John Rahm bounces back to win US Open Championship

First major title and a US Open at that – photo USGA – Jeff Haynes 

Just two weeks after one of his most gut-wrenching moments in golf and perhaps even life, Spaniard Jon Rahm has won his first major title and become the first Spaniard to win the US Open.

At the Memorial Tournament two weeks ago, Rahm was forced to withdraw from that event after taking a six-shot lead through 54 holes, being informed of a positive Covid 19 test as he walked from the 54th green that day.

It would have left many resentful of what appeared to be an unfair decision and the manner in which it was carried out, but Rahm took it on the chin, took an enforced two weeks away from the tour and now, on the southern coast of California and at a venue what has meant so much to him, he has won his greatest title.

“You know, I think I said it yesterday in an interview,” said Rahm in an interview immediately after his win had been confirmed. I’m a big believer in karma, and after what happened a couple weeks ago I stayed really positive knowing good things were coming.

“I didn’t know what it was going to be, but I knew we were coming to a special place, I knew I got breakthrough win here and it’s a very special place for my family, and the fact that my parents were able to come, I got out of COVID protocol early, I just felt like the stars were aligning, and I knew my best golf was to come.

“I have a hard time explaining what just happened because I can’t even believe I made the last two putts, and I’m the first Spaniard ever to win a U.S. Open. This was definitely for Seve. I know he tried a lot, and usually we think a lot about him at the Masters, but I know he wanted to win this one most of all. I just don’t know how to explain it.”

Torrey Pines was the scene of Rahm’s first PGA Tour victory more then four years ago and where he proposed to his now wife and, thus, the venue has significant sentimental value to him.

“I’ve said it once — I’ve said it a million times and I’m going to say it once again. It reminds me a lot of back home. It’s not exactly the same, but the coastline, the weather, the property, this is basically a good summer day where I grew up, and these poa annua greens is something I know and I understand and I grew up on, and I think it’s something that really resonates with me. I’m really confident in it.

“Like we just said, everything that’s happened here, I don’t know why, but every time we come here, we’re just happy. As soon as we land in San Diego, it’s like, we are in our spot. Again, once again, we were in our spot, and I was able to come out on top.”

The victory will take Rahm back to the number one position in world golf, a standing he held, albeit briefly, 12 months ago.

Rahm’s final round of 67 allowed him to come from three shots off the 54 hole pace to win by one over Louis Oosthuizen, but that brief summary alone hardly describes a dramatic final day in which as many as ten players had genuine chances of emerging as the winner.

Through nine holes of today’s final round the defending champion, Bryson DeChambeau, had taken the lead outright before Oosthuizen joined him when he too birdied the 9th. At that point the pair was one ahead of Rahm, Rory McIlory, Collin Morikawa, Brooks Koepka and Mackenzie Hughes.

DeChambeau parred the 10th but at the 11th he started an almost inexplicable run of dropped shots which would eventually see him finish with a back nine of 44, a round of 77 and an eventual share of 26th place.

As the afternoon wore on, it appeared that the chances were narrowing to Rahm, Oosthuizen and Koepka but it would be two sliding left to right putts of 20 feet or so at the 17th and 18th which gave Rahm the outright lead, forty minutes or so before Oosthuizen was due to finish.

Louis Oosthuizen acknowledges a sympathetic crowd after finishing one shot short of a playoff – photo USGA 

Oosthuizen kept his hopes alive when he made a fine 8-foot second putt for par at the 16th but then surprisingly hit his tee shot into the penalty area to the left of the fairway at the 17th and took bogey. He was now two behind and needing an eagle at the last to force a playoff.

When his drive had missed the fairway, the unlikely task became almost impossible and although he would make a birdie to finish one behind, the title went to Rahm.

Oosthuizen finished runner-up in a major title for the 6th occasion, his only success coming in 2010 when winning the Open Championship by a massive seven shots.

Oosthuizen, though, did little wrong. His round of even par 71 was hardly an implosion and he said as much after his round.

“I played good,” he said. “Just fell a little short again. It was Jon played a great round of golf, 4-under today on that golf course is a really good score. I could see early on what was happening with the leaderboard at the end and knew that I need to push at the end to do something.

“Right now I didn’t win it. I’m second again. No, look, it’s frustrating. It’s disappointing. I’m playing good golf, but it’s not — winning a major championship is not just going to happen. You need to go out and play good golf. I played good today, but I didn’t play good enough.

“I definitely left a few birdies out — not birdies, but a few putts or shots out there. I’m not going to — I took the tee shot on at 17, and I knew it was a crucial hole for me to take it on and give myself a birdie opportunity. I didn’t pull it off, but standing on that tee again (17th), I’ll probably do the same thing, taking a driver and taking the shot on.

“I feel like I had my shots, I went for it, and that’s what you have to do to win majors. Sometimes it goes your way, and other times it doesn’t.”

Harris English’s round of 68 would see him eventually finish 3rd alone, birdies at his final two holes elevating him to his best finish in a major championship, one place ahead of his previous best of 4th in this event last year.

Adam Scott finished as the leading Australian in 35th place one shot ahead of Wade Ormsby, with Marc Leishman 64th and Matt Jones 65th.

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Improved week for Victoria’s Su Oh

Su Oh in action this week – photo Getty Images / LPGA

Victorian, Su Oh, has produced her best finish of the 2021 LPGA Tour season when finishing 15th at the Meijer LPGA Classic in Grand Rapids in Michigan.

Oh, currently ranked 106th in the Rolex World Rankings for female golfers, struggled to a final round of even par 71 on the low scoring Blythefield Golf Club layout and finished a massive nine shots from the winner Nelly Korda but her performance will give a lot of confidence as the LPGA Tour season heads into the second half of the year.

Oh slipped from 4th overnight to her eventual share of 15th but with a best of 24th in her previous nine starts this year it has been a significant improvement.

Oh did start the year well in WPGA events in Australia, winning one and finishing runner-up in the other but she has struggled to regain that form in the US to date.

Katherine Kirk was 29th, Hannah Green and Gabi Ruffels 45th and New Zealand’s Lydia Ko 61st.

Korda, at 25 under par, won by two shots over Ireland’s Leona Maguire who is establishing herself as a force to be reckoned with on the LPGA Tour in just her second season.

The LPGA will now play one of the majors in the world of women’s golf, the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship in Georgia.

The winner Nelly Korda – Gregory Shamus Getty Images

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Three way tie for US Open lead

Louis Oosthuizen – photo USGA Kohjiro Kinno

20 players are within five of the 54-hole lead at the US Open at Torrey Pines and as they head to their various hotels rooms ahead of tomorrow’s final round, each and every one of them will feel that they are just one low round from a possible US Open title.

South Africa’s Louis Oosthuizen, Canadian McKenzie Hughes, and the man who has either led or shared the lead after each of the three rounds to date, American Russell Henley, share the lead at 5 under, two shots clear of previous US Open champions, Rory McIlroy and defending champion, Bryson DeChambeau.

But, with the likes of major champions, Collin Morikawa, Dustin Johnson and Brooks Koepka all within a maximum of five of the lead then tomorrow promises much for anyone capable of fashioning a round in the mid 60’s to come from behind and win.

Oosthuizen, the 2010 Open Champion, holed a 50-foot putt for eagle at the final hole today to join Henley and Hughes in the lead and although Henley might well have stolen the outright lead over his final two holes, he eventually did well to save par at the last to remain in a share of the lead he has held since his opening round of 67.

Oosthuizen had also shared the opening round lead, but he entered today’s final round one behind the pairing of Henley and England’s Richard Bland. Although he was four off the lead of Henley through ten holes of his round, the South African’s powerful finish saw him join the lead.

Perhaps buoyed by his experience in finishing runner-up on five occasions in major championships since his win at St Andrews in 2010, Oosthuizen explained his ongoing approach to major championships.

“Definitely a lot more patient than what I was when I was young,” said Oosthuizen. “I think I was too dumb really when I won the Open to get nervous and to know what was going on. I was playing great golf in 2010, and I love St. Andrews, and the golf and the golf course sort of — I took a lot of it — that week had a lot of confidence that week.

“Playing it in 2015 five years later (he lost a playoff) I was a little bit more cautious around the golf course knowing where you shouldn’t go and how to play the course. So you definitely grow playing major championships. The more you play, the more you learn something about how you play in those tournaments.

“I mean, look, the two that really hurt was the playoffs. That’s so close to winning. I lost to a great golf shot in 2012, and in ’15 I probably had an opportunity. I missed a short putt on the 17th in the playoff. Those ones take a little longer to get over.

“You know, the other ones, just good weeks and good results. Could have been better but taking more positive out of it than anything else.

“But I need to go out — there’s a lot of great players up there that’s got a chance of winning this, and I just need to go out and play as good as I can tomorrow.”

Mackenzie Hughes – photo USGA Chris Keane

You could be forgiven for thinking there were question marks over the form reversal of two of the joint leaders, Henley and Hughes, Hughes having missed his last five cuts on the PGA Tour and Henley finishing no better then 70th in any of his last four starts.

Hughes has won once and been runner-up twice on the PGA Tour, but that victory came more then five years ago. He wasn’t letting his recent form slump get in the way of his attitude for tomorrow’s big test and his form reversal was not as surprising to him as others.

“I wouldn’t say surprising. I don’t think I’m ever surprised when I play well. I wouldn’t say I necessarily expected to be in the last group this week, but I know that my game is good enough to win on the PGA TOUR. I’ve done it before.

“This is a bigger stage, but again, it’s the same — you do the same things. It’s an 18-hole golf course and 72 holes, so I just need to do a lot of the same things I did to win that tournament, and I’ll draw back on some of those experiences, but yeah, I’m excited for where I’m at and for the round tomorrow.

“You get goosebumps thinking about it, so I know I’m going to be nervous tomorrow. I essentially played today around the lead all day. I think I was only ever a few back the entire day, so it felt — I think it’ll feel different tomorrow being in that last group, but you do the same things. You mentally tell yourself the same things, and I’ll be referencing my yardage book and my notes a lot.”

Russell Henley – photo Jeff Haynes USGA

Henley’s round of 71 was impressive given the circumstances and that he hit only 43% of fairways in round three.

“I didn’t hit it quite as well on the back, but never been in that situation before, so overall I felt pretty comfortable and excited to play tomorrow,” said Henley.

“It definitely wasn’t a perfect back nine, but hit a lot of good shots, a lot of good recovery shots. Felt like I was thinking well. Just a little better execution. Definitely capable of playing better, and I think I can do it, and we’ll see.

“I think my ball-striking has gotten progressively better since I’ve been on Tour, and my putting had gotten worse. And so I’ve started working with Ramon Bescansa on my putting, and I think I was like 190-something in putting a couple years ago in ’19, and this year — I’m not as good now, but about four or five tournaments back I think I was around the top 50.

“So, my putting is better. I feel like I’m still hitting it pretty well, and I feel like I’ve just spent a lot more time on my short game, chipping and just bunker shots, everything. Just spending a lot of time doing it. I spend a lot of time at home with Larry Mize in Columbus, Georgia. We do a lot of chipping contests and I’ve learned a lot from him out of the bunker.

“I would say just a combination of everything. I’ve gotten a little bit stronger in the gym. I’ve been working with trainer the last year and a half and feel like I’m playing with no pain in my back like I kind of was a little bit in ’19. Everything feels a little bit cleaner, and I feel a little bit more confident about everything. We’ll see what happens.”

Adam Scott took over as the leading Australian with a round of 71 to be tied for 31st, three ahead of Wade Ormsby and Marc Leishman and now six ahead of the 36 hole Australian leader Matt Jones who slumped to a round of 79.

Adam Scott leads the Australians – photo USGA Jeff Haynes

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Matt Jones heads Australians through 36 at Torrey Pines

Matt Jones in action this week -Photo USGA Robert Beck

Matt Jones leads the Australians at the completion of round two of the US Open at Torrey Pines, a second round of 71 having him at 1 over par for the championship and one ahead of Marc Leishman.

A copybook birdie at the par five 9th (his last hole of the day) has Jones in a share of 21st position and nicely placed just six shots from the lead of Richard Bland and Russell Henley as the event heads into the weekend.

The performance by Jones reverses a horror run at the US Open to date, having missed the cut in all four of his previous appearances but after an opening round of 72 yesterday he was able to fashion a round of even par 71 today to make it into the weekend for the first time.

The two-time Australian Open champion won earlier in the season on the PGA Tour but his most recent form has left a little to be desired having missed the cut in his last two appearances and not recorded a top twenty since his victory at the Honda Classic.

Leishman is at 2 over par after an excellent round of 70 which was made even more impressive given his bogey to start and a double bogey to start the back nine.

Marc Leishman plays the 3rd hole today – photo USGA Kojhiro Kinno

Adam Scott was again forced to recover from a slow start when dropping three shots over his first three holes of round two. He fought his way back to be at 2 over for the round before a messy double bogey at his 14th hole had him with some work to do just to make the cut.

Scott parred his final four holes to finish at 3 over for the championship but he described his play today as ‘terrible’ and needs a big weekend if he is to make any significant progress.

Adam Scott – fought back to safely make the weekend – photo Darren Carroll USGA

Wade Ormsby was played well through his front nine holes and made the turn at even par. But he struggled over his closing nine holes for a back nine of 39 to be at 4 over and was forced to wait all day following his first tee time of round two to establish whether he had made it to the weekend. He had.

Cameron Smith’s round of 75 included two triple bogeys and a double bogey but after making the turn in 40 he produced three birdies early in his back nine to battle his way back into a possible place in the weekend field before a triple bogey at his 16th hole cost him any hope.

Smith finished at 5 over and missed the weekend by just one.

Brad Kennedy and Stephen Allan were the other two Australians in the field but both missed the cut by large margins.

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Adam Scott’s encouraging start at Torrey Pines.

Adam Scott in action today – photo courtesy of USGA Jeff Haynes

A 90-minute delay for fog prior to play getting underway on day one of the US Open at Torrey Pines will result in round one not being completed until Friday morning.

36 players were caught on the golf course when play was brought to a halt for darkness at 7.51pm California time.

When play was halted, all but two of the Australians in the field (Cameron Smith and Matt Jones) had completed their rounds, Adam Scott leading the way at 1 under par and just three from the lead held by Russell Henley and Louis Oosthuizen, Oosthuizen, though, still has two holes to play.

Smith is at even par and has two holes to play but he has found the fairway bunker at the 17th and might struggle to make par and Matt Jones, like Smith, is currently playing his 17th hole at 1 over with a 4 footer for par to negotiate when he returns.

Scott fought back from a slow start to his round after bogeys at his second and third holes had him on the back foot early. He birdied the par 5 9th after a sand save from the green-side bunker and then birdied the 17th from 20 feet.

He found the fairway bunker from the tee at the last but laid up and then converted an eight-footer for birdie to get himself into red figures for the first time. The round of 70 has him well placed ahead of an early morning round on day two.

Smith parred his first 14 holes before a bogey at the 15th but he bounced back immediately with a birdie from 20 feet at the 16th before being forced from the golf course when on the 17th.

Wade Ormsby did well in just his second US Open to be round in 1 over par 72 along with Matt Jones, Brad Kennedy and Marc Leishman are at 3 over after rounds of 74 and Stephen Allan opened with a round of 80.

Leishman bogeyed three of his last four holes after being well enough placed until late in his round, no doubt a huge disappointment given his love affair with the Torrey Pines layout.

Wade Ormsby – recorded a solid 1 over 72. Photo courtesy of USGA/ Chris Keane

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Scott and Leishman’s Torrey Pines records offer hope

Adam Scott with an admirer this week – photo courtesy of  USGA / Darren Carroll

Of the seven Australians to tee it up at this week’s US Open at Torrey Pines, two, Adam Scott and Marc Leishman, stand out as players more than capable of handling the demands of the South Course layout at the public facility outside of San Diego.

Adam Scott will play his 20th US Open, although it is only his second such event at this particular venue but what he can boast is an impressive but restricted record in PGA Tour events at the clifftop layout high above the Pacific Ocean.

Scott has played the tour event, the Farmers Insurance Open, on only two occasions, in 2019 and 2021 and, on both occasions, he has performed with distinction.

Scott finished runner-up to Justin Rose in 2019 and earlier this year finished a solid 10th place behind Patrick Reed. In five of his eight competitive rounds in those events, he has recorded rounds inside the 60’s and although the US Open will offer a significantly more demanding layout than that at the Farmers Insurance Open, he will no doubt enjoy the fact that he has enjoyed good form on the course.

Scott is the only one of the Australians in this week’s field to have played the historic 2008 US Open won by Tiger Woods who managed to play 90 holes that week on almost one leg to defeat Rocco Mediate in a playoff.

At that 2008 US Open, the only other occasion other than his two Farmers Insurance appearances that Scott has played at Torrey Pines, he finished 26th, a final round of 70 standing out on a week of carnage for so many.

Scott knows however that in order for him to better his previous best US Open finish of 4th behind Jordan Spieth at the 2015 US Open at Chambers Bay, he will have to overcome a very difficult USGA set-up this week.

“Scoring is going to be tough,” said the 40 year old Queenslander on Wednesday. “I think it’s possible that you see, like often at a U.S. Open, a big dispersion in scores. I think there’s good scores out here, but you’ve got to be playing incredibly well tee to green.

“It is always advantageous playing from the short grass and hitting greens. I think more than most places we play on TOUR, somewhat like Riviera, if you’re greens in regulation you’re way in front of the game because it’s tricky around the greens and it’s tough putting, too. Easy pars at a U.S. Open sound good.

“I actually feel like coming off Memorial I did some nice work here in southern California on the game last week, so the confidence is up from where I finished at Memorial, which is a good thing. Obviously, the results have been few and far between, but I feel really good about where the ball-striking has kind of found itself, and that’s what’s been letting me down.

“I really don’t know how everyone else is feeling, but I certainly was disappointed at the PGA. I’ve worked hard the last month or so to kind of get myself in a place where I believe I can contend and win this major.

Leishman has a great record at Torrey Pines. He did not play the 2008 US Open as he was not at that stage a member of the PGA Tour but he did win the Farmers Insurance Open in 2020 and has been twice runner-up in other appearances there.

Like Scott, Leishman believes his game is in good shape ahead of this week’s examination.

“The game is feeling good,” said the Virginia Beach based Victorian.

“It’s a course I like. As far as U.S. Open courses, it’s as good as it’ll get for me. But it’s still going to be really tough. The confidence is good, but I’m never one to go into a U.S. Open overconfident by any means.”

Leishman is very much aware of the need for patience this week and is aware of the strategy needed for success at a US Open.

“On any U.S. Open I think it’s a case of hitting fairways. It always is. But probably even more important than that is leaving yourself in good positions around the greens, knowing where you can miss it, where you can’t miss it, putting.

“You’re going to have a lot of long par putts out here this week, and it’s going to be pretty important to hole a lot of them. Reading the greens is going to be important, but hitting your lines and just not getting ahead of yourself.

“Scoring will be tough. I think it’s going to be a firm U.S. Open, which is good. I don’t think they’re going to have to do too much to the course to make it really tough. It’s normally 10-ish under wins at the Farmers Insurance Open.

“The 6th hole is going to be a par-4, and then the greens are going to be running faster and be a lot firmer. So it’s going to be really, really difficult to hit greens even from the fairway. You’re going to have to hit good shots.

“Yeah, I think it’s going to be a typical U.S. Open, but it’s going to be sort of a U.S. Open/British Open hybrid sort of thing with how firm it’s going to be.”

When asked about the disappointing week for the Australians at the recent PGA Championship, Leishman was quick to remind the questioner of the disparity between the two courses.

“I mean, it was a very different golf course, different conditions. Yeah, I’m not worried about that one. You know, I think that’s probably the hardest major for Australians is the PGA, the way it’s normally set up. So yeah, definitely feel a little bit more optimistic about this week.”

Other than a very impressive week at the Masters however, Leishman’s form in recent months has been well below his best and he will need to rely on fond memories of a layout that clearly suits him to perform up to his potential.

Leishman is playing his 10th US Open but with four missed cuts and a best of 18th in his previous nine he needs sharp improvement if he is to continue his love affair with Torrey Pines.

 

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Hannah Green now Australia’s leading ranked female golfer

Hannah Green – file photo Bruce Young

A 3rd place finish at last weekend’s LPGA Mediheal Championship at Lake Merced in Daly City near San Francisco, has allowed Perth’s Hannah Green to become Australia’s leading ranked female golfer for the first time.

Green now ranks 14th in the Rolex World Rankings for female golfers, one ahead of her fellow West Australian, Minjee Lee.

After an overall disappointing US Women’s Open last week at the nearby Olympic Club, Green was delighted to have hit the ball a lot better, especially in this week’s final round.

“I hit the ball a lot better today. The first few days I wasn’t really hitting it well off the tee, so never really giving myself opportunities to hit the green.

“So I don’t actually know how many I hit today, but more than I have the entire week. I gave myself good opportunities and felt confident over those putts. Sounds really obnoxious, but I had a few more opportunities from close range and didn’t feel comfortable with them and didn’t put a good stroke. Just bobbled all over the place.

“Super happy with the round. Felt like it was possible out there, but obviously had to have everything going, so it was nice to finish like that.”

Green talked of the different mindset she now enjoys given the greater consistency in her game in 2021.

“I feel like my first two years I was just striving to make the cut and then golfing around on the weekend.

“So I guess it’s nice to have experience of being in contention, and obviously having a couple wins you’re never really out of it. Obviously that’s the goal, is to have many weeks in the Top 10 and keep putting myself around it.

“So I’m hoping next week and KPMG I can put myself in a better start the first couple days and just keep going.”

The KPMG she refers to is of course the KPMG PGA Championship she won two years ago, making her only the third Australian female to have won a major title.

Green finished six shots behind the winner Matilda Castren of Sweden this week, but her final round of 66 saw her secure a share of 3rd place with So Yeon Ryu and add another US$88,000 to her already significant earnings for the 2021 season.

Green has now earned US$464,000 for the season to date without winning an event, accumulating five top twenty finishes in eight starts, three of those inside the top ten.

Green will also move into 7th place in the Race to the Globe series.

New Zealand’s Lydia Ko tied for 9th, Minjee Lee 40th, Katherine Kirk 46th, Su Oh 57th after a horror weekend and Sarah Jane Smith 64th. Ko tops the Race to the Globe standings and is in 2nd position behind US Open winner Yuka Saso in earnings for 2021.

The LPGA Tour now leaves the West Coast and will play this week’s event in Michigan before the KPMG PGA Championship in Georgia

 

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Australians looking to extend Torrey Pines record

The entry statement to the public golf course that is Torrey Pines

In recent years Torrey Pines Golf Course on the coastline outside of San Diego has proven a happy hunting ground for Australians.

Marc Leishman and Jason Day (twice) have been winners there and Leishman (twice), Day, Adam Scott and Michael Sim have all finished runner-up at various stages at the Farmers Insurance Open over the past ten or so years.

This week seven Australians get their opportunity to extend that record, although Day will not be one of them having missed out on the various criteria needed to secure a start at the US Open and not competed in Final Qualifying.

Cameron Smith, Marc Leishman, Adam Scott, Matt Jones, Brad Kennedy and Wade Ormsby were all exempt prior to the automatic qualification deadline of June 13th and Steve Allan played his way into the field via Final Qualifying last week.

Amongst that group only Kennedy is debuting at a US Open.

Smith is playing his 6th having a best of 4th on debut in 2015, a finish which essentially secured his place on the PGA Tour the following year.

For Leishman it will be his 10th appearance, having a best of 18th behind Dustin Johnson in 2016.

This week will be Adam Scott’s 20th consecutive US Open start. His best came in 2015 when he tied for 4th along with Cameron Smith at Chambers Bay.

Jones is playing for the 5th time but has missed the cut in four and was forced to withdrew when on debut in 2009.

Ormsby made his one and only appearance in the event when missing the cut in 2017 but his performances on last year’s Asian Tour have secured him another shot.

Steve Allan will play his first US Open since Pebble Beach in 2010 but it will be his sixth overall, qualifying on most occasions through the grueling local and sectional qualifying process.

The golf course will be a very different set-up to that provided for the regular tour event, the Farmers Insurance Open, Tiger Wood’s winning score of 1 under par there in 2008 highlighting just what a beast the South Course layout can become.

Australians’ world rankings

Adam Scott in practice this week – photo USGA

 

 

 

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Scott Hend finds form in Sweden

Scott Hend file photo Getty Images European Tour

Queensland’s Scott Hend has recorded his best European Tour finish in more than two years with a share of 4th place at the inaugural Scandinavian Mixed event Hosted by Henrik and Annika in Gothenburg in Sweden.

A final round of 70 at the Vallda G&CC saw the 47-year-old US based golfer pocket a cheque for €40,000 (A$63,000) and jump 47 places to 79th in the Race to Dubai rankings.

Hend, whose only other top ten in 2021 was when 8th in Tenerife in May, has struggled with form over recent weeks especially, having missed his last three cuts although in one of those events he was hampered when his clubs went missing when returning from the US.

Hend failed to record one top ten in 19 European Tour starts in 2020  and this week’s result is his best finish since winning the Maybank Championship in Malaysia in March of 2019.

Perth’s Jason Scrivener also recorded a good week when he finished in a share of 7th despite a final round of 73 after sharing the lead into the final round.

Scrivener moves up one position to 6th in the Race to Dubai rankings in what has been a superb season to date.

New Zealand’s Ryan Fox was 14th.

The tournament, which adopted the mixed gender format introduced in an event in Australia earlier this year, allowed both men and women to compete on the same golf course and for the same prizemoney pool, although the women played from different tees than the men.

The winner of the event was Northern Ireland’s Jonathan Caldwell whose final round of 64 saw him win by one over Spain’s Adrian Otaegui.

It was Caldwell’s first European Tour title after first qualifying to play the tour in 2008. It has been a long road since, playing just 47 European Tour events in that period and playing lesser tours to keep the dream alive.

“It’s been a dream of mine for an awful long time,” he said. “A lot of hard work goes into it. It hasn’t quite sunk in yet, but hopefully more to come.

“In 2009 I played my first year, lost my card, played mini tours and Challenge Tour over the years, worked as well in a local golf store. It’s been a long road but finally I’m here.

“The golf club at home will probably be going bonkers so just put a tab on and crack on boys and enjoy.

“My parents have been with me the whole way so I look forward to talking to them tonight.”

The leading woman was Alice Hewson who finished in 3rd position and won €54,000 in the process.

Australia’s Stephanie Kyriacou tied for 25th.

 

 

 

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Stephen Allan earns US Open start – Day’s major run over

Stephen Allan plays US Open for the 6th time – file photo Bruce Young

With Sectional Qualifying for next week’s US Open at Torrey Pines near San Diego now completed, seven Australians are now confirmed for the third major championship of 2021.

Former Australian Open Champion, Stephen Allan, was the only Australian to gain access to the event via Sectional Qualifying after he produced a second round of 68 at his venue, the Meadow Springs Country Club in Washington, this morning to secure one of the two spots available from that course.

Allan, currently ranked outside the top 1000 in the world, joins Cameron Smith, Adam Scott, Marc Leishman, Matt Jones, Wade Ormsby and Brad Kennedy as Australians qualified to play the event beginning on June 17th.

For Allan it will be his 6th appearance at the US Open, many of those starts earned via the demanding qualifying process. His first appearance came in 1999 as a 25-year-old.

Jason Day, now outside the required automatic qualification of a top 60 standing in the world ranking, withdrew from qualifying after a late withdrawal from last week’s Memorial due to an ongoing back issue.

Day has played every US Open since 2011 where he finished runner-up to Rory McIlroy on debut in the event. In his ten previous and consecutive appearances he has been twice runner-up and once 4th although in more recent times he has a best of 21st in his last four starts.

The US Open run is over for Jason Day seen here being interviewed after his debut runner-up in 2011.

 

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