Hannah Green records second best finish of 2023 in Canada


Hannah Green – in action this week – image LPGA / Getty Images

Perth’s Hannah Green has produced her second-best finish of the 2023 LPGA Tour season when sharing 4th place at this past week’s CPKC Women’s Open (read Canadian Women’s Open) in Vancouver.

Green, whose only other top ten of the year came when winning the JM Eagle LA Championship, finished three shots from the playoff between Jin Young Ko and the eventual winner Megan Khang and earned US$117,500.

“I’m feeling good,” said Green after her final round. “I played good today. I hit the ball much better which is good, because yesterday I really scrambled. Didn’t hit many fairways at all and was trying to hit as many greens as possible; not really trying to hit it close.

“So today I had that opportunity which was nice. Didn’t really read the greens as well as I did the first few days. Overall, really happy with my result.

“This is a great event. Playing Shaughnessy, it’s obviously a really great golf course. We feel very honored to be on this golf course.

“It’s a challenging one, as you can see by the scoring. Nothing particularly low so it makes you think a little bit. Compared to what course was like on Monday to today it was very different, so it was getting fast, getting quite hard.

“So it was good. I really enjoy that type of golf. It’s nice to find some form after a rough month I guess you could say going into a tournament that’s very fondly in my heart.”

Green was of course referring to next week’s event in Portland which she has won previously.

Victorian Gabi Ruffels who has LPGA Tour playing rights now firmly in her grasp for next season courtesy of her outstanding season on the feeder Epson Tour did well when playing the event on invitation and finished in a share of 19th.

Minjee Lee and Karis Davidson tied for 22nd while the struggles continued for Lydia Ko when she finished last of those who made the weekend and 24 shots from the playoff after a third round of 82.

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Australians on knife-edge in race for PGA Tour playing rights

Rhein Gibson – file photo – important few events ahead for the Lismore golfer.

Several Australians are walking a fine line as they chase PGA Tour status via the Korn Ferry Tour over the next few weeks.

The completion of this week’s Albertsons Boise Open in Idaho did little to help their cause, Rhein Gibson and Brett Drewitt missing the cut and slipping to 27th and 30th respectively in the year-long standings in which the leading 30 players following the completion of the Tour Championship in early October gain 2024 PGA Tour cards.

Both Gibson and Drewitt had begun the season well, Gibson winning in February and following soon after with two more top tens to be well inside the top ten at that point.

Drewitt also reeled off five top tens in his first seven starts and looked to be comfortably on his way back to the PGA Tour in 2024 but the further the season has gone on the more vulnerable the pair look in terms of returning to the big dance.

The Korn Ferry Tour now has a three week break before the Simmons Bank Open in Tennessee continues the Finals but, with just three events remaining, both Gibson and Drewitt will need to watch their backs.

Dimi Papadatos was the only Australian to make the cut this week when finishing 43rd, but he too has struggled after what had been a good start to the season which had included a runner-up finish in Chile.

Papdatos has now slipped to 63rd in the rankings and while reaching the top 30 is not beyond him he will need to improve sharply in the remaining events if he is to get to the PGA Tour for the first time.

Spare a thought also for Perth’s Curtis Luck who miscalculated his tee time on Thursday and was disqualified for not turning up on time.

Luck has now slipped to 62nd he, too, has a task ahead.

Interestingly, Luck was quite philosophical about his mistake as he indicated when talking to PGA Tour.com

“For some people, this would be a really, really big issue, because everybody out here is trying to play for a PGA TOUR card,” Luck said. “I’m not taking it that badly, to be honest … My theory is Columbus (the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship, which he won in 2020) is where I’m looking to do the most damage … it is what it is.”

KORN FERRY TOUR STANDINGS

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Matt Jones goes down in history making playoff


Matt Jones – runner-up in St Andrews – image courtesy of LIV Golf.

Australian Matt Jones has finished runner-up at the Asian Tour’s International Series event at Fairmont St Andrews in St Andrews Scotland, but that tells only part of what was an historical final day.

The playoff between LIV Golf player, Jones and Spain’s Eugenio Chacarra lasted a massive ten holes (an Asian Tour record) before a two-putt par by Chaccara at the par 5 was unable to be matched by Jones who missed from five feet to keep the battle alive.

For Jones however, it continues a good run of late during which he was a member of the winning Rippers team in LIV Golf event in New Jersey three weeks ago, securing US$750,000 plus an individual prize of close to US$160,000 there, followed by a 4th place finish and another US$76,000 at last week’s International Series event in Scotland and now this runner-up finish and another US$220,000.

So around US$1.2 million in his last three events for the 43-year-old Arizona-based Sydney golfer.

Jones and Chacarra had both birdied the final hole of regulation to force the playoff but it would be the 23-year-old Chacarra who not only won his first Asian Tour event but his first event since turning professional last year. He won US$360,000.

Queenslander, Andrew Dodt finished in a share of third place and earned US$113,000, by some margin his biggest cheque of the year and, after a break from tournament golf and returning at last week’s event in Newcastle where he missed the cut, this is a major boost for three time Asian Tour event winner.

South Australian Wade Ormsby also had a good week when he finished tied for 8th place.

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Hovland and Morikawa lead by two at Tour Championship


Collin Morikawa – file photo courtesy of USGA

An intriguing weekend lies ahead for the 30 players duking it out for the huge prize fund at the Tour Championship at the East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, Collin Morikawa and Viktor Hovland taking a two-shot advantage over Scottie Scheffler in an event where the winner will secure a US$18 million windfall.

Hovland and Morikawa both recorded second rounds of 64 although, for Morikawa, his opening round of 61 had given the early lead before being caught by Hovland’s last nine of 30 today.

Scheffler, who has taken all before him for much of the last 18 months on the PGA Tour and led the Fed Ex Cup standings, bounced back from a disappointing opening round of 71 yesterday with a 65 to keep his army of supporters with hope.

Keegan Bradley is another shot back and alone in 4th place while Xander Schaffele and Jon Rahm are one further back.

Jason Day is the only Australian in the field and after rounds of 67 and 70 finds himself in a share of 19th place and twelve shots from the lead.

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Jones and Dodt in contention at St Andrews

Matt Jones – in a rich vein of form of late 

The second of two Asian Tour International Series events in Britain this August, the St Andrews Championship at the Fairmont St Andrews Torrance Course in Scotland, has reached the halfway mark, and Australians Matt Jones and Andrew Dodt are within striking distance in the US$1.5 million event.

Dodt and Jones are at 10 under, four shots from the lead held by Spain’s David Puig and tied in 3rd place, Jones’s following up his good week in Newcastle last week when finishing 4th in a similar event by adding a second round of 65 to move into contention.

Jones was also part of the winning Australian team at the LIv Golf event in Bedminster in New Jersey.

Queenslander, Dodt, on the other hand, missed the cut last week after lengthy break from tournament play but after an impressive start on Thursday when producing an opening round of 66 to be tied in the lead, the 37-year-old, three-time Asian Tour winner added a second round of 68 to remain well and truly in the mix.

The leader, Puig, is a 21-year-old LIV Golf player who has enjoyed commercial success in the team aspect of that series but who has yet to win an event as a professional.

The field includes many LIV Golf members taking advantage of the association the Asia Tour has with Liv Golf which allows them to compete in events such as this.

Wade Ormsby (15th) is the next best of the Australians in the field.

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Jason Day sole Australian at Tour Championship

Jason Day with the AT&T Byron Nelson trophy which was crucial in getting to Atlanta – file photo Getty Images 

Jason Day remains as the only Australia alive in the FedEx Cup Playoffs following the completion of the BMW Championship in Chicago on Sunday.

Day will now head to the East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta for the Tour Championship which he will play for the 9th occasion having made the select field of 30 to tee it up for lucrative final of the FedEx Cup Playoffs.

Day finished well back in 46th place of the 50 players who made the field for this week’s BMW Championship but he had done enough throughout the season including a win in Dallas and a runner-up finish at the Open Championship to finish the event in 25th place on the FedEx Cup table.

Day’s best finish in Atlanta previously was when 4th in 2014 and, although his most recent form has been mixed, he heads to the final just outside the world top 20 after beginning the year outside the top 100.

The only other Australian who made it to the BMW Championship, Cam Davis, was unable to capitalise on his three consecutive top tens to get him to Chicago and finished 40th this week and in 48th place overall in the FedEx Cup.

Davis might not have made it to Atlanta but has had yet another impressive season on the PGA Tour despite the disappointment of missing out on a debut at the Tour Championship.

This week’s event was won by Viktor Hovland whose brilliant final round of 61 saw him win by two over world number one, Scottie Scheffler and Matthew Fitzpatrick and move to number two on the Fed Ex Cup table behind Scheffler.

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Ogletree wins third Asian Tour event of year, Matt Jones 4th


Andy Ogltree – making a habit of winning trophies – image Paul Lakatos

American Andy Ogletree, a former US Amateur Champion, has further consolidated his lead on the 2023 Asian Tour Order of Merit with an emphatic seven-shot win at the International Series event near Newcastle in England.

For Ogletree, it was his third win of the season after earlier victories in Qatar and Egypt and he had to overcome a slow start on Thursday to do so, producing a total of 17 under par over the closing 54 holes to spreadegled the field.

“I don’t think I could hit it much better than I did this week,” said the 25-year-old, who banked US$360,000.

“The greens were super bumpy so it’s hard to tell exactly how my putting was, but I was pleased with how I played and my speed control coming down the stretch today was awesome. And it was nice to see a few putts go in, so we’re just gonna keep trying to get better every week. My game is in a really good spot against a world-class field, super honored to play the way I did.”

The field was littered with some of the lesser lights on the LIV Golf Tour and for Ian Poulter it was a chance to get back into contention again, the Englishman finishing runner-up, albeit seven shots back of the American.

Australia’s Matt Jones who has generally struggled on the LIV Golf Tour, finished in a share of 4th place some nine shots back of the winner.

Jones headed a large contingent of Australian and New Zealand players in the field, Victorian Terry Pilkadaris finishing the next best when he tied for 11th place.

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Daniel Gale wins second PGA Tour of Australasia title


Daniel Gale with his rather unique trophy – image Australian Golf Media 

New South Wales golfer, Daniel Gale has won his second PGA Tour of Australasia event by bookending his week with rounds of 65 to take out the NT PGA Championship at the Palmerston Golf Club near Darwin.

Gale opened with a round of 65 on Thursday and was still ahead of the field on Friday but fell two off the pace when Victorian Andrew Kelly took the lead through 54 holes.

Gale though would reel off another round of 65 on Sunday and despite a bogey at the last was able to comfortably win by four over Queensland’s Chris Crabtree.

Kelly would eventually finish in a share of 3rd place with Queensland’s Tim Hart, Victorian Matias Sanchez, and West Australian Ben Fergusson.

For Gale the win comes five years after his breakthrough victory at the PNG Open in 2018 but he has been four times runner-up in the meantime and this victory is seen as a deserved win.

Gale has recently returned from several months in the US where amongst other things he Monday qualified for the PGA Tour’s 3M Open in which he recorded a round of 60 just to get into the tournament. Although he missed the cut in that event, it was further experience for the talented 27-year-old.

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South Australian Jack Thompson starts well in International Series event


Jack Thompson – well placed at the halfway mark in England – file photo Australian Golf Media

South Australian, Jack Thomson, who earlier in the year led the Asian Tour’s Q School, finds himself just one shot from the lead at the halfway mark of the Asian Tour’s International Series event at Close House near Newcastle on Tyne in the northeast of England.

Thompson added a second round of 67 to be tied for 3rd place in the US$2 million event and just one off the lead held by American Jason Kokrak and Spain’s David Puig, both of whom are part of a large contingent from the LIV Golf Tour in this weekend’s event.

Thompson, who has missed his last three cuts in Asian Tour events, is a former winner of a PGA Tour of Australasia event when successful at the Gippsland Super 6 event in 2021 but after claiming a place on the Asian Tour in 2023 he has struggled to play to that level until now.

Thompson shares 3rd place with the current Asian Tour Order of merit leader, Andy Ogletree, former Australian Open Champion Abraham Ancer, and James Piot.

Both Ogletree and Piot are former US Amateur Champions while joint leader, Kokrak is a former winner of the Houston Open on the LIv Tour so Thompson is in elite company as he heads into the weekend.

Matt Jones and Travis Smyth are the next best of the Australians in a share of 9th place and two shots behind Thompson.

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Daniel Gale chasing second Australasian Tour title in Darwin


Daniel Gale – file photo by Bruce Young

New South Welshman Daniel Gale leads the second event of the 2023 / 2024 PGA Tour of Australasia schedule at the Halfway mark of the NT PGA Championship in Palmerston near Darwin.

Gale is chasing his second win on the PGA Tour of Australasia having won the PNG Open five years ago and having finished runner-up in this event that same season he has a liking for the venue.

The 27 year old led after an opening round of 65 yesterday and consolidated the lead with a round of 68 today to lead by one over former NSW Open and PGA Champion Aaron Townsend.

The round of the week thus far came today from Queensland’s Chris Wood whose 7 under par 64 allowed him to recover from an opening 75 and moved him into a share of 19th place and six from the lead. The round included nine birdies.

The $200,000 event is being played at the Palmerston Golf and Country Club.

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