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One of the rounds of the day has moved Hervey Bay’s Lachlan Wood to within two strokes of the top 10 with one round to play at the G4D Open in London.
A third year PGA Associate at Hervey Bay Golf Club in Queensland, Wood’s four-over par 76 was bettered by only six players on Thursday as Ireland’s Brendan Lawlor moved to a one-stroke lead from Australian All Abilities champion Kipp Popert.
The two leading players on the World Ranking for Golfers with Disability (WR4GD) are separated by just a single stroke going into the final 18 holes over the renowned Duchess Course.
Ireland’s Lawlor, the world No.2, missed chances with his putter in a two-over-par second round of 74 yet still signed for an impressive level-par total of 144.
World No.1 Popert, 24, dropped three shots in his first four holes but, like his opening round, the Englishman recovered on the back nine to post a three-over 75 and trail by a shot on 145 for 36 holes.
After a 10-over 82 on day one Wood made a shaky start with back-to-back bogeys.
He got those back with birdies at four and six before dropping a shot at seven.
A birdie on 12 got Wood back to one-over on his round before bogeys at 13, 14 and 18 saw him end the day in outright 12th position.
Geoff Nicholas and Cameron Pollard are both inside the top 30 despite enduring difficult days on Thursday.
Nicholas had nine bogeys, two double bogeys and a triple bogey in his round of 16-over 88 to fall to a tie for 20th while Pollard had eight bogeys, two doubles and a triple in his 15-over 87 to be in a tie for 28th.
Australia’s final representative, Adam Letherbarrow, had 106 in Round 2 to be tied for 68th.
That Cameron Pollard can sit for 20 minutes and talk about the anxiety he is likely to experience in travelling to the UK to contest the G4D Open is perhaps the greatest indicator of all.
An indicator of just how far Pollard has come since he first travelled overseas for a golf tournament at 17 years of age.
That was seven years ago for the 2016 Special Olympics Macau, where getting to the first tee was its own personal triumph.
Such was the anxiety that wracked Pollard’s brain, he passed out when his regular hairdresser was unavailable in the weeks leading up to his departure. He fell face first onto the concrete, splitting both his chin and eye.
“I ended up getting a free haircut,” he now jokes.
“Being so anxious and having panic attacks, the first time I went to Hong Kong I just stopped eating about a month before,” he adds, essentially surviving on vitamin water while he was away.
“I didn’t know I wasn’t eating but I was just nervous. I passed out a few times and didn’t eat much while I was over there. I lost like 20kg in a month.
“The build up to these events is more stressful than playing it.
“I am more confident going over there now because I’m settled in a lot of these tournaments and I know a lot of the people playing.
“It’s like going to see a few of my mates that I haven’t seen in a while. You don’t worry about anything else, so that’s a big change for me.”
Pollard and Hervey Bay’s Lachlan Wood will start favourites for the 36-hole 2023 Queensland Inclusive Championship at Redcliffe Golf Club starting Thursday.
The pair will use it as the final tune-up before representing their country at the R&A’s inaugural 54-hole G4D Open at Woburn Golf Club in England May 10-12 where they will be joined by fellow Aussies Geoff Nicholas and Adam Letherbarrow.
Pollard remembers how hard it was to travel to Macau – he spent four months in hospital upon his return such was the toll that it took on his body – yet he is embracing the opportunity afforded to him by the $20,000 grant he received for winning two of the four Webex Players Series All Abilities events.
“I’m glad to represent them and see what I can do for them in return. Hopefully win and get it out there,” says Pollard, who will wear adidas apparel featuring the Webex logo.
“It’s like representing yourself. You don’t want to let yourself down so you don’t want to let anyone else down. That’s just sport and life.”
Pollard will have carer and caddie Dan Shipley as a travel companion as he embarks on the biggest trip and most significant tournament of his life.
He has considered playing in more European Disabled Golf Association events but he acknowledges that for him, it is not as simple as jumping on a plane with golf clubs in tow.
“I just don’t know how I’m going to take my meds on the way over there and on the way back,” Pollard says of the medical logistics he must face. “I’ll be taking night-time medication in the middle of the day and stuff like that.
“Being a pro, the week-in, week-out playing golf, that would be the hardest part. Doing it overseas would be even tougher, especially for myself with all my medications and stuff like that. That would be a bit of a struggle.
“After most rounds my legs get sore but I shouldn’t be complaining when I’ve got all my limbs and you’ve got people out there with no legs.”
After dominant wins in the first two Webex All Abilities events at TPS Victoria and TPS Murray River, Pollard lost in a playoff to Geoff Nicholas at TPS Sydney presented by Webex and finished second to Lachlan Wood at TPS Hunter Valley.
The emergence of Wood in the All Abilities tournaments is pushing Pollard to better his own game, starting with the R&A’s first G4D Open.
“His world ranking jumped from 50th to sixth after the New Zealand All Abilities Championship, which is a big jump,” says Pollard, who is currently ranked No.22 in the WR4GD ranking and won both the WA PGA and WA Open All Abilities tournaments.
“It is pushing me because it’s not so easy to win all the time.
“Especially going over to England, it’s not going to be easy. I’m going to have to play me best golf.
“The first ever G4D Open, it’s pretty big.”
And another big milestone in golf’s impact on Pollard and his family.
Young New Zealand professional Kit Bittle was in the second group out at Cobram Barooga on Sunday with no chance of winning. But he was about to enjoy a special day.
Bittle, 24, knocked his 5-iron into the hole for his first-ever career hole-in-one at the par-3 third hole from 177 metres. As a result, he is now the owner of a BMW iX xDrive40 valued at around $140,000.
Shepparton BMW’s dealer principle, Aaron Brain, travelled to the course this afternoon to present the keys.
“Not the greatest week of golf, but one shot made it special,” said Bittle, who is playing his first season on the ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia.
Bittle, who lives in Auckland, currently drives a Mazda 6 Atenza, but that is all about to change.
“I jokingly said to the boys before we hit that, ‘If there’s ever a time we go for a flag, it was now’,” said the Kiwi. “I didn’t hit it that great, but as soon as it landed, it was a chance, and it went in quite nicely.
“I picked a good time for it.”
Ironically when the ball ducked into the hole Bittle was not convinced that he had won the vehicle.
“I knew BMW were donating $250 for every birdie that went in, so I wasn’t sure if that was the only thing that was on offer. I wasn’t 100 per cent sure if the car was. I was hopeful!”
The magnificent iX hatchback was on display behind the third tee and was on offer for the first player – professional, amateur or junior – at the TPS Murray River event to hole out at the third.
As part of this year’s groundbreaking partnership between Australian Golf and BMW, another car will be on offer at the Vic Open at 13th Beach Golf Links next week.
Aware that the secret would soon get out, Michael Sim set his alarm for 11.59pm so that he could register for the second tournament in the TrackMan-powered NEXT Golf Tour.
A former top-50 player in the world with four wins on the secondary Korn Ferry Tour in the US to his name, Sim uses the simulator bays at Burleigh Bunker on the Gold Coast primarily to dial in his iron and wedge distances and check club path and attack angle.
An e-mail from TrackMan’s Director of Sales in Australia and New Zealand, Brook Salmon, alerted Sim to the new 10-event virtual tour promising a minimum of $US100,000 prize money for each event.
He signed up for the opening tournament, shot five-under at the Jack Nicklaus Tournament Course at PGA West and finished tied for 12th when the tournament closed on Monday, Sim expected to bank close to $1,000 for his efforts.
A four-time winner on the Nordic Golf League, Denmark’s Mathias Gladbjerg won Round 1 by one stroke with a score of eight-under 64, TrackMan CEO Klaus Eldrup-Jørgensen personally delivering his cheque for $US17,477.
Sensing it would grow in popularity, Sim made sure not to miss out on Round 2 by setting a midnight wake-up call, all 250 spots snapped up within the first three hours.
“I knew how popular it was starting to get,” said Sim, a two-time winner on the ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia.
“I actually set an alarm clock for midnight to enter and by the time I got up at quarter to five in the morning it was sold out.”
Entry for each competitor is $US130, $100 of which is put straight into the prize pool.
Given demand, Round 2 was opened up to 500 competitors and the expectation is that by Round 3 there could be as many as 1,000 entrants playing virtual golf for very real money.
“If we get 1,000 players we’re really going to see some sizeable prize purses and the ability for someone to make $50,000 for a 45-minute round of virtual golf,” explains Salmon.
For Sim – and touring professionals just like him who have access to TrackMan technology – the possibilities offered by NEXT Golf Tour are endless.
“If you’ve got a week off and an event’s on, it costs you $200 and you might win $25,000; why wouldn’t you do it?” Sim asks.
“I’m going to play them all. The guys at Burleigh Bunker have been great and it’s a great facility down there.
“You’ll see way more Tour guys start to jump on. I’m not sure how big the fields are going to get but if the fields do get bigger, I’d like to see two or three rounds. Then you’ll start to see the better players win or certainly up the top of the leaderboard.”
In addition to the overall strokeplay champion, each event offers cash prizes for aggregate closest to the pin, birdie streak, longest drives for men and women and greens in regulation.
Although hitting greens can bring its own reward, the fixed putting that is in play means that anything inside three metres is automatically counted as a one-putt, between 3.1m and 20m is an automatic two-putt and outside 20m is an automatic three-putt.
“There’s a little bit of strategy involved with that,” said Sim, who played his tournament round in 38 minutes, all of which is recorded and verified by TrackMan representatives.
“I was two-under and then I had two holes in a row where I was 3.6 and 4 metres away and they’re only pars.
“If I’d got those I would have been four-under after eight and that gets your mind thinking. You almost feel like it’s the last round, back-nine sort of thing.”
That a player of Sim’s calibre admitted to feeling nervous energy while playing a virtual tournament adds even greater legitimacy to what TrackMan has created with the NEXT Golf Tour.
“’Simmy’ is a pretty even-keel guy on the golf course but you could see there was that nervous energy, the nervous smirk,” said Salmon, who watched Sim complete Round 1.
“He air-mailed a green and by his own admission said it was because the heartbeat was racing a little bit because he was pushing to birdie three of the last five to equal the lead.
“There’s a guy that has played on the biggest Tour in the world yet he’s still getting a buzz out of virtual golf. It was cool to see.
“I’m sure our owners would be thrilled to see a person of that ilk have those feelings and emotions.”
There are more than 400 TrackMan units throughout Australia and 23 TrackMan-powered commercial simulator centres.
The NEXT Golf Tour is open to both professionals and amateurs but amateurs are limited to winning a maximum of $1,000 as stipulated by both the USGA and the R&A.
Entries for Round 3 – to be played on Medinah Country Club from February 1-12 open on January 19.
For more information visit nextgolftour.com.
Marquee player Cam Davis has started the Sandbelt Invitational with a thundercrack, jumping to the lead with a seven-under par 65 at Kingston Heath on Monday.
Davis, the world No.67 and a Presidents Cup player this year, rolled in six birdies to go with an eagle at the par-5 ninth hole to seize the advantage in good conditions on day one of the event run by Geoff Ogilvy’s foundation.
His only bogey of the day came at the par-4 third hole where he three-putted from close range.
It is Davis’s first appearance in the event which is in its second year, a trip to Melbourne that crystalised in his mind at the same time that he shared the locker room with Ogilvy at the Presidents Cup in North Carolina in September (Ogilvy was a vice-captain of the International team).
The 27-year-old Davis said he found momentum after a slowish start.
“I hit the ball really nicely actually,” he said.
“The swing felt horrendous on the range this morning. It felt like I was knocking off some rust after a couple of days off. I worked my way into it. Missed a couple of short putts early, I had to hit them a bit harder coming in.
“I had a cruisy tee-to-green day today and made a couple of mid to long-range putts coming down the stretch.”
With no ropes in place, fans were allowed to walk the fairways up close to the 72 players competing and Sydneysider Davis enjoyed the more relaxed vibe.
“I love the idea of a competitive round of golf when it’s almost dead quiet out there, a couple of people getting inside the ropes action, even though there aren’t any ropes here,” he said.
“We’re obviously playing some of the best courses in the world this week as well, so it’s really cool to share that with a bunch of people on the fairway.
“It’s a more relaxed but a very competitive atmosphere. I love it.”
Davis leads by two shots from recent Gippsland Super 6 winner Tom Power-Horan who shot a 5-under par 67 in Round 1, with New South Wales amateur Jye Pickin in third after a 68.
Davis said the notion of the Sandbelt Invitational appealed to him.
“I love the idea of it,” he added.
“The amateurs, women and men all playing together; I feel like this is a great environment that I would’ve loved when I was coming up as an amateur, getting some experience from the pros.”
Tuesday’s second round is at Royal Melbourne West, with Yarra Yarra and Peninsula Kingswood Country Club also hosting rounds of the 72-hole event.
Click here for Round 1 leaderboard.
Australian golf hero, Cameron Smith, and his PGA Professional Coach Grant Field, were this morning joined by hundreds of keen golfing Queenslanders as they attempted to break the GUINNESS WORLD RECORD™ title for the Largest Golf Lesson.
The driving range at Royal Queensland Golf Club was overrun with fans and golfers keen to participate in the GUINNESS WORLD RECORD™ attempt which fell just short of making history. The masses were expertly guided through a 30 minute lesson by hometown hero Smith, together with some expert coaching, from Field in what was a morning enjoyed by all.
Smith, who was warmly welcomed home at the event, acknowledged the efforts of every involved in making the GUINNESS WORLD RECORD™ attempt.
“What an amazing experience this morning and equally warm welcome home for the first time in three years,” said Smith.
“I’m blown away with the turn out from both fans and golfers alike – a huge thank you to everyone who came out for the lesson, I’ve had a ball being involved.
“It’s great to be home, and this was a perfect way to kick off a big week – now I can’t wait for the Fortinet Australian PGA Championship to start on Thursday.”
PGA of Australia CEO Gavin Kirkman highlighted the spectacle of the GUINNESS WORLD RECORD™ attempt.
“What an incredible day to be a part of – the PGA of Australia is delighted to have been able to put on a spectacle like this in partnership with Brisbane City Council via the Brisbane Economic Development Agency,” said Kirkman.
“While we would have loved to secure the GUINNESS WORLD RECORD title, it has still been a fantastic morning for all involved and a pretty unique way for Cam to be welcomed home for the first time in years!
“With the best Australian golfers back on home soil for the Australian PGA Championship and today’s lesson, where hundreds learnt tips and tricks from two of golf’s best names, it just highlights the interest in our game, the tournament and is a fantastic beginning to the week ahead.”
The Fortinet Australian PGA Championship and today’s GUINNESS WORLD RECORD title attempt is proudly supported by the Queensland Government, through Tourism and Events Queensland and Brisbane City Council, through Brisbane Economic Development Agency.
The GUINNESS WORLD RECORD™ title holder remains the Mayakoba Golf Classic who hosted a clinic for 1,073 participants at the El Camaleón Golf Course on January 23, 2011.
The great Karrie Webb is to be inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame.
Webb’s induction along with eight other new members of the SAHOF were announced today.
The seven-time major championship winner is the 13th Australian golfer to enter the Hall of Fame as an ‘Athlete Member’ of the nation’s most prestigious sporting club.
Of those 13 golfers, two – Peter Thomson and Greg Norman – are in the category of ‘Legends of Australian Sport’.
The other athlete members from golf are Doug Bachli, Bruce Crampton, Jim Ferrier, David Graham, Edwina Kennedy, Kel Nagle, Jan Stephenson, Norman Von Nida, Ivo Whitton and Leonora Wray.
Webb, 47, won 41 times on the LPGA Tour and is a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame. She also won five Women’s Australian Opens, and as recently as July won a major championship on the seniors circuit in the United States, the Senior LPGA Championship in Kansas.
She is returning to Australia soon to play in the rejuvenated Australian Open at Kingston Heath and Victoria in Melbourne when the tournament is played in mixed-gender format for the first time.
The honour roll of induction into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame features the nation’s biggest sporting names and champions, including Sir Donald Bradman AC, Dawn Fraser AC MBE, Cathy Freeman OAM, Ian Thorpe AM, E.J. ‘Ted’ Whitten OAM, Raelene Boyle AM MBE, Wally Lewis AM, Shane Gould OAM MBE, Sir Jack Brabham AO OBE, Greg Norman AO, Lauren Jackson AO, John Eales AM, Susie O’Neill AM, Rod Laver AC MBE, Bart Cummings AM, Louise Sauvage OAM and Layne Beachley AO, among other luminaries.
Winners of The Don Award and the Dawn Award will be announced at the induction on December 8, with the inductees featured in a special on Channel Seven.
Two members will be elevated to Legend of Australian Sport on December 8 when the inductions occur as part of a Seven Network special. On that night the winners of The Don Award, which honours an athlete who ‘inspired the nation’ in 2022, and The Dawn Award, which honours and individual or team or organisation from this or a previous generation who are courageous, brave, and have changed sport for the better, will be announced.
INDUCTEES FOR 2022
Sir George Bedbrook OBE- Sport Admin Paralympic Movement, WA
General Member
The Australian Paralympic movement owes its origins and its ongoing success to pioneering orthopedic surgeon and rehabilitation specialist Sir George Bedbrook. A spinal injury innovator and advocate, Bedbrook led the first Australian team for athletes with a disability to the 1957 Stoke Mandeville Games, the forerunner to the Paralympics. He was one of the leading figures in helping start the Commonwealth Paraplegic Games, held for the first time in Perth in 1962, and would play a leading part in various roles in taking Australian representative teams abroad to major events including the Paralympics.
Catherine Cox AM – Netball, NSW
Athlete Member
Catherine Cox was one of the most decorated netballers of her generation, with her goal-shooting prowess and leadership qualities playing a key role in Australia’s successes of the era. She represented the national team over 16 years, making 108 senior appearances between 1997-2013. She was captain of the side on seven occasions and played more than 250 games in the national league. As a member of the Australian team, she won gold medals at the 2002 Commonwealth Games and the 2007 and 2011 World Netball Championships, silver at the 2006 and 2010 Commonwealth Games and the 2003 World Netball Championships.
Brad Fittler- Rugby League, NSW
Athlete Member
Brad Fittler had a glittering 16-season career as one of the most durable, resilient, and attacking players of his generation. His NRL career consisted of 336 games and 122 tries for Penrith Panthers and Sydney Roosters, winning premierships for both teams (1991 and 2002) as he became one of the greatest five-eighths to play the game as well as spending time in the centre and lock. Fittler played for the NSW Blues on 31 occasions, leading them 14 times for eight memorable wins. He led his country in 20 of his 40 matches, guiding the Kangaroos to the 1995 and 2000 World Cup titles, as well as being a member of the victorious 1992 side.
Tanya Harding – Softball, QLD
Athlete Member
Tanya Harding’s contribution to Australian softball spanned 15 years, more than 50 tournaments and a total of 283 matches, including four consecutive Olympic Games appearances. Harding became one of the countries, and one of the world’s best pitchers in a stellar career. Renowned for her determination and mental toughness, she played a pivotal role in helping make the Australian team a potent force on the world stage. She won medals at four consecutive Olympic Games, with her strong performances against the mighty United States teams setting her apart from her contemporaries.
Cara Honeychurch – Tenpin Bowling, VIC
Athlete Member
Cara Honeychurch is one of Australia’s most successful tenpin bowlers. She fulfilled her childhood ambition of becoming a world champion and helped elevate her sport into the mainstream. She was the second Australian to win the Bowling World Cup, in Northern Ireland in 1996, and was one of this country’s unlikely heroes at the 1998 Commonwealth Games, becoming a triple gold medallist from her three events. Honeychurch turned professional and was named rookie of the year in the Professional Women’s Bowling Association in the United States in 2000, winning eight titles, including two majors, as one of the most successful players on tour over three years.
Dr Adrian Hurley OAM – Basketball, NSW
General Member
Dr Adrian Hurley is one of the most significant coaches in Australian basketball history who had a profound impact on the sport and its top-level participants across four decades. Hurley played the key role in establishing the Australian Institute of Sport basketball program and served as the head coach or assistant coach of the national team for more than a decade. He became the first Boomers coach to take an Australian team through to the medal rounds of an Olympic Games, finishing fourth in 1988 at Seoul. He led the Perth Wildcats to the 1995 NBL championship, was NBL Coach of the Year in 2004-05 and was inducted into the Australian Basketball Hall of Fame as a coach in 2004.
Chris Judd – Australian Football, VIC
Athlete Member
Chris Judd was one of the most decorated and dynamic footballers of the modern era. Judd had the distinction of not only captaining two clubs but also winning a Brownlow Medal at the West Coast Eagles and Carlton. A six-time All-Australian, including one as captain, and a five-time club champion, Judd played 279 games and kicked 228 goals in a career that spanned from the 2001 national draft until his final game in round 10, 2015. His capacity to reach peak performances in games that mattered was highlighted by his Norm Smith Medal win in a losing team in 2005 before he captained the Eagles to the 2006 flag.
Karrie Webb AO – Golf, QLD
Athlete Member
Karrie Webb’s journey from a shy, talented teenager from the small far-north Queensland town of Ayr to the world’s most dominant female golfer is one of Australian sport’s greatest success stories. Webb became one of the most decorated golfers of the modern era, winning seven career majors and 41 LPGA tour titles as well as 13 Australian, 15 European and three Japanese events. She won the LPGA player of the year award twice, was a three-time LPGA Tour Money List winner and was the youngest person at the time inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2005.
Mark Webber AO – Motor Racing, Monaco
Athlete Member
Mark Webber graduated through the motor racing ranks from his native Australia to the United Kingdom before realising his dream of becoming one of the most resilient Formula One drivers across 12 seasons and 215 starts. While he often had to compete in under-performing cars, particularly early in his career, he went on to score his maiden victory at the 2009 German Grand Prix, the first Australian to win a F1 race since Alan Jones 28 years earlier. Webber competed for four different teams, winning all nine of his Grand Prix races with Red Bull. He secured 42 podium finishes and 13 pole positions. On his return to sports cars with Porsche, he combined with Timo Bernhard and Brendon Hartley to win the 2015 FIA World Endurance Championship.
Karen Lunn has made history by becoming the first-ever woman to chair the Australian Golf Industry Council.
Lunn, who is also Chief Executive of the WPGA Tour Australasia, was elected this week to the role.
She replaces Gavin Kirkman, Chief Executive of the PGA of Australia, who served two terms over four years at the helm of the all-encompassing industry body.
“I’m very honoured,” said Lunn. “To represent the whole of the industry is an honour. We’re seeing collaboration through the industry and it’s great to be a part of that, and it’s really good timing.
“Everyone in the sport including all the organisations that sit within the AGIC will play an integral part in delivering the Australian Golf Strategy. It’s an exciting time and I’m proud to take on the
role.”
Lunn said there was symbolism in the appointment.
“The strategy has such a strong focus on women and girls’ participation, knowing that the industry hasn’t done so well in that space before, so it is significant,” she said.
“Any time that a woman takes on a role when they haven’t taken on before, it’s significant, and that’s not lost on me either. I’m honoured that the rest of the organisations in the AGIC, who are all represented by men, have put their trust in me to do the job.”
Kirkman said Lunn was an obvious choice in a time when the industry was promoting inclusiveness for the sport.
“She’s there because she’s the best person to do the job,” he said. “It’s about her input and her knowledge and her experience. We’re delighted that Karen has seen fit to take this on and we’re sure she’ll do an excellent job.”
Lunn is a former touring professional who played in Europe (1985-2013), on the LPGA Tour (1994-2002) and in Asia (1998-2005), serving on the LET board of directors for 14 years including a 10-year stint as chair as well as chair of the players’ council.
A 10-time winner in Europe, the high point was her 1993 British Women’s Open victory.
She has been CEO of the WPGA (and its forerunner, the ALPG), for nine years.
Lunn said the industry had seen how it needed to move forward with the publication late last year of the Australian Golf Strategy, a roadmap for the future compiled by the full golf industry.
“The work that we’ve done has shown us that there is a lot of work to be done,” she said. “We’re all very aware of that. But there are resources allocated to the areas that need to be focused on.”
The AGIC was formed in 2006 to help unite the golf industry in Australia, and includes representatives from the Australian Sports Turf Managers Association (ASTMA), Australian Sporting Goods Association (ASGA), Golf Australia, Golf Management Australia, PGA of Australia, WPGA and the Society of Australian Golf Course Architects (SAGCA).
Australian Golf has welcomed the exciting news that golf will appear in a Commonwealth Games for the first time when the Games come to Victoria in 2026.
The sport appeared on the new competition list released today along with two other new sports – BMX and coastal rowing.
Golf made its reappearance at the 2016 Olympic Games after a gap of more than 100 years and was also part of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
But it has not been on a Commonwealth Games program before and Australian Golf has acknowledged the initiative of the Commonwealth Games Federation and the Victorian State Government in endorsing golf into the 2026 program.
The addition of golf has been driven by the International Golf Federation (IGF), which also runs the Olympic golf competition and the World Amateur Teams Championship, and the three peak bodies in Australian Golf – the PGA of Australia, the WPGA and Golf Australia.
To this point there is no announcement on the format of the competition. Given the vast array of quality golf courses across regional Victoria, the organisers will be spoilt for choice. Various regional golf facilities have expressed interest in hosting, noting that the 2026 Games are designated across regional hubs in Geelong, Ballarat, Gippsland and Bendigo.
James Sutherland, Golf Australia’s Chief Executive, said he was enthusiastic about the news that golf will be part of Commonwealth Games competition.
“This is a great win for golf,” said James Sutherland, Chief Executive of Golf Australia.
“This announcement validates golf’s increasing popularity and the enormous growth that the sport has enjoyed over the last three years. The golf industry has embarked on an aggressive growth strategy that involves bringing new people to the game. The Commonwealth Games in 2026 will provide a huge platform to further demonstrate golf’s appeal as a sport for all.
“Together with the PGA of Australia and WPGA Tour, Golf Australia looks forward to working with the IGF, CGF and State Government to deliver a wonderful spectacle and we encourage innovative thinking around a competition format that is inclusive of men and women, and attractive to golf fans new and old.”
Gavin Kirkman, Chief Executive of the PGA of Australia, said: “This is a terrific result for our sport. It’s going to provide playing opportunities for our young stars from around the Commonwealth.
“We absolutely love golf in the Olympic Games and we’re sure that the sport being in the Commonwealth Games will be important for golf going forward as well. It’s a big stage, the Commonwealth Games, and we’re privileged to be finally on it.”
Karen Lunn, Chief Executive of the WPGA Tour, said: “We’re really excited in particular to see some of our fantastic female players compete alongside the men on this stage. These are the kinds of platforms that we’re seeking to find for our sport and I’m delighted that we’ve been able to make it happen so quickly.”
The 2026 Commonwealth Games are to be held from March 17-29.
It is estimated the Games will contribute more than $3 billion to Victoria’s economy, creating more than 600 full-time equivalent jobs before the Games, 3900 jobs during the Games and a further 3000 jobs beyond the Closing Ceremony.
His bloodline is that of Parramatta royalty yet Alex Edge does not yet have a ticket to Sunday’s NRL Grand Final. If he’s being honest, Edge is not sure that he wants one.
The Assistant Professional at Castle Hill Country Club and competitor on the ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia has been burnt once before, in the stands as a 20-year-old with his father when the Eels went down to Melbourne in the 2009 decider.
They will be the underdogs again when they run out against the Penrith Panthers on Sunday evening seeking to end a 36-year premiership drought.
Edge’s uncle, Steve Edge, captained Parramatta to their very first premiership in 1981 and his father David also played for the club.
Although he was born in Penrith and worked in a golf shop frequented by Panthers players, Edge was only ever going to be a Parra fan.
“I was never a chance of following else,” he says emphatically.
“When I was a kid, Steve was still working for the club in Parra.
“Any time one of the corporate boxes wasn’t filled in the ‘90s and 2000s it seemed to be my mum, my dad, my brother and I sitting in a corporate box watching Parramatta.
“They were a good time back then that never quite got over the line and I got to meet them all and everything so it was pretty cool.”
Given his family history and 6’3” frame, Edge is asked of his rugby league background every time he tees it up in pro-ams across the country.
The career-ending injuries suffered by both his father and uncle and his mum’s insistence that he was “too little” to play footy helped to sway Alex towards golf at 12 years of age.
His grandparents on his mother’s side were both committee members at Springwood Country Club which is where he would first join as a cadet.
He has been told of his father pushing him around the golf course in a pro-am as a toddler and was hooked from the moment he started playing.
“Once I showed a bit of enthusiasm and ability at golf, my mum especially was pretty happy for me to stop playing footy,” adds Edge, whose best finish on the PGA Tour of Australasia last season was a tie for 21st at the NSW Open at Concord.
“Every pro-am I play – especially if we play in Queensland – every single time without question – and it happens in WA too because they call it rugby – everyone says, ‘Gee you must have played some footy.’
“The last time I scored a try was when I was 12 so a long time ago.
Inspired by the performances of close mate Daniel Gale and encouraged by the work he has done since joining the John Serhan coaching stable, Edge is hoping to make a strong early impression when the 2022/2023 season begins in Kalgoorlie in a fortnight.
But first, there’s a game to watch.
“Part of me has been pushing not too hard to try and get a ticket to save myself from the feeling in case it goes the wrong way,” concedes Edge, whose brother James is also a PGA Professional.
“I’m a massive Tiger Woods fan so when he won the ‘19 Masters, I feel like if they were to win it’s going to be a similar feeling.
“I’m more desperate for them to win the grand final but a close second is being desperate to go see them win it.”
