Dreams come true in Kalgoorlie

The dreams of three young golfers will come true at this week’s TX Civil & Logistics WA PGA Championship when they tee off in their first tournament as professionals in the Aussie Outback. David Micheluzzi, Blake Windred and Matias Sanchez are the next generation of Australia’s professional golfers and after calling time on their impressive […]

The dreams of three young golfers will come true at this week’s TX Civil & Logistics WA PGA Championship when they tee off in their first tournament as professionals in the Aussie Outback.

David Micheluzzi, Blake Windred and Matias Sanchez are the next generation of Australia’s professional golfers and after calling time on their impressive amateur careers, the trio will mix it with some of the sport’s best at Kalgoorlie Golf Course from Thursday.

For 21-year-old New South Welshman Blake Windred the opportunity to play on the ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia as a pro has been a lifelong ambition.

“It’s been a goal of mine since I can remember to turn professional,” Windred said.

“I feel like I’ve done all of the hard work and it’s going to be a good week to start off.”

Unlike the courses in his hometown of Newcastle or those he has played across the globe, the red dirt and luscious green fairways of the Kalgoorlie track will undoubtedly provide a challenge.

“It’s different. I’ve played in Arizona once and I think that’s about as close to this as I’ve got,” he said.

“You have to keep it on the fairway and creating a good game plan out there is key. Just hitting fairways and greens like usual.

“I want to stick four solid rounds together. My last couple of tournaments I haven’t really been able to do that but I’m still playing good enough golf to do it.

“Obviously I want to try and have a solid weekend. I need to come top-10 to get through to the next tournament because I don’t have status so it’s pretty simple in the end.”

Completing his amateur career ranked as the 10^th best in the world, Windred will be joined on the fairways by close mate and number four amateur in the world, Victorian David Micheluzzi.

“We’re good mates. We’ve played a lot of amateur golf together especially over the last 18 months it’s been quite competitive between us,” he said.

“Anytime you can get one over Micheluzzi the better because it usually means you’re playing good.”

At 23 years old Micheluzzi feels like the move to the professional ranks has been a long time coming but says it’s even better to do it alongside two mates.

“I’m happy to do it now rather than earlier,” Micheluzzi said. “We’re all pushing each other towards the same goal which is awesome fun.

“Now we get to do it as professionals and hopefully we can keep that going and have pretty similar playing careers like we did as amateurs.”

While there is now more at stake for the trio Micheluzzi insists it will be business as usual out on the course.

“All I can do is enjoy it and see what happens. The difference really is just playing for money now but I’m still marking the same scorecard and all of that so I’ll just keep doing what I’m doing,” he said.

“I’m feeling pretty good. Playing a bit better than what I was at the Asia-Pacific Amateur which was a couple of weeks ago.

“The game is starting to feel good so I’m looking forward to making my debut here at Kalgoorlie.”

Fellow Victorian Matias Sanchez will use this week’s event to learn from his fellow tour professionals.

“It’s pretty special, you look up to these guys from when you were really little and idolising them so to play alongside them is a pretty cool feeling,” Sanchez said.

“For me it’s just another week and you just play to win really, just take it shot by shot and see what happens.”

In their first outing as professionals, Windred, Sanchez and Micheluzzi will compete for the lion’s share of the $137,500 in prizemoney, World Golf Ranking Points and exemption on the ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia until the end of the 2020 season.

All Professionals will also have the chance to win a $50,000 gold nugget and $50,000 Subaru vehicle on the 8^th or 13^th holes respectively if they are able to ace either hole on Saturday and Sunday.

The TX Civil & Logistics WA PGA Championship tees off on Thursday 10 October at Kalgoorlie Golf Course with the winner to be decided on Sunday 13 October.

The final two rounds of the TX Civil & Logistics WA PGA Championship will be live-streamed on PGA TV from 12pm AWST on Saturday 12 October and 10am AWST on Sunday 13 October.

For the full entry list click here.

Queenslander Scott Hend has guaranteed himself a pay day of close to $US50,000 after finishing tied for 28th at the Mercuries Taiwan Masters at Taiwan Golf and Country Club in Chinese Taipei. Fellow Sunshine State product Andrew Dodt was the best of the Aussies as he finished tied for 12th, eight shots behind Thai winner […]

Queenslander Scott Hend has guaranteed himself a pay day of close to $US50,000 after finishing tied for 28th at the Mercuries Taiwan Masters at Taiwan Golf and Country Club in Chinese Taipei.

Fellow Sunshine State product Andrew Dodt was the best of the Aussies as he finished tied for 12th, eight shots behind Thai winner Suradit Yongcharoenchai, but it is Hend who stands to benefit the most in the long run.

With three missed cuts in his previous three starts, Hend needed to play all four rounds in Taiwan in order to qualify for the WGC-HSBC Champions tournament in China at the end of the month, a feat he accomplished thanks to rounds of 73-70 in challenging conditions.

The last-place finisher at Sheshan International Golf Club last year pocketed a cheque for $US44,000 and Hend said he was delighted to secure his return for the first time since 2017.

“I came here for a reason and that was to complete a full field event for my qualification for the WGC-HSBC Champions,” Hend told Asian Tour Media.

“This week has shown me what I need to work on for my game and hopefully, I can improve on that and bring back my game to Italy next week.

“I’m looking forward to playing in another WGC event in Shanghai at the end of the month.

“Sheshan is a great golf course and I look forward to playing well there.”

With runaway Order of Merit leader Jazz Janewattananond playing in Japan this week Hend made only a slight dent in his sizeable lead in the Habitat for Humanity standings and remains second in the season-long points race.

“Jazz is playing great golf at the moment and I’m not,” Hend conceded, Janewattananond furthering his Presidents Cup claim with a top-five finish at the Tokai Classic.

“I’m just trying to work on getting better and we’ll see how it goes, come the end of the season.”

Dodt’s top-15 finish was his best result in Asia since his win at the Sarawak Championship in August while New South Welshman Jake Higginbottom shot an even-par round of 72 in which he hit just five of 14 fairways but 11 of 18 greens.

South Australian Jason Norris was in contention through 54 holes after a superb 3-under 69 in the third round but four bogeys and two double-bogeys added up to a final round of 80 to be tied for 37th.

None of the Aussies on the Japan Golf Tour could put themselves in contention at the Tokai Classic in Aichi, Brad Kennedy, Dylan Perry and Won Joon Lee all tied for 32nd as South African Shaun Norris completed an emotional victory at Miyoshi Country Club.

Asian Tour
Mercuries Taiwan Masters
Taiwan Golf and Country Club

T12         Andrew Dodt     75-70-70-71—286             $US13,050
T23         Jake Higginbottom          74-71-73-72—290             $8,460
T28         Scott Hend          73-70-77-71—291             $7,650
T37         Jason Norris       74-70-69-80—293             $6,300
54           Terry Pilkadaris 75-70-75-78—298             $2,500
MC         Ben Campbell    72-75—147
MC         Daniel Fox           74-77—151
MC         Zach Murray       76-82—158

Japan Golf Tour
Tokai Classic
Miyoshi Country Club (West Cse), Aichi

T32         Brad Kennedy   73-70-72-72—287             ¥619,666
T32         Dylan Perry         73-72-70-72—287             ¥619,666
T32         Won Joon Lee   70-69-74-74—287             ¥619,666
T59         Michael Hendry                72-74-74-73—293             ¥257,950
MC         David Bransdon                75-73—148
MC         Adam Bland        76-74—150
MC         Anthony Quayle               79-72—151
MC         Brendan Jones 74-77—151

Richard Gilkey has fired a standout round of 5-under 65 at Wynnum Golf Club to sit at the top of the leaderboard following round one of the Bartons/BMD QLD Senior PGA Championship on the Ladbrokes Legends Tour.

Having played in both the US Senior PGA Championship and the US Senior Open earlier this year, the American was at the top of his game amongst a highly-talented field featuring Rodger Davis, Richard Backwell, Peter Senior and Michael Harwood.

Gilkey’s bogey-free round of five birdies sees him take a one-shot lead into the second round ahead of Darryl Purchase in second at 4-under the card.

“The Legends Tour here in Australia fits perfect into my yearly calendar of events and in addition to playing ok, it is nice to be playing a good series of events,” said Gilkey

“I have been battling illness over the last couple of weeks though you know what they say, beware of the sick golfer.”

Davis, a previous winner of the QLD Senior PGA Championship, holds third place alongside formidable forces in Richard Backwell, Peter Senior, Nigel Lane and America’s Shaquill Mongol at 3-under 67.

The final round of the Bartons/BMD QLD Senior PGA Championship tees off at 11am for a shotgun start at Wynnum Golf Club.

In his return from injury, Queensland’s Damien Jordan has fired a brilliant bogey-free round of 6-under 65 to claim victory by one shot in the Southport Pro-Am.

“I got off to a great start with a birdie on my opening hole which really set the tone for the day,” said Jordan.

“I haven’t been able to hit balls lately due to a wrist injury so it’s forced me to work hard on my putting, also making a grip change has helped a lot.”

Jordan was one of 54 Professionals teeing it up at Southport Golf Club that presented in immaculate condition for the event.

“The greens here at Southport are the best I’ve ever seen them, they were outstanding to putt on.”

An early leader in the morning field, local favourite Steven Jeffress has used home course advantage to finish in a tie for second place with James Anstiss with rounds of 5-under 66.

Jeffress played solid golf around the tight Southport layout, making the most of the morning conditions in a round which included seven birdies and just two bogeys as a result of errant drives off the tee; both balls finding the water.

“The course is in incredible condition for this time of year,” said Jeffress.

“The greens were not as fast today as they often are for the Pro-Am but they rolled perfectly, every putt just held its line, full credit to the staff here on presenting a great golf course today.”

Competition remained tight throughout the day at the Southport Pro-Am where Kade McBride, Douglas Klein and Michael Wright tied for fourth place with rounds of 4-under 67.

The highlight of the event, however, came from Trainee Professional Jackson Jubelin from Palm Meadows Golf Course scored an albatross on the par-5, 1^st hole after taking driver off the tee he then holed a 5 iron for a two. Jubelin tied for 11^th place at 1-under the card.

The next stop on the Ladbrokes Pro-Am Series is the McKimms Real Estate Grafton Pro-Am on Friday 9 August 2019.

Victorian Brett Coletta will ride the bubble all the way to the final event of the Korn Ferry Tour season after missing the cut at the Ellie Mae Classic won by American Zac Blair.

Rhein Gibson, the only Aussie safely ensconced inside the top 25 on the moneylist with one regular-season tournament remaining, was the only Australian player to qualify for the weekend rounds in California, ultimately finishing tied for 60th.

At one point during Sunday’s final round Coletta was projected to fall from 22nd to out of the top 25 altogether but he was able to hang in by the skin of his teeth.

He will now enter the WinCo Foods Portland Open in 25th spot on the Order of Merit and needing to at least make the cut to wrap up promotion to the PGA TOUR in 2020.

Kiwi Tim Wilkinson fell two spots after also missing the cut and will be 21st on the moneylist going into the final event where Jamie Arnold will need to finish near the very top of leaderboard to move from 35th and into the top 25.

Korn Ferry Tour
Ellie Mae Classic at TPC Stonebrae
TPC San Francisco Bay at Stonebrae, Hayward, California
T60	Rhein Gibson	69-69-70-72—280	$US1,554
MC	Brett Coletta	70-69—139
MC	Nick Voke	71-69—140
MC	Brett Drewitt	71-70—141
MC	Tim Wilkinson	71-70—141
MC	Robert Allenby	73-71—144

Peter Senior, Mike Harwood, Tim Elliott and Brad Burns headline a spectacular field of senior PGA Professionals travelling to Townsville this week on the Ladbrokes Legends Tour with the aim of raising money for flood relief.

Devastated by floods in February of this year, golf facilities in the Townsville region were some of the hardest hit and a great deal of work has been put into reopening each course over the last few months.

Wednesday 7 August marks the Ladbrokes Legends Tour’s first return to Townsville since 2010 and in 2019, PGA Professionals will get an opportunity to play all three of the primary golf facilities in North Queensland.

Rowes Bay Golf Club will play host to the Global Hire Rowes Bay Legends Pro-Am on Wednesday 7 August, before the professionals move across to Townsville Golf Club on Thursday for a unique 12-hole tournament.

The three-event swing will be completed on Friday 9 August at Tropics Golf Club and with each event boasting $11,000 in prizemoney, the region will see first-class professional golf in action.

Many of the PGA Professionals are hoping that their presence in Townsville can have both a financial and moral impact.

“It has been well documented the challenges Townville golf courses have experienced as a result of the floods and if myself and the other PGA Professionals can have a positive impact by raising some money and putting on a great show for the sponsors, we are happy to oblige,” said Peter Senior.

“I haven’t been back to Townsville for a number of years and the region has always been pretty good to me so I am looking forward to getting up there.”

Mitch Bligh, General Manager of Townsville Golf Club, is looking forward to hosting the tour, and along with the other two golf courses, hopes it will help will put tournament golf back on the map in Townsville.

“We had a really successful Ladbrokes Pro-Am Series event at Townsville Golf Club last year though with the likes of Peter Senior and Mike Harwood coming to play this week we are really excited to give our members and sponsors a unique opportunity,” said Bligh.

“It has been really difficult after the floods and hopefully between all three courses we can raise some significant money to help get us back on our feet.”

PGA Professional and Director of Golf at Tropics Golf Club, Matt Duke, is hopeful the golfing community will get behind all three events.

“The calibre of professionals coming to play is amazing and we are looking forward to hosting them at The Tropics again knowing many of them have played in QLD Masters, Australian Legends Classic and other big tournaments we have had here over the years,” said Duke.

For Gary Toplis, General Manager of Rowes Bay Golf Club, it is just as much about collaboration between the three clubs as it is anything else.

“We have all gone through the ups and downs earlier this year though the golf industry is a tight-knit group up here and these events show that when we all work together, we can ensure the game of golf continues to prosper in Townsville,” Toplis added.

For a list of all of the PGA Professionals competing in each of the Ladbrokes PGA Legends Tour events in Townsville visit https://www.pga.org.au/tourns/legends-tour/schedule.

Ryan Ruffels’ path towards a Korn Ferry Tour card in 2020 is taking two very different routes after he logged his second top-five finish in just three starts on Canada’s Mackenzie Tour.

Tied for second heading into the final round of the 1932byBateman Open in Alberta, Ruffels moved to within one of the lead early in the back nine but he was perhaps guilty of pushing too hard as three bogeys blotted his run home.

Canadian Taylor Pendrith finished three shots clear at the top of the leaderboard with Ruffels four shots back in a tie for third.

The result moves the 21-year-old to 15th on the Mackenzie Tour Order of Merit from just three starts and with an interesting decision to make with regards to his schedule for the rest of 2019.

Top five on both the Mackenzie Tour and Latino-America Tour moneylists at the end of the season earn elevation to the Korn Ferry Tour next year and both avenues are now open to the Victorian.

Currently sitting fifth on the Latino-America Order of Merit, Ruffels can play the remaining four events in Canada before the Latino-America schedule recommences on September 19 and how he fares over the next month will likely dictate where he channels his energies for the back-end of the year.

1932byBateman Open
Edmonton Country Club, Edmonton, Alberta
T3	Ryan Ruffels	66-67-70-68—271	$10,400
MC	Ruben Sondjaja	71-69—140

When Michael Campbell last finished runner-up in a golf tournament he was ranked 21st in the world, Australian Idol winner Damien Leith had the No.1 song in Australia and Happy Feet was on top of the box office.

It has been a largely difficult road in the 170 professional events across almost 13 years since but ‘Cambo’ has shown he will be a force on the seniors circuit after finishing tied for second at the Seniors PGA Championship at London Golf Club on Europe’s Staysure Tour.

In just his fourth event amongst the over-50 set, Campbell eagled the 72nd hole of the tournament to climb from seventh through 54 holes to finish two back of Welshman Phillip Price and tied with Australian Peter Lonard.

“It was nice to be out there in the arena competing again,” Campbell said in an Instagram post following his second consecutive round of 5-under 67.

“To my coach Jonathan Yarwood, I can’t thank you enough for what you have done for me over the last six months, it’s been incredible.”

When he shot 81-79 to miss the cut at the KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship in his senior’s debut in May, contending for a title seemed a long way off but Campbell’s hard work paid off as he stormed home with a back nine of 31.

Level with Campbell, Lonard topped what was a very strong week for the Aussies in the field.

Tied for fifth at the Senior Open a week earlier, Victorian David McKenzie took a one-shot lead into the final round but three bogeys in his final five holes led to an even-par 72 and a tie for fifth.

Lonard set up his best finish on a senior’s tour with a second round of 64 that featured nine birdies and a solitary bogey.

Even-par through the front nine on Sunday, Lonard dropped birdies at the 11th, 13th and 18th holes to shoot 3-under and take a share of second.

Courtesy of a third round of 64, Peter Fowler also began the final round well and truly in contention but a double-bogey on the par-4 third put him on the back foot.

Four birdies on the back nine enabled him to complete the final round in 1-under 71, one shot behind McKenzie in a tie for sixth.

On the European Challenge Tour, both Jordan Zunic and Ben Eccles missed the cut at the Vierumäki Finnish Challenge.

Staysure Tour

Staysure PGA Seniors Championship
London GC, Kent, United Kingdom
T2	Michael Campbell	68-71-67-67—273	€32,405
T2	Peter Lonard	69-64-71-69—273	€32,405
T5	David McKenzie	65-69-68-72—274	€17,283
T6	Peter Fowler	67-73-64-71—275	€16,306
T26	Peter O’Malley	68-74-71-71—284	€3,827
T52	Greg Turner	71-71-74-74—290	€1,555

Vierumäki Finnish Challenge
Vierumäki Resort, Vierumäki, Finland
MC	Ben Eccles	74-71—145
MC	Jordan Zunic	73-74—147

England’s Ben Jackson has won the Bribie Island Legends Pro-Am with an outstanding round of 3-under 69 to finish one shot clear of the Ladbrokes Legends Tour field.

A total of 63 senior professionals including PGA Chairman Rodger Davis and Women’s PGA Cup team member Gillian Rae teed it up at Bribie Island Golf Club for one of two events played in the Moreton Bay Regional Council area.

Cool weather and light breezes greeted players in the morning field where Twin Waters Golf Club General Manager and PGA of Australia Board Member Steve Hutchison took hold of the lead with a round of 1-under 71.

Jackson came out firing in the afternoon, however, overtaking Hutchison with four birdies and a single bogey on the 165 par-3 4^th hole.

“I had a really solid round out there today,” said Jackson.

“The course conditions were excellent and I was really accurate with my driver which helped immensely.”

Ladbrokes Legends Tour order of merit leader Michael Harwood completed the event in second place at 2-under the card.

Hutchison was eventually joined in third place by Brad Burns, David Merriman and Darren Rix.

Jack Wilson has returned to the top of the leaderboard at Bulimba Golf Club to win the Belle Property Bulimba Pro-Am alongside an in-form Tim Hart with rounds of 5-under 49.

The pair finished one shot clear of the field at the inaugural Ladbrokes Pro-Am Series event at Bulimba with the win marking two-in-a-row for Hart.

A par-3 layout course, the Bulimba layout provided plenty of opportunities for players to mark a one on their scorecard.

“The format and location of this event is fantastic, I had so much fun out there,” said Wilson.

“It’s a completely different mindset to stand on the tee of every hole thinking I could make hold this and make a one.

“I played solid most of the day, making three birdies in a row towards the end of the round which put me in the position to challenge for the lead.”

Order of Merit leader Tim Hart has continued his incredible form after storming home with three birdies in his last four holes to join Wilson in the lead.

This equal win marks his twelfth victory on the Ladbrokes Pro-Am Series this year.

“I came here with low expectations of my game being a par-3 course,” joked Hart.

“Although in saying this I have been working hard on my short game so I guess it has paid off.”

The next best placed professional was Brett Rankin who fired a round of 4-under 50 for third place, closely followed by Deyen Lawson who returned a round of 3-under 51 for fourth.

Amateur golfer Carl Smithson made a one on his opening hole of the day to highlight the round, while professional Zac Chipperfield joined the fun after acing the 100m, 12^th hole.

The next stop on the Ladbrokes Pro-Am Series is the Southport Golf Club Pro-Am on Monday 5 August 2019.

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