Queenslander Aaron Pike has turned to a former world No.1 to help further his career resurrection; he just also happens to be one of his best mates.

With conditional status on the PGA TOUR Series-China tour, Pike commences his season at this week’s Beijing Championship at Topwin Golf and Country Club with the advice and lessons from a week-long training camp with Jason Day still fresh in his mind.

Pike is one of eight Australians in the third event of the 2019 schedule with Max McCardle, Kevin Yuan, Corey Hale, Tim Stewart, Christopher Wood, Aaron Wilkin, Hayden Webb and Kiwis Luke Toomey, Sam An and Ryan Chisnall also teeing it up from Thursday.

As a 21-year-old amateur, Pike shot to prominence by taking the first-round lead at the 2006 Australian Masters and starting the final round trailing Englishman Justin Rose by just two shots.

But it took a further 12 years before Pike would record his first professional win, last October’s Victorian PGA Championship at RACV Cape Schanck on the ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia.

Back injuries and an obsession with the technical aspects of the swing both conspired against Pike but two weeks shadowing his great mate Day in April has convinced the now 34-year-old that the second phase of his career will be more productive.

Highlighted by his breakthrough win, Pike played strongly over the summer to finish the 2018 season in 27th position on the ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit and sought out Day to help take his game to the next level.

“He just always let me know that the option was there if I wanted it,” Pike said of the week he spent at Day’s house in the lead-up to The Masters.

“He’ll never force you to do something but if you’re willing to put in the effort to attempt to do something with him he will make the time.

“If you show initiative he’ll make the time. I’ve been over there five times in the past 18 months, not so much to train with him but this year we’re doing a hell of a lot more.

“He had been at me for a while to come and do some stuff with him and I got off my bum and went over there and did it.

“He’s obviously a pretty bloody good golfer and I wanted to step it up and train a lot harder, train more efficiently.

“I was basically just mirroring everything he does, how he works, his effort, all that kind of stuff.”

Pike, who caddied for Dimi Papadatos in last week’s Volvo China Open, admitted that above all else that there was one takeaway from his time with Day that he will keep front of mind moving forward.

“The most prominent thing that I figured out – and I figured it out very quickly – was that he did work on things technically but he works more on hitting golf shots than he did anything else,” Pike explained.

“I’ve probably tried to train technically too much rather than training myself to hit really good golf shots.

“I very much grew up just hitting shots and I got too bogged down by the technical side of things. My coach Martin Gould has been at me for quite a long time for that.

“With the forced layoff with the back problems and then coming back in 2018 I found myself enjoying playing golf again.

“I had a decent year, had my first win on tour, and that arose immediately in my eyes not because I came back a better player but because I went back to my old ways and came back reinvigorated.”

With the PGA TOUR Series-China schedule still yet to be formulated fully, Pike will return to the US after the Beijing Championship to attend first stage of US Open qualifying and spend more time with Day.

Dates for the 2019 Victorian PGA Championship and inaugural Gippsland Super 6 have been confirmed for the ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia’s Victorian swing.

To be played from 24-27 October 2019, the Victorian PGA Championship is set to return to RACV Cape Schanck Resort for the second year in a row before play moves east for the first ever Gippsland Super 6 to be played at Yallourn Golf Club from 7 – 10 November.

“The Victorian PGA Championship and Gippsland Super 6 will play an important part in what is set to be a huge season of golf on the ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia,” said Simon Butterly, General Manager – Tournaments for the PGA of Australia.

“We are delighted to be returning to a world-class venue at RACV Cape Schanck Resort and to begin an exciting relationship with Yallourn Golf Club for the Gippsland Super 6, which, through the significant contribution of the Latrobe Valley Authority, promises to be an outstanding event for the whole Gippsland Region.”

“With only a week between each tournament, the events will provide the perfect lead-in to the 2019 summer of golf and give our players consistent opportunities on Tour.”

Competition at the Gippsland Super 6 will take place across three rounds of stroke play qualifying, where a field of 132 competitors will be reduced to the top-24 players, who will then compete in a six-hole, medal (stroke) match play format to determine a champion on the final day.

The Gippsland Super 6 will see the introduction of medal (stroke) match play, meaning all matches will go the distance over six holes where a winner will be determined, or, the match will continue to the deciding knockout hole.

The innovative six-hole format is quickly becoming a favourite amongst ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia players with the element of match-play standing out as a point of difference for competitors and spectators alike.

Play at the Victorian PGA Championship will once again take on a pro-am format where two professionals will be joined by two amateurs on course to form playing groups of four.

The tournament will also welcome the return of PGA TV to live stream the final two rounds of play at RACV Cape Schanck Resort, providing fans both interstate and overseas the opportunity to see the country’s up and coming talent in action at an iconic Victorian location.

“PGA TV has become a staple since debuting at the Victorian PGA Championship in 2017 and we are thrilled that it will be back in 2019,” added Butterly.

“Having the tournament live streamed around the world helps to grow the event itself and further puts the ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia and its players on the map.

“Likewise we are excited to debut an exciting new event in Gippsland and support a region that is so enthusiastic about our sport.”

An increase in prize money for the Victorian PGA Championship to $125,000 is yet another positive step forward for the tournament, while this amount will also be matched at the Gippsland Super 6 two weeks later.

With both events bookending the $100,000 Eynesbury Masters pro-am on the Ladbrokes Pro-Am Series, Victoria is set for a huge three weeks of golf.

Queensland based professional Aaron Pike has won his first professional tournament, taking out a thrilling edition of the Victorian PGA Championship at RACV Cape Schanck Resort.

Pike, who began the final round two shots off the lead, shot 2-under 68 to finish at 10-under the card.

He faced a nervous wait as New Zealander Ryan Chisnall played the 18^th hole in the group behind needing a birdie to force a playoff.

Chisnall could only manage par giving Pike the biggest win of his professional career.

“My first win and it feels pretty darn good! It was rollercoaster out there, as I was saying earlier in the week it was just going to be the guy who lasts the longest mentally out there and I feel as though I did really well at that,” said Pike who’s tournament consisted of rounds of 71, 65, 66 and 68 for his 10-under total.

“Today was probably the best I’ve played, but I didn’t make the most of my chances with the putter so to still get over the line is obviously a really good sign for myself.

“I was just grinding and grinding and grinding and wouldn’t let go so it was really good.”

Sunday saw gusty winds return to RACV Cape Schanck Resort and blowing from the north, which Pike says resulted in a slightly different golf course.

“It was gusty and it came from a different direction today, it was a bit from the north which you don’t see too often in Victoria, you only see that on days when it’s 40 degrees.

“So it was coming from the north and the course is a little bit different then all of a sudden you need to be really diligent with where your lines are.

“I had my fair share of things not go my way and a few things go my way. I think everyone else in the field would say the same thing, it was typical Mornington Peninsula golf, you just had to be on top of your game.”

Pike joins an illustrious list of Victorian PGA Championship winners including Marc Leishman who, in a slice of synchronicity, won the CIMB Classic on the PGA TOUR just hours after Pike recorded his win.

“There’s some guys on here like Nagle, Thompson, Roger Davis, Radar Riley, Marc Leishman, to have my name next to some of those guys is unbelievable,” added Pike.

“But that’s just what we play in Australia, we’ve got some of the best golfers in the world so I’m sure there’s a few guys used to that feeling across the country.

“It’s amazing my name is going to be on a trophy of this stature.”

Pike will now have a guaranteed start alongside Leishman at the Australian PGA Championship at RACV Royal Pines Resort from 29 November – 2 December as well as full exemption on the ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia until the end of the 2019 season.

That means he’ll receive automatic entry into four co-sanctioned tournaments with the European Tour and Asian Tour.

“That’s huge and that’s the benefit of our Tour, we’ve got co-sanctioned tournaments with the European Tour so if  I play as well as I did here in one of those then who knows, I may be in Europe full time,” added Pike.

“Now all of a sudden I can set my schedule up and plan my year, potentially go to some Q-Schools and do a few different things. I’ll let the dust settle then go from there, it’s a bit surreal at the moment.”

Pike has entered the next two tournaments on the ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia, the Nexus Risk TSA Group WA Open followed by the Isuzu Queensland Open in his adopted home town of Brisbane.

Norther Territory born, Pike has been handed the mantle of honorary defending champion of the title with good mate Michael Sim playing overseas at the time.

“I’ll definitely be playing the Queensland Open at Brisbane Golf Club. I’ve been instructed by the defending champion to hold defending champion rights, he’ll be playing in Japan. After this I think it’ll be a tough ask but I’ll certainly try my best,” Pike said with a laugh.

Finishing in second position was Ryan Chisnall at 9-under the card while fellow New Zealander Harry Bateman was third at 8-under the card.

Stephen Leaney, Matt Millar, Frazer Droop and Rick Kulacz all finished at 7-under the card in a tie for fourth.
To view the final leaderboard, visit pga.org.au.

Maverick Antcliff and amateur partner Danny Lovell won the Victorian PGA Championship Celebrity Challenge at 32-under the card, one shot ahead of Frazer Droop and Lukas Michel at 31-under the card. Full scores available at pga.org.au.

For his win, Pike receives $15,000 in prizemoney and moves to 41^st on the ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit. To view the full Order of Merit, visit pga.org.au.

The ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia now heads west for the Nexus Risk TSA Group WA Open from 25 – 28 October. View the full schedule at pga.org.au.

Aaron Pike may just be the proudest man to hit the Palmerston Golf Course tomorrow when he tees it up at the MMC Northern Territory PGA Championship.

Playing the golf course he grew up on, his family home is literally on the 11th hole, Pike’s connection to the tournament has gone a step further in 2018 with his family business, MMC, coming on as the naming rights partner.

“It’s always great to be back playing where I first started,” said Pike.

“But I didn’t know what to expect. I knew the family was getting involved with the business but getting here it’s real. There are signs everywhere; the family business name is all over the place.

“I am very proud; the family have always been big supporters of the golf club, so to have the biggest event at the club sponsored by us is even more amazing.

“Every event that I go into, I want to do well but especially with the family being involved this week I want to put in a good performance.”

Now in its third year on the ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia, Pike explains the year-round impact the MMC Northern Territory PGA Championship has had on the local community.

“I don’t think the players realise the effect these tournaments have on the community. You don’t understand that until you are part of the community,” he added.

“People here don’t stop talking about it all year, they talk about a guy hitting a shot 12 months ago or how they walked around and watched Deyen Lawson, Daniel Fox these sorts of guys.

“Then to see them playing in the New Zealand Open or the Fiji International, people here get nostalgic and hold these guys close to their hearts.”

Being played for $150,000 the MMC Northern Territory PGA Championship also attracts Official World Golf Ranking Points.

“This isn’t probably going to be the biggest event our players compete in this year but for our club this is the biggest event of the year,” added Pike.

“To have the ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia at a little place called Palmerston, just outside of Darwin, it is a great justice to the government and the people involved at the club.”

When the tournament tees off at 7.30am on Thursday morning it will be on a course that just five months ago was ravaged by Cyclone Marcus, the worst storm experienced by the region since Cyclone Tracey in 1974.

“The course lost between 500 and 600 trees, in my opinion some of those trees needed to go and it’s a blessing. But to lose that many, that quick, is always going to be a hindrance,” added Pike.

“So to clean-up and recover from that and still get the greens and fairways as good as they are, for the course to be this green, it is awesome.

“For the most part, I have nothing but praise. The new greenkeeper here, Scott Trembath, has got it looking as good as I have seen it for a very long time.”

Having battled a hip and back injury for the past 12 months, Pike is happy to be back playing in the MMC Northern Territory PGA Championship after being sidelined for the 2017 staging.

“The first year the tournament was on, I was really struggling with my body and I played it but I wasn’t ready,” added Pike.

“Last year I didn’t even have the chance to play, I caddied for Michael Sim but with the family being involved this year there was no way I wasn’t going to play.

“I wouldn’t say I am at 100 per cent, but I would say I am a hell of a lot better than what I was the last couple of times I have been here.

“I haven’t set any goals but it’s hard to come back to the golf course that you grew up playing and not expect good things. But I have to keep that in check.”

Pike will tee off in the MMC Northern Territory PGA Championship at 12.35pm tomorrow playing alongside Victorians Adam Burdett and Rory Bourke.

The MMC Northern Territory PGA Championship will be played at Palmerston Golf Course from 16-19 August 2018.

In addition to the winner’s share of the $150,000 prize purse, the champion will receive Official World Golf Ranking Points and be fully exempt onto the ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia until the end of the 2019 season.