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Australian Tour veteran Glenn Joyner has added to his prolific career on the SParms Legends Tour with victory at the Halcyon Meadowbrook Legends Pro-Am.
One of five SParms PGA Legends Tour events in Brisbane rescheduled following the lockdown in August, Joyner played the 10-27 hole configuration at Meadowbrook Golf Club in 5-under 67, two strokes clear of Murray Lott, Adam Le Vesconte and former US PGA Tour Player Euan Walters at 3-under 69.
The win was Joyner’s second in as many starts after finishing in a three-way tie at the top of the Townsville Legends Pro-Am and is his sixth SParms Legends Tour win of the year, his round featuring nine birdies and four bogeys, the first of which came at his opening hole.
“I got off to a rough start with a bogey on my first hole though I followed it up with three birdies in a row,” said Joyner, who celebrated his 57th birthday last Friday.
“I felt like the course was there for the taking and am really grateful to get the win.”
Formerly the Logan City Golf Club, Meadowbrook has undergone a range of improvements in recent years and Joyner praised both the facility and the opportunity to play the south-east Queensland events that had been previously postponed.
“Meadowbrook Golf Club has really improved over the last 12 months with additions of the coaching facility, mini golf and the improvements to the driving range. The course is a pleasure to play,” said Joyner.
“These events the next two weeks are really important for many of us PGA Professionals given the uncertainty with the NSW swing of the SParms PGA Legends Tour in October and November.”
The SParms PGA Legends Tour now heads to the Mt Warren Park Golf Club on Friday for the Mount Warren Park Legends Pro-Am.
There was triple cause for celebration at the Townsville Golf Club on Friday night after Chris Taylor, Glenn Joyner and Guy Wall split top honours at the SParms PGA Legends Tour Townsville Pro-Am.
A field of 35 professionals wrestled with gusty winds around the tricky Townsville layout and it was Taylor, Joyner and Wall who came out on top with rounds of 3-under 68, one stroke clear of Tim Elliott and Peter Senior, the only other two players to break par with rounds of 2-under 69.
For Taylor it represented a second win as many starts after earning a breakthrough Legends victory at Rowes Bay on Wednesday while it was a birthday to remember for Joyner, marking his 57th year with a win alongside one of his closest friends.
“It is great to have a win on your birthday and it is even better to share the win with your best mate (Wall),” said Joyner, winner of four Legends Pro-Am events already this season.
“It was tough out there today with the wind and I knew I just had to keep on grinding to get the job done.”
Displaced from his home state of New South Wales for the past three months, Wall felt as though Joyner may have taken just as much joy from his own performance having provided some guidance in recent times.
“Glenn has helped me so much with how I approach the game and I know he is happy for me today,” said Wall.
“I have been on the road a lot longer than I anticipated and to have a win today feels great.”
For Taylor it was a matter of harnessing the momentum from two excellent rounds to win at Rowes Bay earlier in the week, starting his round at Townsville in the best possible fashion.
“I got off to a better start today,” said Taylor.
“I made an eagle on my first hole and managed to play pretty steady for the rest of the round.”
said Taylor.
The next event on the SParms PGA Legends Tour is the Mt Warren Park Pro-Am on Tuesday September 7.
Not even a double bogey on his opening hole could derail Chris Taylor’s charge to a drought-breaking SParms PGA Legends Tour victory at the Rowes Bay Legends Pro-Am at Rowes Bay Golf Club on Tuesday.
The overnight leader of the 36-hole event offering $25,000 in prize money, Taylor stumbled out of the blocks to fall from one stroke ahead to one stroke behind as overnight rain and gusting winds made the course challenging.
He recovered quickly with birdies at the second and third holes to resume his advantage and continued to extend it as his round progressed.
Birdies at seven, 11 and 16 saw him post a second round of 3-under 71 for a two-round total of 6-under, three strokes clear of Wynnum Legends Pro-Am winner Brad Burns (71).
Runner-up in a playoff at the 2008 PNG Open, Taylor was delighted to convert recent good play into a long-awaited win.
“It has been a long time since I have had to make a winners speech,” said the Hervey Bay Professional.
“I got off to a bad start but managed to get those shots back quickly and was able to settle in to my round.
“I have been playing well recently and I knew a win wasn’t far away.
“It was good to get a result today.”
Euan Walters finished a shot back of Burns at 2-under with Andre Stolz and Adam Henwood rounding out the top 5 at 1-under.
The next event on the SParms PGA Legends Tour is the Townsville Pro-Am at Townsville Golf Club on Friday.
Chris Taylor leads by one shot lead after the opening round of the Rowes Bay Legends Pro-Am in Townsville.
Taylor fired four birdies and one bogey on his way to a round of 3-under (70) to lead by one shot over former winner Peter Senior.
“I have been playing good golf lately but just haven’t been able to make putts,” Taylor said.
“Today I managed to make some good putts which helped. These greens are some of the best greens we have played on this year which helped me today.”
Peter Senior is in second place heading into round two, one shot off the pace, followed by Ben Jackson and David Fearns who are T3 at 1-under (72).
“I like playing at Rowes Bay, I have some good memories here,” Senior said.
“I am in a good position to challenge tomorrow and I am looking forward to it”
Rounding out the top five are recent SParms Legends Tour winners Andre Stolz (73) and Brad Burns (74), who are sure to be in contention.
Round two play commences at 11.30am local time today, with wet and humid tropical North Queensland weather forecast for the morning.
Two-time winner of the Legends Tour Order of Merit Tim Elliott has fired a round of 4-under 68 to claim his first SParms PGA Legends Tour event of the year at the Cairns Pro-Am at Cairns Golf Club.
The 1995 Ford South Australian Open champion, Elliott started his round from the third hole and began in steady fashion, reeling off six straight pars before picking up consecutive birdies at nine and 10.
There was a lone bogey on the back nine before the 59-year-old Victorian finished in a flurry, back-to-back birdies on his final two holes enough to finish one stroke clear of Andre Stolz (69) with Peter Senior, Euan Walters and Brad Burns sharing third with rounds of 2-under 70.
Given the border closures currently in place Elliott has remained in Queensland waiting for tournaments to play in, the victory going some way to easing any homesickness he may be feeling.
“I have been on the road longer than I expected due to the COVID situation back home in Victoria so it is good to get a win,” said Elliott, the Order of Merit champion in 2014 and 2016.
“The course was in great condition and I managed to play some good shots when it counted.”
With 29 Legends Tour players teeing it up, Stolz was seeking his sixth win of the season but conceded that he didn’t quite get everything out of his round that he would have liked.
“I hit the ball well but I left a few shots out there,” said Stolz, whose most recent win came at the Royal Queensland Pro-Am.
“The course was terrific and it was just great to see professional golf back in Cairns again.”
The SParms PGA Legends Tour now makes its way south for the 36-hole Rowes Bay Pro-Am starting on Monday.
Brad Burns has added the Wynnum Legends Pro-Am title to his trophy cabinet, complementing Pro-Am titles he picked up in Wynnum in 2014 and 2018.
The four-time PGA Legends Tour Order of Merit winner hit a five-under par round of 65, continuing the form he showed while playing the KitchenAid Senior PGA in the USA earlier this year.
“I didn’t have it all my own way today and actually I was one over after five holes, though got it going through the middle part of the round with six birdies in eight holes,” said Burns.
“I feel really comfortable out here, not just on the course, though seeing the regular sponsors and the great atmosphere the club generates each time we come here and I think that helps.”
One shot back in second place with a four-under round off 66 was David Hando, whose hole-in-one on the 156m par 3 9th hole was a highlight of the day.
“We were actually talking on the tee that the last time I had a hole in one was playing with Guy Wall who I was playing with today. Amazingly I did it again,” said Hando.
“Funny story, I actually went to the wrong golf course today. With all of the rescheduled events recently I went to Pacific Golf Club thinking we were playing there today and was just lucky the course wasn’t too far away otherwise I may not have been able to play at all today.”
The SParms PGA Legends Tour now heads north to the Cairns Golf Club for their inaugural PGA Legends Tour event on Friday.
He was due to be in the US launching his own Champions Tour career yet Andre Stolz used Rod Pampling’s breakthrough victory as inspiration to win the Royal Queensland Legends Pro-Am in Brisbane on Monday.
Just a couple of hours after Pampling broke an 18-year drought for Aussies on the Champions Tour with his win at the Boeing Classic players on the SParms PGA Legends Tour took to the Royal Queensland Golf Club layout.
The dominant force on the Legends Tour this year, Stolz had originally intended to be in America for Champions Tour qualifying but with travel so difficult instead turned his attention to RQ, firing seven birdies in a round of 6-under 66 to win by three strokes.
It was the 51-year-old’s fifth win in his past nine starts on the Legends Tour and further confirmation that when he can make it to America his game will be competitive on the Champions Tour.
“I was actually due to be in the US this week pre-qualifying for the Champions Tour though challenges getting back into the country stopped me from jumping on the plane,” said Stolz, a PGA Tour winner in 2004.
“It was great to see Rod Pampling fly the Australian flag and get the win especially given he is a member here at Royal Queensland Golf Club.
“Hopefully I can get over to the US when travel is far easier.”
After recent border closures and restrictions in Queensland the Royal Queensland Legends Pro-Am was the resumption of the Legends Tour and the first since the announcement of SParms becoming the Tour’s naming rights sponsor.
Victorian Adam Henwood (69) finished three strokes back of Stolz in second position followed by Hervey Bay’s Chris Taylor (70) in outright third. Pacific Harbour Legends Pro-Am winner Ben Jackson and Aussie legend Peter Senior rounded out the top five with rounds of 1-under 71.
The SParms PGA Legends Tour moves on to Wynnum Golf Club on Tuesday for the Bartons/BMD Wynnum Legends Pro-Am before heading north to Cairns Golf Club for their inaugural PGA Legends Tour event on Friday.
Defending champion Josh Herrero will use the disappointment of missing out at last month’s WA PGA Associate Match Play as extra motivation to win a second consecutive ADH Club Car WA PGA Associate Championship.
To be played across the two courses at The Vines Resort in Perth from August 15-17, the 2021 tournament represents the ninth consecutive year that it has been sponsored by ADH Club Car with players competing for $18,000 in prize money.
Restricted to West Australian Associates only due to border closures, the opening round will be played on the Ellenbrook Course where Herrero will start as an overwhelming favourite to repeat his success from a year ago.
A six-stroke winner at Wanneroo Golf Club, Herrero currently leads the WA PGA Associate Order of Merit with nine wins already this year but revealed that it was a runner-up result at the Associate Match Play that has lit the fire within to make it back-to-back victories.
“I was a little rattled after being knocked out of the WA PGA Associate Match Play by first year Matthew Hollington 2&1,” admitted Herrero, now in his second year at Rockingham Golf Club south of Perth.
“However, I’m feeling good going into it the event and looking forward to playing a 72-hole tournament and defending the title.”
Former host venue for the Heineken Classic and Johnnie Walker Classic, The Vines Resort remains one of Perth’s most outstanding golf facilities and General Manager Wayne Smith has no doubt it will crown a worthy champion.
“The Vines Resort are excited to have the privilege to host the 2021 WA PGA Associates Championship,” said Smith, who was runner-up at the 1994 and 1995 Heineken Classics played at The Vines.
“We are sure that these young and aspiring professionals will enjoy the opportunity to test their games on both the Ellenbrook and Lakes courses.
“We wish all the competitors the best for this important tournament and for their future in the game of golf.”
A blistering start that yielded five birdies in his opening six holes has provided the catalyst for Kade McBride to end a 12-month drought with victory at the 2021 Lawn Pride Kooralbyn Valley Pro-Am at the famed Kooralbyn Valley Golf Resort on Friday.
The Desmond Muirhead layout was in pristine condition and with the south-east Queensland winter weather to match McBride got hot early before holding on to record a one-stroke win with a round of 4-under 68.
That was one clear of Michael Sim, rookie Lawry Flynn and Gavin Fairfax to seal his first win since the 2020 Emerald Pro-Am.
Starting his round from the third hole, McBride had five birdies and a bogey at the spectacular downhill par-3 fifth to get to 4-under early.
There were further dropped shots at the ninth and 14th holes but birdies at 13 and 18 and two closing pars was enough to post the best score of the day.
“It is a good test of golf out there. If you hit a bad shot you can make a big number pretty quick,” said McBride, who was tied for fourth at the 2019 NT PGA Championship.
“I hit the ball well today and I managed to stay away from all the trouble which was good.”
Max McCardle, James Grierson and Bailey Arnott finished a further two shots back with rounds of 1-under 71 with Brett Rankin, Daniel Gale and Lucas Higgins sharing eighth spot at even par 72.
The next event on the adidas PGA Pro-Am Series is the Southport Pro-Am on August 16.
Victorian Mike Harwood claimed a one-shot victory at the Toowoomba Legends Pro-Am presented by The Ninth Middle Ridge yesterday, implementing the guidance of his wife on his way to his second Legends Tour win.
“I owe credit to my wife Donna who I asked for advice on a few shots today which worked well,” said Harwood.
“I didn’t do anything great out there today, just played solid all round and made no real mistakes.”
Harwood secured five birdies in his round of 4-under (66), making it two victories in the past four Legends PGA Tour events after a joint victory at Beerwah last week.
Carl Smedley topped the highlights reel of the day’s play, holing an ace on the par 3 145m 14th hole.
The hole-in-one wasn’t enough to bring the Victorian up the leader board though, as Queensland’s Brad Burns, Victorian Roland Baglin, and current Order of Merit leader Andre Stolz tied for second on 3-under par (67).
Rounding out the top five was NSW’s Guy Wall who continued his recent good form with a 2-under par (68).
Players now take a few days rest before making their way to Brisbane for the 2021 Royal Queensland Legends Pro-Am to be played on 3 August.
For all information on the PGA Legends Tour, please click here.
