The Open Championship trophy and the iconic starters’ hut at Royal St Georges- photo R&A -Getty David Cannon
This week’s Open Championship at Royal St Georges in Sandwich in Kent will provide significant interest for Australasian golf with thirteen golfers from Australia / New Zealand teeing it up in the 149th edition of golf’s oldest championship.
In 1894, Royal St Georges became the first venue outside of Scotland to host the event, one of only six in England to have staged the Championship over those 148 previous Open Championships
Winners of the Open Championship at Royal St Georges in the modern era include Bill Rogers (1981), Sandy Lyle (1985), Greg Norman (1993) Ben Curtis (2003) and Darren Clarke (2011).
My only exposure to the layout, adjacent to the English Channel, came in 1975 when caddying for the New Zealander, Simon Owen, at the Penfold (British) PGA Championship that year.
My caddying years in Europe never included an Open Championship at Royal St Georges but I experienced just what a demanding test it was in 1975 when Arnold Palmer, at 3 under, won by two shots. Palmer and runner-up Eamonn Darcy were the only two players to finish under par in the event.
It was Palmer’s second to last win in a regular tour event and at the age of 45 I recall the feeling of seeing such a legend defeating a field of European Tour players, nine years after, as a 12 year old, first seeing him in an exhibition match in New Zealand
The Australasian challenge in 2021 is headed by its leading world ranked player, Cameron Smith, but he is joined in order of world ranking by fellow Australasians, Marc Leishman, Adam Scott, Lucas Herbert, Min Woo Lee, Matt Jones, Jason Day, Jason Scrivener, Ryan Fox, Brad Kennedy, Deyen Lawson, Aaron Pike and Daniel Hillier
Cameron Smith will play his 4th Open Championship with a best of 20th at Royal Portrush in 2019. He is in the field courtesy of his world ranking amongst other qualifying criteria. Smith’s most recent form in 2021 has been a little below his best but he has proven himself capable of playing well at the highest level, and on the toughest golf courses, so a good week is not beyond him.
Marc Leishman will tee it up for the 10th time at the Open and has been inside the top 6 on three occasions including when runner-up after a playoff at St Andrews in 2015. His recent 3rd place at the Travelers Championship in Hartford suggests he is not too far from where he needs to be to again do well in a style of golf that clearly suits him.
Adam Scott attempts the Open Championship for the 21st occasion and after a slow start to Open efforts in earlier years, he has improved significantly over the last ten years or so having missed only one cut in that time.
Scott’s agonising near miss at Royal Lytham & St Annes in 2012 when leading by four with four to play is the one he and his fans no doubt remember most, perhaps for the wrong reasons, but there was also a 3rd place the following year at Muirfield and a 5th place in 2014 at Royal Liverpool.
Some solid results in recent weeks in the US, suggest Scott is on the verge of another good Open Championship showing.
Lucas Herbert played his way into the event with his win at the Irish Open eight days ago. Herbert’s only other appearance at the Open came when making the cut but finishing 58th at the 2018 edition at Carnoustie.
The 25 year old Victorian has developed into an outstanding world class player in the last eighteen months and it would not surprise if he was to put together another very good week in Europe and significantly better his debut effort.
His form prior to his win at the Irish Open was impressive with two very good finishes in PGA Tour events and his 4th place finish last week in Scotland further enhances his claims.
Min Woo Lee was the last of the group into the field following his victory at the Scottish Open on Sunday. He earned one of the spots available to the leading three finishers at the Renaissance Club and not otherwise exempt so his place in the field has been last minute but well earned.
For Lee it will be his first appearance in a major championship and his current form of late, after a disappointing start to 2021, has been trending in the right direction. His most immediate form is clearly evident, finishing an improved 17th at the Irish Open a week ago and then the playoff victory in Scotland on Sunday.
Matt Jones gets his chance courtesy of his Australian Open win in 2019, the leading three players in that event not otherwise exempt earning a way into the field after Covid ruled out the opportunity in 2020.
Jones will play the Open for the 5th time, a best of 30th at St Andrews in 2015 his claim to fame to date.
Jones won on the PGA Tour earlier this year but his more recent form, while solid, has hardly set the world on fire.
Jason Day will play his 9th Open Championship after a 10th place finish on debut in 2010. His best was when finishing 4th, just one shot from the playoff in 2015. Day has shown signs of improvement in recent starts after being forced to withdraw from the Memorial through injury and then not qualifying a start at the US Open. He finished 30th at this venue in 2011 after contending through 36 holes.
Jason Scrivener is in the field courtesy of his standing in the Race to Dubai rankings at the completion of the recent BMW International.
Scrivener will play his first Open Championship, but he has played two other major championships and he is steadily building on what is an increasingly impressive professional career. He has recorded three top tens in three of his last four European Tour starts so he is in solid form and is an ever-improving player.
New Zealand’s Ryan Fox will play the Open Championship for the 5th time after topping the 2019 Australasian Tour Order of Merit, a carryover qualifying criteria.
Fox missed the cut at the recent event in Ireland and finished well back after making the cut in Scotland but his form prior to that was very good and he does play links golf well. He has made the cut in three of his previous four appearances at the Open with a best of 16th at Royal Portrush.
Brad Kennedy gets another Open Championship start as a result of winning the most recent Australasian Tour Order of Merit, much of that courtesy of his win at the New Zealand Open in 2020. He has missed the cut at both of his two previous attempts in this event and other than a win in a secondary event in Australia early in the season he has struggled to date in 2021.
Victorian Deyen Lawson gets to play his first Open Championship and earned his start via final qualifying where he led the qualifiers at his venue.
Lawson is playing events on the European Challenge Tour in 2021 but having missed his last ten cuts, this opportunity comes from left field in that respect and is a welcome turnaround of fortunes.
Aaron Pike is an interesting inclusion amongst the Australasian group. Currently ranked 643rd in the world, he has played only eight events in 2021 and has not played an event on a sanctioned tour since March.
Pike did, however, earn his way into the field with a 3rd place finish behind Matt Jones at the 2019 Australian Open so he has earned his place, but this is a big stage for the Brisbane based Northern Territorian.
New Zealand’s Daniel Hillier played his way into the field through a fine effort at final qualifying where, like Dawson, he led the qualifiers at his particular venue – quite an effort.
Hillier is generally considered one of New Zealand’s most exciting male prospects in several years, that assessment further confirmed by several very good finishes on the European Challenge Tour in 2021.
This will be the Wellingtonian’s second major having played the US Open in 2020.
Footnote: New Zealand’s Danny Lee and recent USPGA Tour winner Cameron Davis were also eligible but withdrew because of injury (Lee) and Immigration issues (Davis)
Summary: Marc Leishman and Adam Scott stand out as the most likely of the Australasians to do well but there will be much interest in the performances of two of their current hottest players, Lucas Herbert and Min Woo Lee.
Oosthuizen leads Open – Ryan Fox heads Australasians
Louis Oosthuizen – his brilliant start has him one ahead – photo Warren Little R&A via Getty Images
South African and 2010 Open Champion, Louis Oosthuizen, birdied six of eleven holes through the middle of his opening round of 64 at the Open Championship at Royal St Georges and leads after day one by one shot over Americans Jordan Spieth (2017 champion) and Brian Harman.
Oosthuizen suggested after his round that his performance was near perfection, not only because of the number of birdies but because it had also been near mistake free.
“It was probably in my mind the perfect round I could have played,” said the 38 year old who served notice of a potentially great week with runner-up finishes at the recent PGA and US Open Championships.
“I didn’t make many mistakes. When I had good opportunities for birdie, I made the putts. So yeah, just a very good solid round.
“I was just very patient. I was trying to just hit my shots and didn’t really hit anything close enough to make birdies those first few holes, and then all of a sudden just made two good putts on 8 and 9 and got the ball rolling. It happened quickly, but you still need to put yourself in those positions, and I felt definitely the last 10, 11 holes I gave myself a lot of opportunities.”
13 Australasians teed it up on Thursday and it would be New Zealander, Ryan Fox, who did best. His round of 2 under 68 including four birdies and two bogeys. Fox has played just nine European Tour events to date in 2021 although he did play well in several lesser events in New Zealand earlier in the year and his most recent form in Europe had been encouraging enough.
Fox is playing Royal St Georges for the first time this week but he does boast some good results on links golf courses in Britain and performed well at the last Open Championship in 2019 at Royal Portrush.
Earlier in the week Fox suggested his lack of knowledge and previous experience at Royal St Georges was not a real concern.
“Me personally, no. I just play it how it comes. Obviously, we get very, very good yardage books, and I might talk to a couple of people that have played the course and ask what they think of it or what stands out in their mind about the golf course, but in terms of actually doing proper research, I’ve tried it a couple of times, I’ve found it never really did anything for me, so I didn’t bother.”
Cameron Smith leads the eleven Australians after day one but was required to build on a relatively slow start to finish the day at 1 under and five from the lead.
For Smith he struggled through his opening few holes but he was doing enough to make the turn in even par before adding birdies at the 12th and 15th and a bogey at the 15th.
Playing with Rory McIlroy and Patrick Reed Smith again showed his capacity to fight his way to a good score.
“Yeah, it was a bit scratchy at the start I guess,” said the Queenslander. “Just awkward wind for me, that down and off to the left kind of wind has always been a struggle of mine. I knew going into the first hole that those first four holes are that wind, and to get through those four level par I thought was a pretty good effort.
“From there it was just really solid stuff, not many silly mistakes. Bogey there on 15, bit of a poor drive leaked to the right. But that’s just links golf. Hit a lot of good shots coming in and probably wanted one more, but that’s how it is.
Lucas Herbert is at even par and the second best of the Australians to date. Herbert’s morning round started with a double bogey at the first and by the turn he had dropped one more shot so needed to regroup and that he did with four birdies in his first five holes of the back nine to be in red figures before a bogey at the 15th and eventually a round of even par 70.
“It was good,” said the recently crowned Irish Open Champion. “I felt like I was half asleep the front nine. Just three weeks in a row now playing, and then not that it was a super early tee time, but just setting an alarm, just, yeah, felt like I was half asleep until the back nine and then things started to kick off and got myself back into it.
“The traffic (coming here) was horrific this morning. We had to get a police escort in the end to get here and I was still really late, which is pretty much how I operate anyway. Yeah, being later than normal, sort of a bit of rush around to hit shots and get ready and feel like I was ready to go. Yeah, that might have — might not have helped with that slow start, so tomorrow try and keep that on time.”
Brad Kennedy’s effort to finish at 1 over 71 and as the third best of the Australians after round one was particularly impressive given his indifferent form to date in 2021. In his last eight starts Kennedy has recorded only one finish inside the top 30.
“I played really consistent throughout the day and managed to make a birdie on 14,” said Kennedy. “Yeah, just stayed patient and just really tried to play a bit of British Open golf. Just centre of the green and yeah, just try and make my way from there.
“I’ve just got to really try and work on staying disciplined off the tee, giving myself those chances from the tee and start to — not so much push but just really try and shape it in and let the greens do the work.”
The day was not so good for three of Australia’s leading players. Adam Scott had 73 while Marc Leishman and an out of sorts Jason Day had 75.
Last week’s Scottish open winner, Min Woo Lee, was out early and made a very impressive start just four days after his most significant win of his golfing career to date.
Making the turn at 1 under Lee bogeyed the 12th but was still nicely placed before a disastrous triple bogey at the 15th was followed by a bogey at the 12th and a very good start to the event was gone.
“It wasn’t actually too nerve-racking for my first major,” said Lee after his round. “I think if you’re well prepared, I think you should be fine. But I think for my first major I handled myself pretty good other than that one hole.
“On the last hole I was mentally drained. I think I got a bit caught up in just the golf round. I won last week; I should be happy. But I’m going to enjoy this afternoon off and hopefully play well tomorrow. I’ve got not too much pressure on my back, and it was very nice to get that win.”
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Rod Pampling impresses with 4th place at US Senior Open
Rod Pampling – file photo Bruce Young
Rod Pampling has finished a very impressive 4th at senior golf’s most significant event, the US Senior Open, and in doing so pocketed his largest cheque in senior golf.
Pampling finished four shots behind the winner, Jim Furyk, but only one shot behind the joint runners-up Mike Weir and two-time US Open champion Retief Goosen and one shot ahead of senior golf’s most prolific money winner, Bernhard Langer
Pampling’s final round of 67 was the equal best of the day on the Omaha Country Club layout in Omaha in Nebraska and secured the Queenslander US$191,000, moving him to 17th on the combined 2020/2021 PGA Tour Champions money list with earnings of US$1.134 million.
51-year-old Pampling has a liking for the layout, a golf course he has played well previously.
“It’s a strong golf course,” he said. “You got to play good golf. You got to hit fairways. I struggled the first two days. Managed it the day 1, and day 2 sort of was a little bit ugly out there but I didn’t lose it at all.
“But it’s just a hard golf course. It’s great. And the whole town I guess. Last time I was here I finished second at Champions Run behind Heath Slocum, so got some good mojo here.
“The last four events have been good. I’ve sort of been progressing in the right direction. The iron play’s been good, just the first for some reason the first two days of the bigger events I haven’t driven it well and it’s kind of taken me out.
“At THE PLAYERS I drove it great on the weekend as I did here. So if I can get that driver working earlier, it’s definitely trending in the right direction and the putting is slowly coming around as well, which is nice.”
Meet Australasia’s Open Championship hopefuls
The Open Championship trophy and the iconic starters’ hut at Royal St Georges- photo R&A -Getty David Cannon
This week’s Open Championship at Royal St Georges in Sandwich in Kent will provide significant interest for Australasian golf with thirteen golfers from Australia / New Zealand teeing it up in the 149th edition of golf’s oldest championship.
In 1894, Royal St Georges became the first venue outside of Scotland to host the event, one of only six in England to have staged the Championship over those 148 previous Open Championships
Winners of the Open Championship at Royal St Georges in the modern era include Bill Rogers (1981), Sandy Lyle (1985), Greg Norman (1993) Ben Curtis (2003) and Darren Clarke (2011).
My only exposure to the layout, adjacent to the English Channel, came in 1975 when caddying for the New Zealander, Simon Owen, at the Penfold (British) PGA Championship that year.
My caddying years in Europe never included an Open Championship at Royal St Georges but I experienced just what a demanding test it was in 1975 when Arnold Palmer, at 3 under, won by two shots. Palmer and runner-up Eamonn Darcy were the only two players to finish under par in the event.
It was Palmer’s second to last win in a regular tour event and at the age of 45 I recall the feeling of seeing such a legend defeating a field of European Tour players, nine years after, as a 12 year old, first seeing him in an exhibition match in New Zealand
The Australasian challenge in 2021 is headed by its leading world ranked player, Cameron Smith, but he is joined in order of world ranking by fellow Australasians, Marc Leishman, Adam Scott, Lucas Herbert, Min Woo Lee, Matt Jones, Jason Day, Jason Scrivener, Ryan Fox, Brad Kennedy, Deyen Lawson, Aaron Pike and Daniel Hillier
Cameron Smith will play his 4th Open Championship with a best of 20th at Royal Portrush in 2019. He is in the field courtesy of his world ranking amongst other qualifying criteria. Smith’s most recent form in 2021 has been a little below his best but he has proven himself capable of playing well at the highest level, and on the toughest golf courses, so a good week is not beyond him.
Marc Leishman will tee it up for the 10th time at the Open and has been inside the top 6 on three occasions including when runner-up after a playoff at St Andrews in 2015. His recent 3rd place at the Travelers Championship in Hartford suggests he is not too far from where he needs to be to again do well in a style of golf that clearly suits him.
Adam Scott attempts the Open Championship for the 21st occasion and after a slow start to Open efforts in earlier years, he has improved significantly over the last ten years or so having missed only one cut in that time.
Scott’s agonising near miss at Royal Lytham & St Annes in 2012 when leading by four with four to play is the one he and his fans no doubt remember most, perhaps for the wrong reasons, but there was also a 3rd place the following year at Muirfield and a 5th place in 2014 at Royal Liverpool.
Some solid results in recent weeks in the US, suggest Scott is on the verge of another good Open Championship showing.
Lucas Herbert played his way into the event with his win at the Irish Open eight days ago. Herbert’s only other appearance at the Open came when making the cut but finishing 58th at the 2018 edition at Carnoustie.
The 25 year old Victorian has developed into an outstanding world class player in the last eighteen months and it would not surprise if he was to put together another very good week in Europe and significantly better his debut effort.
His form prior to his win at the Irish Open was impressive with two very good finishes in PGA Tour events and his 4th place finish last week in Scotland further enhances his claims.
Min Woo Lee was the last of the group into the field following his victory at the Scottish Open on Sunday. He earned one of the spots available to the leading three finishers at the Renaissance Club and not otherwise exempt so his place in the field has been last minute but well earned.
For Lee it will be his first appearance in a major championship and his current form of late, after a disappointing start to 2021, has been trending in the right direction. His most immediate form is clearly evident, finishing an improved 17th at the Irish Open a week ago and then the playoff victory in Scotland on Sunday.
Matt Jones gets his chance courtesy of his Australian Open win in 2019, the leading three players in that event not otherwise exempt earning a way into the field after Covid ruled out the opportunity in 2020.
Jones will play the Open for the 5th time, a best of 30th at St Andrews in 2015 his claim to fame to date.
Jones won on the PGA Tour earlier this year but his more recent form, while solid, has hardly set the world on fire.
Jason Day will play his 9th Open Championship after a 10th place finish on debut in 2010. His best was when finishing 4th, just one shot from the playoff in 2015. Day has shown signs of improvement in recent starts after being forced to withdraw from the Memorial through injury and then not qualifying a start at the US Open. He finished 30th at this venue in 2011 after contending through 36 holes.
Jason Scrivener is in the field courtesy of his standing in the Race to Dubai rankings at the completion of the recent BMW International.
Scrivener will play his first Open Championship, but he has played two other major championships and he is steadily building on what is an increasingly impressive professional career. He has recorded three top tens in three of his last four European Tour starts so he is in solid form and is an ever-improving player.
New Zealand’s Ryan Fox will play the Open Championship for the 5th time after topping the 2019 Australasian Tour Order of Merit, a carryover qualifying criteria.
Fox missed the cut at the recent event in Ireland and finished well back after making the cut in Scotland but his form prior to that was very good and he does play links golf well. He has made the cut in three of his previous four appearances at the Open with a best of 16th at Royal Portrush.
Brad Kennedy gets another Open Championship start as a result of winning the most recent Australasian Tour Order of Merit, much of that courtesy of his win at the New Zealand Open in 2020. He has missed the cut at both of his two previous attempts in this event and other than a win in a secondary event in Australia early in the season he has struggled to date in 2021.
Victorian Deyen Lawson gets to play his first Open Championship and earned his start via final qualifying where he led the qualifiers at his venue.
Lawson is playing events on the European Challenge Tour in 2021 but having missed his last ten cuts, this opportunity comes from left field in that respect and is a welcome turnaround of fortunes.
Aaron Pike is an interesting inclusion amongst the Australasian group. Currently ranked 643rd in the world, he has played only eight events in 2021 and has not played an event on a sanctioned tour since March.
Pike did, however, earn his way into the field with a 3rd place finish behind Matt Jones at the 2019 Australian Open so he has earned his place, but this is a big stage for the Brisbane based Northern Territorian.
New Zealand’s Daniel Hillier played his way into the field through a fine effort at final qualifying where, like Dawson, he led the qualifiers at his particular venue – quite an effort.
Hillier is generally considered one of New Zealand’s most exciting male prospects in several years, that assessment further confirmed by several very good finishes on the European Challenge Tour in 2021.
This will be the Wellingtonian’s second major having played the US Open in 2020.
Footnote: New Zealand’s Danny Lee and recent USPGA Tour winner Cameron Davis were also eligible but withdrew because of injury (Lee) and Immigration issues (Davis)
Summary: Marc Leishman and Adam Scott stand out as the most likely of the Australasians to do well but there will be much interest in the performances of two of their current hottest players, Lucas Herbert and Min Woo Lee.
Min Woo Lee continues Australia’s European success
Min Woo Lee – with his Scottish Open trophy – photo Getty Images
22 year old Perth golfer, Min Woo Lee today added a second European Tour title with a playoff victory over Thomas Detry and Matthew Fitzpatrick at the prestigious and historic abrdn Scottish Open at The Renaissance Club in North Berwick in Scotland.
It follows on from Lucas Herbert’s win at the Irish Open last week, both players earning a start at this week’s Open Championship as a result, along with huge cheques and significant jumps in world ranking.
A final round of 64, including six consecutive birdies through the middle of his opening nine, took Lee to the lead and when he added one final birdie at the par 5 16th he had moved ahead although those playing in the two groups behind including his playoff adversaries still had their chance.
Both Fitpatrick and Detry birdied the 16th to draw level with Lee and although unable to edge ahead they would join the Australian in the playoff.
Lucas Herbert, Ian Poulter and Ryan Palmer tied for 4th just one shot from the playoff.
Lee put the result to bed early with a superb approach to 7 feet at the 18th (the first playoff hole) and the title was his.
Lee earns €1.12 million (A$1.77 million equiv) and, given the strength of the field he defeated this week, will jump 180 places in the world ranking to an all time high of around 60th.
Lee also clicks his ticket to the Open Championship at Royal St Georges this week as the leading three finishers in this week’s event and not otherwise exempt for The Open are now in the field.
Lee’s other European Tour win came at the Vic Open at 13th Beach in 2020 and has five other top ten European Tour finishes to his name, until today that is.
“I flushed it all weekend and flushed it all today,” said Lee. “I just needed to kind of stay in the moment. I hit a lot of shots on command today and yesterday, and you know, I just chilled out next to the fireplace while I was waiting. You knew they made par on the 18th hole of regulation, and then went out there and did my thing.
“I was confident in the way I was swinging it and putting it. Changed putter two weeks ago, and then I changed my driver this week. I had a lot of changes but everything was kind of leading up really nicely to this event, so I’m over the moon. Yeah, hopefully I can just keep it going next week.”
Lee played with good friend Wade Ormsby in today’s final round and later said how enjoyable it was in the circumstances to play with someone he knew well.
“I know him really well. We’re pretty good friends out here. He’s put me under his wing a little bit and helped me out. He’s just an awesome bloke.
“It was really nice to play with him. It might have been a different story if I played with Jon Rahm or any of the other guys up there. They are all high-ranked. It was nice to be with someone I’m comfortable with and I’ve played with.
“I think it was nice but it also calmed me down yesterday playing with Xander and Rob. They are awesome guys, too. I was nervous the whole day but I played really good and ended up beating them by a shot and a couple. I had a lot of confidence coming into today.”
“It’s one of the top moments of my life,” he added referring to the significance of the title. “I mean, you always dream about winning tournaments like this and especially this one, it’s a big one on the schedule. So just happy for myself.”
Herbert followed up his win last week with yet another fine showing. After an early bogey at the 2nd (a hole he bogeyed in every round this week) he produced yet another fine round of 66 to give himself a chance of successive victories but he was unable to secure the one final birdie he needed to join the playoff, and finished one behind.
“There’s a lot to be proud about I think,” said Herbert. “I played really nicely obviously in same final group as Jon (Rahm), felt like it would have been easy to be overwhelmed in the situation but felt really cool and calm. Just looks like it’s going to be one or two short. It’s hard to be really happy with it but still a really good week.
“I think there’s a lot of confidence to take. But look, I haven’t really processed it yet. I’m sure tonight I’ll be able to go through it all and have a think and sort of regroup going into next week. But yeah, I think I’ve earned myself a wine or two tonight.”
Wade Ormsby also had a good week, the South Australian finishing 12th after a final round of 69 which included a hole in one while playing with the eventual winner.
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Australian hopes for second successive European Tour title
Min Woo Lee one of three Australians with realistic chances – photo European Tour
Australian golf is poised for a possible second consecutive European Tour title just seven days after Lucas Herbert captured the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open.
Herbert is again leading the charge following his round of the day 64 on day three of the abrdn Scottish Open at the Renaissance Club in North Berwick.
The 25 year old Victorian is now within two of the lead held by Thomas Detry and Matthew Fitzpatrick and one behind the world number one Jon Rahm after a round of six birdies and an eagle overcame an early bogey to jump from 23rd overnight to 4th alone.
Herbert is, though, not on his own as far as Australian chances are concerned.
Perth’s, Min Woo Lee, and South Australian, Wade Ormsby, are just one shot behind Herbert and tied for 5th, their respective rounds of 65 and 66 having them not only in with a chance for the title but a great chance of securing one of the Open Championship starts available for the leading three players this week and not otherwise exempt for next week.
The Australians, though, not only have to get past the current leaders, they also have the world number one sitting just one off the lead so they have a big task ahead of them but the opportunity of an Open start is a great consolation prize and incentive if they are unable to bridge the gap between them and the leaders.
Herbert already has an start at Royal St Georges next week so he can focus his full attention of claiming a second successive European tour title but for Lee and Ormsby it is a big day even if they can’t win the event.
Herbert was delighted that his powerful, eagle, birdie, birdie finish swept him into contention.
“It was a funny one, I didn’t feel like there was much going on out there. I felt like I was almost cruising in third gear and couldn’t quite get things to happen,” he said. “I was watching the boards and everyone seems to be making a bit of a move, and then finish birdie, birdie, right in the tournament and pretty pleasing to finish like that.”
Herbert also puts his decision to take it easy early in the week after his win last Sunday as another factor in his round today.
“Last week was brutal, just trying to sleep and function off the golf course with the lead and once you get on the course it was another beast. I didn’t really do a hell of a lot Monday, Tuesday. I took it very, very easy, and it would have been pretty easy to kind of look at that and feel like I was under prepared, but then I think it was the perfect preparation for me.
“I feel like the last two days I’ve been cruising out there and not sort of racking off the tee like it would be very easy to do, especially this is my third week on the road.
“So yeah, it’s nice to feel like I made the right decision earlier in the week and it’s nice to get back up near the lead.”
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Matthew Fitzpatrick – one of the leaders – photo European Tour
Jon Rahm shares lead in Scotland – Ormsby heads Aussies
Jon Rahm – relishing the perfect conditions at the Rennaisance Club – Getty Images
World number one and recent US Open Champion, Jon Rahm, opened his second round of the abrdn Scottish Open at the Renaissance Club in North Berwick with a front nine of 29 but, as the day drew to a close, he was caught in the lead by Belgium’s Thomas Detry and England’s Jack Senior.
The trio lead by one over George Coetzee, Lee Westwood and Matthew Fitzpatrick as the event heads into the weekend.
Rahm, who already has four European Tour titles to his name including two on links golf courses, was seven under through ten hoes and threatening to run away with the event as early as mid-morning on Friday but bogeys at his 11th and 13th holes slowed the momentum.
As he would later suggest links golf can be a brute in the normal windy environment but when there is no wind the layouts are usually there for the taking.
“I think we were fortunate the first seven, eight holes, really no wind at all. So when you play a links golf course with no wind, you can make some birdies.
“But you’re always going to struggle through a couple holes and I tried to minimise as much as possible. I would say through the whole tournament yesterday and today, maybe short game needs to be a little bit better, when I miss a green, give myself better chances for par – hopefully clean up a couple of mistakes.
“I think everything can get a little bit better. The first ten holes, I made perfect golf, and after that, a couple tee shots, maybe more than anything, decision-making. Meaning that if you’re ever in between clubs or you don’t see a shadow or you’re not comfortable step in the back and commit to a shot, and that’s important in a tournament and golf course where conditions are ever-changing.”
The Spaniard won the US Open at Torrey Pines three weeks ago, that coming two weeks after being tested positive for Covid when leading the Memorial by six shots through 54 holes. His physical and mental bounce back has been, therefore, simply stunning.
Wade Ormsby leads the Australians in a share of 16th place and five shots from the lead, Scott Hend, last week’s Irish Open champion, Lucas Herbert and Perth’s Min Woo Lee are tied for 23rd, Jason Scrivener 53rd and New Zealand’s Ryan Fox just making the cut on the number in 62nd place.
Cameron Davis to miss Open Championship opportunity
Cameron Davis – file photo – Bruce Young
The PGA Tour’s latest winner, Cameron Davis, had a day of mixed fortunes on day one of this week’s John Deere Classic in Illinois.
His opening round of 67 at this week’s event has him in a share of 12th place and just four from the lead held by Chesson Hadley and Sebastian Munoz.
Davis actually reached 6 under par on the par through 12 holes on the par 71 layout before two dropped shots late in his round cost him an even better start.
Following his success last week and sharp jump in his world ranking as a result, Davis actually earned a spot at the Open Championship when Kevin Na withdrew but because of his quest for a green card to attain permanent residency in the US he has chosen not to head to Royal St Georges.
“I got married last year in September and decided to start the green card process to make traveling in and out of the country so much easier, but unfortunately for six months I’m not going to be able to leave the States while that’s getting processed,” said Davis after his round today.
While disappointed to not be able to make it to his second Open Championship, Davis is philosophical about the hiccup.
“That means I’m not able to go next week, but yeah, I’m looking forward to seeing my family and celebrating back in Seattle next week and recharging a little bit because this week is already a bit of a grind to get through. I’m pretty tired. It’ll be nice to relax.”
But Davis picked up where he left off last Sunday in Detroit and although unsure just how his game would react to the win, he was delighted with just how he played.
“I had no expectations for today really. I wasn’t sure if I was going to keep playing well or if there was going to be a bit of a lull after all that, but I’m very happy to keep it going.
“Pleased with a good solid first round, and yeah, I’m definitely a little more fatigued than I was after the first-round last week, so I’m just going to take it easy this afternoon.”
The highlight of his round today came at the par 5 2nd hole (his 11th of the round) where his 7-iron approach from 195 yards finished 7 feet from the hole from where he converted for eagle to move to 6 under.
Then came the bogeys at his 16th and 17th holes but he is still well-placed heading into day two.
Papadatos and Geary improve Challenge Tour standing
Dimi Papadatos- file photo Bruce Young
Last weekend’s runner-up finishes by both Dimi Papadatos and New Zealander Josh Geary at the European Challenge Tour’s event in the Czech Republic assisted their cause as they chase a full European Tour card in 2022.
Papadatos moved to 30th in the Race to Mallorca points standings while Geary is now in 34th place and with the leading 20 at season’s end earning a European Tour card they still have work to do but their efforts at the Kaskada Open in Brno have improved their standings significantly.
Both Papadatos and Geary finished one shot behind the winner, Marcel Schneider of Germany, a former Australian Amateur Champion, who not only won a second Challenge Tour title, he earned a place in the Open Championship field as a result of his victory.
The leading Australasian on this year’s Challenge Tour is Newcastle’s Blake Windred who sits one place above Papadatos in 29th position.
For both Papadatos and Geary, it was their best finish of the year to date on the Challenge Tour although Geary did finish 6th in a European Tour event in Denmark in late May.
Geary has limited status on the European Tour having finished just outside the full qualifying criteria at the most recent Tour School but has managed to play five events there this season while Papadatos has his Challenge Tour status courtesy of his finish at the European Tour Q School in 2019.
The Challenge Tour still has 14 events remaining on the 2021 schedule although with two of those in China it may be that there are only 12 remaining but certainly enough time for any of the three Australians in contention for a full European Tour card in 2022 to make their move.
Louis Dobbelaar taking US Amateur summer by storm
Dobbelaar putting together a brilliant US summer of events. – file photo Golf Australia
Earlier this year, Queenslander, Louis Dobbelaar, won the Australian Amateur Championship and set in motion a year that would lead him to success in some of leading amateur events in the US.
The 19-year-old was also the New Zealand Amateur Champion in 2016 at the age of just 15 and the 2020 Queensland Amateur Champion so he had already well and truly established himself prior to his trip to the US this season.
A win at the recent prestigious Dogwood International in Atlanta, where he would become just the second Australian to win that event after Andrew Buckle, set him up for his outstanding win this weekend at the North and South Amateur at Pinehurst in North Carolina.
Dobbelaar, from Brisbane, defeated local golfer, Jackson Von Paris, in the final of the event with a playoff victory at the first extra hole.
“We’ve been mates for a little while, so it was good to soak that in together,” Dobbelaar, 19, said of his morning stroll with Van Paris. “We both just looked around and said how special it was. Those situations are generally pretty tense, but playing against someone like him, we were both able to see the broader side and appreciate the opportunity to be doing this.
“This place is extremely special to me and to my family,” Dobbelaar said. “It hasn’t really sunk it in yet, but there’s nothing better than winning at a place like Pinehurst…There’s history everywhere you look.”
Dobbelaar will now play this coming week’s Monroe Invitational in New York State, continuing his trans America odyssey having now played in Pennsylvania, Georgia and now North Carolina.
Dobbelaar is currently Australia’s highest world ranked male amateur in 46th place on those rankings and this week’s win will move him considerably higher.
Cameron Davis completes amazing weekend for Australian golf
Cameron Davis today – the smile tells the story – photo Getty Images
Former Australian Open, Australian Amateur and World Amateur Champion, Cameron Davis has taken the next step in what is already a successful golfing career with a breakthrough win on the PGA Tour.
The victory at the Rocket Mortgage Classic in Detroit completes a week which also has seen victories by Stephanie Kyriacou on the Ladies European Tour, Lucas Herbert on the European Tour, a runner-up finish by Dimi Papdatos on the Challenge Tour and a victory by Queenslander, Louis Dobbelaar, at the North and South Amateur at Pinehurst.
Davis survived a five-hole playoff against Troy Merritt to win after a final round of 67 earned the 26-year-old a spot in the playoff against Merrit and Chile’s Joaquin Niemann.
Niemann was eliminated at the first extra hole, but it would take another four holes before Davis parred the 5th extra hole to edge out Merritt who was unable to get up and down after missing the green at the par 3 15th.
Davis appeared to have lost his chance of wining the title when three putting the 16th green in regulation after a run of three consecutive birdies from the 12th had him right in the firing line.
Then came his amazing finish in which he holed a bunker shot for eagle at the 17th and then hit a 9 iron to 6 feet at the 72nd hole which he converted to join Merritt and Niemann in the lead.
Niemann and Merritt, playing behind Davis, were unable to birdie the last and so the playoff would begin. Davis appeared as if he might win it at the first extra hole but missed a great opportunity from 6 feet. He would miss other longer opportunities at the next three holes, but it would be a mistake by Merritt that would see Davis win his third professional title but one that will shape his future.
The victory is worth US$1.35 million (A$1.8 million), will see Davis will jump from his current 134th place in the world ranking to around 65th, his first time inside the top 100, and he has also played his way into the field for the 2022 Masters.
Davis acknowledged in his post round interview that his consistent ball striking paid off in the end.
“It’s still so surreal for me. I’ve been in some good positions before, but to play the golf that I played coming down the stretch was just awesome,” said Davis
“So I’m sure I’ll be able to look back, I’m sure some of it’s on camera so I’m sure I’ll be able to relive some moments as well and really enjoy it again. But this has been awesome. I’m really, really happy with where I sit right now.
“I mean, the emotions were pretty similar to coming down the stretch in regulation, to be honest. I just kept on hitting the shots that I was hitting in regulation, the same approach. I was just under the impression that I just needed to hit a really good shot and make a putt for birdie if I wanted to win or just keep giving myself chances.
“I stayed really calm. I hit some good putts, I hit some not-so-great putts, but I had a lot of opportunities and I guess that was eventually what got it over the line for me, good solid quality shots in important situations. So I’m really proud of that and that’s a testament to some of the hard work we’ve put in.
“I mean, I did some good work with my sports psych, Neale (Smith), back in Seattle after a bit of time off and we just really did a lot of work on just routine, and that sort of stuff is really what you fall back on.
“I don’t really have any experiences in the past that kind of prepared me for it. Australian Open back years ago now was I guess similar in that I didn’t really know where I stood when I was coming down the last couple of holes and I was able to hit some good ones and get across the line.
“I guess I wasn’t thinking about that, though, today. I was just thinking about all the things that I had done all this week leading up to that point and just tried to keep it going. It was just putting all that stuff on repeat.”
Davis is now a resident of the USA (Seattle) and is married to an American and after playing both the Mackenzie (Canada) and Korn Ferry Tours, he is well established in the US.
Jason Day added a final encouraging round of 66 to finish 14th with Cameron Percy, Aaron Baddeley and Matt Jones also making the cut but finishing further back.
SCORES
Cameron Davis and caddy and former professional golfer, Andrew Tschudin – file photo