With names like Ian Baker-Finch, Greg Norman and Gary Player etched into the Roy Paxton Bowl, the WA Open has a long and proud history, with recent stagings often unearthing the next big Australian talent.

In celebration of its 100th year, nine past champions of the event will be in the field at Mandurah. From Tour regulars Simon Hawkes and Braden Becker to overseas based players like Korn Ferry Tour player Curtis Luck and even the likes of three-time champion Kim Felton, all would love to add to their tally.

The tournament has also attracted DP World Tour players Haydn Barron and Jason Scrivener, who despite being two of Western Australia’s brightest stars, have not managed to triumph in their home Open, something they would love to change.

Another two players to watch this week will be youngsters Jack Buchanan and Jordan Doull who battled it out in the playoff last week at the CKB WA PGA Championship presented by TX Civil & Logistics, especially Doull who recently joined Mandurah as a member.

DEFENDING CHAMPION: Simon Hawkes (Tasmania) 

PRIZEMONEY: $175,000

LIVE SCORES: www.pga.org.au

TV COVERAGE: The Bowra & O’Dea Nexus Advisernet WA Open is live on Fox Sports, available on Foxtel and Kayo. 

*All times AEDT. 

Round 3:  Saturday 4pm-7pm (Fox Sports 503/Kayo)

Final Round:  Sunday 2pm-7pm (Fox Sports 503/Kayo)

THE COURSE 

Mandurah Country Club’s original layout was designed by Murray Dawson and opened in the early 1960s as a 9-hole sand greens course, later upgrading to an 18-hole grass green facility with a renovation completed in the late 1990s by Greg Simmonds.

Incorporating new fairway and greenside bunkers, the result is a challenging par-71 known in the region for its pure Santa Ana couch fairways and bentgrass greens.

Trees line the doglegging fairways while the bunkering around the raised greens will pose a threat this week to the players, who would be best to heed the advice of local Becker and keep their approach shots below the hole on the elevated putting surfaces.

A new championship course record was set earlier this year, when Declan Hoskin fired a 67, but word is that many of the players in the field this week have gone very low around Mandurah in social rounds.

HEADLINERS 

Jack Buchanan – 2024 WA PGA champion

Jason Scrivener – 2017 NSW Open champion and DP World Tour player

Curtis Luck – 2016 WA Open champion and Korn Ferry Tour player

Braden Becker – 2021 WA Open champion

Haydn Barron – DP World Tour player

Ben Eccles – 2023 WA PGA champion

Jordan Doull – Runner-up at 2024 WA PGA

Will Bruyeres – 2024 PNG Open winner

Dimi Papadatos – Four-time Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia winner

Cameron John – 2023 winner of The National Tournament

Phoenix Campbell – 2023 QLD PGA winner and new pro