New caddy new putter leads to 4th place finish for Minjee Lee

Minjee Lee – file photo courtesy of Golf Australia

Minjee Lee has begun her 2025 LPGA Tour season by producing the round of the final day (62) to surge into a share of 4th place at the season-opening Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions at Lake Nona Golf and Country Club in Orlando.

Lee’s round of eight birdies and an eagle was three shots clear of the next best on day four.

“Yeah, I mean, starting with two birdies is always going to be a nice fast start. Before I started today I was like, let’s just get off to a really fast start and see how low I can do today.

“I just tried to ride the momentum over like the end of the — like the 8th and 9th hole and into the 10th and 11th. So that was nice.

“Having an eagle on 15, it was like the cherry on top. So just hit it really solid and made some really nice putts.”

Lee has a new (long) putter in the bag and the immediate impact was there for all to see.

“There are a lot of putters at the golf club, so I was just feeling around with a few. Not necessarily the long putter was my first choice. I think once I started practicing with it, it was — it was not super unnatural or didn’t feel too weird.

“For me, I think it’s just a little new adventure and see where it takes me.”

Lee also has a new caddy on the bag this season, Mikey Paterson, a former caddy for Karrie Webb and the husband of a friend of Lee’s in Perth Tanya taking over the role.

“Actually with Mikey, he worked for me two weeks last year — no, wait, in ’23, the International Crown and the Founders Cup, so it wasn’t something that was like totally new. He’s been around for a really long time so it’s not like he’s new to caddieing.

“It just feels very easy. We get along really well. His wife, Tanya, is from Perth as well and known her forever and seen Mikey around for a really long time as well.”

Lee finished six shots from Korea’s A Lim Kim, the 2020 US Women’s Open Champion who recorded her third LPGA Tour title with a two-shot win over Nelly Korda.

New Zealand’s Lydia Ko, who was defending her 2024 title, finished a shot behind Lee in a share of 6th place while Hannah Green was 20th.

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Top tens for Kevin Yuan and Travis Smyth in India


Sydney’s Kevin Yuan – image courtesy of Asian Tour 

New South Wales golfers Kevin Yuan and Travis Smyth recorded top tens at the International Series India event at the DLF Golf Club in Gurgaon near New Delhi. Yuan finishing in a tie for 8th, and Smyth sharing 10th in the US$2 million event, the first of several such events in which both Asian Tour regulars and LIV golfers compete.

On a golf course and in conditions where only four golfers finished 72 holes under par, Yuan finished at 1 over and Smyth at 2 over.

Yuan has yet to win on any recognised tour, but he is building consistency in his Asian Tour appearances, including his fourth-place finish at the recent Philippine Open. This was his fourth top-ten finish in International Series events.

Smyth continues to build a good record on the Asian Tour having finished inside the top ten on their Order of Merit in each of the last three years. His only win in Asia came three years ago but he is regularly putting himself in contention and that second victory may well come sooner rather than later.

The tournament was won by American Ollie Schniederjans who held off a brilliant final round burst by Bryson DeChambeau,  Schniederjans winning by three.

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Queensland’s Proverbs wins playoff for first Australasian Tour title


Blake Proverbs on his way to victory today – image PGA of Australia

28-year-old Queenslander Blake Proverbs today won his first PGA Tour of Australasia event in seven years as a professional when he defeated 52-year-old Jason Norris after a three-hole playoff at the Webex Series Murray River event at Cobram Barooga on the Murray River.

Beginning the day three and four shots respectively behind the 54 hole leader, Jake McLeod, Proverbs was round in 64 on the par 71 layout while Norris had 63 to force the pair into a  playoff which Proverbs eventually won with a par at the third extra hole.

Prior to today’s win, Proverbs had recorded seven top-five finishes on the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia, but the victory will not only add A$45,000 to his bank account but also move him to 14th on the Australasian Tour Order of Merit and open up the opportunity for further progress over the remaining weeks in the 2o24 / 2025 season.

For Norris, he narrowly missed adding a second win in two weeks for the over-fifty brigade on the PGA Tour of Australasia following the victory by Michael Wright a week ago.

His final round of 63 included two eagles, one from 60 feet on the 10th and his par at the 72nd hole after finding the heavy rough to the right of the fairway was full of merit as he needed to make the 15 footer to ensure he was still alive to join the playoff.

Norris has played well on the Australasian Legends Tour where he won the Australian Senior PGA Championship in 2024. The former winner of the Fiji International as a European Tour event along with several victories in lesser events on the secondary tour in Australia showed an impressive turnaround after missing three consecutive cuts.

17-year-old Thai golfer Colcheva Wongrass highlighted just what a future star she is likely to become by finishing just one shot out of the playoff in the mixed-gender event.

Already a two time winner on the Thai Women’s Tour and a professional since the age of 15, Wongrass gives every indication she will join the growing list of Thai female golfers now competing at the elite level in the women’s game.

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Cam Davis contends at AT&T Pebble Beach Pro Am


Cam Davis – file photo PGA of Australia

Seattle-based Sydney golfer, Cam Davis, has opened up the possibility of yet another great payday and perhaps another win on the PGA Tour, a second round of 68 at Spyglass Hill to go with his opening 65 at Pebble Beach Links leaving the 29 year old in a share of second place and three off the lead of Sepp Straka.

Playing his third event of the year, following to 20 finishes at the American Express and Sentry events earlier in January, Davis began his second round in the best possible fashion when he eagled the first hole when holing from just off the green at the par 5.

Four more birdies and a bogey had him just two from Straka’s lead but a dropped shot at the last has him entering the weekend three off the pace but very much in contention.

“Yeah, it was great to get off to a hot start with an eagle on the first, that kind of got me moving in the right direction very quickly,” said Davis.

“Honestly, played pretty well for most of the round. It was getting a little tricky to read the wind through the trees here. I think it’s a little more open down at Pebble, but out here it’s a little more swirly.

“A couple more missed greens and a couple loose tee shots, but we recovered well. The bogey on the last was a little annoying, but same time 4 under felt like a pretty solid day today.”

Davis is currently 52nd in the world ranking although he has a previous best of 38th and many feel he will reach much higher standing in the near future.

Tomorrow Davis and the rest of the field will focus their attention on Pebble Beach Links over the final 36 holes.

Jason Day added a round of 69 to be at 5 under par and in a share of 38th, Min Woo Lee is another shot back and Adam Scott is in 75th position at 1 over.

The leader Straka is chasing his second win in three weeks having led for most of the eay to win the American Express Championship in La Quinta in January.

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