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A 16-month exile ends for seven Aussies this week as they make their return to the Japan Golf Tour needing to make up lost ground on the moneylist of a wraparound 2020/2021 season that ends in December.
Not since Brad Kennedy lost in a playoff to Ryo Ishikawa at the 2019 Golf Nippon Series JT Cup has an Australian appeared in an event on Japanese soil, the COVID-19 pandemic decimating the majority of the 2020 schedule.
Four events that Australian players did not have government approval to play in were conducted at the end of 2020 and late visa approvals meant that they spent last week’s Token Homemate Cup watching from their hotel rooms in quarantine.
Coached by Australian PGA Professional Gareth Jones, last week’s winner Takumi Kanaya sits atop the moneylist with earnings already of ￥55,895,000, Matthew Griffin the only Aussie to have banked any cash courtesy of his tie for 41st at the co-sanctioned SMBC Singapore Open last January.
It puts them at a disadvantage but with 24 events still scheduled for the remainder of 2021 there is time in which to make their way up the moneylist and maintain their status for 2022.
Since his narrow loss to Ishikawa more than a year ago Kennedy has extended the golden period of the later years of his career.
The 46-year-old Queenslander added a second New Zealand Open title last March, made his maiden appearances in PGA TOUR and World Golf Championships events, won the inaugural tournament of The Players Series and claimed the ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit crown.
Although two weeks spent cooped up in a hotel room is perhaps not ideal preparation, Kennedy can tap into some positive memories from his victory in the Kansai Open Golf Championship in 2013, albeit it at a different golf course.
Now boasting ¥428,486,406 ($A5,131,886 approx.) in career prize money in Japan, Kennedy has finished inside the top five in the event four times since his victory eight years ago but will be getting his first look at Arima Royal Golf Club, the Royal Course hosting for the first time since 1985.
Griffin enjoyed a consistent start to the year in Australia without ever really contending, logging four top-25 finishes in six starts with his best result a tie for eighth at the ISUZU Queensland Open in February.
Anthony Quayle is another returning to Japan this week with strong showings under his belt this year, finishing tied for fifth in the defence of his 2020 Queensland Open title and tied for seventh at the Victorian PGA Championship at Moonah Links.
Victorian Todd Sinnott will hope to hit the ground running having played only five events with world rankings points attached since the end of 2018 while Adam Bland, David Bransdon, Dylan Perry and Kiwi Michael Hendry will seek a strong start in what shapes as a busy season ahead.
Round 1 tee times AEST
Japan Golf Tour
Kansai Open Golf Championship
Arima Royal Golf Club (Royal Cse), Hyogo
8.30am Brad Kennedy, Nakazawa Daiki (a), Rikuya Hoshino
8.40am* Adam Bland, Shuhei Shimoke (a), Yuta Kinoshita
9.30am* Anthony Quayle, Min-Gyu Cho, Akio Sadakata
9.40am Dylan Perry, Yusuke Sakamoto, Yuwa Kosaihira
9.50am Todd Sinnott, Yuta Yoshikuwa, Masatsugu Fujishima
12.50pm Matthew Griffin, Daichi Sato, Tomohiro Ishikaza
1.40pm David Bransdon, Ryo Ochiai (a), Hiroshi Iwata
1.50pm Michael Hendry, Masayuki Yamashita (a), Chan Kim
Defending champion: Tomoharu Otsuki (2019)
Past Aussie winners: Brad Kennedy (2013)
Top Aussie prediction: Brad Kennedy
Former New South Wales Amateur champion Austin Bautista has taken another step towards a permanent place on the European Tour and risen more than 1,000 places in the Official World Golf Rankings courtesy of a top-10 finish at the Austrian Golf Open.
Fresh from proposing to his partner Chiara just two weeks ago and with two wins on US soil already to his name in 2021, Bautista was issued an invitation to tee it up at Diamond Country Club and took full advantage.
Bouncing back from an opening round of 74 to shoot 67 in Round 2 to make the cut, Bautista birdied the 15th and 16th holes in a final round of 3-under 69 to finish tied for seventh in just his second start on Europe’s main tour.
As a result, the Bonnie Doon Golf Club member has played his way into the field for this week’s Gran Canaria Lopesan Open in Spain and risen to a career high of 841st in the world rankings, a rise of 1,066 spots on the week prior.
It was a positive return to Europe for Gold Coast-based Deyen Lawson who matched Bautista’s round of 69 in the final round to finish tied for 33rd with Queenslander Maverick Antcliff the third and final Aussie to make the cut, ending the week tied for 53rd.
The best round of his flourishing PGA TOUR career had Cameron Smith well placed after Round 1 of the RBC Heritage tournament at Harbour Town Golf Links but the 2020 Masters runner-up had to settle for a tie for ninth in South Carolina.
Smith’s 9-under 62 on day one placed him at the top of the leaderboard through 18 holes but heading into the final round on Sunday he was sitting just inside the top 30.
Top-10 at The Masters a week earlier, Smith rediscovered some of that Round 1 form to post the second-best round of the final day – a bogey-free 5-under 66 – to rise 18 places and squeeze inside the top 10.
It was another very solid week also for Cameron Davis whose tie for 25th saw him rise five places in the FedEx Cup points race to be 63rd.
A second round of 65 propelled Aaron Baddeley to a tie for fifth at the Korn Ferry Tour’s MGM Championship in Las Vegas while Hannah Green’s tie for 12th was the best of the Aussies as Kiwi Lydia Ko claimed the LPGA Tour’s Lotte Championship in Hawaii.
PGA TOUR
RBC Heritage
Harbour Town Golf Links, Hilton Head Island, South Carolina
T9 Cameron Smith 62-71-74-66—273 $US186,375
T25 Cameron Davis 69-69-70-68—276 $52,274
MC Danny Lee 68-73—141
European Tour
Austrian Golf Open
Diamond CC, Atzenbrugg, Austria
T7 Austin Bautista 74-67-71-69—281 €20,940
T33 Deyen Lawson 77-70-71-69—287 €6,725
T53 Maverick Antcliff 72-74-71-73—290 €4,042
MC Jake McLeod 81-81—162
LPGA Tour
Lotte Championship
Kapolei Golf Club, Kapolei, Oahu, Hawaii
1 Lydia Ko 67-63-65-65—260 $US300,000
T12 Hannah Green 70-67-66-68—271 $31,197
T27 Su Oh 73-68-66-67—274 $16,152
MC Minjee Lee 71-71—142
MC Gabriela Ruffels 70-72—142
MC Katherine Kirk 69-74—143
MC Sarah Jane Smith 75-70—145
Korn Ferry Tour
MGM Resorts Championship
Paiute Golf Resort (Sun Mountain Course), Las Vegas, Nevada
T5 Aaron Baddeley 71-65-73-70—279 $US20,100
T35 Harrison Endycott 75-66-70-73—284 $3,450
T52 Brett Coletta 69-72-72-75—288 $2,538
T69 Rhein Gibson 72-67-79-76—294 $2,334
MC Jamie Arnold 72-71—143
MC Steven Alker 72-71—143
MC Brett Drewitt 72-71—143
MC Ryan Ruffels 75-70—145
MC Curtis Luck 76-72—148
MC Robert Allenby 80-73—153
MC Nick Voke 82-72—154
Symetra Tour
Casino Del Sol Golf Classic
Sewailo Golf Club, Tucson, Arizona
T60 Robyn Choi 71-73-76-75—295 $690
T62 Hira Naveed 76-69-71-80—296 $670
MC Stephanie Na 74-74—148
MC Soo Jin Lee 76-75—151
MC Julienne Soo 79-73—152
Champions Tour
Chubb Classic
Tiburon Golf Club, Naples, Florida
T32 Rod Pampling 76-70-69—215 $US10,560
T32 David McKenzie 69-69-77—215 $10,560
T44 Stephen Leaney 70-75-72—217 $5,600
Will Heffernan has taken out top spot in the Final Stage of ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia Qualifying School with a score of 5-under 283 on the Open Course at Moonah Links.
After strong winds blasted the seaside course from rounds one to three, Heffernan made the most of benign conditions on Friday to post a final round of 2-under 70 and take a one-stroke victory over David Micheluzzi, Aaron Wilkin and John Lyras in second place.
Heffernan now holds Category 9 Tournament Exemption on the PGA Tour of Australasia for the 2021/22 season that will see him receive automatic entry into all events on the Tour including the Australian PGA Championship and Australian Open.
“It feels really good. I played solid all week. I holed some nice putts and just stayed patient out there. It was pretty windy the whole week so I just hung in there,” Heffernan said.
“I knew I had to be steady all day. I made an early birdie then I went pretty quiet for a while, just playing it safe and then made one on the back-nine so I was pretty happy.”
In 2020 Heffernan spearheaded the charge for the Australians at Asian Tour Qualifying School, finishing second to earn an exemption for the 2020 season that was later cancelled due to COVID-19.
Looking to the year ahead the Victorian has the welcome challenge of building a schedule filled with both local and overseas tournaments when the PGA Tour of Australasia resumes in August.
“I actually went over to the UK and Italy and played on the Alps Tour,” said Heffernan of his year in 2020.
“I will just try and play as many tournaments as I can; try and balance my schedule between this (Australasia) and Asia and hopefully they match up and I can play a few of the bigger ones.”
The Tour’s marquee tournaments including the Australian PGA Championship, Australian Open, Vic Open and New Zealand Open are among the events Heffernan will eagerly anticipate.
“I’m really excited for them. They’ve always been a dream since I first started in golf so I’m very, very excited,” he said.
Queensland’s Aaron Wilkin (70), Victorian David Micheluzzi (70) and New South Welshman John Lyras (71) completed Qualifying School in a tie for second place at 4-under 284 to lead the players finishing from 2nd to 30th position including ties to earn a Category 13 exemption for the 2021/22 season.
Players with a Category 13 exemption will receive exemption into most events for the 2021/22 season with those who finished higher boasting a greater likelihood of being exempt into all Tour events.
Amongst the list of the top-30 players and ties rising star Jed Morgan (-2) lead the charge for the amateurs, finishing tied for fifth ahead of Lawrence Curtis (+3), Edward Donoghue (+3), Jackson Bugdalski (+7) and Lawry Flynn (+8) who finished birdie, birdie to sneak in on the number.
European Tour winner Sam Brazel, who finished in a tie for fifth place alongside Morgan, will return to the Tour alongside regulars Jason Norris (-1), Damien Jordan (+2), Peter Cooke (+4), Peter Wilson (+4), Matt Jager (+5), James Marchesani (+7) and Aaron Pike (+7) who regained status for the season ahead.
A Tour rookie in the 2020/21 season, Matias Sanchez narrowly secured his Category 13 status by making an eagle on 18 to finish tied for 30th at 8-over.
In addition to results from the Final Stage of Qualifying School at Moonah Links, a special New Zealand Qualifying School was held in conjunction with last week’s Muriwai Open where Luke Brown and Luke Toomey were successful in gaining Category 13 tour cards for 2021/22.
Players from positions 31 to 50 are entitled to become Full Tournament Members for the 2021/22 season but will not be allocated an exemption category.
View the Final Stage Qualifying School results at pga.org.au.
The PGA Professionals Championship will return in its traditional format of state qualifying events across Australia in 2021, giving PGA Professionals the chance to win through to the PGA Professionals Championship National Final at Hamilton Island Golf Club in September.
The series of state qualifying events will return in May and June, where 50 of the country’s leading Vocational PGA Professionals will qualify for the PGA Professionals Championship National Final to be played from 3-5 September.
Players will vie not only for the lion’s share of $55,000 in prize money at the National Final, but also two coveted positions in the Australian PGA Championship field at Royal Queensland Golf Club from 2-5 December.
Gavin Kirman, chief executive of the PGA of Australia, is looking forward to the skills of Vocational PGA Professionals again once being on show around the country.
“The last 12 months has shown just how resilient PGA Professionals can be and having our Vocational PGA Professional competing in their marquee event is further signs of a strong recovery,” said Kirkman.
“Hamilton Island has proved the perfect venue to showcase the skills of our leading PGA Professionals and since moving the event to the iconic location 10 years ago, the PGA Professionals Championship has continued to grow in stature.
“We are proud to provide the two leading PGA Professionals from the National Final the opportunity to compete in the Australian PGA Championship and form an integral part of what is expected to be a world class field.”
Seven qualifying tournaments will be held around Australia over the coming months with a variety of qualifying positions on offer at each event.
| Date | Event | Course | # National Final Qualifiers |
| Friday 14th May | PGA Professionals Championship of Western Australia | Mosman Park GC | 6 |
| Tuesday 25th May | PGA Professionals Championship of South Each QLD | Victoria Park GC | 12 |
| Monday 31st May | PGA Professionals Championship of North Queensland | Mackay GC | 2 |
| Monday 31st May | PGA Professionals Championship of Victoria | Commonwealth GC | 13 |
| Tuesday 1st June | PGA Professionals Championship of NSW/ACT | Twin Creeks G&CC | 12 |
| Sunday 6th June | PGA Professionals Championship of Tasmania | Royal Hobart GC | 2 |
| Monday 21st June | PGA Professionals Championship of South Australia | Glenelg GC | 2 |
Playing alongside the 50 PGA Professionals at Hamilton Island will be 52 amateurs who will compete for the title of Hamilton Island Amateur Golf Champion. As one of the most unique and memorable golfing experiences, Hamilton Island Enterprises is excited to welcome championship golf back to the island.
“We are excited to welcome competitors back to Hamilton Island in 2021 after not being able to do so last year, and we are confident that their golfing and holiday experience will be just as good if not better than it has been pre-pandemic,” said David Boyd, Hamilton Island General Manager Retail, Activities, Marina & Concessionaires.
“Our golf course has always been memorable due to the wonderful layout and spectacular views it provides and it will again be in outstanding condition in the earlier time of September this year.
“Hamilton Island has proved itself to be well geared to keep our guests safe during the pandemic whilst continuing to provide first class service and facilities, and we are confident that this year’s tournaments will provide the perfect opportunity to reiterate this.”
For further information on the Hamilton Island Amateur Golf Championship please click here.
For all information on the PGA Professionals Championship please visit www.pga.org.au
A few days after another top-10 finish in the Masters, Australia’s top-ranked male player Cameron Smith has soared to the first-round lead in the RBC Heritage.
Smith, 27, rammed home nine birdies in his opening 62, the lowest round of his PGA Tour career.
At nine under par, he leads the tournament at Harbour Town links in South Carolina by a shot.
“I don’t know, everything just came together,” Smith said afterward. “It was a great day on the green. I was hitting my irons really good. I had lots of good looks, and I just took advantage of them.”
Smith carded 31 on both nines and holed out from a bunker at the 17th. Then at 18, he produced what he called “icing on the cake”, a pure iron shot to just more than a metre for his ninth birdie. “I feel like after last week, I feel like chipping around here is almost like a breeze,” he said. “I was so scared almost last week on every chip shot, and I feel like I can be really aggressive around here.”
Smith said he was in a good place in recent times. “I don’t know, I just feel really comfortable. Mentally I feel very free out there. I feel like I can hit the shot that I need to hit and going ahead and trying to execute it. I just feel like every shot I’m hitting, I’m putting 100 percent into it, and on a day like today, it’s really rewarding.”
The world No. 26 recently took over from Adam Scott as the No. 1 Australian player on the men’s tour. Rested up after Augusta, he went home to Jacksonville for a couple of days and found some time to indulge his passion for fishing.
He certainly came back to the course with some fire in the belly.
Sydneysider John Lyras’s love affair with Moonah Links will reach new heights on Friday if he can maintain his position at the top of the leaderboard and claim the major prize on offer at the Final Stage of the PGA Tour of Australasia Qualifying School.
One of only three players to break 70 on Thursday as Peter Thomson’s imposing Open Course and the Mornington Peninsula’s wicked winds once again kept scoring in check, Lyras sits atop the leaderboard at 3-under par alongside Victorian Will Heffernan (71) heading into Friday’s final round.
David Micheluzzi (73) and Aaron Wilkin (70) are in a share of third just one shot further back with 2020 Australian Amateur champion Jed Morgan (73) and 2016 Hong Kong Open winner Sam Brazel (74) the only other players under par through 54 holes.
It was 12 months ago that Lyras, a member at St Michael’s Golf Club in Sydney’s eastern suburbs, birdied the 72nd hole to avoid a playoff for a PGA Tour of Australasia card and he held at least a share of the lead through the first three rounds of the Moonah Links PGA Classic in February, also played on the Open Course.
Although he succumbed to a blistering Bryden Macpherson final round that day to ultimately finish tied for fourth, the rewards on offer on Friday are just as significant, the winner receiving Category 9 exemption that would earn them automatic entry into each of the proposed 16 events for the 2021/22 PGA Tour of Australasia season.
The win would be just as significant for Heffernan, whose rookie year as a professional was decimated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Heffernan had secured his immediate future by earning an Asian Tour card at Q School last January but the ongoing impact of the pandemic and travel restrictions has prevented Heffernan from taking his game overseas for the time being.
Despite registering top-10 finishes at both the ISPS HANDA Vic Open and Tailor-Made Building Services NT PGA Championship in 2020 Morgan has retained his amateur status to date, his transition into the professional ranks all the more smoother if he can secure playing rights on his home tour.
The incentive to finish first on Friday is significant but there is plenty to play for down the leaderboard also.
Players who finish from second to 30th will receive Category 13 status for the 2021/2022 season with those who finish higher boasting a greater likelihood of being exempt into all Tour events.
The PGA Tour of Australasia conducted a special New Zealand Qualifying School, which was held in conjunction with last week’s Muriwai Open.
Ten players competed for two category 13 tour cards, which was won by former Order of Merit champion Ryan Fox.
Luke Brown and Luke Toomey were successful in gaining these spots and ensuring they have regained their playing status for 2021/22.
A new program unveiled by the PGA of Australia and WPGA aims to not only provide an inviting entry point for women new to the game of golf but also showcase the female coaches who can guide them.
The Women’s Golf Network was launched at Yarra Yarra Golf Club in Melbourne on March 22 and was followed by a full day of clinics and networking for 80 participants at Ballarat Golf Club.
With sponsorship from both adidas and Callaway REVA they represent the first of 12 clinics to be conducted around the country by mid-July with an expectation that more will follow in the second half of the year.
Each day consists of an adidas Performance Clinic for established golfers and the Callaway REVA Beginner Clinic for those new to the game and continues the collaboration between the PGA of Australia and the rebranded WPGA Tour.
The goals are twofold. To provide an encouraging environment for women eager to try golf for the first time and to provide a pathway for existing golfers to further their games and perhaps join the growing number of women working within the golf industry.
“Golf has seen a surge in popularity over the past 12 months but we understand that some women can find that initial introduction to the game somewhat intimidating,” says WPGA CEO Karen Lunn.
“With the Women’s Golf Network we wanted to create an opportunity for ladies to come and try golf in clinics run by our female PGA Professionals and for those girls and ladies already playing to receive expert coaching and get the most out of their golf.”
Lee Harrington completed her traineeship at Riverside Oaks in the mid-1990s and now runs The Golf School based at Palm Meadows Driving Range on the Gold Coast.
As a past board member of the ALPG and currently Director of Development for the WPGA, Harrington has no doubt that exclusively using female Professionals provides the environment that women new to the game are looking for.
States such as Queensland and New South Wales have seen increases in female participation of some 25 per cent year on year in the summer just past. Whether returning to the game or new golfers completely, the Women’s Golf Network caters to all women.
“The comment that we hear is that it is nice to spend some time with a female coach,” says Harrington.
“Every coach communicates a little bit differently but I’d like to think as female PGA Professionals we’re fairly engaging.
“For those in the adidas Performance Clinic, we conduct a clinic in the morning and then send them out onto the golf course in the afternoon.
“Those in the Callaway REVA Beginner Clinic join us for lunch and networking, participate in a clinic with our coaches and then we all finish together with networking drinks.”
Currently making up just six per cent of all PGA Professionals in Australia, the Women’s Golf Network also serves as a showcase of female coaches, PGA of Australia CEO Gavin Kirkman hopeful that number will increase significantly in the coming years.
“In order to have more female coaches we need more women playing the game so the Women’s Golf Network is first and foremost a way to encourage more female golfers,” Kirkman says.
“But as their journey in golf continues we hope that they will see the opportunities available to them within the golf industry, one of which is to undertake our Member Pathway Program and one day move into coaching themselves.
“The industry has recognised that greater engagement with women is integral to the future health of our sport and a big part of that is having talented and accomplished female coaches at our golf clubs.”
Given such significant growth within the female sector the past year Harrington believes more clubs than ever recognise the value that having more women at their facilities represents to the business.
“Overall I think clubs as a business understand the value of the female and the family more than they ever have,” says Harrington.
“That’s good for the bottom line and good for getting more women and beginners into the game.”
The Women’s Golf Network aims to inspire women to play golf by showcasing female professional golfers; providing a warm environment to play golf and the opportunity to network with like-minded women. The Women’s Golf Network mantra is to be inspired, have fun, play golf. The next Women’s Golf Network event will be held at Royal Canberra Golf Club on Monday, April 19 with further clinics to be held in New South Wales, Victoria, Western Australia, South Australia and Queensland. www.womensgolfnetwork.com.au
Women’s Golf Network schedule
April 19 Royal Canberra GC
April 26 Latrobe GC
May 9 Bunbury GC
May 13 Wembley GC
May 20 The Grange GC
May 24 The Lakes GC
June 3 Long Reef GC
June 6 Coolangatta & Tweed Heads GC
July 11 Windaroo Lakes GC
TBC Moore Park GC
Cameron Smith and Hannah Green will be out to tap into the form that has earned them top-15 Major finishes of late when they tee it up on their respective tours this week.
Following a week in which the golf world’s attention was placed squarely on Augusta National there are 29 Aussies in action across six tours from Thursday including the return of the European Tour after a short layoff and the first appearances of Australian players on the Champions Tour for 2021.
The Japan Golf Tour also recommences its wrap-around season this week but the Aussie contingent are waiting patiently in quarantine before they will be able to join the field at next week’s Kansai Open Championship, Brendan Jones unable to defend his Token Homemate Cup victory of two years ago.
The majority of Aussies who contested The Masters have chosen to skip this week’s RBC Heritage tournament at Hilton Head with the exception of Smith.
Now the highest-ranked Australian male player at No.26 in the Official World Golf Rankings, Smith was tied for 10th at Augusta and is considered one of the favoured chances at a venue that has proven to be kind to his fellow countryman over the years, Graham Marsh, Greg Norman, Peter Lonard and Aaron Baddeley all victorious at Harbour Town Golf Links.
There is a large collection of our best female players in action this week at the LPGA Tour’s Lotte Championship with Green eager to build on her tie for 14th at the ANA Inspiration and Minjee Lee seeking a second win at the event, albeit at a different venue.
Recording her third top-20 finish at a Major at the ANA, rookie professional Gabriela Ruffels is seeking her breakthrough LPGA Tour title that would secure her status on the world’s premier female tour.
The resumption of the European Tour will see Jake McLeod and Deyen Lawson make their first appearances for the year at the Austrian Golf Open where Austin Bautista will make his second start on the European Tour a week after getting engaged.
The pursuit of a 2022 PGA TOUR card continues on the Korn Ferry Tour in Las Vegas this week where Brett Drewitt enters the MGM Resorts Championship at Pauite as the only Aussie inside the top 25 on the moneylist in 22nd position.
Curtis Luck is currently in 37th position followed by Brett Coletta (58th), Ryan Ruffels (70th) and Harrison Endycott (80th), all of whom are in the field in Vegas.
Round 1 tee times AEST
European Tour
Austrian Golf Open
Diamond CC, Atzenbrugg, Austria
3.50pm Austin Bautista, Maverick Antcliff, Laurenz Kubin
5pm Deyen Lawson, Jeff Winther, Alexander Knappe
8.30pm* Jake McLeod, Aron Zemmer, Janne Kaske
Defending champion: Marc Warren
Past Aussie winners: Nil
Top Aussie prediction: Maverick Antcliff
TV schedule: Live 9.30pm-2.30am Thursday, Friday; Live 10pm-2am Saturday; Live 9.30pm-2am Sunday on Fox Sports 503.
PGA TOUR
RBC Heritage
Harbour Town Golf Links, Hilton Head, South Carolina
9pm* Danny Lee, Denny McCarthy, Tyler McCumber
9.22pm Cameron Davis, Kyle Stanley, Maverick McNealy
2.45am Cameron Smith, Tyler Duncan, Sebastián Muñoz
Defending champion: Webb Simpson
Past Aussie winners: Graham Marsh (1977), Greg Norman (1988), Peter Lonard (2005), Aaron Baddeley (2006)
Top Aussie prediction: Cameron Smith
TV schedule: Live 5am-8am Friday, Saturday; Live 3am-8am Sunday, Monday on Fox Sports 503.
LPGA Tour
Lotte Championship
Kapolei Golf Club, Kapolei, Oahu, Hawaii
3.55am* Minjee Lee, Jennifer Kupcho, Jenny Shin
4.06am Katherine Kirk, Sei Young Kim, Inbee Park
4.06am* Su Oh, Cristie Kerr, Hyo Joo Kim
4.17am* Hannah Green, Brittany Altomare, Kristen Gillman
7.55am Sarah Jane Smith, Pavarisa Yoktuan, Lindsey Weaver
9.01am Lydia Ko, Moriya Jutanugarn, Cheyenne Knight
9.34pm* Gabriela Ruffels, Emma Talley, Haru Nomura
Defending champion: Brooke Henderson (2019)
Past Aussie winners: Minjee Lee (2016)
Top Aussie prediction: Gabriela Ruffels
TV schedule: Live 9am-1pm Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday on Fox W 511.
Korn Ferry Tour
MGM Resorts Championship at Paiute
Paiute Golf Resort (Sun Mt GC), Las Vegas, Nevada
11.40pm* Aaron Baddeley, Johnson Wagner, Kevin Dougherty
11.51pm* Jamie Arnold, Trey Mullinax, Jared Wolfe
12.33am* Steven Alker, Shawn Stefani, John Chin
12.43am Robert Allenby, Seth Reeves, Brandon Harkins
1.04am* Ryan Ruffels, Matt Atkins, Patrick Fishburn
1.15am Nick Voke, Michael Miller, Chandler Blanchet
1.15am* Harrison Endycott, Rico Hoey, Brent Grant
4.45am Curtis Luck, Whee Kim, Drew Weaver
5.16am Rhein Gibson, Scott Gutschewski, Taylor Moore
5.16am* Brett Drewitt, Chad Ramey, Charlie Wi
5.58am* Brett Coletta, Sangmoon Bae, Jim Knous
Defending champion: Inaugural event
Past Aussie winners: Nil
Top Aussie prediction: Brett Coletta
Symetra Tour
Casino Del Sol Golf Classic
Sewailo Golf Club, Tucson, Arizona
1.18am* Robyn Choi, Jenny Lee, Savannah Vilaubi
4.51am* Julienne Soo, Emilee Hoffman, Mia Landegren
5.02am* Soo Jin Lee, Amanda Doherty, Isi Gabsa
5.35pm Stephanie Na, Cindy Ha, Laura Wearn
6.19am Hira Naveed, Marta Martin, Min A Yoon
Defending champion: Inaugural event
Past Aussie winners: Nil
Top Aussie prediction: Robyn Choi
Champions Tour
Chubb Classic
Tiburon Golf Club, Naples, Florida
Aussies in the field: Stephen Leaney, David McKenzie, Rod Pampling
Defending champion: Scott Parel
Past Aussie winners: Nil
Top Aussie prediction: Rod Pampling
TV schedule: Live 2am-4.30am Saturday on Fox Sports 506; Live 5am-7.30am Sunday, Monday on Fox Sports 505.
The PGA of Australia’s flagship tournament, the Australian PGA Championship, will return to its traditional summer timeslot.
Following a one-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2021 Australian PGA Championship will take place on 2-5 December at Brisbane’s historic Royal Queensland Golf Club.
Tickets for the popular golf event are now on sale and can be purchased via Ticketek.
PGA of Australia chief executive Gavin Kirkman was delighted the Australian PGA Championship was returning to its early summer position that will assist in building a world-class field.
“After the disappointment in cancelling last year’s event, we are elated to be able to stage the 2021 Australian PGA Championship,” Gavin Kirkman said.
“The Australian PGA Championship is seen by millions of fans the world-over, so we are excited to play a leading role in the rejuvenation of the international tourism sector for Queensland and put a spotlight on the beautiful city of Brisbane by bringing a quality field of golf’s best players to Royal Queensland Golf Club.
“The magnificent course at Royal Queensland has seen significant change since our flagship event was last played here; and our players, partners and stakeholders alike are excited to return to experience the course alongside Brisbane’s world class hospitality.”
The Australian PGA Championship has an impressive honour roll of past winners, including Adam Scott (2019, 2013), Cameron Smith (2018-17) and Royal Queensland Golf Club’s own Greg Norman (1984-85).
Tourism and Sport Minister Stirling Hinchliffe welcomed the return of the PGA to the It’s Live! in Queensland events calendar.
“Queensland is the home of elite sport, so we’re looking forward to having Australia’s premier golf event return to Queensland this summer,” Mr Hinchliffe said.
“Events like the PGA are important for bringing visitors to Brisbane who support local jobs and our economic recovery, which is already underway.
“Having golf’s best back on the fairways at Royal Queensland for the PGA will excite Australian fans and showcase Brisbane to millions watching around the world on TV and live streams.”
Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner said Brisbane’s world-class golf facilities, stellar accommodation and dining and leisure experiences would set an enviable scene for the 2021 Championship.
“Live sports thrive in Brisbane and we expect to draw big crowds from outside the region as we welcome back events and embrace our place as Australia’s home of major sporting events,” Cr Schrinner said.
“While they’re here, we’ll be encouraging golf fans to enjoy the action off the green as well, including exploring leading art exhibitions, sampling renowned restaurants, cruising the river and enjoying sensational shopping precincts.
“Brisbane has a strong focus on securing major sporting events like this – they shine a spotlight on our city and deliver flow on economic benefits to our local tourism, hospitality, retail and service industries.”
The event – one of the feature tournaments on the ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia – will be played at the 101-year-old Royal Queensland, the first time since 2001.
The Australian PGA Championship is co-sanctioned with the European Tour, and forms one of the early events on the 2022 European Tour schedule.
Hosting the tournament in Brisbane has been made possible by support and collaboration between the Queensland Government, through Tourism and Events Queensland, and Brisbane City Council, through Brisbane Economic Development Agency.
Such was the rushed nature of his arrival seven years ago it is understandable that Matt Jones’s most vivid memories of his first start at The Masters are different to the norm.
Fresh from a breakthrough victory at the 2014 Shell Houston Open where he chipped in from 40 yards to defeat Matt Kuchar in a playoff, Jones rushed that Sunday night in the afterglow of triumph straight to Augusta, Georgia. The realisation of a boyhood dream on constant loop suddenly put on fast forward.
Returning seven years later courtesy of his second PGA TOUR title at The Honda Classic only two weeks ago, the 40-year-old reflected on his only previous appearance and the moments that remain etched in his mind.
“Won the week before, flew in that night, had nowhere to stay, stayed on Kevin Stadler’s couch,” Jones summed up as rapidly as that day itself unfolded.
“Monday was a wash-out, so I didn’t get to go out on the golf course, and then I got to see the golf course. Eighteen on Tuesday, nine on Wednesday, and then I’ve got the par-3 (contest). It was a blur.
“I do remember having a hole-in-one on the par-3 (Jones aced the 85-metre third hole). That was probably one of my fondest memories in golf, having my 2-year-old daughter get the ball out of the hole.
“It is tough to describe. It’s amazing how tough of a walk it is. It’s very hilly. The greens are very undulating and very fast. But the greenness, the vastness of how much green there is is amazing.
“I remember walking out for the first time in ‘14 and I had no idea there was so much green, that you could actually see so much of the golf course out there.”
Much has changed for Jones since he last drove down Magnolia Lane.
He has claimed the Australian Open on two occasions – both at The Australian Golf Club where he played as a junior – and he has twice had to fight back through the Korn Ferry Tour finals to maintain his full status on the PGA TOUR.
Last year’s suspension of the TOUR gave Jones cause to consider how long he would continue at the highest level but a top-10 at the Genesis Invitational in February and victory a month later sees him enter The Masters with his game sharp and confidence levels high.
“There’s a lot of holes out here that suit my ball flight. It’s a golf course that should visually suit my eye,” said Jones.
“Of course, winning is the goal. We know how hard it is to win. I’ve won twice on TOUR, so to win two in four weeks would be impressive, but it’s going to be tough.
“You’ve got to do everything well out here. You can’t be off on anything. If I was lucky enough to hit it like I did at the Honda, I’d be a chance.
“I haven’t done a lot since I won actually. I came out here for a couple of days. That was the first time I would have touched a club, last week, and then I did a little bit of work at home the last few days.
“I’m trying to treat it like I would a regular prep for a tournament. I’m not trying to over-prep because I think you can become too obsessed with trying to do things right out here.
“I’m just going to try and play golf and do what I can.
“I came out last week for a couple of practice rounds but it’s a little different than it was last week already. The surrounds have tightened up a lot, and the green speeds picked up one or two feet easily.
“It’s a very good golf course for Australians. The firmness, the fastness, bump and runs into greens. If it plays firm and fast, which it looks like it will, I would suspect Aussies would do well, which they have in the past.”
