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The career of Justin Warren has always been fascinating to observe. The prodigious hitter coming to a realisation after a disappointing finish to 2024 that could dramatically alter his trajectory.
Hailing from Picton in south-west Sydney, Warren’s talent for the game has never been questioned.
Not just a bomber off the tee, the 28-year-old is the type of player regularly described as having “great hands for a big man” yet results as a professional have been what could have been.
Personified by the New South Welshman’s missed putt from 18 inches to fall short of a spot at the 2021 Barracuda Championship on the PGA Tour.
Warren got redemption by qualifying into the same tournament the next year, however, once again it was a case of what could have been that kick started a new era as he finished 2023.
Right in the mix with Adam Scott at the Cathedral Invitational, Warren made a double bogey followed by a triple to drop out of the race for a career changing first place cheque.
“That’s golf, it’s just brutal,” he said at the time.
However, after a birdie chip bounced out of the hole for a 62 on Friday at the Webex Players Series Sydney, Warren reflected on the moment that saw him return in 2024 to earn playing rights on the Asian Tour last month.
“I think I just kind of realised that, obviously this is our profession, and this is what we do, and as much as we might say we don’t play for the money, at the end of the day, we play for money,” he said.
“I think a lot of those results like I had at Cathedral, not that I am choking or things like that, but it’s costing me a lot.
“I just kind of went ‘It’s just time to grow up and start being a professional and play some proper smart, professional golf’.”
Realising that minimising mistakes combined with taking opportunities is the key to success, Warren has certainly showed his new mindset at Castle Hill Country Club where he sits in a tie for fifth halfway.
The ‘new’ Warren even more clearly on display at qualifying for the Asian Tour where he was third and one of six Australians to earn their card for 2024 alongside Harrison Crowe, Sam Brazel, Lachlan Barker, Jordan Zunic and Maverick Antcliff.
“I just decided after the double-triple at cathedral, that it was time to mature and be a little bit smarter about the way I play and the way I handle myself on the golf course,” he said.
Where that attitude sees him finish in his home city before he departs for Asia as part of a seven week tournament run will play out over this weekend.
And if there is any doubt that the new mindset might curb Warren’s ability to go low, had his chip dropped for 62 on Friday, it would have been his third such score of 2024.
“I’ve had two 62s in the last four weeks, that would have been third,” he said with a wry smile on his face.
Aussie Robyn Choi has marked her full-time return to the LPGA Tour with her best result in the US at the LPGA Drive On Championship in Florida.
Possessing a LPGA Tour card for the first time since 2019, Choi entered the final round in a tie for fifth and contending with the likes of Nelly Korda, Lydia Ko and Meghan Kang.
After a 5-under 66 in Round 3 the Gold Coaster struggled in the final round, going out in 5-over on her way to a closing 77 and a tie for 16th.
Outside of her tie for sixth at the co-sanctioned Vic Open in 2020, it is Choi’s best finish on the LPGA Tour and provides a strong foundation from which to launch her season.
Following the heartbreak of just missing out on promotion through the Epson Tour in 2023, the 25-year-old was medallist at Q-Series in December and feels far more settled playing among the world’s best on a weekly basis.
“I think if it was my rookie year this year I think I would’ve been a little bit intimidated,” Choi said.
“There are world class athletes. You see them on TV. They’re famous. I feel like I would be in their way.
“Because I kind of have some relationship, I know their faces and they know mine, I think it’s a little bit easier to kind of make a relationship with them and kind of get into the LPGA a little bit more easily.
“I think that will help with my performance as well, just being used to this environment a little bit. Having the chance to have a glimpse of it in 2019 it will help my performance as well not to be too intimidated.”
Gabriela Ruffels also made her debut as a LPGA Tour member but didn’t survive the cut-line, Grace Kim and Sarah Kemp also playing just the two rounds.
At the PGA TOUR’s Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines, Aaron Baddely’s tie for 37th was the best of the Aussies, West Australian Jason Scrivener the lone Aussie to make the cut at the Ras Al Khaimah Championship on the DP World Tour.
Photo: Julio Aguilar/Getty Images
Results
PGA TOUR
Farmers Insurance Open
Torrey Pines Golf Course (South Cse), San Diego, California
1 Matthieu Pavon 69-65-72-69—275 $US1.62m
T37 Aaron Baddeley 69-72-73-70—284 $40,050
T43 Min Woo Lee 72-68-72-73—285 $28,530
MC Ryan Fox 70-73—143
MC Jason Day 74-71—145
MC Harrison Endycott 72-74—146
DP World Tour
Ras Al Khaimah Championship
Al Hamra GC, Ras Al Khaimah, UAE
1 Thorbjørn Olesen 69-62-63-67—261 €392,416.52
T23 Daniel Hillier 70-67-71-68—276 €21,929.16
T47 Jason Scrivener 69-68-72-70—279 €9,925.83
T68 Sam Jones 66-68-73-77—284 €4,732.08
MC David Micheluzzi 73-70—143
LPGA Tour
LPGA Drive On Championship
Bradenton Country Club, Bradenton, Florida
1 Nelly Korda 65-67-68-73—273 $262,500
Won on the second hole of sudden death playoff
2 Lydia Ko (NZ) 65-70-69-69—273 $163,689
T16 Robyn Choi 71-68-66-77—282 $21,585
MC Grace Kim 71-75—146
MC Gabriela Ruffels 72-75—147
MC Sarah Kemp 75-75—150
Korn Ferry Tour
The Bahamas Great Abaco Classic at The Abaco Club
The Abaco Club on Winding Bay, Great Abaco, Bahamas
1 Aldrich Potgieter 72-70-71-65—278 $US180,000
T52 Rhein Gibson 71-72-75-75—293 $4,220
T60 Dimi Papadatos 72-72-75-76—295 $4,050
MC Brett Drewitt 71-78—149
MC Curtis Luck 72-81—153
Elvis Smylie, one of Australian golf’s brightest young talents, has made the difficult and significant decision to leave his life-long coach and join Ritchie Smith’s star-laden troupe as he continues the search for his optimum performance.
The 2019 Australian Junior Amateur champion and third-year PGA Professional contacted his previous coach, world-renowned Ian Triggs, late last year to tell him that he was joining the likes of Minjee Lee, Min Woo Lee and Hannah Green in Smith’s camp.
The 21-year-old Queensland lefty spent two weeks working with Smith in Perth over the Christmas break – his first extended period of instruction with a new coach.
The decision could not have been more difficult, albeit that professional golfers almost inevitably change coaches at some point. Triggs, who has worked with Karrie Webb, John Senden and numerous world class players over 40 years in the game, was his first coach from the age of just eight years old.
Smylie insisted on visiting his original coach personally with the news. “I think that’s the way to do it,” he said. “I think you’ve got to show a person the respect that they deserve.”
Down the track, he fervently hopes that their close relationship will be sustained. “It was a tough decision because everything that I’ve built in my game and everything I’ve learned has been through Triggsy,” said Smylie.
“The relationship moving forward will always be the same as it was.”
Smylie said he felt he was “stagnating” in his difficult early years on tour, which included a stint on the DP World Tour and some injury difficulties.
He is still seeking his first win as a professional, including at Rosebud this week for the Webex Players Series Victoria from Thursday. Thus far he has managed a string of top-10s and a couple of runner-up finishes, notably third at Rosebud last year and second in 2021, his last event as an amateur.
Like so many young pros it has been a battle, with his Christian faith sustaining him. “I believe in God and I know that he has a plan and it’s about him giving me the tools in order for me to do what I need. I want to go along for the ride and do what I can with what’s in my control and see what the outcome is from there.”
Smith is one of the world’s foremost coaches and was an obvious choice. “I’ve been on a couple of Aussie teams with Ritchie previously, and I knew his style,” Smylie said. “His players have really good structures with their swings, and I think he’s structured with how he goes about coaching his players. He doesn’t sugar coat anything which I don’t expect the person who’s coaching me to be.
“He’ll always tell me the way it is, which is important, and he’ll always be 110 percent for me always which is what you want in a coach-player relationship.”
They are already tinkering, in particular with the set-up.
Smylie is focusing on using his body more in the swing, and putting less strain on his back for purposes of injury-prevention. At a pencil-thin 71 kilograms, he is desperate to put on more bulk.
“I’ve got quite a fast metabolism,” he said. “I’ve just got to eat quite frequently, especially in tournament weeks.”
He intends playing all the remaining events on the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia season, hopefully finishing strongly in the Order of Merit to pick up any benefits that he can.
Later this year he plans travelling to Europe to take up some status on the Challenge Tour.
“I think as soon as I turned pro I went straight up to the European Tour and just got everything thrown at me at once,” he said. “It was tricky dealing with that. Stepping back a bit, what has happened has been a blessing in disguise.
“It’ll help shape me into the person I’ll be in five or 10 years time.”
In the brief but blossoming history of the Webex Players Series, Rosebud is becoming a ‘traditional’ venue.
This week’s Webex Players Series Victoria hosted by Geoff Ogilvy is the fourth to be played in consecutive years at Rosebud Country Club on the beautiful Mornington Peninsula.
Some of the major highs of the series – which pits men and women against each other on the same course for the same prize – have come at Rosebud, including the withering final-day victory last year by South Korea’s Min A Yoon.
Yoon, a sometime LPGA Tour player and Epson Tour regular, shot a final-round 63 and 24-under par overall to deny hometown hero James Marchesani by a shot. She became the second woman – behind Hannah Green – to win a Players Series event.
Marchesani had been the story of the week having taken the 54-hole lead playing at the club which spawned him before he went to the United States on a college scholarship and later turned professional.
Hundreds of locals and golf club members followed his every move but the fairytale could not be written.
Perhaps that will be saved for 2024, when the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia member tees it up on the composite course at Rosebud trying to achieve the dream of winning at home in front of family and friends.
Yoon, 21, is back to defend her title among 62 women in an event that is co-sanctioned by the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia and the WPGA Tour of Australasia.
Sarah Jane Smith, the former LPGA Tour star and another woman to have tasted Webex Players Series success (at Cobram Barooga last summer) is another in the field, along with New Zealander Momoka Kobori, who finished tied-third in Cobram last weekend, as well as former LPGA Tour player Su Oh.
Most of the domestic men’s tour’s winners of recent times are in the field including Kazuma Kobori, last week’s Webex Players Series Murray River winner and Heritage Classic winner Matt Griffin.
Western Australian Jarryd Felton gets a start and will play his first tournament since his marriage to LPGA Tour star and major champion Hannah Green in Perth last week.
Veterans Marcus Fraser and Mat Goggin also are looking to turn back the clock.
Some of Australia’s best amateurs are playing at Rosebud, including the Masters-bound Jasper Stubbs, adidas Australian Amateur champion Quinn Croker and also the runners-up from Yarra Yarra last week, Phoenix Campbell and Amelia Harris.
The event is supported by the Ogivly Foundation, which has at its core the desire to bring golfers of all age ranges and genders together for the enhancement of the game.
In keeping with that, the weekend will see some of the country’s best young amateurs hold their own competition and mix with the seasoned pros in the Webex Junior Players Series. Nine all abilities golfers will joint the field in their own 36-hole competition over the weekend as well.
At the conclusion of play on Saturday night the third round of the popular Australian Long Drive Championship will take place at the course.
The Challenger PGA Tour of Australia’s Order of Merit race continues to rumble with the eligible players (having competed in four or more tournaments) headed by David Micheluzzi, Ben Eccles and Jak Carter with Kazuma Kobori now looming in fourth. The latter three are all playing this week.
The Webex Players Series Victoria has a prize pool of $250,000
HOW TO FOLLOW
For live scoring and the latest news visit www.pga.org.au. Exclusive content and tournament updates will also be posted regularly on the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia’s social media channels.
Instagram: @pgatouraus @WPGATour
Twitter: @PGAofAustralia @WPGATour
Facebook: @PGAofAustralia, @PGATourAus @WPGATour/
Official hashtag: #WebexPlayersSeries
HOW TO WATCH
Watch the final two rounds of the Webex Players Series Victoria live on Kayo and Fox Sports on Foxtel.
Round 3: Saturday 4pm-7pm AEDT
Round 4: Sunday 2pm-7pm AEDT
FORMER CHAMPIONS
2021: Brad Kennedy
2022: Todd Sinnott
2023: Min A Yoon
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Matthew Griffin, 2024 Heritage Classic winner
Momoka Kobori, 2023 Women’s NSW Open winner
Kazuma Kobori, 2024 Webex Players Series Murray winner
Min A Yoon, defending champion
Kerry Mountcastle, 2023 Gippsland Super 6 winner
Amelia Harris, runner-up adidas Australian Amateur
Quinn Croker, adidas Australian Amateur champion
Daniel Gale, 2023 Sandbelt Invitational winner
PHOTO: James Marchesani’s prominence ensured there were good crowds at Rosebud Country Club in 2023.
Seven of the top 12 players on the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit will hope to advance their status when the 2023/2024 resumes this week with the return of the Heritage Classic.
It will mark 10 years since The Heritage Golf and Country Club in the Yarra Valley outside of Melbourne last hosted a PGA Tour of Australasia event, Gareth Paddison edging Michael Hendry in a Kiwi quinella at the 2014 Victorian PGA Championship.
A year earlier David Bransdon defeated a young Lucas Herbert in a playoff at the Lexus of Blackburn Heritage Classic, the 2024 championship the first in a three-year commitment.
With 10 of this season’s 18 tournaments now completed, the importance of the Order of Merit comes more sharply into focus.
There are DP World Tour cards, starts in major championships and direct pathways to the world’s top tours on offer in a race that looks set to go down to the wire.
Fortinet Australian PGA Championship winner Min Woo Lee is a runaway leader entering 2024 but, given he is about to embark on his first season on the PGA TOUR, is unlikely to play the minimum number of events to be eligible.
That makes WA PGA champion Ben Eccles the provisional No.1 but he will be up against a host of fellow contenders this week at The Heritage.
Reigning Order of Merit champion David Micheluzzi and current-season tournament winners Lachlan Barker, Kerry Mountcastle and Austin Bautista are all in the field, less than 75 points separating the top five currently eligible for the Order of Merit rewards.
Following his win at Kalgoorlie, Eccles enhanced his Order of Merit hopes with a runner-up finish to Micheluzzi at the Victorian PGA Championship at Moonah Links.
As he starts the new year as the hunted, the 29-year-old insists his mindset has not changed since the season started.
“I’ve been talking to Grant (coach Grant Field) about this whole thing and it’s not really about what it means and what it gets you,” said Eccles.
“It’s more about continuing to move forward and keep trying to play golf the way I want to play golf.
“That’s the message I’m going to have regardless of the result.
“I’m going to keep trying to apply myself the way that I have done from the start of the season all the way through until the end.”
As he prepares to embark on his debut season on the DP World Tour, Micheluzzi is establishing a solid defence of his crown in limited appearances.
He earned 76.14 points for his share of second behind amateur Phoenix Campbell at the Queensland PGA Championship and then edged Eccles by a stroke two weeks later at the Vic PGA.
While disappointed to make it a two-win season prior to the Christmas break, Eccles knows that result was important to his Order of Merit aspirations.
“Obviously the result was great. It sucked a bit to watch Dave win but at the same time it was a great week,” Eccles reasoned.
“Obviously the result was important in terms of the rankings and confidence-building and all that sort of stuff but there’s still a lot of golf to play and I’m just looking forward to that.”
Other players of note teeing it up this week are DP World Tour-bound Tom Power Horan, rookie professionals Kazuma Kobori and Jack Buchanan and the defending champion, Champions Tour Q School graduate David Bransdon.
Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit
1 Min Woo Lee 1,044 (2)
2 Ben Eccles 340.37 (9)
3 Adam Scott 326.67 (2)
4 Marc Leishman 314.93 (2)
5 David Micheluzzi 312.90 (4)
6 Lachlan Barker 273.94 (10)
7 Kerry Mountcastle 267.28 (10)
8 Austin Bautista 265.75 (9)
9 Lucas Herbert 245.23 (2)
10 Simon Hawkes 233.26 (7)
Players must play a minimum of four events to be eligible for the Order of Merit
Jason Norris added the Queensland Senior PGA Championship to his growing list of achievements on the PGA Legends Tour with a dominant victory at Maroochy River Golf Club on the Sunshine Coast.
The winner of the Australian Senior PGA Championship in October, Norris (64-68) finished on an impressive 12-under-par total for the 36 holes to be three shots ahead of new PGA TOUR Champions member David Bransdon (69-67).
It was the fifth victory of the year, and eighth overall, for Norris on the PGA Legends Tour as he finishes off a busy 2023 which has also seen him compete on the Staysure Legends Tour in Europe, where he had three top-10s, and the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia.
The shot of the tournament, the third leg of the Sunshine Coast Series, came from Queensland’s Richard Backwell who aced the par-3 12th hole on day two, holing out from 135 metres with an eight-iron.
HOW THE VICTORY UNFOLDED
Norris had visions of shooting his first 59 in competition when he was an incredible 10-under-par after 14 holes in his opening day 64 at Maroochy River.
Starting on the 12th, the 51-year-old birdied his opening four holes and then produced another streak of four in a row from the 4th to the 7th.
Bogeys on the 9th and 11th ruined the 59 chances but still left the Victorian with a two-shot overnight lead over Paul Gow and Marcus Cain.
A front nine of 31 in windy conditions sealed the win on day two where the only bogey of his round came at the short par-4 15th.
WHAT THE WINNER SAID
“It was just amazing golf,” Norris said of his opening day 64.
“The putts went in, the drives went straight and my irons were good. It doesn’t happen often so you take it while you get it.
“I started really well again today which was nice but the putts didn’t go in on the back nine.
“I’m a score looker, I like looking at scores, and there were a couple of guys coming closer so I felt a bit of pressure which was nice.”
LEADERBOARD RUNDOWN
-12: Jason Norris (64-68)
-9: David Bransdon (69-67)
-7: Mark Boulton (69-68)
-6: Terry Price (69-69), Murray Lott (68-70)
-5: Paul Gow (66-73)
NEXT UP
The Sunshine Coast Series reaches its finale with the Living Choice Australian Legends Tour Championship at Headland Golf Club on Wednesday and Thursday. The 36-hole event has a $30,000 prize purse with Norris as the defending champion.
Photo: Jason Norris with his son Bailey at Maroochy River
Four-time Order of Merit winner Brad Burns shook off the bridesmaid tag that has plagued him in 2023 to take out the inaugural Sanctuary Cove Golf and Country Club Legends Pro-Am hosted by Adam Scott and Peter Senior.
Proud members Scott and Senior were both at Sanctuary Cove on Monday to present Burns with the trophy after his round of 4-under 68 gave him a two-stroke victory from reigning Order of Merit champion Andre Stolz (70).
The leading names on the PGA Legends Tour took the opportunity to play the highly-acclaimed The Pines layout presented in spectacular condition but it was Burns who stood alongside the tournament hosts at day’s end.
“It’s good that Peter and Adam have actually got on board with the pro-am here at Sanctuary Cove and putting a lot of effort back into the game,” said Burns.
“Adam’s a fantastic bloke and everyone knows Peter and the effort that he has put into the Australian Legends Tour and continues to do so.
“I’ve had about 10 seconds this year so it’s nice not to be the bridesmaid for a change.”
HOW THE WINNING ROUND UNFOLDED
With the Sanctuary Cove greens running at 13 on the Stimpmeter, putting was destined to be the deciding factor.
For Burns, an early misstep was a reminder that the flatstick had to be firing.
He three-putted his opening hole – the par-4 14th – but responded with birdies at 15 and 17 to get back into red numbers.
Birdies at the par-5 third and the short par-4 sixth maintained his momentum but it was the chip-in for birdie at the par-5 ninth that would prove the difference.
“It helped,” Burns admitted.
“I was 3-under playing nine and hit my tee shot into the bunker. I cold-nutted my next shot down the fairway, hit my 3-hybrid left and hit a great chip in the hole.
“It was very unexpected but I’ll take it for sure.”
Four birdies in the space of seven holes on the back nine provided the cornerstone of Stolz’s 2-under 70, late bogeys at 18 and two preventing him from matching Burns’s total.
Straight off the plane after earning his PGA TOUR Champions card for 2024, David Bransdon shot 71 to finish in a tie for third with Gold Coast Senior PGA champion Euan Walters, Steven Conran and David McKenzie.
WHAT THE WINNER SAID
“Greens were fantastic. Running at 13 and very, very quick,” said Burns.
“I three-putted the first one from 20 feet, left the next one 10-feet past and three-putted it but besides that played quite nicely.
“It’s a fantastic facility. Thirty-six holes around here. It’s the first time that I’ve played here on The Pines course since the XSL tournament back in the 90s.”
LEADERBOARD RUNDOWN
1 Brad Burns 68
2 Andre Stolz 70
T3 Steve Conran 71
T3 David Bransdon 71
T3 Euan Walters 71
T3 David McKenzie 71
NEXT UP
The 2023 PGA Legends Tour season comes to a close with the Sunshine Coast Swing, starting with the Noosa Atlas Golf Services Legends Pro-Am at Noosa Golf Course on Tuesday.
An eagle and birdie at two of his final three holes has propelled New South Welshman Alex Edge to a one-stroke win at The Big Garage Bairnsdale Golf Club Pro-Am at Bairnsdale Golf Club.
Without a start at either the Fortinet Australian PGA Championship or ISPS HANDA Australian Open, Edge was itching to get back out on the adidas PGA Pro-Am Series.
He was tied for fourth first-up at Warragul and then fired a brilliant 6-under 65 to finish one clear of Gavin Fairfax at Bairnsdale.
“I’ve been stinging for golf the last month or so,” said Edge, whose most recent appearance on the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia was at the Victorian PGA at Moonah Links.
“This is the first time I’ve got to play for a while so it hasn’t felt like it has been that far off but it’s just nice to play some rounds and, knowing I’ve got this whole week to play, I’ve been looking forward to it a lot.”
HOW THE WINNING ROUND UNFOLDED
A bogey at his second hole, the par-3 fourth, was a backward step early but Edge soon responded with birdies at six, nine and 10.
A pared-back tree canopy flanking the fairways gave Edge a greater level of comfort off the tee.
A birdie on 13 was erased with a bogey on 14 but he remained patient.
The first in a run of four consecutive ‘threes’ on the card came at the par-4 16th but the highlight was his eagle on 18.
He backed that up with a birdie at the gun-barrel straight par-4 first followed by a comfortable two-putt for par to close out victory at the par-4 second.
Fairfax (66) birdied his final hole – the par-4 ninth – to finish one shy of Edge but two strokes clear of Warragul joint winner Lucas Higgins (68), Matthew Millar (68) and Cooper Geddes (68).
WHAT THE WINNER SAID
“The course has been opened up a lot so it was a bit friendlier off the tee. It just felt a bit more freeing.
“I just managed to string some threes together at the right time on the tough holes and then a par 5.
“To be fair, that was the first time I’d holed an eagle putt for a long time so that was nice.
“When I saw that there was someone near me I managed to make another birdie which was good to seal it.
“(The first) is almost too straight and too short. I decided to shape a shot off the tee to be a bit more engaged in the shot and ended up in the middle. Hit a good pitch shot from a good yardage to pitch from and made a birdie.
“Just putting it in the right spot all day and my patience paid off at the end.”
LEADERBOARD RUNDOWN
1 Alex Edge 65
2 Gavin Fairfax 66
T3 Lucas Higgins 68
T3 Matthew Millar 68
T3 Cooper Geddes 68
NEXT UP
The adidas PGA Pro-Am Series stays in regional Victoria on Tuesday for the inaugural Sporting Legends Sale Pro-Am at Sale Golf Club.
An international field of some of the world’s best golfers has descended on The Australian and The Lakes Golf Clubs in Sydney for the ISPS HANDA Australian Open.
The world-first format sees the women, men, and All Abilities playing on the same course, at the same time, for separate trophies. All three of last year’s champions — Adrian Meronk of Poland, Ashleigh Buhai of South Africa and England’s Kipp Popert –are back to defend their titles.
Meronk is set to give a strong defence of his title, following a strong year on the DP World Tour, highlighted by wins at the Italian Open and Andalucia Masters.
A host of Australia’s best men’s golfers will be out to stop Meronk however, with Min Woo Lee hot off his win last week at the Fortinet Australian PGA Championship, and Cam Davis, Adam Scott, Cameron Smith, Lucas Herbert and Marc Leishman all hungry for the title.
Davis has fond memories at The Australian, the site of his breakthrough win at the 2017 Australian Open.
“It’s always so much fun coming back to a place where you’ve got that many good memories, defining moments in your career,” he said.
“I feel like it’s always really windy here. I feel like I’m a pretty good wind player in terms of shaping the ball around and judging wind conditions.
“But I think in terms of consistency, right now I’m probably in the middle of the best run of golf I think I’ve ever played in terms of week after week.”
Major winners Minjee Lee and Hannah Green highlight the women’s field, with a pack of emerging Aussie youngsters out to take down the two stars.
Grace Kim, Stephanie Kyriacou and Gabriella Ruffels are all in form and looking for their breakthrough big win.
Lee was last week awarded her third Greg Norman Medal after an incredible year on the LPGA Tour with wins at the Kroger Queen City Championship, and the BMW Ladies Championship, but an Australian Open is the one she wants.
“I actually feel quite relaxed this week. I thought I would feel a bit more pressure than I usually feel coming to an Aussie open,” she said.
“The Aussie open is always a tough trophy to win, and of course we’re going to add added pressure because we both want to play really well, especially in front of a home crowd in Australia.
“We’ll see how we go.”
Defending champion Kipp Popert will head the strongest field of All Abilities golfers ever assembled in Australia at the ISPS HANDA Australian All-Abilities Championship.
For the first time, the top six players on the World Ranking for Golfers with Disability (WR4GD), representing six different countries, will be in the field for this year’s event.
They will be joined by the top four Australians on the world rankings, headed by Queensland’s Lachlan Wood, who is currently the Australian No.1 and will be contesting the AAAC for the first time.
The Pro-am day is on Wednesday 28/11/2023, 7.30am shotgun (Both courses)
Purchase Practice Day Pass through Ticketek
HOW TO FOLLOW
For live scoring and the latest news visit www.pga.org.au Exclusive content and tournament updates will also be posted regularly on the ISPS HANDA Australian Open and Golf Australia’s social media channels.
Instagram: @ausopengolf @golfaust
Twitter: @AusOpenGolf @GolfAust
Facebook: @AusOpenGolf @GolfAust
Official hashtag: #AusOpenGolf
HOW TO WATCH
The ISPS HANDA Australian Open is live and free on Channel 9HD and 9Now, or Live on Fox Sports, available on Foxtel and Kayo
Round 1: Thursday, 12pm – 5pm (AEDT)
Round 2: Friday, 12pm – 5pm (AEDT)
Round 3: Saturday, 2pm – 7pm (AEDT)
Round 4: Sunday, 2pm – 7pm (AEDT)
RECENT CHAMPIONS
Men:
2022: Adrian Meronk
2021: Not played
2020: Not played
2019: Matt Jones
2018: Abraham Ancer
2017: Cameron Davis
2016: Jordan Spieth
2015: Matt Jones
Women:
2022: Ashleigh Buhai
2021: Not played
2020: Inbee Park
2019: Nelly Korda
2018: Ko Jin-young
2017: Jang Ha-na
2016: Haru Nomura
2015: Lydia Ko
All Abilities:
2022: Kipp Popert
2021: Not played
2020: Not played
2019: Johan Kammerstad
2018:Johan Kammerstad
COURSE RECORD
61, Rod Pampling
COURSE DESIGNER
Clark, Hutchison & Martin (1903) / Jack Nicklaus (1976) / Jack Nicklaus (2013)
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Women:
Hannah Green: 2019 Women’s PGA Champion.
Minjee Lee: Two-time major champion.
Ashleigh Buhai: Defending champion and 2022 Women’s Open Champion.
Grace Kim: LPGA Tour winner and dual TPS Sydney Champion.
Stephanie Kyriacou: Multiple LET winner.
Gabriela Ruffels: Three-time Epson Tour winner, now on LPGA tour.
Jiyai Shin: Two-time major champion.
Men:
Min Woo Lee: 2023 Fortinet Australian PGA Champion, multiple DP World Tour winner and 2023 Macao Open champion
Cameron Smith: 2022 Open Champion.
Cameron Davis: PGA TOUR winner and 2017 Australian Open champion.
Adam Scott: 2013 Masters Champion, 2009 Australian Open Champion.
Robert MacIntyre: two-time DP World Tour winner and 2023 Ryder Cup representative.
Lucas Herbert: PGA TOUR winner, and multiple DP World Tour winner.
Adrian Meronk: Defending champion and four-time DP World Tour champion.
Marc Leishman: Six-time PGA TOUR winner.
All Abilities:
Kipp Popert: Defending champion and multiple G4D Tour winner.
Brendan Lawlor: Multiple G4D Tour winner and first disabled golfer to compete on the DP World Tour.
Lachlan Wood: 2023 WA Open All Abilities Champion.
Cameron Pollard: Multiple state inclusive and All Abilities champion.
Natascha Tennent: Special Olympics World Games Gold Medallist in Berlin 2023.
The Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia is in Victoria for a second straight week for the Victorian PGA Championship at Moonah Links starting Thursday.
One of the oldest events on the Australian golf calendar, the Vic PGA celebrated its 100th anniversary last year.
With names on the trophy such as Peter Thomson, Ossie Pickworth, Peter Senior, Stuart Appleby and Marc Leishman, the Vic PGA is a championship many covet on their resume.
Players will be competing for a $250,000 prize fund and will be playing across both the Open and Legends courses at Moonah Links.
Two out of the last three champions will be in the field, with Andrew Martin and Chris Wood looking to become multiple Vic PGA winners.
Defending champion Martin had a positive return to Australian golf last week in Warragul after a few months making the most of overseas exemptions.
Martin defeated Austin Baustista in Round 1 of the match play section at the Gippsland Super 6 before going down somewhat unexpectedly to South Australian rookie Jack Buchanan in Round 2.
After finishing third on last year’s Order of Merit, Martin will spend the majority of 2024 playing on the DP World Tour, and most recently played at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship in Scotland.
The Victorian finished 13th at Warragul Country Club and was a strong contender in the stroke play section.
The Vic PGA champion in 2020, Wood started hot in Gippsland but failed to make it to the match play section on the Sunday, finishing in a tie for 31st.
Wood’s best finish this season is third at the PNG Open and with consistent golf in the last few weeks will be looking to add to his success at Moonah Links.
“The game is heading in the right direction, so hopefully come up with a gameplan this afternoon/tonight and put that in play and see how we go for the week,” said Wood.
“Finishing bogey-bogey on the Saturday (at Warragul) to miss the match-play really stung a bit, but there were a lot of positives out of last week.
“Each year we come back to Moonah the courses are always pretty similar, but I feel its a bit more lusher this year.
“It’s definitely thicker, so its going to be a bit more penalising I feel, so definitely keeping it on the fairway will be a premium.”
HOW TO FOLLOW
For live scoring and the latest news visit www.pga.org.au. Exclusive content and tournament updates will also be posted regularly on the PGA Tour of Australasia’s social media channels.
Instagram: @pgatouraus
Twitter: @PGAofAustralia
Facebook: @PGAofAustralia, @PGATourAus
Official hashtag: #VicPGA
HOW TO WATCH
Watch the final two rounds of the Victorian PGA Championship live and free on Kayo Freebies, and on Fox Sports on Foxtel. Click HERE for Kayo Freebies.
Round 3: Saturday: 4pm-7pm AEDT
Round 4: Sunday, 2pm-7pm AEDT
RECENT CHAMPIONS
2022: Andrew Martin
2021: Blake Windred
2020: Chris Wood (Feb 2021)
2019: Campbell Rawson
2018: Aaron Pike
2017: Damien Jordan
2016: Ashley Hall
2015: Aaron Townsend
COURSE RECORD
Open Course: 62, Jim Herman (2010 Moonah Classic)
Legends Course: 62, Cameron John, Dimi Papadatos (2020 Vic PGA)
COURSE DESIGNER
Open Course: Peter Thomson, Mike Wolveridge and Ross Perrett
Legends Course: Ross Perrett
PLAYERS TO WATCH
David Micheluzzi, 2022/2023 Order of Merit winner
Kerry Mountcastle, 2023 Gippsland Super 6 winner
Andrew Martin, 2022 Vic PGA winner (defending champion)
Chris Wood, 2020 Vic PGA winner
Austin Bautista, 2023 Webex Players Series SA winner
Dimitrios Papadatos, four-time PGA Tour of Australasia winner
