was nice.

“That kick-started it for me for sure.”

Riding a wave of momentum following the eagle, Sanchez birdied the 16th from the right edge of the green, then, on the last, got up and down from 65 metres for another birdie to finish at five-under and secure the clubhouse lead.

“It’s another day tomorrow, so I’ve got to keep hitting good shots,” was his summation.

“To win any event, two-day or more, would be a real achievement. I’m going to go out and try to shoot the best possible score I can, and hopefully, it’s good enough.”

A shot back from Sanchez also chasing a breakthrough adidas PGA Pro-Am Series win is his Victorian counterpart, Andre Lautee, and Castle Hill’s Alex Edge.

Lautee looked to be the man they were all going to be chasing in the final round when he got to six-under, but unfortunately for the rookie Victorian, he made an ill-timed double bogey on the 17th to undo much of his excellent work.

Edge, too, looked to be cruising at six-under, however, a couple of bogeys late also undid much of his earlier good work. Still, the Castle Hill PGA Professional was pleased with his day’s efforts and looked forward to the final round.

“I saw a couple of putts go in early so it was nice to get off to a solid start.” Edge smiled.

“It’s fairly short, fairly tight and you have to hit it in the right part of the fairway around here.”

The final round of the Queanbeyan Open tees off at 7.50am Friday morning with the lead group of Sanchez, Edge and Lautee off at 12.40pm AEDT.

Click here for Round 1 scores

Although other events in Victoria had to be cancelled due to the rain that has soaked the state in recent weeks, the ground staff at The Sands Torquay were able to present playing surfaces that allowed players to showcase their full range of skills.

Tied for fifth at the season-opening CBK WA PGA Championship in Kalgoorlie on the ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia, Murdoch converted that confidence into a win that he hopes serves a precursor to bigger and better things to come.

Twelve months ago Deyen Lawson triumphed at Torquay and recently recorded his first win on tour at the Nexus Advisernet WA Open.

It is a trajectory Murdoch is eager to replicate at the Vic PGA and Queensland PGA in the coming weeks.

“Hopefully I can do something similar to ‘Digger’ (Lawson), that would be nice. We’ll see what happens,” said Murdoch.

“It just reiterates that what you’re doing is the right thing, more than anything.

“It’s good to test it under some sort of pressure and then hopefully take it forward into the next two events.”

Four times a top-10 finisher on the Asian Development Tour this year, Murdoch started positively at Torquay with a birdie at his opening hole, the par-4 10th.

He dropped back to even par with a bogey at 14 but an eagle at the par-5 16th and four birdies on the trot from the second hole provided the backbone to a round of seven-under 65 and a one-stroke win from Simon Hawkes (66), Matias Sanchez outright third at five-under 67.

A regular visitor to The Sands Torquay, Murdoch made special mention of the ground staff for the quality of the golf course presentation.

“It’s always in good condition so it’s always nice coming here for that reason,” said Murdoch.

“The course was great, especially with all the rain that they’ve had. The staff have done exceptionally well to get it up and running.

“I’ve played here a bunch of times so it was good to be back.”

The next event on the adidas PGA Pro-Am Series is the $50,000 Queanbeyan Pro-Am starting Thursday.

Click here for final scores and prize money.

The par-64 layout on Sydney’s north shore boasts spectacular city views and a few quirks within the golf course itself.

Currently the Assistant PGA Professional at Manly Golf Club, Kato called on his past experience at the golf course to post a morning round of two-under 62 to win by one stroke from Simon Hawkes and Clinton Russell.

“Knowing all the slopes around the course here really helped. Just putting it in the right place really helped,” said Kato.

“I played in the morning so didn’t get much of the wind that the arvo guys got.

“I struck it really good and the greens are awesome and rolled some in too.”

Although he had three birdies on a golf course featuring nine par 3s, eight par 4s and a lone par 5, it was a par at Northbridge’s infamous par-3 fifth that was Kato’s highlight.

Playing down a steep descent, from the back tee the flag is barely visible, making any tee shot reliant on trust in your execution.

“Everyone was talking about the fifth hole – the famous fifth hole at Northbridge,” Kato admitted.

“I hit it on the green and two-putted for par so I was pretty stoked about that.”

There was a five-way tie for fourth at even par, Lane Cove Pro-Am joint winner William Bruyeres continuing his good run in Sydney alongside Neven Basic, Jordan Mullaney, Allan Haughie and Larry Austin.

The next event on the adidas PGA Pro-Am Series schedule is The Sands Torquay Pro-Am on Sunday.

Click here for final scores and prize money.

Only two players broke par in the Lane Cove Pro-Am with New South Welshman Mitchell Gannon and Queenslander William Bruyeres (pictured) sharing top spot with rounds of one-under 31.

The par-32 layout features five par 4s and four par 3s with a host of blind tee shots.

Previous course knowledge would ordinarily be an advantage but Bruyeres had to rely on some Lane Cove locals to navigate his way around the tricky layout on Sydney’s lower north shore.

“It was very interesting, all the blind tee shots, but luckily we had a couple of locals showing us the way,” said Bruyeres, whose patient round included two birdies and a lone bogey.

“When you don’t know the golf course you have to play it very simple, very few to no mistakes. The fact that I didn’t know the place meant that I had to keep it very simple on course.”

After a double bogey on the par-3 third Gannon harboured no thoughts of victory.

Aware that even par was leading in the clubhouse, a birdie at the eighth gave Gannon a glimmer of hope, hope he converted with a closing birdie to tie Bruyeres at one-under.

“I started off crap but came home strong and was really happy with my one-under,” said Gannon.

“Originally I was just trying to finish strong and make a bit of money. I wasn’t even thinking about winning but after I birdied the second-last hole I knew even par was in leading.

“I was really trying to birdie the last and to knock it in close was really pleasing.”

There was a five-way tie for third place with Andrew Richards, Mark Panopoulos, Sung Park, Nicholas Russell and Jordan Mullaney also posting even par 32.

Click here for final scores and prize money.

Tied for 13th a week ago at the Nexus Advisernet WA Open in Perth, Conran returned to his home state and picked up exactly where he left off to earn his maiden adidas PGA Pro-Am Series victory.

His round of eight-under consisted of seven birdies and an eagle at the par-4 seventh as he held out hometown hopeful Blake Windred (64) by a shot with Jake Higginbottom two shots further back with a round of five-under 66.

After an opening round of two-over 72 at The Western Australian Golf Club last week, Conran came home with rounds of 67-65-66 to finish 10 shots back of Deyen Lawson and had no trouble replicating that form at Waratah Golf Club.

“I’ve been playing pretty consistently,” said Conran, the son of veteran Australasian Tour player Steven Conran.

“I’ve been playing a lot of tournaments so it’s good to get out as much as I can.

“Hitting it clean and holing some good putts at the moment.

“Bit of momentum and hopefully it keeps going for me.”

In a strong field featuring players with one eye on producing good results on the ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia this summer, Conran kept it simple.

He birdied his opening hole – the par-4 13th – and bounced back from a bogey at the long par-3 15th with birdies at 16, 17 and 18.

He birdied two, eagled seven and closed with birdies at two of his final three holes to edge Windred for top spot.

“I just really didn’t put any pressure on myself to make any par putts,” Conran explained.

“Everything I missed was just a tap-in and holed some good birdie putts.

“Made an eagle on a par 4 which helped but everything was pretty straightforward.

“I drove it good and putted solid.”

Click here for final scores and prize money.

Evans and veteran Terry Price both posted rounds of five-under 66 on the scenic Shelly Beach layout to finish one stroke clear of Jayden Cripps, Daniel Priest and Dimitrios Papadatos sharing fourth at three-under 68.

Currently 84th on the Japan Tour moneylist, Evans took the opportunity of a gap in the schedule to return home to Sydney and squeeze in back-to-back pro-ams on the Central Coast.

After finishing tied for 12th at Toukley on Thursday, Evans found some winning form at Shelly Beach ahead of his return to Japan this weekend.

“I wasn’t in for ZOZO (Championship) and Japan Open I missed the qualifying,” explained Evans, the 2021 Queensland Open champion.

“I had two weeks off so it was a lot easier to just come home and hang out. Then I saw these two events and just snuck in the entry deadline so I thought, Why not.

“It’s good when the schedule is next to each other so I was keen to come up and see where my game was at before I leave this weekend.”

Despite the rain that has lashed the east coast, Shelly Beach was in superb condition, particular the greens which Evans praised as some of the best seen on the adidas PGA Pro-Am Series circuit.

“It was awesome out there. I love playing at Shelly Beach,” said Evans.

“The course is always in great nick and the greens are some of the fastest that we get to play on the pro-am circuit.

“I had a lot of fun.

“There was a bit of rain and a bit of wind but I thought it was great.

“I only missed one green so that was key. That was my only bogey.

“A lot of good shots, plenty of birdie chances and I holed a few. The greens were really good, easy to read them and I had a lot of fun.”

The next event on the adidas PGA Pro-Am Series is the 35 Latitude Waratah Pro-Am at Waratah Golf Club on Wednesday, October 26.

Click here for final scores and prize money.