Gibson’s win paves way for PGA TOUR return

Rhein Gibson will return to the PGA TOUR in 2020 a more accomplished and well-rounded player after breaking through for his maiden win on the Web.com Tour at a rain-shortened BMW Charity Pro-Am in South Carolina.

Persistent rain meant that Sunday’s third round would be the tournament’s final one, Gibson coming from two strokes back to win by three courtesy of a bogey-free round of 8-under 63 to record the most significant win of his professional career.

A professional since 2010, prior to this week Gibson’s main claim to fame was the 16-under 55 he shot at River Oaks Golf Club in Oklahoma in 2012 that earned him a place in the Guinness World Records.

In 170 prior events that attract Official World Golf Ranking points Gibson had never broken through for a win of significance, two top-five finishes in 2015 on the Web.com Tour earning promotion to the PGA TOUR the following year.

With three top-10 finishes already this season Gibson’s win will almost certainly secure a return to golf’s richest tour, rocketing into seventh position on the moneylist and with one hand on one of the 25 Tour cards that will be handed out at the end of the regular season.

"I’ve definitely put myself in some opportunities before to win, but it just didn’t go my way on Sunday," Gibson said.

"It was good to get in the hunt again and actually close it out with a bogey-free round.

“If someone shot 9 (under) and beat me, I’d still be pretty happy with 8 (under)."

The 33-year-old who hails from Lismore in northern New South Wales finished 199th in the FedEx Cup in 2016 to lose his status and hopes to use this win to start forging an identity beyond his extraordinary round of seven years ago.

"That (55) was very sweet, don’t get me wrong, but I don’t want to be known just for the 55," Gibson said.

"It was good to validate that with a good win today and especially on television.

“I know what I’ve been doing is correct and I’m glad to see it pay off."

In 20 starts on the PGA TOUR in 2016 Gibson made 11 cuts with a best finish of a tie for 25th at the Barracuda Championship but believes he is much better-equipped to make more of an impression next year.

“That’s awesome,” Gibson said when told his win would secure a PGA TOUR return.

“I think I’m a more well-rounded player all round. I didn’t get many opportunities the year that I did have my card but really looking forward to getting back out there.

“I kind of know what to expect now and ready for round two.”

A second round of 62 was the highlight for New Zealand’s Steven Alker who finished tied for 43rd while Brett Drewitt finalised his preparations for his major championship debut at the US Open in a tie for 52nd at 9-under par.

Kiwi Danny Lee was the pick of the small Australasian contingent at the RBC Canadian Open, an opening round of 5-under 65 giving him a platform from which to finish tied for 20th.

A final round of 9-under 61 saw Rory McIlroy record his 16th PGA TOUR title in a manner few players can match, finishing seven shots clear of Shane Lowry and Webb Simpson at Hamilton Golf and Country Club.

Rod Pampling was the only Aussie to play all four rounds to break a streak of 13 missed cuts, four straight rounds of 1-under 69 earning him a tie for 35th, his best finish on the PGA TOUR since the RBC Heritage more than 12 months ago.

Web.com Tour
BMW Charity Pro-Am
Thornblade Club, South Carolina
1             Rhein Gibson      66-64-63—193   $US126,000
T43        Steven Alker        73-62-69—204   $2,236
T52        Brett Drewitt         65-71-69—205   $1,876
MC         Tim Wilkinson     70-70—140
MC         Jamie Arnold       70-71—141
MC         Min Woo Lee      74-68—142
MC         Brett Coletta        74-74—148
WD        Cameron Percy   69

PGA TOUR
RBC Canadian Open
Hamilton Golf and Country Club, Ontario
T20        Danny Lee           65-72-67-69—273            $US79,257
T35        Rod Pampling     69-69-69-69—276            $34,327
MC         Curtis Luck          71-68—139
MC         Cameron Davis   73-71—144

Australian golf has lost a genuine legend with Peter Toogood dying on Wednesday 5 June, aged 89.

Toogood, a member of Australia’s winning team at the original Eisenhower Trophy at St Andrews in 1958, is survived by his wife Berenice, sons Christopher, Anthony and Bernard and five grandchildren. He passed peacefully, surrounded by his family.

Amid a swag of tributes to his golf, Toogood was also remembered as one of life’s “true gentlemen” and among Tasmania’s great educators. He was awarded an MBE for his services to education and golf in 1981, was an inaugural member of the Tasmanian Sporting Hall of Fame in 1987 and was later awarded an OAM at the same time as his brother, John.

Toogood was recently recognised by Golf Australia for his life’s achievements when he came from his nearby house to attend the Australian Interstate Series at his beloved Royal Hobart Golf Club.

It’s understood he was combining his two great passions outside his family as recently as last week when passing on some instruction to a younger member at his home course.

Golf Australia chief executive Stephen Pitt sad it was a sad day for not only sport, but the Australian community more broadly.

“Peter has been a regular topic of conversation over the years for his golfing deeds and not one nasty word has ever been uttered about him as an athlete or, more importantly, as a person,” Pitt said.

“He was one of life’s true gentlemen, kind to a fault; and it just so happened that he was very, very good at golf.

“It’s hard to imagine anyone matching some of his sporting feats, but today we’ll miss him as an invaluable lifelong contributor to golf and the Tasmanian and Australian communities as a whole – and we send out deepest sympathies to Berenice and the Toogood family.”

Toogood was destined to be a golfer of note. His grandfather, Alfred, was born on the Isle of Wight and was a good enough professional golfer to finish fourth at The Open in 1894 aged just 22.

His father, Alfred Jnr, emigrated to South Australia and became professional at The Grange in Adelaide, where Peter was born. There are images of a young Peter, aged about 18 months, swinging clubs around The Grange.

Alfred Jnr twice won Tasmanian Open – in 1938 and 1950 – after moving to Hobart in 1936 to become the professional at Kingston Beach Golf Club. And it was there where Peter first dabbled with golfing fame.

Peter spent much of his time in the greenskeeper’s shack beside the seventh hole where the all-purpose roles of club professionals of the era meant that Alfred Jnr was a regular as he prepared to mow the fairways.

Peter, with his trusty hickory sticks, had previously hit the flag on that par-three green, and now, on 30 January, 1938, he was determined to go one better, aged just seven.

He would later recall of the shot that catapulted him into the Guinness Book of Records for almost 20 years as the youngest player to ever have a hole-in-one: “It was the last day of school holidays, I used to go out and play by myself, so I was anxious because I’d hit the pin a couple of times and I thought I’d try.

“Fortunately the secretary-manager and another chap were walking past when I hit the shot, otherwise it would never have been verified. I hit a hickory-shafted 3-iron, 130 yards and it went in.”

And they never stopped going in.

Toogood’s resume is almost beyond peer. He chipped in for eagle on the penultimate hole of the 1949 Tasmania Open to force a playoff with Victorian Ron Smith, whom he ultimately bettered for the first of eight state championships, a record he still shares with the great Len Nettlefold.

But that was the tip of the Toogood iceberg as he would stay an amateur and incredibly win 10 of those state titles, too. Remarkably, after the first of those came in 1948, Toogood’s last came in 1978.

All the while, Toogood was also going about what he believed was his true calling, becoming a teacher. Having finished high school, he moved to Victoria to attend the University of Melbourne where he graduated after studying physical education and psychology before returning home to Tasmania.

As many of his golfing peers embarked on professional careers, Toogood forged another remarkable path that culminated in him becoming the senior master of the highly regarded Rosny College on Hobart’s eastern shore.

Before that, he had been in charge of both physical education and social psychology at the school and essentially the leader of the PE curriculum of all Tasmanian secondary schools.

Legendary Peter Thomson first became friends with Toogood as both embarked on amateur careers and many times the five-time Open champion exhorted him to turn pro, reasoning that his game would stand the global test.

But Toogood could never leave the teaching profession, instead playing golf when his schedule permitted around family and other obligations.

Not that it stopped his burgeoning list of golfing accomplishments.

He was leading amateur in the 1954 Open Championship, finishing 15th overall at Royal Birkdale, the same year he beat his brother John in the Australian Amateur final, prompting the legendary headline, “Toogood too good for Toogood”.

He was the 1955 Tasmanian Sportsman of the Year and beat future champion Bob Charles 3&1 in the 1956 final of the New Zealand Amateur.

All of which meant he was an automatic selection for Australia when available and that culminated in his most memorable – and possibly finest – golfing achievement.

Toogood was chosen to play in the 1958 Eisenhower Trophy, the first edition of the world team championship still contested today, alongside Doug Bachli, Bob Stephens and future superstar Bruce Devlin.

Devlin said it “took 52 hours for this group of kids” to fly to St Andrews, but worse was to come for the Australian team which drew a later tee time on the first day as remorseless winds swept the Scottish coast during the afternoon’s competition.

Toogood once recalled: “There was tremendous wind and rain and of the 116 players, only seven broke 80 and they’d all hit off by 7.30 in morning.

“The wind was blowing the ball off greens, we’d hit ‘em on and they’d roll off, so we were 17 strokes behind after the first round.
“But we gradually caught up, tied and won in a playoff (a full day against the Americans). That was pretty special.”

Devlin said his mate had been critical to that victory, in aggregate medal play format, having shot the only score under par of the tournament played in devilish weather throughout – a 71 in the third round that even prompted the legendary Bobby Jones, then American team captain, to marvel at Toogood’s swing and temperament.

“I’ve got nothing but fond memories of that event, hard to believe it was 61 years ago,” Devlin said.

“Peter was a hell of a player … a very straight hitter and, with respect, I’d put him on the intense side, because he was very meticulous about each shot he was trying to play. There was definitely no `cavalier’ about him … but boy, could he play.

“But I think more than that, he was just a genuinely nice person as well … known and respected by all in Aussie golf and around the world, for that matter.”

That reverence was never clearer to Toogood’s oldest son, Chris, who recalled marvelling at his father’s fame – largely unknown because of his modesty – when Jack Nicklaus won the Australian Open at Royal Hobart in 1971.

“I was just a little fella, but I remember seeing Jack approach Dad and the two of them talking like they were long-lost mates … which I suppose they were,” Chris said.

“He wouldn’t like me talking about it, but I remember thinking, `That’s Jack Nicklaus – and he knows my Dad, asking him all sorts of questions … that’s amazing’.”

But the thing that made Toogood a genuine Tasmanian legend is that he willingly and happily rejected that fame and played with great passion for his home state, being a part of Tassie’s only three teams to have won the Interstate Series – in 1968, 1974 and 1977.

He also developed a passion for golf course construction and later in life was passionately involved in the Australasian Golf Museum at Bothwell in central Tasmania.

All of which came through the glory days of his on-course domination. Of the 36 club championships that Toogood won, 19 came at Royal Hobart after nine in earlier days at Kingston Beach and two more at Huntingdale while he was studying in Melbourne.

Remarkably, he won 15 straight titles from 1966 at the Seven Mile Beach club that he called home for 56 years with Royal Hobart general manager John Mendel today reflecting on an enormous loss for the club.

“The best thing I could say to describe Peter is that we have 1000 club members and not once, ever, did anyone say a bad word about him – that’s remarkable,” Mendel said.

“He put Tassie golf on the map, but you wouldn’t have found a nicer gentleman anywhere, just taking generations of juniors under his wing to help them out and teach them something along the way.

“There’ll never be another Peter – it’s a huge loss.”

Details of plans to honour Toogood’s life in coming days will be shared when they are finalised.

New Zealand’s James Anstiss has fired a bogey-free 7-under 65 at Spalding Park Golf Club to lead the field following the opening round of the 2019 Mitchell & Brown Spalding Park Open.

Winter has officially touched down in Western Australia with Geraldton copping the main brunt of it for the Ladbrokes Pro-Am Series tournament, but it did little to deter Anstiss whose round featured five birdies and an eagle.

“It’s my first time here to Geraldton and playing Spalding Park and this course is great,” said Anstiss.

“I drove it really well which I feel is key around here, hopefully it continues.”

Overnight rain saw 30mm splashed onto the golf course, a huge amount considering the region had only seen 2mm since September last year, yet the golf course had handled the drenching amazingly and allowed for an on-time start to get this year’s event underway.

Cool conditions greeted morning players where Brady Watt, Rory Bourke, and Brad Moules continued great form posting 2-under 70’s to join the 2012 winner Daniel Fox for tied 5^th position.

Head Professional and General Manager of Spalding Park Golf Club Byron Clarkson used his local knowledge to lead the morning players for most of the day to eventually post a round of 3-under 69 alongside Michael Choi.

Josh Younger, who is not shy of collecting trophies at the moment having just won the South West Open along with the WA State Foursomes Championship with Adam Burdett on Tuesday, found himself in second position after a superb, bogey-free 5-under 67.

Round two will be followed by a cut to 30 professionals for Sunday’s final round.

Ladbrokes Legends Tour player Brad Burns will return to the Vukisch & Borich Fiji Legends Golf Classic next week with a third straight victory in his sights as he prepares to tee it up alongside tough competition in Fiji.

Winner in 2017 and 2018, Burns will be among elite company in 2019 where a field of 45 Senior Professionals will take to the fairways of the picturesque course.

Leader of the Ladbrokes Legends Tour Order of Merit and five-time winner on the European Tour Mike Harwood is among the tournament’s headliners with local Fijian Professional Krishna Singh, the brother of Vijay, also taking part.

Ladbrokes Legends Tour winners Glenn Joyner and Steve Conran, as well as consistent performer John Onions, feature in the field while 2016 Champion Tim Elliott will look for his first victory in 2019.

Players will contest the $50,000 purse over three days of play as the tournament celebrates five years of partnership with major sponsor and a great supporter of the Ladbrokes Legends Tour, Raymond Vukisch.

The event is played in a pro-am format with some 70 amateurs from Australia and New Zealand playing alongside the Senior Professionals.

Fiji is the first stop for the Legends Tour in the South Pacific with further events in Samoa and New Caledonia to come.

Adam Scott leaps into top 5 with runner-up finish at the Memorial.

MELBOURNE, Victoria, Australia – Eight-time Presidents Cup participant Adam Scott is in position to make an International Team record ninth appearance after leaping seven spots to No. 4 on the International Team standings with a runner-up finish at the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide over the weekend. On the U.S. Team standings, Patrick Cantlay proved unbeatable at Muirfield Village Golf Club with a final-round 64 to capture his second career PGA TOUR victory and jump from No. 9 to No. 6.

The Presidents Cup will return to Melbourne, Australia and The Royal Melbourne Golf Club for the third time, December 9-15, 2019, when the International Team, led by Captain Ernie Els, will take on the U.S. Team led by Captain Tiger Woods.

The runner-up finish was Scott’s second of the season and represented his fifth top-10 result in 12 starts. Scott, 38, has competed in every Presidents Cup since 2003 and has been an automatic qualifier each time except 2009, when he was one of two captain’s picks for Greg Norman’s team.

“I feel good. For sure, everything I’ve been doing is moving in the right direction,” Scott said.

The last time the Presidents Cup was contested at The Royal Melbourne Golf Club in 2011, Scott recorded a 2-3 record.

“The biggest thing I’d love is for this to be a home game as far as the crowd is concerned, favouritism if you would,” Scott said in the Golf Australia Inside the Ropes podcast last week. “That will help us out tremendously. If we can just somehow make [the U.S. Team] feel a little bit uncomfortable, that’d be really good.”

Elsewhere on the International Team standings, Marc Leishman remains in the No. 1 spot with a solo-fifth result at the Memorial, which marks his first top-10 finish in a stroke-play event on the PGA TOUR since February. Just behind him in solo sixth, Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama moved up one position to No. 2 in the standings. It was a timely return to form for the three-time Presidents Cup participant, who collected his first top-10 finish since THE PLAYERS Championship in March.

After making his Presidents Cup debut in 2017, Argentina’s Emiliano Grillo is back in contention following a T9 result at the Memorial Tournament to move from No. 17 to No. 13 in the standings.

In total, four Aussies are in position for one of the eight automatic qualifying spots that will be distributed on 19 August. Leishman (No. 1), Scott (No. 4), Cameron Smith (No. 7), and Jason Day (No. 8) are all hoping for the opportunity to compete on home soil, with Smith in search of his Presidents Cup debut. Since the inception of the Presidents Cup in 1994, no less than three Australians have competed in a single Presidents Cup.

While Scott hopes to bring a plethora of experience to the International Team, Patrick Cantlay is one step closer to qualifying for his first Presidents Cup team after the 27-year-old won the Memorial Tournament in comeback fashion to join the coveted top 8 at No. 6 in the standings.

Cantlay’s win is the highlight of an already stellar season marked by eight top-10 finishes in 14 starts, which includes a runner-up at the Shriners Hospitals of Children Open – the site of his maiden PGA TOUR victory – and a T3 finish at the PGA Championship.

At the previous week’s Charles Schwab Challenge, Kevin Na moved into Presidents Cup contention by claiming his third PGA TOUR title and vaulting from No. 36 to No. 17 in the standings. Having competed full time on the PGA TOUR since 2004, Na is looking to represent the United States for the first time in a team event.

The top 5 in the U.S. Team standings remained unchanged, with Dustin Johnson and Brooks Koepka occupying the top two spots, respectively, followed by Justin Thomas, Xander Schauffele and Matt Kuchar.

Following a missed cut at the PGA Championship, U.S. Captain Woods got back on track with a T9 finish at the Memorial Tournament highlighted by a final-round 67. Woods’ fourth top-10 finish in his eighth start of the season moved him one spot up in the standings to No. 10.

With his third consecutive top-10 result, Jordan Spieth moved five more spots in the standings to No. 28. Spieth owns an overall Presidents Cup record of 8-5-1 and is a perfect 5-0-0 in the Foursomes format.

The top 15 players in the International and U.S. Presidents Cup Team Standings as of June 3, 2019 are listed below. Click here for the full Presidents Cup standings.

INTERNATIONAL

Rank Last Week Player Country Points
1. 1 Marc Leishman Australia 152.62

2. 3 Hideki Matsuyama Japan 136.36

3. 2 Louis Oosthuizen South Africa 133.13

4. 11 Adam Scott Australia 132.17

5. 4 Haotong Li China 118.34

6. 5 C.T Pan Chinese Taipei 114.94

7. 6 Cameron Smith Australia 107.08

8. 7 Jason Day Australia 102.85

9. 8 Justin Harding South Africa 102.04

10. 9 Abraham Ancer Mexico 97.99

11. 10 Sung Kang Korea 94.05

12. 12 Jazz Janewattananond Thailand 85.61

13. 17 Emiliano Grillo Argentina 82.22

14. 13 Shugo Imahira Japan 81.75

15. 15 Si Woo Kim Korea 80.95

UNITED STATES

Rank Last Week Player Points

1. 1 Dustin Johnson 6,327

2. 2 Brooks Koepka 6,116

3. 3 Justin Thomas 5,359

4. 4 Xander Schauffele 5,279

5. 5 Matt Kuchar 5,099

6. 9 Patrick Cantlay 4,816

7. 6 Bryson DeChambeau 4,546

8. 8 Rickie Fowler 4,309

9. 7 Tony Finau 4,282

10. 11 Tiger Woods 3,783

11. 10 Gary Woodland 3,684

12. 12 Phil Mickelson 3,521

13. 13 Webb Simpson 3,458

14. 14 Charles Howell III 3,134

15. 15 Kevin Kisner 3,130

Junior Presidents Cup

The second edition of the Junior Presidents Cup will take place on Sunday, December 8 and Monday, December 9 at The Royal Melbourne Golf Club, with 24 of the world’s top junior players, excluding Europe, competing in the newest Presidents Cup tradition that was launched in 2017. Australia’s Stuart Appleby will captain the International Team while Justin Leonard will lead the U.S. Team.

Australia’s Karl Vilips, who was a member of the 2017 team, leading the International Team standings. Vilips is one of two Aussies in the top 12 of the standings and is joined by Joshua Greer (No. 11). At No. 2 in the standings, Wilco Nienaber is the one of seven South Africans who are currently in position to qualify.

The U.S. Team will be made up of the leading 12 qualified players based on the Rolex AJGA Rankings as of September 5, 2019. The International Team will be made up of the leading 12 qualified players based on the World Amateur Golf Ranking™ (WAGR™) as of September 5, 2019.

The top 12 players for the International and U.S. Teams as of June 3, 2019 are listed below. Click here for the full Junior Presidents Cup standings.

INTERNATIONAL

Rank Player Country
1. Karl Vilips Australia

2. Wilco Nienaber South Africa

3. Jayden Schaper South Africa

4. Kartik Sharma India

5. Martin Vorster South Africa

6. Samuel Simpson South Africa

7. Christo Lamprecht South Africa

8. Chaun-Tai Lin Chinese Taipei

9. Nikhil Gopal South Africa

10. Jang Hyun Lee Korea

11. Joshua Greer Australia

12. Casey Jarvis South Africa

UNITED STATES

Rank Player State

1. Michael Thorbjornsen Massachusetts

2. Canon Claycomb Kentucky

3. Jackson Van Paris North Carolina

4. Stephen Campbell Jr. Texas

5. J. Holland Humphries Texas

6. Alexander Yang California

7. Vishnu Sadagopan Texas

8. Gordon Sargent Alabama

9. Drew Salyers Ohio

10. Nicholas Dunlap South Carolina

11. Ian Seibers Washington

12. Maxwell Moldovan Ohio

Tim Hart has continued his dominance on the Onsite Rental Group Mining Towns Series, winning the Middlemount South Pro-Am at Middlemount Golf Club with rounds of 65, 69 for a tournament total of 134.

The challenging Middlemount layout proved the toughest test so far for the 49 Professionals competing in this year’s Ladbrokes Pro-Am Series event, with Hart claiming the win by just one shot over Matthew Millar after holding the overnight lead.

His second win in just three events, Hart made the turn at 3-under 34 followed by a closing 9 of 1-under 35 on his way to a 3-under 69 final round.

“I got off to a good start again today, making birdies on the first two holes which helped to settle me into the round,” said Hart.

“I was watching the leaderboard and I could see Matt Millar having a great round out there, I could see him closing the gap.

"On the back-9 I was just trying to hold it all together, I made a great 10-foot par saving putt on the 17^th hole which I really needed to maintain my one-shot lead and the chance to win.

“I’m pleased to get the win and I am looking forward to the rest of the Onsite Rental Group Series.”

Experienced Professional Matthew Millar was the only player to mount a charge for the lead in round two shooting the low round of the day, an 8-under 64, to storm home into outright second position on a tournament total of 135.

“The last couple of days I have started to hit the ball a lot better,” said Millar.

“I hit the ball solid over the last couple of days and today I made some good putts which has certainly improved my scoring.

“This is the first time I have been up here for the Mining Towns Series and I’m amazed how great the courses are and the volunteers do a fantastic job.”

Queenslander Tim Hart holds the lead in the Onsite Rental Group Mining Towns Series on 38-under par, maintaining his eight-shot lead over his nearest rival in Brett Rankin on 30-under par, followed by is Darren Beck remaining on 22-under par.

The next stop on the Ladbrokes Pro-Am Series is Tieri Golf Club for the Glencore Oaky Creek Coal Tieri Pro-Am where play begins at 7.00am on Friday 7 June 2019.

With a final round of 4-under 68, NSW Trainee Brayden Petersen has taken out the 2019 Altitude Wealth Solutions QLD PGA Trainee Championship by three shots at the Windaroo Lakes Golf Club.

Starting the day five shots behind 2018 champion Cooper Eccleston, the Asquith Golf Club PGA Trainee got off to a fantastic start with birdies on his 1st, 3rd, 6th and 9th holes and found himself tied with overnight leader Cooper Eccleston at the turn.

After a bogey on the 11^th hole from Eccleston, remarkably Petersen found himself in the outright lead after trailing Eccleston for the opening three rounds.

Following a slight hiccup on the 14^th hole where he found the water and subsequent bogey he was never challenged, eventually taking the Carnegie Clark Cup by three shots.

“Although I knew it was nearly impossible to catch Cooper, deep down I thought if I could post a score and apply some pressure anything could happen,” said Petersen.

“The big difference today was my putter as the previous three days I played really well but could not hole anything. Today I did.

“It’s almost a relief today as I have finished second in my last three big events at the Victoria Trainee Championships, NSW Trainee Championships as well the Rich River event. I also finished third in this event last year.”

After completing his Traineeship Petersen is hoping to try his luck in the professional ranks with Japan first up on his radar.

Also shooting a 68 and flying into second place was QLD PGA Trainee Dean Jamieson from the Hills Golf Club, based in the City of Logan.

“I am really happy with this result,” said Jamieson.

“I have been thereabouts in four round championship events before but have struggled to finish them off. Today I had a great last round including four under par on my final nine which is really pleasing albeit a 77 in round one was disappointing.

“Continuing to learn from these events is my priority and hopefully I will win one soon.”

Finishing a further shot back in third place was Victorian PGA Trainee Lachlan Kenny shooting a round of 2-over 70 and Queensland PGA Trainee and overnight leader Cooper Eccleston who had a disappointing final round of 5-over 77.

Low round of the day went to NSW PGA Trainee Andrew Brennan who had a 5-under 67, making up many positions to finish in a tie for 10th.

However, for the second day in a row, the highlight was provided via another Hole-In-One, this time from South Australian PGA Trainee Connor Chant who holed out on the 162m 15^th hole.

For Petersen’s victory not only will he earn the winners cheque of $6,300 but also exemption into the 2020 Coca Cola QLD PGA Championship.

PGA Trainees will now return to their respective states to resume regular PGA Trainee events and ongoing education requirements before reconvening at Riverside Oaks Golf Club for the NSW/ACT PGA Trainee Championship in August.

The Tieri Golf Club in Queensland’s Central Highlands will this weekend host the Ladbrokes Pro-Am Series for the largest event on the Onsite Rental Group Mining Towns Series Schedule.

The 14^th staging of the Glencore Oaky Creek Coal Tieri Pro-Am will see 51 professionals compete for prize money of $35,000 across three days of competition at an event that has established itself as one of the premier pro-ams on the Ladbrokes Pro-Am Series schedule in recent years.

This 2019 Onsite Rental Group Mining Towns Series has attracted one of the strongest fields of professionals ever assembled across the six events, reading more like an ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia field list.

2018 ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australia Order of Merit runner up Matthew Millar will headline this year’s field; other notables include Steven Jeffress, Daniel Gale, Darren Beck, Matthew Stieger, Brett Rankin and the 2018 Glencore Oaky Creek Coal Tieri Pro-Am winner Jacob Boyce.

A full schedule of events is planned across the weekend beginning this afternoon with the Sponsors Golf Day where those companies supporting the event will enjoy a round with the professionals before they get down to business in tomorrow’s opening round.

The party hole will be in full swing for the Sponsors Day followed by dinner under the stars with an accompanying acoustic performance. This event always offers a little more for our professionals and this year in no different with a physio and hairdresser on site throughout the event.

On Saturday evening the club will host a dinner for the professionals followed by entertainment with the final round of the pro-am to conclude on Sunday evening followed by presentations.

The Tieri Golf Club course presents in fantastic condition and has undergone some major construction and design works thanks to the hardworking volunteers who have given their time to prepare the course ahead of this year’s event.

Past winners have returned for the event including Paul Hayden (2017) and defending champion Jacob Boyce who played brilliantly to win last year.

The 2019 Glencore Oaky Creek Coal Tieri Pro-Am will see 51 professionals tee it up alongside the amateurs beginning at Tieri Golf Club from 7:00am on Friday 7 June. Marquee players are scheduled for a 12:00pm start.

Entry to the Tieri Golf Club will be free for the public to catch some of the best golfers in the country compete for the AU$35,000 prize purse over three days of competition.

In the final year of his PGA Traineeship, Cooper Eccleston takes a five shot lead into the final round of the Altitude Wealth Solutions QLD PGA Trainee Championship at Windaroo Lakes Golf Club after shooting 73 in the third round to be 1-over 217 for the tournament so far.

Eccleston, who is conducting his PGA Traineeship at Victoria Park Golf Complex, is the defending champion, 2018 National Trainee of the Year as well as the QLD Trainee Order of Merit Champion in both 2017 and 2018.

“After handling yesterday’s wild conditions quite well I actually struggled today,” said Eccleston.

“I double-bogeyed the second hole but recovered with two quick birdies.

“If it wasn’t for the eagle I made on the 13^th hole my round was pretty average. I sort of limped home after that and was surprised at the lead I had when I finished.

“I was in a similar position last year where I had a two-shot lead going into the final round so I am still feeling pretty confident.

Trailing Eccleston in second position is NSW Trainee Brayden Petersen who finished third in this event in 2018.

Petersen shot an even-par round of 72 with three birdies and three bogeys to be 6-over 222 after three rounds.

“I played solid today. Unfortunately my putter went to sleep throughout most of the round and I just couldn’t make much ground on Cooper,” said Petersen.

“The conditions today were the exact opposite to yesterday and I felt I could have made a really good score out there today but it wasn’t to be. Hopefully tomorrow my putter will wake up and we can at least make a charge at Cooper.”

In third position at 7-over 223 is Royal Melbourne Trainee Ben Pisani who shot an impressive 2-under 70 today and has a one-shot buffer over two other Victorians being Lachlan Kenny and Dale Crothers who both sit at 8-over 224.

It was Crothers, who is based at the Yarrawonga Mulwala Resort, who provided the highlight of the day with a Hole-In-One on the 168m 7th hole.

“I hit a 7 iron and I must admit it looked good the whole way taking 2 bounces and in it went,” said an ecstatic Crothers.

The low round of the day and of the championship to date came from T.J Gooding-King from Mt Coolum Golf Club with a 4-under 68.

“The first two days I put a lot of pressure on myself to perform but today I felt relaxed,” said Gooding-King.

“I managed a birdie on the 2nd hole and an eagle on the 3rd hole and from there I putted really well only having 27 for the round which for me is quite good.”

The field will be hoping to chase down Eccleston with only 18 holes separating the Queenslander from back-to-back victories in the $35,000 QLD PGA Trainee Championships where the leading trio will tee off at 9.50am.

For all the scores and information on the 2019 Altitude Wealth Solutions QLD Trainee Championship please click here.

Curtis Luck has just five events in which to play his way into the FedEx Cup playoffs and retain his PGA TOUR card for 2020, starting at this week’s RBC Canadian Open at Hamilton Golf and Country Club in Ontario.

Luck is just one of three Australians in what is a stellar field, the likes of defending champion Dustin Johnson, US PGA champion Brooks Koepka, Rory McIlroy and FedEx Cup leader Matt Kuchar all playing ahead of next week’s US Open at Pebble Beach.

For the three-man Aussie contingent, however, their focus is on a strong finish this week and a move up the moneylist.

Sitting 149th on the moneylist with a best finish of a tie for fifth at the two-man Zurich Classic of New Orleans, Luck knows that time is running out but told AAP that he believes the courses he will play in the coming weeks suit his style.

"I’m starting to run low on time," Luck admitted.

"But the five events I’ve got coming up have courses that I feel really suit me."

"[Hamilton Golf and Country Club] is an unusual course and unlike anything we see on the PGA TOUR.

"It’s short and dinky, but with thick rough and severely undulating greens. It’s an old school course and I like it."

The other Australians in the field, Cameron Davis and Rod Pampling, also both require high finishes to improve their FedEx Cup playoff prospects.

Davis had missed five cuts on the trot before finishing tied for 35th at the AT&T Byron Nelson, his last appearance on the PGA TOUR, and sits nine spots behind Luck in 158th position.

Coming in with 13 consecutive missed cuts the task for Pampling to retain his card is even more grim, the 49-year-old 227th in the FedEx Cup standings.

The lone Kiwi in the Canadian Open field, Danny Lee, is in a far more comfortable position courtesy of three top-10s this season, hoping to improve his ranking of 58th in an event in which he was tied for sixth 12 months ago.

The Web.com Tour is in South Carolina this week for the BMW Charity Pro-Am where Min Woo Lee makes just his second appearance of the season, his sole start to date a missed cut at the Panama Championship.

Brett Drewitt comes in hot after qualifying for next week’s US Open – his first appearance in a major – while Cameron Percy will be eager to build on his top-20 finish at the REX Hospital Open in his first start back from a fractured wrist.

Other Aussies in the field are Brett Coletta, Rhein Gibson and Jamie Arnold along with Kiwi pair Tim Wilkinson and Steven Alker.

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