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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.”
A hole-in-one provided the catalyst for Azer-Benjamin Pehlic to build a four-stroke lead going into the final round of the ADH Club Car WA PGA Associate Championship presented by Acushnet at Wembley Golf Course.
Leading by two after Round 1, the Royal Fremantle Golf Club Associate’s advantage was trimmed to one in Tuesday morning’s second round as Aaron Dobson (74) and Daniel Hoeve (69) joined Pehlic as the only players under par.
Following a quick turnaround, Dobson and Arno Madel both started the afternoon’s third round strongly to continue to apply leaderboard pressure.
But two birdies and an ace at the par-3 16th would deliver Pehlic a tournament-low 6-under 66 and 8-under total for a four-shot buffer with one round to play.
It was the fifth hole-in-one of Pehlic’s golf life and undoubtedly the most timely.
“I pretty much had the same club I had in my hand in the morning,” Pehlic explained post-round.
“Pretty much just said to Daniel, ‘I’m going to hit a nice little cut with a knockdown 9-iron and pretty much straight at it.
“It landed but I didn’t see anything.
“I was going to mark the ball that was next to the flag and I realised it was Jeff’s. Then I looked to my right and saw it was in the hole.”
Given he opened the door with a 3-over 75 in the morning round, Pehlic was proud to bounce back in such impressive fashion in the afternoon.
“I was just super aggressive today, as I normally am,” he added.
“This morning was a little bit rough. I usually tend to get quite angry at myself, which makes me play good. I just know I can be better than what I shot in the morning.
“To come back with the 66 was really good.
“I’ll stay aggressive. It’s been working so far so I don’t see why I can’t finish the job.”
At 4-under par, Dobson is the only player within eight shots of Pehlic with 18 holes to play.
A swing adjustment between rounds resulted in a five-shot improvement, an improvement that could have been even greater had the putter cooperated a little more.
With ground to make up, Dobson knows that he’ll need make more putts from outside six feet to challenge Pehlic for the title.
“I hit it quite well tee-to-green in the second ground and really could have had anything,” he said.
“To be honest, I just didn’t hole any putts at all. I think my longest putt was a six-footer.
“I’ll attack where I know I can attack on the holes that I know I’m comfortable on and then just use my 3-iron that I’ve been hitting quite well off the tee on the holes with doglegs.
“Try and take some more opportunities on the greens would be nice, too.”
The final round begins at 6:44am AWST with the lead group to tee off at 8:04am.
In-form Royal Fremantle Associate Azer Pehlic will take a two-stroke lead into day two of the ADH Club Car WA PGA Associate Championship presented by Acushnet at Wembley Golf Course in Perth.
A winner of PGA Open Matches at Melville Glades and Marylands in the past month, Pehlic opened with a superb 5-under 67 on Monday to sit two shots clear of fellow West Australians Aaron Dobson (Marangaroo Golf Course) and Arno Madel (Seaview GC) who both signed for rounds of 3-under 69.
With $10,000 in prize money on offer, top Associates from Victoria and New South Wales have made the trip to WA but it was the locals, led by Pehlic, who came to the fore on day one.
Out in the first group of the day, Pehlic dropped a shot at the par-5 first but responded in brilliant fashion, making three straight birdies to set the pace up front.
“I made a quick bounce-back birdie on two so that was really, really good,” said Pehlic.
“Hit it to about 20 feet and then drained the putt and pretty much did the same for the next two holes.”
There was another bogey at the long par-4 fifth but a birdie at nine and eagle at the par-5 11th once again made Pehlic the man to catch.
His third and final bogey of the round came at the par-4 12th but his strategy to place a premium on positioning off the tee paid dividends with further birdies at 15 and 17.
“Just put the ball in play was my main mindset,” said Pehlic. “Make sure I’ve given myself an opportunity to hit a good approach shot.
“Most of the time it did work and then if I did hit it in the bush, just make sure I take my medicine if it’s in a rough spot.
“Controlling the bads over trying to really capitalise on the goods was really good about my game so happy with that.”
With players to complete 36 holes on Tuesday, Pehlic is adamant that his strategy of controlled aggression won’t change.
“Don’t take my foot off the pedal,” is Pehlic’s plan.
“I’m a pretty aggressive player, so just try and attack every pin like I normally do and try to go as low as I can.”
Round 2 begins at 6:20am AWST on Tuesday followed by a quick turnaround for Round 3 commencing at 11:32am local time.
Yamba’s Reilly Wunderlich has claimed the biggest win of his career thanks to a 2&1 victory over Conor Whitelock in the 36-hole Pampling Plate Final on Thursday.
Completing a marathon week at Caboolture Golf Club where he played a total of 137 holes in just four days, Wunderlich took advantage of a strong start to build an early lead and then hold off Whitelock’s late fightback.
The fact that Whitelock slept through his alarm and only arrived at the golf course 13 minutes before the match began may have worked in Wunderlich’s favour.
He won the opening hole to go 1 up before Whitelock squared the match again by winning the third hole.
But with wins at the fourth, seventh, 10th and 11th holes Wunderlich was soon 4 up, his lead never dropping below two holes until midway through the afternoon round.
Originally from Ballina but now undertaking the Membership Pathway Program at The Brisbane Golf Club, Whitelock won the 29th hole to get back to 1 down but Wunderlich responded by winning the next hole to return to a 2-up advantage.
The pair would halve the next five holes for Wunderlich to clinch a 2&1 victory and his second major title in the past month having won the Queensland Foursomes Championship with Jack Wright, who served as his caddie on Thursday.
“It’s so good to finally get an individual win off the back,” said Wunderlich, pictured with tournament host Marge Pampling.
“Been knocking on the door for a while now, so good to get it finally over with.”
In an all-New South Wales Northern Rivers final, Wunderlich admitted that it was a somewhat bittersweet victory given he and Whitelock grew up playing junior golf together.
“It’s certainly a lot harder to beat one of your good mates,” he added.
“Obviously you still want to beat him but it’s a lot harder to do it to one of your good mates and make them feel so bad.”
Whitelock was endeavouring to complete the Pampling Plate double having won Monday’s 36-hole Pro-Am qualifier.
Although disappointed to fall just short in the final, Whitelock leaves Caboolture proud of his performance.
“Obviously not the finish that I wanted, but I’m still very chuffed to be a finalist in this event in my first year here,” said Whitelock, who played 124 holes after contesting last week’s NSW/ACT Associate Championship at Tura Beach Country Club.
“I couldn’t really imagine it going too much better without winning.
“Obviously sleeping through the alarm didn’t help, getting here 13 minutes before the tee time.
“Got off to a rough start and trying to claw back, just couldn’t quite get there but was close in the end.”
Ballina’s Conor Whitelock is on track to complete the Pampling Plate double after earning a place in the final against fellow Northern Rivers product Reilly Wunderlich at Caboolture Golf Club on Thursday.
Winner of Monday’s 36-hole Pro-Am to qualify as the No.1 seed, Whitelock needed 19 holes to move past Justin Morley in Wednesday morning’s quarter-final and then edged Campbell Jones 1 up in their afternoon semi-final.
Wunderlich was also taken to the 18th hole in both the quarter-finals and semi-finals, defeating Ben Hollis 1 up in the morning matches and then advancing to the final with a 1 up win over Zach Ion.
Whitelock and Wunderlich will now face off in Thursday’s 36-hole final in the Pampling Plate’s 20th anniversary, the two former junior combatants ready to put friendship aside for one gruelling day.
“I grew up playing junior golf with Reilly so I know him really well,” said Whitelock, who recently transferred to The Brisbane Golf Club to continue the PGA’s Membership Pathway Program.
“We’re good mates. We go back to 2013 or 2014 playing Northern Rivers District Golf Association junior events.
“I’m excited to play him tomorrow, it should be fun.”
“Played a lot of junior golf with Conor,” confirmed Wunderlich, who last month won the Queensland Foursomes Championship with fellow Associate Jack Wright.
“Me and him have been pretty good mates for a long time, so should be a good day.”
It took a strong comeback for Wunderlich to fight his way back from 3 down with six holes to play and defeat Ion on the 18th hole.
“Zachy was 3 up with five or six to play so I had to get going a bit and put the foot down,” added Wunderlich, a second year Associate at Yamba Golf and Country Club.
“I’ve always felt that I’ve played pretty well in matchplay.
“My attitude towards matchplay is obviously pretty good. I feel like I hit the ball well and putting is also a strong part of my game.
“If I do that then I go low.”
To add the Plate to his win on Monday would be a remarkable performance from Whitelock who has been receiving treatment for thyroid cancer the past 18 months.
“I’ve just kept myself in the game really,” was Whitelock’s summation of his week to date.
“I’ve only had one water ball this whole week and I’ve putted pretty well.
“I haven’t had any three putts and I’ve just struck the ball nicely all week which has kept me in the game.”
The 36-hole final begins at 7am on Thursday morning with Ion and Jones to face off in the consolation final from 11am.
They needed extra holes but Dylan Knox and Justin Morley have kept alive their hopes of a maiden Pampling Plate victory in an enthralling day of matchplay competition at Caboolture Golf Club.
Both Knox and Morley finished outside the top eight Associates who received a first round bye on Tuesday morning so endured a gruelling day before booking their place in the quarter-finals on Wednesday morning.
Knox accounted for Jordan Hampson 5&4 in Round 1 as Morley recorded a dominant 7&6 win over Ben Scholl.
The afternoon matches would go beyond the 18 regulation holes as Damon Stephenson and James Bonnor pushed their opponents all the way.
Knox would ultimately get the better of Stephenson on the second extra hole while Morley was forced to a third extra hole before finally accounting for Bonnor.
For Knox, he needed to birdie both the 19th and 20th holes to get beyond Queensland’s No.1-ranked Associate and into the final eight.
“That was pretty full-on,” said Knox, the 2023 runner-up.
“Twenty holes, pretty knackered. I pulled a LAB putter out of the boot of my mate’s car this morning and just put it straight into play. I don’t think I’m ever taking it out now.
“Putting was really solid. I knew I had to put it close playing against Damon so I’m pretty proud of myself that I held on there.”
Morley’s victory over Bonnor was even more miraculous given he was 3-down with just four holes to play and facing an early exit.
“What a marathon that was,” Morley said.
“I hadn’t really had anything drop all day so was just hanging in there and playing steady.
“I made an awesome putt for birdie on 15, the par 5, which got me back to 1-down. Made a really good par on 17 to get back to square and then on 18 missed a seven-footer to win it and then went to extra holes.
“James was in really close on the 19th but I managed to finally get one to drop from about 25-30 feet which was huge. I needed that more than anything.”
The extra-time thrillers were just two of four matches that went the distance on Tuesday afternoon.
All four featured a standard of golf worthy of a final but it was Jack Wright and Ben Hollis who joined Knox and Morley in the quarter-finals.
Wright edged Jordan Rooke 1 up while Hollis won the final hole to complete a 2 up win over Adam Teale.
Joining those four in the quarter-finals are the No.1 qualifier from Monday’s strokeplay, Conor Whitelock, Zach Ion, Campbell Jones and Reilly Wunderlich.
Following a bye in Round 1, Whitelock defeated Rylee Johnson 4&2, Ion defeated Stacey Edwards 6&5, Jones advanced with a 5&4 win over Jaime Lansi and Wunderlich completed a 3&2 win over Josh Holbrook.
Quarter-final draw
6:40am Dylan Knox v Campbell Jones
6:47am Zach Ion v Jack Wright
6:54am Ben Hollis v Reilly Wunderlich
7:01am Justin Morley v Conor Whitelock
Ballina product Conor Whitelock has produced his best golf of the year to secure the No.1 seed for the matchplay section of the Pampling Plate at Caboolture Golf Club.
Whitelock, who recently transferred from Ballina Golf Club to continue the Membership Pathway Program at The Brisbane Golf Club, shot matching rounds of 3-under 68 in the 36-hole qualifier to finish four clear of Ben Hollis with Zach Ion third at 1-under.
The top 24 players now advance to the matchplay section of the 20th edition of the Pampling Plate with Whitelock and the top eight qualifiers to receive a bye in the first round on Tuesday morning.
Whitelock will play the winner of the Minami Inoue v Rylee Johnson match in Round 2 full of confidence after a day in which every aspect of his game was at its best.
“Everything really worked together today,” said Whitelock.
“Putting, chipping, driving, just stuck it close as well, too.
“So that definitely helps throughout the day.”
Without a win to date this season, the commanding victory is the latest in a run of good news for Whitelock.
Diagnosed with thyroid cancer 18 months ago, Whitelock has been receiving treatment as he pursues his career as a PGA Professional and recently received some positive results.
“I’ve been dealing with that behind the scenes,” Whitelock shared,
“Obviously affecting my performance and all that with therapy and all that, but we’re getting through it now.
“I’ve had some good results lately, but this win has definitely improved the confidence.
“Hopefully I can come back to where I was before that diagnosis.”
Starting Round 1 from the 15th tee, Whitelock was 2-under after just three holes.
There was a slight stumble when he bogeyed the par-4 first but he got that shot back and then some with an eagle at the par-5 third.
A bogey at his final hole meant that Whitelock shared the best score of Round 1 with Ion and Josh Holbrook but, as the temperature gauge nudged 35 degrees, he would take control of qualifying early in Round 2.
After opening with three pars, Whitelock peeled off four birdies on the trot and, despite a late double-bogey, maintained a healthy advantage throughout.
“I was doing live of scoring and had a quick look at the leaderboard and I saw I was about four or five in front,” said Whitelock.
“Then I made a double and then made a birdie straight after that, which helped settle the nerves there.
“But I did know I had a bit of a lead out there, so it was comforting.”
Round 1 of matchplay begins at 6:40am on Tuesday with the top eight to join the fray in Round 2 from 11:39am.
A first-time champion will be crowned when the Pampling Plate marks its 20th staging at Caboolture Golf Club starting Monday.
At the course where PGA TOUR and Champions Tour winner Rod Pampling began as a junior, 59 Associates currently undertaking the PGA of Australia’s Membership Pathway Program from Queensland and New South Wales will tee it up in Monday’s 36-hole strokeplay qualifying.
From there, the top 24 advance to three days of matchplay competition with the winner facing the possibility of playing 36 holes four days straight to claim possession of the Pampling Plate.
With the past three winners – Mitch Smith (2021), Dylan Gardner (2022) and Lachlan Wood (2023) – all now graduating to full Vocational Membership of the PGA, it will be a first-time winner who emerges from one of Australian golf’s most gruelling examinations.
Two of the favourites to join the Pampling Plate honour roll will be Jack Wright (Coolangatta-Tweed Heads Golf Club) and Damon Stephenson (Parkwood Golf Club) who have 17 Associate wins between them this year already.
The 2023 runner-up, Dylan Knox (Indooroopilly Golf Club), will be hoping to go one better while Jordan Rooke (Keperra Golf Club) and Zach Ion (Virginia Golf Club) are also expected to go deep into the tournament.
First-year Associates Justin Morley (Southport Golf Club) and Campbell Jones (Pacific Golf Club) will be out to make an impression in their first appearance in an event supported for the past 20 years by the Pampling family.
Not only do the Pamplings provide financial support to the $5,000 prize purse, but Rod’s mum Marge keeps all the players fed by manning the sausage sizzle and providing her now famous home-made biscuits.
Round 1 tees off at 6:45am on Monday morning in conditions that are expected to get extremely hot throughout the day.
A par-5 birdie plunder and late stumble from 36-hole leader Luke Porritt will see Pymble’s William Bayliss take a handy lead into the final round of the $50,000 NSW/ACT Associates Championship sponsored by North Eden Timber.
Tura Beach Country Club on the New South Wales South Coast presented a far friendlier test in Round 3 on Thursday, the strong winds and fast greens that saw no player break par easing to allow players to make their move.
Two eagles in a round of 4-under 69 saw Toby Walker make the biggest charge up the leaderboard but it is Bayliss who earned the 54-hole lead with a polished 2-under 71 in Round 3 and 2-under total.
Runner-up to Jack Wright 12 months ago, Bayliss made birdie at each of the five par 5s at Tura Beach and will take a four-shot lead into Friday’s final round.
That buffer would not have been so great if not for a triple-bogey by Porritt at the par-3 17th in his round of 6-over 79.
An Associate at Thurgoona Country Club, Porritt will start the final round at 3-over and five strokes off the lead, Walker now Bayliss’s nearest challenger at 2-over par.
In addition to his two eagles at 11th and 18th holes, Walker had birdies at 13 and 16 to make a late charge up the leaderboard and enter the frame for what should be an enthralling final round.
Bayliss, Walker and Porritt will play together in the final group at 9:24am on Friday morning with reigning champion Jack Wright (70) to play in the third-to-last group with Sheradyn Johnson (74) and Steve Vail (74).
The penultimate group will feature Kane Gollasch (72), Hayden Gulliver (72) and Jordan Rooke (73).
First group will tee off at 7am on Friday with players to again be greeted by sunny skies and similar winds to that which they experienced in Round 3.
