Kulacz triumphs in Port Hedland

Rick Kulacz has posted a second round 66 to take out the 2019 Roy Hill Port Hedland Classic with a stunning tournament total of 13-under.

After holding the overnight lead, a number of players put the challenge to Kulacz but the in-form West Aussie was able to hold them off.

Firing yet another bogey-free round at Port Hedland Golf Club, Kulacz birdied holes 1, 4, 6 and 9 to make the turn at 4-under, with an additional two birdies at 15 and 18 sealing the three-shot win.

“We’ve been working really hard this year and it’s great to see the work starting to pay off,” said Kulacz, who credits his coach and WA PGA Chairman Rob Farley for his newfound confidence and great results.

“It was another really solid week on the course creating a lot of opportunities and minimal mistakes.

“Thanks to all involved for another amazing event and I look forward to coming back next year.”

Consistency was the key for West Australian Jason Chellew whose back-to-back rounds of 67 were enough for second place and a 10-under tournament total.

James Anstiss notched up yet another top-5 result on the Ladbrokes Pro-Am Series’ WA Swing, firing 4-under 68 in the final round for an 8-under total and third place outright.

Starting the day six shots behind the leader Brady Watt was the first to jump out of the blocks, posting a 6-under 66 low round of the day to move to a 7-under total for 4^th position.

Players now head to beautiful Broome for the Nexus Risk Services WS6 Broome on Tuesday followed by the $30,000 Broome, Carpet and Tile Open starting Friday.

Rick Kulacz has got off to a flyer in the $30,000 Roy Hill Port Hedland Classic shooting a bogey-free first round of 7-under 65.

Once again strong winds welcomed players to the Port Hedland layout but it didn’t seem to slow down the scoring for the day.

Karratha Pro-Am winner Braden Becker continued his great form on sand, posting a round of 4-under 68 to join James Anstiss in 5^th position.

Jason Chellew and Brad Moules went one better at 5-under 67 while WA local Conor Brown posted the second lowest round of the day with a superb 6-under 66.

It was Rick Kulacz’s day on the sand, however, firing a faultless round to take the lead after day one.

It was a superb ball striking round by Kulacz, hitting 15 of 18 greens to set up plenty of birdie chances.

“It’s nice to have a solid ball striking day, producing a heap of good opportunities on these greens,” said Kulacz.

“The greens once scraped are pure to putt on so you know you’ll make a few.”

The Ladbrokes Pro-Am Series event is set for a great final round at Port Hedland Golf Club South with more than half the filed under par and within six shots of Kulacz.

Play starts from 8.30am.

Professionals returned to one of the highlights on the Ladbrokes Pro-Am Series, the Roy Hill Golf Classic hosted by the Port Hedland GC over the weekend.

An event where the players get looked after both on and off the course exceptionally well, and with a great field of professionals, this year was yet again another great tournament.

Players were met by a strong easterly wind in round one which was going to make scoring tougher than previous years where leaders have been around the 8-under par mark.

That said, 13 of 29 professionals broke par including nine players shooting 3-under 69. The 2018 WA PGA Champion Michael Long got off to a nice start posting a 4-under 68 to be outright second but it was the in-form Daniel Fox who lead the field with 5-under 67 after the first 18 holes.

The second and final round was going to be a showdown with 15 players within five shots of Fox.

Once again the players were hit with strong easterly winds but that didn’t stop the hot scoring. Half of the field shot under par, including 6-under 66 from Karratha Pro-Am joint winner Jason Chellew.

Both Ben Ford and Andrew Crabb shot consecutive rounds of 6-under 69 to finish tied 3^rd for the event at 6-under par.

Daniel Fox posted a second round 69 including six birdies but unfortunately, three bogies left him in second place in as many weeks.

The eventual winner was a familiar name on the leaderboards of the WA swing of Ladbrokes Pro-Am Series events Brody Martin. His superb 6-under 66 included three birdies and two eagles to get him across the line by one shot.

“It’ such a great event Port Hedland put on and to be able to play with and win in front of my sponsors (Craig and Dave) it makes this win extra special," said Martin.

"This course is so much fun, I love how creative you have to be on sand greens especially around this track as it asks for all shots to be played."

With this win and the $5,300 cheque, Martin has now moved closer to OOM leader Braden Becker and only trails by $72 at the moment with only two events left on the 2018 schedule.

Players now drive seven hours north to another great event, the Broome Open.

It’s that time of the year again when the Ladbrokes Pro-Am Series heads to northern WA and players get an extra spring in the step.

Following a quick stop in Karratha for the CITIC Pacific Mining Pro-Am, players will then line up for one of the most popular WA events of the year, the Roy Hill Port Hedland Golf Classic.

With a prize purse of $30,000 plus beautiful grass fairways with perfect sand greens, the pro-am provides some new experiences for the professionals unlike what they will play all year round.

“The club runs such an amazing event and I love getting up there and putting on sand greens for a change. They are absolutely pure, if you can scrape well you honestly feel like you can whole any putt you’re faced with” said WA professional Daniel Fox.

WA PGA Chairman Rob Farley continues to return to this great event every year echoing Fox’s comments.

“The club continues to provide a great opportunity for our guys to come up here and play for an amazing prize purse but they really go above and beyond to look after us like no other from the time we land to the time we leave," said Farley.

"With that, and the fact the weather is absolutely perfect, they are the reasons why they get great support from the professionals.”

Friday will be the Sponsors Day and practice round for the professionals with the two tournament rounds being played over Saturday and Sunday.

Last year’s winner Kris Muek will not be defending his title but with players such as Michel Long, Daniel Fox and 2018 Ladbrokes Pro-Am Series WA Swing dominators Braden Becker and Brody Martin in the field, this will surely be another amazing event.

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