A very proud Grace Kim enjoys the moment – image Mark Runnacles Ladies European Tour
Sydney 24 year old, Grace Kim, has joined a select group of Australia’s female golfers to win a major golfing championship after her miraculous finish to the Amundi Evian Championship in France to defeat the current world number two, Jeeno Thitikul, of Thailand at the second extra hole of a playoff.
Kim began the final day one shot out of the lead held by her fellow Australian Gabi Ruffels and England’s Cara Gainer but after two early bogeys and a double bogey at her 12th hole the chances of such a breakthrough and career changing win seemed, at best, a remote possibility.
Then came a powerful finish in which Kim birdied the 15th and 16th before a stunning hybrid to 2 feet at the 72nd hole set up an eagle which she converted and, when her playing partner Thitikul could only manage a par, the pair headed for the playoff tied at 14 under. They were one ahead of the brilliant English amateur Lottie Woad and Australia’s Minjee Lee who had also staged a late charge with an eagle of her own at the last to fall one short.
Both players birdied the first extra hole but it was the manner in which Kim had done so that will be long remembered. Her second shot from a similar distance to that in regulation play found the penalty area right of the green and after taking a drop and a one shot penalty she managed to hole her pitch across the green from 35 yards or so for birdie only to be matched by a gutsy up and down by what must have been a shell shocked Thitikul.
After taking a penalty drop Kim holes her pitch across the green at the first playoff hole – image Mark Runnacles LET
At the second hole of the playoff, Kim would again produce brilliance when her hybrid approach finished 12 feet behind the flag and when Thitikul was unable to birdie from left of the green it was left to Kim to finish off by holing the putt for the title.
Kim had therefore played her final six holes of the day in 7 under par to claim the first prize of US$1.2 million, but perhaps more importantly, to join the select group of Jan Stephenson, Karrie Webb, Hannah Green and Minjee Lee as Australian women to have won a major title.
“This is unbelievable,” said Kim. “Didn’t really know I was going to be sitting here this soon. I saw there is a picture of Karrie as you walk into the locker room, walking down 18 as well, so seeing that each day is motivating.
“Obviously, Minjee’s first major was this one and this is now mine as well. Oh, that’s definitely different. I’ll get used to it. (Smiling.) Yeah, I’m not sure when it’ll sink in for sure, but, yeah, this is incredible.
“Obviously, it’s a huge achievement for me. I’ve had a lot of doubts early this year. I was kind of losing motivation. I kind of had to get some hard conversations done with the team. Yeah, kind of had to wake up a little bit.
“So to be sitting here next to this trophy is definitely surreal. Obviously caught a bit of a cold early this week as well, so I was kind of knowing that I wasn’t 100%. But, again, even if I’m 80% I’ll give my 100% of that 80.
“I definitely struggled, I think, after my win in Hawaii (in her rookie year). You know, I won very early and that was a great result. I was very grateful for that. But I feel like I haven’t quite crossed the line of kind of getting it done. I’ve been in contention a few times now and just being able to get it done wasn’t quite there.
“I think I’ve come to learn that it’s not quite my game technically. It’s more on course just the skills that I have to learn through experience being on the Tour week in, week out.
“Obviously, now it’s a huge topic with the mental aspect of the game. So much doubt has gone through my mind and it kind of snowballed very quickly. I guess it was a bit of a burnout at the start of this year.
“But, yeah, just overcoming that wouldn’t have been possible without my team. I know a lot of the girls know the importance of having a good team around you. Yeah, it’s definitely crucial to have the people to back you, and even in times where you don’t believe in yourself to have those people know that you are capable and they’re here for that ride.
“So, very grateful for them. Yeah, I honestly wouldn’t have done it without them.”
Thitikul would have become the world number one if she had been able to win but she and Kim appeared throughout the round to spur each other on and despite losing the playoff, she was proud of her effort.
“I think I’m so proud of myself on battling out there today, said the runner-up. “I know like it’s going to be a tough day, it’s going to be a long day, but I just want to say I’m so proud of myself and what I did out there.”
Minjee Lee’s near miss on a chance at the playoff was frustrating, but she earns another US$521,000 from the US$8 million purse and will move even higher in the Rolex Ranking than her current 6th place.
“I’m a little disappointed, but I’m still happy with my result,” said Lee. “I felt like I left a lot out there. I didn’t have my best stuff. Just kind of scrambled here and there. Probably didn’t give myself too many birdie opportunities today where I could.
“Super proud of just all the Aussies. I played with Gabi (Ruffels) today, and I think over the years they’ve just gone from strength to strength. I step back and see them as the younger generation.
“Yeah, no, I think it’s really nice for them to be grinding and just trying to make their mark on the LPGA, which is awesome.”
Ruffels finished in a share of 9th after a last round of 72 saw her slip back from the share of the 54-hole lead, but it was still a great week for the former US Amateur Champion.
Leaderboard and results
Now its the boy’s turn at US Junior Amateur Championship
New Zealand’s Cooper Moore during his impressive Asia Pacific Amateur debut – image APAC
With the US Junior Girls Championship in Atlanta now over and the Gold Coast’s Shyla Singh having made it to the quarter finals before being eliminated, the US Junior Amateur for Boys begins today in Dallas in Texas.
The field is made up of 264 players ranging from age 13 to 18, only three of whom are Australasians.
New Zealand’s Cooper Moore, who earlier this year won both the New Zealand Amateur and Australian Junior titles, his fellow New Zealander Ryan Xie and Australian Arrow Aarov Shah provide a very minimal representation from our part of the world as they look to make the top 64 who will advance to the match play phase after 36 holes of qualifying.
Moore, from Christchurch, is clearly the standout given his success in the aforementioned events and at the Asia Pacific Junior Championships in Hong Kong and by being the leading Australasian at the Asia Pacific Amateur Championship last October.
Xie is from Auckland and at the age of just 14 earned a start at the 2023 New Zealand Open via final qualifying. In 2004 he won the Under 16 Jack Newton Classic and the New Zealand Under 16 Boys Championship.
18 year old Shah of Indian origin, but more recently based in Melbourne and in high school in the US, has signed to join the University of Southern California in the new semester, but earlier this year won the Dustin Johnson Junior Championship at Myrtle Beach.
Both Xie and Shah led the qualifiers for this week’s event three weeks ago.
Tee Times
Scottie Scheffler impregnable in 4th major victory
Scheffler and caddy, Ted Scott, enjoying yet another major win – image Stuart Franklin R&A via Getty Images
In yet another display of his amazing golfing skills and, equally important, his impressive course management, Scottie Scheffler has won his 4th major championship title with a four-shot victory over Harris English at the Open Championship at Royal Portrush.
If his chasers through 54 holes were hoping for any chinks in the 29-year-old’s armour today, then three birdies in his opening five holes essentially put the title beyond doubt. Although he would double bogey his 8th hole after taking two to exit from a fairway bunker, he was quickly back in cruise control, playing the next ten holes in 2 under for a round of 68 and yet another emphatic victory.
It was Scheffler’s 13th PGA Tour victory since his the Open Championship two years ago and his 17th overall and with earnings now just over US$90 million his earnings he now sits behind only Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy and Phil Mickelson in that category and with seemingly much more to come he is on track to become the greatest ever money winner on the PGA Tour over the next couple of years.
It is not only the number of wins that has been so impressive, but that Scheffler has produced 21 other top tens in that time highlights his amazing consistency brought about by outstanding on-course management and the skill to benefit from such, has his fellow players wondering just how they might challenge his domination of the game.
Scheffler came under a little pressure early today when he faced lengthy par putts at the 6th and 7th holes, but he converted both, and from that point on, he never missed a green with his pinpoint distance control.
“It’s a very special feeling,” said the champion. “It takes a lot of work to get to this point in my career.
“This was a tough week. It was challenging. The golf course was playing really tough, and I had to focus very hard over the course of the weekend.
“Really, the only blemish over the last 36 holes was the double on 8, but I did a good job of resetting and coming back with a birdie on 9.
“I guess this one was different from the PGA in terms of I had a decent lead to start the day. PGA, I felt like I struggled a bit on the front nine and was able to kind of push forward and win it on the back nine, whereas this one, I felt like I built up a lead. It got a little close there after the double on 8, but like I said, bounced back on 9 and was able to keep a pretty sizable lead for most of the day.”
Scheffler was asked about the now iconic walk to the last green for the champion.
“It’s a very special walk. To be honest with you, walking up 18, I didn’t really know if I was going to get that much support from the crowd. The crowd, I think, wanted somebody else to win this week, and I kind of got to play spoiler a little bit, which was fun as well.
“It really was, it was a great reception. I heard a lot of the fans supporting me out there today. It was a really cool environment to be able to play in. You had a lot of guys out there supporting the local favourites, and you had some people from the States coming out and supporting us. It was a really interesting day, but it was a lot of fun.”
“At the end of the day, I have a tremendous amount of gratitude towards moment like these. I literally worked my entire life to become good at this game and play this game for a living. It’s one of my greatest joys of my life to compete out here. To be able to win The Open Championship here at Portrush is a feeling that’s really hard to describe.”
The great battle for second place was eventually won by American Harris English whose final round of 66 saw him edge clear of last week’s Scottish Open winner, Chris Gotterup, while Wyndham Clark, Haotong Li and Matthew Fitzpatrick shared 3rd place but seven further players were within two shots of that trio, highlighting a great final round contest for podium honours.
Australian Marc Leishman had a final round battle after a solid week to that point, eventually finishing in 52nd place after a final round of 75 in a week where the Australasians performed well below expectations.
Leaderboard
Image courtesy of Stuart Kerr R&A via Getty Images
Scottie Scheffler takes control at Royal Portrush
Scottie Scheffler plays his second to the last today – image R&A via Getty Images
There is seldom a fait accompli scenario in tournament golf and that may still be the case as the Open Championship heads into tomorrow’s final round at Royal Portrush but that the world No 1, Scottie Scheffler, has a four shot lead after today’s third round suggests it will take a powerful final round challenge by his chasers and some help from the leader himself.
Certainly, today’s very impressive scoring by so many of those in contention (ten rounds of 67 or better were recorded) suggests the former is very much on the cards, but whether Scheffler is even capable of allowing potential challengers any sort of hope by assisting their cause is doubtful at best.
Scheffler’s amazing precision this week, more especially in his distance control into the greens and his outstanding putting in which he ranks No 1 in strokes gained, suggests even with his relative inaccuracy from the tee, he can produce a final round enough under par to make the task ‘a bridge too far’ for his chasers.
In his 24 major starts to date, Scheffler has won three times and enjoyed 12 other top-ten finishes.
Scheffler was bogey-free today, and after a run of five pars to get things started, he eagled the 7th hole after an approach from 205 yards finished 10 feet from the hole. He would then birdie the 8th from 16 feet to make the turn in 3 under 33, and although he would add only one further birdie at the 16th, it came at a hole which might have influenced proceedings given its dangers.
Scheffler’s tee shot at the 239-yard par 3 finished 16 feet from the hole, and when converted, he had moved to 14 under. While Haotong Li moved within three when he birdied the 17th, a dropped shot by the Chinese star at the last increased the margin to what appears a near-unassailable four shots.
“I feel good,” said Scheffler perhaps stating the obvious. “I had another good day today. I made a couple of nice par saves. I had a really good par save on 11, really good par save on 14 and I did some good stuff. Like you said, I was pretty patient most of the day, but felt like I was hitting it really nicely. Just sometimes in major championships, it can be tough to make birdies, and today was one of those days where I just had to give myself some looks and was able to hole a few.
“I think the card could look stress-free, but I had two really nice par saves on the back nine that were key. I made a nice eight-ish footer on 11, another one on 14, so two really important putts I felt like.
“I think anytime you can keep a clean card around a major championship, you’re going to be having a pretty good day.
“This is why we work so hard is to have opportunities like this, and I’m excited for the challenge of tomorrow. Winning major championships is not an easy task, and I’ve put myself in a good position.”
Matthew Fitzpatrick is another shot back and alone in 3rd place at 9 under and five from the lead, but at 8 under are three golfers, Rory McIlroy, Tyrell Hatton, Harris English and Chris Gotterup, who might yet have a say in the outcome if they can produce the brilliance they are capable of.
McIlroy was boosted by an undeniably patriotic Northern Ireland crowd as he birdied three of his first four holes and eventually finished with a round of 66. Given how he played today, a fast start tomorrow in the second-to-last group might see him applying the sort of pressure needed to unsettle a seemingly unflappable Scheffler.
Defending champion, Xander Schauffele, is at 7 under after his round of 66 and is not completely without hope tomorrow, but he will likely need a round of 64 or better to have any chance, it seems.
The only Australasian to make it to the weekend, Marc Leishman, recorded a five-birdie round of 68 to be in a share of 22nd place at 4 under and is looking forward to tomorrow.
Felt really good today actually,” said Leishman, who is playing his first major in nearly three years. “Played good, hit good shots into the 1st and then three-putted, but hit two shots exactly where I wanted to hit them, and the putt was actually good.
“But made a lot of birdies and hit a lot of good shots. Nice to see some putts drop in. Hopefully, I can do something silly tomorrow and try to sneak into that top 5 or 10.
“I’m hitting it well enough to be aggressive. Depends what the conditions do. If the wind gets up a little bit, you’ve got to try and give yourself makable birdie putts on every hole. If it’s like it was today, you probably have to be a bit more aggressive and try and make something happen.
It’s one of those things; you just have to hit good shots. If you’re not hitting good shots, whether you’re aggressive or conservative, you’re not going to have a good score. If you are hitting good shots, you can play that way and still have a good score.
I feel like my iron play is really good at the moment, and there might be a few pins that I’ll be able to go at that maybe, depending on the situation, I might otherwise not go at. Yeah, we’ll see what the situation brings.”
Leaderboard
Marc Leishman last Australasian standing at Royal Portrush
Marc Leishman in action this week – image Tom Shaw R&A / Getty Images
The eleven-strong Australasian contingent at this week’s Open Championship at Royal Portrush has been reduced to just one as the event heads into the weekend.
Victorian Marc Leishman added an impressive second round of 68 on Friday to finish his opening 36 holes at 1 under par and in a share of 26th place, but for the other ten players from our part of the world, it has been a week of mixed fortunes.
“Everything felt pretty good,” said Leishman after his round. “I putted well. Probably left a couple out there. I had a three-putt on 5, but that was a really tough pin. Drove it well, didn’t hit any fairway bunkers today, which was good. That’s what killed me yesterday.
“No, happy with how everything was feeling. Obviously, that little mishap on 13 there. It’s a bit scary when that happens. Two-hole stretch that didn’t sort of do a whole lot wrong apart from that tee shot on 13. Happy with the day.”
Leishman shanked his tee shot at the 13th, which led to a bogey and followed up with another dropped shot at the next.
“I was certainly thinking about it when I was trying to cut up an 8-iron into the last, exactly the same shot I hit on 13. Yeah, obviously you try to block it out of your head, but they do say the hardest shot in golf is the one after a shank. I felt like every shot coming in was that shot.”
“It was tough, but you’ve got to laugh about it and hope it doesn’t happen again for a while.”
New Zealand’s Daniel Hillier opened with an encouraging round of even par 71, but today, despite an early morning tee time, he could only record round of 73 to miss the cut by one, made even more frustrating by dropping shots at his 16th and 18th holes.
Jason Day and Ryan Fox also missed by one, Fox’s second round of 68 a big improvement on his opening 75 but falling just short of the required number he needed to make any further progress in the tournament.
Day added a round of even par 71 to his opening 73, but the damage from his opening nine of 39 on Thursday morning could not be repaired and he misses just his third cut in 13 starts in the event.
Elvis Smylie did his best in trying to make the weekend when he birdied two of his last three holes to record a round of 71 but it, too, fell just short, in his case by two shots.
Lucas Herbert would miss by three, Minwoo Lee by four, Curtis Luck, Cam Smith and Ryan Peake by seven, and Adam Scott by eight after his horror round of 79.
The leader at the halfway mark is none other than the world number one, Scottie Scheffler, who gave a clinic during his stunning round of 64 to take a one-shot lead over a resurgent Matthew Fitzpatrick, who produced the second-best round of the day and the week with his 6-under 65.
Scheffler appears on the brink of a 4th major title and what would be the third of the four needed to make up the Grand Slam. Admittedly, a win is no lay down misère at this stage, but his great consistency and his growing understanding of playing golf of this nature and in these conditions, has him as the man to beat over the next 36 holes.
“When we were teeing off, depending on what weather forecast you looked at, it was going to tell you something different,” said Scheffler. “It was super sunny when we were on the driving range, I’m out there in short sleeves, it’s warm out. Then we get to the 1st hole, it’s still sunny. Then all of a sudden, you look around and it’s super dark and it starts pouring rain. You’re like, boy, I wonder how long this is going to last.
“Fortunately, it didn’t pour the whole time. We only had maybe four or five holes where it was really coming down, and I was able to take advantage of the holes where we had some good weather.”
Scheffler is looking to become only the second player to win The Open when being world number one (the last was Tiger Woods in 2000, 2005, and 2006).
Leaderboard
Gold Coast’s Shyla Singh reaches US Junior Quarter Final
Singh in action today – image Darren Carroll USGA
Southport Golf Club’s, Shyla Singh, has advanced to the quarter-finals of the US Junior Girls Championship at the Atlanta Athletic Club in Georgia after easily accounting for her fellow countrywoman Rachel Lee in today’s Round of 16 match-up.
Left-hander, Singh, who was the Australian Junior Champion in 2024, and the NSW Women’s Amateur Champion a year earlier, took a 3-up lead against the current Australian Women’s and Queensland Amateur Champion, Lee, through six holes of their afternoon enounter today and closed the match out after winning both the 13th and 14th holes to win 5&4.
In tomorrow’s quarter-final match-up, Singh will face American Grace Carter, the leading qualifier in the 36-hole stroke-play earlier in the week.
Scoring
Daniel Hillier leads Australasians into day two at Royal Portrush
Daniel Hillier’s round of even par 71 heads the Australasians – image Stuart Kerr R&A via Getty
With play on day one of the 153rd Open Championship drawing to a close, the fact that 33 players have finished under par over a testing golf course and under typically demanding links golf weather bears testament to Royal Portrush being well set up to examine the skills of the world’s best fairly.
4 under par 67, held by five golfers, leads the way, but 29 players are within two of that lead, and with 72 players within five, then anyone within those parameters and perhaps beyond has done enough to feel that they are still very much a chance to contend over the weekend.
Norway’s Jacob Skov Olesen, China’s Haotong Li, England’s Matt Fitzpatrick, South African Christiaan Bezuidenhout and American Harris English all begin round two with a share of the lead, Olesen’s bogey at the last hole of his morning round eventually costing him the honour of leading the event into tomorrow’s second round.
The eleven-strong Australasian contingent is currently headed by New Zealand’s Daniel Hillier, at even par 71. The 26-year-old Wellingtonian is playing his fifth Open Championship, where his best finish was 31st last year.
Hillier bogeyed the first and third holes but birdied the second, the highlight of his round coming at the par 5 12th hole, where after a 225-yard approach he holed a 16-footer to move 1 under for the day before he bogeyed the 14th to eventually finish at even par and in a share of 32nd place.
Cam Smith and Adam Scott are both at 1 over 72, Smith’s outward nine of 39 rescued by an impressive inward nine of 33 where he birdied twice, no doubt leaving him boosted by the recovery. Smith played in one of the first few groups out on day one and will therefore be faced with an afternoon tee time on day two, which might or might not work in his favour.
“It was pretty good, said Smith. “Pretty solid, particularly that back nine. Could have really got away from me, I think. Hung in there nice and just committed to some swings, what I’ve been doing the last few times out. Gave myself a little bit of a talking to through nine and played that last nine really solidly.
“Definitely a bit of a confidence boost today on the back nine for sure. When stuff’s not going through our way sometimes, like I said, it can get really away from me. I did a really good job of hanging in there, a bit of Queensland spirit but it was really good. Looking forward to tomorrow. It’s a tough test. You need to hit every shot perfect. A bit of luck of the Irish out there too wouldn’t hurt.”
Scott was out late on day one but has the advantage of a 7.08 tee time on day two to make his move. A bogey at the last was disappointing after fighting his way back from 2 over through 11 holes, but it was nonetheless a solid start.
“I mean, kind of. It could have gotten away, said Scott. “I don’t know; it felt like we teed off in the rain and played the whole lot in the rain. It was tricky at times. But my golf was okay. Shame about the last.”
Scott bounced back from two consecutive bogeys on 10 and 11 to keep his hopes of a good week alive.
“It is handy having birdies. I’d like to have some more stretches like that. It’s always an equation at the majors of how much do you press, how much you’re going to go and try and hit it close. It’s really hard here at a links when the wind is blowing and you’ve got to hang it way up the other side of the course and try and have it come back. Sometimes you can’t get it close. So, how aggressively you play is always the thing, and when you go for it and pull off a few, birdies go a long way.
“I’m not out of it, but I’m going to have to have a good morning tomorrow. Hopefully, the weather cooperates.”
Jason Day and Marc Leishman are at 2 over 73, Day also improving after an outward nine of 39 in his early morning round.
Leishman was 3 over through 12 holes but steadied the ship over the closing stretch.
Lucas Herbert and Min Woo Lee recorded rounds of 74, Ryan Fox and Elvis Smylie 75, New Zealand Open winner, Ryan Peake, who played with Phil Mickelson, had 77, and Curtis Luck 80.
Weather dependant, the cut appears as if it will fall around 3 over par tomorrow evening.
Leaderboard
Five Australians likely to advance at US Junior Girls
Sarah Hammett during today’s second round – image USGA
Five Australians appear likely to advance to the match play phase of the US Junior Girls Championship being staged at the Atlanta Athletic Club in Georgia.
Despite a total of 24 players still to complete the 36 holes of qualifying after darkness stopped play in round two, Queensland’s Sarah Hammett, Rachel Lee, Amelia Harris, Raegen Denton and Shyla Singh are all guaranteed a place in the final 64 who will advance to the opening round in the knockout phase tomorrow.
18 year old Hammet, from the Emerald Lakes Golf Club on the Gold Coast, but soon to join the University of Southern California roster, is playing the event for the second occasion, having also made it through to the match play phase last year, and she shares 22nd place with Lee and Harris.
Current Australian Amateur Champion, Lee, from the Avondale Golf Club in Sydney, the same club as this week’s major winner, Grace Kim, is tied with Victorian Harris, who still has two holes to play of her second round but appears safe.
Harris was a runner-up in the World Junior Championships last week in California and was also runner-up at last year’s Australian Amateur Championships.
South Australian Denton is a prolific winner of junior titles in Queensland, Victoria and NSW in recent times and finds herself in a share of 46th place after a struggling second round of 75.
Singh, from the Southport Golf Club on the Gold Coast, was the Australian Junior Champion in 2024.
The Australians will be trying to match the efforts of the previous win in the event by fellow Australian Minjee Lee in 2012.
Leaderboard
The Australasians at Royal Portrush
The Open Championship Trophy stands proud on the shores of Royal Portrush – image R&A Getty Images
The 153rd Open Championship will be played for the third occasion in Northern Ireland when the event gets underway at Royal Portrush on Thursday 17th July, when a total of eleven Australasians will tee it up.
In alphabetical order, Jason Day, Ryan Fox, Lucas Herbert, Daniel Hillier, Min Woo Lee, Marc Leishman, Curtis Luck, Ryan Peake, Adam Scott, Elvis Smylie and Cameron Smith get their chance at golf’s major title, Luck and Peake to play the event for the first occasion and Scott the most experienced of the group playing the Open Championship for the 25th occasion.
Jason Day is the group’s second most experienced, having teed it up in 12 previous Opens.
Day is Australasia’s highest world-ranked player in the group at present, but his form has been a roller coaster for much of the year; the occasional brilliance overshadowed by some ordinary efforts, including two missed cuts in his last four starts. Day has just two top tens in his 12 starts at the Open, the best of those coming in 2023 when runner-up to Brian Harman.
Ryan Fox will play his 9th Open Championship, his best effort when 16th at this very venue in 2019, but, that aside, his next best was when 25th last year. Fox has, however, taken his game to a new level this year with two wins on the PGA Tour and he arrives in Northern Ireland as a much more confident and credentialed player than ever before. He has a solid record generally on links golf courses and could well better his previous best in the event this week.
Min Woo Lee’s record in the event is well below his general career standing, having played the Open Championship on four occasions for two missed cuts and a best of 21st. He plays Royal Portrush for the first occasion, but his form since his win in Houston earlier this year has fallen off a little.
Adam Scott has a very mixed record at the Open Championship. The undoubted highlight was when runner-up to Ernie Els in 2012, dropping four shots over the closing four holes to miss a playoff by one. The 44-year-old (45 this week) is, however, playing some fine golf of late and was an encouraging 17th in Scotland last week.
Cam Smith’s career highlight came in 2022 when he won the Open Championship at St Andrews, but, that aside, his record in the event is hardly inspiring, with only one other top twenty in his other five starts. His form in Liv Golf this year has been below his best, although it was a little better last week when 7th in Spain.
Marc Leishman earned his place in the field courtesy of his placing at last year’s Australian Open, but he does have three of four very good finishes in the event, including his playoff loss at the 2015 Open Championship at St Andrews. He missed the cut at Royal Portrush in 2019, but after winning earlier in the year on the LIV Tour, his most recent form is below what he needs to do well this week.
Daniel Hillier will play his 5th Open Championship with a best of 31st last year, but after missed cuts in his last two starts this year in Germany and Scotland, things will need to improve sharply if he has a chance of bettering his previous best in the event.
Lucas Herbert will play his 5th Open Championship, his best when 15th behind Cam Smith at St Andrews in 2022. Herbert has played well in Liv Golf events this year and did win an International Series event in Japan a couple of months ago, but this is another level again.
Elvis Smylie is in the field courtesy of his great play on the PGA Tour of Australasia last season and will play his second Open Championship, having missed the cut last year. After what has been a run of indifferent form in 2025, he played a little better in Scotland last week but is playing well below his capabilities at present.
Curtis Luck and Ryan Peake will debut at the Open Championship, Luck courtesy of a runner-up finish at the Australian Open and Peake due to his surprise but welcome win at the New Zealand Open.
Looking at the field from a wider angle, the best prospects in this writer’s view are Jon Rahm, the defending champion Xander Schauffele, and Rory McIlroy, who, despite the pressure of playing in front of his home fans, family, and friends, should be in the mix on Sunday.
For slightly longer odds, Sepp Straka has been in fine form on the PGA Tour this season and does have a runner-up finish in this event in just three previous starts.
Field
Stephen Allan makes it two wins in 2025
Allan, shown here winning earlier in the year, has made it two wins for the season
US-based Victorian, Stephen Allan, has today won his second PGA Tour Champions title when leading the Dick’s Open at the Enjoie Golf Club in Endicott, New York, wire to wire and claiming the US$330,000 first prize. His earnings on the PGA Tour Champions have now moved past the US$1 million mark.
Allan, a former Australian Open Champion (2002), and German Open winner, first joined the PGA Tour Champions in 2024 after gaining one of the five cards available through final Qualifying late in 2023 and, after a solid first season in which he retained his playing privileges, he has now won twice in season two having also won the Galleri Classic in March.
The win in March was his first victory anywhere since his Australian Open victory at the Victoria Golf Club 22 years earlier.
Allan led from his opening round of 63 on Friday and eventually won by four over Jason Caron, with Notah Begay and Boo Weekley sharing third place.
Allan will now move inside the top ten in the Charl Schwab Cup rankings.
“It was a pretty great week,” said Allan. “I got off to an amazing start the first day, 7 under through 7, which I don’t really know what happened, everything just went well. I made a few putts and chipped one in. And then the game wasn’t quite as sharp after that, but my putting was great, managed to avoid too many bogeys. I think I only had two for the week.
“With Joey, my son Joey on the bag, it was amazing. He’s a good reader of greens. And just having your son on the bag, make sure that you stay calm, you’re not going to lose it when things go wrong. Yeah, it’s been a great week.
The increasing number of Australians playing on the PGA Tour Champions has made his transition to senior golf even more enjoyable for the now 51-year-old.
“Yeah, all the Aussies on tour are great,” said Allan. “Most of them I’ve known almost since junior golf, and if not since junior golf, right from when I first turned pro. Now we’re on the Champions Tour, we’ve been doing it a long time.
“I’ve known those guys, all of them for almost 30 years. Some of them are really good friends and it just makes week to week easy because you’ve got friends out here all the time. You can play a practice round with them, have dinner with them, just seeing them at lunch, have a chat, you can talk about some of the Aussie sports and things like that. It’s great to have them all around.”
Queenslander, Michael Wright, who gained his card at the same time as Allan, also had a good week when he finished in a share of 5th place.
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Grace Kim’s amazing finish seals first major title
A very proud Grace Kim enjoys the moment – image Mark Runnacles Ladies European Tour
Sydney 24 year old, Grace Kim, has joined a select group of Australia’s female golfers to win a major golfing championship after her miraculous finish to the Amundi Evian Championship in France to defeat the current world number two, Jeeno Thitikul, of Thailand at the second extra hole of a playoff.
Kim began the final day one shot out of the lead held by her fellow Australian Gabi Ruffels and England’s Cara Gainer but after two early bogeys and a double bogey at her 12th hole the chances of such a breakthrough and career changing win seemed, at best, a remote possibility.
Then came a powerful finish in which Kim birdied the 15th and 16th before a stunning hybrid to 2 feet at the 72nd hole set up an eagle which she converted and, when her playing partner Thitikul could only manage a par, the pair headed for the playoff tied at 14 under. They were one ahead of the brilliant English amateur Lottie Woad and Australia’s Minjee Lee who had also staged a late charge with an eagle of her own at the last to fall one short.
Both players birdied the first extra hole but it was the manner in which Kim had done so that will be long remembered. Her second shot from a similar distance to that in regulation play found the penalty area right of the green and after taking a drop and a one shot penalty she managed to hole her pitch across the green from 35 yards or so for birdie only to be matched by a gutsy up and down by what must have been a shell shocked Thitikul.
After taking a penalty drop Kim holes her pitch across the green at the first playoff hole – image Mark Runnacles LET
At the second hole of the playoff, Kim would again produce brilliance when her hybrid approach finished 12 feet behind the flag and when Thitikul was unable to birdie from left of the green it was left to Kim to finish off by holing the putt for the title.
Kim had therefore played her final six holes of the day in 7 under par to claim the first prize of US$1.2 million, but perhaps more importantly, to join the select group of Jan Stephenson, Karrie Webb, Hannah Green and Minjee Lee as Australian women to have won a major title.
“This is unbelievable,” said Kim. “Didn’t really know I was going to be sitting here this soon. I saw there is a picture of Karrie as you walk into the locker room, walking down 18 as well, so seeing that each day is motivating.
“Obviously, Minjee’s first major was this one and this is now mine as well. Oh, that’s definitely different. I’ll get used to it. (Smiling.) Yeah, I’m not sure when it’ll sink in for sure, but, yeah, this is incredible.
“Obviously, it’s a huge achievement for me. I’ve had a lot of doubts early this year. I was kind of losing motivation. I kind of had to get some hard conversations done with the team. Yeah, kind of had to wake up a little bit.
“So to be sitting here next to this trophy is definitely surreal. Obviously caught a bit of a cold early this week as well, so I was kind of knowing that I wasn’t 100%. But, again, even if I’m 80% I’ll give my 100% of that 80.
“I definitely struggled, I think, after my win in Hawaii (in her rookie year). You know, I won very early and that was a great result. I was very grateful for that. But I feel like I haven’t quite crossed the line of kind of getting it done. I’ve been in contention a few times now and just being able to get it done wasn’t quite there.
“I think I’ve come to learn that it’s not quite my game technically. It’s more on course just the skills that I have to learn through experience being on the Tour week in, week out.
“Obviously, now it’s a huge topic with the mental aspect of the game. So much doubt has gone through my mind and it kind of snowballed very quickly. I guess it was a bit of a burnout at the start of this year.
“But, yeah, just overcoming that wouldn’t have been possible without my team. I know a lot of the girls know the importance of having a good team around you. Yeah, it’s definitely crucial to have the people to back you, and even in times where you don’t believe in yourself to have those people know that you are capable and they’re here for that ride.
“So, very grateful for them. Yeah, I honestly wouldn’t have done it without them.”
Thitikul would have become the world number one if she had been able to win but she and Kim appeared throughout the round to spur each other on and despite losing the playoff, she was proud of her effort.
“I think I’m so proud of myself on battling out there today, said the runner-up. “I know like it’s going to be a tough day, it’s going to be a long day, but I just want to say I’m so proud of myself and what I did out there.”
Minjee Lee’s near miss on a chance at the playoff was frustrating, but she earns another US$521,000 from the US$8 million purse and will move even higher in the Rolex Ranking than her current 6th place.
“I’m a little disappointed, but I’m still happy with my result,” said Lee. “I felt like I left a lot out there. I didn’t have my best stuff. Just kind of scrambled here and there. Probably didn’t give myself too many birdie opportunities today where I could.
“Super proud of just all the Aussies. I played with Gabi (Ruffels) today, and I think over the years they’ve just gone from strength to strength. I step back and see them as the younger generation.
“Yeah, no, I think it’s really nice for them to be grinding and just trying to make their mark on the LPGA, which is awesome.”
Ruffels finished in a share of 9th after a last round of 72 saw her slip back from the share of the 54-hole lead, but it was still a great week for the former US Amateur Champion.
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