Want to recieve exclusive news, videos, tournament highlights, golf important tips and more ?
Want to recieve exclusive news, videos, tournament highlights, golf important tips and more ?
Kiama Golf Club’s Wil Daibarra has overcome a six-shot deficit to take out the PGA Associate National Championship at Cobram Barooga Golf Club.
Not proficient enough to join the Playing stream of the Membership Pathway Program at the start of his final year in the program, Daibarra matched the round of the week at Cobram Barooga’s West Course to finish three clear of South Australian Joe Hodgson (70) with 36-hole leader Ethan Chambers (70) third.
Overnight leader Zach Ion (Virginia Golf Club) fell out of contention with a round of 5-over 77 on Friday, paving the way for Daibarra to make his charge to the top of the leaderboard.
Only 2-under at the turn courtesy of birdies at four and five, Daibarra caught fire early in the back nine.
He made four birdies in the space of five holes and then added a seventh at the par-3 16th to reach 15-under-par.
A nervy eight-foot par putt on the last provided a final test, Daibarra passing in flying colours to complete a round of 7-under 65 and a three-stroke win.
Without a strong resume of tournament wins, Daibarra credited a more relaxed approach for his ability to claim the national crown in his final year in the program.
“Still can’t really believe it to be honest,” said Daibarra.
“Just a little bit of a different head space. Just relaxing a little bit more, don’t get so worked up on the good or bad shots and just kind of hit one shot at a time.
“That was mainly the difference
“I was pretty nervy but felt a lot better today than yesterday and I’m just really, really happy.
“Over the moon.”
Unsure whether his game was up to the standard to make it on tour, Daibarra began the Membership Pathway Program at Kiama in 2022.
When he fell short of the criteria needed to enter the Playing stream this year, Daibarra chose Game Development but showed his game stands up against the best Associates in the country.
Final leaderboard
1 Wil Daibarra 68-71-69-65—273
2 Joseph Hodgson 68-70-68-70—276
3 Ethan Chambers 68-65-74-70—277
4 Zach Ion 65-69-68-77—279
5 Daniel Gill 68-73-70-70—281
Virginia Golf Club Associate Zach Ion leads the PGA Associate National Championship yet remains stuck on the couch through three rounds at Cobram Barooga Golf Club.
Ion’s round of 4-under 68 on Thursday was the only bogey-free round of the day, his 14-under par total through 54 holes giving him a four-stroke buffer from Mount Osmond Golf Club’s Joe Hodgson (68).
What it hasn’t done, however, is improve his sleeping arrangements at the house he is sharing with fellow Queenslanders this week.
“I’ve actually still been on the couch all week, which is outrageous,” said Ion.
“I think a couple of them have left now so hopefully I can squeeze onto a double bed.”
Wherever he ends up, it could still be a restless night for Ion who is seeking to claim the biggest win of his three years in the Membership Pathway Program.
Co-leader after Round 1, Ion trailed by one after the second round and now very much finds himself as the hunted as the tournament nears its climax.
“It’s a new feeling to be up – and I didn’t know I was up four – but game-plan wise, I’ve probably got to stick with pretty much the same thing again,” said the tall left-hander.
“It’s working. I’m not really taking too many risks. Just keep focused, keep relaxed and enjoy tomorrow.”
A prodigious bomber off the tee, Ion had to lean on his short game to stay bogey-free in Round 3, particularly early in his round.
He conjured a couple of crucial par saves and then made birdie at the 161-metre par-3 fifth.
Five more pars followed before he built a handy advantage with birdies at 11, 14 and 18.
“It was actually a bit more scrambling than it’s been this week,” Ion conceded.
“Got off to a bit of a nervous start. I’ve normally been hunting guys down rather than being up there third and fourth round of state champs so it was a bit nervy around the start.
“I made a couple of good putts early, kind of pushed my momentum forward for the rest of the round and then started playing a bit more like myself for the rest of it.”
A double-bogey at the par-4 17th made Hodgson’s assignment that little bit tougher, 36-hole leader Ethan Chambers (The Lakes GC) one shot further back at 9-under after a round of 2-over 74 highlighted by an eagle at the par-5 11th.
Aggression off the tee and a simple strategy on the greens has seen Ethan Chambers take a one-stroke lead at the halfway mark of the PGA Associate National Championship at Cobram Barooga Golf Club.
A First Year Associate at The Lakes Golf Club in Sydney, Chambers matched the low round of the tournament on day two, his 7-under 65 giving him a 36-hole total of 11-under and a one shot buffer from Round 1 co-leader Zach Ion (69).
Those in the morning wave were greeted by perfect conditions at Cobram Barooga’s West Course, conditions that changed markedly for the afternoon groups.
A thunderstorm rolled through mid afternoon that caused a delay of one hour, the wind whipping up and heavy rain leaving casual water in some of the bunkers.
Chambers and Ion were both safely tucked away in the clubhouse by the storm hit, Chambers playing the four par-5s in 4-under par to surge to the top of the leaderboard.
“I’d definitely say I’m more an aggressive player,” said Chambers.
“I’ve been trying to take driver where I can, but then I understand some holes I’ve got to take my medicine.
“Just been poking it around with 2-iron and 3-iron so I’ve got in the bag this week.
“A lot depends on the wind, where the wind’s at. But I’ll keep sticking to it.”
Four-under and bogey three through nine holes, Chambers dropped a shot at the par-4 10th but hit back with birdies at 11 and 12 and then an eagle at the par-5 14th.
With the West Course greens nudging 12 on the Stimpmeter, Chambers said controlling the trajectory of his approach shots was crucial.
“Really just going to keep doing what I’m doing, keeping it below the hole,” Chambers added.
“It’s a big part of my game-plan this week given the greens are so good.
“I’m just going to keep it the same and see how we go.”
Ion followed up his 65 on day one with a 3-under round on Wednesday, the tall left-hander from Virginia Golf Club in Brisbane coming home in 3-under 33 to sit just one off the lead.
“What I’m doing is working,” Ion said of his game-plan for the final two rounds.
“A couple of holes today the game-plan didn’t work as well, but that was just due to poor swings.
“It’ll just be keeping my head nice and calm, keep my breathing going and try and go low again tomorrow.”
First Year Associate at Gold Creek Country Club in the ACT, Lachlan Chamberlain, sits in third spot four strokes off the lead thanks to a round of 4-under 68 featuring five birdies and one bogey.
Round 1 co-leader Linus Yip (Avondale Golf Club) is in a share of fourth after a round of 1-over 73 in the afternoon, joined at 6-under by Joseph Hodgson (70) from Mount Osmond Golf Club in Adelaide.
Avondale Golf Club Associate Linus Yip has shrugged off indifferent form and rid himself of last year’s scar tissue to make a blistering start to the PGA Associate National Championship at Cobram Barooga Golf Club.
Yip and Third Year Virginia Golf Club Associate Zach Ion both took full advantage of perfect conditions and pure putting surfaces to post rounds of 7-under 65 on day one at Cobram Barooga’s West Course.
They sit three strokes clear of a group of seven players at 4-under-par with an additional four players just one shot further back at 3-under.
Admitting that his form in 2024 hasn’t quite matched the results he delivered in his first year of the Membership Pathway Program, Yip was thrilled to turn a brilliant start to his round into a complete performance.
“I’ve actually been struggling this year results-wise,” said Yip.
“Had a really good year last year, had a fair few wins. The only thing that was lacking was a four-day win under my belt.
“It’s good to get this kind of monkey off my back, being able to just finish off a good round.
“Last year I actually had a pretty good round going in the third round and wasn’t able to finish it off.
“Mentally, it was good just to get over that scar tissue coming in today.”
Yip began the championship with an eagle at the par-5 first and then followed it up with an approach to two feet at the par-4 second to be 3-under in no time.
He had six additional birdies to go with two bogeys but had company at the top of the leaderboard by day’s end.
Ion himself was 4-under through six holes on Tuesday but dropped a shot at the par-3 eighth.
With birdies at 10, 11, 14, 15 and 16 Ion sat one clear at 8-under but made a final bogey at the par-4 17th to sit alongside Yip at 7-under.
Playing in his third National Championship, Ion enjoyed being back on the Cobram Barooga greens but credited his driver with opening so many birdie opportunities during the round.
“Really good with driver today, leaving myself in good spots,” was Ion’s assessment.
“When I needed to lay up, I left myself a good number and with the greens as good as these are, it’s good to be able to fly behind the pin and spin it back, which is different to what I’m used to.
“Made a couple of longer putts too which really helped the score.”
Round 2 starts at 7:30am AEST on Wednesday morning with the afternoon wave to commence at 11:20am.
Queensland Associate champion Jack Wright hopes to use a week in the company of Cameron Smith to push for national honours at this week’s PGA Associate National Championship at Cobram Barooga Golf Club.
Wright is one of six state champions in the field of 130 who will play four rounds on the West Course at Cobram Barooga, William Bayliss (NSW), Daniel Gill (VIC), Joseph Hodgson (SA), Azer-Benjiman Pehlic (WA) and Aaron Mackay (TAS) also hoping to complete the state-national double.
The NSW/ACT PGA champion in 2023, Wright’s recent victory at Windaroo Lakes Golf Club paved the way for the Coolangatta Tweed Heads second-year associate to tee it up at the Queensland PGA Championship at Nudgee Golf Club.
He made the cut there and believes those competitive reps will hold him in good stead at Cobram Barooga.
“I feel like we’ve played a fair few big events lately,” said Wright.
“Played Queensland Associates and then PGA Champs last week coming off a tough course, tough greens.
“I played nine holes here yesterday and it’s a little bit easier, but the greens are rolling really well.”
Cobram Barooga’s Old Course has received high praise from players who have played the Webex Players Series Murray River tournament in recent years.
Course Superintendent Terry Vogel and his team have been determined to make sure that the West Course can lay claim to similar plaudits.
“We have put a lot of work into the West Course,” said Vogel.
“Both courses now paly the same condition-wise. The greens are running at 12 on the Stimpmeter this week so they should provide a good test for the players.”
Wright has begun to adapt his game to the bent greens of Cobram Barooga from the grainy surfaces Queensland is known for, an adjustment he says is easy to make.
“It’s a much easier adjustment than playing on grain,” he added.
“Lucky to be from Queensland and be used to that, but coming down here it’s pretty much where you aim and hit it, it rolls straight there.
“It’s actually a lot easier.”
It took Levi Sclater three playoff holes to claim the 2023 National Championship in his first year of the Membership Pathway Program at Rossdale Golf Club in Melbourne.
Sclater returns seeking to go back-to-back with the strategy that proved to be so effective 12 months ago.
“I reckon I’m going to stick to a similar plan from last year,” said Sclater.
“It really worked and kind of suited the course. So I’ll probably just stick to that.
“I had a practise round yesterday and hit it around pretty nicely, so it should be a good week.”
Starting Tuesday from 7:30am, the PGA Associate National Championship is played over 72 holes and boasts $60,000 in total prize money.
Other players to watch this week include Bryce Pickin (NSW), Damon Stephenson (Qld), Zach Ion (Qld) and Joel Mitchell (Vic) while George van Vuuren (South Africa) and Alister Balcombe (GB&I) have been granted spots in the field as champions of their respective PGA’s.
Coolangatta-Tweed Heads Golf Club Associate Jack Wright has a date with Cameron Smith after his two-stroke win at the Queensland PGA Associate Championship at Windaroo Lakes Golf Club.
Nursing a one-shot advantage heading into Thursday’s final round, Wright held the likes of Adam Migur (69), Damon Stephenson (73) and Joel Mitchell (71) at bay with a near faultless 3-under 70 and 12-under total.
As champion, Wright is now exempt into next week’s Queensland PGA Championship at Nudgee Golf Club where Smith will play the first of four events this summer on the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia.
Although focused intently on closing out the win at Windaroo Lakes, Wright conceded that pre-round his thoughts turned momentarily to the possibility of sharing the stage with the 2022 Open champion.
“At the start it definitely was,” Wright admitted.
“I just was very grateful to get the job done over the good players that were chasing me today.”
Seeking to add to his win at the 2023 NSW/ACT PGA Associate Championship, Wright surged to the lead with a superb 7-under 66 in Round 3.
With his nose in front, the second year Associate knew that minimising bogeys would be just as important as plundering more birdies.
Birdies at two of his opening three holes was the ideal start, staying ahead of the field with eight straight pars.
Back-to-back birdies at 12 and 13 further extended his advantage, enough so that his bogey on 14 would be just a minor inconvenience.
The son of long-time Queensland PGA Professional John Wright, Jack said a home state title is the highlight of his time in the Membership Pathway Program to date.
“Winning your home state championship is definitely sweeter,” said Wright.
“Obviously winning New South as your first win and getting that off the board was one of the best feelings ever. But to win your home state is probably one of my biggest goals in the program.”
Jack Wright conjured a sensational third-round 66 to surge into the lead on day three of the Queensland PGA Associate Championship at Windaroo Lakes Golf Club.
Wright, the Associate Professional at Coolangatta-Tweed Heads Golf Club, had six birdies and an eagle to vault into the outright lead at 9-under par.
His nearest challenger is midway leader Damon Stephenson at 8-under, the midway leader having a quieter day with a 74.
Canadian Adam Migur and Victoria’s Joel Mitchell are in the next group at 6-under.
Runner-up to Riley Taylor last year, Wright ignited his round with an eagle at the par-5 third hole and made three more birdies on the front side, and another three on the back to post 7-under for the day.
Jack Wright is the son of Maroochy River PGA Professional John Wright; his brother Mackenzie is also a PGA Professional at Maroochy and they grew up in pro shops.
He learned the game in rural Victoria and then moved to Yamba in New South Wales when his father was posted there some years ago. His father is his only coach.
Earlier this year won the biggest single-day prize cheque in Associates history at Royal Queensland, and he has been a prolific winner in Associates events over the past two years, including the NSW championship last year.
“I probably just hung patient,” he said. “All week I felt like I’ve been playing well, and things weren’t going my way for two days. I felt like ‘my time will come’ and it definitely came today.”
Wright and Stephenson have been dominant at this level in 2025, and Wright is anticipating a great head-to-head contest. “I’ve got a lot of respect for Damon,” he said. “Great player. I can’t wait to test myself against him out there.”
Adam Migur and Damon Stephenson have a share of the first-round lead at the Queensland PGA Associate Championship being played at Windaroo Lakes golf course.
The Canadian Migur, who is based in Melbourne, and Stephenson opened with a pair of 2-under 71s to sit on top in the $40,000, 72-hole tournament.
Three players – Ben Hollis, Justin Morley and Michael Schimak-Orrell – are a shot farther back at 1-under par.
Migur had three birdies and an eagle at the short par-4 sixth hole in his round.
“I just tried to stay really patient. I knew looking at years past, it was tough challenge this week and just tried to take my chances when I could and stay pretty keel throughout the whole round and not let bogey get me down,” he said.
Migur said Windaroo Lakes “plays right into my strength” as a venue, and paid tribute to his coach, Andrew Cooper, for making the adjustment from the Melbourne Sandbelt to a Queensland course.
“He (Cooper) is really a smart guy and we kind of work on looking forward and saying, ‘okay, this is a different type of grass and technique for chipping is usually a little different up here’.
“And honestly the greens are so cute today. I didn’t even think that they were anything in my mind of what Queensland greens are like. So didn’t really have to worry about that. And chipping has been pretty comfortable. I mean, I’ve been getting some good lies, so we’ll see how the week goes.”
Stephenson, 32, had four birdies but a double bogey 6 at the par-4 eighth hole marred what otherwise would have been a sensational day.
PHOTO: Adam Migur drives during his opening round at Windaroo Lakes.
The Queensland PGA Associate Championship will continue to call the City of Logan and Windaroo Lakes Golf Club home after a new three-year deal was struck on the eve of the 2024 event.
This year’s championship began with a pro-am on Sunday with Round 1 to begin at 7am Monday morning.
The 2024 champion will be crowned on Thursday afternoon with the final round to feature its very own ‘party hole’, marking the sixth year in succession that the Queensland PGA Associate Championship has been held at Windaroo Lakes in the City of Logan.
That run will extend to nine years by the completion of the 2027 event as more than 250 attendees including players, spectators and industry officials from Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and Western Australia converge on the City of Logan.
With past winners including Greg Norman and Rod Pampling, City of Logan Mayor, Jon Raven, is thrilled that the championship will continue to feature on the City of Logan sporting calendar.
“It’s great to have visitors come from all over the region for this fantastic event in Logan,” Mayor Raven said.
“Locking this is in for another three years demonstrates what a great asset Windaroo Lakes Golf Course is for our city.”
The three-year extension was also warmly received by Windaroo Lakes Golf Club owners Kevin Dilks and Henri Vanbaak.
“We see great value in this event not just for our club, but the community,” Mr Dilks said.
“This being our sixth straight year in hosting, it has become the big event of the year that our members get behind and make it a real spectacle for spectators and players alike.
“To lock it in until 2027 and hopefully beyond is fantastic.”
Murwillumbah’s Riley Taylor triumphed in 2023 but won’t be back to defend his title having completed the PGA’s Membership Pathway Program.
Last year’s runner-up, Jack Wright (Coolangatta-Tweed), Damon Stephenson (Parkwood), Zach Ion (Virginia) and Dylan Knox (Indooroopilly) are the best of the Queensland chances yet will face stiff competition from West Australian Aaron Dobson, New South Welshman Hayden Gulliver and the Victorian quartet of Matthew Stenson, Joel Mitchell, Luke Porritt and Lachlan Robinson.
As for the local hopes based in the City of Logan, Mt Warren Park trio Yevin Samararatne, Kai Oide and Tiger Boontang will have plenty of hometown support along with Anand McCullum from Meadowbrook Golf Club.
A total of 130 players will tee off in Round 1 on Monday with the winner to be crowned on Thursday, October 24.
Royal Fremantle Golf Club Associate Azer-Benjamin Pehlic has held off a spirited charge from Aaron Dobson to complete a wire-to-wire win at the ADH Club Car WA PGA Associate Championship presented by Acushnet.
When the final round of the 72-hole championship teed off at Wembley Golf Course on Wednesday morning, Pehlic and Dobson were the only two players under par.
The leader since day one, Pehlic began with a four-stroke advantage as he and Dobson separated themselves from the field even further.
At one point early in the back nine Dobson had narrowed the gap to just two strokes yet Pehlic never faltered, going bogey free in a round of 5-under 67 for a total of 13-under par and a four-shot win.
Dobson also shot 67 on the final day to take second at 9-under par, Daniel Hoeve (67) outright third at 3-under.
Confident the aggressive approach that had served him so well would stand up under pressure, Pehlic conceded that he felt the heat early as Dobson made his move.
“To be honest, at the start, he did put quite a lot of pressure on,” said Pehlic.
“At the same time, in the back of my head, I just kept saying to myself, I can do the exact same thing.
“Things don’t really change. I clearly have the ability, looking at the three days prior.
“I just kept it solid, focused on my own game, and it came out really good.”
With four birdies in his opening six holes, Dobson emerged as a genuine threat to the title.
Pehlic extended his advantage to three shots with a birdie at the par-4 seventh, Dobson inching closer again with an eagle at the par-5 11th to Pehlic’s birdie.
A final birdie at the par-5 17th restored Pehlic’s three-shot buffer, Dobson’s closing bogey resulting in the four-stroke margin of victory.
In his first year of the Membership Pathway Program, the 25-year-old hopes to use this win as a catalyst for greater playing opportunities in future.
“I’ve worked very, very hard on my game,” said Pehlic.
“I would love to be on a main tour after I finish my PGA training, which will be awesome as well.
“At the end of the day, I love to compete. Competition drives me in the morning. I just want to win everything and anything really.
“Hopefully end up on a nice tour one day and make a good living.”
