Minjee Lee and Su Oh head Australians at Carnoustie

Su Oh in action today – photo Warren Little/R&A/R&A via Getty Images

Sue Oh and Minjee Lee head the Australasian challenge at the halfway mark of golf’s final major championship of 2021, the AIG Women’s Open Championship at Carnoustie.

The pair are in a share of 12th place at 4 under but only three shots from the lead held by American Mina Harigae and the 2018 champion Georgia Hall of England.

Both Oh and Lee have recorded identical scores of 71 and 69 on the demanding Open Championship layout and are nicely placed as the US$5.8 million event heads into the weekend.

Sydney’s Stephanie Kyriacou reeled of a stunning closing nine of 30 to finish at 2 under after being well outside the cut line when she made the turn. It was by some way the most brilliant stretch of golf for the day and has given the two time Ladies European Tour event winner a chance over the weekend

Hannah Green and New Zealand’s Lydia Ko are another shot back at 1 under and were the only other Australasians to have made the cut.

When asked if Carnoustie might offer a low round for her over the weekend, Lee responded; “Depends on the weather. If we get no wind, I think it’s very scorable. You know, obviously it’s a tough test, but it’s very fair. So if you hit good shots, you’re going to get rewarded. So I think it all depends on the weather.”

Oh was a little more descriptive. “I hit the ball much better today which was nice. You know, stayed on the fairways most of the day. I hit them, I don’t know, felt like the first few holes, I rolled a few in from, you know, 30 feet and hit a couple close.

“So that helped, and then the back nine is tricky. Just didn’t really have any good chances. I was probably ten feet on 14, and that was really my only birdie try and I hit it close on 16 but misread the putt.

“The weather doesn’t look very good tomorrow. So I think playing — I don’t think there’s going to be too many birdies out there. I mean, I don’t know if it’s going to be calm and rainy or windy and rainy. So we’re just going to have to see what the conditions — I’d love to make a charge obviously, but you can’t really get too aggressive out there.”

SCORES

 

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AIG Women’s Open provides female golf’s richest purse

The AIG Women’s Open trophy with the Carnoustie hotel in the background  – Photo R&A/R&A via Getty Images

18 August 2021, Carnoustie, Scotland: The AIG Women’s Open has set a new benchmark for prize money in women’s golf with the announcement that the prize fund for this year’s championship will increase by $1.3 million to $5.8 million with the winner earning $870,000.

The total purse now surpasses the previous highest of US$5.5 million offered by the US Women’s Open.

With the support of title sponsor AIG, the largest prize fund in women’s major championship golf will increase by a further $1 million to no less than $6.8 million in 2022. This will more than double the prize fund from 2018 before AIG’s partnership with The R&A commenced.

The AIG Women’s Open takes place from 19-22 August at Carnoustie and will be played in 2022 at Muirfield, another of Scotland’s world-renowned links courses.

Martin Slumbers, Chief Executive of The R&A, said, “We are absolutely committed to elevating the AIG Women’s Open and enhancing its status as one of golf’s premier championships. With our partners at AIG, we are taking action to make change happen and sending out a strong signal that more needs to be done by everyone involved to grow women’s golf.

“It needs greater investment and support from golf bodies, sponsors, the media and fans to help us grow the game’s commercial success and generate the income and revenues necessary to make prize fund growth viable and sustainable.

“We have set a new benchmark for prize money in women’s major championship golf this week and, thanks to AIG, will build on it still further next year. We hope this will inspire other events to follow our lead and help us to take a collective leap forward for the women’s game.”

Peter Zaffino, President and Chief Executive Officer of AIG, said, “AIG is proud to be the title sponsor of the AIG Women’s Open, which is one of the most prestigious and celebrated golf championships in the world. We are committed to serving as allies to women in golf, in business and in the communities where we live and work. Striving for pay equity and highlighting the achievements of successful women are critical components to this commitment and part of AIG’s core values.

In 2019, in AIG’s first year as title sponsor of the championship the prize fund was increased by $1.25 million to $4.5 million, an increase of almost 40% on the previous year.

The prize fund breakdown for the 2021 AIG Women’s Open is set out below:

Place USD Place USD
1 870,000 39 31,597
2 572,750 40 30,339
3 414,828 41 29,082
4 320,356 42 27,824
5 257,382 43 26,560
6 210,146 44 25,302
7 175,507 45 24,357
8 153,467 46 23,412
9 137,721 47 22,467
10 125,124 48 21,522
11 115,674 49 20,577
12 107,802 50 19,632
13 100,874 51 19,006
14 94,578 52 18,374
15 88,909 53 17,742
16 83,871 54 17,116
17 79,465 55 16,484
18 75,685 56 15,852
19 72,537 57 15,226
20 70,015 58 14,594
21 67,500 59 13,968
22 64,978 60 13,336
23 62,462 61 13,023
24 59,940 62 12,704
25 57,737 63 12,391
26 55,534 64 12,078
27 53,325 65 11,759
28 51,122 66 11,446
29 48,920 67 11,133
30 47,030 68 10,814
31 45,140 69 10,501
32 43,250 70 10,189
33 41,360 71 7,604
34 39,470 72 7,428
35 37,899 73 7,252
36 36,322 74 7,076
37 34,751 75 6,900
38 33,174 76 6,725

 

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Six Australians chasing FedEx Cup riches

Adam Scott – his fine weekend in Greensboro and a previous win on the course give hope this week

The first of the three lucrative FedEx Cup Playoffs begins on Thursday at the Northern Trust Open at the Liberty National Golf Club in Jersey City in New York, the leading 125 from this season’s FedEx Cup points table eligible to play the event, 124 of those having entered.

Six of those 124 are Australians. In qualifying order, Cameron Smith (16th), Marc Leishman (33rd), Cameron Davis (36th), Matt Jones (39th), Adam Scott (82nd) and Jason Day (110th) have played their way into the lucrative Final series, creating the opportunity to add significantly to their regular tour season earnings.

The first two of the events, including this week’s Northern Trust Open and next week’s BMW Championship carry prizemoney of US$9.5 million with a first prize of US$1.71 million. The purse for the Tour Championship in Atlanta has yet to be declared but it is assumed it will be significantly higher again.

Every one of the players who made it to the Playoffs is guaranteed a bonus of US$70,000 but for making it to the BMW Championship a player is guaranteed a minimum of US$140,000 and by graduating to the leading 30 players who will play the Tour Championship the minimum return is US$395,000 and rising to the point where the winner of the FedEx Cup will take home US$15,000,000 in bonuses.

These bonuses are of course in addition to any money won in the Playoff events.

The leading 70 on the FedEx Cup table at the completion of this week’s event will advance to the BMW Championship, the leading 30 at the completion of that event making it to the Tour Championship.

Of the Australians, Adam Scott is shaping as a genuine chance to do well. His brilliant weekend in Greensboro three days ago suggests his game is in fine shape and, importantly for his chances of improving his FedEx Cup standing this week, is that he won over this layout back in 2013.

 

 

 

 

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Last Chance Saloon at Korn Ferry Tour Finals

Lucas Herbert – gets his chance to join the PGA Tour – file photo

Five Australians and one New Zealander have one last chance to either gain or regain PGA Tour status when they line up in the first of the Korn Ferry Tour Finals in Boise in Idaho on Thursday.

Aaron Baddeley, Greg Chalmers, Rhein Gibson, Lucas Herbert, Curtis Luck and New Zealander Danny Lee are targeting a finish inside the top 25 at the completion of three Finals over the next three weeks.

One other Australian, Brett Drewitt, has already graduated to next season’s PGA Tour courtesy of finishing 24th (the leading 25 graduated) in the points table over the combined 2020/2021 Korn ferry Tour season but he can improve his standing even further by playing well over the next few weeks.

The leading 75 from this season’s Korn Ferry Tour along with those players finishing between 126th and 200th in PGA Tour standings this season have the right to play the Korn Ferry Tour Finals.

The Albertson’s Boise Open, is followed by next week’s Nationwide Children’s Hospital Open in Columbus, Ohio and the Korn Ferry Tour Championship in Newburgh in Indiana, each event worth  US1 million dollars so not only is a PGA Tour card available but so too is more money than is typically available in regular season events.

Aaron Baddeley, Greg Chalmers, Rhein Gibson and Danny Lee played the PGA Tour this season but failed to regain their playing rights when the regular season came to a close at last week’s Wyndham Championship, Curtis Luck is in the field after finishing 67th in the Korn Ferry Tour’s regular season and Lucas Herbert gets his chance by his efforts on the PGA Tour despite playing as a non-member.

One other player who would have been eligible to play the event but has not entered is Victorian, Cameron Percy, who finished 135th in the regular PGA Tour season and will have conditional PGA Tour status in 2022 but is not attempting to improve his standing this week, at least.

 

 

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Women’s British Open brings major season to an end

Carnoustie’s famed finishing hole-  Photo by Mark Runnacles/R&A/R&A via Getty Images)

The golfing world’s final major of 2021 is played  this week when the LPGA and Ladies European Tours join forces for the staging of the AIG Women’s British Open at the demanding Carnoustie in Fife in Scotland.

Carnoustie will play host to the event for the second occasion, ten years after the first, when, in 2011, Yani Tseng continued her then domination of women’s golf with a four-shot victory over Brittany Lang to successfully defend the title she won twelve months earlier at Royal Lytham & St Annes.

Carnoustie is one of the truly great tests amongst the Open Championship rota but in relatively calm conditions in 2011, Tseng recorded a score of 16 under par. If Carnoustie bares her teeth as a result of even a gentle breeze, however, she can be one of the most testing of the Open Championship layouts.

Eight Australians and one New Zealander will face the starter on Thursday morning in Scotland, New Zealand’s Lydia Ko the highest ranked of them following her runner-up finish at last week’s Scottish Open and her bronze medal effort at the Olympics.

Ko’s record at the British Open is a little disappointing for one of her credentials with only one top ten in nine starts but her current form is as good as it has been for some time and she will start as one of the favourites.

Minjee Lee is the latest major championship winner in women’s golf having won the Evian Championship on the very park-like layout at Evian les Baines. Carnoustie is a very much different proposition, but she has performed well in the event in recent years, more especially when 3rd last year behind Sophia Popov.

Lee has though disappointed in her two starts since the Evian Championship finishing well back in Tokyo and missing the cut last week at the nearby Scottish Open.

Hannah Green was very much in the mix for a medal at the Olympics before finishing 5th but, like Lee, she too would miss the cut at the Scottish Open.

Katherine Kirk has played well in this event on occasions including when runner-up in 2010 but she has yet to record even a top twenty in 2021 and despite her considerable experience (12 previous starts) in the event it is hard to see her performing well.

Sarah Kemp is having a very good 2021 but her record in ten starts at the British Open has been poor with just three cuts made in ten starts and a best of 58th in the other three.

Three top tens in 2021 highlights a lot of improvement in the New South Wales golfer’s game but it is hard to get excited about her chances this week.

New South Wales’, Stephanie Kyriacou, plays her second British Open having finished 78th on debut last year. She is one of Australia’s most exciting prospects, however, and in 2021 she has won for the first time as a professional on the Ladies European Tour.

In two starts against the stronger LPGA Tour fields in 2021, Kyriacou has struggled but there is little doubting her significant talent and she could well have a very good week.

Victorian, Su Oh, has made a lot of cuts in 2021 and will start this event for the eighth time. She has a best of 15th in 2018 and given that she has yet to contend in an event in 2021 her chances of a good week look slim.

Whitney Hillier has battled away on the Ladies European Tour in 2021 although she indicated with a top 15 finish at the Scottish Open last week that things might be about to get better.

Hillier has though missed all four cuts in this event, and she will need to build on her effort last week if she is to make it to the weekend at Carnoustie.

West Australian amateur Kirsten Rudgeley played her way into the event via final qualifying, an achievement in itself and she gets her chance in an LPGA Tour event for the first time. Just being in the field is a great effort for the Mt Lawley golfer and a great opportunity to litmus test her game against this strong field.

As usual it appears Lydia Ko and Minjee Lee carry most Australasian hopes although Hannah Green is another who might challenge at various stages.

 

 

 

 

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Agonising miss for Scott despite weekend brilliance

Adam Scott – a week of sharp improvement but ending in a narrow miss – file photo

Adam Scott entered this week’s Wyndham Championship in Greensboro in North Carolina knowing he needed a good week if he was to remain in the hunt for the riches of the FedEx Cup.

On Wednesday, Scott was in 121st place in the Fed Ex Cup standings knowing he needed to be inside the top 125 by week’s end if he was to advance to the first of the Playoffs in New Jersey this coming week.

Scott therefore needed to at least make the cut which he did on Friday with opening rounds of 66 and 70 to be just two shots inside the cutline and needing more work to ensure he would consolidate his standing and potentially have a good week in Greensboro.

Scott did exactly that with weekend rounds of 64 and 65 and when the dust had settled at the completion of 72 holes he found himself part of a six way tie for the lead and involved in a playoff for the title.

At the very first playoff hole Scott appeared to have secured the title when four of the six involved missed the green with only he and Roger Sloan finding the green.

Scott’s approach after a magnificent drive finished just 4 feet from the hole and when all of his opponents had saved par or, in the case of Sloan, had missed his birdie attempt from 15 feet, it was left to Scott to seemingly convert his short birdie attempt and win for the first time in nearly eight eighteen months.

Scott took his time, ensuring he had the line correct but in the end it appeared he pulled the putt and his five opponents breathed a sigh of relief.

At the second extra hole it would be Kevin Kisner who created a similar opportunity for himself when his approach finished just 4 feet from the hole and he would make no mistake after others had exhausted their chances of birdie including Scott who missed from 20 feet.

Kisner, therefore, won his 4th PGA Tour title and his first since the WGC Dell Technologies Match Play in 2019.

Scott tied for second with Branden Grace, Roger Sloan, Kevin Na and Si Woo Kim and will improve his standing in the world ranking to around 35th, a jump of 11 positions on that he had earlier this week.

Importantly, Scott will jump from 121st to 82nd in the FedEx Cup standings and will get to play next week’s Northern Trust event at Liberty National in New Jersey but will need to improve further if he is to be inside the top 70 who earn their way to the BMW Championship the following week.

Working in Scott’s favour in that respect is that he has previously won at Liberty National and with his game in great shape he is on target to go a lot further yet in the FedEx Cup Playoffs.

Scott was unavailable for interview following his round today but after Saturday’s round of 64 he gave an indication as to how he felt about his game.

“Yeah, the game’s felt good,” he said. “Sometimes it just has to come down to do or die to actually find it. I don’t know why it’s so hard other weeks of the year, you can’t fake that mindset, but this is what it is.

“It’s like qualifying this week for me, so I’ve got to get it done. I’d like to have another nice round tomorrow and see how far I can jump up going into next week on a course I’ve won at before and you’d just like to take some good form in. You just never know.”

The one man who perhaps had greater reason for regret was the man who led virtually from wire to wire before a missed 4-footer at the 72nd hole saw him slip back into a share of 7th rather than be part of the playoff.

Russell Henley led the event from his opening 62 and when he birdied the 10th today to be 3 under for the day he appeared to be headed for a comfortable victory. Then came a series of bogeys before the missed putt at the last.

Victorian, Cameron Percy, like Scott, needed a special week to jump inside the top 125 in the FedEx Cup standing and although he played solidly to finish 37th he had not done enough and would eventually finish the season in 135th place in the FedEx Cup.

For Percy to regain full PGA Tour status he will need to play the Korn Ferry Tour Finals where the leading 75 on the Korn Ferry Tour join those players between 126th and 200th in the PGA Tour standings as they strive to earn one of the top 25 cards from that series of events.

Matt Jones was the other Australian to make the cut but finished 70th this week although he is well positioned in the FedEx Cup standings and will likely get to play at least two of the Playoff events.

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Gritty Brett Drewitt returns to PGA Tour

Brett Drewitt – file photo

New South Wales golfer, Brett Drewitt, might have finished second last of those who made the cut in the final Korn Ferry Tour event of the 2020 / 2021 season in Omaha but by doing so he has cemented his place in the top 25 of that tour’s standings and, as a result, has regained the PGA Tour card he has held previously.

Drewitt played the PGA Tour in 2017, gaining his playing rights there via the Korn Ferry Tour Finals in 2016 after having earned Korn Ferry Tour status two years earlier via the PGA Tour China.

Drewitt’s return to the PGA Tour was assisted by his win at the Lincoln Land Championship in 2020 in what became a carry over season due to Covid 19 but four top tens in 2021 left the door open for the much sought-after PGA Tour card.

Drewitt finished 24th of the 25 who earn their PGA Tour playing rights for next season but he gets the chance during the Korn Ferry Tour Finals over the next few weeks to further improve his ranking in terms of gaining starts in the early season.

The first of those Finals will be staged this coming week in Boise in Idaho.

Jamie Arnold finished best of the Australians in this week’s event when he tied for 23rd with Curtis Luck 49th and Drewitt 63rd.

Arnold will not get to play the Finals but Luck does having finished 67th on the season ending points table with the leading 75 players being joined by players ranked 126 to 200 on the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup table.

 

 

 

 

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Maverick Antcliff close to lead in London

Maverick Antcliff – file photo European Tour

Queenslander Maverick Antcliff finds himself just two shots off the pace at the European Tour’s Cazoo Classic at the London Golf Club in Ash near London, the 28-year-old adding a second consecutive round of 68 to be tied in 5th place behind the leader Rhys Enoch of Wales and Dale Whitnell of Wales.

Antcliff, who is in his second season on the European Tour after graduating there via the China Tour in 2019, is currently in 59th place in the Race to Dubai rankings so the opportunity to consolidate his position in the top 60 who make it to the season ending Dubai World Championship event is not lost on him.

Antcliff was runner-up in the Canary Islands earlier this year and finished 11th in the European Open recently and is progressing nicely as he builds on his professional career after a collegiate career in the US.

Of the other Australasians to make the cut, New Zealander Ryan Fox is one shot behind Antcliff and tied for 8th and Victorian Bryden Macpherson is tied for 34th.

Neither of the two leaders, Enoch and Whitnell have won on the European Tour to date so Antcliff and Fox have an opportunity to further their cause this weekend.

 

 

 

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Adam Scott requiring further improvement in Greensboro

Adam Scott – cut made but still work to do – file photo

Adam Scott has followed his opening round of 66 with a second round 70 at the Wyndham Championship in Greensboro and at the halfway mark of the PGA Tour’s final event of the regular season he is in a share of 41st place.

Scott, who entered the week in a share of 121st in the FedEx Cup standings, has now slipped to 124th in the projected standings so needs a solid weekend if he is to advance into the leading 125 who will be eligible to play next week’s first FedEx Cup playoff event in New Jersey.

“I’m not really thinking about it, I’m more interested in getting my game into the shape I feel it should be, and it’s getting closer,” said Scott earlier in the week when asked about the precarious position he holds in the FedEx Cup standings.

“I would like to play well this week and get a chance to play next week and keep getting my game into place. It’s hard to improve your game when you don’t have a chance to play, so at the moment my goal is to just keep playing week after week.”

Cameron Percy leads the Australians in the event, the US Based Victorian in a share of 23rd position as he chases a place in next week’s field at the Northern Trust.

Percy was in 133rd position heading into this week but has improved to 131st in the projected earnings courtesy of his consecutive rounds of 67 which have him eight shots from the leader, Russell Henley, but just four shots out of 2nd place.

Tied for second place and four from the lead are Rory Sabbatini, Webb Simpson and Scott Piercy.

Percy would need a big weekend if he was to advance to New Jersey but he has at least kept the door open.

Matt Jones, who is secure for the next two FedEx Cup playoffs, was the only other Australian to make the cut and finds himself in 56th place at 3 under where the cut fell.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Dobbelaar bows out early at US Amateur Championship

Louis Dobbelaar in action this week – photo  USGA

Queenslander, Louis Dobbelaar, has been knocked out in the Round of 64 at the US Amateur, losing his opening round encounter against American Ross Steelman 2 down after being 2 down through 14 when their match was brought to a halt by darkness on Wednesday.

Returning to the Oakmont Country Club on Thursday morning to complete the match, Dobbelaar drew within one hole of Steelman when he birdied the 17th but he would bogey the 18th to lose 2 down.

Steelman would go on to win his afternoon, Round of 32 match, 2&1 and gave an indication of his ability earlier in the week when recording a nine of 30 during a round of 66 in his qualifying rounds.

Dobbelaar was the only one of three Australians in the 300 plus field to advance into the leading 64 who advanced to the match-play phase.

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