Scott’s Finish Creates Dream Scenario For PGA Organisers

Adam Scott in action today – PGA of Australia

Even if they were in the business of doing so, the PGA of Australia could not have scripted the final day of their 2019 championship at RACV Royal Pines on the Gold Coast any better.

The number one world ranked player in the field and the man who committed to this tournament as early as April of this year allowing the PGA Tour of Australasia to promote his involvement, Adam Scott, has snatched the 54 hole lead in the event and takes a one shot buffer over his good friend, Wade Ormsby, into Sunday’s final round.

Scott staged a late rally after treading water for much of his round, a 20-foot birdie putt at the 16th was followed two holes later by a magnificent drive then a brilliant iron from 169 yards to 4 feet. He converted to take the lead after trailing virtually all day.

“It was not easy, the wind was blowing and, you know, out of the northeast is ‑‑ makes the course play fairly tricky,” said the leader after his round. “With the pins as well today, I thought it was a very defensive golf course, and at some point you were going to have to scramble and I scrambled well on 13, 14 and 15 to stay in it and then had a good finish.  Some days it’s not that pretty, but it’s effective.”

So will there be much chat on the golf course tomorrow between the two who played junior golf together?

“He’s a class act,” said Ormsby. “So he knows what he’s doing out there, but at the same time, there’s always time to have a chat depending on how we’re both going.  But no, we have a good chat out there.  At different times, you kind of know when each other wants to talk.”

Minwoo Lee, Michael Hendry, Nick Flanagan and 36-hole leader Carl Yuan are just two from Scott’s lead.

Conditions for the third round suggested that good scoring would be the order of the day, especially for those who were out amongst the early tee times, and that was the way it would prove.

By the time the leaders had hit off at 11.30, San Antonio based, Novocastrian, Nick Flanagan, was putting the finishing touches to his curse record equalling round of 63 which took him from the cutline to second place and just one from the lead when he walked from the course. He would finish the day two behind.

“Yeah, it was kind of out of the blue,” said Flanagan. “The first two days I was really struggling, especially the first day.  Found something a little bit on the back nine for my second nine yesterday and actually played really well, just had a couple of three‑putts that kind of kept me on the cut line.

“But yeah, I think just, yeah, till Saturday I missed the last two cuts in a row and just went out and didn’t play with any pressure on myself. Wasn’t trying to make a ton of birdies, was just trying to get it on the greens and kind of give myself putts today, and I tended to hit it closer than I had the last two days and I made all the putts.

Others were also making a move. Spain’s Alejandro Canizares raced to the turn in 30 and when he added two further birdies at the 10th and 13th he had also put himself right in the mix. Canizares dropped shots at the 14th and 15th holes but birdies at the 16th and 17th saw him finish with a round of 64 and at that point was just two from the lead.

As the easterly breeze began to strengthen it was clear that things would not be quite so easy for those out in the afternoon conditions.

The relatively soft, calm conditions had assisted Flanagan and Canizares to their impressive rounds but it was a much sterner test for those closer to the overnight lead.

By the time the final group made the 9th hole however four players were tied in the lead, namely New Zealander, Michael Hendry, South Australian, Wade Ormsby, Queensland based Anthony Quayle and 36 hole leader Carl Yuan.

They were one clear of Flanagan who by that point was enjoying a cool drink in the clubhouse wondering just where his morning heroics might leave him at the end of the day’s play.

Adam Scott had lost touch with the lead when he bogeyed the 5th but he would birdie the 9th and 10th holes to get within one and the chances of a second PGA Championship had improved considerably for the 39 year old.

Ahead on the golf course, South Australian Nick Cullen was himself edging his way to contention. The 2014 Australian Masters Champion recorded six birdies in his first 15 holes and joined the lead at 9 under but no sooner had he done that then he found the water at the par 3 16th and took double bogey to drop two behind. Cullen would finish two behind.

But Scott’s birdie would break the deadlock he was in with Lee, Ormsby and Hendry playing the last. Lee and Hendry would bogey the demanding 18th while Ormsby would be bogey free in his round of 70.

Scott’s second to the last was clearly the shot of the day, especially given its significance and sets up an organiser’s dream scenario for tomorrow’s final round.

Scott is no doubt keen to break the 45-month winning drought and said as much after his round.

“It would be great, it would be great. I mean, I’ve tried really hard to keep my intensity up after last week, and my focus on the course.  I’ve had a couple moments where I’ve wavered, but I’ve managed to pull it back together.

“Yeah, it would be nice to cap off this year with a win here at home because I know what the confidence of that can do going into next year and just kind of make things a little more comfortable running into the Masters time.”

While he starts the final round as the hot favourite he knows that, despite his superior ranking, victory is no lay down misère.

“Well, I mean, look, it’s incredibly bunched, and if it’s windy tomorrow, it’s going to be hard for anyone to really separate themselves unless they just play an incredible round of golf, go out there and roll in a lot of putts.

“For me, my strategy’s going to be the same. Unless I hole a lot of long putts, I don’t see myself just running away with this thing. I’m in for a fight tomorrow.”

Seventeen players are within five shots of the lead, many with still an outside chance of snatching the title with a strong finishing round but most will favour Scott to win his first event anywhere since March of 2016.

If he does, he would have deserved it, not only because of the quality of his play but because of the commitment he made all those long months ago.

SCORES

 

 

 

 

 

/by

Carl Yuan Leads PGA But Adam Scott Poised

Adam Scott nicely poised ahead of weekend

China’s Carl Yuan has the lead at the halfway mark of the Australian PGA Championship at RACV Royal Pines on the Gold Coast, the 22 year old former University of Washington golfer but now based in Florida, leads by one over Queensland’s Anthony Quayle with another shot back to Adam Scott and Wade Ormsby who established the early 36 hole lead at the completion of their morning rounds.

Yuan has played on the Korn Ferry Tour in 2019 after turning professional in 2018 but failed to gain access to the PGA Tour in 2020 although he has quite an amateur career behind him and is expected to do well in the professional ranks as his career progresses.

It is his second time playing in this event but compared to his missed cut last year his effort to date highlights a golfer getting better each year.

“Second time playing here,” said Yuan. “Definitely, it was helpful playing here last year. I know the course a lot better and my strategy, the holes change a bit and it really paid off.  I’m more used to the wind here now since I played here last year.  It’s a little different sometimes because change directions. Just got to really be patient and hit shot by shot here.

“It was a great day, honestly.  I played great, played smart, stick to the plan.  I was fortunate enough that I got a couple of really long putts dropped through the round.  Yeah, I made two little mistakes, but really pulled myself together and kept it going.”

Yuan’s round of 65 was the equal best of the day along with defending champion Cameron Smith.

Birdies at five of his last six holes has the 25-year old Quayle just one behind the lead and compared to his disconcerting start in professional golf at this event three years ago it is a case of chalk and cheese for former Northern Territorian.

Three years ago, Quayle sat for over seven hours as he waited in vain as an alternate for a start in this event, but, due to an oversight by officials, Quayle was not contacted when a withdrawal presented the opportunity for a start in what would have been his first event as a professional and it was an opportunity lost.

Fortunately for Quayle, his career has taken a significant upturn since with considerable success on the Japan Tour and from outside the top 1000 in the world he is now just outside the top 300 and could well advance further by Sunday.

That he has made his base on the Gold Coast provides the opportunity for Quayle to play this style of golf course on a regular basis and he was quick to point out the benefit after his round.

It was a round that might have gone either way for Quayle. “It was a little rough early, to be honest,” he said after his round. “I was 1 over through the first couple and then bounced back with a nice birdie on 12, which was my third. Then I actually hit it in the water off the tee on 13.  I dropped it 100 meters off the tee and still made par. Then after that it kind of got the round going a little bit.”

It certainly did just that. Quayle birdied five of his last six holes for his round of 66 and at the completion of play finds himself just one off the lead on a golf course he plays on the odd occasion when home from the Japan Tour.

“We play out here (Royal Pines) a little bit whenever we can, and also we practice on greens that are similar and courses that are similar. Yeah, I think it does have an advantage.  People coming from ‑‑ even, to be honest, coming from Japan to here, it’s a completely different style of golf, but it’s what I’ve grown up on so I feel pretty comfortable.”

Quayle finished 3rd at the recent Casio World Open in Japan and so brings a strong game to Royal Pines.

Scott was out early in perfect scoring conditions with just the gentlest of breezes kicking in around 9.30am am but by then he was close to the end of his round.

Once again, Scott eagled the 15th hole although this time it came early in his round after starting at the 10th. His 30 foot putt following a 4 iron there had him heading in the right direction.

It would take him until his 12th hole to record his next birdie, that coming at the par 5 3rd of the Royal Pines layout and although he would bogey the 4th he would birdie three of his last four holes for a round of 67 and what would eventually be a share of the lead with his good mate Wade Ormsby.

“It was pretty solid,” said Scott. “I pulled a 7‑iron somewhere that I didn’t like very much and made a bogey, but other than that I think I pretty much hit 16 greens today, so it was fairly stress free.

“I played fairly defensive into the greens because I thought the pins were actually a little more tucked today and to get it really close you must risk hitting it down some of the big runoffs off these greens. So I didn’t really want to do that too much and I played safe.  I rolled a lot of nice putts.  A lot went by the edge, but I made a couple as well.”

Despite the prospect of a much-needed Xmas break ahead, Scott is determined to stay focused and take advantage of the position he has created for himself over the opening two days. He is after his first win in more then three years and is keen to end that drought here.

“Yeah, it will be good for me to focus up for two more days. “I thought I was good out there today and I need more of the same the next two days. The focus has been good. I feel like, definitely, I’ve got two more days in me.”

Ormsby raced to the turn in 32 and at that point was two clear of the field but he would drop shots at his 12th and 15th holes before a birdie at the last saw him join Scott in the lead just ten minutes after Scott had finished his round.

He and Scott and their respective families have known each other for many years since both lived in Adelaide before the Scott family moved to Queensland.

“Probably our dads go back longer than what we do, but first started playing golf with him when we were probably 13,” said Ormsby.

“We played and traveled the world junior, so same age. You kind of play a lot of stuff together up until you’re probably 20 years of age, and then he went to Europe and he’s gone to different levels of the game.  But no, we still try to catch up everywhere we go.”

The equal best round of the day (65) came from the defending champion and the man looking to join Dan Soutar as the only golfer to win this event on three consecutive occasions, Cameron Smith. After a round yesterday that threatened to blow him out of the tournament completely, Smith is now well in contention heading into the weekend.

“Yeah, I kind of knew what I had to do today to get back into it,” said Smith. “I saw Scotty and those guys up there posted a score early and just we want out there and didn’t really play aggressive or anything, just kind of did my stuff.  Yeah, walked away with seven birdies.”

So tournament organisers could hardly be happier ahead of the weekend. Adam Scott, Cameron Smith and Cameron Champ are all within striking distance of the lead at the halfway mark and with a couple of impressive youngsters ahead of them.

Champ again impressed the galleries with his controlled but powerful hitting and although six shots from the lead there is reason to believe that the two times PGA Tour winner is warming to his task as he heads into the weekend.

Scores

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

/by

New Zealand Open’s Success Reflected in Increased Prizemoney

New Zealand’s favourite golfing son Sir Bob Charles with 2019 champion Zach Murray

The New Zealand Open Golf Championship, Presented by Sky Sports, continues to defy the trend of professional golf events in this region, increasing its prizemoney by 12 percent for the 2020 championship, the total for the event itself $NZ1.4 million with an additional $NZ50,000 available for the pro-am aspect of the event.

When the event moved to Queenstown in 2014 and adopted the pro-am format as a means of rebuilding the championship to a level of sustainability, it carried prizemoney of $NZ850,000.

The increase since, therefore, speaks to the growth of the event and its popularity, not only in terms of the professional field but also the jam packed field of amateurs who have played such a key role in the New Zealand Open being the success it has become.

Now jointly sanctioned between the PGA Tour of Australasia and Asian Tour and sharing a special partnership with the Japan Tour, the New Zealand Open, one of the world’s oldest professional events, has also played a key role in the promotion of New Zealand and more specifically the Queenstown region as a golfing destination.

After a period of instability through the 2000’s with the controversial visit of Tiger Woods in 2002 and the joint sanctioning with Europe of the event in 2005, 2006 and 2007, followed by a period jointly sanctioned with the Nationwide Tour, the New Zealand Open needed reviving.

The introduction of a Alfred Dunhill Links style format, while controversial initially, has proven a tremendous success and the regular growth in prize-money is clear evidence of just that.

Tournament organisers have never been lulled into the payment of appearance money at any stage and have stuck rigidly to that. While the event has therefore been unable to attract the superstars of the game it has found its place as, arguably, the most popular on the PGA Tour of Australasia schedule and ensured the New Zealand Open has continued its remarkable legacy in Australasian golf.

 

 

/by

Herbert and Rankin Early Leaders at RACV Royal Pines

Joint leader – Lucas Herbert – Photo: PGA of Australia

Victorian, Lucas Herbert, took full advantage of the perfect morning conditions on day one of the Australian PGA Championship at RACV Royal Pines on the Gold Coast, his 5 under par round of 67 handing him a share of the lead with Brisbane golfer, Brett Rankin, as the morning half of the field completed their rounds.

Herbert, who plays on the European Tour for much of the year, has struggled in 2019 compared to an impressive breakout season in Europe in 2018, battling a hand injury for much of the latter half of the season but it is no longer causing the problem it was earlier, his round today evidence of just that.

“It’s been a lot better,” said Herbert who was up early for a 6.20 tee time. “I can still just feel it a little bit at times. There was one shot into the eighth today that I felt it a bit and it was bit sore, but I think at the Open I was kind of flinching and trying to not hurt my hand whereas I’m not really doing that now.

“Whether it’s like a wedge that you’ve got to take a pretty steep divot with, I’m actually okay with doing that, whereas I wasn’t two weeks ago. Yeah, hand’s really good, can’t complain there. It’s good to be healthy again and able to play.”

His round this morning was highlighted by an eagle at his 3rd hole (the 12th of the course) which came after birdies at his first two holes . “It was a 6‑iron,” he said when asked what club he had hit for his 2nd at the par 5. “I was actually in between clubs. I kind of just wanted to get it middle of the green and I kind of pulled it and hit it a bit hard and it got all the way back there. Yeah, take the good breaks when you get them.”

He would bogey his next two holes and after being 4 under through 4 holes was just 1 under heading to his 10th tee but he would play the back nine in 4 under to complete an impressive start to the week.

“It’s actually been an interesting day. Usually I kind of set little targets for myself to get through numbers‑wise, but I really didn’t today, I kind of just let everything go and just enjoyed being out there. The course is in great shape, so I was just enjoying some nice weather, walking around a great golf course with one of my best mates on the bag.”

The mate on the bag was brought about by a new caddie he hired last week for next season being unavailable for this event. “I’ve just hired someone for next year Friday of last week, but he couldn’t make it this week so it’s kind of just a fill‑in for the week.

“But Marcus caddied for me when I finished 11th in the Aussie Masters in 2014, so got some good chemistry there, had some good results together before. And he’s just a mate carrying a bag, but he’s doing a great job, always standing in the right place and never sort of annoying me, which is great.”

Rankin has battled away on the PGA Tour of Australasia and the Queensland Sunshine Tour for much his nine-year professional career but in 2019 he would finally make his breakthrough when winning the Northern Territory PGA Championship. He has been a prolific winner of pro-ams but until this year was struggling to convert that success to a higher level.

Brett Rankin – file photo

“Winning NT PGA just sort of gives you that confidence you know you can do it, your best golf can win on this tour,” said Rankin after his round.

“It’s a tough tour, there’s so many good players out here. So you gain that confidence from winning multiple pro‑ams and you take that to the next level, you win a tour event, and the next you’re like, okay, I belong here. You gain confidence just from doing that.

“It’s also just a bit of a stress relief, to be honest.  You question it, you think about it and you’re like, am I good enough to win, and you finally do it. You sort of tick that box and you’re like, all right, let’s go to bigger and better things.”

Herbert and Rankin led by one over South Australian, Nick Cullen, New Zealander, Ryan Chisnall, and New South Welshman, Travis Smyth, as the morning field vacated the course for the afternoon field to do their stuff.

With a gathering breeze and a golf course drying out in the afternoon warmth, the task was always going to be a little more difficult for those out in the second half of the day one draw and so it would prove.

Adam Scott was one of those to play late on day one and the 2013 champion appeared to be on track when he holed a 30-foot birdie putt at the 10th to move to 2 under and within three of the lead.

The 13th at Royal Pines, however, is one of the toughest driving holes on the course and when Scott found the water from the tee he would drop two shots and was back in the pack.

He would, though, hit a stunning drive at the 15th and holed a 16-foot eagle putt to return to 2 under and that is the way he would finish the day, just three shots from the lead.

“I played good today,” said Scott. “Unfortunately, I really mis‑hit that driver at 13 and it cost me two.  Other than that, it was pretty stress free.  I was very happy with it.  It wasn’t that easy out there.

“I seemed to get a lot of in‑between numbers and you have to kind of ‑‑ when it’s windy here, you kind of have to be a little bit careful because you don’t want to be chipping short‑side around here, the grain is just too much to deal with.

“So I was pretty stress free.  I wish I could have that swing on 13 over again, but all in all I feel good about my round. A round like I ended up at 2 under leaves me in a great spot with hopefully light winds tomorrow morning to come out.”

Playing with Scott were tournament invite and former Open Champion, Stewart Cink, and the immensely talented West Australian, Min Woo Lee. Lee has just completed his first season on the European Tour when playing events on invite and although he was unable to gain full status for 2020 he has done enough to be assured of as many as twenty events in Europe next year.

The brother of Australia’s leading female golfer, Minjee Lee, Minwoo is considered by many to be one of the future stars of Australian golf and gave further evidence of that when playing in the elite company of major champions, Scott and Cink.

Lee finished the better of the trio with an opening round of 4 under 68 and, along with South Australian, Wade Ormsby, led the afternoon field. Lee’s round was made all the better given he began with two bogeys early before birdies at six of his last 13 holes.

Ormsby has some history at RACV Royal Pines having been part of the three man playoff in the event won by Greg Chalmers in 2014.

Defending champion Cameron Smith finished with a round of 74 but two late birdies at least made the round reasonable. He finds himself in a share of 94th place and while very much back in the field he is still just seven shots from the lead and the chance of winning three Australian PGA Championships in a row is still a possibility although hardly a probability.

So, as the Australian PGA Championship heads into day two, Lucas Herbert and Brett Rankin are ahead by one.

Around 45 players broke par on day one and, with the likelihood of similar conditions tomorrow, the cut appears as if it will fall at the even par mark.

Scores

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

/by

Adam Scott In Pursuit Of Titles

Scott following his 2013 Australian PGA win

Australia’s leading ranked male golfer, Adam Scott, will play the Australian PGA Championship at RACV Royal Pines this week in pursuit of his first title anywhere in over three years.

Scott’s last victory came at the WGC Cadillac Championship in March of 2016 and while his world ranking has improved considerably in 2019, he would be prefer to be winning tournaments than improving his standing in the world ranking and this week’s Australian PGA Championship offers an opportunity to do just that.

“I mean, the rankings kind of only matter to get you in all the tournaments,” he said in his pre Australian PGA Championship media conference.

“You know, I’m not necessarily motivated to be the No. 1 player in the world as much as I’m motivated to win a major championship.  I’ve been now ‑‑ all of it’s great, but a major championship can happen on a week and to get to No. 1 is a very long process.

“If you start getting up there, then maybe that motivation will come again, but to win some trophies and win some tournaments, certainly the majors, there are a few other specific tournaments around the world I would like to win that I haven’t won.

“But here this week, absolutely. I felt like whatever years were my best golf, a couple of these slipped away, one in a playoff here to win the PGA again. There was an Australian Open or two that I was close at.  It would be nice while I’ve got a few decent years left in me to kind of wrap up a few more wins down here and leave as strong a legacy in the Australian game as well.”

“It’s frustrating because I feel there have been some weeks where I’ve had the chance and it hasn’t happened and it’s very hard to find where I put a foot wrong in those examples. Someone just played better and that’s annoying because it’s hard for me to control what they’re doing.  It just means I’ve got to lift my game a little bit higher. It’s all right there.

“But I feel like I’ve been in a similar spot in my career to this before.  If I remember, maybe 2012 I was playing at a very high level and I didn’t win all year. I ended up winning the Australian Masters at the end of the year, but I’m at that point where I just need to keep pushing myself along, keep the intensity at the right level because I’m doing the right things, it’s going the right way.

“A breakthrough win here this week can carry me a long way into next year with Augusta only a few months away now.  So it’s important that I kind of get that win, and the confidence that those wins give you can take you a long way.”

Scott has been a regular visitor to RACV Royal Pines since the event moved to the Gold Coast layout in 2013, winning that year and finishing runner-up the following year when defeated by Greg Chalmers in a playoff. He has also missed the cut in the event, so he has mixed fortunes over the revamped Graham Marsh layout but today expressed his pleasure in the manner in which the golf course has matured since its redevelopment in 2015.

“Yeah, it’s looking good out there this morning, in very nice condition for us this week. I think now the greens have really settled in since the changes over the last five or six years. It was nice to see them receiving shots so well, but generally the course is in great shape.

“It’s a lot to play for this week. My goal is to kind of bring a similar kind of focus that I had going last week to the golf course and try and get my name on that trophy again.”

Scott and Cameron Smith arrived on the Gold Coast following a gut-wrenching for him defeat at the Presidents Cup last week at Royal Melbourne and he was still expressing disappointment today.

“I was sure waking up Sunday morning that was not going to be the result. I thought everything we had done all week was correct and there wasn’t anything unusual about what we had done for Sunday, so I’m surprised.

“I don’t know how every match went, but it just felt like we got off to a slow start in most matches.  There wasn’t a lot of guys up early and that kind of cost us in the long run.  The guys who were up seemed to tie.

“But, you know, it’s so disappointing because the guys had done an incredible job to get in that position we were in.  I don’t think anyone would have given us a chance of getting a 10‑8 lead at the start of the week if you look at the teams on paper.

“But once that American train gets running, it’s strong.  It’s got a lot of depth and if I’m rationalising it, maybe that’s where we came up a little bit short on Sunday.  We just didn’t quite have the depth to match them.  They just played to their potential on Sunday.  I don’t know.  I’m not sure exactly what we could have done different.  When you lose, you can pick on anything, but I think we’re all a bit surprised that we couldn’t get it done.

“So on a positive note, you know, I think there was a lot of good come out of it for our team and how we should structure ourselves moving forward, so I’ll look forward to hopefully having another chance in a few years and try and get it over the line this time.”

While upset about the result last Sunday, Scott was fully appreciative of the support of the Australian crowds and how much of a thrill he got from the atmosphere the local crowds generated.

“As mentioned last night at the dinner that the PGA held, that last week the reception from the crowd in Melbourne for me personally ‑‑ our whole team felt it, but certainly personally for me was a week that I’ll never forget. It was fantastic.

“They played a big part in lifting our team and my performance last week. Holing a couple putts in front of them and having people go crazy was a lot of fun for me in my home country, so I’m so appreciative of that.  I wished I could have done a little bit better on Sunday because it would have been really fun to win a match in front of everyone.”

If Scott was to win this week it would add to the Australian Open, Australian PGA Championship and two Australian Masters already to his name in terms of domestic titles.

A victory on Sunday would not only add to that legacy it might well provide the boost ahead of a 2020 season in which Scott converts consistency into titles.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

/by

Cameron Smith Chasing Australian Golf History

Cameron Smith after one of his two Australian PGA Championships to date – photo Bruce Young

Cameron Smith takes to the fairways of RACV Royal Pines Resort on Thursday morning in pursuit of a place in Australian golf history.

While several golfers (Dan Soutar, Norman Von Nida, Kel Nagle, Billy Dunk and Robert Allenby) have won more than three Australian PGA Championship titles, only Dan Soutar in 1907 has completed three in succession and Smith feels good enough about his game for the quest to join Soutar to be a realistic one.

“I feel pretty confident in my game,” said Smith before his first look at the course in 2019. “It’s probably the best I’ve felt with my iron play all year, and to do it on such a challenging layout last week, you know, against some of the best players in the world was quite good.  Yeah, I can’t wait for this week. I’m feeling good.”

Smith was of course referring to his debut at the Presidents Cup where he recorded an impressive victory over Justin Thomas on Sunday.

So why is it that Smith has been able to win this event in the past two years, the victories his only individual titles in six-year career to date?

“I like the golf course obviously. I play well around here. It’s just such a good week for me off the golf course, lots of family and friends and everything. One team of members come down, so the support is really good throughout the week. I don’t know, it’s just a good kind of cruisey week. I don’t do much off the golf course and just go and hang out. Yeah, just feel relaxed.

Smith hails from Brisbane, an hour north and played his amateur golf at both the Wantima and Royal Queensland Golf Clubs in that city.

“I think you have to be pretty pinpoint with your irons into the greens. It’s not difficult off the tee, the fairways are quite generous. You can be the big guy and hit the drivers and stuff if you want, if you’re feeling good.

“But I think you have to really control your irons and into the wind around here, as you know, it’s always windy around here.  So, I think that’s been the big thing the last couple years is I’ve just been able to hit those three‑quarter shots and those low shots and stuff and control them.”

So, is iron play Smith’s strength?

“I think it was at some points through the year. It kind of went out the window a little bit, but I’m starting to feel really confident with that again. Typically, when my irons are on, I play really good golf, so it kind of takes the stress off, you know, the putter and the driver knowing that you’re going to get chances.  Yeah, it’s just easy golf, I guess. It’s not stressful at all.”

Smith was asked what goals he has in store for 2020 and mentioned that he would like to achieve what he had set out to do in 2019.

“Probably the same as last year. I didn’t quite get to the top‑20 in the world. I wanted to do that all year and didn’t quite make it. I think I got down to maybe 25 or 26 or something like that at the start of the year. But I definitely want to get in there. I feel like that’s the next kind of big step. But it’s a lot of hard work and it’s a lot of good results, but I’m willing to do that.”

Speaking of goals, is the opportunity to become the first player in 112 years and only the second in history to win this event on three consecutive occasions a goal this week?

“I mean, especially being in my backyard essentially. It will be really nice. I haven’t really ‑‑ I don’t really like thinking about, you know, “what if.”  I’m just kind of going to try to do my job to the best of my ability and if it happens on Sunday, great. But if not, you know, I’ve given it my all and it kind of is what it is.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

/by

Stewart Cink Playing With a Different Perspective

Stewart Cink – photo PGA of Australia

Stewart Cink is playing in this week’s Australian PGA Championship and despite the fact he is an Open Champion, a six time PGA Tour winner on the PGA Tour and an earner of over US$38 million he will likely escape much of the attention this week unless of course he gets into contention.

The 46 year old Cink is here after a three-day break in Queenstown in New Zealand to recharge the batteries and is excited to be back in Australia to play for the first time since 2003 when he played at the Australian PGA Championship at Hyatt Regency Coolum.

“I like playing around the world everywhere,” said Cink in his pre-tournament press conference on Tuesday. “You can look at my calendar, I’ve played in France on the European Tour this year not that long ago.  So I like to go around and we just wanted to include the PGA Tour Australia on our calendar.”

“My wife has never been anywhere ‘Down Under’ before so we’ve been trying to put this on the calendar for a little while now.  We almost made it last year, but we had to back out at the last second. So this year we added New Zealand, a little holiday before we came here.”

Despite not winning anywhere in nearly ten years, Cink is not here just to make up the numbers and feels his game is in the sort of shape it needs to be in to play well at RACV Royal Pines.

“I feel like I’m playing as well as I’ve played in my whole career.  And as I get older now, I’m 46, my perspective and my expectations probably are changing a little bit, but I feel like if you break down the way ‑‑ if you break down golf into the categories, you know, the short game and all that, I think that I’m playing better golf now than I’ve played anytime in my career.

“I had some really good long runs where I’ve had really good finishes and a lot of wins on the U.S. Tour. The game of golf is a lot deeper now than it used to be, but I think I have what it takes to compete. And I’ve had some brushes with really good success over the last couple years at times.

“I’ve had some down moments, but I think as you age you can still reach the highest ‑‑ you can reach the highest level of form, but you might not be able to stay there as often.  So you have to be able to expect a few little troughs along with the peaks.”

His wife Lisa has battled cancer in recent years and while not yet completely free of the disease she is doing well enough to make the trip down to Australasia. Cink says her battle with illness has provided a much better perspective for him in how he faces life.

“Actually, my wife going through ‑‑ well, she’s still going through it, she’s not out of the woods, but she’s doing great.  She’s really had a tremendous response and she’s really doing fantastic.

“But watching her dig in and fighting with everything she had through the time of her diagnosis and her chemotherapy in 2016, it really caused me to sort of turn the mirror around and look at myself and say, well, if she’s fighting like this, what am I not doing?  I’m not fighting for my life necessarily, but I’ve got something pretty important to me and our family to fight for.

“And it did, it opened my eyes a little bit and I dug around in some corners that maybe I hadn’t dug around in for a few years and it gave me a new sense of intensity and intention when I was out there practicing every day and going through all the off‑the‑course things I need to do.

“You know, the result was it showed up in better scores and it gave me sort of this new confidence that I think I can compete and I can carry this all the way past my 50th birthday and who knows what happens after that.”

Cink’s attitude to travel and seeing new places became even more apparent when discussing the possibility of playing the European Tour should, by chance, he win this week. Being a European Tour event, a win here would provide him European Tour status and it is something he likes the thought of.

“It’s absolutely an option.  I haven’t filled out the paperwork yet, but I do plan to initiate the affiliate thing.  I’m just learning about all that.

“But yeah, I like playing around the world and I’ve enjoyed playing in the European Tour events, the odd one here and there where I’ll turn up and I’ll get a few slanted looks from players, like what are you doing here?  That’s fine, I like that.

“But my wife and I love traveling and we’re at a stage where our kids are all in university or beyond, out of the house and it’s just the two of us.  She comes everywhere I go and it’s fun for us to see other places besides the regular stops on the U.S. Tour that I’ve seen now for 23 years.

Ten years ago Cink recorded his greatest moment in golf when winning the Open Championship. It should have been heralded as a great victory, which it was, but that he defeated 59 year old people’s favourite, Tom Watson, in a playoff to do so resembled shooting Bambi in some people’s eyes.

Cink though fondly remembers the graciousness of Watson during the playoff and in the aftermath.

“Throughout the whole thing he was just perfectly gracious, just like you would expect any, you know, highly regarded champion to be. He couldn’t have been any nicer, and he was just as respectful of me as the winner as I would have been of him as the winner.

“You know, I felt like when Tom finished the regulation, making bogey on that hole, that I just had an opportunity because I felt like his energy just took a little step down, and it’s so important to have the energy in that situation.

“I felt like I had it because I finished strong with a birdie on the 72nd, so I felt super confident.  I felt like there was no way I was going to lose that.

“I played really well in the playoff.  I probably played better in the playoff than I played at any point during the entire week.  I played great, didn’t really miss a shot.

“But the memories, it’s been 10 years, but I remember it like it was yesterday. I still have plenty of little spots here and there, like tapping in or the first shot in the playoff, watching Tom hit his driver and being like whoa, he is not going away. So the memories, even though they’re 10 years old, they’re still very fresh.”

Stewart Cink is one of those golfers who, despite his significant success, escapes a lot of attention but for those assembled for his press conference yesterday he left all with a warm fuzzy feeling about his love of the game, his family and life.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

/by

‘Under the Radar’ Greg Chalmers Excited Ahead of Aust PGA

Greg Chalmers with his 2014 trophy – photo Bruce Young

2011 and 2014 Australian PGA Champion Greg Chalmers is about to make just his second genuine attempt at tournament golf in the last eighteen months and if today’s press conference at RACV Royal Pines is anything to go by then he is certainly expecting more than was the case at the Australian Open just two weeks ago.

Chalmers has been kept from the game in that time by serious health issues and at his return at the Australian Open he produced a remarkable week to finish 5th after a horror start to the week.

“I’m actually really excited,” said Chalmers. “I’ve had 18 months off, had arthritis in my spine and every joint in my lumbar spine, tore a ligament in my spine.  So right around ‑‑ took a while to get diagnosed correctly, but I hadn’t played seriously for 18 months.

“I did play last year down here, but that was more just to see after six months if I could play, and I couldn’t.  So I got it fixed this year and I think I was 4 over after nine at the Australian Open.

“It was pretty much what I expected, a lot of rubbish and a lot of rust, but wiped it off quickly. Four under on the back nine and went on to finish tied fifth.  I’ve got a lot of energy about me, about my golf right now, and I’m really looking forward.  It’s been a great break.  Been around my family and now I’m very keen to be playing and excited.”

Chalmers won at RACV Royal Pines in 2014 when the layout was in the middle of a full transformation, only half of the 18 holes completed when he defeated Adam Scott and Wade Ormsby in a playoff to win the event for the second time.

He has played since but today made reference to the fact that the golf course continues to improve and mature and he is liking what he sees of the golf course now compared to the early stages of its restoration.

He is also complimentary as to how the PGA Tour of Australasia is setting up golf courses in recent years and feels that will play a role on Royal Pines’ continued development as a tournament layout.

Chalmers has been working with former two-time Australian Masters Champion and Presidents Cup player, Brad Hughes, in recent times, Hughes beginning to build a reputation as a coach resurrecting careers including that of recent PGA Tour winner Brendon Todd who has won twice in his last three starts on the PGA Tour after not having won for five years and almost giving the game away.

“I went to Brad about two and a half years ago and I was still ‑‑ two or three years ago and I was struggling with my back, but I was struggling with my game more than anything else.  Still trying to play even though my back wasn’t great.

“I said, look, I don’t have time to rebuild the ark, I have a shorter window here, can you help me with my ball‑striking without me taking years to get that done?  He said absolutely, I’ve taken a look at what you’re doing.  He said I think I can help you.

“The ball‑striking’s improved.  Been at it for a while now with him.  Pretty simple stuff but very effective, a lot of getting better use out of my feet and my groundwork, and then better position with my hands and path with the club through the ball.  So, it’s led to better ball‑striking and that’s important for me.  If I can strike it even marginally better with my short game, it’s going to see some good results, so I’m excited about the future.”

Because of his health issues, Chalmers get another chance on the PGA Tour in 2020 and is excited about the prospect of what lies ahead despite now being into the rundown to playing senior golf.

“I’ve got seven starts left on a medical and so I’m hoping to start that in late January. That’s my expectation right now, play my seven. And depending on when I finish, though, and how I play, I could get four or five more starts, you know, in Reno, for example, or Barbasol or John Deere.

“There’s some events that will pop up along the way so I could get 10 to 12 starts, which starting in January, you’re looking at maybe two starts a month, which wouldn’t be too bad for me after having 18 months off.

“Depending on how I go, I’m exempt into the Playoffs to get your card back on the Korn Ferry, so I’ve got those three playoff events placed on previous performance. That’s how my year frames out at the moment.”

Chalmers has been one of the more prolific winner of major titles in Australia in recent times with a Players Championship, two Australian Opens and two Australian PGA Championships to his name.

It might be a bit much to expect that to improve this week at this stage of his recovery but if he can replicate his last 63 holes at the Australian Golf Club two weeks ago then he is not without hope.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

/by

RACV Royal Pines Hosts 7th PGA Championship

Looking over 9th green to hotel in background – photo Bruce Young

The Australian PGA Championship is, this week, played for the 7th occasion at RACV Royal Pines on the Gold Coast, five of those being staged over the fully re-designed Graham Marsh layout.

When the event was brought south in 2013 from its former venue on the Sunshine Coast, where it had been since 2002, RACV began to put in place plans to redevelop the rather benign layout that had played host to many of the female game’s great players at the Australian Ladies Masters since 1992.

It was considered a pleasant resort course at the time but while the original designer had met the brief in terms of creating a golf course geared towards play for golfing tourists, it needed a revamp if it was to challenge the sort of fields that the Australian PGA envisaged would play the event over the ensuing years.

The upgrade was also becoming necessary due to the changing nature of the game since the course’s opening all those years ago, equipment changes also forcing the requirement for strengthening of the golf course.

The new layout would also appeal a lot more aesthetically than had been the case and, very importantly for the commercial viability of the golf course, it would be better engineered to move surface water in a more efficient manner, thus avoiding some of the down-time heavy rains had created previously.

In 2013, therefore, Graham Marsh, a former winner of the Australian PGA Championship and one of Australia’s best players over a thirty-year period, was appointed to make the changes which were to be undertaken in two six-month periods in 2014 and 2015.

Logistically, it was one of Marsh’s most demanding of the many design projects in which he had been involved, given the time constraints which his design company, Graham Marsh Golf Design, was required to work under and the delicate, environmental issues the site, situated in the Merrimac floodplain, presented.

In 2014 the event was played with half the course completed and in 2015 it was played for the first time as a fully revamped venue.

Now, after four years and after a shaky start as it began the maturing process, the new layout has been increasingly accepted as a fine test for a tournament of this nature and importantly for its owners, RACV, it has enticed not only an increasing number of golf tourists, it has become a highly popular club course attracting members from other clubs and many of the Gold Coast’s best amateurs to become members of RACV Royal Pines.

It has, therefore, met the brief set out by RACV back in 2013.

The history of the event at RACV Royal Pines to date has seen some outstanding contests, Adam Scott winning the inaugural staging of the event at the venue in 2013 when overcoming a weather delay during the middle of the final round to defeat Rickie Fowler by four shots.

Adam Scott 2013

Greg Chalmers claimed his second Australian PGA Championship in 2014 when defeating Scott and South Australian, Wade Ormsby, in a playoff which saw Ormsby defeated at the first hole before it took Chalmers and Scott another six holes to break the deadlock.

Greg Chalmers

Another playoff was required in 2015 when the fully redesigned layout was played for the first time, Victoria’s Nathan Holman edging out South African Dylan Frittelli and American Harold Varner 111 to win and earn European Tour status in the process, the event having joined forces with the European Tour for the first time that year.

Nathan Holman

In 2016 Harold Varner 111 atoned for his playoff loss the previous year when he defeated Queenslander, Andrew Dodt, by two shots before another local, Cameron Smith, won the first of two consecutive victories when, in the event’s third playoff in four years, he defeated Jordan Zunic at the second extra hole.

Harold Varner 111

Smith would win again when he held off Marc Leishman in 2018 and so the young Presidents Cup player, who defeated Justin Thomas in the singles at Royal Melbourne just last Sunday, gets the chance to win the event for the third consecutive occasion.

Cameron Smith

The field for the 2019 event is headlined by the leading world ranked player in the field, Adam Scott, who is chasing his first victory anywhere in more than three years. Scott has however been very consistent in 2019 improving his world-ranking from 41st to 18th since this time last year despite his lack of winning success.

His most recent form has not been great having missed the cut at the Australian Open two weeks ago and going down to Xander Schauffele in last week’s singles at the Presidents Cup. It had, admittedly, been a month since he played prior to the Australian but provided he is not overly fatigued from a demanding week at Royal Melbourne, he should do well.

Cameron Smith clearly has a love affair with RACV Royal Pines and the event and venue has one for him also. A very popular figure, especially amongst the many who will travel down the M1 from Brisbane to see him play this week, Smith is looking to add his name to a very select group in Australian golfing history.

Several players have won more than three Australian PGA Championships but only Dan Soutar in the very first three Australian PGA Championships has won three in a row and so Smith can join one of Australia’s legendary figures in doing so. He will be buoyed by his impressive Presidents Cup debut and he will be a tough man to beat once again.

The Australian PGA has made a very good move in attracting a young man destined for big things in the game, Cameron Champ. Champ has just completed his first full season on the PGA Tour and has commenced his second season. He has already won twice in that time but, not only is he a proven winner, he is the longest hitter on the PGA Tour and as such will attract tremendous interest.

He will have been brought here for a considerably lower fee than many of his contemporaries would have commanded given his relative newness, but his powerful game provides a real point of difference compared to many of the mid-level players brought to the event in the past and will offer real appeal to the crowds.

Stewart Cink is in the field, the 2009 Open Champion and six time PGA Tour winner not at the peak of his game at present but an opportunity to see a player with his record will be taken up by many this week.

Greg Chalmers has already won around RACV Royal Pines and in what was his first appearance anywhere for twelve months at the recent Australian Open he finished a very impressive 5th. Chalmers has overcome a debilitating back injury with radical treatment and if his showing at the Australian Golf Club is anything to go by then he might improve even further.

Added to that list are the very impressive and ever improving, Jason Scrivener, the current leader of the PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit, Ryan Fox, exciting young prospect, Min Woo Lee, Japan Tour player Mikumu Horikawa, one of the leading players in Japan this year, and of course a host of young emerging Australasian talents.

The Australian PGA Championship therefore carries plenty of interest. Can Cameron Smith join Dan Soutar in making it three in a row, can Adam Scott win his second Australian PGA Championship, can the powerhouse Cameron Champ tame the Royal Pines layout, can Ryan Fox win the PGA Tour of Australasia’s Order of Merit or will it be an relative unknown who will step up to the plate and win and, in the process, leapfrog their way onto the European Tour?

All will be revealed over the next few days and by Sunday someone will have earned themselves a very nice Xmas present, three days ahead of Santa’s arrival.

 

/by

Ruffels and Drewitt Earn Korn Ferry Tour Status

Ryan Ruffels – file photo

Victorian, Ryan Ruffels, and New South Welshman, Brett Drewitt, have gained Korn Ferry Tour status for 2020 following the completion of qualifying in Florida this morning.

Ruffels finished in 21st place and Drewitt 27th, the leading 40 players exempt into the first eight events on the tour before the first re-rank.

Ruffels, who has been playing the Latino America Tour in recent times, will now get the chance to display his considerable skill at this higher level while Drewitt, who has been playing the Korn Ferry Tour in 2019, gets the chance to again bid for the right to return to the PGA Tour where he has played previously.

The leading 25 players on the money list at season’s end on the Korn Ferry Tour will advance to the 2021 PGA Tour and will be joined by the leading 25 players form the Korn Ferry Tour Final series.

The news was not so good for Sydney’s Harrison Endycott who despite two late birdies in his final round missed out on being inside the top 40 by just one shot.

New Zealander Nick Voke was 53rd and Queenslander Daniel Nisbet was forced to withdraw after just 45 holes.

/by