Master of the Amateurs begins Tuesday at the Southern Golf Club


Southern Golf Club plays host for the second occasion – image Australian Master of the Amateurs

Australia’s Master of the Amateurs championship will be played for the 27th occasion when the 72 hole event begins on Tuesday at the Southern Golf Club in Melbourne’s sunbelt.

The championship was first played in 1997 when Australia’s Barry Miles won the inaugural staging at Royal Pines on the Gold Coast although, five years later, Melbourne’s sandbelt became the permanent home for the event with Yarra Yarra, Royal Melbourne and Victorian Golf Clubs and now the Southern Golf Club playing host to a championship which has gained much prestige amongst not only Australian but world amateur events.

Amongst the list of previous winners are names such as Brendan Jones, one of Australia’s most successful ever competitors in Japan, Jason Day who is currently Australia’s leading world-ranked player and a 13-time winner on the PGA Tour and more recently Sahith Theegala who has himself become a star performer on the PGA Tour in recent times.

Not only has the winner’s list been impressive but over the years many other players who would go on to make their mark in world golf have competed including Rickie Fowler, Bryson De Chambeau and Tommy Fleetwood.

Players from Australia, New Zealand, the USA, England, Ireland, Japan, Canada, Scotland and numerous Asian countries at scheduled to tee it up.

The Master of the Amateurs took on a women’s division in 2018, the most notable of their winners to date being the NSW golfer Stephanie Kyriacou who has gone on to success on the Ladies European Tour and is now performing with distinction on the LPGA Tour>

The event is played over 72 holes with a 54-hole cut on Thursday evening followed by the final round on Friday 12th January.

TEE TIMES

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Jason Day loses ground but remains in touch in Hawaii


Jason Day – file photo USGA

Jason Day, one of two Australians in the opening event of the 2024 PGA Tour season, The Sentry, lost ground with his second round of 69 on the par 73 layout at the Plantation Course at Kapalua in Hawaii but he remains within striking distance of leader Scottie Scheffler at the halfway stage.

Day, whose opening round of 65 on day one had him just one off the lead, now finds himself in share of 15th place but just four shots from Scheffler’s lead after the current world number one added a second round 64 to lead by one over Tyrell Hatton, Brendon Todd and Sungjae Im.

Day’s only blemish on day two was when failing to reach the green from the rough at the relatively short par 4 13th hole but he soon recovered with birdies at the 14th and 15th although he failed to find the green with his seocnd at the very reachable 18th and was unable to make birdie on one of the easiest holes on the layout.

Day is playing the event or its equivalent for the for the first occasion  since 2019, the 36 year old in the field courtesy of his win in Dallas last year and his standing on last season’s FedEx Cup points table. He has a previous best of 3rd in this event in 2015.

Day, who appears back in good health and playing well again, said on Thursday how delighted he is to be in the field and just playing the event.

“Yeah, it’s a good way to start the year. I just can’t help but feel thankful to be able to play this game, and be here healthy and enjoying golf, which is a good thing. I still want to compete and play well and try and win this tournament. So, three more days to go, but I feel very lucky to be here.”

Day was asked when he last felt as healthy as he does now.

“Going back probably before 2015. So, it’s quite a long time. I still get hiccups every now and then still. For the most part, yeah, through my No. 1 years, I was in a lot of pain, but kind of just, I did — I sucked it up and just pushed through the pain. Which was, like, great, but it was, like, very short. So, hopefully, this time getting back there I can stay there for a lot longer than what I did.”

Cam Davis is the other Australian in the 59 player field but he is languishing back in 57th place despite a second round of 69 himself.

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Day and Davis play season opener at Kapalua

Jason Day – in the field on two counts – his win in Dallas last year and his FedEx Cup standing – Getty Images

Jason Day and Cam Davis are the only two Australians in the field for this week’s opening event of the 2024 PGA Tour season, the Sentry at the Plantation Course at Kapalua on Maui, the pair earning their place courtesy of their standing inside the top 50 in the 2023 FedEx Cup rankings and, in the case of Day, as a result of his win at the Byron Nelson event near Dallas.

Day finished 28th in the FedEx Cup standings last year while Davis was 48th.

The event, previously known as the Tournament of Champions which involved a line-up of winners of events from the previous twelve months, has been replaced by a field that also includes winners in 2023 but has the addition of the leading 50 players in the 2023 FedEx Cup points table.

The event will be the inaugural staging of a ‘Signature’ event series where a purse of US$20 million is on offer with a first place cheque of US$3.6 million and even 10th place earns US$550,000 and the last placed player in the field of 59 this week will receive US$50,000.

Essentially the ‘Signature events’ is a name change from the newly introduced ‘Designated’ events in 2023

The increased prizemoney in the eight Signature events scheduled for 2024 has clearly been introduced to counter the cash splash on offer by LIV Golf with eight signature events.

With there yet to be a definitive answer or announcement on the supposed agreement between LIV Golf’s benefactor PIF and the PGA Tour, these events are expected to at least appease some of those who have remained loyal to the PGA Tour.

Interestingly the last two winners of the event, Jon Rahm and Cam Smith, are now LIV Golf members and, as such, are ineligible for this week’s event.

Day will play the event or its previous equivalent for the 6th occasion and has been inside the top ten in the restricted fields on three occasions with a best of 3rd in his stellar year of 2015.

Day comes off the back of a win at the teams’ event in Florida in which he paired with Lydia Ko, completing a year which saw him win for the first time in five years when successful at the AT&T Byron Nelson.

Davis has played at Kapalua once previously when earning his place in the 2022 Tournament of Champions field courtesy of his breakthrough PGA Tour victory at the Rocket Mortgage Classic in late 2021.

Davis finished 10th that year including weekend rounds of 66 and 66 to finish nine shots behind his countryman, Cam Smith, whose 34 under par total that week remains the record for 72 holes at the Plantation Course at Kapalua.

Cam Davis plays Kapalua for the second occasion – image Australian Golf Media 

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