Marc Leishman at the 7th hole today – photo Getty Images
Marc Leishman headed into today’s final round of the Sony Open at the Waialae Country Club near Honolulu, knowing he needed something special if he was to challenge for the title.
He did just that by producing a third consecutive round of 65 but, as good as his week had been, it was not enough to hold off the winner, Kevin Na, and joint runners-up, Chris Kirk and Joaquin Niemann.
Leishman tied for 4th which was his second best finish in 12 starts at the Sony Open, just one spot behind his 3rd place finish two years ago. He has made all 12 cuts in the event, this being his 4th top ten in that time so it is clear it is a golf course fits the eye of Marc Leishman.
Leishman recovered from a slow start to his round with a back nine of 30 and when he hit a 3 iron to 25 feet behind the hole at the last, an eagle possibility presented itself to take a share of the lead.
The putt finished short but the resulting birdie had him one behind although others on the golf course still had their chance to move ahead and so they did.
“I got off to a rough start,” said Leishman. “I had to chip out sideways twice on the front nine, one left-handed. I hate doing that. So that was disappointing. But fought back well. Hit a great shot on 18 and I’ve seen guys leave that putt before, and I was telling myself don’t leave it short and it’s a really slow putt.
“Yeah, that’s really disappointing. See how it ends up. I don’t think it’s going to be good enough but happy to get the competitive juices flowing again and put me in a good spot going into Torrey Pines in a couple weeks.
Leishman will be defending his Farmers Insurance title at Torrey Pines in two weeks so this and a solid week on Maui last week has been an encouraging start to the year.
Matt Jones began the final round a long way off the pace but raced to the turn in 31, an eagle at the 9th after a brilliant second, getting him within one of the lead at that stage. He was unable to keep that pace but his round of 64 has seen him finish in a share of 11th place, a very nice start to 2021.
Cameron Davis finished 31st, Adam Scott 41st and Aaron Baddeley also in 41st place after his final round of 72 saw him lose 28 positions.
Defending champion Cameron Smith would also lose ground over the final round and eventually tied for 62nd.
The winner Kevin Na won his 5th PGA Tour title with an impressive display of putting over the closing stages, four birdies over his final six holes including one at the last edging him clear of last week’s runner-up on Maui, Joaquin Niemann, and Chris Kirk.
For Na, just an average length hitter on the PGA Tour, it reinforced the need for him to take advantage of the golf courses remaining on the PGA Tour which suit his game.
“Yeah, it feels great,” said Na. “I felt like Waialae is a golf course I really have a chance at, and there’s not too many of these left anymore, so I have to take advantage of it. What a great feeling to win at a golf course I really feel like I can win at.
“So I think on a golf course like this, fairway is a premium, and a guy that puts it in play and has got — a guy like me has got a good chance, and I don’t feel like I’m at such a disadvantage, and mentally, already there, I’m able to compete. Some weeks, mentally it’s tough because you know going into the week you’re at such a disadvantage.”
Early in the week Na was facing the possibility fo missing a start in the event for the third consecutive year.
“Two years in a row I’ve been here and wasn’t able to tee it up because of injuries. This year, Wednesday morning in Pro-Am, warming up and I hit one hard and I pulled my rib and I didn’t know what to expect. My trainer that I just added to the team, Cornel Driessen, he helped me out a lot.
“We worked on, it loosened it, and the next day I woke up, it felt great and felt like nothing happened. Had he not been here, I don’t know, might have been a different story.
“It felt good during the whole week. I was swinging well, putting well, and a couple things went my way, a couple bounces here there, and that’s what you need.
Kirk produced his impressive result at a time when he needed to most. He needed a top 3 finish here to regain his PGA Tour status after playing on medical exemption of late. This was his last throw of the dice and he delivered.
“It’s incredible. I would have never guessed that it would work out this way this week, needing a top three finish to keep going. But you can see how much things of out of your control and when you play well and things work out thankfully.
“I’m so thankful to have the support of my family through these last few years, especially, it’s been incredible when they probably were — you could have called them crazy for supporting me but my wife, Tahnee, and my boys, Sawyer, Foster, Wilder, I just love them so much and I can’t wait to see them.”
The PGA Tour now moves back to the mainland for the American Express event in La Quinta.
Kevin Na and his trophy – Getty Images Shamus Gregory
Lucas Herbert Rebounds In Dubai
Defending champion, Lucas Herbert, has rebounded from an opening 74 at the Omega Dubai Desert Classic, his second round of 66 seeing him still six shots from the leader, Thomas Detry, but the Victorian has kept the door open for a second successive title at the Emirates Golf club.
After a horror opening nine of 39 on day one, Herbert has played the last 27 holes in 6 under and while it is still some five weeks away, a successful defence here could well see him inside the top 50 in the world (he is currently ranked 68th) and on track for a start at the Masters.
Earlier in the week, and as the defending champion, Herbert was asked his thoughts on the event and Dubai.
“For sure, the fact that I’m defending champion, it’s just good vibes at this place. I played well here in years gone by and yeah, I feel like it’s just a golf course that sets up really well for me and it’s just a really cool skyline there with Dubai right here and there’s just so much to enjoy about this place.”
The shaky start on day one now appears well behind him and he might yet push his way into contention over the weekend.
The leader, Detry, has yet to win on the European Tour although he has been inside the top three on seven occasions and the breakthrough win may be close at hand.
“I’ve been playing some really good golf, keeping it on the fairway and hitting every single green and getting up-and-down a couple good times so I’m very pleased.” Said the Belgian.
A win (this week) would be extra special. I’m moving here in a couple weeks, as well, so this is my new residence. So, winning at home would be amazing.”
Detry leads by one over Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre with Tommy Fleetwood amongst a group of three another shot back.
Wade Ormsby is 27th, New Zealander Ryan Fox 33rd, while last week’s runner-up in Abu Dhabi, Jason Scrivener, just made the cut at even par and ten shots from the lead.
NSW Amateur Titles Decided
Grace Kim and Andrew Richards – article and photo Golf NSW
For one, it was a display for the ages, for the other, a win as unlikely as it was epic.
Grace Kim from Avondale has done what most expected, and made it back-to-back women’s NSW Amateur Championships, becoming the first repeat champion since Sarah Oh in 2005/2006.
For Andrew Richards, the win is the biggest of his career and one he least expected.
“I was just happy to make the match play this week,” Richards confided after his semi-final win against Thomas Heaton.
The finals were different affairs, but with one constant; the rain and wind didn’t let up all day.
In the women’s final, Kim was out of the blocks early, immediately vaulting to a three-hole lead. By the 7th it was five, and by the 12th it was six. Ji managed a birdie on the 18th to bring it back to five, but realistically, by then the battle was probably lost.
Kim stepped on the gas to begin the second 18, getting to seven up before Ji grabbed a much needed hole on the 21st. The pair then swapped a few holes, however, when Kim took the 27th and 28th to get back to seven up, the match was as good as over. Two holes later Kim was champion, 7-6.
Kim described her play as some of her best in recent times, particularly in the conditions.
“I mean the past two days have been quite brutal. It took some getting used to,” Kim said
Due to COVID, the NSW amateur has effectively been Grace’s only hit out in almost 12 months, something which has frustrated the talented star.
“You know through this time; it was tough not doing anything. Preparation for what? Nothing, so to claim this title again feels huge for me.”
With borders now opening across the country, Kim is looking forward to now competing at the Australian Amateur. After that, she will be making the trek to the United States to compete at the Augusta Women’s Invitational, an opportunity taken from her last year due to the pandemic.
“I’ve got to get a move on with that, figure it all out,” she smiled.
For the hardy souls who braved the conditions at Magenta, the men’s final was a classic. Despite the rain, the golf on display was sublime.
Like Kim, Richards was first to make a move, getting out to an early lead. By the 11th he had marched it out to four holes and looked like a man in complete control.
However, Guan bounced back. Before the opening round ended, he had clawed his way back to just a one-hole deficit.
The pair traded the lead a couple of times as the second 18 began, before Richards went on a run, winning five holes in the next eight to grab a four-hole lead.
The pair traded holes on the 31st and 32nd before Richards made par on the 33rd hole to claim the biggest win of his golf career with a 4-3 victory.
“I was quietly confident,” said Richards
“I’ve been playing well, and match play is a huge strength of mine.
“I played great the first 14 holes; I was three-under in this rain.
“I knew when I got the lead back (the second time) I couldn’t lose it again,” Richards said after the win.
Richard admitted reading his quote about simply being happy to make the match play spurred him on in today’s final.
“When I saw yesterday’s quote, I was almost motivated by it; I wasn’t just happy to be there. I’m going to go out and win.
”I knew I had the experience to win.
The win is a massive boost for Richards, who intends to turn his attention to the professional ranks shortly.
“I plan to turn pro this year,” he said. “Obviously I’m now in the NSW Open, so I do need to think about it.”
Richards said the plans for his victory celebration were already well underway.
“We are going back to ‘Penno’ (Pennant Hills) with everyone here, and there’s a lot of people already there, so it’s going to be a big night,” Richards grinned.
Marc Leishman Ready For Title Defence at Torrey Pines
Marc Leishman – file photo
Marc Leishman’s recent form improvement augurs well for a successful defence of his Famers Insurance title at the famed Torrey Pines this week.
Two weeks ago Leishman finished in 4th place at the Sony Open in Honolulu and yesterday he discussed just why he has developed such an impressive record at Torrey Pines which includes not only his narrow win over Jon Rahm last year but two other runner-up finishes in his twelve starts in the event.
“It reminds me a lot of home, the grasses that are at Torrey Pines here I grew up on at Warrnambool,” said Leishman.
“It was my first trip to America coming to this golf course for the Junior World in 2001. And you’ve got to be pretty precise around here, but there’s places you can miss it. If you know where those places are and those places where you can’t hit it, I think you can get it around if you don’t have your best stuff, which I probably showed on Sunday last year.
“Yeah, I enjoy being here, I love San Diego. I’ve got some friends that I’ve known for a long time here in town. Just love coming to Torrey Pines.
“I’m feeling good. The Sony Open was great, I played well at Maui as well, just putted a little better at Sony. It’s been well documented I didn’t have my best stuff towards the middle and end of last year after we had the break.
“I’ve got that under control and that’s in the past, so I’m ready to go for this week. Yeah, I feel like my game’s in a pretty good spot. Obviously it starts at zero Thursday morning, so you’ve got to earn whatever you get. Yeah, feeling good about this week.”
Leishman struggled for much of 2020 after his great start to the year but like so many others found the issues surrounding COVID very disruptive.
“It (2020) was very frustrating,” added the 37 year old. “I played really good at the start of last year and then once COVID hit, sort of got — lost all momentum, sort of took me a long time to get used to playing with nobody around.
“I don’t normally play on weeks off, so most of the time that I play it’s at a tournament, so it was weird. But when you go through something like that, I think you’ve got to try and take the positives out of it.
“One, I didn’t get COVID, no one in my family got COVID, but two, you can’t always be on top of your game as much as you would love to be and that just makes you appreciate when you are playing well a lot more. That’s why you celebrate your wins, and I celebrated this one pretty well last year.”
Leishman is one of nine Australians in this week’s field the others being two-time winner and once runner-up in the event, Jason Day, Adam Scott, Cameron Smith, Cameron Davis, Aaron Baddeley, Matt Jones, Cameron Percy and Rhein Gibson.
Interestingly, Scott has played this event just once, that coming in 2019 when he finished runner-up to Justin Rose.
They will be joined by two New Zealanders, Danny Lee and Tim Wilkinson.
The favourite for the event is likely to be Jon Rahm who in just four starts at Torrey Pines has recorded a win, a runner-up finish and a 5th place. Rahm began the year well with a 7th place finish at the Sentry Tournament of Champions and appears likely to contend to the death.
Rory McIlroy has played this event just twice and has been 3rd and 5th. While he has played sparingly of late, Rahm did produce some fine golf when 3rd in Abu Dhabi last week and must be considered one of Rahm’s main threats.
One who might be worth consideration at slightly longer odds is Tony Finau who has gone close to winning in recent weeks and who enjoys a good record at Torrey Pines. Finau has been placed inside the top six in three of his last four starts in this event and was 4th last week in La Quinta.
Finau struggles to win events, in fact he has won only once on the PGA Tour and that came in 2016, but as the old saying goes if you put yourself into contention often enough it will happen at some stage.
The US$7,500 event is played over the North and South courses at Torrey Pines on the opening two days before focusing on the South Course over the weekend.
Cameron Davis Records Best PGA Tour Finish
Cameron Davis and caddie Andrew Tschudin – file photo
Sydney’s Cameron Davis has recorded his best-ever result on the PGA Tour when finishing 3rd behind the winner, Si Woo Kim and the runner-up Patrick Cantlay at the American Express Championship in La Quinta in California.
Davis, who joined the PGA Tour in 2019 after success on the then Web.Com Tour in 2018, has a previous best of 6th at the Sanderson Farms event 9 months ago but today not only was he on track for his best finish he challenged for the title over the closing stages.
Davis began the day in a share of 8th place and three shots behind the leader, Kim, but an opening nine of 30 had him on the heels of the leaders and he actually joined the lead at one stage during the final round.
He was unable to hold off the powerful finishes of Kim (64) and Cantlay (61) but he will be delighted with the manner in which he handled the scenario he created for himself and as he continues to build platforms at this level his breakthrough win must surely come soon.
The former Australian Amateur, World Amateur, Eisenhower Trophy and Australian Open Champion has all the skills to perform at the highest level and this week gave further evidence of just that.
Davis will improve from 217th to 142nd in the world ranking as a result of his finish and secured a cheque for US$462,000.
“I’ve been playing really well – it was just a day where actually all parts of the game kind of worked at the same time,” said Davis.
“So I’ve had some good putting this week I’ve had some good ball striking, today I put them together. So it was nice to see a low score on the board but it’s the sort of day where I guess everyone’s up near the top of the leaderboard’s going low as well. So would have been cool to get a couple more, but I did a pretty good job.
“I’ve been trending in a good direction for awhile now, yeah, it’s just a week where everything kind of clicks. I had a couple of — well I had a bad ball striking day and a good putting day and a couple of good ball striking days and didn’t make any putts.
“I think for me to get over the line it’s just having four solid days in a row where I keep up every part of my game. I’m getting closer to it, it’s obviously great to keep seeing personal bests keep rolling through, so hopefully this leads to a little higher on the leaderboard in the near future. But it’s been great to see improvement because that keeps you excited and keeps you working hard as well.”
For the winner, Kim it was his third PGA Tour victory, one of the earlier two, the Players Championship in 2017.
Birdies at his 16th and 17th holes saw him edge clear of Cantlay who had reeled off a round of 61 to take the lead when he finished his round.
Then came Kim’s powerful finish including a 25-foot putt for birdie at the 17th to take the lead.
Kim was relieved to finally win again after many opportunities.
“So I had many chances since PLAYERS,” said the winner. “I had many chances to win, but I couldn’t make it, but finally I made it. So I tried to keep composure and I made it. I’m so happy with that.
“My coach talked to me about it a lot and even this week we talked about it and he told me just, you know, There will be chance anytime, so you just have to keep waiting and be patient, keep composure, and just believe in yourself. So that’s what I tried to do and then I tried not to be emotional and that helps me to the win.
“I have great memories with this course. So for Q-School, I passed the Q-School on this course, and then I have great memories and then that’s why I feel confidence whenever I come to this course. So that helps a lot for me this week, especially I try to focus on the memories that gave me good scores, so that’s why it drove me to the win.”
Si Woo Kim – photo Harry How Getty Images
SCORES
Huge Week For Perth’s Jason Scrivener in Abu Dhabi
Jason Scrivener – file photo
Jason Scrivener has recorded his best European Tour finish and earned, by some margin, his biggest cheque in golf with a runner-up finish at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship.
Scrivener finished four shots behind the winner, Tyrell Hatton but one ahead of the third placed Rory McIlroy and in the process has earned $US750,000 which surpasses his previous best by some $US400,000
The South African born but Perth raised 31-year-old produced the equal best final round of 66 (matched only by the winner) but it was his finishing burst of 29 over the closing nine which was the standout.
1 over through 9 holes after a rollercoaster opening nine, Scrivener began his onslaught with an eagle at the 10th and added five more birdies to all but secure second position 30 minutes ahead of the final group.
Currently ranked 219 in the world the result, the strength of this week’s field will see Scrivener make a massive jump in the rankings and may even challenge his previous best of 125. Update now has him at 114th.
Scrivener suggested after his round that Englishman David Alred had played a key role in the improvement in mindset on the golf course and in his preparation and paid credit to the work he has been doing with him.
Alred has been a performance coach for a number of leading players including Luke Donald and Francesco Molinari and has worked with several Australians including Brad Kennedy who swears by his effectiveness
“Yeah, he’s been a game changer for me.” said Scrivener. “We sat down probably two months before Christmas at the end of my season last year, and he’s really helped me a lot and pushed me that bit extra to work harder.”
Scrivener was delighted with the manner he overcame a very ordinary front nine.
“Yeah, I don’t know, I was in my own little world. My caddie and I just kind of kept plodding away. Wasn’t a good start, made a few soft bogeys, and then just kind of stuck with it and yeah, 29 on the back, which was pretty nice.”
For Hatton, the victory was his 4th in the last 18 months, one of those the Arnold Palmer Invitational on the PGA Tour. He is currently ranked 9th in the world but this win will improve that further.
Australian Wade Ormsby also enjoyed a good week when he finished 12th.
First PGA Tour of Australasia Win for Marcus Fraser
Photo and part article courtesy of PGA of Australia
Veteran Marcus Fraser has survived a major scare in the second round of match / medal play to claim the 2021 Gippsland Super 6 crown at Yallourn Golf Club.
Today’s proceedings bought together the leading 24 qualifiers in the opening 54 holes of strokeplay to face off in a series of six hole match-ups culiminating in the final between Fraser and Swiss rookie, Alessandro Noseda.
Having earned a first round bye due to finishing in the top eight of the 54-hole stroke play section, Fraser faced fellow Victorian Andrew Martin in the second round and found himself two-down with two holes to play.
When Martin double-bogeyed 17 Fraser capitalised with birdie to take a one stroke advantage to the final hole, following that up with wins over Josh Younger and Bryden Macpherson to earn a place in the final.
“There was a three-shot swing there and then we both parred the last,” Fraser recalled.
“That was a little bit unexpected. I was nearly packing my bags, two shots behind with two holes to go.
“I played great in my second match and then felt really comfortable out there.”
Fraser’s last win of note came at the European Tour’s Maybank Championship in Malaysia in 2016, the chance to share it with his family adding special significance to his latest win.
“I promised the kids they could see the trophy before they go to bed so I’ll do that,” said Fraser on his 90-minute journey back to Melbourne.
“They see all the ups and downs now of what I do so it’s nice to give them a little treat and bring them something home.
“Sometimes you’re crying out for a break but when it’s actually taken away from you and you can’t do it you actually realise how much you love doing what you do.
“COVID has probably taught a lot of us that once again. I genuinely love playing golf and it’s great to be back out on the course competing. That’s what we do. That’s our DNA, what we love doing.”
At one stage ranked close to the top fifty in the world, Fraser currently stands in 586th position but the two time European Tour winner has claimed his first PGA Tour of Australasia win as a result of today’s efforts. He has previously been runner-up at both the Australian PGA and Australian Masters Championships.
A Swiss native who spent a year at Middle Tennessee State University and last year completed a Bachelor of International Business and Finance on the Gold Coast, Noseda had to get past Ben Eccles, Jason Norris, David Bransdon and Peter Cooke before meeting Fraser in the final.
Noseda was disappointed to fall short in the final yet excited about the work he did through 2020 transferring to the golf course.
“Of course, I’m a little bit disappointed to not have been able to win it at the end but ‘Frase’ played very well, very solid,” said Noseda, whose entire family all contracted COVID in Switzerland and have all since recovered.
“I knew I was playing good, I had confidence. I knew I had practiced well and prepared well during the period of COVID. I felt confident and tried to win, that was my thought.”
In the playoff for third and fourth South Australian Peter Cooke fought back from two shots down to birdie the final three holes and pip Victorian Bryden Macpherson.
Currently undertaking his PGA bridging course so that he can teach at his home club of The Vines Golf Club of Reynella, Cooke credited his result to some help from fellow Aussie professionals.
“I was having some trouble with my clubs and I was chatting to Scott Arnold and he sent me his old ones to see if I’d like them,” Cooke said of putting Arnold’s back-up PING Blueprints in the bag.
“I tried them for a couple of days and they felt amazing so I put them straight in the bag. They performed beautifully.
“Then I played the pro-am on Wednesday with Terry Pilkadaris and he was helping me out with some wedge shots. I pitched the ball beautifully this week so I owe a little bit to Terry too for the tips he was giving me.”
A decade since his British Amateur Championship win, Macpherson recently returned to Australia from the United States unsure of what his tournament future looked like.
Without status on the ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia, Macpherson has been working with former Australian Masters champion Brad Hughes since November 2019 and believes he is now on a path that has eluded him for the past 10 years.
“It’s never been more likely that I’m now in a position where I can play at a higher level more often. Of all the times in my golfing career, where I’m at now has the best chance to be that,” Macpherson explained.
“I read Hugo’s e-book a couple of times and then drove up to South Carolina from Florida and started this journey to try and understand my swing a little better and the golf swing a little bit better.
“I played great the first three rounds this morning and was pretty much in total control of what I was doing. I was a little disappointed that my form didn’t continue all the way through today but that’s just how it goes. Next time it will continue a little bit longer and then the time after that a little bit longer again.
“This is good for me. I have never had a golf tournament where I feel like I can control my ball for 72 holes… and stick to the same thing for 72 holes. That’s a huge thing for me because I’ve never had that.
“It’s good signs.”
It was a disappointing day for Deyen Lawson, the 54-hole leader falling in his first match of the day to Daniel Gale at the first extra hole. None of the top four stroke play qualifiers progressed through to the semi-finals.
Ever Present Sungjae Im Leads American Express
The American Express Championship, being played in La Quinta in California has reached the halfway stage and the South Korean, Sungjae Im, has taken a one-shot lead as the field now focuses its attention on the host venue, the PGA West Stadium Course.
Played over two venues during the opening two rounds the field has now been cut to the 72 players who made it to the weekend, three of them Australians.
Cameron Davis and Matt Jones are the best of the Australians at present, rounds of 68 and 70 having Davis in a share of 16th place. Davis bogeyed his final hole after driving it into hazard left of the fairway but his round was a solid recovery from an early bogey and he finds himself just five shots off the pace set by Im.
Jones, too, is tied for 26th, his round of 68 over the Nicklaus Tournament course today seeing him improve 35 places and to the edge of contention.
Despite a bogey at his final hole today, Rhein Gibson was the other Australian to make the cut just sneaking inside the required mark with his round of 70.
Matt Jones along with Cameron Davis, the leading Australian – file photo Bruce Young
For the leader, Im, his effort to date this week is a continuation of some impressive previous performances in this particular event. He has been 10th and 12th in his two appearances here to date and the rapidly developing star has a comfort zone at the venue.
“I feel comfortable playing at the American Express and visually from the tee box it’s a course that I really like and enjoy to play,” said Im. “So I feel really comfortable throughout the round and the two courses that we’re playing this week, I like those courses and that’s what led me to a good score.
“I was also struggling with my putting leading up to this week, so I worked on my putting a lot and especially for today’s round I feel like my mid-range putts were really doing well, I dropped a lot of mid-range putts and that’s what led me to a good score today.”
Im is now the 18th ranked player in the world and has developed into one of the most consistent performers in the men’s game. He was joint runner-up at the Masters in November and has already won on the PGA Tour when successful at the Honda Classic last year.
Deyen Lawson Leads Gippsland Super 6 Through 36 Holes
Deyen Lawson – file photo courtesy of PGA of Australia
The 2021 PGA Tour of Australasia is underway with the staging of the Gippsland Super 6 event at the Yallourn Golf Club in Yallourn, about and hour east of Melbourne.
The second round of 54 holes stroke-play was completed today with one more round tomorrow before the leading 24 players will face off in six-hole medal match play contests on Sunday to determine the winner of the $125,000 event.
With Covid 19 impacting on the more international events such as the Vic Open and the New Zealand Opens, the series of lesser events on the PGA Tour of Australasia schedule will be the only opportunity for many Australians not eligible for events on the PGA and European Tours to test their competitive skills.
The NSW Open in late March will be the highlight of the events in the first few months of the year, but the lesser tournaments preceding that $400,000 event will provide an opportunity for eligible players to have their games in shape by then.
The leader after round two at the Yallourn Golf Club is the Gold Coast based Victorian Deyen Lawson who has very limited status on the European Tour but not enough to be playing some of the early season events being played in the Middle East at present.
Lawson has yet to win an event on the PGA tour of Australasia or on any recognised tour for that matter but he has been twice runner-up against fields of similar quality to that he faces this week and his start to the event has been encouraging.
Lawson who is a partner of former playing, now teaching professional, Ali Orchard, now lives on the Gold Coast where he has been tweaking his game in recent months after returning from Europe after being stranded by the Covid 19 issues.
He has played a lot of golf over that time playing at RACV Royal Pines and his game is clearly in good shape in an event which heads into the final round of its match-play phase tomorrow before the leading twenty-four qualifiers tackle the medal match play contests.
Dawson leads by two over Dimi Papadatos with South Australians Jason Norris and Peter Cooke, Queensland’s Charlie Dann and Victorian, Ben Eccles, tied for 3rd two behind Papadatos.
SCORES
Five Australians Tackle American Express in La Quinta
Cameron Davis – this might be an opportunity for the now US based Sydney golfer – Bruce Young
Following two weeks enjoying the pleasures of Hawaii, the PGA Tour hits the mainland this week for the American Express at the PGA West Stadium Course in La Quinta in California.
The event is played over two courses, the Nicklaus and Stadium Courses at PGA West, over the first 36 holes, the field flip-flopping between the two on Thursday and Friday before the final two rounds are played at the host course, the Stadium Course over the weekend.
Five Australians are in this week’s field, Matt Jones’ improved showing at last week’s Sony Open perhaps leaving him the best placed Australian to do well this week.
Jones has played this event well on occasions in the nine occasions he has appeared here. His best was when 8th in 2010 when the event was played over three courses and was a 90-hole event.
He also ran 13th in 2014 and although he has missed the cut in each of his last two attempts in the event his impressive final day effort in Honolulu gives him some hope of at least being the leading Australian this week.
Aaron Baddeley also had an improved week last week despite a disappointing final day but does not have much to get excited about in this event previously.
Cameron Davis will play the tournament for the third occasion, having finished inside the top 30 on his two visits to date. Six of his eight rounds have been in the 60’s and any improvement on that might just see him contending for a high finish this week.
Davis has been playing solidly if not spectacularly of late, but this might well be a week for the talented youngster to step up to the plate.
Rhein Gibson and Cameron Percy are the remaining Australians in the field but neither are in particularly good form at present.
Percy plays his first event of the year and has yet to make the cut in this event in six previous visits so his chances appear slim of even making the weekend.
Gibson has missed his last four cuts on the PGA Tour and has yet to make the weekend in this event.
Of the more fancied chances, I gave Sungjae Im a chance last week in Honolulu but he was only average. He was, though, 5th the previous week on Maui and given he has been 10th and 12th in his two appearances in this event then he appears a likely prospect to contend.
Close But No Cigar for Marc Leishman
Marc Leishman at the 7th hole today – photo Getty Images
Marc Leishman headed into today’s final round of the Sony Open at the Waialae Country Club near Honolulu, knowing he needed something special if he was to challenge for the title.
He did just that by producing a third consecutive round of 65 but, as good as his week had been, it was not enough to hold off the winner, Kevin Na, and joint runners-up, Chris Kirk and Joaquin Niemann.
Leishman tied for 4th which was his second best finish in 12 starts at the Sony Open, just one spot behind his 3rd place finish two years ago. He has made all 12 cuts in the event, this being his 4th top ten in that time so it is clear it is a golf course fits the eye of Marc Leishman.
Leishman recovered from a slow start to his round with a back nine of 30 and when he hit a 3 iron to 25 feet behind the hole at the last, an eagle possibility presented itself to take a share of the lead.
The putt finished short but the resulting birdie had him one behind although others on the golf course still had their chance to move ahead and so they did.
“I got off to a rough start,” said Leishman. “I had to chip out sideways twice on the front nine, one left-handed. I hate doing that. So that was disappointing. But fought back well. Hit a great shot on 18 and I’ve seen guys leave that putt before, and I was telling myself don’t leave it short and it’s a really slow putt.
“Yeah, that’s really disappointing. See how it ends up. I don’t think it’s going to be good enough but happy to get the competitive juices flowing again and put me in a good spot going into Torrey Pines in a couple weeks.
Leishman will be defending his Farmers Insurance title at Torrey Pines in two weeks so this and a solid week on Maui last week has been an encouraging start to the year.
Matt Jones began the final round a long way off the pace but raced to the turn in 31, an eagle at the 9th after a brilliant second, getting him within one of the lead at that stage. He was unable to keep that pace but his round of 64 has seen him finish in a share of 11th place, a very nice start to 2021.
Cameron Davis finished 31st, Adam Scott 41st and Aaron Baddeley also in 41st place after his final round of 72 saw him lose 28 positions.
Defending champion Cameron Smith would also lose ground over the final round and eventually tied for 62nd.
The winner Kevin Na won his 5th PGA Tour title with an impressive display of putting over the closing stages, four birdies over his final six holes including one at the last edging him clear of last week’s runner-up on Maui, Joaquin Niemann, and Chris Kirk.
For Na, just an average length hitter on the PGA Tour, it reinforced the need for him to take advantage of the golf courses remaining on the PGA Tour which suit his game.
“Yeah, it feels great,” said Na. “I felt like Waialae is a golf course I really have a chance at, and there’s not too many of these left anymore, so I have to take advantage of it. What a great feeling to win at a golf course I really feel like I can win at.
“So I think on a golf course like this, fairway is a premium, and a guy that puts it in play and has got — a guy like me has got a good chance, and I don’t feel like I’m at such a disadvantage, and mentally, already there, I’m able to compete. Some weeks, mentally it’s tough because you know going into the week you’re at such a disadvantage.”
Early in the week Na was facing the possibility fo missing a start in the event for the third consecutive year.
“Two years in a row I’ve been here and wasn’t able to tee it up because of injuries. This year, Wednesday morning in Pro-Am, warming up and I hit one hard and I pulled my rib and I didn’t know what to expect. My trainer that I just added to the team, Cornel Driessen, he helped me out a lot.
“We worked on, it loosened it, and the next day I woke up, it felt great and felt like nothing happened. Had he not been here, I don’t know, might have been a different story.
“It felt good during the whole week. I was swinging well, putting well, and a couple things went my way, a couple bounces here there, and that’s what you need.
Kirk produced his impressive result at a time when he needed to most. He needed a top 3 finish here to regain his PGA Tour status after playing on medical exemption of late. This was his last throw of the dice and he delivered.
“It’s incredible. I would have never guessed that it would work out this way this week, needing a top three finish to keep going. But you can see how much things of out of your control and when you play well and things work out thankfully.
“I’m so thankful to have the support of my family through these last few years, especially, it’s been incredible when they probably were — you could have called them crazy for supporting me but my wife, Tahnee, and my boys, Sawyer, Foster, Wilder, I just love them so much and I can’t wait to see them.”
The PGA Tour now moves back to the mainland for the American Express event in La Quinta.
Kevin Na and his trophy – Getty Images Shamus Gregory