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Lachlan Aylen has taken a four shot lead at the halfway mark of the 2021 Vic/Tas PGA Associate Championship at Tocumwal Golf and Bowls Club.
The Year 2 PGA Associate from the Eynesbury Golf & Homestead followed his round of 65 on Tuesday with a 6-under 66 on Wednesday around the Captains course to record the equal best round of the day.
Aylen sits at the top of the leaderboard with a two-round total of 13-under par 131, four strokes ahead of Tom Bond in second place.
Bond, from Adelaide Shores Driving Range in South Australia, added a solid second round of 2-under par 70 to his opening score of 65 for a total of 9-under par 135.
Luke Humphries (Goulburn – NSW) also shot a 6-under par 66 to vault to outright third and to a two-round score of 7-under par 137. Humphries’ round was highlighted by a holed wedge shot for eagle from 112m on the seventh hole. Camran Walton also holed out for eagle on the fourth hole from 79m.
Lachlan Armour (Settlers Run – Vic) and Steffi Vogel (Cobram-Barooga) are currently tied for fourth place at 5-under par 139. Armour produced a nice comeback after being 4-over through three holes to finish with a 1-under par 71. In contrast, Vogel has played very steady golf that featured six birdies and a lone bogey through 36-holes.
The cut fell at 7-over par with 54 players making their way through to rounds three and four. Defending Champion Dale Crothers (Yarrawonga & Mulwala) is placed in a tie for 22nd on 2-over par 146 at the half way mark of the tournament.
There were three women in the field and two have made the cut. Vogel (5-under) and Jade Shellback (Royal Melbourne – 6-over par 150) will contest the final two rounds.
A highlight of the day was a hole-in-one on the 8th hole by Max Edmanson. He used a 4-iron from 180m to find the bottom of the cup.
Round three begins on the Presidents course at 7:20am with the leaders teeing off the first at 8:32am.
Four of Australia’s leading PGA Associates are tied at the top of the Vic/Tas PGA Associate Championships leaderboard thanks to stunning scores of 7-under 65 to open play on the President’s course at Tocumwal Golf and Bowls Club.
Lachlan Aylen (Eynesbury – Vic), Tom Bond (Adelaide Shores Driving Range – SA), Stephen Dark (Wembley – WA) and Nick Thompson (Grange – SA) lead the field of 126 PGA Associates after round one with calm, sunny conditions aiding scoring across the opening 18 holes.
From the same group Aylen and Bond played the front-nine in 3-under before recording five birdies and one bogey each on the back-nine.
After starting on the 10th tee Thompson made the turn in 5-under par. A bogey on the second hole was followed by three straight birdies and then all pars to the Clubhouse.
Dark also started on the 10th hole and made the turn in 1-over par before catching fire on the Presidents course front-nine, shooting an 8-under par 29.
Sitting three strokes behind the leaders, Danny Nesbitt (Wollongong – NSW), Lachlan Armour (Settlers Run – Vic) and Connor McLean (Melton Valley – Vic) carded scores of 4-under par 68.
A total of 24 players are currently under par as the field moves to the Captains course for round two. A cut of 50 PGA Associates and ties after round two will move onto rounds three and four with kind weather conditions expected to remain until Friday.
Earlier in the week the PGA Associates hosted a junior clinic for local primary schools. A total of 80 children from four primary schools enjoyed over 1.5 hours of tuition learning the basic skills of golf in fun and interactive games.
Monday’s Championship Pro-Am saw 150 players consisting of club and tournament sponsors join the PGA Associates for the ambrose event on another beautiful day.
Later that evening the golf club hosted the welcome dinner for all players in the Championship plus sponsors, members and guests. The event was a fantastic occasion with entertainment from ex-AFL players and media personalities Jason Dunstall and Ben Dixon.
Follow live round two scores from the Vic/Tas PGA Associate Championships at pga.org.au.
PGA Associates from around the country will meet at Tocumwal Golf and Bowls Club on Tuesday for the Victorian and Tasmanian PGA Associate Championships.
The club welcomes players back after missing the 2020 edition due to the COVID-19 pandemic to celebrate its 18th year hosting the Championship.
Following a junior clinic conducted by the Associates for primary school children from Tocumwal and Berrigan on Monday, the first round of the tournament tees off on Tuesday with a total of 128 Associates representing every state in Australia.
“We are very excited to have the PGA Associates back here again after missing last year,” said Tocumwal Golf and Bowls Club CEO, Paul Gemmil.
“Both courses are in excellent condition so we can expect some great scoring this week.”
Yarrawonga Mulwala Golf Club Resort PGA Associate and 2019 champion Dale Crothers will defend his title across four rounds while competing for a share in the $35,000 prize purse.
Crothers’ record-breaking 6-stroke victory in 2019 proved the catalyst to win the 2019 Victorian Associate Order of Merit and is a feat he will aim to repeat in 2021.
Other notable entries include Lachlan Aylen (Eynesbury – Vic), Steffi Vogel (Cobram – Vic), Lachlan Armour, (Settlers Run – Vic), Luke Humphries (Goulburn – NSW), Danny Nesbitt (Wollongong – NSW), Robert Spence (McLeod CC – QLD) Tom Bond (Adelaide Shores Driving Range – SA) and Stephen Dark (Wembley – WA).
Berrigan Shire Council Mayor, Cr. Matthew Hannan hopes the depth of talent on display will bring locals and visitors alike out to watch the future stars of Australian golf in action.
“We are pleased to support the PGA Associate Championships in 2021,” Hannan said.
“Having a PGA tournament in our backyard is excellent exposure for our region and the great golf courses we have.”
The Victorian and Tasmanian PGA Associate Championships tees off on Tuesday 4 May with the final round to be played on Friday 7 May. Entry to the tournament is free. Find out more at pga.org.au.
Strathfield Golf Club hosted the 2020 NSW/ACT PGA Graduation and Awards Dinner on Thursday evening, celebrating the achievements of 25 Trainees graduating to Full Vocational Membership of the PGA of Australia.
The PGA Members were joined by PGA of Australia CEO Gavin Kirkman, Deputy Chairman of the PGA David Stretton, NSW/ACT Vocational Committee Members, Acushnet representatives Nic Hibbert and Andrew Williams and many family and friends of the graduating class.
Gavin Kirkman gave the opening address, highlighting the value of the Membership and the task ahead of the golf industry in retaining golfers new to the game and promoting the sport through their career within the Association.
Having navigated the bushfires in 2019 and COVID-19 in 2020, a common theme throughout the night was the recognition of their achievements and successfully graduating into Full Membership after such a tumultuous 18 months.
The awards night also recognised Academic in Excellence Awards which were awarded to Darcy Boyd (Kiama Golf Club) and Danielle Vasquez (Links Shell Cove) who in the first year of the program finished first and third respectively for their year groups.
Darcy was ranked first in his year group for academic excellence, finished seventh for the year on the national performance rankings, held an adjusted average of -0.47, by the end of 2020 he had won two trainee matches at Gosford and Brighton Lakes respectively and rounded out the year with three runner-up results and five top-5 finishes including a tied fifth finish at the Rich River classic.
PGA Trainee Graduates – Class of 2020
Damien Anderson
Bovorn Bovornratanaraks
Craig Cox
Jayden Cripps
Jye Forrester
Mitchell Gannon
James Gleeson
Michael Gunawan
Jarrod Harding
Harrison Hartman
Allan Haughie
Nicholas Heath
Lauren Hibbert
Christina Kang
Ricky Kato
Claudia Lim
Benjamin Morgan
Kesava Nair
Luke O’Carrigan
Samuel Pasquali
Justin Roach
James Sampson
Liam Sheils
Stefan Tuionetoa
Billy Watson
Jordan Widdicombe
The 2021 PGA Graduation and Awards dinner was held at Royal Melbourne Golf Club on Tuesday 16 March to celebrate the achievements of Victorian and Tasmanian Trainees in 2020, including the graduation of 25 Trainees into Full Vocational Membership of the PGA of Australia.
The night was attended by PGA Life Member Brian Simpson, Bruce Green and Bob Shearer, PGA CEO Gavin Kirkman, PGA COO Stuart Hergt, as well as representatives from PGA Education partners Acushnet and On Course Golf.
Victorian Committee Chairman and PGA Life Member Tim Moore welcomed our newest PGA Members to the Association and wished them well for a career as long and as fulfilled as his.
Each graduate shared stories about their journey through the Program and thanked their partners, family and friends, their indenturing PGA Member, their golf club and acknowledged the support they received throughout their Traineeship from PGA staff and look forward to a long career in the golf industry.
The Titleist and FootJoy Excellence in Education Awards were presented by Matt Street, PGA Training Manager and Andrew Reed, FootJoy Brand Manager from Acushnet. The Academic Awards were won by Steffi Vogel (Year 1 – Cobram-Barooga), Caleb Webster (Year 2 – The National) and Jarryd Collis (Year 3 – Country Club Casino).
Ben Paine (Year 1 – Rossdale) took out the 2020 Victorian Trainee Order of Merit title following a successful year that consisted of eight wins, 15 top fives from 18 matches and a top-20 finish at the Rich River Classic.
The 2020 Victorian Trainee of the Year was awarded to Steffi Vogel, Year 1 Trainee at the Cobram-Barooga Golf Club. Vogel achieved the mark of High Distinction in Game Development and Small Business and Distinction in Coaching and Management. These results helped her finish second in the National Academic Rankings for Year 1 Trainees. Vogel won two matches, finished in the top-10 six times in 10 official matches which saw her finish seventh in the Victorian Order of Merit and 12th in the National Trainee Averages.
Full List of Award Winners and Graduates
PGA Trainee Joshua Herrero has claimed a wire-to-wire win at the 2020 ADH Club Car WA PGA Trainee Championship played at Wanneroo Golf Club.
Starting the final round with a five stoke lead thanks to opening rounds of 72, 71 and 71, Herrero posted his best score of the tournament in the final round, a 4-under 70, to take a six stoke victory in the 2020 event.
Herrero was the only PGA Trainee to record scores at par or under in all four rounds, a three-putt bogey on the final hole of the tournament one of just four red numbers recorded over the 72 holes.
“I just got around playing my own game,” said Herrero.
“I made the most of the shorter holes and par-5s and my plan worked out well.”
Following a slow start at Wanneroo Golf Club thanks to an opening round of 76, WA PGA Trainee Captain Dale Howie came home with rounds of 71, 72 and 71 to claim second place at 2-over 290.
WA PGA Trainee Championship 2019 victor John Boulton tied for third place in 2020 alongside Calum Juniper with tournament totals of 9-over 297.
The victory has extended Herrero’s WA Order of Merit lead as the year draws to a close.
To view the final ADH Club Car WA PGA Trainee Championship leaderboard visit pga.org.au.
Twenty PGA Trainees will converge on Wanneroo Golf Club from 25-27 October for the 2020 ADH Club Car WA PGA Trainee Championship.
The state’s most anticipated PGA Trainee tournament will determine a 2020 champion over 72 holes with the event set to be as competitive as ever despite the absence of interstate players due to travel restrictions.
Defending champion John Boulton of Mount Lawley Golf Club headlines a field of leading PGA Trainees including WA Order of Merit leader Josh Herrero and Trainee Captain Dale Howie who are sure to ramp up the pressure when the tournament tees off on Sunday.
Boulton was a runaway winner at the 2019 WA PGA Trainee Championship, taking victory by a staggering 15 shots with a 20-under total. It’s a triumph he hopes can be replicated in 2020.
“With everything that has happened this year I am excited to be able to contend for the Championship,” said Boulton.
“I’m looking forward to the challenges this tactical course will present. Hopefully everything goes to plan like it did last year.”
Royal Perth Golf Club PGA Trainee Jeong Woo Ha will look to continue his competitive streak at the event as he aims to go one better in 2020 after claiming second place last year.
ADH Club Car will celebrate their eighth year as naming rights sponsor of the event with a Pro-Am to be played on Sunday 25 October as part of the tournament’s opening round.
“We are proud to be the naming rights sponsor once again for the ADH Club Car PGA Trainee Championship,” said ADH Club Car chief executive Grant Hill.
“As a company, we’ve always had a strong involvement in the development of golf in Western Australia, having sponsored this event for the past seven years, and we are excited to be involved again this year.”
The winner of the 2020 ADH Club Car WA PGA Trainee Championship will receive a share of the $11,000 prize purse thanks to ADH Club Car and supporting sponsors Acushnet, TX Civil & Logistics, DBS Fencing, Geographe Earthmoving and Allship Engineering.
The 2020 ADH Club Car WA PGA Trainee champion will be crowned on Tuesday 27 October. Follow live scores from Wanneroo Golf Club at pga.org.au.
Luke Parker has won the 2020 Coca-Cola QLD PGA Trainee Championship by just one stroke in a thrilling final round at Windaroo Lakes Golf Club in the City of Logan.
A rock-solid four-round performance from the Maroochy River Golf Club first-year PGA Trainee saw him withhold an extremely persistent Elliot Beel of Mackay Golf Club.
Starting the final round with a three-stroke lead, Parker completed the tournament with a round of 2-over par for a four-round total of 1-under 287, narrowly defeating Beel who came home in even par for a final total of 1-over 288.
An early double bogey on the second hole levelled the score for the leading duo but a quick comeback from Parker including birdies on holes three and six helped steady the ship.
A birdie on hole 13 increased the buffer for Parker yet a slight slip due to bogey on hole 17 reduced his lead back to one stroke.
Despite the blemish, Parker’s four-round effort was enough to see his name added to the Carnegie Cup alongside the likes of Greg Norman and Rod Pampling.
“I played really well and it is a great feeling to come away with a victory particularly with Elliot and Dean right there the whole way,” said Parker.
“Elliot just doesn’t make mistakes so I really needed to pull out all the stops and was lucky enough to be in front after 18 holes.”
Yet another consistent round of three birdies and three bogeys saw the Mackay Golf Club PGA Trainee finish as runner up in 2020.
“I did all I feel I could to get the victory but in the end Luke was just playing too well,” said Beel.
“I putted really well all week, I just wasn’t good enough albeit going down by one shot hurts a little bit.”
City of Logan local Dean Jamieson of Hills Golf Club fired a final round of 2-over par to finish in third place with a total score of 3-over 291.
“I came into the event with no high hopes however soon found some good memories from last year where I finished second so I am happy with the result,” said Jamieson.
TJ King took out fourth place, ahead of Alexander McCoy in fifth.
The low round of the day went to Headland Golf Club PGA Trainee Jordan McDonald with 2-under 70 in the final round.
The QLD PGA Trainee contingent will enjoy a weekend’s break ahead of the Gainsborough Greens Trainee Pro-Am this coming Monday.
For the full final leaderboard visit pga.org.au.
Maroochy River Golf Club PGA Trainee Luke Parker has moved out to a three stoke lead with one round remaining at the 2020 Coca-Cola QLD PGA Trainee Championship.
Wet, windy conditions greeted the PGA Trainee field at Windaroo Lakes Golf Club in the City of Logan where Parker was able to combat the conditions for a third round of even par, taking his total score to 3-under par with 18 holes still to play.
Parker played a tradesman like round in the tricky conditions with birdies on holes seven and 12 and bogeys on holes three and seventeen.
“The best part of my game this week has been my driving however I have putted well too, not missing any short ones which I am happy with in these conditions,” said Parker.
“I have been grinding it out as I have not exactly hit my irons consistently close but it’s been pretty good otherwise.”
Elliot Beel has moved to outright second place following a third round of 75, taking the Mackay Golf Club PGA Trainee to an even par total while proving that the best way to play the Windaroo layout is to play mistake free golf.
“I just made three or four minor mistakes and it cost me each time,” said Beel, who recorded a birdie on hole 12 and bogeys on holes three, eight, 16 and 17.
“The good news is that around here I am definitely close enough still to win however Luke is playing extremely well so we will see.”
City of Logan local Dean Jamieson of Hills Golf Club will draw on memories of his come-from-behind effort at last year’s QLD PGA Trainee Championship when he begins the fourth and final round from third place, four shots back from Parker.
Round 4 of the 2020 QLD PGA Trainee Championship will begin at 10.40am AEST on Thursday from Windaroo Lakes Golf Club in the City of Logan.
For the full leaderboard, tee times and further information on the tournament visit pga.org.au.
Maroochy River Golf Club PGA Trainee Luke Parker and Mackay Golf Club PGA Trainee Elliot Beel share the lead at the halfway point of the 2020 Coca-Cola QLD PGA Trainee Championship with scores of 3-under.
Beel, who travelled all the way from Mackay for the tournament, fired a brilliant second round of 3-under 69 including five birdies to post the low round of the day in windy conditions at Windaroo Lakes Golf Club in the City of Logan.
“I am just loving being here with all the guys and girls,” said Beel. “I don’t see them much living in Mackay and I think it is helping me relax on the course which is working because I’ve been playing really well so far.”
Parker’s round also included five birdies for a score of 71 to accompany his opening round of 70.
“Playing most of my golf at Maroochy River where it is very open and wide is a common thing, I felt pretty comfortable out there today,” said Parker.
The pair holds a comfortable three-shot lead over 2019 runner-up Dean Jamieson of Hills Golf Club who sits at even par following scores of 70 and 74 in rounds one and two respectively.
Round one leader Ray Harris and Mt Coolum Golf Club’s TJ King sit tied for fourth place at 2-over the card but with moving day ahead, the unique Windaroo layout is expected to throw in more twists and turns for the 49-player field.
The 2020 championship is shaping up to be a tightly fought contest yet again with anyone within 8-10 shots still capable of victory.
Round 3 of the 2020 QLD PGA Trainee Championship will begin at 10.40am AEST from Windaroo Lakes Golf Club in the City of Logan.
For live scores and additional event information visit pga.org.au.
