Rankin takes Maryborough Pro-Am

Overcast and passing showers of rain presented for the final round of the Carriers Arms Hotel-Motel Maryborough Pro-Am.

Brett Rankin started the day two shots behind the overnight leader Doug Klein and shot the low round of the Tournament an 8-under par 62 to claim victory by three shots from Victorian Adam Burdett.

Although Rankin didn’t get off to a great start making a bogey on his opening hole, the 3^rd hole a 162m, Par 3. He soon consolidated making an eagle on the 5^th hole followed by two birdies on the 6^th and 7^th holes. Rankin played good golf through the back-9 holes for 4-under par 32, eventually completing the front 9 in a 4-under under par 30 for his 8 under par 62 and Tournament total 11- under par 129.

“I didn’t get off to the start I wanted, with a plugged ball in the bunker resulting in a bogey,” said Rankin.

“I found something with my putter out there and was able to keep it going throughout the round, I also drove the ball well which setup a number of opportunities."

“I’m thrilled to get the win here in Maryborough and I’m now looking forward to a few days off.”

Runner up was Victorian Adam Burdett who fired a second consecutive round of 4-under 66 for a Tournament total of 8-under par 132.

“I played well all day with the highlight being two eagles, one on the 5^th hole and another on the 15^th hole.” said Burdett.

"The only bogey I had for the Tournament was on my final hole of the Tournament which was disappointing, I knew I couldn’t catch Brett Rankin and I just lost my focus for a moment."

“It’s been three years since I last played here in Maryborough and the course has come a long way in that time, it is a credit to the management and staff of the Maryborough Golf Club.”

Finishing in outright third position was Queenslander Luke Paroz with rounds of 68, 65 for a Tournament total of 7-under par 133.

Professionals will now enjoyed a well earned break ahead of the next event on the Ladbrokes PGA Pro-Am Series schedule the Property & Innovative Planning Solutions Headland Pro-Am on Wednesday 10 July 2019.

Samoan favourites Peter Wilson and Richard Backwell have once again proved their dominance in the South Pacific, each winning the Invest Samoa Open and Samoan Senior Open respectively.

Ladbrokes Legends Tour favourite Richard Backwell took home his fifth Samoan title in six years, while Ladbrokes Pro-Am Series player Wilson has won three of the last four Open stagings.

Wilson closed out the tournament in spectacular fashion, finishing with an 8-under round of 64 and a three-round total of 19-under.

Leading by one stroke heading into the final round Wilson showed no signs of nerves, eagling two holes on his opening 9 to record a final round of 64 and the low round of the tournament.

Backwell’s fifth title came in relatively unfamiliar fashion after starting the day two shot behind the leaders.

“I felt we were just playing for third or fourth, I thought the guys behind would be well clear,” said Backwell.

However, when the leading group failed to break par, Backwell was handed the familiar trophy.

Local Samoan golfers finished prominently in the results with four players finishing inside the top-10 including the 2019 Taula Amateur Championship winner Samu Ropati who finished third in the Invest Samoa Open.

“Every year the quality of local players seems to improve,” said David Barker, State Manager of the PGA of Australia.

“It is a testament to the work of Samoa Golf Incorporated and the local programs run by the courses.”

Local preparations now focus on the South Pacific Games which will see twelve countries compete from July 10-13 at the Royal Samoa Country Club.

Three days of golf action at the Melbourne Challenge have wrapped up at Sandhurst Club with Peter Wilson shooting 15-under 202 to win three shots clear of the field.

Recording rounds of 70 on day one at Commonwealth Golf Club and 64 on day two at Kingston Heath, Wilson held an overnight lead of just one shot over first round leader Mathew Perry, with Marcus Fraser lurking a further five shots back.

Four birdies and a bogey-free final round of 4-under 68 helped Wilson to extend his lead over Perry.

“I’ve been working on my game with my coach for the past few months and I’m starting to see the results,” said Wilson.

“I’m from Melbourne so I’ve played the courses a lot, but it’s great to get the opportunity to play them in a tournament situation.”

After leading the field by five strokes on day one and shooting a round of 70 on day two, Kiwi Mathew Perry has finished the Melbourne Challenge in second place despite some impressive play.

With a final score of 12-under 205, Perry’s final round of 70 included an albatross two on the par-5 9th hole at the Sandhurst Club where warm, light winds and great course conditions greeted players.

In a tie for third place, Marcus Fraser and Steven Jeffress completed the tournament on 6-under par, firing rounds of 71 and 70 respectively.

The Ladbrokes Pro-Am Series moves to Lang Lang Golf Club on 25 January for the Beach Energy Lang Lang Pro-Am.

2017 National Pro-Am Order of Merit winner Peter Wilson recorded a strong eight shot victory in the Qantas Golf Club Teams Challenge on the Melbourne Sandbelt.

The three day team event saw amateurs and Professionals from all over Australia gather on the Melbourne Sandbelt to tackle some of the best courses in the world.

Calm conditions at Yarra Yarra Golf Club on Monday saw the scoring go pretty low. Daniel Smith Rory Bourke, Ryan Lynch and Matthew Griffin handled the slick greens all recording rounds of 2-under 70. Meanwhile Peter Wilson set up his week with a blistering 5-under 67 to take a three stroke lead to day two at Kingston Heath.

In the teams event it was Legends Tour member David Diaz with his group of members from Albert Park out in front. His team compiled a massive 89 stableford points to be one point clear in the lead from Dale Williamson of Sydney and Craig Davis from Mt Gambier

Spectacular conditions were on offer for day two at the world famous Kingston Heath. Blue skies and less than a club of breeze saw even hotter scoring than day one.

Bourke and Griffin continued their pursuit of Wilson recording rounds of 5-under and 3-under respectively. Kris Mueck returned to form with a 5-under 67 to breathe life into his chances of a top-10 finish. Wilson set the course alight with a sensational 8-under 64 to draw six shots clear of the field. His day highlighted by a run of five consecutive birdies midway through his round.

“I love playing here, it’s a real pleasure to be back at Kingston Heath,” said Wilson after his round.

“It was really about my pitching today; I just pitched it close and had a few tap in birdies. That always helps.”.

Wilson’s effort was not lost in the team’s event either. Along with his amateurs they amassed 86 stableford points to move into second place. Dale Williamson’s team backed up their strong showing from Monday recording the most points on day two, 87 points moving them in to the lead.

Lightning delays and strong winds stalled proceedings on day three at Victoria Golf Club. A rouge lightning strike just as play was about to commence saw players return the clubhouse to sit out a 30 minute delay.

As play was resuming the wind gusted to over 90km/h, bringing down branches and littering the course with debris. This brought a second suspension of play as the course was assessed and cleaned up.

Play finally got underway, two hours after the scheduled tee time but the field was still faced with tough windy conditions.

Scoring was extremely difficult but Tour veteran Scott Laycock showed his class as the only player under par for the day, finishing with 1-under 71.

Local Victoria Golf Club member Matthew Griffin was the next best on his home course with an even par round of 72. He finished the three round event on 5-under the card in second position.

Wilson kept his game together in the rough conditions and signed for an even par round of 72 ensuring he won the individual event by a massive eight shots.

“When we got back out there I knew it was going to be tough. Even par was my target and I knew that should be good enough to hold on despite the quality of the field,” said Wilson.

Wilson was full of praise for the event and the team at Qantas Golf Club.

“A big thanks to Robbie and everyone at Qantas Golf Club for pulling the event together. It’s great to be back playing Professional tournaments on the Sandbelt and I’d love to come back next year,” added Wilson.

In the teams event Scott Laycock’s team recorded the best score of the third day but in a shock result the team from Mt Gambier lead by Head Professional Craig Davis recorded the narrowest of victories. Posting the second best round of the day, their 82 stableford points saw them sneak just one point clear of Dale Williamson’s team who had been stalking the top of the leaderboard all week.

Davis and his team from Mt Gambier Golf Club, local supporters of the Qantas Golf Club events were one of the first teams entered and had been looking forward to the chance to play on the famous Sandbelt course of Melbourne for some time. Their win sees the amateurs walk away with 100,000 Qantas points each, enough for a return flight to the USA.

The Qantas Golf Club Victorian Teams Challenge is the first of two pro-am events hosted by Qantas Golf Club on the Ladbrokes Pro-Am Series in 2018. In a first for Australian golf the Qantas Golf Club’s next event brings together PGA Professionals (men) and ALPG Professionals (women) for the Gold Coast Challenge at Links Hope Island in March. Amateurs will play alongside both sets of Professionals throughout the two day competition with the chance to share in more Qantas points and other prizes.

Amazing consistency in 2017 saw Victorian Peter Wilson take out the Ladbrokes Pro-Am Series National Order of Merit.

Missing the money only twice in 32 pro-ams, which included six victories and 11 top-10 finishes, ensured Wilson claimed the national honours at the recent Greater Shepparton Masters, the last event of the 2017 season.

The battle for the Ladbrokes Pro-Am National Order of Merit was all set for a dramatic finish. Wilson held a lead of just over $1,000 over second placed Dale Brandt-Richards heading into the final two events of the year in Albury and Shepparton. Brandt-Richards also enjoyed a good year taking out the NSW Order of Merit on the back of a win in the Magenta Shores Pro-Am in November.

For only the second time all year Wilson missed a cheque in Albury, but with Brandt-Richards doing the same he maintained his lead heading to the final event, the Greater Shepparton Masters.

Wilson shot a 5-under 67 to take a three shot lead over Brandt-Richards heading into the second and final day at Numurkah. Consistency again proved to be Wilson’s greatest asset; with an even par round he finished the tournament tied for 15^thextending his lead over Brandt-Richards to win the National Order of Merit title.

Wilson’s year was highlighted by a stellar run in February and March. It began with a win at The Sand Classic in Torquay which he followed up with a second place finish amongst a strong field at The Eynesbury Masters.

Backing up this good start with a third place finish at Flinders and a second placed finish at Rosebud, Wilson went on to string together three wins in a row at Lang Lang, Yarram and Traralgon.

However the highlight of the year was the look on Yarram Golf Club Captain Danny Dwyer’s face during Wilson’s acceptance speech.

Wilson was so amazed by the conditioning of the, volunteer maintained, South Gippsland course that he decided to help them by donating a Toro fairway mower that he no longer had a use for on his Nyora property.

Valued at over $8,500 this was a piece of machinery the club could simply not afford to purchase and would go a long way to keeping up the outstanding condition of the course.

Wilson will begin his 2018 at the Maddie’s Day on the Purple Pro-Am at Clifton Springs in January.

The event is a major fundraiser for Maddie Riewoldt’s Vision a foundation set up by ex-St Kilda Football Club Captain Nick Riewoldt in honour of his sister Maddie who lost her battle with Bone Marrow Failure Syndrome in 2015.

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