Australian Open heads back to Sydney in 2023


The Men’s and Women’s trophies – image Australian Golf Media

The Australian Open returns to Sydney in December, the 2022 introduction of a multi-layer event continuing with the staging of the Men’s Australian Open, the Women’s Australian Open and the All Abilities Australian Open to be played from November 30th – December at the Australian Golf Club with the Lakes Golf Club playing a co-host role over the opening two days.

With the concept of all three championships being staged at the one venue over the same dates introduced last year at the Victoria and Kingston Heath Golf Clubs in Melbourne, the three tiered event had its teething problems but no doubt as a result of that initial experiment Golf Australia has ironed out such issues including the re-introduction of  just one cut for the men.

In 2023 several leading players missed the final day due to a second cut being made on the Saturday night including Cameron Smith who had been the catalyst for the significant crowds which had turned up t0 attend the event.

After a review of last year’s tournaments in Melbourne, and following consultation with both the men’s and women’s tour bodies and playing groups, the 2023 edition will have some format changes.

The men’s field will consist of 156 players, with 84 in the women’s field. Only one cut will be made, after 36 holes, reducing the field to the top 60 professionals plus ties in the men’s Open, and a pro-rata top 32 professionals plus ties in the women’s Open.

All professionals who make the cut will receive prizemoney, with both the male and female professionals earning the equivalent figure per finishing position.

In another change to the tournament schedule, the finale of the 54-hole Australian All Abilities Championship will start a day earlier with the final round and the champion player to be showcased on Saturday afternoon.

It will be the first time the Australian Open has been played at the Australian Golf Club since 2019 when Matt Jones won the second of two Australian Opens he has won at the Australian Golf Club, defeating Louis Oosthuizen by just one shot.

The men’s event will be jointly sanctioned by the PGA Tour of Australasia and the DP World Tour.

The Australian Golf Club – image Bruce Young

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Steve Alker finishes 5th when defending Senior PGA title


Alker in action this week – image PGA of America.

New Zealand’s Steve Alker might not have been able to successfully defend his KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship title in Texas this week, but his 5th place finish was yet another fine week against a particularly strong field in which five of the first nine finishers were regular tour major champions.

Alker finished a massive 9 shots behind the winner, Steve Stricker, who won at the first extra hole of a playoff against long-time leader, Padraig Harrington, but he recovered well from a slow start to the event.

Alker retains his 3rd place position in the Schwab Cup standings behind Stricker and David Toms.

Stricker now has three wins, and three runner-up finishes in nine starts this season on the PGA Tour Champions and had the pleasure of having his daughter Izzi, a fine high school golfer in her own right, caddy for him for the first time.

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The champion Steve Stricker and daughter / caddie Izzi  – image PGA of America

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Daniel Hillier’s KLM 5th place finish best finish of 2023


The KLM Open Champion Pablo Larrazabal collects his second trophy in three starts – image Getty Images

European Tour rookie, Daniel Hillier, recorded his best finish since gaining his full playing rights for that tour when finishing in a share of 5th place at this week’s KLM Open in Cromvoirt in the Netherlands.

The 24 year old New Zealander’s final round of 71 will secure a cheque for €66,600 and after three consecutive missed cuts the return to form comes at a crucial time.

Hillier’s best finish to date in a European Tour event was when 3rd while playing the 2021 ISPS Handa World Challenge without full playing rights but given this event comes after a very slow start to the year the result will provide both a financial and confidence boost for the talented Wellingtonian.

The former Australian Junior Champion, two time New Zealand Amateur Champion and two time Challenge Tour winner is considered New Zealand golf’s most exciting young prospect and it is hope that this week’s effort will be the catalyst for continuing good results this season.

Hillier finished four shots behind the winner, Spain’s Pablo Larrazabal who won his second event in his last three starts having also won in Korea a month ago.

RESULTS

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New Zealand’s Daniel Hillier finds form at KLM Open


Daniel Hillier – file photo Getty Images / European Tour

New Zealand’s Daniel Hillier has reversed some rather ordinary recent DP World Tour form having missed his last three cuts and recorded a best of 23rd in ten starts in 2023, and at the halfway mark of the KLM Open in Cromvoirt in the Netherlands, the 24 year old two-time New Zealand Amateur Champion is alone in 3rd place and three shots from the lead of Spain’s Jorge Campillo.

Hillier is playing his first season as a cardholder on the DP World Tour but despite his significant talent has been unable to fully find his feet at this level. A second round of 67 over the Bernardus Golf layout, however, might be the catalyst for something considerably better.

“It’s a bit of a shock really,” said Hillier. “I haven’t had my best stuff the last few weeks but I guess that’s the nature of the game, you’re never really as far away as you think. It was nice to play some solid stuff out there today. I had a couple bonuses with the hole-out on 18 and a couple of really close ones as well so it was a really good day.

“It was definitely playing a little bit more conservative out there. Not so much off the tee but definitely coming into the greens. You just can’t miss it in the wrong spot with the course firming up and the greens being quite undulating. You get some pretty funny bounces. I’m just trying to play some smart golf out there and take my chances.

“I’m sure there will be a lot of nerves out there first thing tomorrow but I’ve played in the final group a couple of times in the past and done okay, so hopefully I can just go out there and play my game. I’ve just got to keep telling myself my game is good enough and just trust my game-plan.”

Campillo leads by two over Italy’s Renato Paratore, Campillo a winner earlier this year in Kenya.

Blake Windred was the only Australasian in the field but missed the cut.

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Min Woo Lee plays first event with new PGA Tour status


Min Woo Lee – file photo

Min Woo Lee’s career as a professional golfer takes on a whole new look this week when he plays the Charles Schwab Challenge in Fort Worth, his first PGA Tour event with special temporary membership of that tour.

As a result of his solid week at the PGA Championship last week he passed the threshold for such membership and while it provides no guarantee of starts, it opens the door for more than the previous limit of seven tournament invitations outside of the majors.

Lee was involved in a media conference with Australian media today and was first asked as to his reaction on achieving another milestone in his career.

“Obviously the bigger picture is to get a full card, but it’s nice to tick that off. It kind of frees me up to not play in a time frame where you only have a few tournaments, seven specifically, not including the majors,” said the 24 year old.

“So it’s quite nice to have a bit of that freedom. I can hopefully play well and have a few more tournaments to play in. It’s a really nice thing. It was kind of like a monkey on the back, and you kind of want to get it done quick, but I had three missed cuts just before. I think I put a little bit too much pressure on myself. So it’s nice to tick that off.

“I still need to play well to keep my card. It’s nice to, I guess, have the freedom of getting more starts, but I’ve still got to play well. I think, when I do get into the top 125 of that FedExCup list at the end of the year or for Europe the top 10 cards, I think that’s when I’ll start looking at stuff like that (where he will live), but not thinking about it too much.”

After three consecutive missed cuts Lee finished in a share of 18th place last week in Rochester and talked about what the turnaround meant to him.

“I think the biggest thing I took away from last week was just the way I handled myself and played for the week. It’s obviously tough, and it’s sometimes how you handle yourself after a bad shot.

“Everyone’s going to hit bad shots in a major, so it’s nice to really get into that zone. You just have to do it to understand it, and I feel like hopefully it can help over the next few weeks. Yeah, it was a time to really just step up and play some good golf because it’s a major and you don’t want to miss another cut. I missed three in a row, so it was nice to — I mean, a little disappointing Sunday. I wish I played a little bit better, but it was also a really gritty round. It could have gone a lot worse, and the birdie on the last helped.”

After his recent run of outs, Lee returned to Australia for a three week break and felt the trip and the activities while there helped refresh him for what lay ahead.

“ Yeah, but it was nice to just be home and hang out with my friends, especially in Melbourne, where we had the Golf Australia camp. It was quite nice to be around, I guess, younger amateurs and teach them a few things and do a Q&A with them and kind of get inspired myself because I was once in that position not too long ago.

“I still need to play well to keep my card. It’s nice to, I guess, have the freedom of getting more starts, but I’ve still got to play well. I think, when I do get into the top 125 of that FedExCup list at the end of the year or for Europe the top 10 cards, I think that’s when I’ll start looking at stuff like that, but not thinking about it too much.”

Currently ranked 61 in the world, Lee owns two DP World Tour titles and a best PGA Tour finish of 6th (at this year’s Players Championship). He was also the US Junior Champion in his amateur years and possesses a powerful, creative game that appears set to carry him a long way.

Lee will be joined this week by fellow Australasians, Cam Davis, Lucas Herbert, Aaron Baddeley, Harrison Endycott and New Zealander Ryan Fox.

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Seven Australasians currently exempt for US Open


Cam Davis – his effort at last week’s PGA Championship earned him a debut at the US Open – image PGA of America

The 2023 US Open will be played at the Los Angeles Country Club from June 15th to 18th and as at May 22nd six Australians and one New Zealander are amongst the 84 players currently exempt into the event.

Final qualifying will be played across 13 venues in the UK, Japan and the USA between now and June 5th at which it is possible for more Australasians to make the field.

Those exempt at present are Cameron Smith, Jason Day, Adam Scott, Cam Davis, Min Woo Lee, Lucas Herbert and New Zealander Ryan Fox.

Smith, Day, Scott, Davis, Herbert  and Fox have earned their right to play via their standing inside the top 60 in the World Ranking as of May 22nd while Lee gains his start courtesy of being the leading player on the DP World Tour standing and not otherwise exempt for the event.

The brilliant weekend at the PGA Championship by Davis, when he produced a last round of 65 to finish in a share of 4th, swept him from 68th to 49th in the world ranking and he will get to play his first US Open.

The group will look to add to the names of David Graham, Michael Campbell and Geoff Ogilvy as winners of the event from our part of the world.

Current list of players 

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Brooks Koepka joins major championship elite Cam Davis 4th


Brooks Koepka with major trophy number five – image PGA of America

If the greatness or otherwise of a professional golfer is measured by their record in major championships, then Brooks Koepka’s PGA Championship win at Oak Hill today adds to the already outstanding record he possessed in major championship golf and elevates the 33-year-old amongst the greats of the modern game.

Since 1990, only two other players have won as many major titles as Koepka, namely Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson so he now joins an elite and exclusive club.

Not only had Koepka won four previous majors in the period between 2017 and 2019 but he also has four runner-up finishes to his name at the elite level and but for injury issues his significant record could well have been considerably greater.

One of those runner-up finishes was at the Masters in April where he had also led into the final round before succumbing to a last round of 75 to finish in a share of second behind Jon Rahm.

So, after resolving to take a different attitude into today’s final round than was the case at the Masters where he was protecting his lead rather than attempting to build on it, he either led or shared the lead throughout.

While challenged by Viktor Hovland throughout he was able to take advantage of a Hovland mistake at the 16th and edged clear to win by two over Hovland and Scottie Scheffler, who was one of several players on day four to record a final round of 65.

“I just learned I knew what I did in Augusta,” said Koepka when asked what the difference was this time.

“I spent the whole night thinking about it. I knew what I did and I knew I was never going to come out and think that way again. Didn’t do that.

“I’ve always learned more from the four times I finished second than, I guess, the five times I’ve won now.

“I think failure is how you learn. You get better from it. You realize what mistakes you’ve made. Each time I’ve kind of made an adjustment. It’s more mentality than it is anything. It’s not really golf swing or anything like that.

“You’re going to play how you play, but mentally you can kind of figure things out, and I’m always trying to get better. Just trying to find that different little edge just to poke and try inside my head.

“Really, I think the big key is just being open and honest with yourself, and if you can do that, you’ll be miles ahead of everybody else.

“I felt in control all day. I felt — to be honest with you, probably the one that was settling — what’s the par 5, making the birdie there, I felt like that was a good putt. The other ones were three, four feet. But I think making that 7-footer (at the 4th) just helped build some momentum early.

When asked how this week’s victory rates Brooks thought about it and responded. “This is probably the sweetest one of them all because all the hard work that went into this one, this one is definitely special. This one is probably it for me.”


Cam Davis – brilliant weekend earns him a share of 4th – image PGA of America

Another to record a final round of 65 was Australian Cameron Davis who until this week had played in four major championships with a best of 39th at the 2018 Open Championship, a start in which had come as a result of his winning the 2017 Australian Open.

Today, Davis’ round of 65 moved him from a share of 16th overnight to a three-way tie for 4th and a huge cheque for US$720,000. By finishing inside the top four, Davis will also earn an automatic start at the Masters in 2024, his second appearance in the event after a debut in 2022.

After a bogey at the first, Davis was near flawless from there, adding four birdies and an eagle, the eagle coming after a magnificent tee shot to the driveable par 4 14th and holing a ten foot putt.

“Honestly, felt like I played the same as today all the way through the week,” said Davis. “Didn’t quite keep the momentum going and kept on stumbling right at the finish. Felt like I was under par coming down the last three holes every day and really struggled to get over the finish line.

“But today was nice, especially 17. That one has been really bugging me, and I finally hit a good drive and followed it up with two more good shots. You know, would have been really nice to make that last putt, just have it drop over the front instead of finish up short.”

Understandably, Davis was delighted with such a performance and realises just what this will mean for his ongoing career, especially in the majors.

“To build off this one going into the other majors, every time you have a really good round under tough conditions, it’s just another little positive voice in the back of your head that, yeah, I can do this even when it’s difficult, even when the rough is really deep and the pins are tight and firming up quick and you can still play really good golf and make a score especially toward the end of a major.

“That’s where I want to be. I’d love to win one or more of these for sure. You know, this is just one more step towards that goal for me.

“Yeah, a lot of positive stuff.”

Also recording a round of 65 was Cameron Smith who after a slow start to the event put together weekend rounds of 70 and 65 to finish in a share of 9th.

“Yeah, it’s starting to feel really nice,” said Smith referring to an ever improving game of late. “I think a little bit too much time off with the golf clubs probably has, I guess, kind of delayed how I wanted to start the year. Now it’s starting to feel really nice.

“I’m starting to feel confident with those irons, which when I’m playing good golf, that’s where I feel like I’m at. If I’m in the fairway and I have an iron in my hand, I really feel like I can be competitive out there, and that’s what I’m doing.”

Min Woo Lee tied for 18th after a final round of 71 but in addition to recording his second bast finish in a major he now has special temporary membership of the PGA Tour. He needed only to finish in a tie for 27th or better and so he has comfortably achieved that goal.

Ryan Fox also earned more then a good cheque this week as he too now has special temporary membership of the PGA Tour which suggests he will be playing more on that Tour over the coming months. The New Zealander tied for 23rd which represented his second best finish in 16 major championship starts.

Adam Scott ties for 29th after a final round of 69 and Lucas Herbert 40th.

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Koepka has another 54 hole lead, Min Woo Lee shares 10th


Brooks Koepka leads into the final round of a major again – image PGA of America

Min Woo Lee finds himself in a share of 10th place as the PGA Championship enters tomorrow’s final round in Rochester, New York, the 24 year old West Australian adding a third round of 71 to be at 1 over par and seven shots from the lead held by Brooks Koepka, whose round of 66 has him leading a major into the final round for the second occasion in 2023.

Lee began the day with a bogey in the rainy conditions but by the turn he was back at even par for the round and the tournament and when he added another birdie at the 11th he was under par for the first time for the week and just four from the then lead held by Corey Conners.

A double bogey at the par 5 13th was a shaky reminder of the dangers that lurk at every corner of Oak Hill but, impressively, he was able to par the last five holes for a round of 71 and is well placed to improve on his previous best major finish of 14th at the 2022 Masters.

Lee leads the Australasians by one over Cameron Davis and Ryan Fox, Davis recovering from a slow start to the day to move under par for the round with birdies at the 14th and 16th before consecutive bogeys at 17 and 18th saw him finish with a round of 71 and an eventual share of 16th.

It was a disappointing end to what had been an encouraging day to that point for Davis but he, too, is well enough placed to improve considerably on his previous best major finish of 39th.

Fox has been quite a revelation given his disrupted preparation for the event as a result of pneumonia and the arrival of his second child.

Fox’s round of 71 continued a very impressive week and given that a share of 59th or better this week will earn him special temporary membership of the PGA Tour then he appears on track for a lot more golf in the US.

Cameron Smith’s round of 70 in perhaps the worst conditions of the day saw him improve 21 places to a share of 27th.

Adam Scott added another round of 74 to be tied for 42nd along with Lucas Herbert who was round in 72 today after an outward nine of 39.

Koepka leads by one over two of the 36 hole leaders, Viktor Hovland and Corey Conners, while the third of the leaders after round two, Scottie Scheffler fought back from a horror outward nine of 39 for a round of 73 and at 2 under is still a chance to win a second major title.

Koepka explained when asked what he saw as the difference between confidence and injury recovery when assessing his recent form.

“I think everyone misconstrues the confidence for just the injury. You ask any athlete if they are hurt, and they can’t do something. I mean, imagine if you can’t get out of bed or can’t walk. You’ve got a pebble in your shoe, you kind of start to adjust, and that’s the thing. I just got into bad habits. It’s tough. You can’t play. I came back too soon and played for too long. But look, I moved on from that now, so I’m pretty pleased.”

The issue of his last round demise at Augusta National was raised and when asked as to his mindset now he would say;  “To just never think the way I thought going into the final round. I think that was a big thing for me but other than that I think even having — learning what I learned at Augusta kind of helped today.

“Like I said, I won’t do it again the rest of my career. But that doesn’t mean that you can’t go play bad — you can play good, you’ll play bad but I’ll never have that mindset or that won’t ever be the reason.”

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Min Woo Lee stars amongst Australasians on day two at PGA


Min Woo Lee – just five off the lead after second round of 67 – image file photo Australian Golf Media

Min Woo Lee was the Australasian star on day two of the PGA Championship at Oak Hill Country Club, his round of 67 bettered only by Brooks Koepka’s round of 66 and after an opening round of 73 he now finds himself just five off the 36 hole lead at even par and tied for 10th.

The leaders at 5 under par are American Scottie Scheffler, Norway’s Viktor Hovland and Canadian Corey Conners.

Playing in conditions that definitely favoured the afternoon field on day two as the morning winds died to just a gentle zephyr, Lee took full advantage with a dream start that included four birdies in his first five holes.

After a run which had included three consecutive missed cuts in his last three starts, it was a welcome return for the 24 year old.

“It’s been a while since I was actually really, really proud of myself and the way I handled myself,” said Lee.

“It was a grind out there. There was a lot of par saves that I needed to do just to keep the momentum up, and I did that, and it was really fun. Very gritty out there, which is something that I feel like I’ve been lacking a little bit. It’s kind of nice to just do that, especially at a major championship.

“I mean, I needed something to switch because I feel like I’ve just been playing a little sluggish over the last few weeks a few tournaments. I don’t know what clicked, but I think I just got over it, and I just didn’t like missing cuts and just wanted to play really good today.

“I’m really proud of the way I went. I think just very focused on what I needed to do. A lot of doubt has kind of come into my game. I’ve been switching clubs and switching balls and hitting too much spin and stuff like that. Yeah, it was nice to just — at the end of the day, if you put a good swing on it, hopefully the shot goes nicely. I think that was the mindset today.”

Cameron Davis and Ryan Fox are the next best of the down under brigade, both players tied at 1 over par and in a share of 19th place.

Davis had opened with a  round of 71 but by the turn today he was at 3 over for the event and needing a solid back nine to ensure he would be around for the weekend and inside the likely cut line of 5 over. The conditions for the morning field were demanding with strong breezes buffeting the Oak Hill layout but birdies at his 13th, 14th and 15th holes had him at even par before a bogey at his 17th hole saw him finish with 70.


Cam Davis – inside the top twenty at the halfway mark – image PGA of America

Fox had impressed on day one with a round of 68 but he turned in 37 today and added another bogey at his 13th hole for a round of 73 and a 1 over par total.

Adam Scott had also started with a round of 68 on Thursday which included a gut-wrenching double at his final hole and once again it would be the final stretch that would prove costly for Scott.

After making the turn in even par 35, Scott was still 2 under for the tournament with just four holes to play but four dropped shots to finish with a round of 74 may well prove the difference between contending for the title and finishing midfield.

One can only imagine just how agonising his disastrous finishes on both day one and two mean to the 42 year old.


Adam Scott – another horror finish proves costly – image PGA of America

Lucas Herbert put together a strong back nine to finish with 69 and at 4 over he is one shot inside the cutline and has work this weekend.

Cameron Smith rode the roller coaster to the turn with two birdies, two bogies and a double bogey but managed to steady the ship on the way home for a second consecutive round of 72 and a total of 4 over.

Jason Day fought his way back from 8 over with three birdies in his back nine to be on the cutline playing the 16th, but a very short missed par putt there and a double bogey at the 17th would see him him miss his second cut in three starts with his win in Dallas sandwiched between.

David Micheluzzi and Steve Alker also missed the cut, Alker improving his opening round of 89 by eight shots and perhaps have him in better heart for his defence of the Senior PGA Championship next week.

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Scott and Fox lead down-under brigade at PGA Championship


Adam Scott gets his round underway today – image PGA of America

An agonising double bogey, when playing his final hole in near darkness, has cost Adam Scott a possible share of the first-round lead at the PGA Championship at Oak Hill Country Club, but despite the late hiccup the 42 year old is just three from the lead currently held by American Eric Cole.

Cole, however, has four holes of his opening round to play when he returns to the course early on Friday morning and dependent on how he negotiates those remaining holes will determine just how far Scott is from the lead heading into the second round.

Around 30 players are required to complete round one on Friday after a nearly two hour delay to the start of play due to frost would mean all 156 players could not complete their rounds.


Frost delayed the start by nearly two hours – image PGA of America

Scott had been near faultless until a pulled approach at the last left him in an awkward downhill lie in the greenside bunker and perhaps trying to get a little too cute he left the ball in the bunker and was then unable to get up and down from there.

Scott and New Zealand’s Ryan Fox are the best of the down under brigade, Fox playing early on day one taking the early lead and in fact had moved to 3 under when he birdied the 14th before a bogey at the 17th after a wild drive saw him eventually tied with Scott in a share of 6th place with his round of 68.

“First of all, it’s probably pretty surprising as I didn’t have a lot of prep coming in and had four weeks off in the lead-up to this with a few things going on,” said Fox.

“But, yeah, I played — for the most part played pretty solid. There were some pretty scruffy iron shots and my short game saved me. I road a pretty hot putter today, which was nice.

Fox suffered from pneumonia in recent weeks and returned home to Auckland to be there for the birth of his second child and to rest up from the illness.

“At the Masters, I was pretty sick on the weekend. Tried to play Hilton Head. Withdrew from there after nine holes, just feeling awful. Got home and got told I caught pneumonia, which pretty much explained why I felt so bad.

“I had a couple of weeks off just being Dad and trying to recover from that. That took a fair while on antibiotics to get over that. Basically, as soon as I got over that, our daughter was born, which was just over two weeks ago now. Our second daughter was born, Margot. So I had a few sleepless nights and not a lot of practice.

“One of the days I was supposed to go to practice, Auckland flooded for the third time this year. So I think I drive around Auckland 27 kilometers in four hours in chaos. It wasn’t quite the ideal preparation for a major, but I was kind of hoping the fact I needed a break after a busy start to the year and being mentally fresh would have been important this week.

“So far it’s sort of shown that you need to be pretty patient around this golf course and accept that you are going to have a couple of bad bounces, you’re going to get a few bad lies. Yes, sort of nice to come here fresh ask just be able to accept that.”


Ryan Fox – found some trouble today but a fine start nonethless – image PGA of America

Cam Davis is the next best of the Australasians at 1 over and tied for 27th. A double bogey at his 16th hole brought unstuck a fine effort to that point but he is well enough placed on what is a high scoring layout.

The leader, Cole is the son of South African Bobby Cole and former LPGA Tour Rookie of the Year, Laura Baugh. Bobby Cole won numerous events in his homeland but perhaps his most recognised golfing achievement was when leading the Open Championship into the final round in 1975 before finishing one shot behind the playoff between Tom Watson and Jack Newton.

He married Laura Baugh on two occasions, the couple producing seven children with Eric Cole now playing the PGA Tour after gaining his card via the Korn Ferry Tour last year. Cole finished runner-up at the Honda Classic earlier this year.


Eric Cole – the leader still has four holes to play – image PGA of America

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