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 ?
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.”
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.”
