Playing without the safety net of a PGA TOUR card continues to inspire Aaron Baddeley who recorded his third top-10 finish of the season at the Corales Puntacana Resort and Club Championship in the Dominican Republic.

A four-time winner on the PGA TOUR, Baddeley finished inside the top-10 just three times in the past two seasons combined but after failing to retain his card for 2019 has recaptured the form that saw him once rank as high as No.16 in the Official World Golf Rankings.

The 38-year-old was well in contention for a fifth PGA TOUR title heading into the final round but was unable to make any ground on 54-hole leader Graeme McDowell who made a sensational birdie at the par-3 17th to claim his first PGA TOUR title since November 2015.

Baddeley’s 1-under 71 in the final round was good enough for a tie for seventh and another precious start at this week’s Valero Texas Open, validating his late decision to enter the tournament.

“With my status this year being 126-150, my wife and I were talking about it and it was just like, Hey, I could have a month off after this, so I’ve got to play,” Baddeley explained.

“I heard great things about the event last year, a lot of guys really like the golf course and being down here at the Westin where we stay, to come down and play I think it’s a good decision.”

With two top-15 finishes in his past five starts, a 6-under 66 in the opening round looked like being the springboard for Matt Jones to enjoy a very good week also in the Dominican Republic.

Starting his second round with a quintuple bogey nine on the par-4 10th was less than ideal but a 5-under 67 on Sunday moved him up into a tie for 18th and reason to believe that a second PGA TOUR win is not too far away.

“Physically, I’m great. My body’s probably never felt better than it does right now,” said Jones, who has battled niggling injuries in recent years.

“I would say my game’s very close to something good happening, has been that way for a long time.

“I finally got my putter working, which has been probably my struggles for the last three years, why I’ve struggled.

“If I putt well, I’ll have no issues the rest of the year.”

Curtis Luck and John Senden also qualified for the weekend, finishing tied for 52nd and 67th respectively.

On the Champions Tour, Stephen Leaney was tied for 51st in his tour debut at the Rapiscan Systems Classic in Mississippi with Victorian David McKenzie three shots further back in a tie for 58th.

PGA TOUR
Corales Puntacana Resort and Club Championship
Corales Puntacana Resort and Club, Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
T7           Aaron Baddeley 68-67-68-71—274            $US93,500
T18        Matt Jones          66-71-73-67—277            $40,500
T52        Curtis Luck          71-71-72-69—283            $6,926
T67        John Senden       73-68-75-71—287            $6,150
MC         Cameron Davis   74-71—145
MC         Robert Allenby   75-72—147

CHAMPIONS TOUR
Rapiscan Systems Classic
Fallen Oak, Biloxi, Mississippi
T51        Stephen Leaney 73-77-74—224
T58        David McKenzie 77-74-76—227

Three dropped shots in his final four holes not only kept Aaron Baddeley from contending at the Arnold Palmer Invitational but denied him a start at The Open at Royal Portrush in July.

Starting the final round tied for third and just two shots off the pace, Baddeley was 1-under through nine holes but two bogeys and a double-bogey at the par-4 15th saw him drop into a tie for 17th, seven shots behind winner Francesco Molinari.

Molinari’s Bay Hill triumph was fitting given that the top three players, not otherwise exempt, earned a position in the field for The Open, Baddeley’s double at 15 and bogey at the par-3 17th dropping him out of contention.

Baddeley’s tee shot at the 15th travelled out of bounds forcing him to re-load from the tee, making a par with his second ball for a score of six.

In a challenging week where deep rough and firm playing surfaces placed a premium on driving the ball, Baddeley roared up the leaderboard with a run of four birdies in five holes on the back-9 of his third round, his final round of 2-over 74 enough to log his fourth top-20 finish of the year.

While Baddeley went backwards on Sunday, Marc Leishman continued his strong association with Bay Hill, a round of 2-under 70 lifting him nine places up the leaderboard and into a tie for 23rd.

Jason Day is in doubt for this week’s Player’s Championship after withdrawing early in his first round citing a back injury.

PGA TOUR

On the Champions Tour, Victorian David McKenzie recorded his first top-10 finish in close to a year at the Hoag Classic at Newport Beach Country Club in California.

A back-9 birdie blitz in his second round vaulted McKenzie into a tie for second heading into the final round but three bogeys on the front-9 effectively ended his charge at a maiden Champions Tour title.

He bounced back with birdies at 10 and 12 which moved him to within reach of the top-5 until a dropped shot at the par-5 final hole saw McKenzie post a 2-over 73 to finish tied for 10th.

Champions Tour

Cameron Smith has further entrenched his status as one of the world’s best with a top-10 finish at the World Golf Championships-Mexico Championship in Mexico City.

No one in the field was able to keep pace with Dustin Johnson as he romped to a five-shot win, three bogeys on the front-9 putting Smith on the back foot early on Sunday.

Three birdies on the back-9 brought him back to 1-under on his round and a tie for 6th, his best performance in a WGC stroke play tournament having finished tied for 5th at the Dell Match Play last year.

Former Queensland amateur teammate Jake McLeod, who earned his start thanks to winning the ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit, made a strong impression in his WGC debut with a tie for 45th while Ryan Fox’s mad dash from New Zealand after a late call-up may have caught up with him as he produced rounds of 75-76 on the weekend to be tied for 67th.

It was not the Sunday Aaron Baddeley was hoping for but the Victorian can take comfort from the fact that his tie for second at the Puerto Rico Open will secure him a start at this week’s Honda Classic.

Without full status in 2019, Baddeley’s only avenues to PGA TOUR starts this year is by invitation or playing well and his second top-five of the season earns him a place in the field at PGA National, taking away some of the sting of an even-par round of 72 after leading through 54 holes.

Three bogeys in the space of four holes on the front nine took the wind out of Baddeley’s tournament charge before birdies at 15 and 18 delivered his best PGA TOUR finish since his win at the Barbasol Championship in 2016, three shots behind rookie winner Martin Trainer.

“I feel like overall my game’s in a really good spot,” Baddeley said after the third round at Coco Beach Golf and Country Club.

“Got off to a really nice start (at the Safeway Open) and been hitting the ball really quite well.”

It was a positive week also for Cameron Davis whose tie for 16th is his best result of the year with Curtis Luck’s tie for 25th also a season best for the West Australian.

Adam Scott continued his resurgence by contending all the way until an extended Sunday but it was Marc Leishman who once again finished as the leading Aussie at the Genesis Open at Riviera Country Club in Los Angeles.

PGA TOUR

In extremely difficult conditions for scoring, Victorian Marc Leishman made a major move on Sunday with rounds of 67 and 68 to climb into a tie for fourth at the Genesis Open, his fifth top-five finish in just seven starts this season.

Forced to play 36 holes in a day to complete the tournament, most players struggled to make up ground, however Leishman was able to climb two spots to finish three shots behind winner JB Holmes at 11-under par. Leishman is now fourth in the FedEx Cup standings.

Enjoying a share of the lead through 36 holes, Scott dropped to a tie for seventh with a final round of 5-over 76, lamenting a poor period with the driver and putter midway through his round.

“It was tough but I think I made the worst of it,” said Scott, who was runner-up at the Farmers Insurance Open two weeks ago.

“I had a stretch of holes, I don’t know where it was from, the 8th to the 13th, and I had four to eight-footers and I missed every one of them on each hole.

“You’re going to miss a few out there. We saw some four-putts and three-putts, but you can’t miss every one for like six straight holes, so that was disappointing.

“But I got in that position because I just didn’t hit the fairway enough, which was a shame because I’ve driven it good the last couple weeks and I just didn’t drive it my best at the end today.”

Aaron Baddeley and Cameron Smith were the only other two Aussies to make the cut, finishing in a tie for 49th.

WEB.COM TOUR

Cameron Percy and Rhein Gibson both remain within the top 25 on the Web.com Tour moneylist despite enjoying mixed results at the LECOM Suncoast Classic in Florida, won by American Mark Hubbard.

Producing a consistent week of scoring and the only Aussie to make the cut, Percy completed his four rounds in 10-under par to be tied for 35th and remain 16th on the moneylist.

Although he missed the cut on the number with rounds of 69-71, Gibson dropped just three spots to sit one position behind Percy in 17th on the year-long rankings.

Brett Coletta, Kiwi Tim Wilkinson and Brett Drewitt all missed the cut.

CHAMPIONS TOUR

A final round of 4-under 67 propelled Victoria’s David McKenzie up 14 places and into a tie for 11th at the Champions Tour’s Chubb Classic in Florida.

Spain’s Miguel Angel Jimenez claimed the tournament in a playoff against Bernhard Langer and Olin Browne with McKenzie able to take plenty of confidence from his three rounds of 67-69-67.

His tie for 11th was his best finish on the Champions Tour since March last year when he was tied for third at the Rapiscan Systems Classic.

Cameron Smith has his sights set on breaking into the top-20 players in the world this year; a win at this week’s Genesis Open would carry him almost all the way there.

Tied for sixth in his third appearance at Riviera Country Club 12 months ago, the 25-year-old Queenslander has finished inside the top-25 in five of six starts this year to climb to 27 in the Official World Golf Rankings.

Amongst the Australians, he is third behind only Jason Day (11th) and Marc Leishman (18th) and wants to use the Genesis Open to further advance his position.

Paired with eventual champion Bubba Watson, Smith shot 71 in the final round last year and would love nothing more than to join Adam Scott, Aaron Baddeley and Robert Allenby as Aussie winners at one of America’s most acclaimed courses.

"This tournament always has a high-quality field; it’s one of the most prestigious events on tour and it’d be special to put my name on the trophy," Smith told AAP.

“One of my big goals for this year is to crack that top-20 and keep working my way up the rankings.

"I know what I’m capable of but I know it’s not going to come without hard work."

Baddeley is the most recent Aussie to triumph at Riviera having won in 2011 and earned his way into the field this week through the Monday qualifier, the second time he has secured a start this season.

Coming in a rain-affected 36-holes in 2005, Scott’s win in 2005 is considered an unofficial victory and he comes into this week having finished second in the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines two starts ago.

Also in the field this week are Leishman, John Senden, Rod Pampling, Curtis Luck and Cameron Davis.

The Web.com Tour reaches the American mainland for the first time this year with the LECOM Suncoast Classic in Florida where four Australians and Kiwi Tim Wilkinson will tee it up.

Rhein Gibson and Cameron Percy were both tied for fifth at last week’s Panama Championship to move up into 14th and 16th place on the Order of Merit, closely followed by Wilkinson (25th) and Brett Coletta (27th) after they both recorded top-20 finishes in Panama.

Sydney’s Brett Drewitt is the only other Australian playing at Lakewood National Golf Club where he will be eager to improve his position of 48th on the moneylist.

The Champions Tour is also in Florida this week where Victorian David McKenzie is the sole Australian in the field for the Chubb Classic.

It is the ocean views that endear it to many but it’s what he sees on the ground that makes Jason Day believe success at Pebble Beach Golf Links is within reach.

Day heads a contingent of eight Australians playing the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am at the famed Monterey Peninsula that in June will also host the US Open.

In nine appearances in the tournament that is played across Pebble Beach, Spyglass Hill and Monterey Peninsula Country Club before reaching its conclusion at Pebble, Day has registered five top-six finishes including a tie for second 12 months ago.

After working off the rust at the Sentry Tournament of Champions, Day was tied for fifth in the defence of his Farmers Insurance Open title a fortnight ago and is excited at the prospect of breaking Australia’s drought at Pebble Beach that stretches back more than 25 years.

"All three courses suit my eye, but I guess I just have to be patient and let things unfold,” Day told AAP.

"I’ve had some very good finishes here and I feel like I am going to win this tournament one year.

“I’ve had a lot of top-fives and top-10s and played really well here, but I don’t know what has stopped me from winning.

"Sometimes you just get beat on the day, even though you played well. Ted Potter played better than everyone last year."

Day will commence his tournament campaign at Monterey Peninsula Country Club alongside Canadian Mackenzie Hughes with Adam Scott, Curtis Luck and Ryan Ruffels also starting the tournament at the course that has played the easiest of the three in six of the past nine years.

Ruffels received a sponsor’s invitation to play in the event where he was tied 60th in 2016, the 19th PGA TOUR tournament he has played in courtesy of an invite.

John Senden is off the 10th tee with Scott Stallings in the first group at Spyglass Hill in the opening round, fellow Aussie Rod Pampling to follow in the group directly behind.

Cameron Davis, Aaron Baddeley and Matt Jones are also playing Spyglass Hill first up.

On the Champions Tour, Victorian David McKenzie makes his first appearance of 2019 at the Oasis Championship in Boca Raton, Florida, a tournament in which he tied for 24th last year, 11 shots behind victor Mark Calcavecchia.

A tap on the yellow bucket hat on Saturday said it all.

As Rickie Fowler’s four-shot lead evaporated in spectacular fashion on the 11th hole of the final round of the Waste Management Phoenix Open, he quickly regained his composure and perspective and began to right a rapidly sinking ship.

Because he knows.

One of the most visible and resolute supporters of the Lyle family since the passing of Jarrod last August, Fowler knows that for him, life will go on.

A ball rolling back into a lake for a second penalty on the one hole is hard to take, but in the context of life’s greater meaning, a sudden onset of social media frenzy about a collapse the day after Johnny Miller’s retirement from the commentary booth just as quickly fades away.

Wearing the ‘Leuk the Duck’ pin in his cap – as he has done in every tournament appearance since Lyle’s passing – by the time Fowler reached the iconic par-3 16th and the plaque commemorating Lyle’s ace there eight years ago, the resilience many had questioned now resembled reinforced steel.

“Life’s a lot bigger than the day-to-day stuff,” said an emotional Fowler who was able to celebrate a win with his father, Rod, and grandfather, Yutaka, for the first time.

“Trophies are great and all – I’ve wanted to win here for 11 years – but sitting there on 11 with things definitely not going my way, if we happen to finish second, third, fourth, the sun’s going to come up tomorrow.

“I always think of Jarrod Lyle. I’ve got the Leuk the Duck pin and especially with the Thunderbirds and what they did with the plaque on 16, he’s always with me. He’s along for the ride.

“I’m in a position where I want to kind of help continue on his legacy. Jarrod wanted to be able to help families and kids that were dealing with stuff similar to what he went through so his wife and I are going to work on some stuff moving forward of what we can do and ultimately keeping Jarrod’s name alive.

“It’s things like that that help put life in perspective.”

Starting the final round with a four-shot buffer over Matt Kuchar and five ahead of good friend Justin Thomas, Fowler made double-bogey at the par-4 fifth before disaster struck at 11.

Short and right of the green with his tee shot, a pitch that skidded forward rolled into the lake of the back of the green but that was just the beginning of the drama.

After taking his penalty drop, Fowler walked up the embankment to survey the shot ahead of him only to turn and see his ball roll back into the water without being touched.

He incurred a second penalty stroke and then chipped 17 feet past the hole, making the return putt for a triple-bogey seven.

“It was a really good triple,” Fowler joked.

Fowler had putts for eagle at both 15 and 17 that he converted into birdies for a two-shot win over South African Branden Grace, the fifth PGA TOUR title of his career.

Besides Lyle’s golf bag taking pride of place on the 16th tee on Saturday the Australian representation on the weekend was left to Cameron Smith.

Rounds of 67-65 put Smith in position to contend over the closing two rounds but as conditions toughened Smith struggled to keep pace.

A birdie at the par-3 fourth was a positive start to his final round but a bogey at the seventh and double-bogey at nine kept the top of the leaderboard at arm’s reach, two back-nine birdies contributing to a tie for 15th, his second consecutive top-15 finish.

Former champion Aaron Baddeley will take advantage of a sponsor’s exemption so that he can play in his 17th consecutive Waste Management Phoenix Open in his home town of Scottsdale, Arizona this week.

A tribute to Jarrod Lyle at the par-3 16th hole where he made a memorable hole-in-one in 2011 will make it an emotional week for the two Aussies in the field in Baddeley and Cameron Smith, with Cameron Davis currently on the reserves list.

New Zealand’s Danny Lee is also in the field, hoping to bounce back after missing the cut at last week’s Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines.

Having failed to retain his card in 2018, Baddeley’s opportunities to play on the PGA TOUR in 2019 will be limited, the 2007 champion understandably grateful to receive an invitation to play from The Thunderbirds, a local charity arm charged with promoting the region through sport.

Although he missed the cut in his first two appearances at the famed TPC Scottsdale layout, Baddeley has since racked up $1.34 million in career earnings at the most raucous venue in golf and appreciated the chance to add to that tally in 2019.

“The WM Phoenix Open is my favorite week of the year,” Baddeley said upon receiving the exemption into the field.

“Scottsdale is home and I love playing in front of the awesome crowds and my friends and family.

“My game is coming around nicely and I’m excited to have this chance to get the year off to a good start.

“The Thunderbirds do an amazing job with the tournament. Being a local, I can appreciate the impact the tournament has on the community and charities throughout the year.”

Since his win 12 years ago Baddeley’s best finish at the Phoenix Open is a tie for 17th in 2015, missing the cut in 2016 and 2017 before a top-30 result last year that was under-pinned by a third round of 66.

Starting the year with limited status, Baddeley Monday qualified for the Safeway Classic and proceeded to finish tied for fourth, storming home last start in the Desert Classic with a 7-under 65 to finish tied for 17th.

Such is his position, a top-10 result at La Quinta would have secured Baddeley a start at the Farmers Insurance Open but he can now return to a happy hunting ground with momentum on his side and sitting 73rd on the FedEx Cup from just four starts.

Like Baddeley, Smith’s most recent round was a 7-under 65 in the final round at Torrey Pines that propelled him to his second top-10 finish of the year.

Four sub-70 rounds in his first event of the year at the Sony Open was a strong continuation of the form that saw Smith claim a second straight Australian PGA Championship and he returns to TPC Scottsdale with two made cuts from three appearances, his best a tie for 42nd in 2017.

Runner-up at the Mayakoba Golf Classic in November, Lee has missed the cut in five of six appearances at Phoenix but was fourth in 2016, where he led the field through 54 holes but fell three spots on Sunday due to a 1-over round of 73.

Aaron Baddeley’s putter failed him at the worst possible time as the Victorian narrowly missed a second top-10 finish of the PGA TOUR season at the Desert Classic at LA Quinta in California.

As 31-year-old rookie Adam Long upset Phil Mickelson and Adam Hadwin with a birdie at the 72nd hole to record a win in just his sixth start on tour, Baddeley was left to rue a number of birdie putts, down the stretch, that failed to fall and could have earned him a spot in this week’s Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines.

With limited status in 2019, Baddeley is relying on sponsor’s invitations and stellar play to earn starts on Tour and as he caught fire on Sunday he looked destined to play his way into Torrey Pines.

An eagle three at his second hole of the day – the par-5 11th – set the tone for the birdie blitz to follow.

The only player to reach the 11th in two shots all day, Baddeley made the putt from 16 feet and followed it with birdies at 12, 17 and 18 to turn in 5-under and surging up the leaderboard.

Back-to-back birdies at the third and fourth holes from 14 and 17 feet respectively lifted Baddeley into a tie for 15th and just one shot outside the top-10 with five holes to play, including two par-5s.

He gave himself chances from 22, 15, 16 and 12 feet at five, seven, eight and nine but one of the most highly regarded putters on Tour was unable to find the bottom of the cup, ultimately finishing tied for 18th having survived the 54-hole cut in a tie for 58th.

Sydney’s Cameron Davis looked set to post the third top-20 PGA TOUR finish of his young career until a bogey on the 72nd hole.

Starting the final round tied for 29th, three birdies on the front-9 and a fourth on the par-4 12th saw Davis make major inroads on the leaderboard, at one point tied for 13th and on track for his best finish to date on the PGA TOUR.

But after missing a good opportunity for a second straight birdie at the par-3 13th the 2017 Australian Open champion dropped shots at the 14th and 15th holes to lose ground to the field, his four-round total of 15-under par good enough for a tie for 28th.

Trailing runaway leader Phil Mickelson by two shots through 36 holes, the Desert Classic shaped as something of a coming out party for West Australian PGA TOUR rookie Curtis Luck until a third round 76 brought his charge to a premature end.

At 14-under through the first two rounds, Luck turned in even par and made birdie at 10 but endured a disastrous finish with back-to-back double bogeys and another dropped shot at the last to close out his round.

Four bogeys in his opening seven holes on Sunday kept him on the back foot as he ended the week at 7-under and tied for 70th.

Matt Jones, Rod Pampling and John Senden all failed to make the 54-hole cut.