Newly turned professional wins LIV Series Bangkok


Eugenio Lopez Chacarra – photo Jonathan Ferrey Getty Images / Liv Golf

A 22 year old recently turned professional, Eugenio Lopez-Chacarra, has given his career the ultimate boost by taking out the Liv Series Bangkok event by three shots over Patrick Reed and in doing so has not only won the US$4 million first prize in the individual event but another US$750,000 as a member of the winning team.

Spain’s Lopez-Chacarra, the world number two amateur and star in his time at Oklahoma State before turning professional three months ago, was playing his fifth event as a professional having competed in four of the six prior Liv Golf series but has recorded only midfield finishes to date.

This week he shared the lead after an opening round of 65 and after following that impressive start with a second round of 63 he led into the third round by three and although he was unable to build any momentum early in his final round he was able to complete his final nine in 33 and win by three.

Predictably the winner was thankful for the opportunity that LIV Golf has provided and the significant financial boost to his career.

“I mean, it’s great. What LIV Golf is doing for golf and for everyone is something that I couldn’t react and I couldn’t be more proud to be here. I’m learning a lot.

“I’m playing with the best players in the world, and that’s what I’ve wanted to do since I was little and I’m learning from each of them in particular these guys by my side. They’re trying to help me as much as I can and I’m always there learning, and it’s been a dream, and I can’t be more excited for the next years to come.”

The field was forced to sit out close to two hours as an electrical storm hit the Bangkok area but while the winner has struggled a little early in his round he was unfazed by the delay.

“I just stayed patient, and I feel like the rain and the cold out on 15 helped me a lot. I needed some time off. I was kind of pretty nervous, and being with my family, my coach and my best friend Gonzalo kind of helped me relax and just see how life is and how nice is my life right now.

Referring to a chip in on the 15th the winner said; “When I was on 15, It was an easy shot, downhill, a little wet, but it came out like I wanted to, and I think that was big momentum coming into the last three holes, and here I am right now. Couldn’t be any more proud.”

Paul Casey, Richard Bland and Sihwan Kim tied for 3rd one shot behind Reed.

The leading Australian, of the five in the event, was Marc Leishman who finished in a share of 10th, his best finish to date in the LIV Series. Leishman was unable to recover from a good start to the event, his final round of 70 seeing him lose ground.

Of the other Australians, Matt Jones was 15th, Jed Morgan 25th, Wade Ormsby 32nd and Cameron Smith 42nd.

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Presidents Cup Internationals impress in Las Vegas


Cameron Davis – file photo Bruce Young

Several of the international players who performed with distinction at the recent Presidents Cup have backed up with impressive starts to the PGA Tour event in Las Vegas, the Shriners Children’s Hospital Open.

Mito Pereira leads the event through 36 holes at 12 under and one ahead of Robby Shelton who is back on the PGA Tour after another good season on the Korn Ferry Tour.

The rising star of the game, Tom Kim, is tied for 3rd at 10 under par along with fellow International team member Si Woo Kim and Australian Cameron Davis put together a round of 66 to be tied for 6th at 9 under and just three from the halfway lead.

Pereira, the Kims and Davis were all part of the International Presidents Cup team and, as if buoyed by the experience, have followed up their encouraging weeks at Quail Hollow with an opportunity to contend late into this event at the TPC Summerlin.

Sure, the four golfers were part of a losing team but they all experienced some level of success during the week in Charlotte and they appear to have benefited from the experience of being involved at that level.

For Davis, who was out early on day two, he bogeyed early in his round but bounced back immediately with four birdies and an eagle in his next five holes and although he could only play the final nine holes in even par he had done enough o put himself right in the mix for the weekend.

Davis’ eagle came at the reachable par 4 15th which was his 6th hole of the day when he drove 308 yards to 10 feet and converted.

The Sydney golfer confirmed the benefit the experience at Quail Hollow had.

“Everything at Quail Hollow is a positive experience for me. I mean, it’s always great to experience playing really good golf under the highest pressure that I’ve experienced playing this game.

“I mean, it was so much fun being in that environment, but to actually have a few stretches there where I played some awesome golf. It’s one thing to tell yourself you can do it, but nothing to experience it. It’s just a few more memories in the back of my mind whenever I’m trying to hit an important shot that I can do this.

“That was just a great experience of dealing with pressure regardless of where your game’s at normally. You only experience that when you’re playing really good golf and you’ve worked your way into that position.

“When you start on the 1st tee every day at the Presidents Cup and it feels like you’re in the last round of a major, which I actually don’t know what it feels like being in a final group on the last day, you have to figure out a few strategies to make that work. And yeah, I got a lot of really good stuff out of that.

“My game’s in a decent place. Not playing super great in terms of how everything feels, but in terms of decision-making and the plan that Andrew and I are putting together around this place, it’s been working pretty well so far.”

Jason Day and Lucas Herbert are tied for 38th at 5 under par and seven from the lead, while Harrison Endycott produced an all important late birdie to sneak inside the cut line, making the weekend for his second time in three PGA Tour starts since earning his playing rights via the Korn Ferry Tour this season.

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Min Woo Lee finds form in Spain


Min Woo Lee – file photo PGA of Australia

Despite his significant talent and promise, Perth’s Min Woo Lee’s form in 2022 has not lived up to the high reputation he has, but in today’s second round of the acciona Open de Espana Presented by Madrid, (Spanish Open) the 24-year-old Perth golfer’s round of 65 has him in a share of 5th place and just two from the lead.

Lee, who failed to secure his PGA Tour card at the recent Korn Ferry Tour Finals, has missed three of his last four cuts and after beginning the year in 44th place in the world ranking, he has slipped to 73rd but today he showed the sort of game he has built a reputation for.

England’s Paul Waring and Scot Stephen Gallagher lead at the event at 12 under but Lee is in a group at 10 under and just two back, that group including the red hot favourite to win the event, Jon Rahm.

The event is the first of three consecutive tournaments in Spain for the DP World Tour and with just five events remaining including this until the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai in mid-November, a good week would assist Lee’s chances of reaching the season ending event.

Lee is currently 88th in the Race to Dubai rankings but needs to be inside the top 50 if he is to make it to the DP World Tour Championship so he has work to do but a good week here would assist his cause.

Queensland’s Maverick Antcliffe is 36th this week and eight from the lead and is the only other Australian to make the cut.

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Improvement for Marc Leishman in Bangkok


The Stonehill Golf Course’s 18th hole – photo Getty Images

Marc Leishman’s 2022 season has been well below that he has experienced in recent years, slipping from 36th in the world ranking at the end of 2021 to a current 63rd but an opening round of 66 in the 6th of the LIV Golf Series in Bangkok this week has him just one off the lead and in a share of 4th place as the 54 hole event heads into round two.

Leishman’s seven birdies at the Stonehill Golf Course have opened the door for a much improved result on the LIV Golf Tour having finished 30th and 48th in the two events he has played to date in the series.

Leishman’s only top ten in events in 2022 before switching to LIV Golf was when 10th at the opening event of the season at Kapalua and with three missed cuts in his five starts before signing to LIV, his disappointing season to date had been continuing.

His start this week will provide encouragement for not only Leishman but for tournament organisers in Australia who have recently announced his involvement in the Australian PGA and Australian Open Championships in late November and early December.

The event is led by three golfers, the recently turned professional Eugenio Chacarra, the former All American at Oklahoma State and the world number two amateur before turning to the paid ranks three months ago, recent VI Golf winner, Branden Grace, and England’s Richard Bland.

Grace won the Portland event and finished 3rd in the opening event of the series in London and as a result is currently in second place in the standings behind Dustin Johnson.

Queensland’s Jed Morgan, the current Australian PGA Champion, recorded his best round of the series to date when he was round in 67 to be tied for 6th. Morgan’s best finish in five starts on the LIV Golf Series has been when 26th in Boston so this represents an encouraging turnaround for him.

Of the other Australians, Wade Ormsby is 21st, Matt Jones 31st and Cameron Smith a perhaps surprising 41st.

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LIV Golf Series reaches Asia


Will Cam Smith and caddie Sam Pinfold be celebrating again this week?

LIV Golf hits Asia for the first occasion this week when the 6th in their eight event 2022 schedule, is played in the Province of Pathum Thani in Thailand.

The Stonehill Golf Course plays host to the event so soon after its opening this year, the work of American designer Kyle Phillips being exposed to the world for the first time this week.

Five Australians are in the field headed by Cameron Smith whose win in Chicago and 4th place on his Liv Golf debut in Boston a month ago has him in 3rd place in the season’s points table for individual standings behind Dustin Johnson and Branden Grace.

Smith will be joined by fellow countrymen and now LIV Series regulars, Marc Leishman, Matt Jones, Wade Ormsby and Jed Morgan.

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Another impressive week for New Zealand golfers


Ryan Fox – reaches an all time high in DP World Tour and World rankings – photo Getty Images

For the second week in succession New Zealand golfers have performed with distinction on their respective professional tours.

Last week, Daniel Hillier won his second event on the European Challenge Tour and Steve Alker finished in a share of the runner-up position in a PGA Tour Champions event in the US and, this week, the roll continued with Ryan Fox winning his third European Tour event, Lydia Ko finishing third in an LPGA Tour event and Hillier again performing well when finishing 4th in another Challenge Tour event.

Fox, continuing his liking for and fine performances on some of Britain’s best links layouts, followed up his Saturday 65 with a final round of 68 at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship at St Andrews to win by one over Callum Shinkwin and Alex Noren, with Rory McIlroy another shot back in a share of 4th place with Antoine Rozner.

Fox’s win and the accompanying €800,000 ($NZ1.4 million) will see him move to third place in DP World Tour rankings and from 47th to a projected all time high of 25th in the World Rankings.

Fox began the year outside the top 200 in the world so his jump in the rankings is one of the biggest in the game and his current position guarantees him a debut at the Masters in 2023.

That the win followed three missed cuts and a withdrawal in his last five starts, further reflects the significance of the win and is just reward for a season that has not only seen him win earlier in the year but one where he has also suffered some frustrating near misses with three runner-up finishes.

“Yeah, very satisfying,” said Fox when asked about finally getting across the line again. “A couple of really good chances and didn’t get the job done, and had a couple — which can’t do anything about. I felt like for the most part, I controlled everything really well today. Last three holes, relatively easy par off the last, yeah, I can’t put words on everything at the moment to be honest.”

As to the likelihood of a start at the Masters in April, Fox was excited by the prospect of making his debut in the one major he has yet to play.

“I certainly hope that’s the case. Tim (Barter) mentioned it as I walked off the 18th green, and that’s sort of one major I haven’t ticked off yet so that would be pretty cool to get that in the mail. Obviously I would love to keep playing how I’m playing at the end of the year.

“When I started the year, I think I was well outside of 200 in the world, so to even be talking about going to the Masters is pretty incredible. I have a couple of mates I made a bet with a long time ago that I would take them there, so I’ll be expecting a few texts later on tonight when they wake up.”


Lydia Ko in action this week – photo Getty Images

Lydia Ko finished third in the LPGA Tour’s Ascendant LPGA event in Texas, her 10th top five finish of the year.

Ko’s final round of 65 saw her fall just two short of the winner Charley Hull but she has moved to the top of the Race to the Globe Rankings as a result of the consistency of her performances.

Ko also leads the stroke averages on the LPGA Tour and while some way behind Minjee Lee on the money list, her consistency has proven to be her greatest asset in 2022. Lee’s win at the lucrative US Women’s Open has been the catalyst for the West Australian’s huge lead in money earnings in 2022.

Daniel Hillier’s 4th place finish in a European Challenge Tour event in France might not have carried the profile and glamour of the efforts by Fox and Ko but in many respects his efforts was perhaps even more important for the Wellingtonian as it has now assured him a place on the DP World Tour next season.

Hillier entered the week in 13th place in the Road to Mallorca rankings following his win last week and with the leading twenty players at season’s end earning the right to play at the higher level next season he needed another solid finish to consolidate his standing.

Hillier has now moved to 7th in the Road to Mallorca rankings and with just three events remaining he is a lock to advance.

Hillier shared the halfway lead this week and while unable to convert that into another win he will be delighted what his finish has brought him in terms of his future.


Daniel Hillier – photo Getty Images

SCORES  – ALFRED DUNHILL

SCORES – ASCENDANT LPGA CHAMPIONSHIP

SCORES – EUROPEAN CHALLENGE TOUR EVENT

 

 

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Daniel Hillier leads again in France

Daniel Hillier – photo Getty Images

New Zealand’s Daniel Hillier has set about consolidating the standing his victory in last week’s European Challenge Tour event has given him on the Road to Mallorca Order of Merit, taking a share of the lead at the halfway mark of Hopps Open de Provence in Mallemort in France.

Hillier, who moved to 13th in the standings following his win last week, has already staked his claim for a position inside the top 20 at season’s end and if he is able to do so then he will be playing the DP World Tour next season.

The Wellingtonian, who won the Australian Junior Championship, two New Zealand Junior Championships and two New Zealand Amateur Championships in a stellar career before turning professional in late 2019, has for some time been heralded as perhaps New Zealand’s brightest emerging prospects.

“I’m pretty happy with my work, especially today,” he said. “I got off to a bit of a shaky start first round, I actually made a good par save on 18 and I guess that gave me some momentum, I managed to come back strong in that first round and followed it up today with a good one.

“You really need to have control of the ball flight out there. My caddy and I have been working really well together, we’ve been picking the wind and getting some good numbers. I think I was five under on the par fives today which helps. If you put it in play on the par fives, birdie is in play and sometimes eagle.”

Hillier shares the halfway lead with England’s Bailey Gill, the duo lead by two ahead of South Africa’s Bryce Easton, Sweden’s Oscar Lengden and Robbie van West, of the Netherlands, and Hillier was pleased with his second round effort which he filed without a blemish.

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Despite prizemoney stagnation Alfred Dunhill Links attracts stars


Australasian Tour Order of Merit winner- Jed Morgan – one of 14 Australians in the field – photo Bruce Young

Like events of similar nature on other tours throughout the world, this week’s Alfred Dunhill Links event at St Andrews, Carnoustie and Kingsbarns in Scotland, has proven to be one of the most popular events on the DP World Tour.

Since its inaugural staging in 2001, when bad weather threatened to throw a dampener on the new concept of professionals playing with amateur partners in the St Andrews area in October, the event has grown into a must play for many, including some of Europe’s best.

But the event has also provided an opportunity for a mix of players from other tours to play a relatively lucrative event which they would seldom otherwise receive.

If there is a disappointment for the event, it is that the prizemoney which was US$5 million 21 years ago, remains the same today, highlighting an event which was considered at one stage to be amongst the most lucrative on the European Tour, but now just average in that regard.

In addition to a high class European Tour field however, leading money winners from the PGA Tour of Australasia, the South African Sunshine Tour and the Asian Tour get their chance to compete for significantly higher prizemoney than is the case on their own tours, so the attraction of that, along with the possibility to team with family members, friends and stars from other sports and the entertainment industry is a carrot too good to refuse for many.

The AT&T Pebble Beach Pro Am and the New Zealand Open are two other highly successful examples of a similar concept, both now considered amongst the most popular and enjoyable events to play on their respective tours.

For the amateurs who so regularly turn up to play the event, not only do they get to play in the heat of the battle in a bona fide European Tour event, they get to play on two Open Championship layous, The Old Course at St Andrews and Carnoustie and another outstanding layout of the region, Kingsbarns.

The leading ten money winners from the top thirty of the PGA Tour of Australasia’s 2022/2023 money list get their opportunity headed by Jed Morgan whose win in the Australian PGA Championship in January kick started his career. Morgan, who has played all five LIV Golf events in 2022, will take up membership of the DP World Tour at the completion of this season as a result of leading the Australasian Tour money list.

Europe’s leading stars including Rory McIlory, Matthew Fitzpatrick and Shane Lowry are in this week’s field, taking the opportunity to play with family members as a means of thanking them for the support they have provided throughout their careers.

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Steve Alker extends Charles Schwab Cup lead


Steve Alker – file photo courtesy of USGA

Amidst the significant interest generated in world golf by the Presidents Cup battle in North Carolina, New Zealand’s Steve Alker continued his amazing run on the PGA Tour Champions with a share of the runner-up position at the Pure Insurance Championship at Pebble Beach.

Alker finished one shot behind Steve Flesch and in a share of second place with Ernie Els and Paul Stankowski, adding yet another US$161,000 to his earnings in 2022 and again stretching his lead in the Charles Schwab Cup.

Alker has now earned US$2.730 million in on course earnings in 2022 and leads the Charles Schwab Cup by some US$259,000 over Padraig Harrington.

It was Alker’s 13th top five of the season in his 19 starts to date which includes three victories and now three runner-up finishes.

After Padraig Harrington had threatened to challenge Alker for the lead in the season long Charles Schwab Cup contest with three wins in his last eight starts, Alker is back in full charge.

Harrington did not play this week and their rivalry will likely recommence at the Constellation Furyk and Friends event in Jacksonville in two weeks-time.

Alker made the perfect start to the final round at the iconic Pebble Beach Links layout when trailing by one heading into day three. A birdie at the first was followed by an eagle at the 2nd and he was on track for a 4th victory of the year before two quick bogeys.

A bogey at the par 3 17th would prove costly but it was yet another outstanding week for the 51 year old.

“No, it was pleasing,” said Alker. “I struggled last week with my game a little bit, especially down the stretch, then just kind of got it together this week. I enjoy playing here anyway. So I got it together, gave myself a chance, hung in today and got a super start.

“It was a little bit topsyturvy today, but I should have got a few more early on. I had a good chance at I think 11 and again at 13, hit some nice wedges in there. If I just converted a little bit earlier, I might have been right there. No, pleased with the week anyway.

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New Zealand’s Daniel Hillier closes in on DP World Tour card


Daniel Hillier – photo Getty Images

New Zealand golf now appears likely to have another representative playing the DP World Tour in 2023 following the success of Wellingtonian, Daniel Hillier, in a Challenge Tour event in Europe this weekend.

Hillier produced a stunning final round of 64 to win the Swiss Challenge at  Golf Saint Apollinaire, Folgensbourg in France and the 24 year old now moves up 13 places to 13th in the Race to Mallorca rankings in which he needs to be inside the top 20 at season’s end to graduate to the DP World Tour.

With another four events remaining before the Challenge Tour winds up with the Grand Final in Mallorca in early November, Hillier still has work to do but this week’s victory has given him an important cushion as he heads into a crucial period in his professional career.

Hillier began the final round four shots from the lead and tied for 8th but a ten birdie round swept him into the lead and birdies at his final two holes allowed him to win by two over Korea’s Ko Jeong weon.

“That was pretty unbelievable,” he said. “I played really solid on the front nine and didn’t miss too many greens. I hit some of the best wedge shots I’ve hit in a long time and gave myself a lot of really good chances. I holed a couple of clutch putts to keep the momentum going and then managed to birdie five of my last six holes.

“It was a crazy day and I felt like I was in autopilot. I’ve been working on my short game a lot in the last couple of years and it’s something that has really let me down in the past. To be able to hole those putts under pressure today just shows I am doing some of the right things and now I just need to keep my head down and hope the wins keep coming.

“This is massive for me being towards the end of the season. I’ve moved inside the top 20 and now I’m in a strong position to get my DP World Tour card for next season. The jobs not done yet so I need to play as well as I can for the final few events.”

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