Jason Day – file photo

Jason Day has recorded just two top tens on the PGA Tour in the last twelve months but in his first event of 2023 he has himself nicely positioned at the American Express Championship.

The 35 year old is in a five way share of 3^rd place and although five shots from the rookie leader, David Thompson, his improvement is most encouraging.

Day is playing this three course event for just the second occasion in his 15 year PGA Tour career but a second round of 64 over the more demanding Stadium Course layout in Palm Springs saw him improve 24 places to his share of 3^rd and although he has yet to play the La Quinta Country Club before the 54 hole cut is made tomorrow, his game appears in fine enough shape to challenge on Sunday.

“It’s nice to be able to get that course out of the way,” said Day referring to the fact that the Stadium Course is typically the most difficult of the three layouts used in the opening 54 holes.

“Got La Quinta tomorrow. So typically, that yields more birdies than these two courses over here. So, but like everyone’s saying, you can’t get ahead of yourself too. Because if you start thinking about it too much you can definitely go out there and just have an average day. So I got to try and stay as focused as possible and just take it as it comes.

“I feel good. I’ve been feeling great actually for a good long while now. So just been kind of seeing myself healthier. I feel like I’m doing the right things. Not only on the golf course, but off the golf course as well. That’s kind of yielded into, I feel like, a better motion at it out here on the golf course.

“Still some of the stuff, the old stuff is in there still, but I kind of got to work through that slowly. Because if I try and press too hard on some of the swing changes the body doesn’t really adapt that quick and can potentially hurt certain areas of your body. But overall this past year to, six months to a year it’s been really, really good for me. So I feel pretty good.”

Day was asked why he decided to play this week when this has not typically been on his schedule.

“Typically in the past I would, if I’m not in Hawaii I would go straight to Torrey. And, I mean, I felt like I was playing like a U.S. Open times a thousand when you go from doing nothing for a month to two months and you go straight to Torrey and you’re playing.

“This way I can come to a tournament like this where typically the conditions are like this and you can kind of see where the game’s at then adjust accordingly going into next week.”

The leader, 23 year old Thompson, is playing his first season on the PGA Tour after graduating via the Korn Ferry Tour last year and will take a two shot lead over Jon Rahm into the final 36 holes.

He has already produced a couple of good finishes in his first few events and joined a select group of golfers to have recorded five eagles in 36 holes in a PGA Tour event.

“I think it has to do a lot with last year,” said Thompson referring to his apparent comfort zone at this level. “Playing on the Korn Ferry Tour and also just playing on some sponsor exemptions out here right when I turned pro. I’m still a rookie, still learning these golf courses, but there is a comfort level to kind of know what to expect at every tournament.

“Watching this tournament for a couple years now I always see the winning score being so low. So, you kind of really don’t have a choice, you just got to keep hitting greens and giving yourself looks and trying to make the putts. I was just fortunate enough to make a lot of putts these first two days. But, yeah, it is easy to stall out, but at the same time, if you just stay present minded and focus on one shot at a time you’ll give yourself a lot of opportunities.”

New Zealand’s Danny Lee is tied for 21^st at 9 under and four behind Day, while Harrison Endycott is 34^th.

Aaron Baddeley and Cameron Davis are further back and have a task if they are to make the 54 hole cut tomorrow.

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Ryan Fox – file photo PGA of Australia

The DP World Tour begins its regular season events for 2023 in Abu Dhabi this week with the staging of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship at the Yas Links Abu Dhabi.

Four Australasians take their place in the field headed by the current world # 28 Ryan Fox who has struggled in this event previously although it was just a few weeks after this event last year that his meteoric run to the number two position on the 2022 DP World Tour began.

With two wins and three runner-up finishes in 2022, Fox reached an all time high of 23^rd in the world ranking before finishing the year in 28^th place and he begins what promises to be a year of opportunity for the 35 year old who turns 36 this weekend.

As a result of his ranking Fox will get to play several more events in the US in 2023 including the Arnold Palmer Championship and the Masters.

Fox has a best of 19^th in six starts in this week’s event so it has not been all that good to him but with the confidence he has built courtesy of such a great past twelve months it will be interesting to see how he performs this week.

Fox will be joined in the field by fellow New Zealander Daniel Hillier who gets to play his third European Tour event as a cardholder, having gained his card via the Challenge Tour in 2022 and played the Australian PGA and Open Championships in November/December.

Perth golfers Min Woo Lee and Jason Scrivener are also in the field.

Lee has missed the cut in two of his previous three appearances in Abu Dhabi and been 35^th in the other while Scrivener produced his equal best ever finish on the DP World Tour when runner-up in this event behind Tyrrell Hatton two years ago.

The event carries prizemoney of US$9 million.

Tee Times

Aaron Baddeley – file photo Bruce Young

Aaron Baddeley, playing on sponsor’s exemption at this week’s Sony Open, has finished in a share of 7^th place in the event at the Waialae Country Club in Honolulu and as a result will assure himself of a start in next week’s American Express event in La Quinta.

Baddeley who was an alternate for next week’s event, earns the right to play by finishing inside the top ten this week and continues his push to regain the PGA Tour playing rights he has owned since first playing the PGA Tour in 2003.

Interestingly, it was in one of his first PGA Tour events as a cardholder, that he finished runner-up after a playoff to Ernie Els in this very event in 2003 so the Sony Open, or its equivalent, continues to be very good to him.

Baddeley is playing with limited status this season having lost his playing rights last year. He does gain entry into some events via a past champion category on occasions but the opportunity to get to play next week courtesy of his fine effort this week is a bonus for him.

Baddeley finished tied for 7^th and will earn a cheque close to US$250,000.

“My goal this week was just to get a little bit better every day, and I did that,” said the 41 year old two time Australian Open Champion. “Ball hitting was pretty spot on today. I can honestly say I think I hit one shot offline today. I haven’t done that in forever.”

Baddeley expressed after this final round of 65 just how difficult it is playing without guaranteed status on the PGA Tour.

“It’s definitely hard. It’s probably harder on my family I would say than it is on me because it’s like, oh, you try and make plans and then you either get an invite or you’re top 10 or you Monday qualify or you don’t Monday qualify and you get back home.”

Baddeley was also asked how he would assess his career to date.

“I mean, if I was going to be honest, I’d say disappointing. Sort of coming out if I was 18, 19, 20, if you said I’d only won four times and hadn’t won a major at 41, I would have said — I would not have agreed with you.

“But I can honestly say I feel like my best golf is in front of me, just with how simplified Mike has made my game, and to be able to come into a week like this not really hitting it very well to then having one of my best ball-striking rounds ever, that’s pretty cool.

“It’s nice to know that it doesn’t need to be perfect to start a week to have a good week.”

Adam Scott was also in line for a top ten before a bogey at the 17^th and then failing to birdie the last saw him finish in a share of 21st place. Consecutive weekend rounds of 67 followed a round of 66 on Friday and saw Scott improve over the final 54 holes but his faltering finish proved costly.

“It was fairly solid stuff without anything really happening for me,” said Scott. “I liked some of the things that I worked on throughout the week and felt like it’s in a good spot going forward, that’s for sure. Probably just need some practice. I haven’t really practiced since before December.

“I tried to take a bit of a break and came to Kapalua underdone, and I think I’m just starting to get warmed up now.

“But I like — I can take some good stuff out of these two weeks with where the game is at and kind of a theme for the year going forward maybe.”

The event was won by two time Presidents Cup player, Si Woo Kim, whose final round of 64 earned him a one shot victory over Hayden Buckley and completed the Korean’s fourth PGA Tour title but his first since the American Express event in early 2021.

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Kazuma Kobori and Mizuki Hashimoto – with their trophies – photo Golf Australia

New Zealand sensation Kazuma Kobori has today become just the third New Zealander since World War 11 to win the Australian Men’s Amateur Championship, the 21-year-old edging clear of a congested final round leaderboard to win by two shots following a final round of 66 at the New South Wales Golf Club.

He joins Michael Campbell 1992 and Tae Koh (2014) as New Zealanders to win the title in that period.

Kobori, whose sister Momoka is making her mark in the professional ranks after a successful collegiate career at Pepperdine University, won the New Zealand PGA Championship four years ago at the age of just 17^, and adds this significant title to his impressive resumé.

Kobori took a three way share of the lead into the final round along with Japan’s Taishi Moto and Ireland’s Robert Moran but with Moran only able to record a round of 79 on day four and Moto unable to match the brilliance of his eight birdie final round with the consistency needed to stay in the fight, Kobori edged clear when he birdied the 16^th to Moto’s bogey and the cushion had been established.

Kobori won by two over Moto and England’s Arron Edwards Hill.

In the women’s championship, Japan’s Mizuki Hashimoto held off spirited final round challenges from her fellow countrywoman, Saki Baba and Queensland’s Justice Bosio to win by just one shot over the latter pair.

Hashimoto was also the Women’s Asia Pacific Champion in 2021.

Bosio, from Caboolture on the Sunshine Coast, finished runner-up for the second consecutive year, having been defeated by New Zealand’s Fiona Xu twelve months ago.

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Jon Rahm – file photo

A stunning final round of 63 has seen Jon Rahm come from seven shots off the 54 hole lead and win the Sentry Tournament of Champions by two over long-time leader, Collin Morikawa with a further two shots back to Tom Hoge and Max Homa.

After being twice runner-up in five previous starts in the event at Kapalua on Maui, it was perhaps justice for the still only 28 year old Spaniard who will remain in 5th place in the World Ranking despite the win.

To add further lustre to his win, Rahm was forced to overcome a bogey at his very first hole before unleashing five birdies in his next eight holes to turn in 32 and then added four birdies and an eagle on the way home to sweep past a faltering Morikawa who had led or co-led from his opening 64.

Morikawa still led with five holes to go but bogeys at the 14^th 15^th and 16^th and Rahm’s brilliant finish which included an eagle from ten feet at the 16^th saw the lead change and although Morikawa birdied the last it was all a case of too little too late.

“You never want to see somebody have a bad day down the stretch,” said Rahm. “But I feel like with that lead he had I needed to play really good and he needed to make a couple mistakes.

“Obviously everything turned with that run on 12, 13, 14 and making that eagle putt on 15. At that point I got in the thick of things and never did I think that going into my third shot on 17 I was going to have a one-shot lead.

“That’s when I had to change a bit of the mindset of chasing and needing birdies to, All right, let’s get this up-and-down, hopefully birdie 18 and give ourselves the best chance.

“Last year, I feel like I played an amazing tournament, I could have won it. To come back this year and shoot a very low score again, I mean, I’m what, 60-under par in these last two tournaments? (Laughing.) It would have been tough to shoot that low twice and not win it. So I’m glad I had the chance and I’m glad I did it.”

Rahm was referring to the 33 under par he recorded 12 months ago only to lose to Cameron Smith.

Morikawa was burned by the demise and said as much when asked his thoughts after the round.

“Sadness. I don’t know. It sucks,” he said. “You work so hard and you give yourself these opportunities and just bad timing on bad shots and kind of added up really quickly.

Don’t know what I’m going to learn from this week, but it just didn’t seem like it was that far off. It really wasn’t. Yeah, it sucks.”

Adam Scott was the only Australian in the field and finished in 29^th place amongst the field of 38 who finished the event.

The PGA Tour now moves to Honolulu for the traditional follow up to the Tournament of Champions where Scott will be joined by fellow Australians Aaron Baddeley, Cam Davis, Harrison Endycott and New Zealander Danny Lee.

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