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All eyes are on Cam Smith as he seeks to convert a three-stroke lead into a third victory at the Fortinet Australian PGA Championship at Royal Queensland Golf Club.
5.18pm: A disastrous double bogey at the par-3 17th effectively spells the end of Jason Scrivener’s tournament campaign. He heads to the 18th tee at 10-under and three shots back.
4.37pm: Birdie from the left side of the green extends Smith’s lead to two strokes with five holes to play. The skies are clearing and the world No.3 has a third Joe Kirkwood Cup in his sights.
4.34pm: Englishman John Parry matches the round of the day and is our clubhouse leader, posting a 9-under total with a closing 6-under 65.
4.22pm: The tee shot was average but the recovery sublime. Cameron Smith plays an explosion shot from the rough left of 12 to four feet and converts the birdie putt to reclaim the lead at 12-under.
4.07pm: Shortly after the second resumption Cameron Smith makes bogey at 11. There is now a three-way tie at the top between Smith, Jason Scrivener and Ryo Hisatsune at 11-under.
4.05pm: Play has now resumed. Television coverage will be on 9Gem, Fox Sports 505 and Kayo Sports until the end of play today.
3.49pm: Play will resume at 4.05pm AEST.
3.18pm: Play has been suspended again due to lightning in the area.
3.10pm: Rain is falling but play is back underway. Ryo Hisatsune birdies 13 to join Jason Scrivener at 11-under, one shot back of Smith. Englishman John Parry has birdied 14 and 15 to get to 8-under and tied for fifth.
2.38pm: The practice range has been opened to the players with play scheduled to recommence at 3.10pm AEST, pending any further inclement weather.
1.54pm: There will be no play before 2.30pm AEST. Officials are monitoring an electrical storm moving through the area.
1.25pm: Play has been suspended due to an electrical storm in the area.
1.17pm: Score check.
-12 Cameron Smith
-10 Ryo Hisatsune, Jason Scrivener
-9 Min Woo Lee, Yan Wei Liu
-8 Chang Gi Lee, Jake McLeod, Masahiro Kawamura
-7 Greg Chalmers (F), John Parry, Takumi Kanaya, David Micheluzzi, Brad Kennedy
12.13pm: Score check.
-12 Cameron Smith
-10 Jason Scrivener
-9 Min Woo Lee
-8 Alejandro Canizares, Ryo Histasune, Masahiro Kawamura, Yan Wei Liu
-7 Chang Gi Lee, Takumi Kanaya, Sam Brazel, Brad Kennedy, Jake McLeod
11.33am: Score check.
-12 Cameron Smith
-9 Min Woo Lee; Masahiro Kawamura
-8 Alejandro Canizares, Jason Scrivener, Brad Kennedy, Yan Wei Liu
-7 Ryo Hisatsune
-6 Greg Chalmers, Marc Leishman, John Parry, Takumi Kanaya, Sam Brazel, Alfredo Garcia-Heredia, Jake McLeod
10.33am: This is starting to feel like a Melbourne Cup. Another Japanese ‘raider’ has entered the fray, Ryo Hisatsune starting birdie-eagle to rocket into a share of second at 8-under with countryman Masahiro Kawamura who tees off with Cam Smith shortly.
10.15am: And here comes Leish! Back-to-back birdies at six and seven and now Marc Leishman is at 6-under and in a tie for eighth. Could he catch his great mate Smithy by round’s end?
10.12am: Alejandro Canizares birdies three of his opening four holes and there are now two Spaniards inside the top-10. Alfredo Garcia-Heredia tees off in 15 minutes in a share of eighth at 6-under.
9.48am: Few know Victoria GC better than Geoff Ogilvy. Four-under through 10 holes of his final round, the 2006 US Open champ might be the warming to the task ahead of next week’s Australian Open.
9.34am: Some hot scoring within the Harrison Endycott-Nick Flanagan group this morning. After a curling long putt on the first, PGA TOUR rookie Endycott found another from 50cm on the par-4 second to reach 4-under. Flanagan has played two super approach shots from the sand for two birdies in his first three holes to also be 4-under.
9.29am: Asia-Pacific Amateur champion Harrison Crowe is making an impression on Sunday. He makes the turn in 4-under and has made par at both 10 and 11 to get back into red numbers for the tournament.
9.27am: Six holes, one eagle, three birdies. Nick Voke is 5-under through 6 on Sunday and is now tied for 11th just three shots out of second.
8.58am: Unlike his alma mater Iowa State this morning against TCU, Nick Voke is in complete control this morning at RQ. He birdies the par-3 4th to pick up a fourth shot of the day and move into a tie for 15th.
8.43am: Inspired by Iowa State’s win over UNC, Kiwi Nick Voke is not mucking around. A birdie at one and an eagle at two moves Voke to 3-under and into a tie for 20th.
8.15am: Cracking group of Aussie legends coming up shortly, Wade Ormsby (-1), Greg Chalmers (-2) and Marc Leishman (-2) to tee off at 8.33am.
1.30pm: Successive bogeys for Jason Scrivener before the turn. He is now 3-over for the day and 7-under for the tournament, tied for sixth place.
1.28pm: He made birdie there in both first two rounds but Cameron Smith makes bogey at the par-5 ninth. He drops to 12-under and the lead is now three from Japan’s Masahiro Kawamura.
1.22pm: Min Woo Lee will rarely make a crazier par than he did on the short 292m par-4 12th. He drove the green to the front level but putted off into the right-side bunker when his putt didn’t have the power to climb the rise and skated hard right. He played a terrific bunker shot and answered par with his putt.
1.14pm: Successive birdies at 16 and 17 moves Spaniard Alfredo Garcia-Heredia inside the top 10. He is 4-under on his round and tied for ninth at 6-under.
1.10pm: Time and again Smith is out-duelling Scrivener, this time with a chip up the green. Smith plays a perfectly weighted chip to a bit over a foot while Scrivener must settle for a par at seven after a chip that failed to match Smith’s standards.
12.55pm: He’s done it again. Cameron Smith’s fourth birdie in just seven holes gives him a four-stroke buffer as the lead group approaches the turn.
12.39pm: Cameron Smith’s lead is now three. The man who doesn’t know how not to win has taken command of the Fortinet Australian PGA Championship with a birdie at six. Jake McLeod (-3), Masahiro Kawamura (-1) and Jason Scrivener (+1) are tied for second at 9-under.
12.22pm: Min Woo Lee the hottest player currently on course. He just misses a birdie putt on nine but is 4-under today and 8-under total to trail Cameron Smith by three strokes.
12.01pm: Cam Smith’s near ace at four and Jason Scrivener’s bogey sees a two-shot swing at the par 3. The Open champion now leads the Australian PGA Championship by two.
11.32am: Min Woo Lee drains a monster bomb for birdie at six. He’s now 3-under on his round and T5 at 7-under par.
11.30am: Despite missing his tee shot well right into the sandy wasteland Cam Smith leans on his stellar short game to make birdie from close range at the par-4 second to join Jason Scrivener at 10-under par. They lead by two from Cameron John and Masahiro Kawamura.
11.25am: The lead group is away and the wind is beginning to gust. Cam Davis has matched Scott Strange’s score of 5-under 66 to also move inside the top-20 after just making the cut. The afternoon groups may not get it so easy, though. Min Woo Lee on the move too, 2-under through five holes to move up to a tie for ninth.
10.11am: 49 minutes before the final group tees off Scott Strange signs for a 5-under 66. The WA veteran was in the first group out but now sits inside the top-20.
9.26am: Back-to-back birdies for Marc Leishman at three and four moves the big Victorian to 3-under. Could he be our big mover on Saturday?
9.01am: A birdie at the short par-4 12th and Scott Strange is back to 4-under on his round and up to a tie for 24th. How close can he get before the lead groups tee off?
8.42am: The Europeans are coming. Frenchman Pierre Pineau has picked up shots at three and four to move to 2-under and a tie for 33rd. Pineau narrowly missed a full DP World Tour card on the Challenge Tour in 2022 and has limited status on the main tour for 2023.
8.37am: Scotsman Liam Johnston is another player making a move on Saturday. Birdies at the two front nine par 5s – seven and nine – see him make the turn in 2-under to get to 1-under for the tournament.
8.29am: The Scott Strange charge hits a slight hurdle at 10. He drops a shot to fall back to 3-under on his round.
8.23am: Scott Strange adds a fourth birdie for the front nine at the par-5 ninth to turn in 4-under and 3-under for the championship. Out in the first group of the day, Strange is now in a tie for 24th and seven shots off the lead.
8.20am: Today is Super Saturday at Royal Queensland and adidas Kids Day from 10am-2pm. There are a host of fun activities for the young ones including the Callaway Kids Course and the MyGolf Junior Zone as well as face painting and some ‘super’ special guests.
8.12am: Another veteran is on the move to start Super Saturday. Victorian David Bransdon has birdied three and four to be 2-under on his round and 1-under for the championship.
7.50am: West Australian Scott Strange continues to surge up the leaderboard. He has picked up a third birdie for the day at the par-4 sixth to move to 2-under and in a share of 33rd.
7.26am: EAGLE! After scraping in on the cut-line Cam Davis makes eagle at the par-4 second to move into red figures and in a tie for 40th at 1-under. Scott Strange is also on the move early with two birdies in his opening four holes to join Davis at 1-under.
2.20pm: Spectacular chip-in from the back of the 13th green from world No.27 Ryan Fox. That birdie gets him back to 3-over but he needs a few more on the way home to get inside the cut-line that currently sits at even par.
2.02pm: Sublime bunker shot from the greenside trap at 12 sets up a third birdie in the space of four holes for Cameron Smith. He is now 5-under on his round and 8-under total to trail Jason Scrivener by two.
1.40pm: Another exquisite roll on that birdie putt from Cameron Smith at the par-3 11th. He is now in a share of fourth at 7-under and just three shots back.
1.13pm: After a bogey on eight Cameron Smith makes birdie at nine to turn in 3-under for the day and 6-under total. Been a struggle for Adam Scott over the front nine, he has dropped two shots to drop to 3-under.
12.52pm: Once ranked 89th in the world, Spain’s Alejandro Canizares is tied for fourth midway through Round 2 after a round of 5-under 66.
12.48pm: Here comes Cam. A birdie at the par-5 seventh and Cameron Smith climbs to 6-under and four shots off the lead.
12.35pm: Until recently Samuel Eaves spent most Wednesdays playing with real estate agents and car salesmen at Warwick Golf Club west of Brisbane. After a round of 4-under 67 today and T12 he’ll be in very different company come the weekend.
10.15am: Jason Scrivener extends his lead to three strokes with a birdie at the par-5 seventh to reach 10-under. Kiwis Daniel Hillier and Denzel Ieremia and Victorian Cameron John are tied for second at 7-under.
9.37am: Comments from Lucas Herbert on his withdrawal mid-round this morning.
“I twinged my back this morning on the range. I lost a lot of power in my swing. I tried everything I could to get going, I really wanted to keep playing and try and finish and make the cut and work my way up on the weekend, but I was getting told by people much smarter than me that I should give it some rest and allow it to recover for next week, that potentially I could do some damage longer-term. It’s annoying, because I don’t think I’ve pulled out of a tournament mid-round. I’ll do everything I can to get right for next week.”
9.25am: John Lyras responds with a birdie of his own at the par-5 ninth. He joins Scrivener at 9-under and atop the leaderboard.
9.21am: Jason Scrivener moves one clear with a birdie at the par-3 fourth. He is now 9-under, one ahead of John Lyras (8-under) with Min Woo Lee a further shot back at 7-under.
9.16am: In his first start since earning a full DP World Tour card New Zealand’s Daniel Hillier is the hot player on course. He makes four birdies prior to the turn and is 4-under on his round through 10 holes, tied with Brad Kennedy in a share of fourth at 6-under.
9.08am: Back-to-back birdies for Victorian Cameron John at 15 and 16 and he joins the logjam at 5-under. He is 3-under on his round through even holes.
8.58am: Sydneysider John Lyras joins Jason Scrivener at 8-under with a birdie at the par-5 seventh. The pair have a one shot lead over Min Woo Lee followed by Todd Sinnott, Anthony Quayle, Daniel Hillier, Masahiro Kawamura, Denzel Ieremia and Adam Scott at 5-under.
8.53am: Lucas Herbert has withdrawn after 10 holes of his second round due to injury.
8.50am: Jason Scrivener again moves one clear of the field. He birdies one – his 10th hole of the day – to get to 8-under.
8.32am: The short par three 17th is already proving a great vantage point to watch the action. The TaylorMade beach umbrellas and spectator marquee give cover from the sun. The TaylorMade Bunker Bar provides refreshments amid the amphitheatre of spectator facilities around the 125m hole. Danish golfer Rasmus Hojgaard clipped the pin with his tee shot for a birdie on Thursday.
8.25am: Victorian Todd Sinnott is making an impression early on Friday. He birdies two, four and six to turn in 2-under and 5-under total, two shots off the lead.
8.21am: After a brilliant shot from the fairway bunker yesterday on 18 Min Woo Lee has to make a four-metre putt to save par after missing the green with his approach. He makes the turn at 7-under and tied for the lead with Jason Scrivener and John Lyras.
8.13am: We’re back where we started. A birdie for John Lyras at the par-3 fourth and our overnight leaders are once again tied at 7-under.
8.12am: Bogeys for both Anthony Quayle and Denzel Ieremia at 14 and four respectively. They drop back into a share of fifth at 5-under.
7.57am: Co-leader Jason Scrivener plays a deft chip into the par-5 15th and makes the par putt to stay at 7-under. Temperature starting to rise as we move towards a top of 30 degrees.
7.50am: We’re tied at the top again. Min Woo Lee birdies the par-5 15th to join Jason Scrivener at 7-under. Kiwi Denzel Ieremia has made birdie at his opening two holes to join the four-way tie for third at 6-under.
7.38am: Gold Coaster Anthony Quayle picks up a birdie at 12 to get to 6-under, one back of Jason Scrivener. Japan’s Masahiro Kawamura is the big mover early. He is 3-under on his round and 6-under total to also sit one off the lead.
7.26am: We have just received word that as of 6.39am this morning ticket sales for the 2022 Australian PGA Championship have surpassed those of 2013 when Adam Scott returned as Masters champion. We can’t wait to see you all out here at Royal Queensland over the next three days.
7.09am: Min Woo Lee bounces back quickly from his bogey at 12. He picks up a shot at the par-4 13th and is now just one back of fellow West Australian Jason Scrivener (7-under).
6.57: Jason Scrivener moves to the outright lead with a birdie at the par-4 12th. He is now at 7-under and one clear of John Lyras who is about to begin his second round. Min Woo Lee now in a share of third at 5-under with Brad Kennedy, Anthony Quayle, Adam Scott, Jeunghun Wang and Peter Cooke.
6.47am: A frustrating par for Marc Leishman after driving the green and three-putting the 292m par-4 12th. Min Woo Lee makes bogey to drop to 5-under after his chip from the left side of the green failed to climb the steep bank.
6.22am: Safe two-putt par for co-leader Min Woo Lee at the par-4 10th. Playing partner Marc Leishman (-2) had to work much harder. He found the light rough off the tee, played his approach to the jaws of the green, came up short with his chip and holed a fine four-metre putt to also make par.
6am: Play is underway in Round 2 of the Fortinet Australian PGA Championship. Co-leader Min Woo Lee has begun his second round from the 10th tee with fans flooding in bathed in yellow. Going to be another cracking day of golf at RQ.
ROUND 1 CLOSED
6pm: That’s the close of play for day one of the Fortinet Australian PGA Championship. Enjoy the highlights and come back tomorrow for an enthralling day two.
5.36pm: Playing in the second-last group of the day, South Australian Peter Cooke makes birdie at 16 and 17 to join the growing logjam at 5-under and one off the lead.
WHAT THEY SAID
Min Woo Lee: “It was awesome. Very solid, one mistake, a bad drive on 10, but other than that, it was a very solid day approach-wise and off the tee and a very good day on the greens. If I can do that the next few days, it will be very nice.”
Jason Scrivener: “I had a practice round with Jed (Morgan) the other day, which really helped. He’s a local and kind of helped us out, which is really important around here. Local knowledge is pretty valuable. I played smart, picked my chances today to be aggressive and then others I was quite conservative.”
John Lyras: “I probably hit my irons as good as I’ve hit them in a long time today. First, 10, 11 holes it could have been really, really low. I struggled with the speed of the greens a little bit and had to kind of make some adjustments coming in. It’s nice to hit a few good putts coming into the last four, five holes, but there was a lot of potential to be a lot lower today.”
5.20pm: Handful of players still on course but it is Min Woo Lee, Jason Scrivener and John Lyras who lead the way with rounds of six-under 65.
2.47pm: Queenslander Chris Wood is the first player to 6-under. He makes a third birdie in the space of four holes to take the outright lead through 10 holes.
2.31pm: Playing partners Chris Wood and Jeunghun Wang have both turned in 5-under 31 to join Adam Scott at the top of the leaderboard. There are currently 16 players within two of the lead.
2.18pm: Jason Scrivener makes birdie at the short par-4 12th to join the eight-way tie for second, one back of Adam Scott.
2.12pm: Three birdies in succession sees Brad Kennedy turn in 4-under and in a share of second, one behind Adam Scott.
1.20pm: EAGLE! Anthony Quayle holes his bunker shot at the par-5 seventh to climb into a share of second at 4-under par.
1.17pm: Min Woo Lee makes birdie at the par-5 ninth to make the turn at 4-under, just one stroke back of Adam Scott.
1.10pm: Three birdies on the trot for West Australian Jason Scrivener. He is now 3-under and in a nine-way tie for fourth just two strokes off the lead.
12.33pm: Weather update. Predicted wind gusts between 20-30km/h for the afternoon groups. Might make hitting these RQ greens even trickier as the opening round reaches its conclusion.
12.12pm: Birdies coming thick and fast for Min Woo Lee. He’s now 3-under through five and just two shots from the lead.
12.09pm: Hot start for both Anthony Quayle and Min Woo Lee. Quayle has birdied both one and two to be 2-under through two holes while Lee has picked up shots at two and four to also be 2-under early in his round.
11.09am: Cameron Smith posts 32 on his back nine to sign for a 3-under 68 in Round 1. He sits just two shots behind Adam Scott after he too closed with a birdie at nine for a five-under 66.
10.19am: Cam Davis taps in for eagle at the par-5 seventh to get back to even par on his round.
10.12am: Three back-nine birdies now for Cam Smith to reach 2-under. An up-and-down for birdie on the 545m par-5 seventh matched by Adam Scott who moves to the outright lead at 4-under. Scott hits driver-fairway wood just short of the green and rolls another wily putt up close to the hole from off the green.
10.08am: Forbes product James Grierson makes the turn in 3-under to be just one shot off the lead. He is tied with China’s Yan Wei Liu and Spaniard Alfredo Garcia-Heredia.
9.57am: Yan Wei Liu makes bogey at 10, now tied for the lead with Adam Scott and Spain’s Alfredo Garcia-Heredia at 3-under. Nine players are in a share of fourth at 2-under. Cameron Smith up to 1-under and tied for 13th thanks to a birdie at the par-4 sixth.
9.34am: China’s Yan Wei Liu has moved to the top of the leaderboard. He makes the turn in 4-under 32 after birdies at three, six, seven and nine. He won the Zhengzhou Classic on the China Tour last year and was 59th at Final Stage of DP World Tour Qualifying School.
9.26am: Back-to-back bogeys for Adam Scott. Misses the green right at the par-4 fifth after finding the fairway off the tee. Unable to get up-and-down and is now tied for the lead at 3-under with Rasmus Hojgaard and Yan Wei Liu. There are eight players tied for fourth at 2-under.
9.15am: Adam Scott’s first bogey for the week comes at the par-3 fourth. He drops back to 4-under after failing to get up-and-down from the bunker but stays one shot in front of Rasmus Hojgaard, Jarryd Felton and Yan Wei Liu.
8.53am: Brett Coletta has had a circuitous route to 1-under through 10 holes. He birdied one, double-bogeyed two, eagled seven, bogeyed eight and birdied nine. With five pars thrown in in between.
8.45am: Adam Scott’s lead is out to two. He makes birdie at the par-4 second to reach 5-under, Rasmus Hojgaard his closest challenger at 3-under.
8.30am: Cameron Smith birdies the 10th to get back to even par. Adam Scott remains out in front at 4-under, one clear of Rasmus Hojgaard with five players tied for third at 2-under.
8.07am: Adam Scott leads the Australian PGA Championship. The two-time champion makes the turn at 4-under courtesy of another exquisite approach into the par-4 18th.
8am: Three years ago Nick Flanagan was tied for third at the Australian PGA Championship after playing his way into the final group with Adam Scott with a Saturday 63. The pair are again locked together on top early in Round 1.
7.55am: Adam Scott is dialled in. His birdie putt of under a metre on his seventh hole – the par-4 16th – gets him to 2-under. He has a clear plan too, using his putter from off the green twice to snare safe pars. He earns a share of the lead with Nick Flanagan at 3-under when his wedge at the short par-3 17th nestles beside the pin. Smith and Fox both wrestle with their precision to be 1-over through eight.
7.36am: Wynnum member Terry Johns never expected a personal meeting with Open champion Cam Smith. He did even better with a signed golf glove after Smith’s tugged drive bounced into his right leg in the rough on the 15th.
“I’ve just had a titanium knee replacement so maybe the ball was attracted,” Johns, 70, said with a laugh. “It was a thrill. I stayed up through the night watching him win at St Andrews.”
The ricochet gave Smith a more favourable lie.
7.30am: A Rasmus Hojgaard bogey at 14 means it is a four-way tie at the top at 2-under. Hojgaard joins Nick Flanagan, Jarryd Felton and Cory Crawford with Adam Scott one of six players in a share of second.
7.15am: Here’s an early look at the leaderboard
-3 Rasmus Hojgaard
-2 Nick Flanagan; Nicolai Hojgaard
-1 Adam Scott, Justin Warren, Aaron Wilkin, Josh Armstrong, Ashley Hall, Jarryd Felton
7.10am: Rasmus Hojgaard makes his third birdie on the trot to take the outright lead at -3.
7.08am: Here come the Hojgaards! Playing in consecutive groups, Rasmus and Nicolai join Nick Flanagan at -2, Rasmus making birdie at 11 and 12 as Nicolai picked up shots at 10 and 12.
6.58am: Adam Scott earns the honour on the 14th tee after a pin-point wedge to the par-4 13th settles five feet above the hole and he makes the putt for birdie.
6.48am: Queensland PGA champion on Sunday, Aaron Wilkin joins Nick Flanagan at the top of the leaderboard with a birdie at the par-4 second. Tough start for PGA Tour star Cam Davis who makes double bogey at 10.
6.33am: He was one of the last players in the field but Brett Coletta has a share of the lead. He and Nick Flanagan both birdie the par-4 first to be the first players under par.
6.25am: Quick bounce back for Ryan Fox at the par-3 11th, rolling in his putt for birdie after a brilliant tee shot over the front-right trap to five feet. The world No.27 is back on level terms.
6.15am: A bogey to start for Ryan Fox after his bump and run came up well short and misses the putt for par. Smith’s short game comes to the fore as he and Scott both make par.
6.10am: Scott, Smith and Fox all miss the green with their approach shots to the par-4 10th. Going to be some scrambling to save par on hole one.
6am: Ryan Fox leads out our marquee group from the 10th tee with a smashed 3-wood down the centre of the fairway. Cameron Smith and Adam Scott both flirt with the large fig to the right of the fairway. The 2022 Fortinet Australian PGA Championship is underway.
