#DoingItForJarrod charity days have teed off, with more than 120 clubs across the country digging deep by registering a member’s day to raise funds for Challenge in memory of our great mate, Jarrod Lyle.

Headland Golf Club led the charge at the Property Today & Innovative Planning Solutions Headland Pro-Am in July where 71 PGA Professionals and 150 amateur golfers dressed in yellow for the first official #DoingItForJarrod day.

Over 70 clubs have signed up to host #DoingItForJarrod days in August, while more than 40 others have organised events in September (see the full list of clubs below). If your club’s not on the list, it’s not too late to register!

In support of Jarrod’s legacy, Challenge, the PGA of Australia and Golf Australia ask the golf community to get involved this August and September by dedicating a competition day to his memory to raise funds for this important cause.

Joining is easy. All you need to do is dedicate an existing member’s day to the #DoingItForJarrod cause and encourage members to dress in yellow, create a yellow theme or sell Challenge and Leuk the Duck merchandise at the event to raise funds. Tax-deductible donations are also accepted.

To support and thank clubs for their involvement, all clubs that participate will enter the draw to win an invitation to play alongside golf’s best in the Australian PGA Championship Pro-Am to be held on Wednesday 18 December at RACV Royal Pines Resort.

For further details and to register your club’s #DoingItForJarrod golf day, visit www.challenge.org.au.

All proceeds from #DoingItForJarrod will go to Challenge to support kids with cancer and realise Jarrod Lyle’s wish of helping Challenge provide the little things to families that make all the difference.

Golf Club	State	Date of Event 1	Date of Event 2
Headland Golf Club	QLD	10/07/2019
Central Highlands Junior Golf	QLD	27/07/2019	17/08/2019
Bay Views Golf Club	VIC	27/07/2019	28/09/2019
Kooralbyn Valley Golf Course	QLD	01/08/2019	07/09/2019
South Australia Correctional Services GC	SA	02/08/2019
Queanbeyan Golf Club	NSW	03/08/2019
Pacific Dunes Golf Club	NSW	03/08/2019
Wingham Golf Club	NSW	03/08/2019
Massey Park Golf Club	NSW	03/08/2019
Broken Hill Golf & Country Club	NSW	03/08/2019
Junior Golf Central Queensland	QLD	03/08/2019	04/08/2019
Numurkah Golf & Bowls Club Inc	VIC	03/08/2019
Ranfurlie Golf Club	VIC	03/08/2019	04/08/2019
Gladstone Junior Golf Club	QLD	04/08/2019
Texas Golf Club	QLD	04/08/2019
Peregian Golf Course	QLD	04/08/2019
Hidden Valley Golf Club	VIC	04/08/2019
Bankstown Golf Club	NSW	05/08/2019
Spring Valley Golf Club	VIC	07/08/2019	08/08/2019
Beverley Park Golf Club	NSW	10/08/2019
Carbrook Golf Club	QLD	10/08/2019
Sanctuary Cove Golf and Country Club	QLD	10/08/2019
Townsville Golf Club	QLD	10/08/2019
Bundaberg Golf Club	QLD	10/08/2019
Noosa Golf Club	QLD	10/08/2019
Edithburgh Golf Club	SA	10/08/2019	14/09/2019
The Grange Golf Club	SA	10/08/2019
Mortlake Golf Club	VIC	10/08/2019
Mt Derrimut Golf Club	VIC	10/08/2019
Bairnsdale Golf Club	VIC	10/08/2019	07/08/2019
Collier Park Golf Club	WA	10/08/2019
Wenty Leagues Club	NSW	11/08/2019
Wagga Wagga Country Club	NSW	11/08/2019
Stonecutters Ridge Golf Club	NSW	13/08/2019
Royal Canberra Golf Club	ACT	14/08/2019
Coffs Harbour Golf Club	NSW	14/08/2019	18/08/2019
The Brisbane Golf Club	QLD	14/08/2019
Launceston Golf Club	TAS	14/08/2019
Ryde Parramatta Golf Club	NSW	17/08/2019
Royal Hobart Golf Club	TAS	17/08/2019
The Sands Torquay	VIC	17/08/2019
Ringwood Golf Club	VIC	17/08/2019	14/08/2019
Warragul Country Club	VIC	17/08/2019
Mooroopna Golf Club	VIC	17/08/2019
Korong Vale Golf Club	VIC	17/08/2019
Geraldton Golf Club Inc	WA	17/08/2019	14/08/2019
Future Golf NSW	NSW	18/08/2019
Wyong Golf Club	NSW	18/08/2019
Future Golf Queensland	QLD	18/08/2019
Future Golf (WA)	WA	18/08/2019
Nelson Bay Golf Club	NSW	20/08/2019	14/09/2019
The Western Australian Golf Club	WA	23/08/2019
Magpies Belconnen Golf Club	ACT	24/08/2019
Lismore Workers Golf Club	NSW	24/08/2019
Quirindi RSL Golf Club	NSW	24/08/2019
Hopetoun Golf Club	VIC	24/08/2019
Rockingham Golf Club	WA	24/08/2019
Bunbury Golf Club	WA	24/08/2019
Saddleworth Golf Club	SA	25/08/2019
Seabrook Golf Club	TAS	25/08/2019
RBVGC (Reserve Bank SGC)	VIC	25/08/2019	22/09/2019
Secret Harbour Golf Links	WA	25/08/2019
Burleigh Golf Club	SA	27/08/2019	28/08/2019
Corowa Golf Club	NSW	29/08/2019
Leongatha Golf Club	VIC	29/08/2019
Eagle Ridge Golf Course	VIC	30/08/2019
North Turramurra Golf Club	NSW	31/08/2019
South West Rocks Pro Shop	NSW	31/08/2019
Club Banora Golf Club	NSW	31/08/2019	12/09/2019
Kooindah Waters Golf Club	NSW	31/08/2019
Tura Beach Country Club	NSW	31/08/2019
Ocean Shores Country Club	NSW	31/08/2019	31/08/2019
Alice Springs Golf Club	NT	31/08/2019
Cairns Golf Club	QLD	31/08/2019
Berri Golf Club	SA	31/08/2019
Prospect Vale Golf Club	TAS	31/08/2019
Daddyshack (Eynesbury Golf Club)	VIC	31/08/2019
Jubilee Golf Club	VIC	31/08/2019
Cerberus Golf Club	VIC	31/08/2019
Sandhurst Club	VIC	31/08/2019
Castle Golf Club	WA	31/08/2019
Rockhampton Golf Club	QLD	01/09/2019	05/09/2019
Colac Golf Club	VIC	03/09/2019	07/09/2019
Wantima Country Club	QLD	06/09/2019	07/09/2019
Marrickville Golf Club	NSW	07/09/2019
Lakeside Golf Club Camden	NSW	07/09/2019	07/09/2019
Pennant Hills Golf Club	NSW	07/09/2019
Twin Creeks Golf and Country Club	NSW	07/09/2019
Penrith Golf Club	NSW	07/09/2019	08/09/2019
Dalby Golf Club	QLD	07/09/2019
Woodlands Golf Club	VIC	07/09/2019
City Beach Golf Club	WA	07/09/2019
Lakelands Country Club	WA	07/09/2019
Sun City Country Club	WA	07/09/2019
The Links Kennedy Bay	WA	07/09/2019
Royal Perth Golf Club	WA	07/09/2019
Wembley Golf Club	WA	08/09/2019
Gungahlin Lakes Golf Club	ACT	11/09/2019
Hilltop Golf Club	VIC	11/09/2019	11/09/2019
Wynnum Golf Club	QLD	12/09/2019	14/09/2019
Wodonga Golf Club	VIC	12/09/2019	14/09/2019
Yarrawonga Mulwala Golf Club Resort	NSW	14/09/2019
The Vines Golf Club of Reynella	SA	14/09/2019
Penguin Golf Club	TAS	14/09/2019
Patterson River Golf Club	VIC	14/09/2019
Eastern Sward	VIC	14/09/2019
Mildura Golf Resort	VIC	14/09/2019
Bogey Boyz Social Golf Club	NSW	15/09/2019
Armidale Golf Club	NSW	20/09/2019
Aston Hills Golf Club	SA	21/09/2019
Tamborine Mountain Golf Club	TAS	21/09/2019	02/10/2019
Keysborough Golf Club	VIC	21/09/2019
Settlers Run Golf & Country Club	VIC	21/09/2019
The Dunes Golf Club Inc	VIC	21/09/2019
Yarra Bend Golf	VIC	25/09/2019
Sale Golf Club	VIC	27/09/2019
Craigieburn Wilmott Golf Club	VIC	27/09/2019
Bathurst Golf Club	NSW	28/09/2019
Cobram/Barooga Golf Club	NSW	28/09/2019
Willunga Golf Club	SA	28/09/2019
Windaroo Lakes Golf Club	QLD	29/09/2019
Charlestown Golf Club	NSW	30/09/2019
Orange Golf Club (Duntryleague)	NSW	17/12/2019

Victorian David McKenzie will attempt to transfer his good form on the links to the downland courses of southern England when he makes his debut at the Staysure Tour Seniors PGA Championship at London Golf Club in Kent.

The downland courses are so named from the open chalk hills on which they are located, The International course at London Golf Club characterised by fast, undulating fairways and risk-reward shots over water.

Far from a links course such as Royal Lytham and St Annes where McKenzie finished tied for fifth in last week’s Senior Open Championship, The International course hosted the Seniors PGA Championship 12 months ago where Kiwi Greg Turner was the pick of the Australasian players in a tie for ninth.

Prior to the tournament having a two-year hiatus, Peter Fowler was the 2015 champion but has struggled somewhat this year having finished seventh on the order of merit in 2018.

Tied for 67th at the Senior Open, Fowler’s best finish of the year came at the experimental Jordan Mixed Open in April where he was tied for seventh. His best result since then was a tie for 18th at the WINSTONgolf Senior Open two weeks ago and was tied for 38th in the Seniors PGA Championship last year.

Former US Open winner Michael Campbell continues his journey in the senior’s circuit with Aussie legends Peter O’Malley and Peter Lonard also in the field.

There are two Aussies playing in the European Challenge Tour’s Vierumäki Finnish Challenge in Finland with New South Welshmam Jordan Zunic and Victorian Ben Eccles out to improve their position on the order of merit.

A four-foot putt for par.

That’s what determined whether Sydney 22-year-old John Lyras would remain an amateur or join the professional ranks.

In the United States to play amateur tournaments, the St Michael’s Golf Club and Eastlake Golf Club member in Sydney’s south had to go through pre-qualifying to earn a start in the Monday qualifier for this week’s Wyndham Championship on the PGA TOUR.

A 4-under par round of 67 at Bermuda Run Country Club earned him a place in the three-man playoff for two spots, his nerve-wracking putt for par at the first playoff hole fast-tracking his plans to become a professional.

“I wasn’t going to leave it short so I just thought, What the heck, make it,” Lyras told the Greensboro News and Record of the life-changing putt.

“Now I’m playing in my first PGA TOUR event, which is kind of crazy.”

A cricketer throughout high school due to the fact that golf was not a sport offered by the exclusive school that he attended, Lyras qualified for the 2017 Australian Open at The Australian Golf Club where he missed the cut with rounds of 72-74.

Runner-up in the Northern Territory Amateur in April, Lyras has played five events in America since June but in three made cuts has not finished better than 34th.

The addition of Lyras bolsters the Australian contingent at Sedgefield Country Club to seven with Cameron Smith, Aaron Baddeley and Matt Jones hoping to improve their Order of Merit positions ahead of the FedEx Cup Playoffs starting next week.

Sitting 75th and with one eye on the top-70 cut-off who advance to the second week of the Playoffs, Smith enters the Wyndham Championship very much trending in the right direction.

Top 20 at the British Open and tied for 12th last week at the WGC-FedEx St Jude Invitational, Smith has twice made the cut in three appearances at Sedgefield, tied for 18th in 2015 and tied for seventh two years ago with a scoring average of 67.40.

Sitting in 107th and 109th position respectively, Baddeley and Jones have done enough to feature in the first week of the playoffs and in the process secure their cards for 2020.

It’s a particularly great effort from Baddeley who has played the entire PGA TOUR season without full status.

Kiwi Danny Lee (64th) can set himself for a strong playoffs run with a good week at the Wyndham with Cameron Davis, Curtis Luck and Rod Pampling rounding out the Aussies in the field.

It rarely translates to a win on Sunday but Brett Drewitt has enjoyed a confidence boost ahead of the Korn Ferry Tour’s Ellie Mae Classic in California.

The penultimate tournament of the regular season, players are furiously jockeying for a place inside the coveted top-25 as well as the top-75 who advance to the Korn Ferry Tour finals that sees a further 25 PGA TOUR cards distributed.

Drewitt is currently in 92nd position on the Order of Merit and in need of two strong results to qualify for the finals, his hopes this week buoyed by a win in the tournament pro-am.

“Not a bad start to the week,” Drewitt said in a post on Instagram.

“Had a great day playing in the Ellie Mae Classic pro-am taking home first prize!

“TPC Stonebrae course is in great condition and excited to see how the week goes.”

Drewitt has played the Ellie Mae Classic three times in the past, missing the cut last year with rounds of 74-67 while in 2016 he shot four sub-70 rounds in finishing tied for 49th.

With back-to-back top-five finishes that have put him within reach of a PGA TOUR card Victorian Brett Coletta is tipped to be one of the players to beat.

Should Coletta make it three top-five finishes in succession he will head to the final tournament of the regular season safe in the knowledge he will graduate to the main tour in 2020.

Three spots ahead of Coletta on the moneylist, Tim Wilkinson can also secure his return to the PGA TOUR on a full-time basis for the first time since 2017.

Aussie veteran Robert Allenby is also in the field this week along with Kiwi rookie Nick Voke and Rhein Gibson who will be eager to enhance his priority order for even better status on the PGA TOUR next year.

ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia Tournaments Manager Graeme ‘Scotty’ Scott travels from Ireland to Memphis in the US to sit on the Rules Committee for the WGC FedEx St. Jude Invitational where once again slow play, weather and a rogue shot from Bryson DeChambeau set the tone.

WGC FedEx St Jude Invitational – Pre-tournament

What a difference a decent night’s sleep makes! After finally making it into Memphis from my original location in Belfast following delays and a missed flight, I met up with John Paramor (who had started his flights 8 hours after I did) and we were transported to our hotel in Germantown.

Getting to bed by midnight allowed me 7 hours sleep before getting ready to head out to TPC Southwind for my first look around.

JP and I were the two international Tour officials for the week with the other six officials coming from the PGA TOUR.

During our first drive around the course, I met up with Cameron Smith who, as always, was in good spirits. He did liken the conditions to that of Queensland and so he feels very much at home.

In terms of the Rules, there is not a great deal of potential situations out on course but it was certainly useful to receive some heads up on certain areas from the guys who have worked here at the St Jude Classic. Receiving this information gives you the chance to prepare and review in the days leading into the tournament.

At 1.00pm we attended our first site meeting and this was an opportunity for everyone involved in the tournament to be introduced to each other and receive some specific feedback from the various departments.

Our second sweep of the course in the afternoon allows us to have a much closer look at specific areas on each hole, including checking out the proximity of TV and shotlink towers to the greens and which of the penalty areas will come into play.

The major appointment for us on Wednesday morning was the Rules Committee meeting at 11.00am. This had a different structure to the meeting at The Open the week before as it a decision-making time for finalising the Local Rules that we wanted to employ for the tournament.

Prior to the meeting JP and I had another sweep of the course to make sure that we were familiar with, in particular, the areas that we would be covering each day and also the situations that we were to discuss during the meeting. During this sweep I caught up with Adam Scott, Marc Leishman and Cam Smith who were playing their final practice round together.

Two key discussion points at the meeting were bare areas on some fairways and how we would deal with them, and whether or not we should apply the opposite edge option for the red penalty area on hole 18.

We decided to create a local rule whereby relief would be granted from bare areas on fairways under Rule 16-1 for lie of ball only, but relief could only be granted by a Rules Committee member. Also, due to mainly historical reasons, we agreed to provide opposite edge relief for the red penalty area on hole 18 because this may assist us with maintaining pace of play.

Once we decided on the Local Rules we completed a final course inspection. Once this was done I was able to take advantage of the opportunity to go and visit Graceland, home of The King, Elvis Presley. In the vast majority of cases, we go to golf tournaments and only ever see the airport, hotel and golf course and so this was awesome. Being a huge music fan, the experience of touring Graceland and checking out all the Elvis memorabilia, including his two private jets, was really enjoyable and a welcome break from golf.

In view of there being a field of 63 players due to the late withdrawal of Shane Lowry, the first tee times on Thursday and Friday were a very hospitable 11.20am. The draw was structured as a two tee start in three balls at 11-minute intervals.

WGC FedEx St Jude Invitational – Rounds 1 & 2

The weather forecast for the week was very un-Memphis like with light winds, tolerable temperatures and showers predicted for the weekend. Apparently, at this time of year, it is oppressively hot with thunderstorms predicted each day.

One of my tasks this week was to follow the lead groups on the front nine to ensure that the pace of play remained on schedule while also assisting with any rulings that are required.

It only took three holes before I got called for assistance. A club damaged in the normal course of play. Once the situation was resolved I located myself on holes 5 and 6 for the day. There were very few rulings throughout the round but I did have to time a group for three holes until they were back in position.

Friday start times were the same as round one but a half-flip was applied to move the players around and change which tee they started from. Once again I was assigned to the lead groups off the first tee and the holes 5 and 6. Maintaining the pace of play with the early groups was important and this resulted in some groups being warned and then subsequently timed.

There were a number of rulings throughout the round and these were mainly related to abnormal course conditions caused by the heavy rain the previous week.

It was great to see Cam Smith featuring at the top end of the leaderboard after 36 holes.

WGC FedEx St Jude Invitational – Rounds 3 & 4

The change to the weekend format meant a change to the routine that JP and I had established for round one and two.

With the first tee time being 7.45am for round three, this meant that I needed a 5.30am alarm to enable me to get ready, have breakfast and travel to the course in order to be there one hour before tee off.

I was still assigned to the lead groups off tee 1 and so effectively I was going to follow the one ball and the first two ball around to my area of holes 5 and 6. With the last tee time being 12.50pm, this meant that there would be close to 5 hours of tee times at the weekend.

While assisting with a number of rulings each day, the other key part of the Rules Committee’s duties is to ensure that pace of play is adhered to. I would have to say that in the main the pace of play was pretty good this week but some groups did have to be timed. Here on the PGA TOUR they still use the official warning system rather than the monitoring system that both we in Australia and the European Tour use.

When doing your job of informing a group that they are out of position, some players can get very irate and try to point the finger at one of their fellow group members. This week I encountered nothing but politeness and acceptance of the issue from some of the highest-profile players in the game at the moment. There was no dummy spitting or placing the blame elsewhere but rather acknowledgement that they needed to play faster and action to remedy the problem.

One of the biggest discussion points during the week amongst spectators and officials alike was how lucky the tournament had been in terms of the weather. Memphis is notorious for being both hot and humid at this time of year which can also result in electrical storms. Saturday was very similar to Thursday and Friday, with a high of around 28°C and a gentle breeze to stop it getting too humid. There are also quite a lot of trees on the Southwind course which meant it was pretty easy to find a bit of shade to hide under.

Unfortunately, Cam Smith was unable to retain his spot at the top of the leaderboard, but he was replaced with fellow Aussie Marc Leishman who had a hot finish to his round, placing him in the penultimate group for the final day.

Due to the importance of the TV broadcast times, keeping pace of play on time is essential at these events. When establishing what the pace of play times should be, statistics from previous tournaments at the course are used and the last tee off time is calculated relative to when the broadcast will conclude. As it turned out, we probably finished a little early on Saturday and as a result the starting times were put back by 10 minutes for the final day.

The Sunday forecast came through and even the light showers that had been earlier predicted for the afternoon were now going to miss us and so our lucky streak in terms of weather was due to continue. It was a little hotter but nothing to unbearable and perfect practice for what I expect to encounter when I travel to Darwin next month with the ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia.

With the 63 man field we once again had a one ball to lead us off at 7.55am and, given that it was the final day, I was pretty sure that the early groups would get around quickly, enabling them to head away during the afternoon.

Other than an early ruling with Bryson DeChambeau which saw his tee shot on hole three almost slam dunk a plastic rubbish bag but rather come to rest on the bottom of the bag, I had few other enquiries to deal with.

However, the Rules Committee were very much on top of pace of play and so there was a lot of radio talk ensuring that everyone knew exactly what was happening both before and after their section of the course.

This was the first time ever that Rory and Brooks had ever been paired together and the anticipation of this duel meant that the crowds would be out in force for the afternoon.

Although all of the groups were through my section of the course a little after 2.00pm, I was then re-assigned to a new area on the back nine to ensure that we could attend to any rules situation promptly and without someone having to battle the crowds to get to it.

I could see from the leaderboard that Leish was making a run at Koepka and was only a matter of a few shots back when he came through hole 12. A bounce-back birdie at 14 after failing to get up and down out of the bunker at 13 kept him near the top of the leaderboard but Koepka seems to thrive on these high profile tournaments and never really seemed in doubt down the stretch.

It was a nice touch to the tournament to have five of the children from St Judes hospital be next to the 18^th putting green for the final five groups to replace the pin flag and greet the players. A number of the players had visited the hospital during the week and this had undoubtedly left a lasting impression on them.

Play finished exactly on schedule with the final group playing in 3 hours 50 minutes.

The last two weeks have been a fantastic experience and I continue to learn new things at each event either in terms of officiating, performing the role of tournament director or structuring a tournament.

David McKenzie’s grounding on the Melbourne Sandbelt has helped to catapult the Victorian to a top-five finish at The Senior Open at Royal Lytham and St Annes in England.

A 4-under front-9 in his third round of 2-under 68 elevated McKenzie into the top five heading into the final round but a bogey at the fourth hole and a double bogey on the sixth put him on the back foot over the closing 18 holes.

He hit back with back-to-back birdies at 10 and 11 and when McKenzie added a third at the par-4 17th secured a tie for fifth, four shots adrift of Bernhard Langer who claimed a fourth Senior Open crown.

Only four players went lower than McKenzie in the third round who revelled in the links golf that he rarely gets to play on the Champions Tour in the US.

“I love it. I enjoy the challenge of different shots,” McKenzie said following the third round.

“It gives you lots of different options. You can hit it along the ground, bump it and run it and hit it in the air. You’ve got to use your imagination. It’s fun.”

With a best finish this year on the Champions Tour a tie for 10th at the Hoag Classic in March, McKenzie enjoyed battling not only a stellar field but the difficult conditions.

“It’s always good to play well and to have a good result,” said McKenzie, who has finished inside the top 15 in each of his three starts in the Senior Open.

“These bunkers out here can catch you, and if the rough catches you, you miss a putt, all of a sudden you drop two or three shots without even blinking an eye.”

Although he didn’t qualify to play the weekend rounds, it was also a tournament of great significance for amputee golfer Geoff Nicholas.

Nicholas had to come through a playoff in qualifying to earn a place in his first senior major and hoped that by playing his way into the field that he can inspire others to play golf at the highest level.

“Golf is such a great game, and you can match up with the best in the world,” Nicholas said.

“It’s probably the only sport where a disabled athlete can compete professionally against another professional. There’s no other sport like that.

“Disability is only what you make of it. If you start thinking disability, that’s when you’re in trouble.

“I just get around as if I haven’t got it. It’s there, but I always feel like disability is what you sort of make of it, and I feel when I go out and play I haven’t got one.

“That’s part of the deal, I think, to succeeding.

“It gives other people with a disability a goal that you can go out and do something and achieve something, and the level they can go to play with the best in the world.

“I like to feel I’m inspiring people and golf is such a great game to do that.

“There’s so many, whether in a wheelchair, so many avenues to succeed that way.”

The Senior Open
Royal Lytham & St Annes, Lytham, UK
T5	David McKenzie	70-70-68-70—278	€65,370
T18	Stephen Leaney	73-66-73-70—282	€20,228
T46	Paul Archbold	70-70-75-72—287	€7,007
T67	Peter Fowler	72-70-77-71—290	€3,432
T70	Peter O’Malley	72-70-74-75—291	€3,069
T81	Michael Campbell	71-75—146	€1,792
T81	Greg Turner	73-73—146	€1,792
T89	Nicholas Robb	75-72—147	€1,516
T89	John Wade	77-70—147	€1,516
144	Geoff Nicholas	88-86—174	€896