Brad Kennedy – The NZ Open Champion – a clear winner of the Australasian Tour Order of Merit – Image – Photo Sport
This week’s Golf Challenge NSW Open at the Concord Golf Club in Sydney will bring to a close the PGA Tour of Australasia’s Order of Merit for the extended 2020 / 2021 season and while the current leader, Brad Kennedy, has the top spot already wrapped up, at the other end of the list there remains a lot at stake.
The top 50 at the completion of this week’s event retain full status on the PGA Tour, the following ten eligible for a lesser status and those beyond that, unless covered by other categories, subject to the possibility of having to re-qualify to play the Australasian Tour.
Kennedy leads by just under $40,000 over Min Woo Lee with another $85,0000 back to the third placed Ryan Fox.
With a maximum of $72,000 up for grabs this week and both Lee and Fox not in this week’s field then Kennedy will be officially crowned the Order of Merit Champion on Sunday evening.
Kennedy’s lead comes courtesy of his victory over Lucas Herbert at last year’s New Zealand Open and his recent win over rookie Elvis Smylie at the TPS Victoria event on the Mornington Peninsula.
Both Lee and Fox gained the bulk of their money as a result of their 1st and 2nd places at the Vic Open 13 months ago and while in a normal season their standing on the Order of Merit would not hold up because of the limited number of events they have played, this season’s disrupted nature means they will finish 2nd and 3rd.
For those nearer the cut off mark of the top 50, however, this week remains an important week in terms of their prospects of playing a full schedule next season whenever that might happen.
