Thurgoona Country Club Associate Luke Porritt is the only player under par after strong winds caused havoc on day two of the NSW/ACT Associate Championship sponsored by North Eden Timber.
Sheradyn Johnson and Joel Mitchell returned the best scores of Round 2 at Tura Beach Country Club, their even par rounds of 73 remarkable given the difficulty of the challenge presented.
Following on from a 5-under 68 in Round 1, Porritt battled gamely in a round of 2-over 75 to be 3-under at the halfway mark and the leader by three strokes.
A double-bogey at the par-5 fourth was Porritt’s first stumble, a stumble he recovered from with back-to-back birdies at seven and eight.
A bogey at the par-3 ninth would be a portent of the difficulties to come, Porritt making five bogeys in the space of six holes.
But in a turnaround that could prove crucial by the end of the tournament on Friday, Porritt responded with birdies at 15, 17 and 18 to give him a three-stroke advantage from William Bayliss (77) with Daniel Gill (78) and Baxter Droop (76) a further three shots back at 3-over par.
“That was one of the hardest rounds of golf I’ve ever played,” Porritt said.
“The wind, along with the challenge of the greens, just made it hard to score.”
Round 3 gets underway at 8am Thursday with the leaders teeing off at 10:24am off the first tee.
Players will welcome the forecast for Round 3 as it is set to be sunny skies, minimal cloud cover and much lesser winds than experienced on Wednesday.
Twin eagles have catapulted Thurgoona Country Club’s Luke Porritt to the top of the leaderboard after day one of the NSW/ACT PGA Associate Championship proudly sponsored by North Eden Timber.
Tura Beach Country Club on the New South Wales South Coast was an absolute picture and it was Porritt who took greatest advantage of the superb conditions.
Beginning the championship from the 10th tee on Tuesday, Porritt was 2-over through six holes before a birdie at 16 and eagle at the par-5 18th got him into red figures by the turn.
From that point there was no turning back.
He made it two eagles in his round with a second at the par-5 fourth and then birdied holes seven and eight for a round of 5-under 68 and a one-stroke lead.
Proving crucial to his mid-round turnaround, Porritt admitted that he may have struggled to make par had his eagle putt on 18 not dropped.
“I smashed an 8-iron for my second shot on the 18th to about 20 feet above the hole,” Porritt recalled post-round.
“I’m glad I holed the putt, otherwise it was going into the bunker!”
Porritt’s closest challenger has a strong history at Tura Beach, 2023 runner-up William Bayliss from Pymble Golf Club again in contention after a round of 4-under 69 that featured seven birdies.
Steve Vail from Pennant Hills Golf Club is outright third after a round of 3-under 70 with three players in a share of fourth one shot further back after rounds of 2-under 71.
Round 2 gets underway at 7:21am on Wednesday morning with Porritt teeing off in the afternoon wave off the first tee at 12:25pm.
The total prize purse is $50,000 thanks to naming rights sponsor, North Eden Timber.
Tomorrow marks the start of the NSW/ACT PGA Associate Championship proudly sponsored by North Eden Timber, being played at Tura Beach Country Club, 5 hours south of Sydney on the Sapphire Coast of NSW.
A total of 120 PGA Associates (84 from NSW and 36 from Interstate) are teeing it up at Tura Beach, with 2024 the first year of a three-year tournament hosting agreement at Tura Beach Country Club and the first year that the total prize purse is $50,000.
Naming rights sponsor North Eden Timber, has come on board this year which has helped in elevating the prizemoney purse significantly.
Jack Wright, last year’s champion, is back to defend his title that he won by one shot from Pymble GC’s Associate William Bayliss.
Bayliss also returns, vying to earn his second State Championship win around the famed and familiar Tura Beach layout, having won the Tasmanian PGA Associate Championship in 2023 by six shots.
Others to watch this year will be Linus Yip (Avondale GC) Associate, Ethan Chambers (The Lakes GC) Daniel Gill (Peninsula Kingswood) and Levi Sclater (2023 National PGA Associate Championship & from Rossdale GC).
From further outside, another player who could be a chance this week will be Sheradyn Johnson (PGA Associate from The National GC) who finished third in this year’s Victorian PGA Associate Championship at Tocumwal GC back May.
The first round kicks off on Tuesday (27/08) morning at 7.21am. There will be a cut on Wednesday evening to 50 plus ties with rounds three and four to follow on Thursday and Friday.
Click HERE for live scoring.
An emotional Jack Wright has paid tribute to his late uncle after taking out the Brisbane MG Royal Queensland PGA Associate Pro-Am at Royal Queensland Golf Club on Monday.
With prize money in excess of $27,000, the tournament broke the record for the richest one-day Associate Pro-Am in the history of the PGA of Australia, Wright winning close to $5,000 with a superb round of 6-under 66.
Starting his round from the fifth tee alongside Zach Ion and Tiger Boontang, Wright stumbled out of the blocks with an opening bogey.
A run of four straight birdies from the ninth hole to the 12th quickly turned momentum his way, the second-year Coolangatta-Tweed Heads Golf Club Associate’s bogey on 13 the only other dropped shot for a one-stroke win.
Campbell Jones had just the one bogey in his round of 5-under 67 to snare second, Ion taking third spot with 4-under 68.
For Wright, not only did the win ease some of the pain his family had felt just days earlier but provides a much-needed financial boost ahead of the defence of his NSW/ACT PGA Associate Championship at Tura Beach Country Club next month.
“I would like to dedicate the win to my uncle who passed away over recent days,” said Wright. “Today will certainly help our family who have been saddened for our loss.
“Being the winner of the biggest one-day prize purse in the history of PGA Associate Pro-Ams is really special to me and I am grateful to be able to hold such title.
“Myself and all of the PGA Associates are really thankful for the support Paul Norris as well as the Royal Queensland Golf Club has provided, not only us as a PGA Associates but for everything they do of professional golf.
“It costs a fair amount to travel to both the NSW and National PGA Associates Championships coming up later this year so this money will go a long way to taking the pressure off me to cover expenses in travelling down for them.”
Victorian Daniel Gill has won the Victorian PGA Associate Championship in a playoff after a dramatic conclusion to the final round at Club Tocumwal.
Gill birdied the 18th hole of the Captain’s Course at Tocumwal to post a final round of 3-under 69 and 7-under total.
At that point he held the lead in the clubhouse but with 54-hole leader Baxter Droop (Yarrawonga Mulwala Golf Resort) standing on the 18th tee at 9-under par, it didn’t look like being enough.
Unfortunately for Droop (73) his tee shot at the 72nd hole sailed out of bounds, the resulting double bogey dropping him to 7-under and tied with Gill.
The two players returned to the 18th hole and it was Gill who immediately took the upper hand.
As he found the fairway, Droop’s tee shot finished in the rough left of the fairway. Droop’s second shot came up short of the green but after chipping up to 12 feet was unable to make the putt for par.
Gill hit his approach to 20 feet on the left side of the green and showed great touch to roll his first putt down to just two feet.
With the championship there for the taking, Gill stepped in, holed his putt for par and claimed the biggest win in his two years in the Membership Pathway Program.
“This is my 12th win as a PGA Associate but my first major win,” said a jubilant Gill.
“Being four shots back standing on 17, I knew I had to birdie the last to have a chance but I didn’t think it would lead to a playoff.
“I would like to thank my home club, Peninsula Kingswood, who have been more than accommodating with my playing.
“They have allowed me to go part-time so I can spend more time on my playing career, which I’m very thankful for.”
Gill also paid credit to the team at Club Tocumwal for the presentation of the golf course and hospitality extended by everyone during the week.
“The course has been unreal every year and keeps getting better and better,” he added.
“I played golf as a junior here and so it was something special to take the win.”
The only player without an over-par round all week, Sheradyn Johnson (The National Golf Club) missed the playoff by just one stroke, ending her week with a round of 1-under 71 and 6-under total.
Damon Stephenson (69) and Jack Wright (73) shared fourth spot while Adam Naaman and Adam Migur shared the best score in the final round with rounds of 5-under 67.
Murray River local Baxter Droop has come within a whisker of setting a new course record as he assumed top spot at the Victorian PGA Associate Championship at Club Tocumwal on Thursday.
Completing the Membership Pathway Program under his father, Evan Droop, at Yarrawonga Mulwala Resort just 30 minutes up the Murray, Droop surged to a two-stroke lead with a superb 8-under 64 in Round 3.
That was just one short of the course record at the Captain’s Course but, at 8-under heading into the final round, provides a handy two-shot buffer from 36-hole leader Jack Wright (72).
Sheradyn Johnson (70) is third at 5-under followed by Daniel Gill (68) with Toby Walker (67) and Joseph Hodgson (69) in a tie for fifth at 3-under.
Trailing Wright by seven shots after Round 2, Droop was just 2-under on his round as he made the turn. From there he threw the after-burners to max, making six birdies in his next eight holes with what he claimed was a very simple strategy.
“Just focused on hitting fairways, as cliché as it sounds,” Droop said.
“Spent some time on the range concentrating on my driver and 3-wood to get myself in the best positions off the tee.”
Late on day three it appeared likely that there would be a tie at the top heading into the final round, only for Wright to drop shots at each of his final two holes in his round of 72.
The NSW/ACT Associate champion in 2023, Wright looms as Droop’s greatest threat as he seeks to go two better than his third-place finish in this event 12 months ago.
Although he will start the final round seven shots off the lead, Victorian Associate Noah Best has produced one of the most remarkable performances of the championship.
An opening round of 9-over 81 put Best in a difficult position to make the cut but back-to-back rounds of 5-under 67 will see him start the final round inside the top 10 and in red figures.
Queensland’s Jack Wright has his sights set on a second state Associate Championship after establishing a one-stroke lead at the halfway mark of the Victorian PGA Associate Championship at Tocumwal Golf Club.
In a dominant first season in 2023, Wright claimed the NSW/ACT Associate Championship and finished runner-up in his home state.
With rounds of 71-67 at Tocumwal’s Captain’s Course, Wright leads at 6-under par, one stroke clear of Damon Stephenson (69-70) with Sheradyn Johnson (69-72) from The National Golf Club two strokes further back in outright third at 3-under
Trailing Baxter Droop by three after Round 1, Wright started his second round from the 10th hole and soared up the leaderboard with three straight birdies from the 12th hole.
He dropped a shot on 18 but it would be only a temporary setback, picking up shots on his inward nine at four, six and nine to shoot 5-under and assume top spot.
Stephenson had five birdies and three bogeys in his second round of 2-under 70 while Johnson bounced back impressively after starting day two with a double bogey. She played her back nine in 3-under 33 to remain in the hunt heading into Round 3.
Joining Wright, Zac Wood and Noah Best with the equal best round of the tournament to date was NSW Associate Cameron Shearer, who shot an impressive 6-under par 30 on his back nine to sit in a tie for sixth and just five shots off the lead.
Runner-up 12 months ago, Joel Mitchell is in a tie for fourth after rounds at 74-68, level with Wood at 2-under.
The cut fell at 7-over with 56 Associates advancing to the final two rounds.
Those in the Murray River region are welcome to watch some superb golf live in person or you can follow the live scores here.
Overnight leader Jack Wright had to birdie the final two holes to clinch the NSW/ACT PGA Associate Championship at Tura Beach Country Club on the NSW Sapphire Coast.
Two shots clear at the start of the final round, Wright extended his lead to three with a birdie at the par-5 second but would drop shots at four and seven to turn in 1-over.
A birdie on 11 arrested the slide but only momentarily, bogeys at 13 and 15 bringing the likes of Pymble’s William Bayliss into the mix.
One behind standing on the tee at the par-3 17th, the first year Associate at Coolangatta-Tweed Heads Golf Club hit a superb shot into 20 feet and then drained the putt to join Bayliss (71) at 5-under.
It made the equation on the 72nd hole a simple one; birdie the 425-metre par 5 and win the championship.
Wright was able to find the green in two shots and then two-putted for birdie and a one-stroke win, his even-par 73 and 6-under total enough to hold Bayliss at bay.
Luke Porritt (71) and Joe Kim (74) tied for the third at 3-under with Dean Forrest (73) rounding out the top five.
A winner of five Open matches in his first year in the Membership Pathway Program, the 26-year-old Wright now shapes as the man to beat at the Queensland PGA Associate Championship to be played at Windaroo Lakes Golf Course in Brisbane on October 9-12.
First year associate Jack Wright delivered one of the rounds of the day to push one stroke clear at the NSW/ACT PGA Associate Championship at Tura Beach Country Club on the NSW Sapphire Coast.
Based at Coolangatta-Tweed Heads Golf Club, Wright has won five Open matches already this year and earlier this month finished top-25 at the Tailor-Made Building Services NT PGA Championship.
He has brought that form to Tura Beach, bouncing back from an opening round of even par 73 that included a triple bogey to post 5-under 68 on Wednesday to be 5-under and leading by one.
First round leader Liam Reaper (73) is tied for second at 4-under with fellow Victorian Zac Wood, who matched Wright’s round of 5-under 68 to roar into contention.
Eleven players are within three strokes of the lead through 36 holes as 52 players made the cut to advance to the final two rounds.
Round of the day on Wednesday belonged to Wyong Golf Club’s Dylan Grogan, who went bogey-free in his 6-under 67, but shot of the day came from fellow Wyong Associate Joseph Liddle.
Playing the par-3 fifth hole, Liddle hit 6-iron, bounced once beyond the hole before spinning back for a hole-in-one, the first of his golfing life.
Round 3 gets underway from 7.30am from the first and 10th tees on Thursday with the lead group of Jack Wright, Liam Reaper and Zac Wood teeing off at 8.42am.
Three of this year’s State Associate Championship winners will go head-to-head at the NSW/ACT PGA Associate Championship starting Tuesday at Tura Beach Country Club on the New South Wales Sapphire Coast.
A total of 103 PGA Associates will tee it up from Tuesday vying for a slice of the $35,000 in prizemoney on offer.
Three players in particular will start the tournament full of confidence given their tournament success already this season.
Rosanna Golf Club’s Joel Mitchell comes in on the back of a dominant eight-stroke win at the WA PGA Associates Championship last week, one of three victories he has recorded in Membership Pathway Program events this year.
Prior to travelling to WA the Victorian won the Royal Melbourne Associate Invitational and he shared victory with Linus Yip at the Blacklocks Prestige Thurgoona PGA Associate Pro-Am in February.
Mitchell was also second at the Victorian PGA Associate Championship at Tocumwal Golf Club but was a distant seven shots from winner, Tim Walker.
A third year Associate at Peninsula Kingswood Country Golf Club, Walker was also victorious at The National PGA Associate Pro-Am in May and was 10th in this event 12 months ago.
With 73 of the 103 players in the field calling New South Wales home, William Bayliss shapes as the best hope among the locals.
Winner of the Tasmanian PGA Associate Championship at Barnbougle Dunes four weeks ago, Bayliss took that form to the adidas PGA Pro-Am Series where he finished tied for the win with Matt Stieger at the Gunnedah Pro-Am on April 11.
In his first year of the Membership Pathway Program at Pymble Golf Club on Sydney’s North Shore, Bayliss also boasts two runner-up finishes in Open Matches at Stonecutters Ridge and Pymble golf clubs this year.
Designed by five-time Open champion Peter Thomson, Tura Beach Country Club has the distinction of being Australia’s first golf course residential development and butts right up against Tura Beach.
The field will be cut to 50 plus ties following Wednesday’s second round with the winner to be crowned Friday afternoon.