Scrivener and Hend make Dubai finale

The winner Tommy Fleetwood – Getty Images

Perth’s Jason Scrivener has secured his biggest cheque as a professional and gained access to next week’s season ending DP World Tour Championship Dubai with an impressive share of 3rd place at the Nedbank Challenge at Sun City in South Africa.

Scrivener earned a cheque for nearly $A550,000 after his final round of 70 was completed with a stunning 30-foot swinging par saving putt at the last to share 3rd place with two others.

Scrivener began the final round with three early birdies and then held on grimly over the final 13 holes, a bogey at the 16th not enough to avoid him enjoying arguably his finest moment in the game.

The result equalled Scrivener’s previous best of 3rd in a European Tour event at the 2015 and 2018 Hong Kong Opens and at the ISPS Handa Perth International in 2016 but this week’s prizemoney was significantly above that he earned in those events and now has the opportunity to play for even more in next week’s event in Dubai.

Scrivener improved to 35th in the Race to Dubai rankings after beginning the week in 59th place and joins the field of 50 next Thursday.

“A big goal of mine at the start of the year was to get to Dubai,” said the 30 year old. “Pretty happy with that and looking forward to that.

“To be honest I haven’t had any time to really think about it. I haven’t even got the flights booked. Yeah, just going to take it as it comes. Feel like I’m playing well enough to contend and yeah, just looking forward to it.”

Australia’s Scott Hend has just scrapped in to the top 50 a birdie at his final hole today perhaps making the difference. Hend finished in 48th place this week.

The winner of the Nedbank Challenge was Tommy Fleetwood who produced three eagles in his round of 65 to force a playoff with Sweden’s Marcus Kinhult and win at the first extra hole.

Fleetwood improved eight places to second position in the Race to Dubai rankings behind Bernd Wiesberger who was one of the trio tied for 3rd place this week.

 

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Is Takumi Kanaya the next Japanese superstar?

Japan’s 21-year old amateur, Takumi Kanaya, appears as if he might well follow in the footsteps of Ryo Ishikawa and Hideki Matsuyama and become the next Japanese superstar on the world stage following his surprise victory in today’s Mitsui Sumitomo Visa Taiheiyo Masters in Gotemba, south of Tokyo.

Kanaya, who is currently the leading amateur in the world, recovered from a slow start to this week’s event to reel off a brilliant final 54 holes and capped it off with an eagle at the last to edge one shot clear of his playing partner Shaun Norris after the pair had broken clear of the rest of the field.

Korea’s Y.E. Yang finished alone in third place four shots behind the second placed Norris.

So good is Kanaya that he finished runner-up to Yuta Ikeda two years ago at the age of 19 and since then has won the 2018 Asia Pacific Amateur Championship and finished runner-up in that same event again this year along with several other amateur titles.

Matthew Griffin and Brad Kennedy finished as the leading Australians when they tied for 13th this week and earned A$54,000 each, Anthony Quayle was 18th, New Zealander Michael  Hendry and David Bransdon were 24th, Brendan Jones 28th, Dylan Perry 32nd and Adam Bland 41st.

The Japan Tour now moves south to the southern island of Kyushu for this week’s Dunlop Phoenix in Miyazaki.

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Jason Scrivener needing strong weekend in Sun City

Jason Scrivener – file photo

Perth’s Jason Scrivener finds himself in a very similar position to that he was in a week ago, needing a big weekend in the European Tour event he is playing to potentially make it to the season ending DP World Tour Championship Dubai.

Only the 50 leading players on the Race to Dubai Rankings list will advance to the event in Dubai next week and starting this week’s Nedbank  Challenge Scrivener was in 59th place after a solid 21st place in Turkey.

Scrivener began the weekend in the event in Turkey just two shots off the lead and at Sun City in South Africa this week he finds himself tied for 6th place and although six shots off the lead of South Africa’s, Zander Lombard, he has advanced to 49th in the projected rankings for Dubai.

Scrivener added a second round of 60 to his opening 70 to be at least within shouting distance of Zombard who leads by two over Louis Oosthuizen.

Scott Hend is the only other Australian in the field and he now has a project Race to Dubai ranking of 53rd so he too needs an improved weekend if he is to be assured of playing next week.

New Zealander Ryan Fox is in 50th place this week and now a projected 58th in the Race to Dubai ranking and he too needs a good weekend.

Lombard has yet to win on the European Tour although a win this week in the lucrative (US$7.5 million) event would be a great way to break through.

 

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Brendan Jones stays in touch at the Visa Taiheiyo

Brendan Jones remains as the leading Australian at the Mitsui Sumitomo Visa Taiheiyo Masters in Gotemba in the shadows of Mt Fuji, but, after sharing the opening round lead, the Canberra golfer has slipped to a share of 9th place and four shots off the lead held by Ryuji Masaoka and Y.E Yang.

Jones’ second round of 73 was looking potentially a lot worse after a start which saw him drop three shots in his first six holes but he steadied the ship with a closing nine of even par 35 and he begins Saturday’s third round comfortably within striking distance of the leaders.

Of the other Australians to make the cut, Matthew Griffin is at 1 under par and one shot behind Jones, Brad Kennedy is at even par, Anthony Quayle is at 2 over, Dylan Perry and 3 over and Adam Bland 4 over.

 

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Brendan Jones shares early Visa Taiheiyo lead

Even a bogey at the final hole of his opening round at the Mitsui Sumitomo Visa Taiheiyo Masters in Japan today, was not enough to stop former winner, Brendan Jones, from taking a share of the first-round lead in one of the Japan Tour’s more significant events.

Jones, who won this event in 2007 with a huge putt from off the green or eagle at the 72nd hole after a birdie at the 71st, was round in 5 under 65 today to share the lead with Sung Hyun Park and Yusaku Miyazato.

An outward nine of 31 had Jones, who played in the second half of the field on day one, set up for a very low round but the back nine proved a little more demanding for the 43 year old.

Jones has also been runner-up in the event and has recorded several other top tens so this is a golf course he likes and he certainly made that clear again today.

Jones’s fellow Australian, David Bransdon, opened with a round of 68 to be tied for 7th, Anthony Quayle 69 and Brad Kennedy next best Australian after his round of 72.

The tournament carries prizemoney of nearly A$2.7 million.

photo below – Jones winning this event in 2007 – Getty Images

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Australasians chasing European Tour cards

photo – Brett Rumford- already a six time European Tour winner

13 Australasians will this week attempt to gain or regain full playing rights to the European Tour when the final stage of the European Tour School begins in Tarragona in Spain on Friday.

The field of 156 players who have made their way through either earlier qualifying stages or an unproductive 2019 European Tour will, over 108 holes, chase one of just 25 full status cards available for the 2020 season.

Jarryd Felton, Ben Fergusson, Nick Flanagan, Josh Geary, Simon Hawkes, Deyen Lawson, Jake Mcleod, David Micheluzzi, Zach Murray, Dimi Papdatos, Brett Rumford, Blake Windred and Jordan Zunic get their chance to be part of the European Tour, some for the first time and others to be back playing in Europe with full status.

McLeod and Lawson played the European Tour this season while Rumford is a near twenty-year European Tour competitor with six victories in Europe to his name.

Windred and Micheluzzi are only recently out of the amateur ranks, Murray has just completed an impressive first season in the professional ranks which included a win at the New Zealand Open and Flanagan is a former US Amateur Champion, four time Korn Ferry Tour winner and PGA Tour player.

Tasmanian, Hawkes, won the 2018 Vic Open before it gained European Tour status and now gets his chance at the riches of Europe while two time Australasian Tour winner, Felton and his fellow West Australian Fergusson are joined by former NZ Open champions Zunic and Papadatos who is looking to finally achieve full status in Europe and New Zealander Geary who has enjoyed European Tour status in the past.

 

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Tyrrell Hatton wins in Turkey Scrivener 21st

Tyrrell Hatton has survived a five-way playoff to win the Turkish Airlines Open in Antalya, outlasting the long-time leader in the event, Matthias Schwab, with a birdie at the 4th extra hole to Schwab’s bogey securing the title for the 28-year old Englishman.

It was Hatton’s 4th European Tour title and the US$2 million winner’s cheque moves him to 6th in the Race to Dubai rankings for 2019.

The event was completed under floodlights given the extended playoff.

“It’s so surreal. I mean, I actually can’t believe that I’ve won,” said Hatton. “It’s been quite a difficult year in terms of things happening off course, and you know, the last month, I feel like I really found my game again.

“I said to a few people on my team that if I was lucky enough to win again, then I would definitely savour the moment, because I think it’s quite easy to take it for granted.

And you know, sport’s great when it’s going well, but when it’s not going well, it kind of hits home, so I’m absolutely thrilled. Obviously amazing to have Mick on the bag and he’s done a great job this week. I’m just so happy.

“You don’t think about the money, at all. It’s all pride. And yeah, obviously it’s a bonus at the end of it after a great week, and I’m just so happy, I don’t know what else to say.”

Jason Scrivener finished as the leading Australian in 21st place, a position he shared with New Zealand’s Ryan Fox.

Scrivener improved two places to 59th on the Race to Dubai raking but needs to be inside the top 50 by the completion of this coming week’s event in South Africa if he is to force his way into the field for Dubai in two weeks’ time.

Scott Hend 36th and Wade Ormsby 38th were the other Australians in the field.

 

 

 

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Japan Tour rookie Dylan Perry claims biggest cheque

Gold Coast based New South Welshman, Dylan Perry, has recorded the best finish of his rookie Japan Tour season with a share of 3rd place at the Heiwa PGM Championship in Okinawa today.

Perry, who earned his playing rights for Japan at last year’s Japan Tour School after turning professional in November of last year, reeled off a last round of 66 to finish three shots from the winner, Ho Sung Choi of Korea, and earn the biggest cheque (A$155,000) to date of his fledgling career.

He also finished 3rd at the NSW Open on his professional debut last year.

The finish will move Perry to 36th on the Japan Tour money list and assure him of full status for Japan in 2020.

Perry’s fellow Gold Coast based, Brad Kennedy, finished one shot behind in a share of 5th place with the other Australian to make the cut, Won Joon Lee, finishing back in 60th place.

For the 46 year old Choi, the Korean with the most unusual of golf swings, it was his third Japan Tour title.

The Japan Tour now begins their end of season flagship events beginning next week with the Mistui Sumitomo Visa Taiheyo Masters.

Below the rather unique swing of this week’s winner Ho Sung Choi

 

 

 

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Another good week for Minjee Lee

Australian, Minjee Lee, has finished alone in third place at the LPGA Tour’s Toto Japan Classic, six shots behind the winner, Ai Suzuki, at the Seta Golf Club in Shiga, Japan.

Lee birdied three of her last five holes to move clear of what would otherwise have been a three-way tie for third and after a runner-up finish at last week’s event in Taiwan she is finishing her season strongly.

With only one more event to play Lee is now in 5th place on the LPGA Tour money list with earnings beyond US$1.5 million.

Lee’s fellow West Australian, Hannah Green, struggled to a final round of 72 to finish tied for 10th while Su Oh was 32nd along with New Zealander Lydia Ko.

The LPGA Tour now heads back to the US for the season ending CME Group Tour Championship in Naples in Florida in tend days time.

The winner, Suzuki, who regularly plays the Japan LPGA Tour finished three shots clear of Korean, Hyo Joo Kim to win her first LPGA Tour title and qualify to play the LPGA Tour if she so chooses.

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Big weekend ahead of Jason Scrivener

Perth’s, Jason Scrivener, is just two behind the lead as the Turkish Airlines Open heads into the weekend in Antalya in Turkey.

Scrivener put together a bogey free second round of 66 to be sitting just off the lead held by Austrian Matthias Schwab and with just this week and next week’s Nedbank Challenge remaining ahead of the season ending DP World Tour Championship Dubai, he needs to capitalise on this start if he is to force his way into the top 50 who will make it to the event in three weeks time

Scrivener is currently 61st in the Race to Dubai Rankings but his start has lifted him to a projected 54th. A good weekend might just be enough to qualify for Dubai without the pressure of being forced to play well in South Africa next week.

Scott Hend showed improvement on recent efforts to be tied for 25th, three shots behind Scrivener, New Zealander Ryan Fox is 33rd and Wade Ormsby 43rd in a field where this is no cut.

For the leader, Schwab, his start to the event continues an impressive run of form of late having been 4th in two of his last three starts and inside the top ten in five of his last eight.

The 24-year-old leads the standings in the highest number of top ten finishes on the European Tour this season, with nine.

Schwab has yet to win on the European Tour but many believe that once he does he will win many.

Despite an eagle at the first hole today he struggled through much of the front nine but things improved on the way home.

“I wasn’t really hitting them great at all, especially early on but kept it together,” said Schwab.

“Obviously the start was good with an eagle on the first hole, but then it was not very nice to watch I think. The long game wasn’t on but I managed to make a few good pars. On the back nine I found my swing a little bit and made a few good birdies coming home.”

photo Matthias Schwab – Getty Images

 

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