photo: Adam Scott with his second PGA Championship trophy – PGA of Australia
Adam Scott has won his second Australian PGA Championship title at RACV Royal Pines on the Gold Coast with an impressive and, at times, clinical final round display, edging clear of several rivals who dared to dream during the course of today’s finale.
Just as had been the case in Saturday’s third round, Scott gave his rivals plenty of hope through the front nine on the final day but a brilliant tee shot to 8 feet at the demanding par 3, 14th was followed soon after by yet another outstanding 5 iron approach to 10 feet at the 15th.
They had come on top of a crucial par save at the par five 12th when he found the trees from the tee and was forced to get up and down from 80 metres or so to save par.
The putts at 14 and 15 were converted, however, and the birdie, eagle stretch had swept him past the then leader Mike Hendry and into the lead by one. When Hendry bogeyed the 17th and 18th holes, the win would be by two over Hendry who finished alone in second place after Wade Ormsby and Nick Flanagan produced very costly bogeys at the last.
Ormsby and Flanagan shared 3rd place with Carl Yuan, Minwoo Lee and Cameron Davis, one shot behind Hendry.
Scott was obviously delighted to have won for the first time in 45 months.
“Pretty stoked, actually,” he said after his win. “I kind of grinded it out this week and I feel like I outsmarted the golf course a little bit, which feels good, and it was good enough to beat everyone.
“So it’s been a long time between drinks for me and maybe only once or twice did the thought cross my mind that I’ll never win again. It feels very good to win here, especially to finish the year off kind of winning at home.”
Scott still retains a home at Sanctuary Cove on the Gold Coast but spends more time when in Australia at a relatively new home on the Sunshine Coast along with other residences in Switzerland and the Bahamas.
So, was he really serious when he questioned his ability to win again?
“Well, I mean, fleeting thoughts. You don’t know. I think it’s very difficult to win. I’m on the wrong side of this age thing now where these young guys are really good and I played some pretty good golf a couple weeks this year and fell short.
“You know, record‑setting scores. I think the courses are getting tougher, guys are playing good. Just being all right doesn’t really get you in, you’ve got to be pretty much sensational.”
It might not be the biggest win in his career but Scott is fully aware of the importance a win so late in the season can do for his chances of a big year in 2020
“Well, it’s big for the confidence. I mean, I’ve seen what it’s done for me in the past; a win, you feel like you’re just never going to lose again, so you want to run with that while the confidence is up. Somehow I’ll have to think that in seven weeks when I step back in L.A.
“You know, there’s a lot of confidence from a win and I’ll look forward to enjoying that.”
Adam Scott is a very private person and keeps his private life exactly that but today he made mention of his family and how the win might be received when he returns to his home this evening.
“Well, that will be fun for my daughter because she’s asked all year for a trophy, so I’ve not been able to deliver. So that will be fun for me tonight, see if that makes her happy.”
Scott paid credit to his playing partners but had special mention for Nick Flanagan who would eventually finish 3rd after sharing the lead at various stages throughout the final round.
Flanagan and Scott enjoying each other’s company today – Bruce Young
“We reminisced just a couple weeks ago about playing golf with Ernie when he shot 60 at Royal Melbourne. Nick was in the group with me, so that’s 15 years ago, so we’ve known each other a long time.
“We’ve been on surf trips together and I’m really happy to see Nick playing golf like that today. You know, not just up there, but he’s playing really good and I hope he takes a lot out of the last couple weeks and gets himself back to where he wants to be. He’s obviously very talented, but he looked good out there today, I liked it.”
Flanagan, a former US Amateur Champion and the first Australian to win that coveted title, has struggled in more recent times after getting to the PGA Tour earlier in his career.
He showed a lot of emotion in his post round conference and had mixed emotions about the day.
“I mean, if somebody told me I was going to finish third at the start of the day, I probably would have taken it, to be honest with you. To put myself in a good spot there with a few holes to come, you know, I’m pretty gutted.
“But, at the same time, it was one of those weeks where I haven’t done something like this in a while, probably since this event last year, really. So I’m pretty pumped, but at the same time definitely a little disappointed I couldn’t ‑‑ just that one shot really kind of cost me.
“It’s been a tough few months. I thought I was going to do well there in Europe, at European Q‑School. That was tough not to get through there. Yeah, it’s huge. I haven’t felt ‑‑ like I haven’t been able to play a stress‑free round of golf – kind of wanting to make money.
“And obviously with the baby on the way, this is huge for us. Over Christmas I’ll actually feel like I can sit down on the couch for a couple weeks and actually relax and not think about where the next check’s coming from, at least for the next two or three weeks. That’s kind of why I was getting a little emotional there for a second.”
Photo: Mike Hendry pitches to the 6th – Bruce Young
Michael Hendry is another who might have felt he let an opportunity get away but, despite getting to the lead, holding off Scott was always going to be a difficult task and so it would prove.
Hendry was also forced to contend with painful rib issues all day and was thankful not only to finish where he did but to get through the round.
“The warm‑up was terrible,” said the New Zealander. “I honestly thought I wasn’t going to get through the round. So quite honestly, my goal today was just get through 18 holes and finish the event regardless of what the score was. Lo and behold, I hit it really well.
“It was painful all day and I just kept trying to basically man up and hit the shot. Maybe that was the thing that I needed to take my attention away from what was happening on the golf course. It was more about trying to make good swings under a little bit of pain, and I made a lot of good swings.
“I’ve never been in the situation physically and been in contention at the same time as today, so like I said, it was an odd one for me today. I kind of ‑‑ like I say, anything above and beyond 72 holes to me was a bonus today, and to go out and shoot 69 in pretty tricky conditions, just get through was great.”
Hendry has not has a great season by his more recent standards but to have finished runner-up this week not long after narrowly retaining his Japan Tour card is a great way for a rather ordinary year to finish.
He earnt $158,000 for his efforts.
The tournament not only completed the golfing year it completed the PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit. The winner of that was New Zealander Ryan Fox who earnt most of his A$307,000 when successful at the ISPS Handa Perth Super 6’s.
The leading player on the money list and not otherwise exempt on the European Tour and therefore earning the right to play the European Tour in 2020, goes to the New Zealand Open Champion Zach Murray who finished the year $9000 ahead of Brad Kennedy.
But the honours of the week got to Adam Scott, not only for his classy display on the course but for making a commitment to the event as long as eight months ago and therefore allowing the event to promote his presence in the field as a cornerstone for pre-event publicity.
“I hope they’re happy with the result,” Scott joked after the round. “But, you know, some of these things, for me it’s important to commit to early, but also I can really plan my whole year so that I’m here ready to play.
“You know, sometimes as the year drags out, you’re kind of fading, but with the Presidents Cup here, I knew I was going to be motivated to be in top form for these three weeks. I was a little rough there at the Aussie Open, but we turned it around and made the most of it, which I want to do every time I play.”
Adam Scott began the year 41st in the world ranking – he finishes it in 13th place.
RESULTS
ORDER OF MERIT
In Form Wade Ormsby Leads Hong Kong Open
Wade Ormsby – photo Bruce Young
South Australian, Wade Ormsby, picked up where he left off when finishing 3rd at the Australian PGA Championship three weeks ago to lead the Asian Tour’s Hong Kong Open at the halfway stage at the Hong Kong Golf Club in Fanling.
Ormsby, who won this event in 2017, followed up his opening round of 65 with a second round 66 and leads by two over India’s S.S.P Chawrasia with Australian Travis Smyth another shot back in a share of 3rd place with, amongst, others the pre-tournament favourite, Jazz Janewattananond.
Ormsby no longer has status on the Asian Tour but is playing the event courtesy of an invitation.
The 39-year old produced several good finishes on the European Tour in addition to his 3rd place on the Gold Coast including a runner-up finish at the Vic Open and top ten finishes in Switzerland and Sweden.
Ormsby has only won two events in his lengthy professional career but appears to have a real liking for the Hong Kong Golf Club layout.
“I wanted to come to a golf course that fits my eyes,” said Ormsby. “I had good vibes around here and I feel like I can get my game in good shape here. I love coming to Hong Kong. I love the golf courses here.
“I guess it’s a good thing being in the lead. You just got to get ahead and get them. I’m obviously playing well. I probably played better today than the way I did yesterday. Two bogeys and one of them was a bad hole but otherwise I played beautifully.”
Smyth is in his second season on the Asian Tour having finished 43rd on the Order of Merit last year. He is playing this event for the first time however and is enjoying the Hong Kong Golf Club’s layout.
“I’m playing good golf and I feel like I got the gist of this golf course now,” said the tall New South Welshman. “So yeah, I’m looking forward to the weekend, You really have to position your ball well here and it’s like how you play golf in Australia too.
“It’s not a bombers’ paradise. The greens are awesome and I feel like I’m putting well so that’s probably the reason why I’m up there on the leaderboard. I just have to try and do my thing and see where I end up at the end of the week. I’m going to play pretty much the same way I’ve been doing.”
Asian based Queenslander, David Gleeson, and Victorian, Terry Pilkadaris, are the next best of the Australians in a share of 19th place and six shots from Ormsby.
Scores
Theegala and Abdulghany win Master of Amateurs
Alyaa Abdulghany – photo Anthony Powter
The Australian Master of the Amateurs Championships were completed Friday at the Victoria Golf Club in Melbourne with America’s Sahith Theegala wining the men’s championship and Malaysian Alyaa Abdulghany the women’s event.
Both players attend college in the US, Theegala at Pepperdine University and Abdulghany at the University of Southern California.
Theegala was one of the leading world-ranked amateurs in this week’s field and despite a final round of 75, which included a horror start to his day, he was able to regain control and win comfortably by four shots.
Beginning the final day four shots ahead, Theegala birdied the short par four first but then, almost inexplicably, dropped seven shots over the next six holes before taking advantage of the consecutive par fives which finish the opening nine the Victoria Golf Club with an eagle and birdie.
Theegala has been a star performer on the Pepperdine team despite sitting out most of the 2018 and 2019 season with wrist injury but he has been in good form in recent weeks winning an event on the collegiate programme just a few weeks ago.
Theegala is a player good enough to have made the cut in an event on the PGA Tour, the Genesis Open.
Sahith Theegala – photo Anthony Powter
Korea’s Jang Hyun Lee finished runner-up just ahead of South Australian, Jack Thompson, who was unable to repeat yesterdays heroics in which he recorded a third round of 64.
The women’s event provided a much closer contest with Abdulghany winning after a playoff against Queenslander Cassie Porter and Chinese Taipei’s Ho Yu An.
Porter led into today’s final round after a round of 62 on Thursday but was unable to finish the tournament off, bogeys at two of her final three holes for a round of 75 proving very costly after Abdulghany took the playoff at the first extra hole.
Abdulghany had birdied the final hole of regulation play while An birdied the 17th and 18th to force her way into the playoff.
Malaysian born but raised in California, Abdulghany, who is in her third season at USC, birdied the first extra hole to take the title.
Australian PGA Championship Heading North
The Clubhouse at Royal Queensland – photo Bruce Young
Despite RACV Royal Pines Resort’s increasing success and popularity as the host venue for the Australian PGA Championship over the past seven years, it was today announced at a media conference at Royal Queensland Golf Club in Brisbane that one of Australian golf’s flagship events will head north in late 2020.
The CEO of the PGA of Australia, Gavin Kirkman, advised that the event will return to Royal Queensland Golf Club for the first time since 2001, when Robert Allenby secured the second of two consecutive titles he won at the venue.
The arrangement is the first of a three-year deal involving the respective stakeholders including the PGA of Australia, Royal Queensland Golf Club, The Brisbane City Council and Queensland Tourism and Events.
That Royal Queensland is celebrating its 100th anniversary in 2020 no doubt played a role in the decision especially given the significant history the golf club has created in Australian golf.
“We’re incredibly excited to return to Brisbane and the Royal Queensland Golf Club to celebrate a milestone anniversary of one of the country’s most treasured golf courses,” said Kirkman.
“Royal Queensland Golf Club is a rich breeding ground which has unearthed a number of PGA Professionals, including one of the game’s icons, Greg Norman. We look forward to celebrating the club’s history with our flagship event.
“We know Brisbane loves its live sporting events and we look forward to seeing the crowds come out to cheer on our home-grown and international golfers, while enjoying the party atmosphere of the Championship, which will continue to deliver exciting, vibrant and fan-friendly entertainment precincts on course”
In addition to hosting the PGA Championship on two occasions the Royal Queensland layout has also staged the Australian Open three times, the last of those coming in 1973 when American Jesse Snead won.
It has also hosted other PGA Tour of Australasia events including two Players Championships won by Greg Chalmers and Brett Rumford in the late 1990’s.
Perhaps its most significant role in hosting an event, however, came when Arnold Palmer won at Royal Queensland in 1966, defeating Kel Nagle by five shots in the process and winning the grand total of $1600 for his efforts.
The layout has undergone a total redesign since those heady days, the reclamation of some of the existing layout for the use of a second Gateway Bridge in 2005 requiring a major reconfiguration and upgrade carried out by Mike Clayton and his then design team
The par 3 17th at Royal Queensland – photo Bruce Young
The move from the Gold Coast is not a universally popular one, the increasing acceptance of RACV Royal Pines Resort as an end of year finale proving a real hit with players and families although Kirkman suggested the door was not completely closed on RACV Royal Pines or the Gold Coast in future years.
“The decision to move the event to the Royal Queensland Club was to continue to grow and evolve the event but we will continue to talk with RACV Royal Pines and the Gold Coast about future opportunities.
“This is a three-year deal and after those three years all stakeholders will have options,” said Kirkman.
While a specific date is yet to be confirmed for the 2020 event it is likely to be the first week of December, Kirkman explaining why, at this stage, it could not be totally locked in place.
“Our event is co-sanctioned with the European Tour and therefore has to align with their schedule,” added Kirkman.
“Traditionally the Hong Kong Open is played in Thanksgiving week and the week following is where we see it at this stage although those things have to go through the approval process.”
Perhaps surprisingly, there was no mention made of RACV Royal Pines in the press release in conjunction with the announcement but there is little doubting the impact the Gold Coast venue has had on the event, especially having taken over hosting duties at relatively late notice following the breakdown in negotiations between Palmer Coolum Resort and The PGA of Australia in 2012.
Palmer Coolum Resort or Hyatt Regency Coolum as it was more popularly known took over as the venue for the Australian PGA from Royal Queensland in 2002 and played host for eleven years.
Royal Pines played host to the event for the past seven years, therefore, and has seen two Queenslanders, Adam Scott and Cameron Smith win on two occasions at the venue.
During that time the RACV Royal Pines layout underwent a major redesign itself and after a shaky start during a period where the revamp was carried out over two six month periods it has developed into a fine test of tournament golf.
The securing of the PGA Championship provided the catalyst for the changes and has left the Resort with a much more popular and challenging golf course than was the case in its early days.
It can be proud also of the heritage it has already created in Australian golf since its opening in the early 1990’s, having been the venue for numerous Australian Ladies Masters, (eight of which were won by Karrie Webb) but the venue where nearly every one of the modern day greats of the female game has participated including Annika Sorenstam, Lorena Ochoa, Yani Tseng and Laura Davies.
Adam Scott won the first and the last of the Australian PGA Championships at RACV Royal Pines and even if it never does host another, it is a yet another piece of Australian golfing history that RACV Royal Pines can boast.
RACV Royal Pines – photo Bruce Young
Golf Betting Thoughts for January 9th
As the world of professional golf begins to get back into full swing, I take a look at three events on which betting is available this week.
The Sony Open in Honolulu, the South African Open in Johannesburg and the Hong Kong Open come under the spotlight as we search for a winner to follow up the minimal return secured off Justin Thomas last week at Kapalua.
Is Justin Thomas Headed Back To The Top?
Former World Number One, Justin Thomas’, win yesterday in the opening event of the 2020 golfing year, the Sentry Tournament of Champions, continued what has been a remarkable run of consistency in tournament golf over the past three years for the still only 26-year old.
Thomas moved inside the world top ten for the first time in January of 2017 after his win at the Sony Open in Hawaii, which had come on top of success in this event the week before, and only briefly left that group for three months before winning the PGA Championship in August of that year and has remained entrenched amongst the elite of the game since.
His playoff victory over Xander Schauffele and Patrick Reed at Kapalua on Sunday was his 12th on the PGA Tour, all but two of them coming in the three years since joining the top ten with this week’s victory coming on top of six top tens in his previous nine starts.
He has moved back to #4 in the world ranking and given his remarkable consistency it appears the position as the leading ranked player in the world, which he held for a month in 2018, is certainly within reach.
Thomas has been regularly mentioned in the same breath as Brooks Koepka and Jordan Spieth as the new breed of Americans most likely to rise to the top of the world rankings.
While all three have held that mantle at various stages, that current # 1, Koepka, is overcoming injury at present and Spieth has slipped to 44th in the world, the door is open for Thomas to win again in Honolulu and move closer to Koepka.
If he was to do so and eventually move back to number one it would be just reward for a remarkable run of consistency, perhaps at times unheralded, for Thomas who first joined the PGA Tour in 2015.
Master of the Amateurs Venue Change in 2020
The respective trophies at Victoria Golf Club – Master of the Amateurs
Elite amateur golf for 2020 gets underway next week when the Australian Master of the Amateurs is played at the Victoria Golf Club on Melbourne’s sandbelt, the event being played for the first time in several years away from its long-standing home of Royal Melbourne where it has been played over the last eight years.
The Victoria Golf Club loses little in comparison to its great neighbour however, having long been considered one of the leading golf courses of the famed sandbelt, if not Australia.
First played in 1997, the Master of the Amateurs boasts an honour roll including Jason Day, Brendan Jones and more recently, Aaron Wise, all of whom have gone on to successful professional careers, Day in particular.
Former Australian PGA Champion, Nathan Holman, is also included on the winner’s list as is 2019 New Zealand Open Champion Zach Murray.
Other leading figures of the current game such as Rickie Fowler, Bryson DeChambeau, Tommy Fleetwood, Russell Henley and Andy Sullivan have also played the event prior to joining the paid ranks.
This year’s field has attracted three players from the world top ten in the male amateur rankings namely, University of Florida standout, Ricky Castillo, 2018 Australian Amateur Champion, Keita Nakajima, and England’s, Benjamin Schmidt.
The leading world ranked Australian amateur in the field is Nathan Barbieri who finished runner-up at last year’s Australian Amateur Championship.
Two years ago the event introduced a female version of the Master of the Amateurs to be played alongside the men’s event and in 2020 Tsubasa Kajitani (number 1 in Japan), US based New Zealander Amelia Garvey (Number 1 in New Zealand), Alyaa Abdulghany (number 1 in Malaysia) and Doey Choi (number 2 in Australia) will be amongst the contenders.
The inaugural women’s champion in 2018 was won by Yuka Yasuda who also won last year’s Asia Pacific Amateur Championship and is now considered a future star of women’s golf.
The event is played from Jan 7th to 10th.
Below the par 3 16th at the Victoria Golf Club – photo Bruce Young
Matt Jones Cracks Top 100 For First Time in Three Years
Matt Jones en route to his 2019 Australian Open win – photo Golf Australia
While most of the focus of Australian professional golf in 2019 was on the performances of Hannah Green and Adam Scott in their respective genders, the effort of Matt Jones is yet another well worthy of note.
Jones will finish the year in 99th position in the world ranking, his highest standing since October of 2016 and while still well below his previous best of 41st after winning the 2014 Houston Open, the place inside the top twenty is due recognition of his exploits, especially late, in 2019.
His win at the Australian Open in early December jumped him to 103rd and the subtle variations of the world ranking has seen him prove another few places over the last few weeks.
Jones not only won the Australian Open but comfortably retained his playing status on the PGA Tour by finishing 91st in the FedEx Cup points table.
He finishes the year as the 5th highest ranked Australian behind Scott (18th), Marc Leishman (28th), Jason Day (37th) and Cameron Smith (53rd)
Sentry Tournament of Champions Form Guide
Jon Rahm – will likely start favourite in the event for 2019 winners.
The 2020 golfing year begins this week on the island of Maui in Hawaii with the traditional opening event of the PGA Tour year, the Sentry Tournament of Champions, which brings together the winners of events on the PGA Tour in 2019.
34 players are entered to take their place at the Plantation Course with Xander Schauffele the defending champions and one of the favourites.
Click below to listen to my form guide for the event
Hannah Green and Adam Scott Australasian Standouts in 2019
A very happy Hannah Green with her Greg Norman Medal – PGA of Australia
It has been another good year for Australasian professional golf, the undoubted highlight being the stunning performance of West Australian, Hannah Green, to win not only win her first LPGA Tour title but, in doing so, becoming just the third Australian female after Karrie Webb and Jan Stephenson to win a major championship.
Green’s win at the KPMG PGA Championship in Chaska in Minnesota in June was achieved after a nail-biting final few holes, surviving a mid round crisis and getting up and down from a greenside bunker at the 72nd hole to hold off a fast finish from former world number one, Sung Hyun Park.
All this in just Green’s second season on the LPGA Tour but it was not something Green was expecting so early in her LPGA Tour career.
“I didn’t have any plans to win any tournaments,” she said recently. “So yes, you go out there trying to do your best, but on my goal list, none of them was to say win a major, win a tournament. It was pretty much just trying to stay as consistent throughout the season.
“Last year I missed 10 cuts and I just wanted to make sure that I was making the cuts, but also finishing better on the results side when I did make the cuts. So obviously besides the two wins I did achieve that, so I’m really happy.
“It wasn’t too up and down a year this year. There was some really poor results, I think I shot in the 80s the first major of the year, so there was some low points this year, but obviously some real high points, too.”
To cap off her remarkable season Green was named the winner of the Greg Norman Medal as Australia’s best performer in 2019 during a dinner at the Australian PGA Championship.
Minjee Lee has finished the year in 8th place on the LPGA Tour money list, earning more than US$1 million for the 4th consecutive year and ending 2019 in 9th place in the Rolex World Rankings. She finished well ahead of Hannah Green in 22nd place in that standing.
There were other highlights of course. Adam Scott might have taken all year and some 45 months to finally win an event when successful at the Australian PGA Championship, but even without the victory he improved from 41st in the world ranking at the beginning of 2019 to 18th before the Australian PGA win and eventually finished in 13th place.
The improved standing was a reflection on an extremely consistent year, perhaps one of his more so, recording nine top tens included in 14 top twenties in 22 starts.
Adam Scott – finally a trophy in hand
Scott knows, however, that at his level titles and trophies are of much more importance than regular cheques and consistency and said so in a pre- Australian PGA Championship press conference.
“Yeah, it was a very consistent year. Of course, there are a couple weeks here or there where I didn’t play my best, but generally I played at a very high standard. There were a couple of very close calls on the PGA TOUR where I got beat by a shot and most other years I’m sure I would have had a (inaudible) score to win, but the standard is tough out there.
“However, consistency is not yielding wins and I think even the guys at the top can attest to that. You kind of have to go out and play flat out and make sure it’s your week where it all falls into place. I think the game’s changed a little bit and consistency used to be rewarded, but less so these days.
He was able to fix that issue a few days later.
Scott began the year in 4th place amongst the Australasians behind Jason Day, Marc Leishman and Cameron Smith and is now comfortably the leading world ranked male Australasian ahead of Leishman who is currently number 28 in the world.
In Europe, South African born West Australian, Jason Scrivener, continued his impressive but steady rise in the game with his best year ever on the European Tour. The 30-year old is yet to win in Europe but continues to build on the platforms he is creating for himself, making it into the season ending DP World Tour event in Dubai for the first time and earning more than €$1 million for the season in the process.
Jason Scrivener – headed the Australasians in Europe.
New Zealander Ryan Fox’s season was not as good as that in 2018 but importantly for the 32-year old he recorded his most important victory in the game and his first European Tour title with victory at the ISPS Handa Perth Super 6 event at Lake Karrinyup.
There was not a lot to get excited about in Fox’s performances following the win, unable to record a top ten in any of his remaining 19 starts but the breakthrough victory would see him finish as the third best Australasian in Europe behind Scrivener and Scott Hend.
Fox’s year was further enhanced by winning the PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit, the win in Perth the catalyst and by being named the PGA Tour of Australasia’s Player of the Year.
Hend won the European Tour’s Maybank Championship in May but like Fox there was not much to get enthused about following. He finished just one place out of a start at the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai in which the leading 50 players in Europe played the lucrative event.
On the Ladies European Tour, yet another West Australian, Whitney Hillier, led the Australians when she finished in a very creditable 16th place on the LET Order of Merit, her best result in her career to date.
There were no wins for the 29-year old, but she finished the year very strongly.
In Japan, Canberra’s Brendan Jones was again Australasia’s best, finishing in 16th place on the money list and just ahead of Gold Coaster Brad Kennedy.
Jones won early in the season, as he has often done, capturing the first domestic event of the Japan Tour schedule and while Kennedy didn’t win he finished the year with three top tens in his last five starts including a runner-up finish at the season ending Golf Nippon Series event which involves the leading 30 money winners.
Brendan Jones – again the leading Australasian in Japan
Gold Coast based, Anthony Quayle, was another standout amongst the Australasians in Japan, making it all the way to the Golf Nippon Series event in just his second season while special mention must also go to Japan Tour rookie, Dylan Perry, who also impressed when finishing 36th on the money list in his first year in the professional ranks.
On the Australian Ladies Professional Golf Association Tour, Sarah Kemp was named Player of the Year courtesy of her stunning start to the year which saw her finish runner-up at the Vic Open and 10th the Women’s Australian Open and regain her LPGA Tour status in the process.
Sarah Kemp – ALPGA
On the Asian Tour, Scott Hend was again the highest placed Australian when he finished runner-up to the brilliant Thai youngster Jazz Janewattanonond, the Queenslander continuing to be one of the, perhaps, unheralded achievers in Australian golf.
Also in Asia for much of the year was Victorian Zach Murray whose win at the New Zealand Open was not only an official win on the Australasian Tour but in Asia also.
The win in Queenstown saw Murray earn enough money to finish runner-up on the 2019 PGA Tour of Australasia money list and as the leading player on that list not otherwise exempt to the European Tour the 22-year old now has European Tour status in 2020.
So just 15 months after turning professional, Murray has status in Europe, Asia and Australasia, providing plenty of playing options in 2020.
He would also finish 8th on the Asian Tour money list although a very significant percentage of those monies were earned in Queenstown.
Zach Murray and New Zealand great Sir Bob Charles with his NZ Open trophy
On the Korn Ferry Tour in the US, Rhein Gibson and New Zealander, Tim Wilkinson, both played their way back to the PGA Tour while Ryan Ruffels and Brett Drewitt earned Korn Ferry Tour cards via the Tour School in December.
Perhaps the most unheralded performance by an Australasian in 2019, however, was that of Queenslander, Maverick Antcliff, who by winning the China Tour’s Order of Merit has earned the right to play the European Tour in 2020.
Maverick Antcliff – now has a European Tour card courtesy of his fine season in China. photo Asian Tour
And so as 2019 draws to a close, Australasian golf’s year has been highlighted by Hannah Green joining a very select club of Australian female golfers as a winner of a major title and Adam Scott moving back up the world ranking towards the elite of the game.
There were several other good performances, some career and even life changing in their own right, but Green and Scott were the standouts.
Can 2020 be even better?
Adam Scott’s Class Prevails At RACV Royal Pines
photo: Adam Scott with his second PGA Championship trophy – PGA of Australia
Adam Scott has won his second Australian PGA Championship title at RACV Royal Pines on the Gold Coast with an impressive and, at times, clinical final round display, edging clear of several rivals who dared to dream during the course of today’s finale.
Just as had been the case in Saturday’s third round, Scott gave his rivals plenty of hope through the front nine on the final day but a brilliant tee shot to 8 feet at the demanding par 3, 14th was followed soon after by yet another outstanding 5 iron approach to 10 feet at the 15th.
They had come on top of a crucial par save at the par five 12th when he found the trees from the tee and was forced to get up and down from 80 metres or so to save par.
The putts at 14 and 15 were converted, however, and the birdie, eagle stretch had swept him past the then leader Mike Hendry and into the lead by one. When Hendry bogeyed the 17th and 18th holes, the win would be by two over Hendry who finished alone in second place after Wade Ormsby and Nick Flanagan produced very costly bogeys at the last.
Ormsby and Flanagan shared 3rd place with Carl Yuan, Minwoo Lee and Cameron Davis, one shot behind Hendry.
Scott was obviously delighted to have won for the first time in 45 months.
“Pretty stoked, actually,” he said after his win. “I kind of grinded it out this week and I feel like I outsmarted the golf course a little bit, which feels good, and it was good enough to beat everyone.
“So it’s been a long time between drinks for me and maybe only once or twice did the thought cross my mind that I’ll never win again. It feels very good to win here, especially to finish the year off kind of winning at home.”
Scott still retains a home at Sanctuary Cove on the Gold Coast but spends more time when in Australia at a relatively new home on the Sunshine Coast along with other residences in Switzerland and the Bahamas.
So, was he really serious when he questioned his ability to win again?
“Well, I mean, fleeting thoughts. You don’t know. I think it’s very difficult to win. I’m on the wrong side of this age thing now where these young guys are really good and I played some pretty good golf a couple weeks this year and fell short.
“You know, record‑setting scores. I think the courses are getting tougher, guys are playing good. Just being all right doesn’t really get you in, you’ve got to be pretty much sensational.”
It might not be the biggest win in his career but Scott is fully aware of the importance a win so late in the season can do for his chances of a big year in 2020
“Well, it’s big for the confidence. I mean, I’ve seen what it’s done for me in the past; a win, you feel like you’re just never going to lose again, so you want to run with that while the confidence is up. Somehow I’ll have to think that in seven weeks when I step back in L.A.
“You know, there’s a lot of confidence from a win and I’ll look forward to enjoying that.”
Adam Scott is a very private person and keeps his private life exactly that but today he made mention of his family and how the win might be received when he returns to his home this evening.
“Well, that will be fun for my daughter because she’s asked all year for a trophy, so I’ve not been able to deliver. So that will be fun for me tonight, see if that makes her happy.”
Scott paid credit to his playing partners but had special mention for Nick Flanagan who would eventually finish 3rd after sharing the lead at various stages throughout the final round.
Flanagan and Scott enjoying each other’s company today – Bruce Young
“We reminisced just a couple weeks ago about playing golf with Ernie when he shot 60 at Royal Melbourne. Nick was in the group with me, so that’s 15 years ago, so we’ve known each other a long time.
“We’ve been on surf trips together and I’m really happy to see Nick playing golf like that today. You know, not just up there, but he’s playing really good and I hope he takes a lot out of the last couple weeks and gets himself back to where he wants to be. He’s obviously very talented, but he looked good out there today, I liked it.”
Flanagan, a former US Amateur Champion and the first Australian to win that coveted title, has struggled in more recent times after getting to the PGA Tour earlier in his career.
He showed a lot of emotion in his post round conference and had mixed emotions about the day.
“I mean, if somebody told me I was going to finish third at the start of the day, I probably would have taken it, to be honest with you. To put myself in a good spot there with a few holes to come, you know, I’m pretty gutted.
“But, at the same time, it was one of those weeks where I haven’t done something like this in a while, probably since this event last year, really. So I’m pretty pumped, but at the same time definitely a little disappointed I couldn’t ‑‑ just that one shot really kind of cost me.
“It’s been a tough few months. I thought I was going to do well there in Europe, at European Q‑School. That was tough not to get through there. Yeah, it’s huge. I haven’t felt ‑‑ like I haven’t been able to play a stress‑free round of golf – kind of wanting to make money.
“And obviously with the baby on the way, this is huge for us. Over Christmas I’ll actually feel like I can sit down on the couch for a couple weeks and actually relax and not think about where the next check’s coming from, at least for the next two or three weeks. That’s kind of why I was getting a little emotional there for a second.”
Photo: Mike Hendry pitches to the 6th – Bruce Young
Michael Hendry is another who might have felt he let an opportunity get away but, despite getting to the lead, holding off Scott was always going to be a difficult task and so it would prove.
Hendry was also forced to contend with painful rib issues all day and was thankful not only to finish where he did but to get through the round.
“The warm‑up was terrible,” said the New Zealander. “I honestly thought I wasn’t going to get through the round. So quite honestly, my goal today was just get through 18 holes and finish the event regardless of what the score was. Lo and behold, I hit it really well.
“It was painful all day and I just kept trying to basically man up and hit the shot. Maybe that was the thing that I needed to take my attention away from what was happening on the golf course. It was more about trying to make good swings under a little bit of pain, and I made a lot of good swings.
“I’ve never been in the situation physically and been in contention at the same time as today, so like I said, it was an odd one for me today. I kind of ‑‑ like I say, anything above and beyond 72 holes to me was a bonus today, and to go out and shoot 69 in pretty tricky conditions, just get through was great.”
Hendry has not has a great season by his more recent standards but to have finished runner-up this week not long after narrowly retaining his Japan Tour card is a great way for a rather ordinary year to finish.
He earnt $158,000 for his efforts.
The tournament not only completed the golfing year it completed the PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit. The winner of that was New Zealander Ryan Fox who earnt most of his A$307,000 when successful at the ISPS Handa Perth Super 6’s.
The leading player on the money list and not otherwise exempt on the European Tour and therefore earning the right to play the European Tour in 2020, goes to the New Zealand Open Champion Zach Murray who finished the year $9000 ahead of Brad Kennedy.
But the honours of the week got to Adam Scott, not only for his classy display on the course but for making a commitment to the event as long as eight months ago and therefore allowing the event to promote his presence in the field as a cornerstone for pre-event publicity.
“I hope they’re happy with the result,” Scott joked after the round. “But, you know, some of these things, for me it’s important to commit to early, but also I can really plan my whole year so that I’m here ready to play.
“You know, sometimes as the year drags out, you’re kind of fading, but with the Presidents Cup here, I knew I was going to be motivated to be in top form for these three weeks. I was a little rough there at the Aussie Open, but we turned it around and made the most of it, which I want to do every time I play.”
Adam Scott began the year 41st in the world ranking – he finishes it in 13th place.
RESULTS
ORDER OF MERIT