Gale progresses to quarter-finals in the European Tour’s Shot of the Year... So Far - PGA of Australia

Gale progresses to quarter-finals in the European Tour’s Shot of the Year… So Far


Australian Touring Professional Daniel Gale knows there are few better tournaments on the ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia to hit one of the shots of your career than the Australian PGA Championship.

In a European Tour co-sanctioned field boasting Australian golf’s best including Adam Scott, Cameron Smith and PGA TOUR headliners Cameron Champ and Stewart Cink the eyes of the world are watching. Now is the time to bring out your best.

And at the 2019 tournament, Daniel Gale did just that at the short par-4 eighth hole at RACV Royal Pines Resort:

“It’s very clear in my head still. It’s definitely one of the most memorable shots I’ve hit,” Gale said. “It was 254 metres to the pin and going through the game plan the night before with my coach and caddy we were talking about that pin.”

“In 2018 I hit 2-iron on the green and we were thinking ‘sweet, they’re going to put the tees forward here’. Where the pin was it’s such a tight narrow opening and to just to hit it on the green is a good shot.

“But to do what I did is something special. A couple more rolls and it makes history but it was 254 (metres) and I had to absolutely smash the three-wood as good as I could because it was up hill and into the wind.

“As we were walking up my playing partner Greg Chalmers said ‘I think it’s past’ and I said ‘nah I think I’ve left it short’ and we get up there and it was 15 centimetres (to) 10 centimetres short of the hole.”

Now, the incredible shot is making waves online in the European Tour’s latest social media competition, Shot of the Year So Far.

The 23-year-old New South Welshman, who defeated Gavin Green by a landslide with 82 per cent of the vote in the first round and Tyrell Hatton by a narrow margin of six per cent in the second is thankful for the opportunity to face some of world golf’s biggest stars, even if it is on social media.

“He’s a popular player so I thought he was going to be tough to beat. With his following he’s got 70,000 on Twitter and he’s a popular character,” Gale said of the Tyrell Hatton match up.

“I was stoked to get through because for me it’s great exposure. It puts my name out there; a lot of people don’t know me. Tyrell Hatton’s well-known in the golfing world and everyone’s probably thinking ‘who’s this Daniel Gale guy?’”

As the competition narrows and the quarter finals loom Gale’s main concern is the status of the renowned players he may come up against, but concedes opportunities to put your name on the map in world golf are few and far between.

“It’s always hard to match up the shots. My coach Paul Latham said anyone can chip it in but not everyone can hit the shot that you did, which is so true,” he said.

“I don’t know how the draw works but if they do match seven versus match eight (from the round of 16) I’ll be up against Rory (McIlroy).

“If I’m up against him, he’s got a million followers and a lot of people love him but I guess my shot nearly goes in and his only hits the green so if it goes purely on the shot I might be a chance. I think it’s going to be very tight from here on in.”

While the competition is keeping him occupied as COVID-19 restrictions begin to ease in his home state, Gale has used the time away from tour life to iron out the kinks and bad habits that come with months on the road.

“We probably won’t ever get a training block like this ever again. This is my third year as a Professional and the maximum amount of time I’ve had off is about a month if that,” he said.

“I’ve been working hard on my fitness and strength with the team at Active Body Physiotherapy in Castle Hill as much as I can to get the body in good shape for the back half of the year when we’re probably going to be playing a lot of events.

“I think my game is there now and I want to play but I’ve just got to play around the club comps as much as I can and stay sharp and when the time comes then off we go.”

Help us support Daniel Gale by voting for him in his third round match up on the European Tour Twitter Page.


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