Caitlin Peirce advances to second round at US Women’s Am


Bel Air Country Club in the suburbs of Los Angeles – photo USGA

Australian Caitlin Peirce has survived a tight encounter against Canadian Savannah Grewel to advance to the second round of the US Women’s Amateur Championship at the Bel Air Country Club in Los Angeles.

South Australian, Peirce, rallied from a two-hole deficit through ten holes to win with a par at the final hole of their 18-hole match and she now heads to the Round of 32.

Peirce’s next opponent has yet to be decided, the match-up between Thailand’s Thanana Kotchasanmanee and American Casey Weidenfeld, the last encounter of the day, still undecided through 22 holes and carried over until Thursday US time.

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South Australian Caitlin Peirce makes it to matchplay at US Am


Caitlin Peirce – in action in Los Angeles – photo USGA 

South Australian, Caitlin Peirce, is the only one of three Australians to have made it to the knockout stage of the US Women’s Amateur Championship at Bel Air Country Club in Los Angeles, the Royal Adelaide member adding a second round of 71 to finish in a share of 45th and make it into the 64 players to take on head-to-head elimination rounds over the next few days.

Pierce is currently in the US playing a series of amateur events amongst which she recorded a solid 9th place finish at the recent Women’s Western Amateur Championship.

Peirce fought back from outside the top 64 with four holes to play, birdies at her 15th and 16th holes moving her into a safe position.

Tomorrow Peirce takes on 11th qualifier Savannah Grewel of Canada.

Queensland’s Justice Bosio and Victorian Sue Wooster missed out on making it into the top 64.

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Seven Australasians attempt final women’s major of the year

Walton Heath’s Par 3 9th of the Composite Women’s Open Course – photo David Cannon Getty 

Six Australians and one New Zealander are in the field for this week’s AIG Women’s Open at Walton Heath, the first time the event has been played at the heathland layout in Surrey.

Lydia Ko, Minjee Lee, Hannah Green, Grace Kim, Stephanie Kyriacou, Sarah Kemp and Kelsey Bennett have made it into the fifth and final major of the year for women’s golf.

It has been 21 years since Karrie Webb won the third and last of her Women’s British Open titles, adding to the other Australian names of Karen Lunn and Corinne Dibnah.

When Webb won all those years ago she earned a cheque for US$236,000 but in 2023 the winner will take home nearly US$1.1 million of the US$7.3 million total purse.

Ko’s record in the event has been below that of her overall record in tournament golf. This will be her 12th appearance in the event and on only two occasions has she finished inside the top ten, her best being when 3rd behind Inbee Park in 2015. Ko’s other problem is her lack of recent form.

Lee, on the other hand, has enjoyed a consistent run in the event with four top tens in her last five appearances, her best, also, a 3rd place behind Sophia Popov in 2020 and appears to be in better form than Ko at present.

Green has made every cut in her five appearances to date but a 16th-place finish in 2019 is her only top 20 finish till now.

Kyriacou is one of Australian golf’s rising stars and a 13th and 7th place finish at her last two of three starts in the event, suggests she enjoys playing in Britain.

Grace Kim is also one of Australian golf’s most promising young professionals having already won in her rookie season on the LPGA Tour in 2023. This is her first time in this event.

Sarah Kemp has shown in recent weeks that her game is nearing its peak especially her impressive share of 9th place last week to secure a place in this week’s field. Having played in Europe for much of her career, Kemp will enjoy the type of layout that Walton Heath provides but her record in the event is poor having missed eight of her eleven starts.

Kelsey Bennet has done remarkably well to make the field having survived a mammoth playoff at Final Qualifying and gets her first start at this level.

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Cam Davis makes FedEx Cup Playoffs Adam Scott narrowly misses


Cam Davis – file photo – heading to Memphis – file photo

Despite a valiant effort in round four of the Wyndham Championship, Adam Scott has narrowly missed out on a place in the FedEx Cup playoffs, the first time in his career he will not be playing the end of season events.

Scott knew he needed something very special today to improve his 81st place standing in the FedEx Cup table and finish inside the top 70 who will advance to the opening first event of the Playoffs in Memphis next week and his final round of 63 including birdies at four of his last five holes so nearly got the job done.

Scott will finish in a share of 7th place this week but in 72nd place for the season in the FedEx Cup standings and for the very first time since their inception back in 2009, he will miss the chance to tackle the Playoffs.

Matt Kuchar now remains as the only player to have made it to the FedEx Cup Playoffs every year.

When Scott was asked what his mindset was heading into today’s round knowing he needed a big day if he was to advance his cause he responded;

“I didn’t really have one, honestly. I didn’t play well on Friday and Saturday tee to green, didn’t feel amazing, so I didn’t really have any expectations. That might have been a good thing for a good score. I wish I knew what I was doing, but I don’t.”

Scott was asked before play had finished how would feel if he did in fact miss the chance to play in Memphis.

“I think I’m actually getting to the point where, you know, I’ve got to put that stuff aside and, you know, not play to keep a streak of playing Playoffs going but play to win stuff, not just be there to make the numbers up.

“So if it does end, I think it’s a good thing. I think it gives me a good chance to have a look at what I need to do differently to be more competitive in whatever competition I’m playing in.”

Cam Davis, however, needed a solid week to book his ticket to Memphis and he did just that, finishing in a share of 7th place with Scott but advancing from 69th at the start of the week to 62nd and joining Jason Day as the two Australians to make it to the Playoffs.

Davis was probably safe heading into the final round but his 66 today confirmed his immediate future.

“It’s a stressful position being right on the bubble starting the last hole of the season,” said the now US-based Sydney golfer. “But yeah, I played really solid last week to get myself inside 70 and I played really good golf this week as well.

“I wanted to just try and win the tournament and get as high up as I can, then find out at the end. So I didn’t look at the leaderboard all week, I didn’t know where I stood projection-wise, I just wanted to finish off the tournament and I knew where I finished today should be plenty.

“Very pleased with the way I held everything together and played a really good round today to finish off a nice little stretch to finish the regular season. So looking forward to the Playoffs

Each of the three Playoff events, The FedEx Cup Championship, The BMW Championship and The Tour Championship are worth at least US$20 million, ensuring a potentially lucrative finish to the 2023 season.

The tournament was won by former US Open Champion Lucas Glover who moved from 112th to 49th in the standings as a result of his 5th PGA Tour title but only his second since 2011.

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Sarah Kemp records second best finish of season to earn AIG Open start


The winner of the Freed Scottish Open Celine Boutier – image Octavio Passos

Sarah Kemp killed two birds with one stone at this week’s Freed Scottish Open, the 37-year-old New South Welshwoman, producing her second-best finish of the 2023 LPGA Tour season and earning a place in the field for this coming week’s AIG Open Championship.

Kemp needed to be inside the top three of the players not otherwise exempt for next week’s final major of the year and a final round of 70 at the event at Dundonald Links earlier today was good enough to secure a share of 9th place and a ticket to Walton Heath.

Kemp’s final round of 70 to get the job done was made even more impressive by the fact that she bogeyed two of her first four holes before bouncing back with four birdies over her closing 14 holes to earn US$41,000 and the right to play the AIG Open once again.

Kemp finished 6 shots behind the winner, Celine Boutier, who won again after claiming her first major title at the Evian Championship last week. Boutier had also finished runner-up in this event last year.

Minjee Lee and Stephanie Kyriacou served notice that their respective games were in good shape for next week’s task when they both recorded rounds of 66 to finish in a share of 13th place.

For France’s, Boutier, it would be her third win of the 2023 season and consolidates her position at the top of the Race to the Globe standings.

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Last hole mistake proves costly for Scott Hend in Jakarta

Scott Hend file photo – courtesy of Asian Tour 

Scott Hend had done everything right in today’s final round of the Mandiri Indonesia Open at the Pondok Indah Golf Course in Jakarta until, that is, he stood on the 18th tee tied for the lead with the eventual winner, Nitithorn Thippong of Thailand.

Six birdies over his first 14 holes had swept the Queenslander into a share of the lead but at the reachable par 5 final hole, he pulled-hooked his tee shot out of bounds and although he recovered to potentially save at least bogey, he missed a very short putt and eventually finished with a double bogey and a three share of second place, two shots behind the winner.

Beginning today’s final round six shots from the lead, Hend had crafted a beautiful final round until disaster struck at the last moment for the former PGA Tour player who turns 50 in two week’s time.

Despite the agony of such a late blunder, it was a turnaround in form for Hend who had failed to record a top ten in ten starts to this point on the 2023 Asian Tour, especially given an absence from tournament golf for nearly six weeks.

Hend, though, is a prolific winner of events in Asia having won nine titles since 2009 and regularly finishing amongst the money list leaders each season.

For the winner, Thippong, it was his third Asian Tour title although like Hend, he had been unable to record a top ten this season until now.

The next best of the Australians were Thomas Power Horan and Douglas Klein who tied for 19th.

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New Zealand’s Kazuma Kobori wins prestigious Western Am


Kazuma Kobori – seen here following his Australian Amateur win earlier this year. Image Australian Golf Media 

New Zealand’s Kazuma Kobori has won the Western Amateur Championship in Glenview in Illinois, one of the oldest and most prestigious amateur events in the USA, joining his fellow countryman, Danny Lee, as a winner of the time-honoured event.

Kobori, the current Australian Amateur Champion, finished in 9th place in the stroke-play qualifying earlier in the week, safely earning his place amongst the 16 players who qualified for the knockout stages of the event.

Kobori, from the Christchurch area in New Zealand’s South Island, then negotiated his way through the opening three rounds before taking on South African Christiaan Maas in today’s final which he would win 1 up.

Kobori went 2 up early in his match but Maas won the 5th, 9th and 10th holes to move 1 ahead. Kobori would then win the 12th and 17th holes before holding on to win the match 1 up.

Kobori, who currently has full status on the PGA Tour of Australasia, will now set his sights on the US Amateur Championship at the Cherry Hills Country Club in Colorado beginning on August 14th where he will look to emulate the same double won by Danny Lee in 2008.

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Cam Davis keeps playoff hopes alive Adam Scott now in danger

Cam Davis – file photo PGA of America

Cam Davis has kept his hope alive of a place in the field for the opening event of the FedEx Cup playoffs following his second round of 67 at the Sedgefield Country Club in Greensboro, North Carolina.

In 69th position on the FedEx Cup table ahead of this week’s Wyndham Championship, Davis likely needed to at least make the cut and perhaps produce something considerably better if he was to finish inside the top 70 who will advance to next week’s opening playoff event in Memphis.

Not only has he made the cut, but the Sydney golfer is tied for 21st at the halfway mark of the final event of the pre-playoff season, moving him to a projected 67th in the FedEx Cup standings. He needs a continuation of his good play over the weekend but, to date, it is a case of so far so good.

Davis is playing his 20th event of 2023 in which he has accumulated four top tens with a best of 4th coming at the PGA Championship. His 10th-place finish at last week’s 3M Open assisted his cause as he looks to make the playoffs for the second consecutive year.

Adam Scott was on the outside looking in in 82nd position in the standings heading into this week’s event and after his opening round of 65 yesterday he appeared on track to get the job done but today’s round of 71 has seen him in a share of 31st this week and slip back to 81st place in the season-long standings, needing a strong weekend if he is to continue his amazing record of making the playoffs every year since their inception in 2009.

Cameron Percy, Harrison Endycott, and Aaron Baddeley have all missed the cut this week, Baddeley now in 95th place in the standings, Endycott 130th, and Percy 148th.

Their mission is to finish inside the top 125 on the FedEx Cup table at the completion of the Fall Series starting in early September and thus retain full PGA Tour status for next season.

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Sarah Kemp’s timely return to form at Scottish Open


Sarah Kemp in action during the second round – image Octavia Passos Getty Images 

New South Wales’ Sarah Kemp is by some margin the leading Australasian at the halfway mark of the Freed Group Women’s Scottish Open at the Dundonald Links on the Ayrshire Coast of Scotland, the 37-year-old tied for 3rd at 7 under par and although five shots from the leader, Hinako Shibuno, she is well placed heading into the weekend of the LPGA Tour event.

Kemp produced a run of three consecutive birdies over her closing nine holes to move into contention in the event which is a precursor to next week’s final major of the year, the AIG Women’s Open Championship.

When asked the reason for her improvement over a run of finishes which has seen her with a best of 28th and four missed cuts in her last six starts Kemp responded.

“Last week my coach from Australia (John Serhan) came in and watched me play. So probably a little bit of that. But I made a putter change a few weeks back, and my speed’s just been really good. I’ve got a good feel for some speed at the moment. So, a combination of those, I would say.”

Kemp is currently not in next week’s field at Walton Heath and knows what she needs to do to play her way into the field by finishing inside the top three this week and not otherwise exempt.

“Yeah, that’d be a great bonus. But, yeah, I’ve got a long way to go until I can get one of those spots. But, yeah, if I can keep up what I’m doing, I might have a shot.”

The leader, Shibuno of Japan, again showed her liking for British golf. The 24-year-old’s only LPGA Tour victory came at the 2019 AIG Women’s Open Championship at Woburn and while this venue is very different the timing of her return to form after missing five of her last six cuts.

Stephanie Kyriacou (30th) and Minjee Lee 53rd were the other Australians to make the weekend. Karis Davidson missing by one despite an eagle at the last.

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Three Australians in US Women’s Amateur field


The 13th at Bel Air Country Club nestled amongst Los Angeles wealthy suburbs – image USGA 

Los Angeles’ famed Bel Air Country Club, plays host to next week’s US Women’s Amateur Championship in which three Australians will look to emulate the deeds of their country’s only winner of the prestigious event, Gabi Ruffels.

Ruffels not only won in 2019 she would also finish runner-up to the now, rising superstar, Rose Zhang, a year later with fellow countrywomen, Anne Marie Knight and Lindy Goggin also finishing runner-up in earlier years.

New Zealand’s Lydia Ko also won the event in 2012.

Queensland’s Justice Bosio, South Australian, Caitlin Peirce and Victorian Su Wooster are the three Australians in this year’s field of 156, initially chasing a place amongst the 64 who will advance to the knockout rounds.

Bosio from Caboolture in Queensland, earned her place in the field when finishing 3rd at her qualifying venue in Ohio in late June while Pierce also qualified through the rigorous qualifying process when gaining the last of four available places at her venue in Illinois.

Veteran Wooster is, at the age of 61 the oldest player in the field and is in the field as a result of finishing runner-up at the latest US Senior Women’s Amateur Championship, a feat she had recorded on three occasions now.

The Bel Air Country Club was opened in 1927 but has undergone significant change during its lifetime including a recent restoration by Tom Doak.

TEE TIMES


Melbourne’s Sue Wooster, at 61 the oldest player in the field at – image USGA

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