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Golf Australia today announced record growth in club participation and total participation, with a 6.4 per cent increase in club members and a 21 per cent (210,000) year-on-year rise in round players, according to AusPlay data.
The 2020-21 Golf Club Participation Report, which was prepared by Golf Business Advisory Services, showcases a combination of Golf Australia’s club member participation data and Sport Australia’s AusPlay data, with both data sets providing the golf industry a year-on-year view of the game’s participation trends.
More than 24,000 new players joined golf clubs in 2020-21, with the 6.4 per cent increase the largest jump in percentage terms recorded since data collection began in 1970, taking the total number to 409,970.
Junior members also experienced a major increase, with 16 per cent more kids under-18 joining their local club.
AusPlay’s data reveals that Australian Golf’s vision to be a sport for all is gradually becoming a reality, with an estimated 1,204,000 total golf participants playing nine-hole or 18-hole rounds of golf in the 2020-21 period.
This is supported by Golf Australia’s nine-hole round data which experienced 20 per cent growth with more than 517,000 rounds played in 2020-21.
At club level, Victoria experienced the biggest lift in membership (up 8.9 per cent) despite access to golf clubs being limited during the ongoing pandemic, while all states experienced substantial growth. South Australia grew by 7.2 per cent, WA by 7 per cent, QLD by 6.4 per cent, NSW by 4.8 per cent, Tasmania by 4.6 per cent and the Northern Territory by 0.5 per cent.
Golf Australia Chief Executive James Sutherland said the findings were “monumentally encouraging for the game”, pointing out that the results buck the gradual decline in golfers endured between 2000-2019.
“Our purpose is simple – we want more Australians playing more golf. There are many different forms of golf making it truly a game for everyone,” he said.
“It’s fun, it can be played at any age, and it’s proven to be good for your health. These are just some of the factors driving this phenomenal growth.
“Interestingly, these latest figures tell us there are far more casual golfers that are not members of a club than there are club members. This suggests we have a fantastic launching pad to continue to grow our sport and bring new people to our game.
“We want to keep driving this by making the sport more accessible and creating more options to play to ensure golf continues to be a sport for all.”
Sutherland said that the launch in December of the Australian Golf Strategy – a strategic plan for the entire golf industry – has highlighted participation as the most important factor in the health of the industry into the future.
“So many new people have come to the game in recent times, they need to be embraced so they remain in the game while we continue to innovate to appeal to more Australians,” said Sutherland.
“It will be vital for us to understand these newcomers – what they want is not going to be the same as it has been in the past, and we need to acknowledge that and evolve to suit our new markets.
“The elite game is also incredibly important in providing role models for our young golfers to aspire to, and we’re excited to see some of Australia’s best players in action at the Vic Open this week at 13th Beach.
“It’s been fantastic to see the ISPS Handa PGA Tour of Australasia and the WPGA Tour Australasia getting back into the full swing of things this season and there’s no doubt the tour will play an important role in building on the 16 per cent growth in junior members this year.”
Key findings of the report include:
• Positive member movement was evident in all key market segments. Both member clubs and social clubs enjoyed growth of around six per cent, driven by growth in male numbers of more than seven per cent. Junior numbers also enjoyed substantial growth, increasing by 15 per cent compared to the prior year.
• All states except Northern Territory enjoyed growth well in advance of recent trends. Despite long periods of course closures due to lockdown measures, Victoria recorded the largest growth of 8.9 per cent.
• New members coming to our sport are younger than the broader club member age profile, with 60 per cent of new members under the age of 50. Of new members, 34 per cent were between 15-34 in 2020-21, compared to 25 per cent in 2019-20.
• Female members make up 19 per cent of all golfers.
• The national new club member attraction rate was 13 per cent, with an attrition rate of 10 per cent. Of all new golfers in 2020-21, 60 per cent were under 50 years old, compared to the number of 30 per cent of current members.
• The average age of club members in Australia is 56.9 years. The average for male members is 55.3 years and for women, 64.3 years.
• There were 11,769 million competition rounds played in 2020-21, representing a 12 per cent increase over 2019-20.
• The report estimates ‘total golf participants’ at 1.204 million people, according to AusPlay, up 21 percent on the previous year.
• Get Into Golf, the adult introductory program, saw 313 clubs and facilities registered, with 224 actively participating, and 6594 participants in 1,230 programs. Of the total participants, 5,564 or 84 per cent were female.
LPGA Tour-bound Karis Davidson and Symetra Tour player Julienne Soo are among the six latest names confirmed to contest The Athena at Sandy Golf Links from February 26-27.
An innovative concept that showcases the skills and personalities of Australia’s best young female golfers, The Athena debuted in 2021 and returns next month with new faces and new features designed to engage golf fans in a whole new way.
To be broadcast live on Fox Sports/Kayo and via Sky Sport and Sky Sport NOW (online streaming) in
New Zealand from 12.30pm to 4.30pm each day (AEDT), The Athena organisers revealed the final six invitations on Monday on the back of a hugely successful Australian WPGA Championship at Royal Queensland Golf Club.
Fresh from her fourth-place finish at Royal Queensland, Davidson said she is thrilled to return to The Athena for a second time prior to beginning her rookie season on the LPGA Tour.
“It is so amazing to have another opportunity to compete in such a unique event for women’s golf. I loved competing in the Athena last year,” Davidson said.
The other players added on Monday are Sarah Wilson (QLD), Kelsey Bennett (NSW), Grace Lennon (VIC), Julienne Soo (VIC) and Hanee Song (NZ).
Song comes in for Amelia Garvey who was forced to withdraw from the event, Golf New Zealand agreeing to replace her with the next highest-ranked New Zealand player in the Rolex Women’s World Rankings.
Cassie Porter, Grace Kim, Kirsten Rudgeley and Steph Bunque had previously confirmed their appearance in The Athena with the final two spots in the field to be selected by the WPGA from the top 10 on the Athena Q Series leaderboard.
Those final two spots will be announced on February 7 on Athena (@athena_golf) and WPGA (@wpgatour) Instagram pages.
Karen Lunn, CEO of the WPGA Tour of Australasia said: “We want to remind all Queenslanders that they could join an already strong contingent of Queenslanders in Karis, Cassie and Sarah in the field of The Athena just by downloading the Golf Challenge App and competing in the Athena Q Series. You don’t need to be professional golfer. Anyone has the chance to compete!
“This type of qualification is a world-first for golf.”
In addition to $30,000 prizemoney and an endorsement contract for 12 months from adidas Golf, Golf Australia has also announced that the winner of the Athena will receive playing exemptions to the 2022/2023 Women’s Australian Open and 2023 Vic Open.
The PGA continues to support the Athena as another significant illustration of the collaboration between the PGA of Australia and the WPGA Tour of Australasia. Golf Australia also proudly supports the Athena in 2022.
Cybersecurity can at times be a daunting and even scary subject.
Whether as an individual seeking to secure your rapidly growing digital footprint or a large corporation with millions of dollars of assets that need protecting, knowing your cybersecurity needs is paramount. There is no one-size-fits-all solution and you need to develop a cybersecurity posture that directly aligns with your personal or organisational risk profile and appetite.
Consider this: would you rather play a round of golf with a set made to your exact specifications or borrow a half-set from a mate and hope for the best? That’s the difference between a cybersecurity platform that’s been designed for your unique requirements and a basic solution that protects against some, but not all, of the threats you face.
Knowing the difference is crucial. Working with a partner that can provide advice and recommendations without simply trying to sell you a product or service is essential. That’s where Fortinet comes in.
Dale Nachman, country manager, Australia, Fortinet, said, “Rather than just selling something to someone to solve an immediate problem, we consult and have discussions about where risk may occur and the important information that needs to be protected.
“It’s easy to spend a lot of money and secure everything but if you only need to secure a certain percentage then why spend the extra money? At Fortinet, we focus on protecting the things that need to be protected based on your risk appetite and budget.”
Fortinet is a global cybersecurity organisation with more than 7,000 staff worldwide and a growing interest in golf.
The company is now the title sponsor of the Fortinet Championship on the PGA TOUR and has entered into a multi-year agreement to be a premier partner of the ISPS Handa PGA Tour of Australasia.
That includes naming rights sponsorship of this week’s Fortinet Australian PGA Championship and Fortinet Australian WPGA Championship where Fortinet hopes to highlight the importance of cybersecurity to Australian golf fans.
Dale Nachman said, “Golf is one of those activities that was wide-reaching and gives us an opportunity to reach an audience of people that we felt were our customers and our partners. When the sponsorship opportunity arose, participating was a very logical conclusion for the business because it was an extension of some of the things that Fortinet was already doing.”
If golf has enjoyed a boom during the past two years of the COVID-19 pandemic, so too has the proliferation of cyberthreats.
As more people work from home, the digital footprints we create in our personal and business lives are becoming more intertwined, opening the door to cybercriminals scouring the internet for gaps that they can exploit.
Dale Nachman said, “Everyone’s personal brand is out there. Whether it’s in a corporate environment or in a personal environment, the minute information or access is worth something to somebody, it becomes a risk. We are seeing a lot more of that.”
This is why so much of Fortinet’s focus during the past two years has been centred on education.
Although Fortinet’s security fabric is used by organisations from small businesses to global financial institutions worth billions of dollars to identify and mitigate potential cyberthreats; the human element remains any data centre’s weakest point.
To overcome the challenge of the human element, Fortinet made its education programs free of charge, an initiative that continues to this day with up to a million users per month. These training programs fast-track the cyberawareness of users who have never spent more time online, and thus have never been more at risk. This increased awareness can help reduce the chances of a successful cyberattack.
To draw another parallel with the game of golf, you will get the most out of those clubs fit to your specifications if you spend time with a PGA professional showing you how to maximise their performance.
Stephen Saad, head of sales, Australia, Fortinet, said, “That’s just Fortinet trying to be a good corporate citizen and understanding that the more we can educate and influence people around being cyberaware, that’s half the battle. Then we have the technology to support that cyberawareness.”
For more information on the cybersecurity solutions offered by Fortinet for both personal and corporate use visit www.fortinet.com.
As some of Australia’s best young women play for the trophy shaped in her honour, Karrie Webb is planning a comeback to LPGA Tour golf.
But before you blink twice and sit upright, it’s an experimental thing.
When Webb takes a spot in the Gainbridge LPGA at Boca Rio from January 27, it will be her first start in a tour event since 2020.
However the World Golf Hall of Fame member said proximity to her home in Florida – the tournament is being played within half an hour’s drive – was important in her decision, which is based around testing her ability to withstand the rigours of tournament golf again.
“So I’m grinding for the exam as they say, putting in the hours again to see if I can be sharp enough to play in a tournament,” she told ABC Sport’s Quentin Hull today.
“So we’ll see how that goes, but if I’m not going to play in a tournament when I can play in my own home, then I’m probably not going to play anymore, so I’d better play when I don’t have to travel anymore.”
Webb told the ABC that she had endured a wear-and-tear neck injury in recent years and she wanted to test it under pressure.
But she dismissed any notion of playing full-time golf again.
“I don’t really see any sort of full-time or part-time schedule, really. It’d just be a handful of events here and there, events that I like,” Webb said.
“And obviously I want to play again in Australia. That’s definitely on the schedule for sure. Other than that, nothing set in stone at this stage.”
The seven-time major winner last played full-time in America in 2017. She played a limited schedule in 2018 and 2019 and just three events, two of them in Australia, in 2020.
The inaugural Karrie Webb Cup will be presented to the winner of the Fortinet Australian WPGA Championship at Royal Queensland on Sunday.
West Australian Minjee Lee has been awarded the Greg Normal Medal for the second time in four years at a gala dinner held at Brisbane’s City Hall on Tuesday night.
Victorious in 2018, Lee edged out a hot field to receive Australian golf’s highest honour, a field that included her younger brother Min Woo.
A celebration of the 2021 performances by the country’s high-performing men and women on the golf course, the Greg Norman Medal also serves as the official launch of the 2021 Fortinet Australian PGA Championship and Fortinet Australian WPGA Championship to be played at Royal Queensland Golf Club starting Thursday.
About to commence her eighth season on the LPGA Tour, the consistency that has been the hallmark of Lee’s career was again evident in 2021 but the high point came with a maiden major title at the Amundi Evian Championship.
A five-time winner on the LPGA Tour prior, a major was all that was missing from Lee’s list of accomplishments, coming back from a seven-stroke deficit to defeat Jeongeun Lee6 to join Jan Stephenson, Karrie Webb and Hannah Green as Australia’s only winners of women’s major championships.
“Winning a major championship was the realisation of a lifelong dream and to be able to cap it off with the Greg Norman Medal makes it even more special,” said Lee, who had a total of seven top-five finishes on the LPGA Tour, won $US1,542,332 in prizemoney and ended the year ranked No.7 in the world.
“There were so many outstanding results by Australian golfers in 2021 so to be recognised in this way is a great honour.
“The fact that my brother was also nominated is also a great source of pride and joy for our family.
“Being awarded the Greg Norman Medal in 2018 was a significant achievement in my career and winning it for a second time only adds to a year that I’ll never forget.
“I’d also like to congratulate all of the winners in the other categories in what was a great year for Australian golf.”
TPS Victoria champion and Order of Merit winner Brad Kennedy was named PGA Tour of Australasia Player of the Year while two-time Ladies European Tour winner Stephanie Kyriacou was awarded WPGA Tour of Australasia Player of the Year.
The Greg Norman Medal also recognises the coaches and PGA Professionals who have achieved high levels of success in their own endeavours.
Coach of Cameron Smith and 2021 Australian Amateur champion Louis Dobbelaar, Grant Field was named High Performance Coach of the Year, Albert Park’s Jamie McCallum received the Game Development Coach of the Year gong, Port Macquarie Golf Club PGA Professional James Single was named Club Professional of the Year and Luke Altschwager the Management Professional of the Year for the transformation he has overseen of Parkwood Village on the Gold Coast.
Greg Norman Medal winners list
Greg Norman Medal: Minjee Lee
ISPS Handa PGA Tour of Australasia Player of the Year: Brad Kennedy
WPGA Tour of Australasia Player of the Year: Stephanie Kyriacou
SParms Legends Tour Player of the Year: Andre Stolz
PGA of Australia National Coach of the Year (High Performance): Grant Field (Pelican Waters Golf Club)
PGA of Australia National Coach of the Year (Game Development): Jamie McCallum (Albert Park Driving Range)
PGA of Australia National Club Professional of the Year: James Single (Port Macquarie Golf Club)
PGA of Australia National Management Professional of the Year: Luke Altschwager (The Club at Parkwood Village)
PGA of Australia National Associate of the Year: Elliott Beel (Mackay Golf Club)
The Greg Norman Medal has become a family affair for the first time in its history with siblings Minjee and Min Woo Lee both nominated for Australian golf’s top honour.
A celebration of another outstanding year of performances by Australians across the globe, the Greg Norman Medal has become a feature of the Fortinet Australian PGA Championship week, bolstered even further this year by the inaugural Fortinet Australian WPGA Championship at Royal Queensland Golf Club.
The winner of the Greg Norman Medal will be announced at a gala dinner in Brisbane on Tuesday night along with the WPGA Tour of Australasia Player of the Year and the ISPS Handa PGA Tour of Australasia Player of the Year.
Minjee Lee is already a past winner of the Greg Norman Medal having become the first female winner in 2018 but will have to stave off a hot field of contenders for the 2021 gong, including her younger brother.
Minjee had seven top-five finishes on the LPGA Tour in 2021 and ended the year ranked No.7 in the world, her year etched into Australian golf folklore with a breakthrough major championship.
Starting the final round of the Aumundi Evian Championship seven shots off the lead, that long-awaited major appeared unlikely yet she closed with four birdies in her final five holes to force a playoff, defeating Korea’s Jeongeun Lee6 at the first sudden-death hole to equal the record for the largest final-round comeback in the history of women’s majors.
But little brother also had a moment to savour in 2021.
Min Woo triumphed in a playoff also at the abrn Scottish Open, his second DP World Tour title and the cornerstone of a year in which he finished inside the top 50 in the Official World Golf Rankings to earn a coveted invitation to The Masters in 2022.
One player with strong claims to upset the Lee family is Victorian Lucas Herbert.
Herbert led from start to finish in winning his second DP World Tour event at the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open, earned his PGA TOUR card at the Korn Ferry Tour Finals and then in just his third start as a member came from four strokes back to win the Butterfield Bermuda Championship.
Australia’s men’s Olympic golf duo Cameron Smith and Marc Leishman are also seeking to add a second Greg Norman Medal win to career resumes that continue to grow.
Smith is the most recent recipient of the Greg Norman Medal while Leishman was victorious in 2017, the pair nominated for years highlighted by their joint win at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans and performances at the Tokyo Olympics.
The Greg Norman Medal dinner will also showcase the outstanding work done by PGA Professionals in coaching and management.
Coach of the Lee siblings along with 2019 Greg Norman Medal winner Hannah Green, Ritchie Smith has been nominated for the High Performance Coach of the Year category along with Smith’s coach Grant Field, Gary Barter, Tim Wood, Gareth Jones and Scott Laycock.
Further awards include the Management Professional of the Year, Club Professional of the Year and Game Development Coach of the Year.
Past Greg Norman Medal winners
2015 Jason Day
2016 Jason Day
2017 Marc Leishman
2018 Minjee Lee
2019 Hannah Green
2020 Cameron Smith
Nominees
Greg Norman Medal
Minjee Lee
Min Woo Lee
Cameron Smith
Lucas Herbert
Marc Leishman
WPGA Player of Year
Su Oh
Stephanie Kyriacou
Hannah Green
PGA Tour of Australasia Player of the Year
Brad Kennedy
Bryden Macpherson
Blake Windred
Jack Thompson
Michael Sim
PGA National Management Professional Of The Year
Luke Altschwager – QLD
Brad Alton – VIC
Tristan McCallum – WA
Anthony Sinclair – NSW/ACT
PGA National Club Professional of the Year
Brent Barlow – QLD
Justin Burrage – VIC
Matthew Heath – WA
James Single – NSW/ACT
Ian Pritchard – SA
Matthew Docking – TAS
PGA National Coach of the Year (High Performance)
Grant Field – QLD
Tim Wood – VIC
Ritchie Smith – WA
Gary Barter – NSW/ACT
Gareth Jones – SA
Scott Laycock – TAS
PGA National Coach of the Year (Game Development)
John Collins – QLD
Jamie McCallum – VIC
Mark Tibbles – WA
Anthony Summers – NSW/ACT
Sarah King – SA
Adam Holden – TAS
The Foxtel Group has announced an agreement with the PGA Tour of Australasia which will see the 2021/22 golf season live and exclusive on Foxtel and Kayo.
In a major coup for fans, over 100 hours of live Australasian golf coverage will be broadcast including the Australian PGA Championship and Vic Open which will both also be available live and free on Kayo Freebies.
This is the first time Kayo will be putting this on free to ensure accessibility for a broad range of golf fans on the platform.
“The Foxtel Group is already the number one destination to watch golf globally including the PGA TOUR, the European Tour (DP World Tour), the Ryder Cup and all four Majors.
“Together with making two of the most popular Australian tournaments available free on Kayo, this new agreement is a great result for golf fans and our sports subscribers.”
Tournament broadcast dates
2021 Fortinet Australian PGA Championship 13-16 January 2022
2022 TPS Victoria presented by Webex by Cisco 5-6 February 2022
2022 Vic Open 10-13 February 2022
2022 TPS Murray River 19-20 February 2022
2022 TPS Sydney presented by Webex by Cisco 5-6 March 2022
2022 TPS Hunter Valley 12-13 March 2022
2022 NZ Open 31 March-3 April 2022
2022 NZ PGA 10 April 2022
2021 WA PGA 23-24 April 2022
2022 Queensland Open TBA
Link to Kayo Freebies: https://kayosports.com.au/freebies
The PGA of Australia and Club Car are pleased to announce a new five-year partnership which will see Club Car become the official golf vehicle of the PGA of Australia, ISPS Handa PGA Tour of Australasia and Fortinet Australian PGA Championship until 2026.
Club Car will also support a range of PGA Member programs including the PGA Member Pathway Program, National and State PGA Associate Championships and the PGA Professionals Championship.
“Club Car is the world’s leading manufacturer of golf and lightweight utility vehicles, we are delighted to have them continue their commitment to PGA Professionals and the Australian Golf Industry through this partnership with the PGA,” said Michael McDonald, Commercial Director of the PGA of Australia.
“The relationship between our two organisations has always focused on education and the continued expansion of knowledge of PGA Associates and PGA Professionals,” added Club Car Vice President Kevin Gates.
“This renewed partnership will continue to support the PGA in providing industry-specific training and the delivery of programmes designed by Club Car to enhance golf fleet operations within Australian clubs.
“We also look forward to working closely with PGA state and national offices to collaborate and provide assistance to each other as our industry continues to grow.”
2021 was an exciting and dynamic year for Club Car. After more than 25 years of Ingersoll Rand ownership, the company was acquired by Platinum Equity in a transaction of around $US1.7 billion.
Under the new structure, Club Car operates independently and speaking from company headquarters in Augusta, Georgia, President and CEO Mark Wagner said, “Throughout our 60-year history, Club Car has always been committed to the game of golf.
“We are excited about our future as a standalone company and continuing our partnership with the PGA of Australia will only help continue our growth and our support of golf.”
A range of Club Car golf and utility vehicles will be used by tournament officials at the upcoming Fortinet Australian PGA and Australian WPGA Championships to be held at the Royal Queensland Golf Club from January 13-16.
The past 12 months have provided many highlights for Australian golf; these are the 10 things we would like to see most in 2022.
1. An Australian with the green jacket Okay, it’s been eight years or so now since Scotty rolled in that curling 10-footer on the 10th green at Augusta National to win the green jacket. Before that, it was 60-odd years. But we will have at least six starters in Georgia in April including a trio of first-timers in Cam Davis, Lucas Herbert and Min Woo Lee. Generation Next is pretty damned impressive. One of them slipping on the green jacket would be an awesome start to the men’s majors for 2022.
2. Open season We miss the Men’s Australian Open, oh so much. Two years now it’s had to be cancelled because of the pandemic and the border closures and quarantine. But it’s listed for a return to Melbourne at Victoria Golf Club in November-December and that’s exciting. It will be 20 years since the last Open in Melbourne, also at Victoria, in 2002. Hopefully by then we will have some clarity on the health crisis and be able to draw some of our best players back to tee it up in the Melbourne Sandbelt.
3. Women power The new national golf strategy identifies that golf needs to get better at attracting women and girls. Too much competition too early is a problem, and so is the intimidation factor. There are time pressures to be considered. Fortunately, most of this has been recognized and is being addressed. If you take the glass-half-full approach, rather than focusing on previous failings, perhaps the game can reason that this presents a monumental opportunity? Women’s participation is the greatest potential upside for the game bar none, if golf gets it right.
4. Language matters Relating to the previous point, golf should be adopting language that is more inclusive and contemporary. ‘Ladies’ golf’ has been there for years and is easy for clubs and facilities to roll out through habit, but it doesn’t cut it in a time when we are trying attract young women. ‘Women’s golf’ is much better. Some clubs have picked this up, but not enough of them. We shouldn’t have an honour board that says: ‘Champions’ up in the clubhouse when what it really means (and should say) is: ‘Men’s champions’. We should have ‘women’s committee’ rather than ‘ladies’ committee’ and so on. It’s not that hard and it will make a difference, somewhere along the line.
5. Packed courses The incredible irony of the pandemic is that our sport has boomed as a result of it. Let’s hope that as the world opens up, we still see packed tee times in 2022. It’s been quite exciting to be around the game at a time of exponential growth (250,000 new players in 2020, and the biggest rise in membership ever recorded). If golf can retain even half of those people, and hold on to the rusted-on golfers as well, it could look back at this period as a turning point for the game in this country.
6. Public golf thriving This is such a big area of concern for our game. Local councils have their eye on more green space and golf is in the gun. Northcote in Melbourne is the latest course to be targeted, but before that Victoria Park in Brisbane was lost, and Elsternwick in Melbourne to mention a couple. Rosny Park in Hobart was closed and Moore Park in Sydney was threatened (although recently seems to have been reprieved). Golf has to fight hard for its place and to do so, it needs to tell its great story. The mental and physical health benefits to participants, the oneness with nature, the social interaction, the environmental benefits, the fact that it’s the No. 1 sport for 50-plus men in this country (and No. 2 for women), the fact that it’s a game anyone can play. Families can play together like no other sport. It would be nice if a few more councils actually recognized this.
7. Tiger Woods playing some more. Watching the former World No. 1 playing in Florida recently was a treat. What’s next for him? That might be the story of 2022 on a worldwide golfing scale. How cool would it be to see him teeing it up and competing at the Masters in April. He’s already completed arguably the greatest comeback of all time when he won the Masters in 2019 after major back surgery. Maybe he’s got another shot in the locker on that score?
8. St Andrews dreaming It’s the 150th Open Championship in 2022, back at the Old Course and how good would it be to see an Aussie in the mix in July? Kel Nagle won the Centenary Open in 1960, incidentally, so the omens are good. Who might that be? Maybe Cam Smith, the wedge king from Brisbane who hasn’t really contended in four previous starts but who has emerged as our best male player over the past year or so.
9. The cluster Three Australians graduated from the LPGA Tour qualifying series – Karis Davidson, Steph Kyriacou and Sarah Jane Smith (who to be fair, has been on that tour for a decade). Given that Minjee Lee in in the top 10 in the world and Hannah Green in the top 25, and adding in Katherine Kirk, Sarah Kemp and Su Oh, Australia is going to have some serious oomph on that tour in 2022. In particular Kyriacou has been quite dominant in Europe, has been brilliant in her early professional career, and shapes as a real star.
10. Sibling sensations What a story the growth of the Lees of Perth is in golf! Now that the younger Min Woo has joined the accomplished Minjee in the top echelon of the game, the possibilities are endless. A pair of majors in the same year? It is going to be fascinating to watch in 2022 as Min Woo tries to play his way on to the US PGA Tour with his starts in the majors and the World Golf Championships, in Minjee drives toward world No. 1 and more majors.
Play for a share of prizemoney on some of the most spectacular golf courses on the planet in the unique Pro-Am Tour format available exclusively to PGA Members.
Designed with Vocational Members specifically in mind, Pro-Am Tours where the Professional recruits and plays with three club members have proven to be extremely popular. And with borders reopening and international travel once again possible there are two trips on sale that offer the experience of a lifetime.
Hosted by Air Adventure Golf, the first three events held at King Island since 2018 have proven to be so popular that the January 2022 tour sold out in just two weeks.
Many of those groups are return visitors so Air Adventure have added a second event for 2022 in May with just 25 groups available.
PGA Professionals who recruit three members at their club to join the tour will enjoy an all-expenses paid trip that includes flights, accommodation, transfers and meals.
Played across Cape Wickham and Ocean Dunes, the King Island experience is one that every golfer must enjoy at least once in their lifetime and Tour Promoter Jon Perrett is eager to see plenty of new faces in May.
“The response to the January Pro-Am was incredible and the majority of those bookings were PGA Professionals who have done the trip in the past,” said Perrett.
“With the borders reopening demand is going through the roof so we thought adding a second event in May would give others the chance to come down and experience King Island for themselves.”
Now is also the time to start planning international travel and there could be few better golf destinations than a week in Ireland.
CGE Golf are staging the Iconic Ireland Pro-Am from April 16-22, 2023 where PGA Professionals and their three amateur teammates will be treated to rounds at three of the most jaw-dropping courses in the world in Ballybunion, Doonbeg and Lahinch.
Included in the package will be a welcome dinner and presentation gala function at the Trump Doonbeg Hotel where the tour will be based.
The tour consists of a practice round, one round team event and a 54-hole Pro-Am Stableford Tournament for the prize pool of $55,000 with daily and overall prizes for the amateurs in the field.
The PGA Member’s ground cost is free of charge, while the amateur cost has been supported by Doonbeg Golf Links & Hotel, making this a most attractive package. Qatar Airlines will be offering a special flight price, departing from all major cities for pro-am participants.
There is also the opportunity to extend the trip into Northern Ireland and schedule a stopover in Doha on the return leg for those who take up the special price offered by Qatar Airways.
“We know international travel is going to be highly sought after in the next few years and for golfers there are few more desirable destinations than Ireland,” said CGE Golf Director Steven Baron.
“We created these tours specifically for PGA Members who don’t ordinarily get to play tournament golf and who have wonderful relationships with the members at their respective clubs.
“This is a way to further enhance those relationships, play some extraordinary golf courses and with a limit of 30 PGA Members pick up a nice slice of the prize money at the same time.”
For more information on either tour click the links below.
