A trip to Australia wouldn’t be complete without meeting some of the locals and while on the Gold Coast for the Australian PGA Championship, Sergio and Angela Garcia got up close to some Australian wildlife.

Visiting Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary, the Garcia’s met a koala, wedge tail eagle, a Black-headed python, visited the kangaroos and handfed a family of rosellas.

“It was amazing.  I have never been to Australia before, I have seen a lot of images and videos of the animals here. But to actually get to come and hold a koala, a snake and an eagle as well as feed kangaroos it was an incredible day,” said Angela.

“We learned a lot about the animals and what they are doing here at the Sanctuary is really important. They are helping a lot of animals that are injured or sick. They are trying to release them back out into the wild.”

Animal lovers at heart the Garcia’s were grateful for the opportunity to meet the unique Australian wildlife.

“We are animal lovers. Any time we see a dog or any kind of animal, Sergio always wants to pet the dog and I love animals as well,” added Angela.

“I am often yelling at Sergio to stop catching lizards because we have to be somewhere, we have lots of funny stories about that.”

While Sergio added, “That was amazing; it was a great experience to be able to see all the amazing animals they have here. It was an unbelievable treat and we really enjoyed it.

“I love animals, I always have.”

While the Garcia’s enjoyed meeting and learning about all the Australian wildlife, the kangaroos stole their hearts.

“I loved the kangraoos; there was a little joey (baby kangaroo) that I wanted to take home with me but I don’t think they would like that. He was pretty cool; to get to feed him was really neat,” added Angela.

But for Sergio it was the large male kangaroo that caught his attention.

“He was the kind of guy you don’t want to mess around with,” said Sergio.

“He was big; you could see he had a big chest. He was lying down but every time he got up a little bit you could see he had a massive chest.

“He was still very cool, I fed him a little bit and pet him and he was still really fine.”

While Sergio Garcia is on course in his pursuit of the Kirkwood Cup at the Australian PGA Championship, it’s activities like this away from the course that makes his visit to Queensland so memorable.

“To be able to come to Australia and see all the amazing animals, pet them and spend some time with them, listen to the trainers talk about all the things they can do, it’s something you can’t put a price on and they are memories we will have for a life time.”

Adam Scott has made no secret of his limited playing schedule this past season but as the year comes to a close, the former World Number 1 revealed a return to more tournament golf may be on the cards in 2018.

On the Gold Coast for the 2017 Australian PGA Championship, Scott discussed how his priorities shifted this year.

Scott and his wife Marie welcomed their second child, Byron, into the family which has seen life outside of the ropes take priority this year.

“It’s been a fantastic year for me. A very exciting last few months with my family and having a new baby and all the good things that come with that,” Scott said.

“I guess that’s been the focus of the year for me really. It was a lot of planning around that.”

The 2013 Masters champion admitted to a scaling back time spent practicing due to his life changing away from golf.

“It was probably just the less practice this year. You know, the priorities just had to shift a little bit. I traveled a lot more and practiced a bit less and they were the challenges.

“You know, the first half of the year I played okay but didn’t get much out of it, and then since the U.S. PGA, the focus hasn’t been on the golf at all and that shows up when you’re going to play in world‑class fields, there’s no doubt.”

The 37-year-old has reached a point in his career where he can take valuable lessons from the outcomes of his schedule change and will now look to resume a familiar routine in the 2018 season.

“It’s good for me to see that because it’s very clear for me going back next year exactly what I need to do to remind myself what I’ve done for the past five or six years to play at the level that these guys at the top are playing at,” added Scott.

“I really look forward to getting back into those kinds of routines that I’ve been in over the past few years that have produced great golf

“But of course it’s difficult not to be frustrated.  If I’m going out to play, I want to play really well.  But I also have taken a bit of a realistic attitude that back half of the year that I haven’t prepared as well as I normally would like.”

Renowned for his meticulous preparations to a tournament, Scott has stated he’ll need to look for a more balanced approach as his schedule builds in 2018.

He’s already figured out how he’ll rectify that as his schedule builds in 2018.

“I pride myself on being really prepared to play, but I’m learning as my career and life evolves and changes that I have to kind of temper that.

“I think I’m going to have to learn to switch on and off a little bit more in the future. I’ve got little notes about different things like that to think about for the future.”

This year Scott played the week before each major and found some benefits to his game, but will still endeavor to play more tournaments now things have settled with his family.

“I played the weeks before majors this year, which I actually think worked quite nicely to play my way into a bit of shape. I’ll probably go back to playing a more similar schedule to what I’ve played in the past.

“But given that the circumstances will be different again next year, I think I’ll go back to what I used to do and probably get back more into my practice and preparation plans to focus obviously on playing great those four weeks of the year.

“So my schedule starts somewhere in February on the U.S. Tour on the west coast like it usually does, play a few events and try and play myself into form quickly.”

Adam Scott tees off at 6:10am tomorrow with Sergio Garcia and Wade Ormsby.

For full tee times visit pga.org.au.

General admission to the Australian PGA Championship is $25* when purchased at the gate or via Ticketmaster with children, 16 and under, granted free admission when attending with a paying adult. 

Since Sergio Garcia, Adam Scott and Marc Leishman were announced to play the Australian PGA Championship, Saturday and Sunday tickets to the Lexus Marquee on the Soniq Million Dollar Hole and the Kirkwood Club have sold out. Fans who want to join in the festival atmosphere are encouraged to book tickets from Thursday to Friday quickly due to unprecedented demand.

Limited corporate hospitality options are still available, please visit pgachampionship.com.au.

They are the Masters champions set to light up RACV Royal Pines Resort but course architect Graham Marsh doesn’t believe Adam Scott and Sergio Garcia will have the Australian PGA Championship all to themselves. By Tony Webeck

There is no more revered fabric than the famed Green Jacket adorned by champions of The Masters Tournament but the awe for which it is held counts for little when their owners stand on the first tee every week thereafter.

The Australian PGA Championship at RACV Royal Pines Resort will be headlined by two men who both hold a special place in Masters history yet such is the depth of talent that will be on display course from November 30 that architect Graham Marsh insists it is shaping as anything but a two-horse race.

As a co-sanctioned tournament with the European Tour, Garcia will be joined by fellow multiple tour winners in Jonas Blixt and Mikko Ilonen, America’s flag will be flown most proudly by defending champion Harold Varner III while Scott’s compatriots eager to claim the Joe Kirkwood Cup for the first time will include Cameron Smith, Curtis Luck and Matt Jones.

The late addition of two-time PGA TOUR winner this year Marc Leishman has of course thrown another hot favourite in to the mix in 2017 and one of the obvious picks for the title.

As the reigning Masters champion Scott returned to the Gold Coast at the end of 2013 and completed an extraordinary week of celebration with a four-stroke win over Rickie Fowler but Marsh believes Garcia will have to navigate his way past a heady field if he is to also complete the rare calendar double.

"I don’t think they’ll have it all their own way," Marsh said after arriving back in Australia in October.

"There are many other talented players out there that will challenge for the week.

"I wouldn’t have all my money on either of those two players at this stage because I think there is a strong field of Australians competing in the field itself.

"Jonas Blixt is a tournament champion, Cameron Smith had a very good year and finished very well in Malaysia [in the PGA Tour’s CIMB Classic] and is another local boy. Both Cameron and Jonas won the Zurich Classic fourball championship earlier this year so they’re tournament winners this year.

"Marcus Fraser had a very good tournament at the Italian Open and little Harold Varner has been knocking at the door and playing some excellent rounds of golf this year and he loves this place.

"There’s nothing like a winner coming back and being inspired by what they did the year before so he’s another guy that could pop up quite easily."

During his playing career that yielded 70 tournament wins around the world Marsh received the coveted invitation to play in Augusta National’s iconic tournament on six occasions and never finished worse than a tie for 33rd, his best result a tie for ninth in the 1976 tournament won by Raymond Floyd.

Acknowledging the mystique that The Masters has held for Australians who had to wait almost 80 years to see one of their own triumph at Augusta, Marsh has no doubt that the presence of two recent champions will generate an atmosphere at Royal Pines rarely seen in this country.

"Having the two of them here is very special," said Marsh, who over the past three years has overseen the complete redevelopment of the Royal Pines championship layout.

"It’s a great way to promote the event and I think both of them have the ability to play this golf course.

"They’re both superb drivers of the golf ball, that is a strength without any shadow of a doubt and this is now a driving golf course.

"From an Australian perspective, there has always been a mystery about the Masters because until Scott won it was the one major that nobody seemed to be able to get their hands on.

"There’s been this mystery about it and there’s no question that Augusta National has done a tremendous job in promoting that golf tournament.

"Sergio will be a terrific draw for the tournament. He’s a gregarious character and an extremely talented player. He probably could have won more majors but between the two of them they will set up a marvellous head-to-head competition.

"This year’s Masters was a special event. He did well. There’d been so much talk about it – even by himself – that he probably couldn’t do it so for him to come through and win that tournament was wonderful to see."

It is not only Marsh who is excited to see Garcia back playing in Australia for the first time in seven years. Scott himself is relishing the prospect of welcoming his good friend to his home town and the energy his appearance will help to create.

"He’s a true superstar in the game of golf and having won his first Major, just creates that extra bit of buzz," Scott said.

"The style of golf he plays is very appealing to people. For the true golf fans who want to come out and watch one of the best ball-strikers to ever play, they are really going to enjoy that.

"Then for avid sports fans who like seeing some emotion, they are going to enjoy seeing that whether Sergio plays good, bad or indifferent.

"He has that Spanish flare about him.

"We have played a lot of rounds of golf together and I feel like it’s always very competitive between us even though we are fairly close mates.

"Hopefully we both play really well and get in the mix."

In rating Scott’s prospects of claiming a second Joe Kirkwood Cup, Marsh has little doubt that he can put a somewhat disappointing 2017 campaign on the U.S. PGA TOUR where his best finish was a tie for sixth at The Players Championship and repeat his imperial performance of four years ago.

"Every golfer has years where things don’t work out the way they want to," Marsh said of Scott, who finished third at Royal Pines last year.

"For him it’s been a family year with another child being born but overall he is still a very competitive player.

"I think he’s likely to come back and play extremely well back in Australia this year. I just feel that he hasn’t been that far away from it and he’s going to be thereabouts."

Royal Pines to reveal its true identity

Those teeing it up at Royal Pines for the past two years may have competed on a completed golf course redesign but course architect Graham Marsh believes the identity of the dramatically revamped layout will finally be unveiled during this year’s Australian PGA Championship.

"There was a thought that had been talked about for many years that you usually didn’t play a golf tournament of significance on a course until it had bedded in for at least two years," said Marsh as Royal Pines prepares for its fifth consecutive hosting of the Australian PGA Championship.

In 2014 Greg Chalmers prevailed in a mammoth playoff against Adam Scott on a course that was a mix of the old and the new and then in 2015 Nathan Holman emerged victorious on a virgin layout that’s immature and thus firm greens coupled with high winds kept any players from shooting under par for the week.

That trend was reversed spectacularly last year when Harold Varner III torched the course to the tune of 19-under par and a two-shot win over Andrew Dodt but Marsh is predicting a score in 2017 much more in line with the great championships of the world.

The entire layout has now had two years to bed down and allow the turf to establish its profile and with some welcome October rain aiding growth particularly in the areas off the fairway, Marsh and Course Superintendent Lincoln Coombes are ready to unveil a layout that will both challenge and tantalise.

And Marsh knows the score he would like to see win the tournament.

"A number between 12 and 14-under is a great number for a winning score for a tournament," Marsh said.

"It satisfies all parties. When you start getting into 20-under and over it becomes a putting contest and there isn’t any doubt about that. Anybody that has played the game professionally will tell you that’s a putting contest so that’s not where you want to be.

"The major championships of the world are not won by shooting 24-under par and the best players usually rise to the top at the major championships.

"If a guy shoots 14-under it means that he probably made 18 birdies for the week so there is plenty of skill being shown in the way that they have played the golf course.

"Secondly, to get to that score is a combination of playing some quality golf shots – good driving and quality iron play – and it requires some course management to get to that level.

"And at 12 to 14-under par you will usually bring enough players along at that score to make the competition interesting.

"It provides galleries with the type of excitement that they want to see and it provides television with a compelling coverage because they are seeing a level of professional golf that the audience can only dream about."

Masters Champion Sergio Garcia returns to Australia after seven years to make his debut in the Australian PGA Championship at RACV Royal Pines Resort from 30 November – 3 December.

The World Number 11 last played a tournament Down Under in 2010 in the Australian Masters where he finished just inside the top-30.

Now with the coveted Green Jacket in his wardrobe, the Spaniard is expected to make a big splash in the competitive field that includes the 2013 Masters Champion Adam Scott and World Number 13 Marc Leishman.

“I’m obviously also very excited to be back in Australia, a part of Australia that I’ve never been to, so it’s great fun,’ Garcia said.

“What we’ve seen, it’s obviously beautiful.  But I think the whole Australia is beautiful, one of my favorite countries.  So we’re extremely happy to be back here and going to enjoy the week, for sure.

“Unfortunately, we haven’t been here for a while, so it’s nice to be back.  I’ve always liked the courses that we play.  I’m excited to see the course tomorrow.  So like I said earlier, excited for the week and it will be a great one.”

Before that fateful day at Augusta in April, Garcia was often touted as one of the best players to never win a major.

He’s often held great expectations from the golfing world and now that the monkey is off his back he doesn’t predict those outside pressures to win to subside, and remains focused on his own goals.

“Fortunately or unfortunately for me, that expectation and that kind of outside pressure has always been there.  

“So the way I look at it is, I’m extremely honored to call myself the Masters champion and to try to help the game of golf not only in Spain but all over the world. I think at the end of the day what matters is what I expect from myself.

“I know what I want to do and if someone comes to me and says, next year you should win six times and one or two majors, I know what I want to do and I know where my expectations are and I know what I need to improve on.”

He said he’s by no means losing his competitive edge and is confident as to what other lofty heights he can reach on the international stage.

“I know that my game is still in great shape. And I’m still fairly young, so I can still achieve many, many things,” added Garcia.

“But it’s fun to be able to have those possibilities and kind of put some nice expectations for yourself.”

The Green Jacket will make its debut on the green carpet tonight for the Greg Norman Medal Dinner where Garcia will be a guest of the PGA of Australia.

The magnitude of wearing such a coveted item of clothing in the golfing world is certainly not lost on him.

“It’s been a little bit overwhelming I would say.  It also shows you the respect that you need to give to that Green Jacket,” added Garcia.

“You know, once you become a Masters champion, there’s a lot of things that you have to be careful.  You have to take care of it, you have to know that a lot of eyes are on you even more than before and you want to show what’s best not only for yourself but for the game.”

Garcia is yet to play on the Graham Marsh designed RACV Royal Pines Resort course but has got the inside mail from his close friend on the PGA TOUR Adam Scott.

He said he expects his short game to get a workout from what he has heard.

“I’ve heard the greens are tricky.  I’ve heard the greens are where the course really defends itself.  So obviously it’s going to be a week where iron play is going to be key to be accurate and try to leave yourself in the best spots on the greens.

“And then when you miss some of those greens, well, then you’re going to have some tricky chips. I heard it’s quite grainy around the greens so your strike has to be extremely accurate and to be able to hit good chips and hit it close to the hole.  

“So it’s just a matter of, like I said, probably iron play is going to be key and just when you miss a green here and there, chipping and putting is going to be important.”

Sergio Garcia, Adam Scott and Wade Ormsby tee off for round one of the Australian PGA Championship Thursday morning at 6:10am.

For full tee times visit pga.org.au.

The 2017 Australian PGA Champion Harold Varner III has returned to RACV Royal Pines Resort to defend a professional title for the first time in his young career.

Varner, 27, proved a popular winner with the Australian public last year, the affable American endeared himself to golf fans Down Under with laidback approach to the tournament and genuine joy following his breakthrough title on the Gold Coast.

The enthusiasm hasn’t wavered from the Ohio native who said he’s excited to be back for the third consecutive year, this time as the holder of the Kirkwood Cup.

“I’m super excited, I’ve been out of the country (U.S) for three weeks, so I played Dunlop Phoenix in Japan and I played Hong Kong last week,” said Varner, who will conclude his golf season for 2017 after the Australian PGA Championship.

“I’m starting to play well again and hopefully we can rekindle some of the flame from last year.”

The familiar surroundings has set Varner at ease ahead of his title defence and he has noticed improvements to the Graham Marsh designed layout.

“I was thinking about the first time I came here and how I didn’t know anyone, didn’t know where to hit it, and now I feel like I have an idea what to do.  And how different the course has matured the last three years because the first time I played it, I think that was the first time they opened the course since the redesign.

“Just seeing how it’s easier, but I think I just played really well, so just excited for the challenge and just ready to compete.”

Varner admittedly said his form following the 2016 Australian PGA Championship has been less than stellar and today revealed he was dealing with personal issues off the course that had a bigger impact on his game then he thought it would.

“Literally right after the tournament I flew back on Monday and my girlfriend lost her brother on Thursday or Friday. I didn’t think much of it, I just thought, yeah, you know, it’s sad but things will get better.  Just didn’t get better like as fast as you’d think,” Varner added.

“It happens and I didn’t do a good job of controlling it.  I probably shouldn’t have played a little bit, just take some time off, but I didn’t.

“But it happens, you know? Everyone in this life is going to go through something like that and how you handle it is what makes the difference.”

Now looking ahead to this week’s tournament, Varner said he’s enjoying some solid golf and has a goal of ending his year on a high note after securing his PGA TOUR card for 2018.

He said the support of his family and loved ones, particularly after a difficult period in their lives, has given him a boost as the end of the season approaches.

“This is my last tournament of the year, I want to play well because I want to get some momentum going into next year,” added Varner.

“Last year after this tournament I obviously didn’t play much golf. This year I’m going to stay in Australia for another week, and then I’m going to go to California.

“I think I just want to do well all the time, period. I think after I got my card, she (Varner’s girlfriend) looked at me and she said, ‘well, it’s going to be all right no matter if you had your card or not.’” Varner added.

“And that’s what it’s about to me because at the end of the day, golf is not always going to be there. I’ll play it, but she’ll always be there and that’s the most important to me. That’s how I grew up, that’s how my parents are. They’re going to love me if I finish dead last in this tournament.  If I win it, it doesn’t matter.

“So people like that, those are the people I want around me.”

Varner said the tough weeks following his euphoric win in 2016 has taught him some valuable life lessons and is now set for this week’s title defence.

“I learned a lot, I grew up, and I just want to have a chance to win this week and I’m just really excited. It feels good to be back, though.”

Varner will tee off at 11.10am playing alongside Marc Leishman and Matt Jones.  

For round 1 tee times, visit pga.org.au

Queenslander Cameron Smith and Sweden’s Jonas Blixt both finished inside of the top-5 at last week’s Emirates Australian Open and are full of confidence ahead of the Australian PGA Championship.

The pair took out the Zurich Classic of New Orleans earlier this year on the PGA TOUR, helping Smith to his first victory on the premier Tour while it was Blixt’s third.

Blixt has been the beneficiary of Smith’s local knowledge of the Sunshine State before arriving at RACV Royal Pines Resort today.

“We flew in last night and I spent the night at Cameron’s house.  Took it quite easy this morning,” Blixt said.

“He showed me a little bit around Brisbane, his favourite coffee places and kind of where he grew up this morning.  It was really nice.  Then we drove down here and now get to experience the Gold Coast.”

The pair can be afforded an easy morning after encouraging results in last week’s Australian Open, Blixt in particular, who finished joint runner-up alongside Australian Matt Jones.

By doing so, he has sealed a spot in The 147^th Open Championship courtesy of his top-3 finish.

He said he’s not feeling the pressure of being one of the headline players in the strong field after a solid performance at The Australian.

“I feel quite relaxed.  I have friends around and coming in playing pretty good, so I’m really looking forward to this week.

“Winning with Cam kind of opened my schedule up quite a bit, and always wanted to come down here.  I felt like this is one of my favourite places, so it’s quite an easy decision to make.”

Smith too had a strong performance last week finishing outright fourth, he’s enjoying a rich run of form with a top-5 finish in the CIMB Classic and a third in the CJ Cup @ Nine Bridges.

He said he’s looking forward to riding the wave and taking advantage of a hometown crowd this week.

“When you’re playing well, it’s definitely good for me to just keep going until I run out of steam basically,” Smith said.

“I’ve been playing well the last couple months and had a few weeks off there just before the Australian Open, but got the competition rust out of my body and I’m ready to go this week.”

Smith said he’d be happy to be paired up with Blixt early in the tournament with the pair clearly enjoying chemistry on the course.

“I think he felt obliged to come down since I won the tournament for him,” Smith joked.

“It was basically on his mind the whole year (to come to Australia), and then when we won the tournament there at Zurich, I think that just made his mind up.

“I hope we play together, we always have fun.  We’ve played together at home in Jacksonville a bunch of times, and then obviously Zurich as well, so we bond well and we like to just chat and just walk around.

“Jonas and I have always had a pretty competitive relationship, whether it be at home or during practices.”

General admission to the Australian PGA Championship is $25* when purchased at the gate or via Ticketmaster with children, 16 and under, granted free admission when attending with a paying adult. 

Since Sergio Garcia, Adam Scott and Marc Leishman were announced to play the Australian PGA Championship, Saturday and Sunday tickets to the Lexus Marquee on the Soniq Million Dollar Hole and the Kirkwood Club have sold out. Fans who want to join in the festival atmosphere are encouraged to book tickets from Thursday to Friday quickly due to unprecedented demand.

Limited corporate hospitality options are still available, please visit pgachampionship.com.au.