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Defending champion Mitch Smith has sent a warning shot to his rivals by leading qualifying for the 2022 Pampling Plate in commanding fashion at Caboolture Golf Club in Queensland.
Fifty PGA of Australia Associates took part in the 36-hole qualifying on Monday where Smith (Sanctuary Cove Golf and Country Club) finished five strokes clear of Curtis Eldering as 24 qualifiers advance to the matchplay tournament proper starting Tuesday.
Now in its 18th year, the Pampling Plate is named and sponsored by three-time PGA Tour winner Rod Pampling who is also a winner on the Champions Tour where he currently plies his trade.
Pampling famously started his career on the Caboolture fairways and the family’s support of the event has included significant donations towards the prize money on offer, as well as some personal touches during the tournament itself.
“My mother helps out with keeping the players well fed during the week with sausage sizzles, cakes and biscuits so it’s a real family affair,” Pampling said.
“We really enjoy giving back to the PGA Associates, especially given that it is played at Caboolture Golf Club which is close to our heart.
“With the live scoring we can also keep an eye on all the action.”
Prizemoney of $5,000 was up for grabs in Monday’s qualifying with a further $10,000 to be distributed at the completion of the matchplay competition on Thursday.
The tournament’s two most recent winners – Smith (2021) and James Macklin (2020) – both successfully navigated Monday’s qualifying rounds, Smith seeking to join Jacob Boyce (2016-17) as the only successive winners of the Pampling Plate.
Queensland PGA Associate Captain AJ McCoy placed fourth last year and is looking to add to his impressive Membership Pathway Program playing record after finishing 15th in qualifying.
“It is an event that all the players look forward to as this is the only opportunity we get to play matchplay whilst completing the Membership Pathway Program,” said McCoy.
“To have your name etched on the Pampling Plate is a goal of all Queensland PGA Associates, particularly given the support of the Pampling family.”
In what has been a tough period for the Caboolture Golf Club off the course, they are again extremely excited to host the event.
“We had a flood in our kitchen unfortunately which has caused a fair bit of grief for our clubhouse operation,” said General Manager Trent Scaysbrook.
“However, the Pampling Plate is always very well supported by our members and everyone is looking forward to another great event.”
The top eight qualifiers on Monday all receive a bye in Round 1 which will tee off from 6.40am Tuesday. Round 2 is scheduled to begin at 11.39am where Smith will face the winner of the match between Peter Lyon and Nicholas Barney.
Live scoring for the Pampling Plate will be conducted each day. Click here to view progress scores in all matches.
Rockingham Golf Club Associate Josh Herrero has claimed a third straight ADH Club Car WA PGA Associates Championship in dramatic fashion at the Wembley Golf Complex in Perth.
Victorious in both 2020 and 2021, Herrero led the 2022 edition from the opening round but was challenged late by Michael Pentland at Wembley’s Old Course where Pentland is completing the Membership Pathway Program.
Leading by two entering the final round, Herrero (pictured with major sponsor Grant Hill from ADH Club Car) had extended his lead to four before allowing Pentland back into the tournament with some late stumbles.
Bogeys at 15 and 16 saw Herrero’s lead halved to just two strokes, Pentland closing with birdies at 15 and 17 and 18 to apply the pressure.
Pentland’s round of one-under 71 and Herrero’s one-over 73 saw the pair finish level at even par 288, eight shots clear of Tasmanian Jack Lakin and destined for extra holes.
They traded pars at the first playoff hole but the pressure began to tell as they headed back to the tee for the second additional hole.
Pentland’s wayward tee shot failed to find the fairway as Herrero showed wonderful composure to comfortably find the short grass with his drive.
With no other option Pentland chipped out to the fairway and then hit his third shot to within 12 feet of the flag.
Although in an ideal position, Herrero came up short with his approach shot, leaving himself a difficult chip shot for his third.
He showed wonderful touch to play his third to four feet and then watched on as Pentland lined up his putt for par.
That attempt scampered four feet past the hole and when Pentland missed the putt coming back, Herrero was handed two putts to complete his WA PGA Associate hat-trick.
He needed both – missing his four-footer for par – but the tap-in for bogey was enough to take the title and prize money of more than $3,300.
His lead was cut by one but two-time defending champion Joshua Herrero remains on course to make it three straight at the ADH Club Car WA PGA Associate Championship at Wembley Golf Complex in Perth.
The Associates played 36-holes on Monday with the final round to be completed on Tuesday from 8.04am local time.
Herrero enters the final round with a two-stroke advantage from Wembley local Michael Pentland with a further three shots to Arno Madel in outright third.
A three-stroke leader after a four-under 68 in Round 1, Herrero had rounds of 73-74 on Monday to remain one clear, the highlight an eagle at the par-5 11th in the third round.
At one-under 215 through 54 holes the Rockingham Golf Club Associate is the only player under par, Pentland’s 217 and Madel’s 220 the nearest challengers to disrupt his quest for a trifecta, Madel’s 69 in the third round the best of that round by two strokes.
Click here for scores.
Rockingham Golf Club’s Josh Herrero is on track for a third straight ADH Club Car WA PGA Associate Championship, holding a three-stroke lead at Wembley Golf Complex in Perth.
In his final year of the Membership Pathway Program at Rockingham, Herrero will be hard to run down across the final two rounds to be played on Monday.
In perfect scoring conditions at a superbly presented Wembley, the 14 WA Associates vying for a share of the $15,000 in prize money had every opportunity to post good scores on Sunday.
Only two were able to better par, however, with Herrero’s four-under 68 giving him a handy buffer ahead of the final two rounds.
Beginning his championship from the 11th tee, Herrero traded a birdie with a bogey in his opening two holes but got his round back on track with an eagle at the par-5 first.
He added a second birdie at the fourth and then completed his round with a final birdie at the par-4 10th to be three clear of Calum Juniper, the only other player under par after day one.
Tied for third is Fritz Arnold, Charlie Knoll and Arno Madel who all shot rounds of even-par 72.
The second round begins at 6.44am local time on Monday with the third round to tee off at 11.24am.
Click here for scores.
Two clutch putts and a spectacular approach to the final hole has secured South Australian Jak Carter the 2022 NSW/ACT PGA State Associate Championship at Moruya Golf Club.
The twisting Moruya layout and superb greens provided a stern test for PGA Associates from around Australia all week, Carter’s four-round total of one-under 283 the only score in red figures by week’s end.
A week after blitzing the field by 15 strokes to win the South Australian PGA Associate Championship at Links Lady Bay, Carter found himself three-over at the halfway stage in pursuit of the NSW/ACT title.
He moved to within one of the lead with a round of three-under 68 on Wednesday and then closed with a one-under par round of 70 on Thursday to finish one clear of Toby Williams (St Michaels Golf Club) with Ben Paine (Rossdale Golf Club) third a further stroke back.
Completing the PGA Membership Pathway Program at The Stirling Golf Club near Adelaide, Carter made his move as he completed the front nine.
A double bogey by 54-hole leader Dale Crothers at the par-5 eighth issued Carter an invitation he gleefully accepted.
He birdied eight and nine to edge ahead of Crothers but fund himself one shot off the lead held by Williams as he stood on the 16th tee.
A brilliant approach shot set up birdie there and he backed that up with another at the par-4 17th to edge one clear.
Yet if he was feeling comfortable it wouldn’t last long.
His tee shot at the par-4 18th finished behind a tree, forcing him to play an all-or-nothing second over water to the back-right hole location.
“I absolutely hated that sort of shot but lucky enough I could hit it as far left as I wanted,” Carter said of his approach into the 72nd green.
“I managed to put a real good swing on it and hit it to a pretty nice sort of distance.
“I thought that putt was in too when I hit it.”
Although his two-putt par would ultimately seal the win, Carter credited the putts on the previous two holes for getting him across the line.
“They were absolutely huge,” he added.
“I was not aware of the leaderboard or anything like that.
“The game-plan on 16, a par 5, was just to trust my wedge game and it was nice to see that happen.
“But to hole that putt was a nice feeling and then the putt on the 17th was just a bonus.”
Second to Crothers at the VIC/TAS PGA State Associate Championship at Tocumwal Golf Club in May, Carter has now set his sights on the Queensland State Associate Championship at Windaroo Lakes in October.
“Probably try to win the third in Queensland. Really look forward to playing those courses and getting right into it up there,” said Carter.
“I’d like to win three in a row, that would be great.”
Williams parred his final four holes to close with a 70 and claim outright second, Paine falling two shots short despite making birdies at both 16 and 18 in his round of 71.
Crothers (74) and Jack Harrison (72) finished tied for fourth at two-over for the championship.
Darcy Boyd earned a share of sixth alongside Aaron Walters but provided one of the highlights of the week, making a hole-in-one at the par-3 sixth, finding the cup with 5-iron from 185 metres.
Click here for the final scores and prize money.
Dale Crothers and Jak Carter look set for another final round showdown as Crothers edged one stroke clear on day three of the NSW/ACT PGA State Associate Championship at Moruya Golf Club.
Crothers got the better of Carter at the VIC/TAS Championship at Tocumwal earlier in the year but Carter came into this championship on the back of a 15-stroke win at the SA PGA State Associate Championship just last week.
It sets up a thrilling final-round duel after Crothers used three birdies in the space of five holes on the back nine to shoot two-under 69 on Wednesday for a one-under total.
Hot on his heels is Carter who recorded the final of his five birdies on the 18th hole to get back to even par for the championship, his three-under 68 the equal best of the third round.
A two-time winner of the VIC/TAS Associate Championship, Crothers will call on that experience to add the NSW/ACT title to his growing resume.
“Having a bit of a lead going into the last round definitely helps,” said the Yarrawonga Mulwala Golf Resort Associate.
“I’ve had that experience a few times so I’ll go out there and just keep doing what I’m doing, not worry about too much and hopefully come away with the win.”
In what has proved to be a challenging week for scoring, Crothers has remained largely consistent across the first 54 holes.
A round of 70 on day one gave him a share of the lead before following it up with a two-over 73 on Tuesday where his ball-striking was below his best.
“I hit it much better today. Ideal weather conditions out there today so attacked the course a little bit more and was lucky enough to finish a couple under,” he reflected.
“Yesterday I hit it pretty poorly ball-striking wise but today I really found something. Just played my strategy as I have all week and it all came together today.”
As for the key to Thursday’s final round, Crothers believes the tournament will be won – or lost – on the greens.
“The greens are very tricky,” he said.
“There were a few times today I completely misread it so if you can whole your share of putts around here you’re going to do really well.”
Victorian Ben Paine matched Carter’s round of 68 to earn a share of third alongside Toby Williams (72) and Jack Harrison (73), Kiama Golf Club first year Associate Wil Daibarra moving into outright sixth also with a round of 68.
The final round of the NSW/ACT PGA State Associate Championship starts at 7.20am on Thursday with the final group of Crothers, Carter and Paine to tee off at 8.40am.
Click here for scores and the Round 4 draw.
The low round of the tournament has earned Aaron Walters a share of the lead at the halfway stage of the NSW/ACT PGA State Associate Championship at Moruya Golf Club on the New South Wales South Coast.
Currently undertaking the Membership Pathway Program at Everglades Country Club on the NSW Central Coast, Walters shot five-under 66 on Tuesday to be one-under through 36 holes and level with Jack Harrison (Settlers Run Golf and Country Club) at the top of the leaderboard.
Following on from an opening round of 71, Harrison’s consistency was rewarded on day two as he and Walters edged one stroke clear of Tim Walker (68) and Toby Williams (68).
Round 1 leader Dale Crothers is fifth after a round of two-over 73 followed by Lachlan Aylen (70) in sixth and three players in a tie for seventh.
Walters had two double bogeys and an eagle at the par-4 18th in his opening round of four-over 75 on Monday and credited a patient approach on the exacting Moruya Golf Club for his much improved showing on Tuesday.
“Definitely my mindset going in and sticking to the strategy,” Walters said of the key to his nine-shot swing.
“I had a game-plan going in; I didn’t really attack the course too much today. I just hit it in the right spots and made enough putts luckily enough.
“I didn’t have the greatest round yesterday but I knew making those putts today and sticking with the same game-plan I could shoot under par.
“Lucky enough I played well enough today to do that.”
“Hit everything pretty good today, didn’t really miss much and made a lot of putts.”
A total of 51 players survived the 36-hole cut which fell at 15-over par.
The third round commences at 7.20am on Wednesday morning with the lead groups to begin at 8.40am.
Click here for Round 2 scores and the Round 3 draw.
A somewhat fortunate birdie on his final hole has given Dale Crothers a one-stroke lead at the NSW/ACT PGA State Associate Championship at Moruya Golf Club.
A two-time winner of the Victorian/Tasmanian PGA State Associate Championship, Crothers was the only player to finish Round 1 under par, a birdie at the par-4 ninth for a round of 70 putting him one clear of fellow Victorians Jack Harrison (71) and Ben Paine (71).
The morning field faced strong winds on the New South Wales South Coast, wind abating slightly as the afternoon wore on.
Starting his championship from the 10th tee, the wind made scoring difficult for Crothers on his opening nine but he found form on Moruya’s front nine, coming home in three-under to edge one stroke clear.
Moruya is known for its enormous double green shared by both the ninth and 18th holes and it proved fortuitous for Crothers on his final hole.
“I hit a big cut off the tee and ended up on the 18th (fairway),” Crothers conceded.
“It actually gave me a really good angle into the ninth green where the pin was tucked left. It was a pretty straightforward shot.
“I started hitting it a lot better on the back nine. I was a bit wayward on the front nine but started holing some more putts.
“Hit a lot more greens and it was nice to birdie the last hole.”
After an opening par, Crothers bogeyed his next two holes to be on the back foot early.
A birdie at 16 was countered by a bogey at 17 before he rediscovered his mojo on the back nine.
“I started off very slow – I was two-over after three holes – and got it back on my back nine, which was the front nine,” said the second-year Associate at Yarrawonga Mulwala Golf Resort.
“I’m definitely glad I had a practice round. It’s very tricky off the tee, lot of doglegs and hitting to corners.
“I thought the course played well. The greens and everything played really well.”
James Hundy had a bit of everything in his round of four-over 75, including a hole-in-one at the par-3 12th.
Playing 142 metres, Hundy hit 8-iron and saw the ball disappear into the cup to claw back to within five of the lead.
A cut will be made at the completion of Tuesday’s second round with the top 50 to advance to the final two rounds of the championship.
Click here for Round 1 scores and the draw for Round 2.
Fresh from a 15-shot win on his home course, South Australian Jak Carter now wants to add the NSW/ACT PGA State Associate Championship to his growing list of tournament wins.
Moruya Golf Club on the New South Wales South Coast hosts 107 players currently engaged in the PGA Membership Pathway Program for the second year in succession, the four-round tournament getting underway on Monday.
Runner-up to Dale Crothers at the Victorian/Tasmanian State Associate Championship in May, Carter made full use of home-course advantage to win last week’s SA PGA State Associate Championship at Links Lady Bay.
His three-round total of nine-under par was 15 shots clear of his nearest competitor, firmly establishing him as one of the tournament favourites this week in Moruya.
“It’s always handy to have one of those events at your home course,” conceded Carter, who played his junior golf at Links Lady Bay and is now completing the PGA Membership Pathway Program at The Stirling Golf Club just outside Adelaide.
“It was just one of those weeks where I felt nice and relaxed, especially being able to sleep in your own bed. That always helps.
“When I walk off the course after four days I wouldn’t be surprised if my name was somewhere near the top.”
Confident and in-form, Carter spent Sunday afternoon familiarising himself with the Moruya layout.
Tree-lined fairways with some sharp doglegs are a far cry from the open expanses of Links Lady Bay, Carter trying to find the right balance between aggression and course management.
“Just to really work out the numbers to the doglegs,” Carter said of the focus in his pre-tournament preparation.
“To make sure that if we do try and hit one right to a corner that we’re not blocked out, because there are some pretty sharp doglegs here.
“It is a golf course I feel that you can play smart but I also feel that’s sometimes not all that easy to do. To lay up to corners but then also have the trouble of some trees in your way.
“It’s just really working out what exact clubs off certain tees will get me right in the fairway but also far enough that I have a shot in without any sort of tree trouble.
“That’s pretty much it because the greens are pure out here.”
First groups teed off at 7.20am on Monday, Carter in the afternoon wave that began at 11.20am.
There will be a cut at the completion of 36 holes with the top 50 to play the final two rounds on Wednesday and Thursday.
Click here for live scores.
Yarrawonga PGA Associate Dale Crothers has claimed his second PGA Victorian/Tasmanian Associate Championship, holding off the fast-finishing Jak Carter at Tocumwal Golf Club.
Crothers shot 71 in his final round for a four-round total of 17-under, enough for a three-stroke win from Carter (66) with Victorian Tim Walker (70) in outright third a further five shots back.
Starting the final round with a six-stroke lead, Crothers showed some nerves early, bogeying his first hole, whilst Carter came out chasing hard with an eagle at the par-5 third.
Carter followed up with birdies at six, seven and nine to make the turn in five-under par and only three back from Crothers.
The pair traded birdies early on the back nine however the ever-consistent Crothers proved too strong, his three-shot lead never headed.
“It felt good this week; I didn’t do much wrong all week,” said Crothers.
“I hit a lot of good shots and holed some putts.”
The win sees Crothers remain as one of the top PGA Associates whose ultimate career ambition would see him playing on the world stage.
“I’m looking to play on the ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia next year once I graduate. I see the opportunities through Australia as a good pathway onto the bigger world tours,” he added.
In his acceptance speech, Crothers praised the work of the Tocumwal Golf Club and support of Berrigan Shire Council.
“I love playing along the Murray,” said Crothers.
“I’ve been coming here since I was a junior and the course at ‘Toc’ is always amazing. The hospitality we’ve been shown this week by the club and Berrigan Shire has been amazing.”
The tournament will return to Tocumwal Golf Club in 2023.
