Danny Lee – needs big weekend – photo Bruce Young
The final 36 holes of the Korn Ferry Tour Championship have proven to be heart-stopping in recent years, the final result often determining just who earns the right to play the PGA Tour next season.
This week is no different and just where two or three Australasians will ply their trade over the next 12 months will be determined by just how they perform over the final two rounds in Newburgh Indiana where the final event of the combined 2020/2021 Korn Ferry Tour season comes to an end.
Unfortunately for the Australasians involved, there is a lot of work to do if they are to secure the right to play the PGA Tour given to the leading 25 players at the completion of the three event Finals and not otherwise qualified through the regular season.
New Zealander Danny Lee and Greg Chalmers are doing the best of the down-under brigade this week, the pair in a share of 13th place with Lee a having a now projected standing of 33rd and Chalmers 40th in the race for one of the aforementioned 25 cards.
Six years ago, Lee was a good enough player to finish runner-up in the PGA Tour’s Tour Championship but he has struggled in 2021, failing to make the weekend in 14 of 20 starts on the PGA Tour and was forced to play the Korn Ferry Tour Finals in order to regain his PGA Tour status.
For him to do so, however, Lee will need further improvement over the weekend but his second round of 67 has lifted him off the canvas and kept the door open.
Chalmers missed the cut in the first two of the Korn Ferry Tour Finals and so needs something special this week. Like Lee, he too added a second round of 67 after his opening round of 73 had included a double and triple bogey in his homeward nine.
Chalmers has moved to a projected 40th place in the race for one of the cards so he also requires further improvement over the weekend, but he is not without hope.
Victorian Lucas Herbert is tied in 44th place this week, a position he shares with Lismore’s Rhein Gibson although Herbert is safe in the knowledge that his 4th place finish at the opening event of the Korn Ferry Tour Finals was nearly enough to secure one of the top 25 cards. He has slipped to a projected 17th and although safely on his way to the big time next season, a big weekend will help his standing amongst those cardholders.
Gibson has played the PGA Tour previously but after a slow start to the Finals he finds himself in a projected 57th place and will need a very strong weekend if he is to regain his playing privileges.
Aaron Baddeley is the only other Australasian to have made the cut and finds himself in 64th place in this week’s event after just making the cut.
Baddeley began the week in 31st place in the race for a card but has slipped to 39th and he too needs a huge weekend to play his way back to golf’s holy grail.
NSW’ s Brett Drewitt and Perth’s Curtis Luck have both missed the cut this week and while Drewitt has already earned PGA Tour playing privileges through the regular season, the highly talented Luck is again faced with another frustrating year on the Korn Ferry Tour.
Three double bogeys in his opening nine holes today have proven very costly for luck as starting the week he was 24th in the standings and a midfield finish might have got the job done. Missing the cut by four however has seen him slip to 32nd and means he will progress no further.
Remarkable European Tour double for Højgaard brothers in Italy
The brothers Højgaard- consecutive winners on the European Tour – photo Getty Images
West Australian Min Woo Lee has dropped from contention at the DAS Automobiles Italian Open in Rome, eventually finishing in a share of 12th place after leading the event by two heading into the final 36 holes.
Lee’s rounds of 71 and 73 to finish the event were somewhat of a surprise given his great play for much of the season but interestingly, despite the weekend slip-up, he will improve one place to 9th in the Race to Dubai rankings as he and the European Tour head to the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth this week.
Lee was able to recover from a horror start to his final round after dropping four shots in his first 11 holes. He birdied the 12th and 16th and adds another €47,000 to his quickly growing bank balance but given the manner in which he played his opening 36 holes it was disappointing weekend.
In a first for the European Tour, twin brothers have won on consecutive weekends, Denmark’s Nicolai Højgaard completing a unique double when he won by one shot just seven days after his brother Rasmus (a three time European Tour winner) won the Omega European Masters in Switzerland last week.
“It means a lot,” said Højgaard. “I’ve been grinding for a long time and seeing Rasmus win three times made me want to do it even more. And to finally get it done is very special and it’s been a great week here so I’m just very happy to get it done.
“I’m very happy that Rasmus, his girlfriend and my girlfriend were around watching. I really appreciate it because I haven’t been (able) with any of his wins to see him. I could only see him in the crowd. It really means a lot to me and it’s just a very special day.”
“It’s crazy to think of (being last man in). I had a bad foot before coming here and to get it done, it’s quite a good story. I didn’t see the back nine before the first round, so it’s been a crazy week.”
Scott Hend was the only other Australian to complete all 72 holes but struggled to a final round of 75 and finished 52nd while Maverick Antcliff made the cut and was well placed after consecutive opening rounds of 69 but was forced to withdraw.
Important weekend ahead for Australasians at Korn Ferry Finale
Danny Lee – needs big weekend – photo Bruce Young
The final 36 holes of the Korn Ferry Tour Championship have proven to be heart-stopping in recent years, the final result often determining just who earns the right to play the PGA Tour next season.
This week is no different and just where two or three Australasians will ply their trade over the next 12 months will be determined by just how they perform over the final two rounds in Newburgh Indiana where the final event of the combined 2020/2021 Korn Ferry Tour season comes to an end.
Unfortunately for the Australasians involved, there is a lot of work to do if they are to secure the right to play the PGA Tour given to the leading 25 players at the completion of the three event Finals and not otherwise qualified through the regular season.
New Zealander Danny Lee and Greg Chalmers are doing the best of the down-under brigade this week, the pair in a share of 13th place with Lee a having a now projected standing of 33rd and Chalmers 40th in the race for one of the aforementioned 25 cards.
Six years ago, Lee was a good enough player to finish runner-up in the PGA Tour’s Tour Championship but he has struggled in 2021, failing to make the weekend in 14 of 20 starts on the PGA Tour and was forced to play the Korn Ferry Tour Finals in order to regain his PGA Tour status.
For him to do so, however, Lee will need further improvement over the weekend but his second round of 67 has lifted him off the canvas and kept the door open.
Chalmers missed the cut in the first two of the Korn Ferry Tour Finals and so needs something special this week. Like Lee, he too added a second round of 67 after his opening round of 73 had included a double and triple bogey in his homeward nine.
Chalmers has moved to a projected 40th place in the race for one of the cards so he also requires further improvement over the weekend, but he is not without hope.
Victorian Lucas Herbert is tied in 44th place this week, a position he shares with Lismore’s Rhein Gibson although Herbert is safe in the knowledge that his 4th place finish at the opening event of the Korn Ferry Tour Finals was nearly enough to secure one of the top 25 cards. He has slipped to a projected 17th and although safely on his way to the big time next season, a big weekend will help his standing amongst those cardholders.
Gibson has played the PGA Tour previously but after a slow start to the Finals he finds himself in a projected 57th place and will need a very strong weekend if he is to regain his playing privileges.
Aaron Baddeley is the only other Australasian to have made the cut and finds himself in 64th place in this week’s event after just making the cut.
Baddeley began the week in 31st place in the race for a card but has slipped to 39th and he too needs a huge weekend to play his way back to golf’s holy grail.
NSW’ s Brett Drewitt and Perth’s Curtis Luck have both missed the cut this week and while Drewitt has already earned PGA Tour playing privileges through the regular season, the highly talented Luck is again faced with another frustrating year on the Korn Ferry Tour.
Three double bogeys in his opening nine holes today have proven very costly for luck as starting the week he was 24th in the standings and a midfield finish might have got the job done. Missing the cut by four however has seen him slip to 32nd and means he will progress no further.
Cameron Smith’s fightback keeps hopes alive in Atlanta
Cameron Smith – file photo IGF
Cameron Smith recovered from a slow start to his second round at the Tour Championship, a final nine of 31 allowing the 28-year-old Queenslander to move into a share of 5th position and, although now eight shots from the lead held by Patrick Cantlay, he is well positioned to contend for some of leading prizes available in the event.
Smith’s recovery might well have been even more dramatic as he missed very makeable birdie opportunities at the 10th, 12th, 15th and 16th but after his outward nine of 37, he will be delighted to be back in the thick of things for the weekend.
If he was to finish 5th this week, he would be up for a prize of US$2,500,000 and even 10th place earns US$830,000 so there is a lot to play for even if Smith can’t get himself into winning contention where first prize is a massive US$15 million
Cantlay leads by one over Jon Rahm but there is a break of five shots back to the third placed Bryson DeChambeau and so Smith finds himself just two shots out of a possible cheque for US$4 million for the third placed finished this week.
Once again Smith showed his growing capacity to knuckle down even when things aren’t going well and fighting to finish as well as he can, and it will be that resolve that will stand him in good stead over the weekend.
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PRIZEMONEY
Min Woo Lee has the lead in Rome
Min Woo Lee in action today – photo European Tour
Perth’s 23 year old, Min Woo Lee, has the halfway lead at the DS Automobiles Italian Open in Rome, backing up his impressive opening round of 64 with a round of 68 today to move two clear of the field.
Lee, who is currently in 10th position in the Race to Dubai season long points table, much of that the result of his recent Scottish Open victory, has the seemingly ever-present American Johannes Veerman, England’s Tommy Fleetwood, Finland’s Mikko Korhonen and Spain’s Adri Arnaus hot on his heels.
“It was very solid again,” said Lee after his round. “I didn’t make too many mistakes, made a couple of bad swings but the ball, it was going really far, and I didn’t really change the way I played, I just hit everything so long.
“I hit a couple nice putts coming down the stretch and happy to be in the lead with two rounds to go. First step will be to keep the umbrella in the bag. I ’m not sure how it will play wet but I’m looking forward to the challenge.”
Lee has struggled to regain the form which saw him win the Scottish Open in July but he did play well in Switzerland last week, a third round of 74 costing what otherwise might have been a high finish.
Maverick Antcliff is the next best of the Australians, the Queenslander tied for 18th and six from the lead while Scott Hend is another shot back and the only other to make the weekend.
Australasians chasing PGA Tour status in Indiana
Greg Chalmers – can he regain PGA Tour status from a standing start? – file photo Bruce Young
The Korn Ferry Tour’s final event of the year, the Korn Ferry Tour Championship is played this week with six Australians and one New Zealander hoping to finish the season strongly and be on their way to the PGA Tour’s first tournament of the new season in Napa in two weeks’ time.
The Victorian National Golf Club in Newburgh in Indiana plays host to the US$1 million event but, while the prizemoney is strong by Korn Ferry Tour standards, the bigger prize is earning a card to compete on the big stage next season.
Brett Drewitt and Lucas Herbert have already earned that right courtesy of Herbert’s good start to the three event Final Series but they can advance their cause even further with a good week and claim higher status in their quest for early season PGA Tour starts.
For Curtis Luck 24th, Aaron Baddeley 31st, Rhein Gibson 48th, Greg Chalmers (no position on the list) and New Zealander Danny Lee 77th, their goal is to finish inside the top 25 of those not already qualified via the regular tour season.
One good finish can get the job done and, even Chalmers, who has missed the cut in his opening two events of the Final Series, can return to the PGA Tour with perhaps even a top ten finish this week dependent on the performances of others.
There is a lot to play for with six of the seven Australasians looking to return to the PGA Tour they have played previously while for Herbert he is on his way to the big time for the first occasion.
Can Cam Smith become Australia’s first FedEx Cup Champion?
Cam Smith – file photo Getty / PGA Tour
Cameron Smith enters this week’s Tour Championship at the East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta as Australia’s only representative and in a position to become, potentially, the first Australian winner of the FedEx Cup.
Smith can win the season long series, the massive $US15 million bonus and a five year exemption to the PGA Tour by winning the Tour Championship but in order to do so he will need to overcome the five-shot deficit he gives Patrick Cantlay beginning the event.
The FedExCup points leader after the first two Playoffs events, Cantlay, will begin the TOUR Championship at 10-under par. The No. 2 player will start at 8 under.
The No. 3 player starts at 7 under; the No. 4 player starts at 6 under; the No. 5 player (Smith) starts at 5 under. Players 6-10 start at 4 under; players 11-15 start at 3 under; players 16-20 start at 2 under; players 21-25 start at 1 under; and players 26-30 start at even par.
So, the winner of the Tour Championship and the FedEx Cup and its massive first prize bonus will be the player who comes out on top when the scores after 72 holes are combined with the handicap given at the start of the week.
The main reasoning in this format is to ensure the outcome of the FedEx Cup is not determined until the result of the Tour Championship is decided as there have been occasions in the past when the FedEx Cup was decided before the Tour Championship was complete.
A mid field finish at last week’s BMW Championship saw Smith slip from 3rd to 5th in the FedEx Cup standings but he still has a great opportunity to steal the show on Sunday.
The 28 year old Queenslander will be playing this event for the third occasion having finished 20th in 2018 and 24th in 2020.
Smith began the event well last year and finished well in 2018 so if he can find a away to combine his opening and finishing 36 holes then the chance of winning such a massive prize is not beyond him.
Smith was 10th at the Olympics, 5th at the WGC FedEx St Jude Classic and then runner-up after a playoff at the Northern Trust before finishing 34th last week so his form of late has been encouraging ahead of such a significant event.
Just by making this week’s event Smith is assured of a cheque for US$395,000 for finishing in 30th place in the 30 man field but the possibility of the first prize of US$15,000,000 must be very much a possibility for the young man from Brisbane.
New Zealand’s Steve Alker starring on PGA Tour Champions
Steve Alker file photo – Bruce Young
New Zealander, Steve Alker, turned 50 just a month ago but in his first two attempts on the PGA Tour Champions he has already proven he could well be a force to be reckoned with.
Alker finished 6th in last week’s Boeing Classic in Washington State after Monday qualifying for the event and today, at the Ally Championship in Grand Blanc in Michigan, where he earned a start courtesy of his top ten last week, Alker recorded a third place finish just two behind the winner, Joe Durant, and one behind PGA Tour Champions legend, Bernhard Langer.
Alker will earn US$144,000, one of the biggest cheques of his career, and the finish inside the top ten should assure him of a start at the Ascension Charity Classic in St Louis in ten days’ time.
“Yeah, yeah, this week was great,” said Alker. “I just enjoyed the week and had fun. Just lucky to be here. Last week was a fun week as well, first week.
“I just kind of kept it rolling, I just kind of kept my nose clean most of the week. I think my first bogey was like on
my fifth hole today this week, so I was just pleased I could keep it in the fairway and had a lot of chances, so it was fun.
“I’m done with Korn Ferry and I’m just coming out here and joining the 50 Club and trying to keep it going”
Other than the amazing performance of Sir Bob Charles when he was one of the dominant forces on the then Senior Tour in the 1980’s and 1990’s, New Zealand has had little if any presence on the US tour for the over 50’s but Alker’s tidy game and outstanding golf swing appear to be suited to the slightly shorter courses in use on the PGA Tour Champions.
Alker does not yet have status on the PGA Tour Champions and dependent on how things develop over the next few weeks he will likely have to attend the Tour School but he is showing that by being competitive on the Korn Ferry Tour until the age of 50 (he finished 5th three weeks ago) he has the game to compete at this level.
Australians keep PGA Tour hopes alive
Curtis Luck- moves inside the all important top 25 – file photo
Curtis Luck, Aaron Baddeley and Rhein Gibson have kept alive their hopes of a return to the PGA Tour with solid weeks at the second of the Korn Ferry Tour Finals in Columbus in Ohio today.
Luck’s final round of 66 saw him finish in 16th place this week but importantly he has improved to 24th in the standings which provide the basis for the 25 PGA Tour cards for next season handed out at the completion of next week’s Korn Ferry Tour Championship.
Baddeley finished 22nd this week and jumps to 31st in the standings while Gibson who was forced to withdraw from last week’s opening Final event, the Boise Open, finished 34th in Columbus and is now 48th in the standings.
One good result can change it all for all three players and they will be keen to produce such next week in Newburgh, Indiana.
NSW’s Brett Drewitt also finished 22nd this week but he already has his PGA Tour card assured courtesy of finishing inside the top 25 in the regular season’s standings.
Lucas Herbert struggled to a final round of 74 this week and finished 58th but, despite flying into the wrong airport earlier in the week perhaps disrupting his preparation, has the benefit of knowing that his 4th place finish in the opening final last week has him on his way to the PGA Tour next season. He stands in 6th place and cannot lose the card he essentially earned in Boise.
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Min Woo Lee leading Australian in Switzerland
Rasmus Højgaard – photo Getty Images
Min Woo Lee has finished as the leading Australian at the Omega European Masters in Crans-sur-Sierre in Switzerland, but, after being in excellent shape as the tournament entered the weekend, he will be disappointed in his final finishing position of 21st, despite a final round of 67.
His third round of 74, where he was actually 7 over through 12 holes on Saturday, proved costly but he remains in 10th place in the Road to Dubai standings, much of that the result of his win in the Scottish Open in July.
Lee finished seven shots from the winner, 20-year-old Rasmus Højgaard who at the age of just 20 has now won three European Tour titles. This win follows up a recent return to form when 3rd at the Cazoo Classic in London for the Danish golfer.
“At the moment it’s a bit surreal to be fair,” said the winner after his finish. “I didn’t expect to be in this position but it’s amazing. I knew I had to make a birdie (at the 18th) to have a chance to maybe get in the play-off, so we were just trying to set up a chance. I made a birdie and then we had a bit of a strange ending. It was crazy.
“That’s by far the most nervous I’ve been the whole day (over the putt at the 18th). But it’s so nice to have the crowds back to cheer you on. That was a great moment.
“I’m very proud. With some of the players who have won it, it’s very special. It’s an amazing place and I can’t wait to come back again.
“I’ve been struggling quite a bit the last few months. Had a good week in London, trying to find my game a little bit again and it was right here again.”
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Top tens for Hillier and Kyriacou in Sweden
Whitney Hillier – file photo Ladies European Tour
Australians Whitney Hillier (8th) and Stephanie Kyriacou (10th) have recorded top tens in the Ladies European Tour’s Didriksons Skafto Open on the island of Skafto in Sweden.
For the 30-year-old West Australian, Hillier, it was her first top ten in her last 23 starts on the Ladies European Tour and follows a very much improved showing when 15th in the recent combined LPGA Tour event, the Scottish Open.
Hillier finished six shots from the winner, Pauline Roussin Bouchard of France but consecutive weekend rounds of 65 saw a huge jump from her opening round of 72 in the low scoring layout.
For Kyriacou, her 10th place continues a superb season in Europe, this her 6th top ten in 12 starts this season including the win she posted at the Big Green Egg Open in the Netherlands in July. The NSW golfer remains in second position in the Race to Costa Del Sol standings.
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