A one-stroke leader after Round 1, Watt posted 10-under par with a second consecutive round of 5-under 68.

But after a bite to eat and halfway into his first post-round beer, Watt had to switch back into game mode as Becker made his charge.

The 2022 WA Open champion birdied his final three holes in a course-record round of 9-under 64 to force the tournament into extra-time.

HOW THE PLAYOFF UNFOLDED

After putting his beer aside, Watt headed back out on course to go toe-to-toe with Becker.

The pair both hit good drives but it would be Watt who took command with a brilliant approach shot.

Perhaps infused with additional adrenaline, Becker’s wedge shot went through the back of the green and he was unable to get up-and-down, Watt two-putting from five feet for his second win of the season.

WHAT THE WINNER SAID

“I had a look at the scores with three to go and I saw I was a couple clear,” said Watt.

“I saw Braden had a few holes left but on the app you can’t see which holes he had to go.

“When I birdied 18 to finish, I thought I was probably going to win by one or whatever so I had some food, had a beer.

“To have a playoff, it’s so awesome. It’s a great thing to be a part of and to get all the members out and watch it. Anyone that did see it, it’s such a cool spectacle.

“Everyone just wants to see good shots. We both hit two good drives and he hit a pretty good wedge shot that went over the back. I hit a really nice shot in there and he made five, but he didn’t really hit a bad shot.

“That ending is a fitting way to finish such a great event.”

LEADERBOARD RUNDOWN
1          Brady Watt       68-68—136
Won on first hole of sudden death playoff
2          Braden Becker  72-64—136
3          Rick Kulacz       69-69—138
T4        Scott Barr         72-67—139
T4        Scott Strange   71-68—139
6          Jordan Doull    74-66—140

NEXT UP

The annual Mining Towns Series in Central Queensland begins on Tuesday in Moranbah while the WA swing will continue this weekend at Port Hedland for the Roy Hill Golf Classic.

Just 35 minutes from the Golf King Superstore that he operates in Mackay, Johnson treated a rare pro-am appearance like a Sunday members comp with his mates.

It proved to be a prudent approach as his score of 7-under 65 matched Lexus Townsville Classic winner John Lyras and Mackay Pro-Am champion Brett Rankin for a winning total.

The trio finished one stroke clear of in-form players James Mee (66) and Darcy Boyd (66) along with Ben Henkel (66), five players finishing in a tie for seventh at 5-under par.

HOW THE WINNING ROUND UNFOLDED

Coming in hot after his dominant win at Mackay, Rankin began his round at Pioneer Valley Golf Club with two early birdies at 16 and 17.

He added three further birdies on the front nine but after a bogey on 12 needed a birdie on his final hole, the par-5 15th, to post 7-under.

Lyras found himself 1-over after an opening bogey on 10 but got it back at the next hole and then collated three further birdies before heading to the front nine where the birdie blitz continued.

He had five birdies and a bogey on the par-4 fifth to finish his round at 7-under.

Johnson began his round at the 12th hole and was 3-under through four after a birdie on 13 and eagle at 15.

The two-time Mackay Open winner kept bogeys off the card as the scoring somewhat stalled but finished in a flurry, making birdies at six, seven, eight and 11 for a 7-under total.

WHAT THE WINNER SAID

“Obviously made a nice putt for eagle on the sixth from 30-odd feet, but didn’t really get into too much trouble, which was surprising,” said Johnson.

“I’ve got a wife, kids, mortgage, generally weekends involve basketball and tennis. Nothing’s about me anymore so it’s good to for a change to play on the weekend.

“I was lucky enough to play with three of my buddies today, so it was just basically a normal Saturday. We were playing for drinks at the end like we do every week. I was more worried about not losing money to them rather than winning the event.

“Happy to hole a few putts and be in the winner’s circle again. It doesn’t happen too often, but yeah, it was good.”

LEADERBOARD RUNDOWN
T1        John Lyras                    65
T1        Anthony Johnson         65
T1        Brett Rankin                 65
T4        Darcy Boyd                  66
T4        Ben Henkel                  66
T4        James Mee                   66
T7        Harvey Young              67
T7        Tyler Duncan                67
T7        Jye Pickin                     67
T7        Brendan Smith 67
T7        Aaron Townsend          67

NEXT UP

The adidas PGA Pro-Am Series now moves into the annual Onsite Rental Group Mining Towns Series, starting on Tuesday with the two-day IMS Moranbah Pro-Am.

Dating back to a four-day event worth $60,000 almost a decade ago, this year’s two-day adidas PGA Pro-Am Series event at Mackay Golf Club boasts $51,500 in prize money, an increase of 94 per cent on last year and almost five times the amount played for in 2021.

The increase in prize purse has the potential to make Brazel’s hopes of repeating wins in 2021 and 2023 all that more challenging.

Fellow DP World Tour winner Marcus Fraser joins the likes of Deyen Lawson, Kade McBride and Jake McLeod at the 36-hole event starting Thursday along with Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia players John Lyras and Elvis Smylie.

Also hungry for tournament success is the new crop who have recently turned professional, former amateur stars Jye Pickin and Connor McDade now forging a new path in the pro ranks.

Winner of the 2016 Hong Kong Open and with extensive international experience in Asia and Europe along with a WGC appearance in 2017, Brazel believes his grounding playing pro-ams throughout Australia was invaluable in his early development.

“It’s a great opportunity for the younger crew to get out there and learn their trade on different styles of golf courses,” said Brazel.

“It’s a very, very good learning curve. More players should be subjected to it. I think they’d be better players because of it.

“Greg Norman used to play pro-ams back in his day when he was around.

“There’s a rich history of pro-ams in this country. You look at some of these little mining towns and the honour boards of those pro-ams, there are some pretty impressive names on there.

“It’s great to see the field strengthening and I think it’s a really good way to learn your trade, get a bit more mentally tough whilst actually earning a few bucks.”

Based in Lismore in northern New South Wales but doing much of his practice out of Ballina and Ocean Shores, Brazel estimates that he first played the Mackay Open more than 20 years ago.

With two wins and a top-five finish the past three years he has made the Mackay layout his own, but concedes it wasn’t always that way.

“My early years were a bit lean around there actually,” said Brazel, who was tied for sixth at the Lexus Townsville Classic a fortnight ago.

“There are multiple holes where you’ve got to shape it both ways and positional play off the tee is important.

“There are a multitude of tee shots that require a different shape to them, so it kind of suits my game because I like to think that I can shape it both ways and plot my way around the golf course.”

Praising the event’s organisation by Mackay Golf Club Head Professional Jeff Reid, staff and members, Brazel says the golf course is blessed with a great variety of golf holes and ways in which to play them.

“A couple of reachable par 5s, a couple of short par 4s including one reachable par 4 where you can make three or seven,” he adds.

“It’s that sort of golf course that you really need to think your way around. You can play it probably four or five different ways depending on what the wind’s doing and how your game’s feeling.

“You can navigate a way around it if you’ve got the tools.”

Round 1 draw

One of the most prolific winners of pro-am events through North Queensland, Hart began his second round with a bogey, and would finish it in the same way,

In between were eight birdies on the 16-hole Sarina layout, back-to-back rounds of 6-under 57 enough to post 12-under and yet another victory.

Third at the Lexus Townsville Classic, Mee (58) monitored the leaderboard throughout the second round and thought that even a birdie-birdie finish might not be enough.

“I kind of just said to myself with four holes left that I just wanted to make two birdies, get to 12-under,” said Mee, who did not make a single bogey across the two rounds.

“To be honest, I thought Timmy was going to shoot 14 because he had probably one of the easier par 4s out there.

“But, luckily enough for me, he made bogey and we ended up joint winners.”

Mee and Hart both finished one clear of overnight leader Darcy Boyd (60) and Nathan Page (58) with Dylan Gardner (58) outright fifth at 10-under.

HOW THE WINNING ROUNDS UNFOLDED

Starting the second round one back of Darcy Boyd, Mee made just one birdie in his first seven holes.

Back-to-back birdies at 10 and 11 brought Mee back into the mix but even his late charge with closing birdies at one and two looked unlikely to be enough.

Hart erased his opening bogey on three with a birdie at four and then made four birdies in the space of five holes from seven to vault up the leaderboard.

His hot hand continued with birdies at 14, 15 and 1 to reach 13-under only to bogey his final hole, the par-4 third.

WHAT THE WINNERS SAID

Tim Hart: “It’s good to just shoot back-to-back scores. To be honest, I’ve been struggling a bit lately trying to put some numbers on the board so it’s good just to shoot a nice one yesterday and then back it up today.

“I managed to hole a few putts that I haven’t been holing the last few weeks. I’m a very big confidence player so once I sort of started seeing them go in and seeing the red numbers there, then I try and keep going.”

James Mee: “I absolutely nuked the drive on the last and thought it was going to be on the green. All the boys on the team were like, ‘That’s mint’. And then it was just off the green and then I thought, You need to make birdie. I tried chipping in actually and hit a good chip and then raced on a little bit further than what I’d like. But then I holed the putt, which was nice.”

LEADERBOARD RUNDOWN
T1        James Mee                   56-58—114
T1        Tim Hart                       57-57—114
T3        Darcy Boyd                  55-60—115
T3        Nathan Page                57-58—115
5          Dylan Gardner              58-58—116
T6        Samuel Slater               58-59—117
T6        Jay Mackenzie              60-57—117
T6        Jake McLeod                60-57—117
T6        John Lyras                    61-56—117

NEXT UP

The adidas PGA Pro-Am Series continues the North Queensland Series on Thursday with the two-day PIMS Group Mackay Pro-Am at Mackay Golf Club.

An adidas PGA Pro-Am Series winner with wife Danni Vasquez on the bag at Portsea in January, Boyd had to conjure something special of his own to match Lyras’s score of 6-under 64.

Playing in the group behind Lyras in the afternoon wave, Boyd trailed by one as Lyras played the par-3 16th.

Last week’s winner at the Lexus Townsville Classic, Lyras hit his tee shot long of the green, took a free drop from the pump house and then chipped down to the front edge.

From there he chipped in for par which provided the momentum he needed for a final birdie at the par-5 17th.

Measuring 160 metres, Boyd gave himself a birdie look from 15 feet and converted from range for the first time in his round.

“I never looked like making a bogey all day, but I didn’t really hole any putts until I saw John Lyras in front of me on 16,” said Boyd.

“He chipped in for par and I hit it to about 10 or 15 feet and was able to roll that one in.

“That was a nice little momentum shift when I thought it had gone against me, to roll that one in.

“That felt really nice.”

Lyas and Boyd finished two shots clear of reigning Order of Merit winner Andrew Campbell, James Mee and Dylan Gardner while Danni’s tie for sixth at 3-under 67 made it a profitable day for the Boyd-Vasquez household.

HOW THE WINNING ROUNDS UNFOLDED

On the back of his brilliant breakthrough at Townsville a week earlier, Lyras was forced to keep pace with playing partner Andrew Campbell early in the round.

At 4-under through eight holes, Campbell held a one-stroke advantage, a buffer that doubled when Lyras dropped a shot at the par-3 ninth.

Campbell made bogey himself at the par-4 10th before Lyras put the foot down, making four birdies and a bogey in his next five holes.

As Lyras and Campbell engaged in a shootout in the group ahead, Boyd patiently waited to take his opportunities.

He made birdie at each of the four par-5s along with one at the par-4 10th and, finally, the birdie on 16 that would match Lyras’s 64.

WHAT THE WINNERS SAID

John Lyras: “I missed the ball in predominantly the right spots and made a few putts. Played the par 5s pretty well and you really need to do that here. And there’s a few other good opportunities and with some short par 3s as well that you need to really hit the middle of the green. I felt like I did a really good job missing the ball on the right side, not missing the fairway on the wrong side as well. And when you can do that, you generally open up the hole pretty well.”

Darcy Boyd: “I was sort of watching the leaderboard all day and knew I had some work to do coming in. I couldn’t really get anything going and I needed to hole about a seven-footer for par on about my fifth-last hole. I was able to do that and then kicked on from there. Made that nice 15-footer on the third-last hole when I watched Johnny chip in for par when I thought I was going to get one back on him there.”

LEADERBOARD RUNDOWN
T1        John Lyras                    64
T1        Darcy Boyd                  64
T3        Andrew Campbell        66
T3        James Mee                   66
T3        Dylan Gardner              66
T6        Samuel Slater               67
T6        Connor McDade          67
T6        Danni Vasquez             67

NEXT UP

The North Queensland Series begins on Saturday with the two-day CMR Recycling Sarina Golf Club Pro-Am at Sarina Golf Club where Andrew Campbell is the defending champion.

A day after breaking the course record with a round of 10-under 61, it took just three holes for Lyras move past Smylie and take the outright lead for the first time all week.

Two holes later that advantage pushed out to two before the pair separated themselves from the field with a brilliant display of top-class golf.

Starting from the par-4 ninth, Lyas made seven birdies in the space of eight holes as Smylie endeavoured to keep pace with five straight birdies of his own from the short par-4 10th.

When Lyras birdied the par-5 16th he held a four-stroke lead, Smylie’s birdie at 17 and Lyras’s bogey on the final hole reducing the final margin of victory to two shots.

Five-over through four holes on Thursday, Lyras played his next 50 holes in 23-under par, backing up Friday’s 61 with a 9-under-62 for an 18-under par winning total, his first official win on the adidas PGA Pro-Am Series.

“When I made the birdie on 16, that was the first time I felt comfortable,” said Lyras.

“Elvis pushed all the way. We played incredible golf on the back nine. I think we both reeled off five birdies straight at one point.

“It was good to see we holed a couple of putts on top of each other on the back nine too, and a couple of incredible up and downs.

“It was really high quality golf and honestly, every time I’ve played with Elvis, it’s been high quality golf.

“He is a super kid and he’s an incredible player with an incredible personality and mindset about the game, too.”

As other players fought against the wind that buffeted the twisting Townsville layout, Lyras decided to ride with it.

It is a skill he has honed playing alongside the likes of Travis Smyth, Stephanie Kyriacou and Harrison Crowe at St Michael’s Golf Club in Sydney’s east, a skill he believes brings out his best.

“The wind opens up a bit more of a creative mind in me,” said Lyras, who has five top-five finishes on the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia.

“It’s been a really incredible development to my game and opened a lot of doors for a bit more of a creative and artistic mindset about the game.

“Really trying to zone in on a shot and picture it a little bit more than maybe some of the guys can. I know for me, I struggle seeing straight shots, so with wind there it kind of helps me a little bit.”

Smylie had to settle for second with a round of 6-under 65 and 16-under total, four shots clear of James Mee (65) with Blaike Perkins (68) and Andrew Campbell (70) rounding out the top five.

Although he finished well down the leaderboard, Michael Dean left with one of the tournament highlights, making a hole-in-one at the par-3 second hole.

Playing 144 metres, Dean used the disappointment of a bogey on the opening hole to muscle an 8-iron that finished in the bottom of the cup.

“Hole two played a little into the wind so I hit 8 a little harder with a little draw,” Dean said.

“The wind pushed it back onto the hole and it one-hopped and in.”

Final scores and prize money

Winner of the WA PGA Foursomes Championship with Nathan Barbieri two weeks ago, Greer was still chasing an individual title on the adidas PGA Pro-Am Series.

He got that at Dunsborough Lakes Golf Course, albeit a shared victory with Peake with rounds of 5-under 67.

Greer’s Foursomes partner Barbieri was one of six players to finish in a tie for third at 3-under 69, Braden Becker, Kathryn Norris, Daniel Fox, Rick Kulacz and Tim Elliott also finishing two shots back.

HOW THE WINNING ROUNDS UNFOLDED

Remarkably, both eventual champions began their rounds on the eighth tee, Peake playing in the group in front with Greer just behind.

Peake wasted little time making forward progress on the leaderboard with two opening birdies, Greer also picking up a shot at the par-5 eighth before three straight pars.

Greer put the foot down with four straight birdies from the par-5 12th but gave two back with bogeys at 16 and 17 before rounding out the back nine with a birdie.

One after the other, the pair both headed to the first tee at 4-under par and took advantage of a par 5 again to start the front nine with birdies.

Peake countered a bogey on two with a birdie at six to be the first to post 5-under, Greer giving up the chance at an outright win with a bogey on his final hole.

WHAT THE WINNER SAID

Peake: “It’s always a pleasure to drive down here. It’s obviously going to be much more pleasurable driving home as well tonight after having a good day.

“As happy as I am obviously to share the win, congratulations to Josh. What an absolute milestone.

“Tonight’s probably a little bit more about you receiving all your medals and awards and things like that.”

LEADERBOARD RUNDOWN
T1        Ryan Peake                  67
T1        Josh Greer                    67
T3        Braden Becker              69
T3        Nathan Barbieri            69
T3        Daniel Fox                    69
T3        Kathryn Norris              69
T3        Rick Kulacz                   69
T3        Tim Elliott                     69

NEXT UP

With a short break in the WA swing, attention on the adidas PGA Pro-Am Series now turns to North Queensland. The Lexus Townsville Classic concludes on Saturday to be followed by the Abbot Point Operations Bowen Pro-Am at Bowen Golf Club on Wednesday.