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The European Tour was back in full flight this weekend with a handful of our pros heading to work in Newcastle.
Western Australia’s Jason Scrivener led the way as he cracked the top 30 for third time on the European Tour in 2020 but it was New Zealand’s Ryan Fox that made the biggest impression upon his return to the UK.
Following back-to-back rounds of -4, an even-par third round threatened to push the Kiwi down the leaderboard but a fourth round response earned the 2019 ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia Player of the Year his second top 10 finish for 2020.
The LPGA’s secondary circuit, the Symetra Tour, headed to Michigan to mark the return of women’s professional golf following the layoff.
Aussie duo Steph Na and newly-minted pro Julienne Soo both finished T42 as they resume their charges at a 2021 LPGA Tour card.
Also in the US, the Korn Ferry Tour moved to Missouri but only New South Welshman Jamie Arnold could make the weekend’s action on the back of an opening 65.
But our #AussieOfTheWeek came from the world’s biggest tour as Sydneysider Cam Davis ground out a brilliant week to finish T12.
Davis was one of eight to players to break 70 for all four rounds, the Monash CC member achieving that feat for the third time in his PGA TOUR career.
Hitting 83 per cent of greens in regulation and finding 86 per cent of fairways off the tee, Davis was at his best and left us no option but to award him another #AussieOfTheWeek honour!
PGA TOUR
3M Tournament
TPC Twin Cities, Minnesota
Won by Michael Thompson at -19 by two strokes
T12 – Cam Davis, -14, 67-66-69-68
T23 – Aaron Baddeley, -12, 66-73-69-64
T26 – Danny Lee, -11, 67-68-69-69
MC – John Senden, E, 72-70
MC – Cam Percy, +2, 74-70
MC – Greg Chalmers, +4, 77-69
MC – Rhein Gibson, +10, 72-80
Korn Ferry Tour
Price Cutter Charity Championship
Highland Springs Country Club, Missouri
Won by Max McGreevy at -21 by one shot
T21 – Jamie Arnold, -13, 65-70-68-72
MC – Brett Drewitt, -3, 71-70
MC – Harrison Endycott, -2, 75-67
MC – Mark Hensby, +7, 74-77
MC – Steven Bowditch, +14, 81-77
European Tour
Betfred British Masters
Close House GC, England
Won by Renato Paratore at -18 by three shots
T8 – Ryan Fox, -11, 67-67-71-68
T29 – Jason Scrivener, -5, 70-69-71-69
T67 – Jake McLeod, +3, 69-70-71-77
MC – Maverick Antcliff, +1, 70-73
MC – Scott Hend, +2, 69-75
MC – Min Woo Lee, +4, 73-73
Symetra Tour
Firekeepers Casino Hotel Championship
Battle Creek Country Club, Michigan
Won by Ruixin Liu at -13 by two shots
T42 – Julienne Soo, +1, 73-71-73
T42 – Steph Na, +1, 70-72-75
Australian golfers have always known the courses they play on offer more than just a round of golf.
They know that playing the game can not only benefit the wellbeing and social connectivity of its participants, but also the significant role that Australian golf courses play in the protection of our environment.
Golf: Benefits to the Environment – a document released today by the Australian Golf Industry Council (AGIC), solidifies that knowledge, highlighting the range of unique ways that Australia’s golf courses contribute to the conservation and management of our natural resources.
AGIC chair Gavin Kirkman said the document was designed to highlight the environmental benefits of well-designed golf courses and promotes golf as a leader in sustainable sport and business.
“Golf has a significant role to play in the important endeavour of conservation and land management, offering a range of benefits to the environment and the overall wellbeing of its participants,” he said.
“Australian golfers and the people employed at Australia’s golf courses already know the vital role that courses play in conservation.
“It’s now time for the rest of the community to discover the significant contribution our golf courses make in preserving open space and protecting and enhancing flora and fauna within both rural and urban environments.”
The document outlines eight benefits – with case studies – that golf courses in Australia provide to the community, including:
“The purpose of this document is to inform the community of the broad range of benefits that golf courses offer to land usage, environmental management, vegetation and acting as a haven for native flora and fauna,” Kirkman said.
“We want to build community awareness around the land used by golf. Golf courses are more than just an asset for community sport and recreation; they are an integral component of effective town planning and design, offering significant environmental benefits, especially in urban areas.
“They provide an opportunity to enrich the environment by housing a diverse and rich ecology and serve as a valuable resource for education in schools, community interest groups, and the community as a whole.”
A copy of the document can be found at: Golf: Benefits to the Environment, 2020, Australian Golf Industry Council
Seven birdies in the space of eight holes has propelled Gold Coast-based Deyen Lawson to a share of the lead following the opening round of the European Tour’s Euram Bank Open in Austria overnight. The only Australian in the field for the second straight week, Lawson was out in the second group of the day […]
Seven birdies in the space of eight holes has propelled Gold Coast-based Deyen Lawson to a share of the lead following the opening round of the European Tour’s Euram Bank Open in Austria overnight.
The only Australian in the field for the second straight week, Lawson was out in the second group of the day at the spectacular GC Adamstal layout, trading birdies at the fourth and fifth holes with back-to-back bogeys at seven and eight to be even par approaching the turn.
And then he caught fire.
The former Curlewis Golf Club PGA Trainee picked up a shot at the par-4 ninth to complete the front nine in 1-under and added a second at the 10th. There was a brief respite from the mid-round assault when the 29-year-old made par at the par-4 11th before playing the following five holes in just 14 strokes to launch to the top of the leaderboard with five straight birdies, briefly flirting with James Nitties’ record of nine consecutive birdies that he set in the opening round of the 2019 Oates Vic Open.
7 birdies in 8 holes and Deyen Lawson is the early clubhouse leader in Austria ✍️@Workday #EuramBankOpen
— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) July 15, 2020
Lawson’s 7-under 63 was matched only by Stanislav Matus of the Czech Republic and provides a strong foundation to push for a maiden European Tour title.
“I felt like I was hitting it all right. I was hitting it steady but made a couple of little errors late on the front nine,” said Lawson, who finished tied for 31st at last week’s Austrian Open.
“I stayed positive and took it shot-by-shot. I didn’t realise I’d made that many birdies in a row. After the one at nine I had six more in seven holes.
“I just tried to hit each shot as good as I can, not worrying about what it was for – for bogey or birdie.
“The views are great here, so you just have to look around when you’re a bit frustrated and take your mind off golf.
“These hills take your mind off golf pretty quickly.
“All in all it’s a good start and a good position after one round.”
The Korn Ferry Tour’s TPC San Antonio Championship at the Oakes also commenced overnight with Aussie pair Rhein Gibson and Harrison Endycott both making solid starts in Texas.
Gibson and Endycott both posted opening rounds of 2-under 70 to be tied for 11th with Ryan Ruffels a further shot back in a tie for 21st after a 1-under 71, Ruffels fighting back from an early double bogey to end his round with three birdies in his final four holes.
It’s the local course that has not proven to be all too kind yet Jason Day has gone above and beyond to make another Aussie feel right at home at this week’s Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village in Ohio.
A resident at nearby Westerville and a Muirfield Village Golf Club member, Day has played the Memorial tournament on 11 occasions with a best finish of a tie for 15th three years ago. He has made 7-of-11 cuts and banked $US345,497.44 in prizemoney in the event.
When he shared the clubhouse lead following his second round two years ago Day admitted that his record on his home course does “annoy me a lot” but he enters this week buoyed by a top-10 finish at the Workday Charity Open played across a slightly modified Muirfield a week ago.
That result moved Day five spots up the Official World Golf Rankings to No.58 but as he plots a greater rise he has extended his hand to help fellow Aussie Jason Scrivener to prepare for his PGA TOUR debut.
After he accepted an invitation organised by his management company to play at Muirfield this week Scrivener reached out to Day and his caddie Luke Reardon, bunking in with Reardon in Columbus during his two-week quarantine and also this week.
The pair will begin their opening rounds just 22 minutes apart on Thursday night AEST, Day going out of his way to ensure Scrivener can make a strong early impression in front of Jack Nicklaus.
“I did a bit of practice there last week. Jason organised for me to do some practice out there,” Scrivener said of having a well-connected member to call upon, the pair both former Australian Boys Junior champions.
“It’s been good to get familiar with the place and get used to it because it’s a pretty cool place.
“I played the course for the first time with Jason and Bubba Watson on Tuesday so that was a bit of a fun.
“Bubba’s hilarious so it was good to meet him and to catch up with Jase, so it was pretty relaxed.”
Day and Scrivener make up half of the Aussies in the field this week along with Cameron Smith and Marc Leishman, Leishman drawn with South Korean pair Sungjae Im and Si Woo Kim for the first two rounds.
It’s been 25 years since an Australian has triumphed at the Nicklaus-designed course when Greg Norman claimed the second of his two Memorial victories, Adam Scott falling two strokes shy of victorious Patrick Cantlay in the 2019 tournament.
Exempt on the PGA TOUR in 2020, Rhein Gibson missed out on a spot at Muirfield, choosing to join the Aussies on the Korn Ferry Tour at this week’s TPC San Antonio Championship at The Oaks.
There will be Aussies everywhere when the tournament commences with in-form Brett Coletta paired with Australian veteran Robert Allenby in the first group off the 10th tee and Brett Drewitt and Ryan Ruffels also providing a strong Aussie presence from 11.45pm AEST.
For the second week in succession Deyen Lawson is the lone Aussie on the European Tour, off in the fifth group of the opening round of the Euram Bank Open from 3.40pm AEST.
Round 1 tee times AEST
European Tour
Euram Bank Open
GC Adamstal, Ramsau, Austria
3.40pm Deyen Lawson, Victor Riu, Santiago Tarrio
Defending champion: Calum Hill
Past Aussie winners: Nil
PGA TOUR
The Memorial Tournament
Muirfield Village, Dublin, Ohio
10.06pm Cameron Smith, Charles Howell III, Troy Merritt
10.28pm* Jason Day, JT Poston, William McGirt
10.50pm Jason Scrivener, Bernd Wiesberger, Haotong Li
2am* Danny Lee, Rory Sabbatini, Matthew NeSmith
2.33am* Marc Leishman, Sungjae Im, Si Woo Kim
Defending champion: Patrick Cantlay
Past Aussie winners: David Graham (1980), Greg Norman (1990, 1995)
Top Aussie prediction: Jason Day
TV schedule: Live 4.30am-8.30am Friday and Saturday; Live 2.30am-8am Sunday; Live 3am-9am Monday on Fox Sports 503
Korn Ferry Tour
TPC San Antonio Championship at the Oaks
TPC San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas
10.15pm* Brett Coletta, Robert Allenby, Curtis Thompson
11.05pm* Curtis Luck, Jim Knous, Lee Hodges
11.25pm Rhein Gibson, David Kocher, Grant Hirschman
11.25pm* Jamie Arnold, Jonathan Randolph, Nicolas Echavarria
11.45pm Brett Drewitt, Ryan Ruffels, Vince India
11.45pm* Harrison Endycott, Matt Atkins, Chandler Blanchet
4.10am Steven Bowditch, Will Zalatoris, Rick Lamb
Defending champion: New event
Top Aussie prediction: Rhein Gibson
Jason Scrivener makes his PGA TOUR debut at this week’s Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village in what he hopes will become a permanent move across the Atlantic.
A practice round with Jason Day and Bubba Watson.
A money match with England’s Matt Wallace to fire the competitive juices that have sat dormant for four months.
Sharing the stage with Tiger Woods in his return to tournament golf.
A meeting with the greatest major champion of all time and tournament host, Jack Nicklaus. Hopefully.
It’s all part of Jason Scrivener’s preparation ahead of his PGA TOUR debut at this week’s Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village in what he hopes will become a permanent move across the Atlantic.
The West Australian finished the 2019 European Tour season 32nd on the moneylist and ranked 152nd in the world, his continuing progression and his management company Wasserman’s close ties with tournament director Dan Sullivan paving the way for an invitation to one of the PGA TOUR’s most revered events.
It is known unofficially as Nicklaus’s tournament and for Scrivener provides the ideal introduction to what life on the PGA TOUR looks like, even in its current COVID-19 impacted state.
The 31-year-old played both the US Open and WGC-HSBC Champions events in 2018 and is excited to once again see how his game stacks up against the best players on the planet.
“I’m excited for sure. Any time you can get to play on the big stage is great for your game,” Scrivener said.
“It’s been four months without a tournament for me so it’s jumping straight back into the deep end.
“I’ve loved playing in Europe and I really enjoy that but any time you can play in these big events it’s great for your game.
“I feel like the last few years I’ve progressed and gone to the next level.
“I’ve kind of hovered around that 130-150 in the world mark and to take my game to the next level I’ve just got to play as many of these big events as possible really.”
Born in South Africa, Scrivener moved to Perth with his family at age 10 and soon set his sights on golf’s richest tour.
The 2007 Australian Boys Junior champion turned professional in September 2010 and wasted no time in making his intentions known, signing up to play in the First Stage of PGA TOUR Qualifying School in Dallas, Texas.
Almost a decade later he returns to the US to play his first PGA TOUR-sanctioned event but with the confidence gained from five full seasons building his game on the European Tour.
“That’s what everyone aspires to, to be able to play on the PGA TOUR,” admits Scrivener, who has been drawn to play with Austrian Bernd Wiesberger and China’s Haotong Li in the opening two rounds.
“I love Europe but the PGA TOUR is obviously the biggest stage in golf.
“I did go to PGA TOUR Q-School early in my career and that didn’t work out.
“I kind of decided that Europe was the route because I just wasn’t ready.
“It’s given me amazing opportunities. I’ve been able to play with the best players in the world, played some big events and worked my way slowly up the ranks.
“I don’t feel uncomfortable this week. I feel like it’s any other tournament really because I’ve rubbed shoulders with all these guys before.
“It’s nothing too different. Obviously it’s on a bigger stage and I haven’t played a PGA-sanctioned event before so there are a few little differences but apart from that I’ve played with all these guys before.
“Europe has been great from that point of view.”
And while his intention is to fly to the UK and join the European Tour ‘bubble’ from Monday ahead of the six-week stretch of UK-based tournaments starting with next week’s British Masters, Scrivener is already eyeing off a permanent move to the PGA TOUR.
“I’m planning on playing the British Masters next week but obviously things change,” said Scrivener, the 2017 NSW Open champion.
“If I can play well here and the opportunity pops up to play another PGA TOUR event then I’ll grab that.
“I’m in no rush to go home to Australia because of the two-week hotel quarantine. I’ll take it week to week and probably just be a gypsy for the rest of the year.”
As for that meeting with Mr Nicklaus, Scrivener says he has much to thank the ‘Golden Bear’ for.
“He was out there today but I didn’t get to meet him,” he said.
“Hopefully we’ll cross paths at some stage and I can thank him for the invite.”
In a virtual broadcast, the winners of QLD Golf Industry Award were announced last night with Links Hope Island, Atherton Golf Club and KDV Sport amongst those who were recognised.
Coordinated by the PGA of Australia, Golf Australia, Golf Course Superintendents Association of QLD and Golf Management Australia, the awards were broadcast in a unique setting online with the same original purpose – to recognise those who had excelled in 2019.
Including a visit from reigning Australian PGA Champion Adam Scott, the virtual awards night saw winners from as far north as Atherton and Cairns Golf Clubs, representation from Central QLD including Bundaberg and Rockhampton Golf Clubs as well as those in South East QLD.
Former Golf Club General Manager Don Gregory was presented a Service to Golf Award for his longevity and impact on the golf industry and in a pre-recorded acceptance speech, was humbled by his award.
“I feel very proud that many of the juniors at clubs I have been at have gone on to a career within the industry and in particular the management of golf clubs, and I am very honoured to be acknowledged in this way,” said Gregory.
KDV Sport took out the hotly contested Junior Golf Program of the Year Award with their Director of Instruction Richard Woodhouse also announced as Coach of the Year. Woodhouse had an outstanding year with many of his students including Daniel Nisbet and Brett Rankin recording victories in 2019, and was proud to win his third QLD Golf industry Award.
“Thanks to each of the athletes and players who are the reason I work so hard to assist to reach their potential and I feel very humbled to win this award given the accomplished group of finalists,” said Woodhouse.
RACV Royal Pines Resort Superintendent Lincoln Coombes won the Superintendents Achievement Award with his fellow Superintendent Ben Tilley recognised for his significant contribution to Golf Course Superintendent’s Association of QLD and the wider turf industry.
Links Hope Island and Atherton Golf Club took out what many call the top honours of the night with their Golf Club of the Year Awards. Atherton Golf Club’s award for Golf Clubs under 400 members was magnified when their Superintendent Brendan Clark also won the Environment and Safety Excellence Award. For Links Hope Island it was recognition for a year that saw the club increase green fee revenue by 25% as well as continue their reputation as an accessible facility staging several events for the surrounding community.
Keperra Country Golf Club was also a multiple winner with long term member Leo Scott winning Volunteer of the Year and Michael Dash winning the Golf Club Staff Member of the Year award for his professionalism and enthusiasm to continually innovate to ensure the club continues to evolve.
A full list of all of the winners can be found below:
| Award Name | Winner |
| Services to Golf Award | Don Gregory |
| Junior Golf Program of the Year Award | KDV Sport |
| Golf Supplier of the Year Award | Coca-Cola Amatil |
| Game Development Professional of the Year | Mick Murnane |
| Coach of the Year | Richard Woodhouse |
| Coca-Cola Club Professional of the Year | Paul Orchard |
| Management Professional of the Year | Tim Porter |
| Tournament of the Year | Ian Weigh Toyota Rockhampton Pro-Am |
| Metropolitan Tournament of the Year | GC Celebrity Pro-Am |
| Regional Tournament of the Year | CUB Ocean Shores Pro-Am |
| Legends Tournament of the Year | Brookwater Pro-Am |
| PGA Pro-Am Series Sunshine Swing Order of Merit Winner | Brett Rankin |
| On Platinum PGA Pro-Am Series Sunshine Swing Rookie of the Year | Jay Mackenzie |
| QLD PGA Trainee of the Year | Cooper Eccleston |
| QLD PGA Trainee Order of Merit Winner | Charles Wright |
| Toro Apprentice of the Year Award | Tom Bath |
| Living Turf Superintendents Achievement Award | Lincoln Coombes |
| Superintendents Industry Recognition Award | Ben Tilley |
| E-par Superintendents Environment and Safety Excellence Award | Brendan Clark |
| Golf Club Staff Member of the Year Award | Michael Dash |
| Golf Club Board Member of the Year Award | Mark Schutters |
| MiClub Golf Club of the Year Award | Links Hope Island |
| Inside Golf Manager of the Year Award | Matt Bolton |
| Male Amateur Golfer of the Year | Jed Morgan |
| Female Amateur Golfer of the Year | Cassie Porter |
| Junior Female Amateur Golfer of the Year | Cassie Porter |
| Junior Male Amateur Golfer of the Year | Elvis Smylie |
| Volunteer of the Year | Leo Scott |
| Golf Club of the Year (Under 400 Members) | Atherton Golf Club |
| PGA IGI Excellence in Golf Education Award | Robert Lane |
Watch the full awards broadcast here:
Victorian Brett Coletta has continued his surge up the Korn Ferry Tour moneylist despite a disappointing end to his week at the TPC San Antonio Challenge at the Canyons Course in Texas.
Top-20 in each of his past two starts, Coletta entered the final round tied for fourth and in position to register his first top-five finish in close to a year.
A birdie at the par-4 third hole was a nice way to get into his round but a wayward tee shot and subsequent drop in the native area adjacent to the fairway contributed to a double-bogey that halted his progress.
The 24-year-old hit back with a birdie at the par-5 12th but was unable to pick up further shots on the way in, his even-par 72 resulting in a fall of 19 spots to a tie for 23rd, the best of the Aussie contingent.
Coletta’s continued good form saw him rise a further 18 spots on the moneylist to 78th, just outside the top 75 who qualify for the Korn Ferry Tour finals.
West Australian Curtis Luck finished a shot back of Coletta in a tie for 27th with Harrison Endycott rising 16 spots on the leaderboard in the final round courtesy of a 5-under 67.
Jason Day recorded just his second top-10 finish in more than 12 months as he finished in a tie for seventh at the PGA TOUR’s Workday Charity Open while Deyen Lawson made a strong return to competition at the European Tour’s Austrian Open.
Playing in the second group out in the European Tour’s resumption post the COVID-19 suspension, Lawson had two double-bogeys as he rid of himself of the rust in a 1-over 73 in the opening round before ensuring his place on the weekend with seven birdies in a 5-under 67 in round two.
Despite starting the third round with an eagle at the par-5 first Lawson struggled to a 2-over 74 before rounding out the week with a 1-under 71 that began with 13 straight pars as he finished tied for 31st.
PGA TOUR
Workday Charity Open
Muirfield Village GC, Dublin, Ohio
Winner Collin Morikawa 65-66-72-66—269 $US1.116m
T7 Jason Day 69-71-70-67—277 $169,393
T14 Matt Jones 69-72-67-70—278 $113,150
T31 Tim Wilkinson 68-72-72-70—282 $37,898
MC Cameron Davis 73-71—144
MC Aaron Baddeley 74-73—147
MC Danny Lee 76-72—148
MC Marc Leishman 72-77—149
WD Cameron Percy 76-38—114
European Tour
Austrian Open
Diamond CC, Atzenbrugg, Austria
Winner Marc Warren 66-69-70-70—275 €76,823
T31 Deyen Lawson 73-67-74-71—285 €3,750
Korn Ferry Tour
TPC San Antonio Challenge at the Canyons
TPC San Antonio (Canyons), San Antonio, Texas
Winner David Lipsky 69-66-62-66—263 $US108,000
T23 Brett Coletta 70-65-67-72—274 $5,674
T27 Curtis Luck 70-67-68-70—275 $4,545
T31 Harrison Endycott 70-70-69-67—276 $3,436
T46 Ryan Ruffels 67-73-70-68—278 $2,641
MC Brett Drewitt 72-72—144
MC Robert Allenby 71-75—146
MC Steven Bowditch 81-70—151
Sick of playing the blame game, Jason Day has credited a positive mindset and an improved putting performance for logging just his second top-10 finish in more than 12 months at the Workday Charity Open in Ohio.
After dropping a shot at the second hole of his final round Day rattled off three straight birdies to right the ship, adding three more birdies in a 5-under 67 that lifted him into a tie for seventh, eight shots back of playoff combatants Collin Morikawa and Justin Thomas.
Morikawa claimed his second PGA TOUR title at the second playoff hole after the pair drained monster putts on their first trip down Muirfield Village’s 18th hole but Day showed that his upward trajectory is well timed ahead of golf’s biggest events of a shortened 2020 season.
The TOUR stays at Muirfield Village this week for the Memorial Tournament and then two weeks later the WGC-FedEx St Jude Invitational precedes the US PGA Championship at TPC Harding Park in San Francisco.
Despite a top-five finish at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in February, Day went into the Workday Charity Open ranked No.63 in the world but believes a change in mindset will deliver stronger results in the near future.
“It’s funny, when you’re going through a bit of a rough patch, you start to blame other things other than yourself,” Day said after climbing 12 spots on the leaderboard on Sunday.
“Sometimes you’ve just got to have a hard look at yourself and understand the attitude isn’t helping the game out at all. So you may as well just try and fix that, and that’s obviously the first thing that you try and do. The attitude was a lot better.
“I felt like I was just trying to play the victim role a little bit too much especially because I haven’t played that great coming back after the break and then a bunch of missed cuts, and my body is sore.
“I just don’t want to play that role. I want to take it for what it is and just get on with it.”
Regarded as one of the best putters on the planet when he rose to No.1 in the Official World Golf Ranking Day’s flatstick fragilities have contributed to his fall out of the top 50.
Ranked 111th in Strokes Gained: Putting at the start of the week, Day delivered his best putting performance of the season and was finally rewarded for months of hard work.
“I’m the most excited I have been in a long time with my putting,” said Day.
“Usually I’ve been in the top 10 putting every year, and this year I’ve been 171st. When there’s that big of a margin between where you usually are, there’s a lot of opportunities that are missed.
“Today was a nice indication of where my putting is actually starting to progress into.
“I’ve been working very, very hard. I’ve been trying to bust my butt over the last two months to try and get ready for this.”
Matt Jones climbed 15 spots in the FedEx Cup with a tie for 14th with Kiwi Tim Wilkinson the only other Australasian player to qualify for all four rounds, finishing tied for 31st.
A last-minute Government reprieve has paved the way for Deyen Lawson to rejoin the European Tour and take his place as the sole Australian in the field for this week’s Austrian Open near Vienna.
The Austrian Open at Diamond Country Club outside Vienna is being staged as a joint European Tour/Challenge Tour event with Lawson’s Challenge Tour status gained at Qualifying School last year providing a place for him in the field.
Since returning to Australia after playing three Challenge Tour events in Africa and the world going into lockdown in early March due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Lawson has been biding his time practising and giving lessons at The Glades Golf Club on the Gold Coast.
He had almost resigned himself to not leaving the country again in 2020 but the competitive itch that grew with the return of tournament golf in the US ultimately convinced Lawson to book his flights for two events in Austria in successive weeks.
“I was tossing up whether to go until last Tuesday and then I just went ahead and booked my flights,” Lawson revealed.
“I was going and then I wasn’t going and then I was going and eventually it just came down to the fact that I wanted to play and wanted to compete again.”
Lawson required approval to enter from the Austrian Government before he was able to confirm his travel but was very nearly turned away at the boarding gate prior to leaving Brisbane last Saturday.
“I went to book in at the airport and they said I needed permission from the Australian Government to leave, and I didn’t have that at the time,” Lawson said.
“I’d read through every bit of detail, had the test to show that I was negative and spoke to the quarantine people about what would happen when I came back and no one had mentioned I needed approval to leave.
“I was told by Border Security that approval from Canberra normally takes seven days but there are a couple of exemptions and because I have spent more time overseas than in Australia the past two years I fell into one of those exemptions.
“They even looked up my Wikipedia page – that I didn’t even know that I had – so that was pretty funny.
“If I’d spent more time in Australia the past two years I wouldn’t have been able to come.”
In addition to the Austrian Open this week Lawson is guaranteed a start in next week’s Euram Bank Open also in Austria but will need to produce something spectacular to play his way into contention for the six-week European Tour swing through the UK starting July 22.
“With my category status I’d probably have to win,” Lawson said.
“If I play all right in both I might get an invite into the first event but I probably wouldn’t go to the UK just for one event.
“I wasn’t coming here unless I was definitely in for both and it will be the same in the UK. Unless I get two or three in a row then I’ll just come home and get ready for the Aussie summer.
“There’s only so much practice you can do before you need to measure where your game’s at.
“I saw this as a good opportunity to come over and see where I’m at and then if nothing else get ready to have a crack at the Aussie events at the end of the year.”
The PGA TOUR is spending the next two weeks at Muirfield Golf Club in Ohio starting with the new Workday Charity Open this week while the Korn Ferry Tour moves to Texas for the TPC San Antonio Challenge.
Marc Leishman rejoins the Aussie contingent on the PGA TOUR while Steven Bowditch is in the field in San Antonio in his home state.
Former Australian Open champion Steve Allan also very nearly played his way into the latest Korn Ferry event but his 64 in Monday qualifying fell just short, the second week in succession he has posted that number in qualifying without earning a start.
Round 1 tee times AEST
European Tour
Austrian Open
Diamond Country Club, Atzenbrugg, Austria
11.10pm Deyen Lawson, Robbie Van West, Benjamin Rusch
Defending champion: Mikko Korhonen (2018)
Past Australian champions: Richard Green (2007)
PGA TOUR
Workday Charity Open
Muirfield Golf Club, Dublin, Ohio
8.50pm Aaron Baddeley, Jhonattan Vegas, Robby Shelton
9.12pm Matt Jones, Brian Stuard, Bronson Burgoon
9.45pm* Jason Day, Justin Thomas, Brooks Koepka
10.51pm Tim Wilkinson, Mackenzie Hughes, Scott Harrington
10.51pm* Danny Lee, Jason Kokrak, JJ Spaun
2.26am Cameron Davis, Charley Hoffman, Carlos Ortiz
2.48am Marc Leishman, Collin Morikawa, Brandt Snedeker
4.16am Cameron Percy, Byeong Hun An, Matt Wallace
Defending champion: New event
Top Aussie prediction: Marc Leishman
TV schedule: Live 5am-8am Friday and Saturday; Live 3am-8am Sunday and Monday on Fox Sports 503
Korn Ferry Tour
TPC San Antonio Challenge at the Canyons
TPC San Antonio (Canyons Cse), San Antonio, Texas
11.00pm* Steven Bowditch, Nelson Ledesma, Paul Barjon
11.20pm* Robert Allenby, Augusto Núñez, Max McGreevy
11.30pm* Curtis Luck, JJ Henry, John VanDerLaan
4.20am Brett Coletta, Tag Ridings, Greg Yates
5am* Harrison Endycott, Dawson Armstrong, Yuwa Kosaihira
5.10am* Ryan Ruffels, Brad Hopfinger, Brent Grant
5.20am Brett Drewitt, Kevin Lucas, KK Limbhasut
Defending champion: New event
Top Aussie prediction: Harrison Endycott
A series of six NSW Open Qualifiers across the state will be a boost for regional economies recovering from drought, bushfires and the COVID-19 crisis.
Deputy Premier and Minister for Regional NSW, Mr John Barilaro today announced the series at Dubbo Golf Club, which will host one of the qualifying events.
The six-event NSW Open Qualifying Series will see around 80 professionals and 40 elite amateurs compete with the top three placegetters (amateur or professional) at each event qualifying for this year’s NSW Open.
In addition to the coveted places in the NSW Open Championship, the professionals will also be vying for a purse of $50,000 per event.
Each event will run over three days and will feature an 18 hole pro-am practice round followed by the 36 hole tournament.
Qualification tournaments will be held in Dubbo, Coffs Harbour, Queanbeyan, and the Tweed during September with two more events to be hosted in the Albury and Bega regions.
Making the announcement today, the Deputy Premier, Mr John Barilaro MP said the series was going to be a boost for regional communities.
“Golfers love a weekend away and a new course to play.
“I’m sure fans will jump at the chance to plan a trip to watch the pros & get a few rounds in.”
“The Department of Regional NSW will work with Golf NSW to deliver an event that is both COVIDSAfe and provides economic benefits through increased tourism,” Mr Barilaro said.
Peter Mitchell, Chairman of Golf NSW, added the events would be a significant boost to many local economies.
“The vast majority of competitors will be coming from out of the region, and some hopefully from interstate.
“We know this means motels are booked, restaurants, clubs and pubs are busy, and towns will be buzzing while the tournament is underway,” Mr Mitchell said.
Dubbo MP Mr Dugald Saunders said the 2020 Worrell’s Women’s NSW Open, held at Dubbo Golf Club in March, delivered plenty of economic and social benefits to the Dubbo region.
“The Women’s Open was the first major tournament held in the region, and it’s fantastic news that another sporting event of that calibre will be played right here in Dubbo.
“Events like this bring new fans to the sport, attract visitors to the regions to enjoy the services and hospitality of local businesses,” Mr Saunders said.
