Cameron Smith – courtesy of Getty Images
Cameron Smith’s wire to wire victory at the Sentry Tournament of Champions at Kapalua on the island of Maui in Hawaii today has seen the 22-year-old move into the top ten (10th) in the world ranking and achieve one of his 2022 goals almost before the year had started.
Smith’s narrow but very impressive one-shot victory over the world number one, Jon Rahm, has seen him move from 21st at the start of the week to his highest ever ranking and he was delighted to achieved such a milestone so early in the year.
“Yeah, you know, it took me awhile to get into the top 20, and I actually didn’t know that, so that’s really cool,” said Smith. That was one of my goals this year – to get into the top 10.
“Yeah, I don’t really know what to say. That’s, it’s nice that that’s done and dusted. Hopefully, I can keep cruising up those world rankings.”
The win continues a remarkable run of consistency in recent months having finished inside the top twenty in eight of his last nine PGA Tour starts.
Smith led this week’s event, restricted to PGA Tour event winners in 2021 from his opening round of 65 to lead by one, then by three after his second round of 64 and although caught by Rahm’s round of 61 in yesterday’s third round, he took charge again early in round four.
The day developed into a battle between the two, although Smith’s countryman, Matt Jones, made a stirring attempt to chase down those ahead of him when he produced a final round of 61 to eventually finish 3rd, two behind Smith and one behind Rahm.
“I just played really solid the whole week,” added Smith. Obviously being a leader is not easy. Restless sleeps. I feel like I spent a lot of time looking at the ceiling in bed this week.
“But, no, it was really cool. I haven’t done that before. It was nice to kind of see where my game’s at against some of the best players in the world. I’ve been working hard and it’s paid off early in the season.
“I think just stringing four really good days together. I think that’s always kind of something I’ve, not struggled with, but I’ve always kind of wanted to do that, and I’ve always had kind of a scratchy day in there. So four really, really solid days of golf.”
Smith was asked the importance of keeping the personality he has developed as a genuine Australian bloke and added:
“Yeah, I feel like there’s no real reason to change my personality. I think my dad would whip me, to be honest, if I did (laughing).
“I don’t know. It’s just how I’ve been brought up. I’ve been brought up to be the kind of the modest guy that respects everyone.
“And like even today out there, Jon was great as well. Every time we made a putt or a birdie it was, Good shot, mate, or there was never any I guess hatred towards each other just because we were competing. It was, we wanted to win because we wanted to compete against the best.
“Yeah, so I think that’s just kind of how I’ve been brought up and I respect other guys’ good play as well.”
Smith began the year with the aim of making it to the Tour Championship and making it to the top ten in the world. Just one week in he has already achieved one and looks very likely to make the other with a few new goals no doubt on the radar given the confidence that such a win and the manner of it will bring.
“I think one of the big goals for most of the guys out here is just to make it to Atlanta to the TOUR Championship. If you make it to Atlanta you’ve done something really good for a long period of time. So, yeah, that one’s still a goal.
“Like I said before, being in the top 10 was another one. It’s good to tick that off so early in the year. But I guess I’ll have to reassess on a few other ones.”
Smith recorded the best under par 72-hole score on the PGA Tour but while the scoring was stunning it did involve lift clean and place earlier in the week. He did, though, knock off the previous record set on this golf course by one of his heroes Ernie Els.
“Yeah, it’s pretty cool. Obviously Ernie was one of my idols growing up. I mean, I don’t really have many things to brag about to Ernie, to be honest. He’s got a lot of stuff over me. But, yeah, to take this one off him is pretty cool.
Jones benefitted from having his Sydney coach Gary Barter in Hawaii this week. “It’s very important. I mean, it’s been since, it will be two years in March since THE PLAYERS since I’ve seen him. We’ve done a lot of FaceTime, a lot of work over the phone, but there’s nothing like hands on.”
The PGA Tour now moves to Honolulu where Smith will attempt to win the event he won two years ago when successful at the Sony Open.
SCORES
Dobbelaar and Oh lead respective PGA Championships
Louis Dobbelaar in action at Royal Queensland this week – photo Bruce Young
20-year-old Queensland rookie professional, Louis Dobbelaar, has already experienced a rewarding few weeks, but after taking the opening round lead at the Fortinet Australian PGA Championship at Royal Queensland things could potentially get significantly better over the next few days.
Several weeks ago and just a few weeks after turning professional, Dobbelaar achieved the most important milestone in the early stages of any young professional golfer’s career, namely a place to play. Dobbelaar finished runner-up at the PGA Tour Latino America’s qualifying venue in Florida and gained access to what is essentially a feeder tour for the Korn Ferry and eventually the PGA Tour.
The 2016 New Zealand Amateur Champion and 2021 Australian Amateur career has already achieved significant titles in amateur golf in this region but in the US this year he finished off his amateur career with victories at the prestigious North and South Amateur at Pinehurst and the Dogwood International in Atlanta.
Coached by highly regarded Sunshine Coach mentor, Grant Field, Dobbelaar joined one of his ‘Field Stablemates’ Cameron Smith on a trip to the US in 2021 where he practiced and spent time with Australia’s number one male golfer and so he entered the professional ranks with a significant background behind him in amateur golf.
Dobbelaar was out in the afternoon field on day one and got his tournament off to the near perfect start when holing his approach for eagle at the 2nd hole with a sand iron and followed that up with birdies at the next four holes. His only blemish came when dropping a shot at the par 3 8th hole but he leads by one over fellow Queenslanders Aaron Pike and another former Australian Amateur Champion in Jed Morgan.
Queensland based New South Welshman, Dylan Perry is another shot back along with yet another former Australian Amateur Champion Victorian, Andrew Martin, Queenslander Michael Wright and New South Welshman James Grierson.
“Yeah, I mean, that’s a pretty cool feeling,” said the leader. “My game definitely feels good, so just got to keep trusting myself and doing all the good things right.”
Referring to the fact that he has a 6.35 tee time tomorrow Dobbelaar is aware that his good start in the windier afternoon conditions today opens up a good opportunity to consolidate his standing tomorrow.
“I mean, got to get home and have a good rest and get some good food into me, but it wasn’t too windy this arvo. I know it can get pretty windy around here, so hopefully that’s a good thing.”
Dobbelaar was asked about the difference between playing events as an amateur and playing for a significant purse.
“It’s definitely something new to me. I think it’s probably a bit overwhelming at first when you haven’t really earnt much, so once I accepted that I think I can just keep on doing my stuff and just play golf after that.”
Pre-tournament favourite Min Woo Lee has made a solid start to be at 3 under but he is tied for 9th place and four from the lead.
The women’s event, the WPGA Championship is led by Victorian Su Oh whose round of 66 leaves her three ahead of recently turned professional Grace Kim.
Oh, who has played the LPGA Tour in the last few years, won the Ladies Masters at Royal Pines several years ago but is surprised that she has performed so well in Queensland conditions which are not all that familiar to her Victorian background.
“I actually don’t like grainy (greens) and I don’t like the heat. So I’m glad I shot a good score today, but hopefully a second win in Queensland would be quite nice
“There were not too many mistakes, I think I just made one bad shot. Other than that, everything else was quite good.”
Men’s and Women’s scores
Su Oh – photo PGA of Australia
Sarah Jane Smith likely contender at Royal Queensland
Sarah Jane Smith during yesterday’s pro-am
Florida based Queenslander, Sarah Jane Smith, is enjoying being back in Australia for the first time in over two years and as the week has progressed at Royal Queensland, the 37-year-old is emerging as a chance to take back to the US more than just the memories of a break to see her folks on the Sunshine Coast.
Smith is playing the Fortinet WPGA Championship being played in conjunction with the Fortinet Australian PGA Championship in which the Karrie Webb Cup and a first prize of A$180,000 are up for grabs and with the withdrawal from the event of three of the original six LPGA Tour players in the field, she comes into calculations as a winning chance.
Last week, the pre-tournament favourite, Hannah Green, was forced to withdraw due to the difficulties surrounding border issues in her home state of Western Australia and just this week, two other LPGA Tour players and tournament favourites, Sarah Kemp and Stephanie Kyriacou, fell victim to the Covid testing which all participants at Royal Queensland are subject to during registration.
Smith, her fellow Queenslander, Karis Davidson and Victorian Su Oh, are, therefore, the three remaining LPGA Tour players in the field and, while she might have done well either way, her chances of contending for the title have improved.
Smith has played the LPGA over the last 15 years or so and although she has yet to record a victory, there have been several significant performances including a runner-up LPGA Tour event finish and a 5th place at the 2018 US Women’s Open.
Smith and her husband Duane, also a Queenslander, have been married since 2009 and now have a son of 2½ years, Theo. The opportunity to get back to Australia and combine a visit home to see family and to play this event was too good to turn down.
Smith’s lack of form in the US in 2021 resulted in her having to return to the LPGA Qualifying School in December where she just managed to regain her playing rights and on Tuesday she heads back to Florida where she will likely begin her season at the Gainbridge event in Boca Raton in late January as she looks to get her career back on track.
A win this week and the confidence such would bring would play a big role in doing just that.
PGA Tour of Australasia announces major boost
Gavin Kirkman PGA of Australia C.E.O and Rodger Davis (Chairman) at today’s media conference – photo PGA of Australia
The Fortinet Australian PGA Championship and the ISPS Handa PGA Tour of Australasia received a major boost this week when the PGA of Australasia’s CEO, Gavin Kirkman and its Chairman, Rodger Davis, announced an extension of their strategic alliance with the DP World Tour (previously known as the European Tour).
The result will see prize-money for the Fortinet Australian PGA Championship doubled for its late 2022 edition but, importantly for the pathways so necessary for player development, the initiative will also provide the opportunity for those playing events on the PGA Tour of Australasia, greater access to golfing tours worldwide.
That such an initiative comes at a time when Covid is inflicting all sorts of pressures on the the sporting world makes the announcement even more impressive and is a reflection of two years work by the PGA of Australia to build on its relationship with the then European Tour in order to allow its members to more easily access ongoing pathways.
The delayed 2020 then 2021 Australian PGA Championship was to have been a European Tour event. The impact of Covid ruled that out, but subject to a return to some sort of normality in the second half of this year, the event will form part of the early 2022/2023 season DP World Tour and provide a likely fitting climax to a race for three DP World Tour cards up for grabs via the PGA Tour of Australasia.
“We’ve been in partnership in an alliance with them (European Tour) from 2017, but we’re going to extend and move into another five year term with the DP World Tour,” said Kirkman.
“The partnership will increase player pathways for Australasian players. The Fortinet Australian PGA Championship will increase in prize money from the addition or staging of the championship in 2022 from $1 million to $2 million and it will have a co-sanction arrangement on the DP World Tour for the next five years.
“There will be an increase of prize money to a range of tournaments on our Tour and there will also be increased events over the next three to five year term. You’ll see will be additional DP World co-sanctioned events here on the Australasian Tour.”
The obvious question was just where this money is coming from?
“I think the strategic alliance and I think the billboard funding here, you’ll see Fortinet has just come on board. Fortinet is a cyber security company that’s involved with PGA Tour and also DP World Tour, so you can see strengthening the alliance from working with the other tours, it’s going to open up more commercial opportunities for our commercial team to be able to work with.
“They’re investing into our tour to make sure we develop, we’re sustainable and we’ve got the pathways, but it will be a combination, not just tipping money into our Tour. A combination of working closely and commercialising our Tour, working closely aligned to the PGA Tour and the DP World Tour.
On the increased exemptions to other tours as a result of success here on the PGA Tour of Australasia, Kirkman expanded.
“The great pathway is at the moment our Order of Merit. We receive one DP World Tour card at the end of our Order of Merit, that one will go to three. So our top three players on the PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit will receive DP World Tour cards.
“When you co-sanction an event, you also get the winning exemption from winning a co-sanctioned event on the DP World Tour.
“The other key area will be that any DP World Tour in Asia, we will get five invites into. With the Indian Open coming up and with the Hero Challenge, that’s going to be one event that you’ll see that we’ll have five invites.
“From the PGA Tour’s point of view, there’s also more to final stage of Korn Ferry Tour, there will be five players coming off our Order of Merit going to final stage of Korn Ferry Tour.
“So what we’ve tried to do and we’ve been working for over 12 months, is to ensure that we’re working with all tours to make sure the pathway to get to the main tours is really important.”
Given the demands of the past two years and the impact of the Covid virus on so many sporting events and organisations, the progress the PGA Tour of Australasia has made in putting to bed the features announced today is particularly satisfying to Kirkman.
“The toughest part from our organisation, is that we presented a Tour vision to the board two years ago and that’s exactly when COVID came to town. So, we’ve got great guns to start with Nick Dastey and Kim Felton that work for our organisation, when they started leading the Tour and we’re working right beside them with Michael McDonald, our commercial director. We had this vision two years ago, but we were just in a position of questioning how were we going to implement and grow the Tour.
“The last six months we’ve been in discussion with the DP World Tour and the PGA Tour and the confidence they have in what we’ve put on the table with our vision, makes this very satisfying.
“To sit here today and to be able to talk to our players who are out there warming up (at Royal Queensland) and getting ready to tee off tomorrow morning, that we’ve got some strategic plans for our Tournament, we’re going to see growth over the next month for the current season and we’re also then going to see growth for the next five years. It puts us in a really strong position, to make our Tour sustainable.”
Elvis Smylie enters calculations at Royal Queensland
Elvis Smylie plays the pro-am at Royal Queensland today – photo Bruce Young
The scarcity of highly world ranked golfers in this week’s Fortinet Australian PGA Championship field opens the door for a young Australian golfer to step up and claim not only one of Australian golf’s most coveted titles but the first prize cheque of $180,000 which would provide a major boost for an emerging young golfer.
One such player is the highly talented 19-year-old Elvis Smylie who just nine months after turning professional comes into calculations as a possible contender this week.
Smylie turned professional soon after finishing runner-up to Brad Kennedy at a Tier 2 Australasian Tour event at the Rosebud Country Club on the Mornington Peninsula in late January and followed that up with a 3rd place finish at the TPS Sydney event and a runner-up finish at the NSW Open in March.
Smylie set out on a campaign in Europe but he did so with only a limited amount of guaranteed starts on a tour which he had no status and it was a tough tough but learning time for him.
Harnessed by the pressure of having to play well in whatever events he could get a start in order to earn the right to play ongoing events, he struggled to build momentum and was eventually bought undone by a dislodged disc in his back.
“Going back to the middle of 2021, I played the NSW Open in late March and then I had about a month off and then I headed over in about June to Munich and played off a couple of sponsor exemptions on the European Tour and learnt a lot about my game there,” said Smylie at a press conference for this week’s Australian PGA Championship at Royal Queensland.
“Obviously, it was very unfortunate with what happened with my back. I had a minor dislodge in my lower right back, which was – I mean, to be honest, it was probably just a bit of overuse. It’s very hard going from Australia to Europe where your routines aren’t the same.
“I think that’s the number 1 thing I learnt, was you have to adapt and adjust as well as you can. Obviously going back over there in May after I play all these Australian events, I’ll have a very good understanding of what I need to do better and I’ll just know how to handle my business a little bit better. So, I’m grateful to have that experience.”
“I’m 100% fit now and rearing to go,” he added today, no doubt looking to pick up where he left off in Sydney in March.
“You know, it’s just keeping it simple,” he added when asked how he felt about the year ahead.
“I mean, not getting in your own way, I’ve got such a great team behind me. Obviously, my coach, Ian Triggs, I’ve been with since I was about 8 years old and I’m still working with him and he’s great for me. Then yeah, I mean, it’s just keeping it simple, just staying out of my own way.
“I know what works well for me, I know what doesn’t. Obviously, I’m focusing more on what does work well for me, but when things don’t go well, I learn from them pretty quickly and I know how to make that not happen again.”
The former Australian junior champion comes with an outstanding sporting pedigree, his mother (Liz) a multiple doubles champion in Grand Slam tennis events and his father (Peter) also a former tennis pro but who now manages the career of his son.
Smylie has the presence and demeanour of a classy and confident golfer on the golf course and the results he has shown in his very short professional career to date suggests that there is an exciting future ahead for the 19 year old Gold Coaster.
To assist his cause this week will be the architect behind the redesign of Royal Queensland’s design, Mike Clayton, who has developed a close friendship with the youngster, the pair together as player / caddie in Smylie’s impressive run at the Australian Open two years ago and his good performances in Australia in 2021 and the Australian veteran will be on the bag again this week.
“Yeah, it means everything to be able to have a little bit of an inside scoop with the course’s own to be on your bag. This place is what you see is what you get around here and yeah, it’s very hard to be able to be flabbergasted when you’re off the tee.
“It’s very clear right in front of you, but around the greens it can get pretty tricky with all the undulation and slope, so being on the right side of the hole is quite important around here. But yeah, Clayts and I will have that down pat, so we’ll be fine.”
This week’s Australian PGA Championship might be drawing a long bow in terms of securing his first win but the wins will come before long and having beaten many in this week’s field in events already there is no reason to believe he can’t at least perform well.
Smylie and Clayton doing homework in today’s pro -am – photo Bruce Young
Min Woo Lee the standout at Royal Queensland
Min Woo Lee at today’s press conference – photo PGA of Australia
The 2022 Fortinet Australian PGA Championship might not be blessed with a field strength typical of those seen in the recent history of the event, but the inclusion of one of Australia’s brightest stars, and a player likely to take his world ranking even higher than his current 49th, Min Woo Lee, adds a significant dimension to the event.
Not only is Lee the highest ranked player in the field by a considerable margin but he is considered by many to join the ranks of Cameron Smith, Cameron Davis, Lucas Herbert as Australia’s brightest prospects on the PGA Tour in good time and move into the elite of the game.
Only seven months ago, Lee was outside the top 250 in the world but a win at the Scottish open in July changed all that and when he followed up with a good finish to the year which included three top tens in his last four starts he had moved just inside the top 50.
That standing earns him the right to play the Masters at Augusta National in April, a dream come true for any golfer and Lee is excited about what lies ahead and he explained how he managed to get there.
“Well top 50 (ranking) wasn’t even a goal until the second last week of my Tournament schedule, so I come fourth in the AVIV Dubai Tournament (he finished 4th ) and I was like just under 60th ranked, so it only just popped in my head, I had to play good in that last Tournament.
He managed to finish 16th in the season ending World Tour Championship and a much sought after invitation letter to the Masters was on its way.
“I think if I did make a birdie on the last I would have not been in the top 50, so it was great to make that birdie and I would have kicked myself if I didn’t, because I didn’t play that good that last day. So no, I’m really looking forward to it.
“I didn’t get the actual invitation, my manager did, so hopefully when I get it, it will be like that, (very special) but I mean, just to share to the world that I got into it, it was – it got a lot of attention and it’s just awesome. I think I said in my other interview, it’s just something you dream of as a kid and you try to get to the Masters.
“I don’t think it will sink in until I get there. It’s just going to be a different field, so I’m looking forward to it. It’s going to be pretty special.”
Lee has won a significant event at home previously, having won the Vic Open two years ago, an event jointly sanctioned between the European tour and the PGA Tour of Australasia. The difference this time being that this is essentially an Australian field compared to the more international line-up he faced at 13th Beach in Victoria but this time he is now the highest ranked player in the field.
“Yeah, I feel like at the Vic Open I kind of had that feel of being a high ranked player. Hopefully the crowds are going to be awesome and out there and cheering me on, so I think that’s a big advantage, but you know, I’m just going to go out there and play. If I don’t play so well, but hopefully I do, I do play well and get the year rolling.”
The tournament is being played over a revised Royal Queensland layout necessitated by Gateway Bridge additions several years ago layout and Lee commented on the layout today and just how it will play.
“It’s a very quirky course. I played nine holes today, nine holes yesterday and some of the greens are really tricky. It’s not like a course where you can just hit average shots and get away with it, you’ve actually got to hit good shots.
“I’m looking forward to the test. I mean the fairways are wide, but it’s nearly harder that way because it’s not – there’s nothing to kind of like go into. There’s such a big fairway, so I have to, you know, when I get in the zone I’ll be fine, but I’m looking forward to it.”
Lee of course is the brother of Australia’s number one female golfer and one of just four Australian women to win a major, Min Woo Lee. With a family like that and very sporty parentage their parents are clearly very proud of the pair.
“I think obviously they’re happy. They’ve actually got a café back home and they put up posters and newspapers, little things like that. But Mum was bawling her eyes when I was calling her while my sister was winning, so that was pretty cool and she said the same thing, she did the same thing when I won.
“So I think just, I don’t know, they created us and, I don’t know, we did well I guess, but yeah, genetically, she was a golf pro and Dad was pretty sport genetic too. He was a swimming coach and he did every other sport, so I think it was good to play at a really high stage and show them what we’ve got.”
Lee is the only player inside the top 300 in the world ranking but that does not necessarily make his task a lot easier although what it does do is open up a great opportunity to win one of Australia’s most iconic golfing titles and add even further to an outstanding last six months in the world of golf.
Minwoo’s sister Minjee – a remarkable golfing family – photo Ladies European Tour
Wire to wire victory earns Smith top ten ranking
Cameron Smith’s wire to wire victory at the Sentry Tournament of Champions at Kapalua on the island of Maui in Hawaii today has seen the 22-year-old move into the top ten (10th) in the world ranking and achieve one of his 2022 goals almost before the year had started.
Smith’s narrow but very impressive one-shot victory over the world number one, Jon Rahm, has seen him move from 21st at the start of the week to his highest ever ranking and he was delighted to achieved such a milestone so early in the year.
“Yeah, you know, it took me awhile to get into the top 20, and I actually didn’t know that, so that’s really cool,” said Smith. That was one of my goals this year – to get into the top 10.
“Yeah, I don’t really know what to say. That’s, it’s nice that that’s done and dusted. Hopefully, I can keep cruising up those world rankings.”
The win continues a remarkable run of consistency in recent months having finished inside the top twenty in eight of his last nine PGA Tour starts.
Smith led this week’s event, restricted to PGA Tour event winners in 2021 from his opening round of 65 to lead by one, then by three after his second round of 64 and although caught by Rahm’s round of 61 in yesterday’s third round, he took charge again early in round four.
The day developed into a battle between the two, although Smith’s countryman, Matt Jones, made a stirring attempt to chase down those ahead of him when he produced a final round of 61 to eventually finish 3rd, two behind Smith and one behind Rahm.
“I just played really solid the whole week,” added Smith. Obviously being a leader is not easy. Restless sleeps. I feel like I spent a lot of time looking at the ceiling in bed this week.
“But, no, it was really cool. I haven’t done that before. It was nice to kind of see where my game’s at against some of the best players in the world. I’ve been working hard and it’s paid off early in the season.
“I think just stringing four really good days together. I think that’s always kind of something I’ve, not struggled with, but I’ve always kind of wanted to do that, and I’ve always had kind of a scratchy day in there. So four really, really solid days of golf.”
Smith was asked the importance of keeping the personality he has developed as a genuine Australian bloke and added:
“Yeah, I feel like there’s no real reason to change my personality. I think my dad would whip me, to be honest, if I did (laughing).
“I don’t know. It’s just how I’ve been brought up. I’ve been brought up to be the kind of the modest guy that respects everyone.
“And like even today out there, Jon was great as well. Every time we made a putt or a birdie it was, Good shot, mate, or there was never any I guess hatred towards each other just because we were competing. It was, we wanted to win because we wanted to compete against the best.
“Yeah, so I think that’s just kind of how I’ve been brought up and I respect other guys’ good play as well.”
Smith began the year with the aim of making it to the Tour Championship and making it to the top ten in the world. Just one week in he has already achieved one and looks very likely to make the other with a few new goals no doubt on the radar given the confidence that such a win and the manner of it will bring.
“I think one of the big goals for most of the guys out here is just to make it to Atlanta to the TOUR Championship. If you make it to Atlanta you’ve done something really good for a long period of time. So, yeah, that one’s still a goal.
“Like I said before, being in the top 10 was another one. It’s good to tick that off so early in the year. But I guess I’ll have to reassess on a few other ones.”
Smith recorded the best under par 72-hole score on the PGA Tour but while the scoring was stunning it did involve lift clean and place earlier in the week. He did, though, knock off the previous record set on this golf course by one of his heroes Ernie Els.
“Yeah, it’s pretty cool. Obviously Ernie was one of my idols growing up. I mean, I don’t really have many things to brag about to Ernie, to be honest. He’s got a lot of stuff over me. But, yeah, to take this one off him is pretty cool.
Jones benefitted from having his Sydney coach Gary Barter in Hawaii this week. “It’s very important. I mean, it’s been since, it will be two years in March since THE PLAYERS since I’ve seen him. We’ve done a lot of FaceTime, a lot of work over the phone, but there’s nothing like hands on.”
The PGA Tour now moves to Honolulu where Smith will attempt to win the event he won two years ago when successful at the Sony Open.
SCORES
Cameron Smith recovers from slow start to extend Hawaiian lead
Cameron Smith – extends lead to three
Cameron Smith has continued his love affair with Hawaii by extending his opening round lead of one to three at the halfway mark of the Sentry Tournament of Champions at the Plantation Course at Kapalua on Maui.
Smith recovered from a slow start to his round on day two after bogeys at his opening two holes had him on the back foot. Just as he had yesterday, however, Smith eagled his 5th hole and he was on his way to a round of 64 which included four consecutive birdies to finish.
Smith’s big moment in Hawaii came nearly two years ago when he won the Sony Open in Honolulu, but this week he has a chance to add yet another significant title in the middle of the Pacific by separating himself from this quality field.
“Yeah, a few bad shots there the first couple of holes,” said Smith after his round. “I didn’t really feel that comfortable on the range this morning and it kind of showed those first couple. Yeah, figured it out by the 4th or 5th and was able to get on a bit of a roll with the putter as well.”
Smith might well be on track for a PGA Tour record score as it was over this layout in 2003 when Ernie Els was 17 under through 36 holes and eventually finished 31 under. This is, though, a par 73 layout.
It was of little relevance to Smith, however. “Yeah, I mean, if you hadn’t have told me that, I would have had no idea. I’m really, I’m just trying to do the best I can, to be honest.”
“I’m worried about one shot at a time. Those records are cool and stuff, but, yeah, I’m just trying to do my best I can every shot.”
Smith leads by three over world number one, Jon Rahm, and Daniel Berger, both of whom have recorded consecutive rounds of 66.
Smith is one of five Australians in the field. Marc Leishman is tied for 8th place albeit ten shots behind his fellow countryman, Matt Jones and Cameron Davis are at 9 under and Lucas Herbert at 4 under.
The tournament carries prizemoney of $8,200,000 with $1,476,000 to the winner.
SCORES
Australian PGA Championships a welcome relief for domestic golf
The new look Royal Queensland gets a showcase opportunity – photo Bruce Young
The Fortinet Australian PGA Championship returns to the PGA Tour of Australasia next week when the $1 million time honoured event is played for the first time since last being staged at RACV Royal Pines just over two years ago.
Royal Queensland Golf Club on the shores of the Brisbane River plays host to the iconic Australian event for the third occasion, the previous being when Robert Allenby won the second of two consecutive PGA Championships in 2000 and 2001 before the event headed north to Hyatt Regency Coolum on the Sunshine Coast for eleven years followed by six years at RACV Royal Pines on the Gold Coast.
The event was not played in 2020 or 2021 as a result of the issues surrounding Covid and while the event is essentially a new look tournament in 2022, that one of two Australian flagship events is back on the schedule is a relief to not only golf fans but to tournament starved domestic Australian professionals.
The tournament has been included on the European Tour schedule since late in 2015 when won by Victorian Nathan Holman at Royal Pines but the complications of the Covid 19 virus has mean that in 2022 the event will be played essentially as a domestic Australian event only.
The most recent winners of the event, Adam Scott (2019) and Cameron Smith (2017 and 2018) will not be in the field, in fact only two Australians from the top 14 in the current world men’s rankings, Min Woo Lee (5th highest ranked Australian) and Blake Windred (14th highest ranked) will tee it up this week.
The field therefore is one of the weakest statistically for many years but by Sunday when the whips are cracking the focus will be on who is there rather than who is not.
Lee has been one of Australian golf’s biggest movers in 2021 improving from 179th in the world ranking 12 months ago to his current standing of 49th. Much of that move came from his win at the Scottish Open where his victory, followed by a great finish to the European Tour season saw his rapid rise.
Long considered one of the Australia’s most exciting young prospects, the 23 year old Perth golfer will understandably start the favourite at Royal Queensland.
Two time European Tour winner, Min Woo Lee – the logical favourite in the men’s field. photo Getty / LET
Windred is another Australian to have emerged in 2021 as a future star, the Sydney golfer, now in just his third season as a professional, performing well on the Europe’s second tier tour, the Challenge Tour, and finishing the year with a maiden victory at the Victorian PGA Championship.
An Australian who must be considered an excellent chance is the Gold Coast golfer, Brad Kennedy. Kennedy was the winner of the 2020 / 2021 PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit, most of that as a result of his win at the 2020 New Zealand Open where he defeated Lucas Herbert in a final round showdown.
Kennedy recently finished runner-up to Windred at the Victorian PGA Championship and earlier in 2021 won a second-tier event in Victoria and has become a regularly successful performer in Japan where he has won three career titles and more than $A5 million in career earnings.
Kennedy performs well in Queensland and shapes as a good chance to add such a significant title against a field considerably weaker than he would normally face in an Australian PGA Championship.
Run concurrently with the Australian PGA Championship, is the Fortinet Australian Women’s PGA Championship in which 24 players get the chance to see it up for a purse of A$300,000 and a first prize equal to the $180,000 on offer for the men.
The event received a blow earlier this week when Australia’s second highest ranked woman and the highest ranked of any player in this field, Hannah Green, was forced to withdraw due to the Covid restrictions involving her home state of Western Australia.
Green is one of only four Australians to have won a major title in women’s golf and so her withdrawal is a blow and the mantle of favourite is likely to now go to Su Oh or the rapidly emerging Stephanie Kyriacou.
Oh has played the LPGA Tour since 2016 and although yet to win, she has been runner-up on three occasions and has successfully retained full playing rights each year. She has won in Queensland previously when winning the RACV Ladies Masters in 2015 and as the second highest-ranked Australian in the field then she deserves respect.
Kyriacou has been brilliant in her first two seasons as a professional. She is now a two-time winner on the Ladies European Tour and recently earned the right to play the LPGA Tour where she is expected to become a force in the years ahead.
Kyriacou is the highest world ranked player in this week’s field following the withdrawal of Green and much will be expected of her at Royal Queensland. The $180,000 would also make a great difference in the early stages of her US campaign.
Stephanie Kyriacou – the highest ranked Australian in the women’s field – photo LET
Other LPGA Tour players in the field include US based Queenslander Sarah-Jane Smith, NSW’s Sara Kemp and Scottish born and raised but now Gold Coaster, Karis Davidson.
Smith has played the LPGA Tour for several years now, while Davidson, who has focused much of her early career on the Japan Ladies Tour, gained her LPGA Tour playing rights a month ago and will be a rookie there this season.
Kemp was three times inside the top ten on the LPGA Tour in 2021 and occasionally produces a high finish including when runner-up at the 2019 Vic Open which was then part of the LPGA Tour. Such a performance this week could well see her contending.
The combined events offer the tournament starved Australian public and many of Australia’s domestic professionals who have been deprived of competitive golf at this level, the opportunity to get high-end tournament golf back on the schedule.
Fields
Five Australians begin 2022 at Sentry Tournament of Champions
Lucas Herbert – an early opportunity to play the Tournament of Champions – file photo PGA of Australia
Cameron Smith, Marc Leishman, Matt Jones, Lucas Herbert and Cameron Davis provide Australia with a strong representation in the opening event of the PGA Tour in 2022, all four having played their way to the Sentry Tournament of Champions at the Plantation Course at Kapalua on Maui, Hawaii, courtesy of winning an event on the PGA Tour in 2021.
39 of the eligible 40 tournament winners on the PGA Tour in 2021 are in the field the exception being Rory McIlroy.
For Smith and Leishman, their wins came when combining as a team to win the Zurich Classic in New Orleans but for Jones, Herbert and Smith their individual victories came at the Honda Classic in March for Jones, the Butterfield Bermuda Championship late in the year for Herbert and at the Rocket Mortgage Classic mid-year for Davis.
For Herbert and Davis this will be their first appearance on Kapalua given that their victories were their first on the PGA Tour but for Smith, Leishman and Jones they have been here previously.
Smith is playing the event for the third occasion after finishing 17th in 2018 and 24th in 2021, Leishman has recorded two top tens for a best of 4th in his now four previous appearances and Jones was 11th in his first and only attempt to date in 2015.
Herbert is in the field just four months after earning the right to play the PGA Tour and his rapid rise in the world ranking (now 41st) following wins on the European and PGA Tours in 2021, will have him as a player of interest to Australian fans this week.
Australians have won this event or its equivalent on seven occasions, Steve Elkington with two wins in the early 1990’s, Stuart Appleby three consecutive in 2004, 2005 and 2006, and Geoff Ogilvy with consecutive wins in 2009 and 2010.
This week, the event carries total prizemoney of US$8.2 million with US$1.476 million to the winner, compared to the US$144,000 Elkington won with his first win in 1992.
Field
Herbert, Davis, Lee, Ko and Kyriacou big movers in 2021
Cameron Davis – Mathematically, Australia’s biggest mover in 2021 amongst top 100 – image Getty /PGA Tour
Australian golfers have finished the 2021 year with six men inside the top 100 of the World Golf Ranking and five women inside the top 100 of the Rolex World Ranking but amongst the men it has been Min Woo Lee and Cameron Davis who have made the biggest jump in standing mathematically while Lydia Ko and Stephanie Kyriacou are the big movers amongst the women.
Cameron Smith in 21st place improves from 27th twelve months ago, Marc Leishman has dropped to 36th after being 29th at this time last year, Lucas Herbert is now 41st compared to his 70th position on Dec 31st 2020, Adam Scott has dropped to 46th from 21st, Min Woo Lee is up to 49th from 172nd and Cameron Davis is now 79th from 229th.
For the women Lydia Ko bounced back from an indifferent couple of seasons to finish the year in 3rd place behind Nelly Korda and Jin Young Ko, Minjee Lee has improved to 7th from 8th twelve months ago, Hannah Green has slipped to 26th after being 18th last year, Stephanie Kyriacou is 75th from 141st last year.
The actual numbers do not tell the full story however as it could be said that by winning on both the European and PGA Tours, Herbert has advanced his cause perhaps more than any of the others amongst the men.
Herbert’s win at the Irish Open at Mount Juliet in July was followed five months later with a win in just his third start as a PGA Tour cardholder having gained his playing rights for that tour via the Korn Ferry Tour Finals in September.
Lee’s win at the Scottish Open in July was his second on the European Tour having won the Vic Open eighteen months earlier but he would also add a runner-up finish at the Andalucia Masters in 2021 and finished 6th in the Race to Dubai standings.
Sydney’s Cameron Davis, a former World Amateur and Australian Open Champion, has promised much in his professional career and he finally delivered with a win at the Rocket Mortgage Classic on the PGA Tour. The victory was one of only two top tens in 2021 but there is little doubting the talent of the 26-year-old and more is expected from him in 2022.
Of the higher ranked Australians Cameron Smith has finished the year atop the Australasians and although he did not win individually in 2021 (he joined with Marc Leishman to win in New Orleans) his greater consistency elevated his standing to his best ever year-ending position although earlier in December he did reach a career high of 20th.
Smith finished runner-up on two occasions and was eight times inside the top ten so that he heads the Australasians is no real surprise.
In 22 starts in 2021, Marc Leishman was inside the top ten on five occasions but 3rd was the best he could do (other than his joint non-ranking win with Smith) and he would slip to 36th after finishing 2020 in 29th place.
Adam Scott missed only one cut in 21 starts this year but although he finished runner-up at the Wyndham Championship there was little else show for his year and would eventually drop 25 posts from his end of 2020 position and, at 46th, he has his lowest ranking since mid-2018.
While some Australians have seen a significant rise in rankings the most notable heading in the other direction is the former world number one Jason Day. Day’s current ranking of 123rd is his worst or lowest ranking since prior to his maiden PGA Tour victory at the 2010 Byron Nelson Championship.
Despite two top tens in 2021, Day slipped 80 spots from his standing this time last year.
On the women’s side of things, Lydia Ko heads the standings of Australasian golfers, continuing a comeback from her lowly 55th ranking in mid-2020 to now stand in 3rd place. Ko’s remarkable year in 2021 consisted of 14 top tens including two victories and two runner-up finishes.
Lydia Ko – continued remarkable bounce back in 2021 – photo LET
Minjee Lee broke through for her first major title at the Evian Championship, but would improve only one place to 7th from her standing this time last year. One win and two runner-up finishes, however, enabled her to maintain a position well inside the top ten.
Hannah Green slipped to 26th from 18th, although she did reach a high of 13th following two very good finishes in Asia earlier in the year. The last few months however would see not one top ten in her last seven starts but as one of only four Australian females to win a major title she can expect a better return in 2022 especially given she took a long break mid-year to return to Australia.
Stephanie Kyriacou won her second tournament on the Ladies European Tour when successful in The Netherlands mid-year and then gained her LPGA Tour playing rights late in the year via the Q Series qualifying.
The Sydney golfer is expected to continue her rapid progress in 2022 and her current 75th place standing could well be a lot higher in twelve months’ time.
Su Oh won a domestic event in Australia early in the year and made the cut in most of the events he played on the LPGA Tour but there were very few high finishes and she essentially maintained the same ranking she had 12 months ago.
So, for Australasian golfers, there have been winners and losers in 2021, but the continuing progress of emerging players such as Minwoo Lee, Lucas Herbert, Cameron Davis and Stephanie Kyriacou will be watched with interest in the year ahead.
Stephanie Kyriacou – 75 with a bullet in Rolex rankings – photo LET
Australasian rankings men
Rolex Rankings