Cameron Smith – file photo PGA of America
Cameron Smith has elevated his world ranking to an all time high with his outstanding performance to finish runner-up in this morning’s delayed final round of the Northern Trust event at the Liberty National Golf Club in New Jersey just across New York Bay from New York City.
Smith is now 23rd in the world ranking, surpassing his previous best of 24th after finishing 6th at the WGC Championship in Mexico in February of 2019.
The recently turned 28-year-old Queenslander produced a final round of 67 in the gusty conditions which followed yesterday’s damaging Hurricane Henri and finished tied for the lead with Tony Finau at the completion of 72 holes.
Smith, who was tied for the lead with Jon Rahm through 54 holes, began his round well when he holed a lengthy birdie putt at the second but at the 5th hole he pulled his tee shot into the hazard left and eventually settled for a double bogey.
He made the turn in even par but raced home in 31 for his round of 4 under 67 to catch Finau who had finished in the group ahead following that player’s closing nine of 30 and a round of 65 to set the mark for those behind.
Finau has been a perennial bridesmaid since his only previous PGA Tour title in Puerto Rico in 2016 having racked up ten runner-up finishes in that time, three of those in 2021 and as Smith stood over a 25-foot birdie putt at the 72nd hole to win the event outright there was a feeling whether it might happen again.
His putt finished a couple of feet short and it was off to extra holes to decide the winner of the first of three FedEx Cup Playoffs.
Finau’s drive was perfect at the first extra hole but Smith’s was so bad he was forced to play a provisional and was behind the eight-ball from that point.
Finau found the green with his approach and when he two putted for par the title was his.
Smith took the loss on the chin. After all he has advanced his cause in the FedEx Cup standings and the pursuit of riches they provide to third place, and he is very well positioned as the Playoffs head to Maryland this week for the BMW Championship and to Atlanta in ten days’ time for the Tour Championship.
“Just a terrible swing, mate,” said Smith when asked about the wild drive at the first playoff hole. “Just a mis-hit, and in these conditions, you can’t mis-hit the ball. Got a little bottom-y and a little bit heal-y and just blew up in the wind and went a long ways right.
“You know, my driver has cost me a few tournaments this year. That makes me more determined to try and figure it out before the end of the year.
“Luckily for us there’s always next week, and we’ve got two events left to try to make another move, so looking forward to it.”
It was Smith’s second runner-up finish of the season along with a similar finish at the Masters late in 2020 in addition of course to his win in New Orleans. He earns US$1.035 million for his runner-up finish however and takes his season’s earnings on the PGA Tour to US$5.8 million and into 9th place on the money list standings.
Finau’s victory moves him to number one in FedEx Cup standings and gets a massive monkey off his back where he has been unable to seal the deal given the many chances he has had to do so.
“Yeah, it’s extremely special,” said Finau. “It seems like I was a totally different player in 2016 than I am now. So there’s a lot of good things I think that have transpired. I worked my tail off to put myself in this position again, and it’s really nice to have — you know, I turned in my lowest nine on the back nine today and that’s going to give me a lot of confidence moving forward in contention.
“That was the goal on the day was to get to 20-under, and we thought that was going to have a legitimate chance to win the golf tournament. And 21-under would have done it outright, but I was able to hit some clutch shots in the playoff and win the tournament.”
“I’ve never been in this situation,” he added referring to his position at the top of the FedEx Cup rankings. “I had a chance in 2018 and played great in the Playoffs and was in the top five going into THE TOUR Championship and had a chance to win the FedEx Cup then.
“This is obviously going to be my best position going into the BMW, and then on to THE TOUR Championship. I’m excited about that opportunity. I’ve never played that golf course next week, so we’re back at work tomorrow, and you know, to try and get ourselves in position to win another golf tournament, the BMW and then on to THE TOUR Championship from there.
“It’s exciting to be in this position. I’ve played great all season. No W throughout the season, but in the Playoffs, this is what makes the Playoffs, immense pressure, and a lot of things riding on these three events, and I’m happy to win this first one.”
Of the other Australians beside Smith, Cameron Davis completed a solid weekend with a round of 69 to finish 31st this week and is currently 36th in the FedEx Cup standings assuring him of a place at the BMW Championship in Maryland this week and an outside chance to make the top 30 at the completion of that event who earn the right to play the Tour Championship.
Marc Leishman finished 47th this week and is now 35th in the FedEx Cup standings.
Australia will therefore have Smith, Leishman, Davis and Matt Jones in the BMW Championship field.
SCORES
Australians behind eight-ball at BMW Championship
Matt Jones – leads the Australians early – file photo
When darkness eventually stopped play on day two of the BMW Championship in Maryland, three of the four Australians in the 70 man field had completed their rounds with only Cameron Smith required to return on Saturday morning to finish up his final three holes.
Smith faces a 12 foot birdie putt at the 16th when he gets back to the golf course, round two having been disrupted, initially, by bad weather then darkness.
Smith is in a share of 38th place at 4 under par and in terms of his projected ranking in the FedEx Cup table he has slipped two places to 5th based on his current scoring. That could change with a strong finish tomorrow morning.
Matt Jones leads the Australians in 26th place this week but he has slipped from 42nd to 47th in the FedEx Cup standings and with only the leading 30 making it through to next week’s Tour Championship he has some work ahead of him if he holds hopes of getting to Atlanta.
Cam Davis is in 38th place after his completed 36 holes this week and has dropped to 41st in the projected Fed Ex Cup standings and, like Jones, he has a big weekend ahead of him if he is to play the Tour Championship for the first time.
Marc Leishman struggled to a round of 76 today and is in 64th place this week and is now in 46th place in the FedEx Cup standings.
The leader is Bryson DeChambeau who had an opportunity to record a sub 60 round when he sat at 12 under through 16 holes on the par 72layout and faced a 15 footer for birdie at the 17th hole. That putt missed but he created another great chance to join the select sub-60 club when he hit a magnificent drive then an approach at the 18th which spun back 6 feet below the hole.
His putt however was a disappointing effort, not even threatening the hole but he was round in 60 and leads by one over Patrick Cantlay and Jon Rahm, the latter of whom has three holes to play on Saturday morning.
Rahm has a 15-foot birdie putt at the 16th to join DeChambeau in the lead.
“I think in trying to hit your line I misread the putt so one of those things that it was an awesome opportunity,” said DeChambeau.
“I had a couple shots, a couple birdie opportunities at 17 and 18, and didn’t happen but still really proud of the way I handled myself, and it’s great to feel some pressure again which is awesome.”
SCORES
Luck and Gibson stake PGA Tour claim in Ohio
Curtis Luck – file photo Bruce Young
Perth’s Curtis Luck and Lismore’s Rhein Gibson have opened the door for a possible return to the PGA Tour by making a good start to the second of three Korn Ferry Tour Final events in Columbus in Ohio.
The series of events brings together the leading 75 from the Korn Ferry Tour’s 2020/2021 season and players ranked from 126 to 200 in the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup standings, the leading 25 at the completion of the three finals who have not gained 2022 PGA Tour cards through the regular Korn Ferry Tour season earning PGA Tour cards for next season.
Luck, a former US Amateur Champion, played the PGA Tour in 2019 but has been back on the Korn Ferry Tour in 2020 and 2021 and only just made it into the top 75 who earned the right to play the Finals.
Luck is in a share of third place and just one shot from the lead at the Scarlet Course and currently has a projected standing of 10th in the race for one of the 25 PGA Tour cards.
That standing can swing significantly, dependent on how he finishes the event but if he can maintain his standing in this particular event, then he is assured of getting back to the PGA Tour.
Rhein Gibson – file photo Bruce Young
Lismore’s Rhein Gibson is another in a similar position to Luck. His rounds of 66 and 67 have paralleled the efforts of Luck and have moved him to a share of 3rd with Luck and others this week and he is now 11th in the standings as he too chases a return to the PGA Tour.
Inverell’s Brett Drewitt already secured his return to the PGA Tour through the regular Korn Ferry Tour season but he can improve his standing by playing well in the Finals and today he did just that with a second round of 65 to be tied for 11th this week.
Aaron Baddeley is 27th this week and 34th in the projected overall standings, Lucas Herbert only just made the cut but has slipped to 7th in the overall standings after his great week in Boise last week had him in 3rd place.
Herbert is secure in terms of gaining a PGA Tour card for the first time but any improvement over the weekend and in next week’s Tour Championship will elevate him up the standings which is important in terms of gaining early season starts.
New Zealand’s Danny Lee and Australian Greg Chalmers missed the cut and will need something special at next week’s Tour Championship in order to regain PGA Tour playing privileges.
SCORES
Min Woo Lee well placed in Switzerland
Min Woo Lee – file photo European Tour
Min Woo Lee finds himself just four shots from the halfway lead at the Omega European Masters in the alpine ski / tourist town of Crans-sur-Sierre in Switzerland.
Lee added a second round of 67 to his opening 66 and at 7 under he trails the leader Dean Burmester of South Africa by four and shares 9th place.
Lee, who won the Scottish Open in July, missed the cut in his only previous attempt in this historic event, but reflecting the game which now sees him ranked 63rd in the world, Lee is nicely placed for a weekend assault on the €2 million event.
Lee followed up his win in Scotland with a missed cut at the Open Championship and two weeks ago played the WGC event in Memphis where he finished well back in the limited player field, so he has played sparingly in recent weeks but is well and truly back in the thick of things this week.
If Lee was to go on and win this week, he would become the third West Australian to win the event following the win by Graham Marsh in 1970 and 1972 and Brett Rumford in 2007.
Queensland’s Maverick Antcliff is four shots behind Lee and tied for 32nd along with Victorian Bryden MacPherson while Wade Ormsby is 46th.
Cameron Smith reaches highest ranking following 2nd place in New Jersey
Cameron Smith – file photo PGA of America
Cameron Smith has elevated his world ranking to an all time high with his outstanding performance to finish runner-up in this morning’s delayed final round of the Northern Trust event at the Liberty National Golf Club in New Jersey just across New York Bay from New York City.
Smith is now 23rd in the world ranking, surpassing his previous best of 24th after finishing 6th at the WGC Championship in Mexico in February of 2019.
The recently turned 28-year-old Queenslander produced a final round of 67 in the gusty conditions which followed yesterday’s damaging Hurricane Henri and finished tied for the lead with Tony Finau at the completion of 72 holes.
Smith, who was tied for the lead with Jon Rahm through 54 holes, began his round well when he holed a lengthy birdie putt at the second but at the 5th hole he pulled his tee shot into the hazard left and eventually settled for a double bogey.
He made the turn in even par but raced home in 31 for his round of 4 under 67 to catch Finau who had finished in the group ahead following that player’s closing nine of 30 and a round of 65 to set the mark for those behind.
Finau has been a perennial bridesmaid since his only previous PGA Tour title in Puerto Rico in 2016 having racked up ten runner-up finishes in that time, three of those in 2021 and as Smith stood over a 25-foot birdie putt at the 72nd hole to win the event outright there was a feeling whether it might happen again.
His putt finished a couple of feet short and it was off to extra holes to decide the winner of the first of three FedEx Cup Playoffs.
Finau’s drive was perfect at the first extra hole but Smith’s was so bad he was forced to play a provisional and was behind the eight-ball from that point.
Finau found the green with his approach and when he two putted for par the title was his.
Smith took the loss on the chin. After all he has advanced his cause in the FedEx Cup standings and the pursuit of riches they provide to third place, and he is very well positioned as the Playoffs head to Maryland this week for the BMW Championship and to Atlanta in ten days’ time for the Tour Championship.
“Just a terrible swing, mate,” said Smith when asked about the wild drive at the first playoff hole. “Just a mis-hit, and in these conditions, you can’t mis-hit the ball. Got a little bottom-y and a little bit heal-y and just blew up in the wind and went a long ways right.
“You know, my driver has cost me a few tournaments this year. That makes me more determined to try and figure it out before the end of the year.
“Luckily for us there’s always next week, and we’ve got two events left to try to make another move, so looking forward to it.”
It was Smith’s second runner-up finish of the season along with a similar finish at the Masters late in 2020 in addition of course to his win in New Orleans. He earns US$1.035 million for his runner-up finish however and takes his season’s earnings on the PGA Tour to US$5.8 million and into 9th place on the money list standings.
Finau’s victory moves him to number one in FedEx Cup standings and gets a massive monkey off his back where he has been unable to seal the deal given the many chances he has had to do so.
“Yeah, it’s extremely special,” said Finau. “It seems like I was a totally different player in 2016 than I am now. So there’s a lot of good things I think that have transpired. I worked my tail off to put myself in this position again, and it’s really nice to have — you know, I turned in my lowest nine on the back nine today and that’s going to give me a lot of confidence moving forward in contention.
“That was the goal on the day was to get to 20-under, and we thought that was going to have a legitimate chance to win the golf tournament. And 21-under would have done it outright, but I was able to hit some clutch shots in the playoff and win the tournament.”
“I’ve never been in this situation,” he added referring to his position at the top of the FedEx Cup rankings. “I had a chance in 2018 and played great in the Playoffs and was in the top five going into THE TOUR Championship and had a chance to win the FedEx Cup then.
“This is obviously going to be my best position going into the BMW, and then on to THE TOUR Championship. I’m excited about that opportunity. I’ve never played that golf course next week, so we’re back at work tomorrow, and you know, to try and get ourselves in position to win another golf tournament, the BMW and then on to THE TOUR Championship from there.
“It’s exciting to be in this position. I’ve played great all season. No W throughout the season, but in the Playoffs, this is what makes the Playoffs, immense pressure, and a lot of things riding on these three events, and I’m happy to win this first one.”
Of the other Australians beside Smith, Cameron Davis completed a solid weekend with a round of 69 to finish 31st this week and is currently 36th in the FedEx Cup standings assuring him of a place at the BMW Championship in Maryland this week and an outside chance to make the top 30 at the completion of that event who earn the right to play the Tour Championship.
Marc Leishman finished 47th this week and is now 35th in the FedEx Cup standings.
Australia will therefore have Smith, Leishman, Davis and Matt Jones in the BMW Championship field.
SCORES
Rod Pampling wins first PGA Tour Champions title
Rod Pampling – file photo
Queensland’s Rod Pampling has added a PGA Tour Champions victory to his three PGA Tour titles with a final round of 66 at the Boeing Classic in Snoqualmie south of Seattle in Washington State.
Pampling’s one shot victory over Tim Herron, Billy Mayfair and Jim Furyk earned the 51 year old US$315,000 and completes a run of events where he has recorded three top tens in his last four events.
Pampling’s earnings for the combined 2020/2021 season are now close to US$1.5 million and he has moved to 11th place in the standings on the PGA Tour Champions for the season.
Immediately after his victory and before his closest challengers were finished, Pampling was asked how he felt about the day and his prospects of winning.
“It was good. I hit everything good, felt in control most of the time. You know, it’s golf, sometimes it works out. And hopefully no one else will do any other birdies and I’ll at least have a chance still in a playoff.”
He needn’t have worried as although several tried no one was able to catch him and he would add this title to the International, the Arnold Palmer Invitational and the Shriners Hospitals for Children titles he won on the PGA Tour.
Pampling made the best possible start to his final round as he set out after the leader Woody Austin with an eagle birdie start. On a low scoring day, he maintained the momentum until the turn and although he would bogey the 10th and 16th holes he added three other birdies and had done enough to hold off late challenges from several players.
New Zealand’s Steve Alker, playing in his very first PGA Tour Champions event after turning 50 last month, made an excellent debut when finishing 7th to earn US$64,000. Alker’s final 9 of 32 swept him into a top ten finish to get his Champions Tour career underway provided of course he can earn his playing rights there over the next few months.
Of the other Australians in the field David McKenzie was 26th, Robert Allenby 56th, John Senden 61st and Stephen Leaney 67th.
Lucas Herbert starts well in pursuit of PGA Tour card
Lucas Herbert – laying claims to a PGA Tour card – file photo Asian Tour
Lucas Herbert’s share of 4th place in the opening event of the Korn Ferry Tour Finals, the Albertson’s Boise Open in Idaho, leaves him well placed to gain one of the 25 cards that will be handed out at the completion of the series at the Korn Ferry Tour Championship in two weeks’ time.
Herbert, who is in the field courtesy of his performances while playing events as a non-member of the PGA Tour, birdied four of his last six holes for a round of 66, improving eight spots from his overnight position.
The finish will go a long way to ensuring he finishes inside the top 25 players in the combined field of 150 eligible contenders from this year’s Korn Ferry Tour list and from those finishing between 126th and 200th on the FedEx Cup points table at the completion of the Finals.
If he is to do so, then he will earn a PGA Tour card for next season and further elevate his standing in the game
Historically, one good finish such as this in the previous four event series has been enough to graduate and given Herbert has two more chances to consolidate his position then not only does his PGA Tour card appear secure so too does the opportunity to advance his potential standing amongst the graduates.
Herbert finished three shots from the winner, Greyson Sigg of the USA, after a round that included eight birdies.
Aaron Baddeley finished 48th this week, New Zealand’s Danny Lee 60th and Curtis Luck 79th.
Other Australians in the field but who did not make the cut were Brett Drewitt, Greg Chalmers and Rhein Gibson.
Drewitt has already secured his 2020/2021 PGA Tour card via the regular season Korn Ferry Tour events.
Minjee Lee’s bold bid falls just short at Carnoustie
The winner Anna Nordqvist – photo Warren Little R&A via Getty Images
Minjee Lee made a valiant bid to add a second consecutive major title to her resumé when a final round of 66 left her two short of the winner Anna Nordqvist at the AIG Women’s Open at Carnoustie.
Just as she had when winning the Evian Championship a few weeks ago, Lee began the day well behind (five shots) the leader, Nanna Koertz Madsen, and by the time she reached the 18th she needed a birdie to tie the then lead.
Her drive was just short of the right-hand fairway bunker but given the quality of her play to that point her approach was a shock, landing short of the famous burn that caused Jean van de Velde so much grief in 1999, then bouncing into and then out to finish a yard or two on the greenside of the water.
It was clear, even at that stage with still so many players on the golf course, that a par was the absolute worst score she could record if she was to harbour any hopes of victory and after she pitched to 8 feet the door was still open.
Unfortunately for Lee, she would miss the putt for a final round of 66 and a total of 10 under.
It had been a brilliant attempt to come from the clouds however and she would eventually finish in a share of 5th place and just two from the winner and secure yet another big cheque (US219,000)in this most lucrative of LPGA Tour events.
“I didn’t really feel too much pressure or anything,” said Lee. “I was five shots off the lead, so I just tried to play as aggressively as I could, given the conditions and the pin placements. Just try to hit one shot at a time and just try to hit each shot, like commit to each shot. That’s pretty much what I did, and had 6-under today, which is a great score around here.
“I got off to a really fast start, two birdies in the first three holes. So, I just tried to take as much advantage as I could with the short irons in and short putts. So yeah, I think I finished really strong, and on the par 3s, so pretty solid day.”
New South Wales’ Stephanie Kyriacou further highlighted her extraordinary potential with a round of 69 to finish in a share of 13th and receive a cheque for US$85,000 her biggest in her still young professional career.
Kyriacou’s double bogey at the last will have hurt but she can be happy with her such a good finish in just her third major event and her great week now moves her to 2nd place in the Ladies European Tour standings for this season.
Of the other Australasians, Lydia Ko was 29th, Su Oh 34th after a horror final round of 76 and Hannah Green 48th.
The winner Nordqvist won her third major title having won the Women’s PGA Championship in 2009 and the Evian Championship in 2017.
Twelve months ago Nordqvist married a local Scottish footballer so her already popular win was made all the more so because of the strong ties she now has with the region in which the event was played.
“Yeah, it’s been a long time, said the Swede referring to her two-year drought of victories. “I had a good opportunity last year to win and didn’t pull through. You question whether it’s going to happen or to the again but knowing it’s the British Open, it’s been worth the wait.
“Me and my caddie, Paul, were chatting with Nanna was putting. It just seemed so unreal and just to have a little tap-in for the win, like I couldn’t ask for anything better. Just to share the experience with him and knowing how hard he’s worked, and keeping patient all these years, yeah, it’s such a great experience sharing that with close friends and family.”
Nordqvist was asked which of her now three major titles is the most special and she replied; “I think this is the most special one. Just because it’s taken me a couple years and I’ve fought so hard and questioned whether I was doing the right things.
“Also, knowing like how my caddie, Paul, he’s been working so hard and I really wanted to do it for him, too. My husband has been supporting me so much, too, and all friends and family, and having spectators back and feeling that adrenaline kicking again I think this is definitely my most special win.”
SCORES AND MONEY
Cam Smith flirts with 59 to share Northern Trust lead
Cam Smith – file photo USGA
Cam Smith will take a share of the 54-hole lead into Monday’s final round of the Northern Trust at Liberty National in New Jersey following a stunning third round of 60 which was just a twelve-foot putt from a round of 59.
With a severe storm scheduled to hit the area on Sunday, a decision has been made to carry the final round of the opening event of the FedEx Cup Playoffs over to Monday to avoid the disruption the weather event (Hurricane Henri) is forecast to cause, so Smith will have to wait a little longer to see whether a third individual PGA Tour title is in the offing.
Smith laid the blame on the missed opportunity completely on himself. “I actually thought it was going to kind of stay straight and then drop a little bit right there at the end off the bunker, and yeah, just didn’t do it. I hit a pretty good putt, good speed and I mean, looking back at, it I don’t know how I read it to go that way, but it is what it is.”
It was, though, a very special milestone for the 28-year-old Queenslander. It was his lowest ever round and the most amount of birdies he has recorded in any one round and, importantly, he shares the lead with Jon Rahm as the event heads into the final round.
That is, of course, provided there is another round as, dependant on the severity of the storm and its repercussions, it may be that the tournament is reduced to 54 holes, but that is all ahead.
Smith’s consecutive nines of 30 had him in and out of the lead as he waited just under three hours for the final pairing of Jon Rahm and Tony Finau to finish their rounds, Rahm’s roller coaster over the closing stages
Smith now has a projected standing of 2nd in the FedEx Cup standings and is guaranteed to advance to the Tour Championship in two weeks but first he has a very big day ahead of him on Monday.
“Yeah, I don’t know what I’m going to do tomorrow,” said Smith referring to the enforced day off on Sunday. “I always think it’s hard to back up a really good round, so maybe the day off will help me out. I’ve never been in this situation tomorrow.
“Probably just a little bit of a rest. A round like this usually takes it out of you a little bit, the adrenaline, the highs and the lows. Sleep in. Maybe a little bit of gym and come out Monday firing.”
When asked if perhaps a haircut was a possibility Smith responded; “No. It’s like my good luck charm. I can’t cut it off at the minute. Maybe a couple bad months of golf, it will come off, but until then, it’s staying.”
Rahm’s final six holes included a double bogey and a bogey but there were also three birdies over the final nine to allow him to finish the day in a share of the lead. He, too, missed a very makeable 12-footer at the last which would have given him the lead outright but it was not to be and the pair find themselves one ahead of South African Erik Van Rooyen and two ahead of Justin Thomas and Tony Finau.
Cam Davis in 40th place and Marc Leishman 50th were the only other Australians to make the cut although both are assured of advancing to the BMW Championship in Maryland next week where the leading 70 players in the FedEx Cup standings remain alive to pursue the riches of the Playoff’s later stages.
Scores
Scott and Day bow out of FedEx Cup Playoffs
Adam Scott out of FedEx Cup contention – file photo
After such an encouraging week in Greensboro last week, any hope Adam Scott had of advancing further in the FedEx Cup Playoffs has been extinguished after he missed the cut in the opening Playoff event, the Northern Trust.
Scott, who had won over this layout previously, began the week well with an opening round of 67 on Thursday and was still comfortably placed making the turn in round two.
A wild drive at the 10th however led to a double bogey and when he again was forced to take a penalty at the 15th he racked up yet another double bogey and although he birdied the 17th he was unable to birdie the last and missed the cut by one.
Scott has slipped from 82nd to 90th in the projected FedEx Cup standings and, needing to be inside the top 70 to make it to next week’s BMW Championship, his 2021 PGA Tour season is over.
Scott was unavailable for comment after his round but earlier in the week he described his thoughts after last week’s near miss after being beaten in a playoff.
“Yeah, it’s a weird one. Because I had been so frustrated with where my game had been sitting for most of the year, there was a really high level of satisfaction of just playing well on the weekend, and honestly, until the playoff, I had no expectation to win that tournament at all, and then I really put my mind into winning it.
“It’s probably the least upset I’ve been to not win a tournament — or to lose a tournament, if you want to say that, because I just feel like it’s been such a grind and I am pleased to somewhat feel like myself on the golf course again. So I wasn’t punching anything this time.”
That form did not carry over to this week however and the chances to grab some of the FedEx Cup Playoff riches are gone.
Cameron Smith leads the Australians in 25th place, while Cameron Davis and Marc Leishman in 46th place were the only two other Australians to make the cut.
Jason Day and Matt Jones also missed the cut, Day’s season now over while for Jones he has enough points to make it into the BMW Championship next week.
Maverick Antcliff in contention again in Europe
Maverick Antcliff – file photo
Queensland’s Maverick Antcliff has continued his recent good form and finds himself just three shots from the lead at the D+D Real Czech Masters in Prague.
Antcliff who was just two shots from the halfway lead at last week’s Cazoo Classic near London before finishing midfield continues to impress in the relatively early stages of his European Tour career, having finished 3rd and runner-up in two events since joining the tour last year.
Antcliff was just outside the top 60 in the race to Dubai rankings leading into this week so capitalising on his good start this week will go some way to ensuring he has access to the bigger events at the end of the season.
The 28-year-old is tied for 5th behind Sweden’s Sebastian Soderberg.
Of the other Australasians, Antcliff’s fellow Queenslander Jake McLeod and New Zealand’s Ryan Fox are 34th, Deyen Lawson 50th and New Zealander Josh Geary 63rd.
SCORES