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A hole-in-one 40 years in the making made Anthony Choat’s share of victory at the NewGen Caravans Tin Can Bay Pro-Am one to savour at Tin Can Bay Country Club.
A joint winner at Biloela Golf Club two weeks ago, Choat again had company at the top of the leaderboard as Alex Simpson and Josh Clarke matched his total of 7-under 65.
Surprisingly, all three players were in the morning wave, their clubhouse mark unmatched in the afternoon as Harry Goakes, Dean Jamieson and Aaron Maxwell all posted 6-under 66.
Choat had barely signed his scorecard before video of his first ever hole-in-one hit the socials, the 46-year-old raising his arms to the skies when he found his Titleist at the bottom of the cup at the par-3 13th.
“I was playing with Wade Hooper who is probably a foot taller than me,” Choat said.
“He goes, ‘I think that’s gone in.’ He’s calling it on the tee and I can’t see anything.
“I keep walking, walking, walking, Wade gets his camera out and starts filming.
“As soon as I saw it in, it was a massive release because 40 years of golf and none. I’ve had them flying the hole, bounce off the green, spin back, lip out.
“I reckon I can count 10 that should have gone in so to actually have one go in was just huge.”
HOW THE WINNING ROUND UNFOLDED
The 18th hole was Choat’s first and he began with a birdie.
He added two more at two and three but it was two eagles in the space of four holes that provided the backbone to his score.
The first came with a three at the par-5 10th before the long-awaited ace at 13.
Choat birdied 14 to get to 9-under on his round but made double-bogey on his final hole, the par-4 17th.
Like Choat, Simpson began with a birdie at his opening hole, the par-5 eighth, but it was a stretch of four birdies in the space of five holes late in his round that enabled him to match Choat and Clarke at 7-under.
Clarke took a step back with a bogey at his first hole but accumulated eight birdies from that point, six of which came in his final eight holes to also finish at 7-under.
WHAT THE WINNER SAID
“I didn’t really think a win would come from the morning. It was cold and the ground was wet. There was no wind, but I thought we were losing lots of distance with the wet and cold conditions.
“I actually arrived in Townsville with some form and then it quickly dropped off and I really started to doubt myself. Hanging around with a lot of these young players is really good. They talk about their games a lot and it’s a very open forum.
“Through conversations and positivity of some of the young ones, I’ve felt the need to just keep pushing and pushing and it was the second round at Emerald where I really started to find something and I probably haven’t really looked back since.”
LEADERBOARD RUNDOWN
T1 Alex Simpson 65
T1 Anthony Choat 65
T1 Josh Clarke 65
T4 Harry Goakes 66
T4 Dean Jamieson 66
T4 Aaron Maxwell 66
NEXT UP
With a proud history and a record $80,000 in prize money, the Optilease Redcliffe Pro-Am tees off on Thursday with a Tour-quality field to do battle across two rounds at Redcliffe Golf Club.
Connor McDade didn’t believe 5-under was enough yet his morning score could not be bettered as five players joined him at the top of the leaderboard at the Maryborough Pro-Am.
McDade was out in the morning wave at Maryborough Golf Club and despite starting with a bogey, recovered sufficiently to shoot 65 and give the afternoon players something to chase.
And chase they did.
Brady Watt, James Marchesani, Ben Henkel, Bailey Arnott and James Conran all got to 5-under but none would surpass it, joining McDade with a share of victory.
“It’s a good bunch of guys to share it with,” said McDade after his second adidas PGA Pro-Am Series win.
“I honestly kind of counted myself out of it a little bit. I saw there were maybe five or six guys that were within a shot with nine holes to play.
“I’m not really sure how 5-under held up, but it did, so I’ll take that for sure.”
HOW THE WINNING ROUND UNFOLDED
Six players ended the day at 5-under but they did so in a variety of ways.
After an opening bogey on three, McDade responded with three consecutive birdies from the fifth hole to get his scorecard heading in the right direction.
Along with birdies at his first and final holes the highlight of Watt’s round was an eagle at the par-4 sixth while Marchesani finished eagle-birdie after finding himself 2-over early in his round.
Conran needed four birdies in his final six holes to join the leaderboard logjam, Arnott had four straight birdies in the middle of his round while Henkel was 6-under through nine holes before also finishing at 5-under.
WHAT THE WINNER SAID
“Kind of just proved to myself again that I can compete out here and compete with some of these players that have played a lot of good golf in their career,” who was the joint winner with Arnott and Henkel at the JET Group Clermont Pro-Am.
“The two wins I’ve had, I’ve been over-par through one hole, so I wasn’t too phased by it. I know that there’s birdies out here, so I just kept doing my thing and saw what happened.
“It’s good to share a win with players such as those guys. They’ve done a lot more than I have in a professional sense… but wouldn’t mind winning an event without Bailey and Ben Henkel there.”
LEADERBOARD RUNDOWN
T1 Connor McDade 65
T1 Brady Watt 65
T1 James Marchesani 65
T1 James Conran 65
T1 Ben Henkel 65
T1 Bailey Arnott 65
T7 Josh Clarke 66
T7 Brett Rankin 66
NEXT UP
Tin Can Bay Country Club hosts the NewGen Caravans Tin Can Bay Pro-Am on Tuesday followed by the $80,000 Optilease Redcliffe Pro-Am starting Thursday.
Even though he hates sleeping on a lead, Christopher Wood completed a wire-to-wire victory in the $60,000 Ian Weigh Toyota Rockhampton Pro-Am by shooting a final round of 67 today.
A tournament best 65 on day one gave Wood control of the three-day event, but he had to hold off a challenge from fellow Queenslander Brett Rankin before emerging as a three-shot winner at 17-under-par.
“I hate it. I’d much rather go into a final round behind than leading,” said Wood who led by a single stroke overnight before being victorious for the second time this year in the adidas PGA Pro-Am Series.
“I’m a bit of a scoreboard watcher. I like to know what guys are doing and sometimes that can distract me as well.
“Bretto put some pressure on me late in round with three birdies in a row. The nerves were there with four or five holes to go so I’m happy to come out on top.”
Anthony Choat (NSW) and Dylan Gardner (Qld) shared third place on 12-under.
HOW THE WINNER’S SCORE UNFOLDED
A consistent winner of adidas Pro-Am Series events since 2013, Wood’s 67 was the equal best round of Friday.
He had four birdies on his front nine with a dropped shot on the par-5 seventh hole and another three birdies on the back, including on the 17th and 18th to finally see off Rankin, who bogeyed the par-five finishing hole after surging with three consecutive birdies.
WHAT THE WINNER SAID
“It was a really good week. I felt like my game was really nice all week,” Wood said.
“I had a good idea where the ball was going and the putter was listening from time to time.
“For some reason, I saw the lines on the greens really clearly this week, just trusted my stroke and all the practice that I’ve done.”
LEADERBOARD RUNDOWN
-17: Christopher Wood (Qld) 65-67-67
-14: Brett Rankin (Qld) 67-66-69
-13: Anthony Choat (NSW) 67-68-68; Dylan Gardner (Qld) 68-67-68
-12: Andrew Campbell (NSW) 70-67-67; Kyle Michel (Vic) 66-67-71
-11: William Bruyeres (Qld) 67-70-68
NEXT UP
The adidas PGA Pro-Am Series heads down the Bruce Highway to the Maryborough Golf Club Pro-Am on Monday.
An opening eagle and birdie at the last has helped to maintain Chris Wood’s one-stroke advantage through two rounds of the Ian Weigh Toyota Rockhampton Pro-Am at Rockhampton Golf Club.
A Tour-quality field will contend for the $60,000 in prize money on Friday with Wood’s 12-under total one clear of both Brett Rankin (66) and Kyle Michel (67).
Backing up from a 7-under 65 on day one, Wood was 9-under after just one hole on Thursday thanks to an eagle at the par-5 first.
A string of six pars was followed with a birdie on eight and bogey on nine, birdies at 12, 14 and 18 giving him a round of 5-under 67 and the narrowest of leads going into the final round.
“Obviously it’s nice to be on top,” said Wood, the 2020 Victorian PGA champion.
“To be honest, I haven’t been playing a lot of golf lately. I didn’t go out west and play, so I sort of just had a bit of time off, which I felt I needed after such a busy season last year.
“To be up the top of the leaderboard with not much competitive golf under my belt is nice.”
Rankin made his move up the leaderboard early in Round 2, picking up five birdies in the space of seven holes to turn in 5-under 31.
After a bogey on 11 he hit back with birdies at 13 and 14 to play his way into the final group with Wood.
Conceding he was not at his best, Wood said it was his patient approach that enabled him to keep his nose in front.
“I didn’t really feel like I had my A game today, but I just knew that there was plenty of birdies out there,” he added.
“I just tried to give myself as many chances as possible and managed to sneak in a few more coming home.
“Eagle on the first was nice and then to be honest, it was pretty boring after that.
“I had about probably six or seven pars in a row. Had a lot of opportunities, didn’t really convert and then made a birdie on eight, which was nice but then gave it back the very next hole.
“Then really just tried to stay patient out there.”
A mindset of playing “aggressively smart” and a birdie from the fringe on his final hole has earned Queenslander Chris Wood a one-shot lead after day one of the Ian Weigh Toyota Rockhampton Pro-Am.
With $60,000 in prize money on offer a Tour-quality field took to the Rockhampton Golf Club layout on Wednesday, Wood edging one clear with a brilliant round of 7-under 65.
Victorian Kyle Michel (66) is Wood’s closest challenger, the pair both taking full advantage of ideal scoring conditions in the morning wave to set the early tone.
Wood began with a birdie on his opening hole – the par-4 10th – only to give it straight back with bogey at the tough par-3 11th.
It would be his only step backward all day, making five birdies in the space of seven holes around the turn before moving to the top of the leaderboard with a final birdie at the par-3 ninth.
“The birdie on nine was a bit of a bonus,” Wood conceded.
“I holed a putt from about 17 feet just off the right-hand side of the green there, putting up the hill.
“The goal was honestly just to two-putt and get out of there, but to see that drop was quite nice.”
A regular at Rockhampton, the 2020 Victorian PGA champion said he has adopted a different strategy to avoid making some of the same mistakes of the past.
“I’ll just go out there with the same mindset of playing aggressively smart,” he added.
“I’ve kept driver in the bag a little bit this week on a few holes just from previous history.
“I always find I hit it in the same trouble spots as previous years so just trying to eliminate some of the mistakes.
“I know there’s plenty of birdies out there, so just to try and stay patient and add them up at the end.”
There is just two shots separating the top 10 on the leaderboard after Round 1 with Matt Millar, Brett Rankin and James Marchesani among the eight players in a tie for third at 5-under par.
Round 2 begins at 6:50am Thursday morning.
Call it a working holiday or the world’s longest honeymoon, but Darcy Boyd and Danni Vasquez have emerged as the new power couple of the adidas PGA Pro-Am Series.
Married for eight months, Boyd and Vasquez have been prominent on the Pro-Am circuit leaderboards throughout the Queensland swing, Vasquez the first woman to win a Pro-Am Series event in five years at Biloela last Saturday.
A Bowen Pro-Am victory is among Boyd’s seven top-five finishes dating back to late May and makes him one of the leading contenders heading into the $60,000 Ian Weigh Toyota Rockhampton Pro-Am, starting Wednesday at Rockhampton Golf Club.
Plans are in place to purchase a caravan and continue their nomadic start to married life for the next 18 months, the New South Wales pair taking full advantage of the unique opportunity that they have been afforded as professional golfers.
“We’ve found that balance of golf being this thing that allows us to travel the country,” said Boyd, the 2020 PGA National Trainee of the Year.
“We love Australia and we want to see it all. Whereas other people would have to quit their jobs to go and do that, we can sort of do both hand in hand.
“You have to be switched on when you get to the golf course, but you also need to switch off and our passion is camping and exploring and going and seeing things.
“We try and do that on our days off or make time to do things away from golf.”
Adds Vasquez, who became a full PGA Member on January 1: “We don’t really treat golf as a job.
“We’re not really that hard on ourselves because we know it’s golf that allows us to do what we love, which is travel around Australia.
“If it wasn’t for golf, we wouldn’t be able to do that.”
Boyd and Vasquez both played the Pro-Am Series last year to limited success, the pair struggling to adapt somewhat to their new environment.
But they are in their element now and believe that having each other for support gives them something of a competitive advantage.
“I see it through good mates and others. It is a big struggle being away for such long periods,” said Boyd.
“Whilst it’s hard for them, it’s also hard for the people at home.
“Sometimes things like relationships are put under stress because of the profession, whereas I’m not in that position, so I’m pretty lucky.”
In addition to having her hubby on hand, Vasquez has played the role of recruiter to bring fellow WPGA members into the Pro-Am fold.
Emma Ash was third at Biloela and the likes of Rhianna Lewis, Sarah Yamaki-Branch, Jordan O’Brien and Kelsey Bennett have all made starts throughout the Queensland stretch.
Their presence has been well received by the tournament hosts and fellow competitors and expanded the support network available to Vasquez.
“The others who have come this year are loving it, which is really good actually,” she said.
“I didn’t know how it would sit but they’re all for it, so I am really happy about that.
“Even the other day at Biloela, (joint winner) Anthony (Choat) was looking at the leaderboard and said to himself that if Danni birdies one of the last three and beats me, he’d be so happy for me, which is nice.
“He said if it was anyone else, he would hate it, but because it was me, he was very, very happy. So that made me feel a bit good.”
And as much as they are there to support each other, there remains a layer of competitiveness between husband and wife.
“We got paired together for the first time ever a few weeks ago and Darcy kept making birdie after birdie, so there’s definitely a competitiveness there,” Vasquez added.
That competitiveness comes with an incentive, too.
“The rule was that whoever has the worst score has to do the cleaning up, but it’s changed now,” Vasquez said.
“Between us we’ve got one motorised buggy and one old push buggy, so whoever has the best score gets the motorised buggy for the next event.”
“I’ve got to start playing better,” added Boyd, “because I’ve now got to push my buggy around Rockhampton for the next three days.”
Boyd has been drawn to play with Rhianna Lewis off the first tee at 11am on Wednesday while Vasquez will tee off alongside Harrison Wills from the 10th tee, also at 11am.
First groups are out at 6:50am.
Danni Vasquez has joined a short list of women to win on the adidas PGA Pro-Am Series with a share of victory at the Biloela Pro-Am at Biloela Golf Club west of Gladstone.
Playing in the afternoon groups, Vasquez and Anthony Choat both shot 8-under 64 to finish one stroke clear of Jay Mackenzie (65) and another women’s PGA Professional in Emma Ash (65).
There has been an influx of women PGA Professionals and WPGA Members playing the Queensland swing of the adidas PGA Pro-Am Series this season, Vasquez the first woman to have a win since Grace Lennon’s joint victory at the Eastwood Pro-Am in Melbourne in 2019.
“Monkey off my back. Finally got a win,” said Vasquez, who was fourth at the Clermont Pro-Am two weeks ago.
“I knew it was coming. I’ve been playing well the last few months, but I just haven’t had everything click in one round. Today it happened.”
It was something of a drought-breaker, too, for Choat, the New South Welshman enjoying his first pro-am success since the Stuart Appleby Cohuna Pro-Am last September.
“I’ve been chopping and changing, trying to get better the last few years and things are starting to stabilise,” said Choat.
“To actually be out there in contention, to be really way under par and to be thinking about only making birdies and trying to shoot 10, 11, whatever under, it’s really, really good.
“I feel really good about my game and have for a while, but it’s nice to actually shoot a good one and get a result.”
HOW THE WINNING ROUNDS UNFOLDED
Playing in the group ahead of Vasquez, Choat went backwards before going forward, making bogey at his opening hole, the par-4 fifth.
He rebounded with birdies at seven and eight before unleashing on the Biloela back nine, peeling off six birdies and three pars for a back nine of 6-under 30.
His ninth and final birdie came at the par-3 second, coming up just short of a birdie on his final hole that would have secured an outright win.
Vasquez had to come up with an up-and-down of her own to match Choat’s score of 8-under.
Unlike Choat, Vasquez was fast out of the blocks with birdie at her first hole, the par-5 fourth.
She added a second at the short par-3 eighth and then eagled the par-5 ninth to head to the 10th tee 4-under par.
There were birdies at 12, 14, 17 and 18 before three closing pars to round out a bogey-free 64.
WHAT THE WINNERS SAID
Danni Vasquez: “I knew because it was my last par 5 of the day, I knew I had to do something but I didn’t put too much pressure on myself. I knew the chip that I had was tough, but I knew if I just landed it on the fringe, it would roll up to a hole-able length. Ended up holing my five-footer which I was very happy about.”
Anthony Choat: “It was an amazing day. I know I’ve been hitting the ball. I haven’t been scoring great, but I knew it couldn’t be too far away. When the putter started to get hot, I was just like, don’t watch a leaderboard. Let’s go make as many birdies as we can.”
LEADERBOARD RUNDOWN
T1 Anthony Choat 64
T1 Danni Vasquez 64
T3 Jay Mackenzie 65
T3 Emma Ash 65
T5 Bradley Kivimets 66
T5 Dean Jamieson 66
T5 Christopher Wood 66
T5 Harrison Wills 66
T5 William Bruyeres 66
NEXT UP
One of the marquee tournaments of the season starts on Wednesday with the $60,000 Ian Weigh Toyota Rockhampton Pro-Am at Rockhampton Golf Club followed by the inaugural Maryborough Pro-Am next Monday.
It was not how he drew it up on the tee but Victorian Nathan Page conjured the birdie he needed on the final hole to claim the 36-hole JRT Group Emu Park Pro-Am at Emu Park Golf Course near Rockhampton.
Winner of the North Queensland Series in May, Page followed up the equal best round of day one with a 5-under 67 in windy conditions in Round 2, his 12-under total enough for a one-stroke victory from Zach Maxwell (66) with James Marchesani (69) third at 10-under par.
In a field full of Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia regulars, Page needed something special on the final hole to edge clear.
Going to what had been a trusty cut off the tee all tournament, Page double-crossed himself and hit his tee shot onto the opposite fairway.
It was a mere blip, however, as he lofted a shot over the trees to two feet and the winning birdie.
“It was good to do it in the moment. It was a good feeling,” said Page.
HOW THE WINNING ROUND UNFOLDED
Beginning his second round from the 17th tee, Page opened with three pars before unleashing a birdie barrage.
He had five birdies in the space of seven holes from the third hole, his momentum disrupted only by a bogey at the short par-4 sixth.
A bogey at the par-4 11th for the second straight day was another step back but a birdie at the par-5 13th and his miracle closer on 16 was all he needed to get the job done.
WHAT THE WINNER SAID
“It was good to back it up today in the bit of wind and shoot 5-under,” said Page.
“Just kind of got my putting going a bit more over the last couple of days than I have this whole trip.
“The mentality kind of shifts a little bit from going low. Just kind of damage control when it’s this windy. I was lucky to stick a few close I guess and make some birdies when I needed to.”
LEADERBOARD RUNDOWN
1 Nathan Page 65-67—132
2 Zachary Maxwell 67-66—133
3 James Marchesani 65-69—134
T4 Lachlan Armour 65-70—135
T4 Lincoln Tighe 66-69—135
T6 Jay Mackenzie 67-69—136
T6 Caleb Bovalina 68-68—136
T6 James Conran 69-67—136
NEXT UP
The adidas PGA Pro-Am Series heads south on its Queensland swing on Saturday for the inaugural Biloela Pro-Am at Biloela Golf Course.
A bounce-back birdie on the final hole was double cause for celebration as Jay Mackenzie took out the Blackwater Pro-Am and the 2024 Onsite Rental Group Mining Towns Series at Blackwater Country Club.
Without a win on the adidas PGA Pro-Am Series since victory on his home course in Ballina almost 12 months ago, Mackenzie had been consistent throughout the Mining Towns Series without notching a win.
He was top five at both Tieri and Emerald but put it all together at Blackwater, his second round of 8-under 64 and two-round total of 12-under enough to edge Darcy Boyd (67) and Ben Henkel (67) by a shot.
With a total score of 37-under par, it was also enough to finish one clear of Henkel in the 10-round accumulative Mining Towns Series, Mackenzie breaking 70 in each of his final nine rounds.
“Probably the first guy in 15 years to beat Tim Hart,” said the laconic Mackenzie of the five-time reigning champion who had to settle for third in 2024.
HOW THE WINNING ROUND UNFOLDED
Mackenzie began the second round trailing both Boyd and Henkel by two shots but a run of four straight birdies from the fourth hole elevated his presence on the leaderboard.
Four birdies in the space of six holes on the back nine gave Mackenzie a comfortable two-shot cushion but victory would not come easily.
His first and only bogey of the tournament came at his penultimate hole – the par-4 18th – which sent Mackenzie to the first hole needing birdie to win.
A good drive at the 355-metre par 4 gave the New South Welshman sand wedge in, dialling it in to set up the birdie putt that he duly converted to win by one.
Playing together in the final group, Boyd and Henkel could both have matched Mackenzie’s 12-under total but had to settle for a pair of pars in their final two holes.
WHAT THE WINNER SAID
“I haven’t played like that for a while,” said Mackenzie.
“Just didn’t make many mistakes. One bogey and I guess 13 birdies.
“I think I had maybe a two-shot lead at some point and then I was like, Oh yeah, just make another birdie and that should be enough.
“I was a bit dirty after the bogey but I knew what was going on.
“I was pretty comfortable (playing the last). I felt pretty good. I don’t really get that nervous. I almost fell asleep, actually.”
LEADERBOARD RUNDOWN
1 Jay Mackenzie 68-64—132
T2 Darcy Boyd 66-67—133
T2 Ben Henkel 66-67—133
T4 Brendan Smith 67-69—136
T4 Nathan Page 70-66—136
T6 William Bruyeres 69-69—138
T6 Dylan Gardner 70-68—138
T6 James Conran 71-67—138
NEXT UP
The Queensland swing of the adidas PGA Pro-Am Series heads coastal on Wednesday for the two-day JRT Group Emu Park Pro-Am which will be followed by a new event in 2024, the Biloela Pro-Am at Biloela Golf Course.
A close to two-year wait for a win ended in emphatic fashion with Brisbane’s Will Bruyeres taking out the Lunar Mining Emerald Pro-Am at Emerald Golf Club.
Without a victory on the adidas PGA Pro-Am Series since the Northbridge Pro-Am in Sydney in October 2022, Bruyeres backed up a round of 6-under 64 on day one with 7-under 63 in Round 2 and 13-under total.
That was three clear of Tim Hart (66) as Blaike Perkins stormed home with a 63 of his own to snare outright third.
Bruyeres had just one bogey across the 36 holes – the par-3 ninth in Round 2 – but responded with birdies at 11 and 13 to keep the chasers at bay.
“I knew I could make a couple more birdies and just get rid of that mistake,” said Bruyeres.
“It was my only bogey of the tournament so I didn’t really think too much of it to be honest.”
Hunting a sixth straight Onsite Rental Group Mining Towns Series title, Hart moved into top spot with his runner-up finish, now two shots clear of Perkins with three rounds left to play.
HOW THE WINNING ROUND UNFOLDED
Playing in the group ahead of fellow Round 1 co-leaders Hart and Harrison Wills, Bruyeres played the role of the hunted from the very first hole.
An opening birdie gave him a one-shot buffer from Wills yet it was an eagle at the par-5 sixth and two subsequent birdies that set Bruyeres apart.
The bogey on nine was a temporary hiccup, birdies at 11, 13 and 17 enough to close out a comfortable win.
WHAT THE WINNER SAID
“That eagle putt on six was a big turning point for me,” said Bruyeres.
“It just gave me that little bit of leeway, a little bit of breathing room and then I could just fly through the rest of the holes.
“I had a steady start and then just got hot through the middle and then just hit the ball quite nicely the rest of the day and holed a couple putts.
“Nothing else to it. Just a simple day. And a lot of putts holed.”
LEADERBOARD RUNDOWN
1 William Bruyeres 64-63—127
2 Tim Hart 64-66—130
3 Blaike Perkins 70-63—133
4 Jay Mackenzie 69-65—134
5 Jayden Cripps 68-67—135
T6 Nathan Page 68-68—136
T6 Caleb Bovalina 65-71—136
NEXT UP
The Onsite Rental Group Mining Towns Series continues on Wednesday with the JET Group Clermont Pro-Am and then concludes with the two-day Blackwater Pro-Am starting Saturday.
