Now being billed as the strongest field ever assembled for an Asian Tour event, the $US5 million Saudi International to be played at the Royal Greens Golf and Country Club from February 3-6 had previously announced Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau, Louis Oosthuizen, Sergio Garcia, Xander Schauffele, Tommy Fleetwood and Phil Mickelson as confirmed starters along with Australia’s only Masters champion, Adam Scott.

Scott will now be joined by fellow countrymen Cameron Smith, Marc Leishman and Lucas Herbert who were announced on Monday night alongside 2018 Masters champion Patrick Reed and 2021 runner-up Tony Finau.

Smith, Leishman and Herbert are part of a five-strong Aussie contingent opening their 2022 campaigns at this week’s Sentry Tournament of Champions in Hawaii and must now commit to playing the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in 2023 and 2024 as a condition of their release from the PGA Tour to play in Saudi Arabia.

Currently ranked No.21 in the world, Smith has not played since finishing in a tie for fourth at the RSM Classic in November while Herbert returns to the US Tour after spending a month back in Australia celebrating his two-win 2021 season.

Committed to play this week and the Sony Open the following week, the Saudi International invitation is another opportunity made available to the 26-year-old now ranked No.41 in the Official World Golf Rankings.

The envelope containing his invitation to play The Masters for the first time is waiting for him in Florida, his victory at the Butterfield Bermuda Championship in late October opening the doors to the game’s most prestigious and richest events.

“The next 12 months are going to be a great experience,” Herbert said before flying out to Hawaii on Monday.

“I’ve got not a lot of pressure on me in the next 12 months in terms of not having to play to keep my tour card.

“I’m nearly locked into all four majors, I’m nearly locked into all the WGCs and I’m going to make good money. I’m going to have a lot of fun this year playing all these events with no added pressure that I have to perform.

“Obviously, I’ve got my own goals and my own aspirations and pressure that I put on myself to play well but there’s none externally for me to try and do anything crazy and out of the box.

“Whether it’s Kapalua or whether it’s Phoenix for the Waste Management, or whether it’s the Masters, whether Memorial again, the Irish Open, I’m going to have a hell of a lot of fun this year.”

Further Australians will be added to the Saudi International field in the coming weeks.

The leading 30 players from the final 2020-21 Asian Tour Order of Merit ‒ which will be finalised after this month’s The Singapore International and SMBC Singapore Open – will also be added to the field.

The Aussies currently inside the top 30 are Wade Ormsby (first), Brad Kennedy (sixth), Andrew Dodt (11th), Travis Smyth (20th) and Scott Hend (21st).

Klein’s round of 8-under par 63 looked a long way off when he completed his first eight holes in just 1-under par but six birdies in the space of seven holes on the back nine – including four in succession from the 13th hole – produced a handy buffer going into the final round.

Joint winner of the Maroochy River Pro-Am a week ago, Gavin Fairfax is one of three players tied for second at 6-under 65 along with Kade McBride and Cameron John followed by Victorian Ben Eccles who had an eagle at the par-5 10th along with four birdies in his round of 5-under 66.

A three-time club champion at Redcliffe Golf Club, Klein had seven birdies and two eagles in shooting 10-under 62 on his way to victory at the Pacific GWM-HAVAL Tin Can Bay Pro-Am on July 6 and said it was his short game that inspired his back-nine blitz on Thursday.

“My short game was the key today,” said the 23-year-old. “I putted really well and I hit some really good chip shots.

“I took a little bit to get going today but it all came together around the back nine.”

Given its status as one of the richest tournaments on the adidas Pro-Am Series there are a host of highly accomplished players in position to make a charge on Friday.

Maroochy River Pro-Am co-winner Lawry Flynn (67) is four shots back alongside TPS Sydney winner Andrew Martin, European Tour winner Sam Brazel, veteran Michael Wright, Max McCardle and New South Welshman Jay McKenzie.

Eight players including Jordan Zunic, Matthew Millar, Anthony Quayle and Michael Sim share 12th spot after rounds of 3-under 68 on day one with former WA PGA champion Peter Wilson and 2017 Victorian PGA champion Damien Jordan in a group of nine players at 2-under 69.

Round 2 commences at 10am on Friday morning.

The Victorian was two ahead at the start of the weekend and extended that advantage to three shots just after the turn before two bogeys on the back nine saw him sign for a 70 and sit at 15-under.

That opened the door for American Veerman, who carded a 67 to be the nearest challenger, two shots clear of South African Justin Harding, whose 65 was the lowest round of the day.

Winner of the Omega Dubai Desert Classic last year, Herbert can secure a place at The Open Championship from July 15 with a top-three finish and was disappointed not to keep the field further at bay going into the final round.

“Obviously conditions got pretty tricky out there and definitely tested everyone enough to get the scoring to go out a little bit,” said the 25-year-old.

“It was a solid day I guess you’d say but in some ways frustrating. I felt like I could have put some real distance between myself and the field and didn’t do that.

“I want to get to 20-under as a personal goal. So if I can do that, someone’s got to come catch me and if they do, good luck to them.

“To win the Irish Open would be really cool, whether it’s wire to wire or not. I think it would be a really cool one to put on your resumé that you’ve won the Irish Open.”

Herbert almost holed his approach to the second and made a three footer for birdie before taking two putts from 22 feet at the par-5 fifth to get to 15-under.

He was three ahead at that point but Veerman trimmed the gap as he made a dash to the turn after birdieing the first and bogeying the third.

He put his approach to six feet for an eagle at the fifth and then pitched to tap-in range at the eighth before holing from 15 feet at the ninth.

Herbert re-established his cushion with two putts from the fringe at the eighth but Veerman made a two-putt birdie of his own at the 10th.

An up-and-down from the sand on the 10th extended the lead once more but Herbert missed the green on the 11th and it was back to two.

Veerman found sand at the par-3 14th to drop a shot but Herbert did the same and the leader was having his first wobble of the day.

Veerman then got up and down at the 17th and the lead was cut to one, with Herbert saving par after a poor tee shot on the last.

West Australian Jason Scrivener (70) remains in contention five back of Herbert in a tie for seventh at 10-under with Min Woo Lee (73) looking to record his best finish of the year, tied for 21st through three rounds at 7-under.

Queenslander Maverick Antcliff was the only other Aussie to make the cut and is level with Lee at 7-under after a third round of 4-under 68.

Elsewhere in Europe Central Coast native Dimi Papadatos is chasing his maiden Challenge Tour title, going into the final round of the Kaskada Golf Challenge just one stroke off the lead after a brilliant round of 6-under 65 on day three.

With a five-way tie at the top of the leaderboard at 12-under, Papdatos will be in the second-to-last group at the Kaskada Golf Resort in the Czech Republic, the leading player not already exempt to also earn a place at The Open Championship.

Kiwi Josh Geary is level with Papadatos at 11-under with first-round leader Blake Windred tied for 40th at 3-under with one round to play.

One of the PGA’s rarest partnership assets has become available for only the third time in 30 years, with Volkswagen Group Australia stepping away from its partnership with Australia’s most successful golf teams’ event, the Volkswagen Scramble.

They depart on a high with the Scramble enjoying near-record participation and field sizes during the most recent season of the popular grassroots competition.

“Volkswagen has been a wonderful and highly engaged partner since 2018 and has helped us build on the success of the Scramble. We thank Volkswagen and the dealer network for their support of the event over the past three years,” PGA of Australia Commercial Director Michael McDonald said.

“Volkswagen were disappointed to have to exit a partnership they loved and valued, particularly given the results the partnership had delivered, however due to changes within their business, they were just no longer in a position to partner with the PGA on next year’s season.”

“It’s our only partnership withdrawal from our premier or major partnership categories during the covid era and some changes had to be expected, however with golf participation increasing 28.8% in 2020 and two new major partners through the same period, Cisco Webex and Taylormade, we have seen some very positive growth in partnerships through what was originally expected to be a difficult period.”

“Callaway, adidas and Coca-Cola are key partners of the Scramble and given the success of these partnerships and the results Volkswagen are departing on, we are extremely confident of replacing this rare partnership asset ahead of the Scramble’s milestone 30th season.”

The Scramble is Australia’s largest and longest running golf event and has attracted more the one million players since the inceptual event in 1992.

It consistently engages more than 30,000 participants from over 360 golf clubs around the country each year, with 65% of events played in regional communities.

In an effort to align the event with the Australian summer of golf, the Championship Final of the 2020/21 season will take place at Twin Waters Golf Club and Novotel Sunshine Coast Resort on 10-13 December – the week following the PGA’s flagship tournament, the Australian PGA Championship.

The Sunshine Coast has hosted the Championship Final for 24 years, providing qualifiers with the experience of a lifetime.

The 30th season of the PGA Scramble will commence in February 2022 and will conclude in September, creating more opportunities for clubs to stage a Scramble event at a time that fits with both their climate and golf calendar.

A birdie at the par-4 eighth followed by an eagle at the par-5 ninth saw Kyriacou climb to a first round of 8-under 63 to lead Victorians Matthew Griffin and Peter Wilson and Queensland’s Shae Wools-Cobb by a stroke in the morning wave, Blake Windred and Blake Collyer rounding out the top six a shot further back at 6-under par.

Having chosen to skip the opening event of The Players Series at Rosebud Country Club in January, the 20-year-old reigning Ladies European Tour rookie of the year carried the weight of expectation into the first round.

With her parents and members of St Michael’s and The Lakes golf clubs out in force to follow her progress, Kyriacou bogeyed her opening hole before quickly recovering with a 40-foot birdie putt at the par-3 11th.

Additional birdies came at 13, 15, 16, 18, 2, 4 and 8 before the eagle at the final hole propelled her to the top of the leaderboard by one.

“I hit a really, really good drive straight down the middle and then I had just over 200 to the pin,” Kyriacou explained.

“It was a little bit into the wind off the left and I just felt really good over the ball and hit the best 3-wood of my life to about four foot and then holed it.”

Winner of the Bonville Ladies Classic just over a year ago while still an amateur, Kyriacou is playing her first event as a professional in her home city this week and admitted that there were some nerves associated with a home-town gallery.

“I felt like there was a little bit of pressure at the start, being a local and all,” Kyriacou admitted.

“Even in the practice rounds I was hitting it horrible, I was putting horrible but today when I hit off it felt good to be back in tournament mode.

“Something in my head just switched.

“It’s nice to have an event at home because this is the first one my family can come and watch me.

“My Mum and Dad came out today and a few of the members from The Lakes and St Mick’s so it was nice to see a few familiar faces.

“My sister Eleena better come out. She hasn’t seen me play golf in years.”

Frustrated by his putting performance in the four events played in Victoria to start the year, Griffin was able to carry forward the adjustments he and coach Denis McDade made prior to a final round of 6-under 66 at the Moonah Links PGA Classic during his 7-under 64 on day one.

“I was just taking the putter away and moving my hands a little bit,” Griffin said of the cause of his putting woes.

“As soon as I do that I have to correct it going back and I really struggle to get my putts on line.

“I just had to play so well tee to green to have a decent score over those weeks and even starting today, once I rolled in a couple early you relax a bit with the putter and holed a few through the middle stages.

“The first five holes, one to five, are really difficult and I was able to birdie the fourth and fifth and holed a nice 15-footer across the slope on five which really got my round going because you’ve got a few birdie chances coming in.

“That’s the difference in shooting 3 or 4-under and getting to 7, playing those holes well.”

Having joined the professional ranks in October 2019 it has been 18 months of frustration for Blake Collyer.

Invited to return to the organic health food store where he worked while still an amateur, Collyer spent much of 2020 grinding out a regular job five days a week and has slowly managed to chip away at the competitive rust the past few weeks.

With bogeys at one and five he was 1-over through his first six holes and said that the increase in the strength of the wind provided the catalyst to play his remaining 12 holes in 7-under par.

“You started to feel gusts maybe seven or eight holes in but my slow start when it was calm caught me off guard,” Collyer admitted.

“When it got windy I was able to play with the wind and hit some shots into some flags which was nice.

“I didn’t really know what score I was throughout the round, it just kept building, making birdies every few holes.

“I hit some nice shots into the par 5s and the shorter par 4s which gave me some good chances to make birdies.”

It was a strong start for newly-turned professional Jack Thompson as he posted a 5-under 66 to be tied for seventh, amateur Grace Kim underlined her tremendous potential with a 4-under 67 while Elvis Smylie matched Kyriacou’s eagle at the par-5 ninth to post 3-under in his first outing as a professional.

A birdie at the 13th hole followed by an eagle at the 15th started a hot run home for Macpherson, who completed his final three holes in 3-under to take a two-stroke lead as he entered the clubhouse.

A birdie from Justin Warren at 17 put the New South Welshman within two strokes of Macpherson’s lead, a further birdie at 18 seeing Warren complete his round in second place at 17-under 271.

The victory is Macpherson’s first on the ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia and third career victory. The 30-year-old, who returned to Australia from the US in 2019, is a two-time winner on the PGA TOUR Series China.

Upon his return to the Australasian Tour at the Gippsland Super 6 in January, Macpherson has recorded results of fourth, T4, T16 at the Super 6, The Players Series Victoria and the Victorian PGA Championship.

Michael Hendry finishes in outright third place at 16-under 272.

More to come from Moonah Links.

View the final Moonah Links PGA Classic leaderboard at pga.org.au.