The third event of the season and the first in a three-week stretch of tournaments, the WA Open serves as the start to the PGA Tour of Australasia’s Summer of Golf and will showcase a host of former champions hoping to hold off a rising batch of rookies eager to make their mark.

One of those, Hayden Hopewell, was the WA Open champion in 2020 but is playing his home Open for the first time as a professional having left the amateur ranks in November last year.

Hopewell is not the only WA player to have turned professional in the past 12 months.

Connor McKinney turned pro the same week as Hopewell and Josh Greer will play his home Open at his home course this week having come through the junior ranks at Joondalup.

Excited at the prospect of showing off his home track to his fellow Tour players, Greer believes local knowledge will come in handy over the course of the four rounds.

“I know the course really well and I’m just looking forward to playing to be fair,” said Greer, who first played the WA Open as a 14-year-old in 2015.

“I know how good the course is and I’m also looking forward to everyone I know playing a tournament there.

“Not everyone has played it so I feel like they’ll enjoy it.

“The greens are really slopey so you have to leave it on the right parts of the greens. The fairways are wide-ish but the greens are the toughest part of the course.”

The WA Open also marks the first appearance for New South Welshman Harrison Crowe since he joined the professional ranks last month.

The winner of the 2022 NSW Open and 2022 Asia-Pacific Amateur champion, Crowe turned pro to make use of his tournament winner’s category before it expires and is eyeing off a big summer to play his way onto a world tour in 2024.

Other prominent names seeking to kick-start their Order of Merit aspirations include Jake McLeod, Louis Dobbelaar, Blake Windred, Jarryd Felton and Brett Rumford.

Designed by acclaimed American architect Robert Trent Jones Jnr, Joondalup Resort boasts three separate and distinctive nines with the WA Open to be played across the Quarry and Lake nines.

Fans can follow all the action of the opening two rounds via pga.org.au and the PGA of Australia app.

The final two rounds will be broadcast live on Fox Sports and Kayo Sports starting from 4.30pm on Saturday and 2.30pm Sunday AEDT.

HOW TO FOLLOW

For live scoring and the latest news visit www.pga.org.au. Exclusive content and tournament updates will also be posted regularly on the PGA Tour of Australasia’s social media channels.

Instagram: @pgatouraus, @golfwestaust

Twitter: @PGAofAustralia, @golfwestaust

Facebook: @PGAofAustralia, @PGATourAus, @GolfWA

Official hashtag: #WAOpen

HOW TO WATCH

Catch the action of the third and final rounds on Saturday and Sunday, broadcast live, on Foxtel (Channel 505) and Kayo Sports.

Round 3: Saturday, 4.30pm-7.30pm AEDT

Round 4: Sunday, 2.30pm-7.30pm AEDT

RECENT CHAMPIONS
2022      Deyen Lawson (Western Australian GC)
2021      Braden Becker (Royal Fremantle GC)
2020      Hayden Hopewell (a) (Royal Fremantle GC)
2019      Michael Sim (Cottesloe GC)
2018      Zach Murray (a) (Mount Lawley GC)
2017      Stephen Leaney (Royal Perth GC)
2016      Curtis Luck (a) (Western Australian GC)
2015      Daniel Fox (Royal Fremantle GC)
2014      Ryan Fox (Cottesloe GC)

COURSE RECORD
63, Matthew Habgood (2000 WA PGA)

Photo: Courtesy of Joondalup Resort