Lucas Herbert continues strong 2025 in Japan


Lucas Herbert in action during round two – image courtesy of Asian Tour

Despite his significant success in LIV Golf and other events over the past few months, Lucas Herbert was perhaps unfairly overlooked by the PGA of America when it came to inclusion in the field for next week’s PGA Championship. Still, he has put that behind him with an outstanding start to the Asian Tour’s International Series Japan event in Chiba Prefecture.

At the halfway stage, Herbert has a one shot lead over Korea’s Younghan Song and Japan’s Shunya Takehasu in the US2 million event being played at the Caledonian Golf Club outside of Tokyo but it is not the margin of lead but the manner in which Herbert has played the opening 36 holes that has been so impressive.

Through seven holes of his opening round on Thursday, Herbert was 7 under par with five birdies and an eagle and although the momentum slowed a little, his round of 62 that day had him in the lead by two and when he added three early birdies on day two, it appeared as if he might well spreadeagle the field.

The balance of round two however, would be a mixture of five birdies, four bogeys, and a double bogey to finish with a 2 under 69 and the lead when he finished his morning round.

No-one was able to catch the 29 year old as the day wore on and so he will take the lead into the weekend as he looks to add to his already significant earnings in 2025 having finished once runner-up and 4th on two occasions in seven starts in LIV Golf events and has earnings close to US$5 million.

Amongst Herbert’s five wins internationally is a previous win in Japan at the ISPS Handa Championship in 2023 while still playing the DP World Tour so success in Japan is not new to him, and given the brilliance of his play to date this week another is a strong possibility.

NSW’s Travis Smyth and New Zealand’s Nick Voke are the next best of the Australasian brigade in a share of 7th place and four shots from Herbert’s lead.

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Vilips and Smylie PGA Championship debutantes


Elvis Smylie – plays first US Major – image Australian Golf Media

The field for the 2025 PGA Championship at Quail Hollow in Charlotte, North Carolina, has been finalised with two Australians getting the chance to play the event for the first occasion when it gets underway on Thursday 15th May.

Elvis Smylie and Karl Vilips have played their way into the field courtesy of Smylie’s special invitation category due to his success on the PGA Tour of Australasia’s Order of Merit allowing him play his second major championship following a start at last year’s Open Championship while Vilips’ recent breakthrough PGA Tour win in Puerto Rico sees him play his second major following a start at the 2023 US Open.

Smylie has put together a couple of solid finishes in events on the DP World Tour in recent weeks while Vilips has struggled since his win in Puerto Rico in March, missing three of four cuts in that time.

For both players, however, the start gives them the opportunity to showcase their considerable talents against one of the strongest fields in the game, and, for Smylie, a chance to play a PGA Tour event in the US for the first time.

Smylie and Vilips will join fellow Australians (in world ranking order) Min Woo Lee, Jason Day, Adam Scott, Cam Davis and Cam Smith, Day having won this event in 2015, not long before attaining the world number one position.

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Scottie Scheffler back where he belongs


Scottie Scheffler – image PGA of America

At this point last year, Scottie Scheffler had won four PGA Tour events and been runner-up on one other occasion. To date in 2025 there have been no wins but in his last three events there has been plenty of evidence to suggest a first win is at hand.

A runner-up finish in Houston, a 4th place finish at the Masters and an 8th place finish at the RBC Heritage in his last three starts have all pointed to a return to the sort of form which has seen him dominate world golf over the past three years and in Dallas this week he appears on track for that first win of the year.

Through 36 holes of the CJ Cup Byron Nelson at the TPC Craig Ranch in the northern suburbs of Dallas, Scheffler has established a six shot lead. Although many in the field have yet to complete or, in a few cases, even start their second round, the lead he enjoys is likely to stand up when the balance of the field complete their second rounds on Saturday morning (Dallas time).

Play was delayed for over six hours in the afternoon due to inclement weather and then darkness, leaving many players still pursuing a place in the weekend field. The cut appeared likely to be 5 or 6 under.

Scheffler added a second round of 63 to his opening 61 to be six ahead of American Sam Stevens who has yet to win on the PGA Tour and eight ahead of Jhonattan Vegas and Ricky Castillo.

“I feel like my game has been trending in the right direction,” said Scheffler. “I had some good starts recently. I had a good start at the Masters, solid start, and then I had a chance here in Houston.

“Overall, I had a decent week in Hilton Head. I didn’t have a great Sunday, but overall I played some pretty solid golf. So I definitely feel like my game is trending in the right direction.

“This tournament definitely means a lot to me. I haven’t won Colonial yet, so I’m not even close to the DFW (Dallas Fort Worth) double — is that what we’re calling it?

“Going into the weekend, I’m just going to do my best to stay focused, execute. It’s going to be a lot of fun to play here and have a chance to win. I put myself in good position the last two days, and I’m looking forward to getting out there and competing again tomorrow.”

Ryan Fox is at 6 under but has played only six holes of his second round as he chases weekend play for the 6th time in nine PGA Tour starts in 2025, Fox currently in 130th place in the 2025 FedEx Cup standings, while recent winner Karl Vilips, the Australian PGA Tour rookie, is at 5 under for the tournament through just three holes of round two so has some work to do if he is to be around for the final 36 holes.

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