Daniel Gale wins second title of Australasian Tour season
Daniel Gale – image Australian Golf Media
Adelaide-born New South Welshman, Daniel Gale, today added a third PGA Tour of Australasian title and his second of the season with a narrow one-shot victory over Victorian amateur Phoenix Campbell at this week’s Webex Player Series Hunter Valley with New Zealand’s Kazuma Kobori producing the best round of the day (65) to race into contention before finishing alone in 3rd place.
Gale holed a curling birdie putt at the last to edge clear of Campbell who was also chasing his second PGA Tour title of the season after winning the Queensland PGA Championship in November.
Gale, whose previous victories came at the PNG Open in 2018 and the 2023 NTPGA Championship, was locked in a see-sawing battle with Campbell for much of the final round after Campbell had led the weather-delayed event into the final round.
Kobori, who has won three of his previous five PGA Tour of Australasia events, appeared as if he might make it a fourth victory when overcoming an early double bogey to move within one of the lead when he birdied six holes in an eight-hole stretch up to and including the 13th hole.
Campbell took the lead when Gale bogeyed the 11th and 13th holes but birdies at the 16th and 18th saw Gale take the $A45,000 first-place cheque.
Elvis Smylie recorded his best finish of the season when he birdied his final three holes for a round of 66 and 4th place.
Gale moved into 4th place on the PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit but effectively 3rd given the leader Min Woo Lee will not play the required minimum of four events and with just two events remaining, including the lucrative New Zealand Open, he has opened the door for one of the three DP World Tour cards on offer at season’s end.