Cameron Smith – hits his tee shot at the 2nd today – photo R&A via Getty
The 13 strong Australasian contingent have generally fared well on the opening day of the 150th Open Championship at St Andrews, Cameron Smith leading the way after an opening round of 67 has him in a share of 3rd place and three shots off the lead of American, Cameron Young.
Smith was out in the morning wave of players on day one and put together a near flawless 5 under par round, his only real blemish coming when his tee shot at the par 3 11th missed the green left and a little long and he was unable to get up and down.
He had, though birdied, the 10th and then did so at the 12th on either side of the bogey to maintain the momentum he had built through his opening nine of 3 under 33. His only other birdie would come at the last when he drove the green and two putted from long range to walk from the green two from the lead of Young who would later birdie the last to move three clear.
Over and hour later, Rory McIlroy would also birdie the last to move into outright second place and one ahead of Smith but the Australian, who has shown a capacity to play the big events well in his still relatively young career, has started well.
This was Smith’s first exposure to St Andrews under Open Championship conditions although he did play well there as an amateur at the St Andrews Links event before turning professional.
“I think it was nice to get out there this morning,” said Smith referring to his early tee time. “It’s a little bit fresh this morning, but there wasn’t much wind around for the first three or four holes and just nice to get off to a good start. Couple of birdies in the first five there and really set the tone for the day.
“Hit lots of good lag putts today. It was probably some of the best lag putting I think I’ve ever done. My putt on the 2nd managed to go in from a fair distance. That was pretty decent. But had so many — seemed like I had so many 80, 90, 100-footers out there today and did a good job of getting them down in two.”
“Obviously an afternoon tee time tomorrow, I think the crowd might get a little bit louder,” added Smith when asked about the atmosphere of the opening day. “But plenty of Aussies in the crowd, which is nice to hear.
“And places like this just have a certain feel to them, and almost gives you goosebumps. Standing on the 1st tee at St Andrews in an Open is something that I’ve only dreamt of doing as a kid, and for it to all come real and to have the support I did out there today was pretty cool.”
Brad Kennedy is the next best of the Australasians at 4 under par 68 and tied for 5th. His was also an early morning round and he raced to 4under through six holes before bogeys at the 8th and 9th saw him turn in 34. The 48-year-old Queenslander would, though, birdie the 10th and 11th and although he dropped shots at the next two holes he got up and down from just short of the green at the last for one final birdie for an outstanding start.
Having missed the cut in his only other three appearances at the Open Championship, it was an encouraging start for Kennedy who has been in good form in 2022 in events he has played in Japan and Australia.
Min Woo Lee was out in the very first group of the day and when he double bogeyed his third hole after tangling with a gorse bush, things did not look good for the 23 year old.
Lee did, however, respond in style by playing the next 11 holes in 6 under including an eagle from long range at the 14th to get to 4 under for the tournament and at one stage during that stretch he actually led the event. He would, however, three putt from long range at the 17th but his 3 under par 69 has him in 13th place and five off the lead of Young’s lead.
“Yeah, my shot out of the gorse, my caddie was a bit hesitant on the shot, said Lee. “And I thought it was okay. And he was, like, the gorse is pretty thick. And I was like, I should be okay. And after I hit, I said, welcome to The British Open.
“No, it was a great recovery, great recovery. And the one thing I wasn’t, haven’t been good at is bouncing back from bad shots. So amazing 9-iron into the next hole and made a birdie there and kind of kicked off the round. It wasn’t nerves or anything, just a bad drive to make a double.”
Lee was philosophical about his chances this week and is doing his best to keep things in perspective despite his encouraging start.
“It’s a long way to go. But actually making a cut, I’ll be happy with actually making a cut. I haven’t made many cuts this year. And that’s not the mentality. But I am just trying to find something right now. It’s been a bit of a struggle this year. So I’m trying.”
Lucas Herbert was another to being well with an outward nine of 34 but could not build on that start and played the back nine in even par for a round of 70 and at 2 under he is tied for 27th.
New Zealand’s Ryan Fox recorded three birdies and two bogeys for his round of 1 under 71 to be tied for 34th.
Of the other Australasians in the field, Adam Scott and Jason Scrivener are at even par 72, Ben Campbell, Anthony Quayle and Matt Griffin 74, an out of form, Marc Leishman, had 76, Dimi Papadatos 77 and Jed Morgan 79.
Similar conditions tomorrow should see a cut score around even par but they are all chasing the two shot leader Cameron Young who is playing in his first Open Championship.
Young is in his first season on the PGA Tour and is already making a statement having finished runner-up twice and third on three occasions and risen to 32 in the world.
“I think we worked our way around the golf course really well,” said Young. “I don’t think that I played a perfect round of golf. I think it just kind of — I scored really well. And I think we thought our way around kind of the way you have to out there.”
Surprisingly, especially given his great rookie season to date, Young is working with a new caddie and was asked the reason behind the decision to change.
“Quite a few things. I kind of, as much as I’ve had a solid year, there’s been a couple things missing, I think. I haven’t won anything, and that was just something that could change to kind of exhaust all my options to see what I could do better. That was just something that we as a team decided was probably best for my golf.
“He (Chad) brings a lot of experience to the table. I know he’s been working on the PGA TOUR for about 20-ish years. He’s worked for Vijay Singh, Nick Watney when he was No. 2 in the world.
“So I think being around people like that, he has — I mean, there’s no replacement for being around good golf and major championship golf for 20 years. There’s just a level of knowledge that is hard to find elsewhere. There’s a bunch of veteran guys out here like that. And I think that knowledge is kind of irreplaceable.”
Cameron Young – photo R&A via Getty Images
SCORES
Cameron Smith takes two shot lead into Saturday at St Andrews
Smith tees off at the last today – photo Stuart Franklin R&A via Getty images
Cameron Smith made a good start to the 150th Open Championship on day one but today he took things to another level with an outward nine of 31 and added one more birdie and an eagle on the way in to finish with a round of 64, and after the dust had settled he leads by two over Cameron Young and by three over Rory McIlroy and Viktor Hovland.
Smith holed a greater length of putts in any one round than any other golfer since such stats were first accumulated in 2004, perhaps the highlight coming with his massive putt across the green at the 14th for eagle and he was 8 under par through 14 holes.
Asked whether he felt an even lower score was in the offing after his outward nine of 31, Smith responded.
“Not really, to be honest. I knew that back nine I knew was going to be really hard. In and off the left the whole way in there isn’t the wind that right handers want. Like I said, just have to be really patient. Hit two really good shots into 14 and was able to get away with a 3 there, which was nice.”
He would safely negotiate the potentially dangerous closing holes and after his round he gave his thoughts on how he feels about what lies ahead.
“I think it’s just exciting to be leading The Open after a couple of days,” said Smith. “I think that experience tomorrow is going to be really cool. There’s a lot of Aussies in the crowd, it seems like. Had a lot of support the first couple of days and really can’t wait for the next couple.
“I think I’ve always done a pretty good job of just treating every round the same, to be honest. I think it’s going to be a really cool experience being out there. It has been this whole week. But I’ve always done a really good job of just doing the same thing, going through the same process every morning, making sure I feel the same — get on the range, hit the same shots. It’s very boring, but it does the trick.”
Asked what he might do given he leads the Open at the halfway stage Smith said: “I think probably try and stay up as much as I can tonight. I think I’m going to be a little bit tired. Just trying to have a really big sleep in. I’m not going to try to do anything for the morning. Sleep in, get on the bike, get the legs moving and get prepared as I normally would every other day.”
Smith of course is not the only Australian with chances heading into the weekend.
Adam Scott today – photo – Stuart Franklin R&A via Getty Images
Adam Scott’s bogey free 65 has him at 7 under and although six shots from Smith’s lead he is very much in the thick of things. His position is made even more impressive given he recovered from a horror start yesterday when 4 over through his first six holes – a remarkable comeback.
“Look, it was as good as the 65 was today,” said Scott referring to his comeback on day one. “I think getting back to even was huge yesterday. After six holes things weren’t feeling particularly good.
“So I’m really pleased with that. I did a lot of good stuff out there today. So hopefully more of that on the weekend.”
Scott’s close call in this event ten years ago still hurts the Queenslander, bogeys at the final four holes at Royal Lytham St Annes in 2012 costing him a first major title.
“You don’t need much extra motivation at an Open Championship. But anytime I think about letting one slip through my hands, it hurts.
“And it would be exciting if I shot a really great round tomorrow to tee off with a legitimate feeling that I’m in contention, not only for the fact that I haven’t really been in that position for a major for a little while, but also for the fact that I’ve had one hand on this jug, I feel like, and I’d like to put two on.”
This is Scott’s fifth Open Championship at St Andrews and was asked just how that experience over the layout will help over the weekend.
“I think it plays a factor around here. It really depends if it gets windy. If it gets windy, then I think it plays a big factor. But I think at these events, just experience in general can play a big factor at the Open Championship, when it comes down to it. Being able to know how to hit a shot or control a shot when you have to. Hopefully I get put in that situation.”
Min Woo Lee and Lucas Herbert are just another shot back and tied for 12th and seven from the lead.
The highlight for Lee was his 35-footer for eagle at the par 4 12th after driving the green while for Herbert four birdies in his opening ten holes had him on the edge of contention but it was a case of him holding on over the closing stages.
Brad Kennedy followed his opening 68 with an even par 72 and is tied for 25th, while Jason Scrivener and Anthony Quayle also made the cut at 1 under.
SCORES
Cameron Smith 3rd after opening round 67 at St Andrews
Cameron Smith – hits his tee shot at the 2nd today – photo R&A via Getty
The 13 strong Australasian contingent have generally fared well on the opening day of the 150th Open Championship at St Andrews, Cameron Smith leading the way after an opening round of 67 has him in a share of 3rd place and three shots off the lead of American, Cameron Young.
Smith was out in the morning wave of players on day one and put together a near flawless 5 under par round, his only real blemish coming when his tee shot at the par 3 11th missed the green left and a little long and he was unable to get up and down.
He had, though birdied, the 10th and then did so at the 12th on either side of the bogey to maintain the momentum he had built through his opening nine of 3 under 33. His only other birdie would come at the last when he drove the green and two putted from long range to walk from the green two from the lead of Young who would later birdie the last to move three clear.
Over and hour later, Rory McIlroy would also birdie the last to move into outright second place and one ahead of Smith but the Australian, who has shown a capacity to play the big events well in his still relatively young career, has started well.
This was Smith’s first exposure to St Andrews under Open Championship conditions although he did play well there as an amateur at the St Andrews Links event before turning professional.
“I think it was nice to get out there this morning,” said Smith referring to his early tee time. “It’s a little bit fresh this morning, but there wasn’t much wind around for the first three or four holes and just nice to get off to a good start. Couple of birdies in the first five there and really set the tone for the day.
“Hit lots of good lag putts today. It was probably some of the best lag putting I think I’ve ever done. My putt on the 2nd managed to go in from a fair distance. That was pretty decent. But had so many — seemed like I had so many 80, 90, 100-footers out there today and did a good job of getting them down in two.”
“Obviously an afternoon tee time tomorrow, I think the crowd might get a little bit louder,” added Smith when asked about the atmosphere of the opening day. “But plenty of Aussies in the crowd, which is nice to hear.
“And places like this just have a certain feel to them, and almost gives you goosebumps. Standing on the 1st tee at St Andrews in an Open is something that I’ve only dreamt of doing as a kid, and for it to all come real and to have the support I did out there today was pretty cool.”
Brad Kennedy is the next best of the Australasians at 4 under par 68 and tied for 5th. His was also an early morning round and he raced to 4under through six holes before bogeys at the 8th and 9th saw him turn in 34. The 48-year-old Queenslander would, though, birdie the 10th and 11th and although he dropped shots at the next two holes he got up and down from just short of the green at the last for one final birdie for an outstanding start.
Having missed the cut in his only other three appearances at the Open Championship, it was an encouraging start for Kennedy who has been in good form in 2022 in events he has played in Japan and Australia.
Min Woo Lee was out in the very first group of the day and when he double bogeyed his third hole after tangling with a gorse bush, things did not look good for the 23 year old.
Lee did, however, respond in style by playing the next 11 holes in 6 under including an eagle from long range at the 14th to get to 4 under for the tournament and at one stage during that stretch he actually led the event. He would, however, three putt from long range at the 17th but his 3 under par 69 has him in 13th place and five off the lead of Young’s lead.
“Yeah, my shot out of the gorse, my caddie was a bit hesitant on the shot, said Lee. “And I thought it was okay. And he was, like, the gorse is pretty thick. And I was like, I should be okay. And after I hit, I said, welcome to The British Open.
“No, it was a great recovery, great recovery. And the one thing I wasn’t, haven’t been good at is bouncing back from bad shots. So amazing 9-iron into the next hole and made a birdie there and kind of kicked off the round. It wasn’t nerves or anything, just a bad drive to make a double.”
Lee was philosophical about his chances this week and is doing his best to keep things in perspective despite his encouraging start.
“It’s a long way to go. But actually making a cut, I’ll be happy with actually making a cut. I haven’t made many cuts this year. And that’s not the mentality. But I am just trying to find something right now. It’s been a bit of a struggle this year. So I’m trying.”
Lucas Herbert was another to being well with an outward nine of 34 but could not build on that start and played the back nine in even par for a round of 70 and at 2 under he is tied for 27th.
New Zealand’s Ryan Fox recorded three birdies and two bogeys for his round of 1 under 71 to be tied for 34th.
Of the other Australasians in the field, Adam Scott and Jason Scrivener are at even par 72, Ben Campbell, Anthony Quayle and Matt Griffin 74, an out of form, Marc Leishman, had 76, Dimi Papadatos 77 and Jed Morgan 79.
Similar conditions tomorrow should see a cut score around even par but they are all chasing the two shot leader Cameron Young who is playing in his first Open Championship.
Young is in his first season on the PGA Tour and is already making a statement having finished runner-up twice and third on three occasions and risen to 32 in the world.
“I think we worked our way around the golf course really well,” said Young. “I don’t think that I played a perfect round of golf. I think it just kind of — I scored really well. And I think we thought our way around kind of the way you have to out there.”
Surprisingly, especially given his great rookie season to date, Young is working with a new caddie and was asked the reason behind the decision to change.
“Quite a few things. I kind of, as much as I’ve had a solid year, there’s been a couple things missing, I think. I haven’t won anything, and that was just something that could change to kind of exhaust all my options to see what I could do better. That was just something that we as a team decided was probably best for my golf.
“He (Chad) brings a lot of experience to the table. I know he’s been working on the PGA TOUR for about 20-ish years. He’s worked for Vijay Singh, Nick Watney when he was No. 2 in the world.
“So I think being around people like that, he has — I mean, there’s no replacement for being around good golf and major championship golf for 20 years. There’s just a level of knowledge that is hard to find elsewhere. There’s a bunch of veteran guys out here like that. And I think that knowledge is kind of irreplaceable.”
Cameron Young – photo R&A via Getty Images
SCORES
13 Australasians face Open Championship starter
Peter Thomson (5), Greg Norman (2) and Kel Nagle, Ian Baker Finch and Sir Bob Charles are those from Australasia to who have held aloft the Claret Jug aloft to date.
In world ranking order, Cameron Smith, Adam Scott, Ryan Fox (NZ) Lucas Herbert, Marc Leishman, Min Woo Lee, Brad Kennedy, Jason Scrivener, Anthony Quayle, Jed Morgan, Dimi Papadatos, Ben Campbell (NZ) and Matthew Griffin will play the 150th Open Championship and, irrespective of how they perform, they will look back in the fullness of time as being one of the lucky ones to have made up the field of 156 on this historic occasion.
With world ranking ranging from number 6 (Cameron Smith) to number 742 (Matthew Griffin) highlighting the broad nature of the qualifying criteria, the Open Championship brings together an eclectic mix of golfers via a range of means from throughout the world and the lineup of Australasians highlights that diversity.
Cameron Smith will play his fifth Open Championship, his best finish to date was when 20th at the 2019 version won by Shane Lowry in Northern Ireland. Last year he was 33rd but if has been just one poor round in each of his last two appearances which have cost him a significantly higher finish as was the case last week and if he can improve that aspect he stands a chance.
I thought Smith was good last week when finishing strongly at the Scottish Open to share 10th place which came after a couple of indifferent performances in the US. Smith appears on track to be the leading Australian and perhaps a contender for the title.
Amazingly, Adam Scott plays his 22nd Open Championship and has a best of runner-up in 2012. He struggled early in his career in this event but in more recent times he has begun to play the event closer to his overall standing in the game.
Scott gave the Scottish Open a miss last week preferring to prepare by easing his way into the major. His last start 14th at the US Open was encouraging enough and he did finish a meritorious 10th at St Andrews in 2015.
Ryan Fox has elevated his standing in the game considerably in 2022 and arrives at St Andrews as the third highest ranked Australasian in world men’s golf. He recent efforts at the Irish Open and in Germany and even last week when he recovered from a slow start to make the cut and then finish 47th at the Scottish Open suggests that his game is not too far from where it needs to be for him to better or equal his previous best in a major when 16th at the 2019 Open Championship.
Fox will have fond memories of his Open debut at St Andrews in 2015 as although he finished only 49th, it was an encouraging effort and a week later he won an event on the Challenge Tour which got him his European Tour card and the rest as they say is history.
Lucas Herbert will play his third Open Championship and although he has made only one cut and finished 51st then, he is a much more accomplished and credentialed player now with wins on both the European and USPGA Tours and as such commands some respect.
Herbert’s form has been a bit of a roller coaster in recent weeks but at his best he can do well this week. The question is whether he can produce it.
This will be Marc Leishman’s 11th Open Championship, his highlight being on this very layout when runner-up after a playoff to Zach Johnson in 2015. The event has been a bit of a roller coaster for Leishman however four missed cuts in those ten starts top go with three top 6 finishes.
Leishman’s most recent form is a concern, three missed cuts in his last four starts leaving a cloud over his chances of a repeat of the 2015 effort.
Min Woo Lee is another to be struggling with form at present, having missed four of his last six cuts after an impressive debut 14th at the Masters. In his two important lead-up events he missed the cut including when defending his title last week at the Scottish Open and finished well back in Ireland.
This will be only Lee’s second Open Championship having missed the cut last year.
Brad Kennedy, at the age of 47, gets to play his 4th Open Championship but he is yet to make a cut in any. The Gold Coast golfer earned his right to play via the Japan Tour’s Mizuno Open and has been playing well in Japan in recent starts with four consecutive top tens including a runner-up finish at his last event.
Kennedy has, in fact, recorded a total of eight top tens in 2022 in both Australia and Japan but of course this is very much a different level again.
Jason Scrivener just keeps getting better each and every season in professional golf. He impressed with a final round of 65 at the Scottish Open to finish 16th and two starts earlier he finished 3rd in a DP World Tour event in Sweden.
The South African born but now West Australian will tee it up for the second time in an Open Championship having missed the cut on debut last year.
Anthony Quayle plays his first Open Championship having gained a start via the Mizuno Open in Japan. The Gold Coast based golfer is again playing well in Japan this season having recorded three top 6 finishes in eight starts there this season along with a win at the Queensland PGA Championship earlier in the year. This, though, is a whole new level and despite the fact that he is an extremely talented young golfer he faces a big task.
Jed Morgan is another to be playing the Open Championship for the first occasion, his win in the PGA Tour of Australasia’s Order of Merit paving his way to St Andrews. The former Australian Amateur and current Australian PGA Champion is clearly a significant although he has struggled since that win in Brisbane in January and, although an emerging talent, this will test him out.
Dimi Papadatos is at St Andrews courtesy of a win at the Vic Open earlier this year, gaining one of the Open Championship spots on offer at that event. He continued to play well in ongoing events in Australia but over recent months in events on the European Challenge Tour, the form has dropped away.
Papadatos has one previous Open Championship appearance for a missed cut at Royal Portrush.
New Zealand’s Ben Campbell managed to secure his place in the field as a result of a runner-up finish at the Vic Open earlier in the year and gets to play his first Open Championship and his very first major. Campbell has played only sparingly in 2022 and so not a lot can be expected of the talented young golfer this week.
Matt Griffin is another to have struggled in 2022 although like Campbell he played his way into what will be his second Open Championship by finishing 3rd at the Vic Open. Griffin missed the cut in his only other start at the Open Championship in 2017 and his current form suggests that things would need to improve sharply for that record to be improved.
It is hard to go past Cameron Smith as Australasia’s only genuine chance of contending for the title and joining Peter Thomson and Kel Nagle as Open Championship winners from this region at St Andrews but the likes of Adam Scott and Ryan Fox might yet give some cheek during the course of the week.
Cameron Smith during his press conference this week – photo R&A and Getty
St Andrews – nothing quite like it – a personal perspective
St Andrews and the Open Championship go hand in hand – photo R&A
I have heard it so often and it happened to me.
On arrival in St Andrews for the very first time in 1973, I was a little underwhelmed by what I saw. I was there to caddy for the now late Australian golfer, Bob Shearer, at the Scottish Open in July of that year and after our first practice round I was struggling to understand just what all the fuss was about.
Admittedly, even though by then I had caddied in 20 or so tournaments and three of those for wins by Jumbo Ozaki and John Lister, I was still (at the age of 19) developing an understanding of golf courses and learning what made good golf courses good and vice versa.
By the end of that very first week at St Andrews, however, I had fallen in love with the not only the golf course but the township of St Andrews itself and, looking back now, it had opened my eyes to the subtleties of links golf and just how a golf course which had staged its first Open Championship 100 years earlier, could still offer such intrigue and strategic demands. Another 49 years on, despite the changing face of golf technology, it still does.
Shearer finished 14th that week with a score of 9 over par, the winner being a man who I would go on to caddy for on many occasions, Graham Marsh, his winning score of 2 under par 286, giving him a six-shot victory over the superb English golfer, Peter Oosterhuis.
What I learnt that week was that the demands and difficulty of links golf on any given day are very much determined by the overhead elements as much as the layout which is being played, but also that a golf course which had, at that point, seen not a lot of change over so many years was still capable of challenging some of the world’s best.
When playing St Andrews you might walk past a bunker one day and wonder just why anyone would bother to put a bunker in a certain position and the next day you could well find yourself in the middle of that bunker. Certainly not unique to St Andrews, admittedly, but typical of links golf generally with those variations subject to changing conditions daily and at times even during the course of any one day where the changing tide, from the adjacent North Sea in St Andrews’ case, can influence the direction and strength of the winds.
It was not only the golf course that left an indelible mark on me at the time, it was the township itself, so full of the history of golf and education (it is a university town) and character and that I was there in the middle of summer, that made it such a fun place to be for a young impressionable man with a passion for golf, life and history.
In mid-summer, daylight lasts to 10.30 pm or so in that region and I can recall in the days when caddies were required to survey the pin positions each morning, going out after a few beers at the 19th alongside the 18th to get the pin positions for the following day after they had been cut, or pinpointed at least, that evening.
In more recent years, pin positions have been made available to all on the first tee at all events avoiding an armada of caddies wandering around the golf course early in the morning viewing and sourcing such information, but having the opportunity of doing so late in the evening was another special memory I have for the venue.
The first time the Open Championship was played over 72 holes at St Andrews the winning score was 322 and it is interesting to see the progression in scores since. 300 was broken for the first time in James Braid’s 5th Open Championship victory in 1910 (299) and in general scores have continued to lower since.
Tiger Woods’ remarkable victory in 2000, when he produced a 19 under par score of 269 is still the lowest winning total at St Andrews. Woods not once visited one of The Old Course’s, at times, notorious bunkers throughout his 72 holes. It must still go down as one of one of Wood’s most emphatic and clinical victories.
Woods won by 8 shots over Thomas Bjorn that week and even though he won the US Open a few weeks earlier by 15 shots his effort at St Andrews was him at his very best.
The history, mystique, intrigue, design subtlety and longevity of the golf course along with its standing as the Home of Golf and the history surrounding the town itself, make St Andrews a must visit for all golf fans and this year’s 150th staging of the Open Championship is one of those week’s that those who get to be on site will forever look back and say ‘I was there’.
Alker finishes 3rd at Senior Players Championship
Steve Alker – photo Montana Pritchard PGA of America.
New Zealand’s Steve Alker has extended his lead in the Charl Schwab season long race by finishing in a share of 3rd place with Ernie Els at the Bridgestone Senior Players Championship in Akron in Ohio.
For Alker it was his 9th top three finish of the season and his cheque for US$198,000 this week takes his PGA Tour Champions earnings in 2022 to US$2,215,000.
Alker’s bogey at the last effectively cost him US$42,000 but given that he now leads the money list by some US$810,000 over Steve Stricker, he is doing ok.
“I just didn’t have it today,” said the soon to be 51 year old who joined the PGA Tour Champions as a Monday qualifier at the Boeing event in August of last year.
“I just made too many bogeys over the weekend, that was the difference. I made one bogey in 36 holes, first 36, and I don’t know how many I made over the weekend. It was a lot.
Alker will now set his sights on the Senior Open Championship at Gleneagles in Scotland where he is expected to be once again in contention for a ‘senior major’.
“British Senior a couple weeks,” said Alker. “My wife’s English, we’re going to see some family and things. We’ll get over tomorrow and just get up there early and get to know the course. Looking forward to it.”
Queensland’s Rod Pampling also had another good week when he finished tied for 13th and now has earnings over US$522,000 in 2022.
The winner, Jerry Kelly, moved into third place in the standings when he won by one shot over Stricker, winning his 10th PGA Tour Champions title and gets to play in next year’s Players Championship.
RESULTS
Cameron Smith improves to 10th as Xander Schauffele wins Scottish Open
Xander Schauffele – photo Getty Images / DP World Tour
Cameron Smith staged an impressive weekend recovery over a windswept Renaissance Club at the Genesis Scottish Open and has finished in a share of 10th in the lead-up to this coming week’s Open Championship.
Smith’s second round of 75 cost him any chance of contending for the title but he bounced back over the weekend to move from 49th to 10th over the final 36 holes and will no doubt head up the road to St Andrews feeling good about his game.
The tournament was won by Olympic Gold Medal winner, Xander Schauffele, who continues his recent form having won at his last start at the Travelers Championship last month and the Pro Am event in Ireland last week and he must now enter calculations as a genuine chance for success at the 150th open Championship.
Schauffele will move from his current 11th place in the world ranking to 5th given the strength of this week”s field
Schauffele was delighted to have been the first player to win an event jointly sanctioned between the DP World Tour and the PGA Tour of America.
“It’s great to win the first event that’s co-sanctioned between the two tours. It was an incredible week. Genesis has always put on — the tournaments I have played they have always put on incredible events and I knew this was going to be no different and what an honour to win in the Home of Golf.
“I’m playing some of the best golf of my life and capitalising on playing really well. There’s a lot of times all the top players, any player playing professionally plays very well but they don’t get everything out of it and I feel like I’ve been successful in getting the most out of my game.”
Looking ahead to next week Schauffele was asked how he felt about heading to St Andrews.
“To be honest, a bit rushed. I’ve never played St Andrews. I’ve never played the Old Course South so a lot of homework to do.
“I have to use this time, going down at eleven o’clock at night to my advantage to try to prepare to the best of my ability. Going to rely a lot on my caddie to do that. I’m tired. I’ve played a bit and I need a rest and I need to get ready for the week. I’m not even thinking about Sunday quite yet. I need to prepare.”
Smith headed the Australians in 10th place but Jason Scrivener also had a good week when he finished just one shot behind Smith and in a share of 16th place.
Scrivener produced the best of the day final round of 65 to jump 37 places and he too now heads to St Andrews for just his second start at The Open Championship, earning over 100,000 euro for his effort this week.
Ryan Fox finished 47th after a final round of 69.
RESULTS
Steve Alker leads a senior major once again
Steve Alker – file photo USGA
Steve Alker has moved into a share of the lead at the Bridgestone Senior Players Championship at the famed Firestone Country Club, a second round of 66 having him in a share of the halfway lead in what is one of the PGA Tour Champions major titles.
Alker, who won his fourth PGA Tour Champions title and his first major at this level when successful in the recent KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship in May, birdied three successive holes in the middle of his back nine to close in on the leaders who then dropped shots to allow Alker to lead along with Alex Cejka, Tim Petrovic and Joe Durant.
Rod Pampling is also well placed in 13th position and just three from the lead.
Alker expressed satisfaction with his effort on day two especially given the demanding test that the layout at the Firestone Country Club provides.
“First of all, it’s nice to have a bogey-free round at Firestone,” said the 50 year old New Zealander.
“It’s that type of golf course, you’ve just got to keep going. But kind of everything, drove it in the fairway for the most part today and hit a lot of greens except for the last few. I scrambled nicely the last couple holes.
“Overall, just a solid day. Kind of kept my nose clean and haven’t done too much wrong. A few more putts would be nice, but yeah, at Firestone, just fairways and greens around here.”
Alker’s only a month or so away from the anniversary of his debut on the Champions Tour at the Boeing event last August and it has been quite a ride since. He leads the money list in 2022 by a huge margin over Miguel Angel Jimenez and remains thankful for what the tour has offered him.
“It’s gone super quick. It’s amazing. Boeing’s in like whatever, four, five weeks, like wow. Yeah, it’s just great. As I say, it’s just great to be out here and have the opportunity to play these golf courses, play against these guys. It’s been huge. I’ve learned a heck of a lot. As I’ve gone on the whole year, just learning things about just playing on the golf courses and getting to know the guys a bit better. It’s been a lot of fun.
SCORES
Cameron Tringale retains three shot lead in Scotland
Cameron Tringale in action today – photo Getty Images DP World Tour
Despite being the 54th ranked golfer in the world, 34 year old American Cameron Tringale has yet to win on the PGA Tour but he has opened up that possibility by taking a three shot lead over Gary Woodland and Doug Ghim at the Genesis Scottish Open at the Renaissance Club in North Berwick as the event heads into the weekend.
Tringale was 11 shots worse on day two than his brilliant opening 61 but it was enough to retain his opening round three shot lead as the gusty wins buffeting the links layout took their toll on a field which included 14 of the 15 leading ranked world players in the game.
“Well, it was definitely more difficult for me today,” said the leader. “Yesterday, it seemed pretty easy, and today, it seemed like every hole was a grind to make par.
“I can’t speak for everyone but my group struggled. Long putts, it’s so tough to judge how much the wind is going to hurt, and then you get a putt that’s where the wind is going sideways, and I mean, it might be a ball, two, a cup, even as close as seven, eight feet.”
Tringale has been on the PGA Tour since 2010 and has earned more then US$17 million but that first win at this level has proven to be elusive. This week’s Scottish Open is for the first time a full sanctioned event on both the PGA and DP World Tours so it may yet be that this week provides that milestone.
Despite not winning Tringale has been runner-up on four occasions and four times third in PGA Tour events so a breakthrough win would be justice for the Californian.
The round of the day came from Xander Schaufelle whose 5 under 65 jumped him 65 positions to a share of 4th and he is now just four from the lead after beginning round two eleven shot behind Tringale.
New Zealander Ryan Fox was another to benefit from a strong second round, his 2 under 68 moving him from outside the top 100 to 38th and inside the cutline after appearing as if he might have the weekend off.
Also in 38th place is Jason Scrivener while Cameron Smith in 49th place is the only other Australasian to make the cut in 49th place at 3 over and ten shots behind Tringale. Smith struggled to a round of 75 but has a chance over the weekend to sharpen his game for what lies ahead at St Andres next week.
Lucas Herbert missed the final 36 holes by one, Marc Leishman by two, Scott Hend by six, defending champion Min Woo Lee by eight and Maverick Antcliff by a massive 15 shots.
SCORES
Mixed results early for Australasians at Scottish Open
A day that began so promisingly for the Australian contingent at the Genesis Scottish Open did not end that way although Cameron Smith (15th), and Lucas Herbert and Jason Scrivener (28th) have made reasonable starts in the traditional Open Championship lead-up at the Renaissance Club in North Berwick.
On a breezy yet fine day, Scrivener, in particular, was quickly out of the blocks and through seven holes he had recorded four birdies and led the event and was still at 4 under through 10 holes before four bogeys over the closing stages along with a lone birdie left him at 1 under.
Cameron Smith, though, finished as the best of the Australians at 2 under and tied for 15th although a massive seven shots behind the tearaway leader Cameron Tringale who leads by three over fellow American Gary Woodland.
Smith reached the turn in 3 under 32 but was back in 36 for his round of 68 although like Scrivener and Herbert he will play in the afternoon field tomorrow.
Herbert, too, began well with three birdies in his first four holes but he was unable to capitalise on such a hot start and finished with a round of 69.
Marc Leishman continued his recent struggles when he opened with a round of 73 to be tied for 89th which, given he began with two early birdies, was particularly disappointing. Leishman will require a round under par tomorrow to be around for the weekend as he looks to a return to St Andrews next week where he lost a playoff for the 2015 Open Championship.
Last week’s runner-up in Ireland, Ryan Fox, never recovered from an outward nine of 4 over and finished with 74 to be tied for 112th and he too has a big task tomorrow if he is to be around for the weekend. The cut appears at this stage at least as if it will be around 1 or 2 over so Fox will need 68 or better it would seem to play all 72 holes here.
Scott Hend also had 74 but for the defending champion Min Woo Lee it was a nightmare start and finish. Three bogeys in his first four holes was not helped by four consecutive bogeys to finish his round and at 7 over 77 he is in 148th place while Queensland’s Maverick Antcliff had 82.
SCORES
More at stake than just a title in Scotland
Min Woo Lee – with last year’s trophy but no PGA Tour card then – photo DP World Tour Getty Images
This week’s Genesis Scottish Open at the Renaissance Club in North Berwick offers an opportunity to not only win one of the European Tour’s more significant events, but, for the first time in the history of the event it provides the winner with a PGA Tour card.
The now closer alliance between the DP World Tour and the PGA Tour has resulted in a cross pollination of several events between the tours and this week’s Genesis Scottish Open, the Barabasol Championship in Kentucky and next week’s Barracuda Championship in California all now count toward both order of merit tables.
In a practical sense as far as this week’s Genesis Scottish Open is concerned, is that a victory would open the door to the riches of the PGA Tour for someone who does not already hold a PGA Tour card.
Several Australasians including defending champion Min Woo Lee will be keen to emulate his massive performance of twelve months ago when he defeated Matthew Fitzpatrick and Thomas Detry in a playoff to win €1,123,300 and jump from 240th to 61st in the world ranking at the time.
The one thing Lee did not gain last year however but could in 2022 is a PGA Tour card as a result of his victory and although he has been able to play nine events in the USA this year, Lee has still to earn playing rights on the PGA Tour.
“The Australian’s play-off success last year was his second DP World Tour victory, following his win on home soil at the ISPS Handa Vic Open in 2020, as he finished last season inside the top 50 on the Official World Golf Ranking,” said the DP World Tour.
“On his debut at the Masters Tournament in April, Lee shot a record-tying front nine of six-under-par 30 in the final round to finish tied 15th at Augusta National Golf Club.”
“Last year at the Renaissance Club was such an awesome experience, said Lee. “I was proud of my game on Sunday and how I closed out the play-off for my first Rolex Series title,” he said. “It was a huge win and opened up even more experiences, like playing in The Open for the first time the following week. My aim is to keep my hands on that trophy this season.”
Ryan Fox is another who is in a similar situation this week given his recent form and that he has been inside the top six on two occasions in this event previously. His near miss last week in Ireland continued an outstanding season for the 35-year-old and if he could find a way tow in he would gain full playing rights on the PGA Tour.
With 14 of the leading 15 ranked players in the field it is not about to be an easy task but that could have been said prior to Min Woo Lee’s win last year also although this is a stronger field in 2022.
Other Australasians in the field are Cameron Smith, Lucas Herbert, Marc Leishman, Jason Scrivener, Scott Hend and Maverick Antcliff with Scrivener, Hend and Antcliff all without PGA Tour status at this stage.
The Australian’s play-off success was his second DP World Tour victory, following his win on home soil at the ISPS Handa Vic Open in 2020, as he finished last season inside the top 50 on the Official World Golf Ranking. On his debut at the Masters Tournament in April, Lee shot a record-tying front nine of six-under-par 30 in the final round to finish tied 15th at Augusta National Golf Club. “Last year at the Renaissance Club was such an awesome experience. I was proud of my game on Sunday and how I closed out the play-off for my first Rolex Series title,” he said. “It was a huge win and opened up even more experiences, like playing in The Open for the first time the following week. My aim is to keep my hands on that trophy this season.”