Amateur Phoenix Campbell rises to win Queensland PGA
Phoenix Campbell – image Australian Golf Media
22-year-old Victorian amateur, Phoenix Campbell, has staged a whirlwind finish to the Queensland PGA Championship at the Nudgee Golf Club in Brisbane to win the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia event and with it the prospect of a professional career.
Currently ranked 811th in the World Amateur rankings despite winning the prestigious Riversdale Cup in Victoria earlier this year, Campbell gained a start in this event courtesy of the elite amateur invite category but after an opening round of 75 on Thursday the prospect of even being around for the weekend, let alone contending and winning, seemed a far off proposition.
He would make steady progress through rounds two and three but even so he began the last round eight shots adrift of the 54-hole leader, Andrew Kelly.
Campbell made steady progress until the turn when he had moved to 6 under for the tournament but at that stage he was still five shots behind Kelly who was treading water but still in command.
Then came the amazing finish of Campbell who, after dropping a shot at the 11th, would birdie the 13th, 14th and 16th and, as he stood on the 18th tee, he was just one back of the lead.
A 7 iron approach finished 2 feet from the hole at the par 3 and when that was holed he was tied in the lead with another unlikely winner, Jack Poutney, who had actually led the qualifiers on Monday just to get a start in the event.
Campbell then had a 45-minute wait to see whether the many players still within a shot of him could gain the extra shot needed to join a possible playoff but it was not to be and he was declared the winner after last year’s Order of Merit winner, David Micheluzzi, missed a ten-foot putt for birdie to force a playoff.
Campbell from the Yarra Yarra Golf Club joins a select group of amateurs in recent years to win a PGA Tour of Australasia event including Curtis Luck, Ben Eccles, Brett Coletta, Kazuma Kobori and Harrison Crowe but just where he goes from here may take a few days to decide.
His win gives him full access to the PGA Tour of Australasia without having to go through any qualifying process and a kick start to a professional career if he so chooses.
Seven players would share second place and with Campbell ineligible for the first-place prize money of $45,000, those tied for second place including Micheluzzi, Harrison Crowe, Deyen Lawson, Blake Proverbs, Nick Voke, Lawry Flynn and Jack Poutney would each secure cheques for $18,085.
New Zealand’s Kazuma Kobori, the Australian Amateur Champion and playing his first event as a professional produced the best final round of the day (66) to share 9th place.