Perth’s, Jason Scrivener, is just two behind the lead as the Turkish Airlines Open heads into the weekend in Antalya in Turkey.
Scrivener put together a bogey free second round of 66 to be sitting just off the lead held by Austrian Matthias Schwab and with just this week and next week’s Nedbank Challenge remaining ahead of the season ending DP World Tour Championship Dubai, he needs to capitalise on this start if he is to force his way into the top 50 who will make it to the event in three weeks time
Scrivener is currently 61st in the Race to Dubai Rankings but his start has lifted him to a projected 54th. A good weekend might just be enough to qualify for Dubai without the pressure of being forced to play well in South Africa next week.
Scott Hend showed improvement on recent efforts to be tied for 25th, three shots behind Scrivener, New Zealander Ryan Fox is 33rd and Wade Ormsby 43rd in a field where this is no cut.
For the leader, Schwab, his start to the event continues an impressive run of form of late having been 4th in two of his last three starts and inside the top ten in five of his last eight.
The 24-year-old leads the standings in the highest number of top ten finishes on the European Tour this season, with nine.
Schwab has yet to win on the European Tour but many believe that once he does he will win many.
Despite an eagle at the first hole today he struggled through much of the front nine but things improved on the way home.
“I wasn’t really hitting them great at all, especially early on but kept it together,” said Schwab.
“Obviously the start was good with an eagle on the first hole, but then it was not very nice to watch I think. The long game wasn’t on but I managed to make a few good pars. On the back nine I found my swing a little bit and made a few good birdies coming home.”
photo Matthias Schwab – Getty Images
Big weekend ahead of Jason Scrivener
Perth’s, Jason Scrivener, is just two behind the lead as the Turkish Airlines Open heads into the weekend in Antalya in Turkey.
Scrivener put together a bogey free second round of 66 to be sitting just off the lead held by Austrian Matthias Schwab and with just this week and next week’s Nedbank Challenge remaining ahead of the season ending DP World Tour Championship Dubai, he needs to capitalise on this start if he is to force his way into the top 50 who will make it to the event in three weeks time
Scrivener is currently 61st in the Race to Dubai Rankings but his start has lifted him to a projected 54th. A good weekend might just be enough to qualify for Dubai without the pressure of being forced to play well in South Africa next week.
Scott Hend showed improvement on recent efforts to be tied for 25th, three shots behind Scrivener, New Zealander Ryan Fox is 33rd and Wade Ormsby 43rd in a field where this is no cut.
For the leader, Schwab, his start to the event continues an impressive run of form of late having been 4th in two of his last three starts and inside the top ten in five of his last eight.
The 24-year-old leads the standings in the highest number of top ten finishes on the European Tour this season, with nine.
Schwab has yet to win on the European Tour but many believe that once he does he will win many.
Despite an eagle at the first hole today he struggled through much of the front nine but things improved on the way home.
“I wasn’t really hitting them great at all, especially early on but kept it together,” said Schwab.
“Obviously the start was good with an eagle on the first hole, but then it was not very nice to watch I think. The long game wasn’t on but I managed to make a few good pars. On the back nine I found my swing a little bit and made a few good birdies coming home.”
photo Matthias Schwab – Getty Images
Brad Kennedy remains in touch in Japan
Queensland’s Brad Kennedy is in a share of 3rd place and three from the lead at the halfway stage of the Heiwa PGM Championship on Okinawa in Southern Japan.
Kennedy, who has recorded top ten finishes in each of his last two events on the Japan Golf Tour, shared the lead after his opening round of 66 but although he could only add a round of 69 today he remains within striking distance of the leader, Scott Vincent of Zimbabwe.
Kennedy shares third place with Ho-Sung Choi and Japan’s hottest player in 2019, Shugo Imahira, who appears the player for all the beat over the weekend.
Kennedy is currently in 29th place on the Japan Tour’s money list for 2019.
Australian rookie Dylan Perry, currently in 66th place on the Japan Tour Order of Merit, is tied for 7th at 5 under and two behind Kennedy.
Won Joon Lee was the other Australian to make the cut when he finished his opening 36 holes in a share of 32nd place.
Brendan Jones and Adam Bland missed the weekend by one shot.
27-year old Vincent is in his first season on the Japan Tour and although yet to win he has four top tens to date.
He did win on the Japan Challenge Tour earlier this season and is clearly a player good enough to win at the higher level.
Hannah Green takes share of early lead in Japan
Australian Hannah Green has reversed some indifferent recent form by taking a share of the opening round lead at the LPGA Tour’s Toto Championship in Shiga in Japan.
Green has won twice on the LPGA Tour this season, including when winning the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, but has been unable to record a finish better then 38th in her last four starts.
Today, however, she recorded an opening round of 67 at the Seta Golf Club today to lead along with Japan’s Ai Suzuki, the pair one shot ahead of a large group at 4 under 68 including Green’s in form fellow West Australian, Minjee Lee, and New Zealander Lydia Ko.
Victorian Su Oh was round in even par 72 to be tied for 40th.
“Very happy,” said Green. “It’s been a while since I’ve had a bogey-free round. Just very happy that I didn’t have any bogeys and then I was like really consistent throughout the whole entire round.
“Yeah, a very great year for me obviously having two wins and a major championship. I just wanted to make sure that during this Asia swing, even though there was no cut, that I didn’t try and breeze my way through and just focus on finishing strong through the end of the year.
“So now being in this position, definitely want to continue and hopefully have a win here and then just a strong finish at CME, which will be a nice way to finish and go to the off-season.”
Lee finished runner-up to Nelly Korda in Taiwan last week and appears on the verge of yet another LPGA Tour win. An eagle at her opening hole after holing out from the fairway and birdies at her final two holes provided great momentum heading into tomorrow’s second round in the 54-hole event.
With six of her nine previous rounds in the event in the 60’s, this is a layout that appears to suit Lee well and she shapes as a real threat over the weekend.
Golf Betting Thoughts for November 7th
Three events come under the spotlight this week as we assess the chances at the European Tour’s Turkish Airlines Open, the LPGA Tour’s Toto Classic in Japan and the Japan Tour’s Heiwa PGM Championship.
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Maverick Antcliff earns European Tour card
Photo courtesy of the Asian Tour
The remarkable consistency of 26-year old Queensland golfer, Maverick Antcliff on the China Golf Tour in 2019 has been rewarded in the form of a European Tour card for 2020.
The series, which consists of 11 events, saw Antcliff win on three occasions, finish runner-up once and record four other top tens in his eleven starts and finish atop the money list, thus qualifying for a full European Tour card for events beginning at the Alfred Dunhill Championship in South Africa in late November.
The former Hills International Academy in Jimboomba attendee, who also played collegiate golf for Augusta State in the US, turned professional in 2017 following an amateur career which saw him win the prestigious Rice Planters amateur event in the US amongst others.
In his third season on the China Tour, Antcliff has taken his game to another level in 2019 and with a European Tour card in his back pocket then more can be expected.
Antcliff also played the Asian Tour in 2018 but has focused all his attention on both the Asian and China Tours this year.
McIlroy passes US$50 million with WGC HSBC victory
Rory McIlroy has defeated Xander Schauffele in a playoff to secure his 18th PGA Tour title and his third World Golf Championship event, the WGC HSBC Champions in Shanghai, taking his PGA Tour earnings beyond US$50 million in the process.
Schauffele needed to birdie the 72nd hole to force the playoff before McIlroy was able to birdie the first hole of extra time to take the title and the US$1,745,000 first prize.
McIlroy was unable to birdie the 72nd hole but a stunning approach to the same hole in extra time set up a two-putt birdie and the win.
Louis Oosthuizen had a piece of the lead at various stages throughout the final day but he was unable to hold off the playoff pair although finished on his own in third place and two shots from the playoff.
Adam Scott finished as the leading Australian when he tied for 11th, producing yet another strong finishing round of 67.
With final Presidents Cup selections named in the next few days, Sungjae Im, Byeong Hun An and Patrick Reed have done their respective chances no harm with solid weeks.
Near miss for Minjee Lee in Taiwan
Defending champion, Nelly Korda, did exactly that when she successfully held on to win the LPGA Tour’s Taiwan Swinging Skirts LPGA event in Taipei City, surviving a playoff to defeat Australia’s Minjee Lee and Germany’s Caroline Masson.
Not only did Korda win, but Lee had also finished runner-up last year so there was a little bit of déjà vu about the result which saw Korda win her third LPGA Tour title having also won the Women’s Australian Open earlier this year.
Korda appeared to have control of the event with five holes to play but three bogeys in four holes late in her round saw the American and Lee needing to birdie the par 5 last to draw level with Masson who, playing with the pair, had moved ahead with consecutive birdies at the 15th and 16th and the demise by Korda.
Lee’s fellow Australian, Su Oh, tied for 8th, Katherine Kirk 55th and a struggling Hannah Green 74th.
The LPGA now moves to Japan for the final event of their Asian swing, the TOTO Classic.
Another top ten for Brendan Jones in Japan
Canberra’s Brendan Jones has finished 7th the Mynavi ABC Championship in Hyogo Prefecture, an eagle at the last hole by the 44-year old improving him from 19th overnight to finish six shots behind the winner, Jung Gon Hwang or Korea.
Jones is in 12th place on the 2019 Japan Tour money list with A$650,000, much of that coming when winning the opening domestic event on the Japan Tour season, the Token Homemate Cup.
Jones’ fellow Australian, David Bransdon, recorded one of his better finishes of the season when he, too, eagled his final hole for a round of 68 to finish tied for 13th.
Sydney raised, Won Joon Lee, finished 22nd, Japan Tour rookie, Dylan Perry, was 42nd while New Zealander Mike Hendry was 32nd.
For the winner, Hwang, it was his 4th Japan Tour title although his first for nearly four years.
David Bransdon contends in Japan
Victorian David Bransdon is just two shots from the lead at the halfway stage of the Japan Golf Tour’s Mynavi ABC Championship near Kobe.
The 46-year old, who is currently 48th on the 2019 Japan Tour money list, is in his third year on the Japan Tour but to date he has a best of only 4th place, that coming at the Kansai Open early in his first season in 2017.
His rounds of 68 and 69 this week, however, have him in a share of third place behind Korean Min Gyu Cho and Japan’s Hiroshi Iwata.
Bransdon has won twice in lesser events on the PGA Tour of Australasia but perhaps even more meritorious performances came when 5th at this year’s Vic Open in Australia which was a European Tour event and when runner-up at the 2015 NZ Open.
This weekend therefore offers an opportunity to improve his standing on the Japan Tour and perhaps contend for the title in the $A2 million (equiv) event.
Brendan Jones and Won Joon Lee are the next best of the Australians, that pair tied for 19th at 5 under and three shots behind Bransdon.
Adam Scott two from lead in Shanghai
Matthew Fitzpatrick – Getty Images
Adam Scott is just two shots from the halfway lead at the WGC HSBC Championship in Shanghai, a second round of 69 leaving him sharing third place behind only leader Matthew Fitzpatrick and second placed Rory McIlroy.
Scott was out in even par but three birdies on the way home took him within striking distance of the lead.
Matthew Millar, who earned his place in this prestigious and lucrative event through his runner-up finish on the Australasian Tour money list last year, is, along with Cameron Smith, the next best placed Australian in 32nd place.
Jake McLeod was 42nd, Scott Hend 50th and Daniel Nisbet 77th.
Fitzpatrick leads by one over McIlroy, McIlroy’s eagle at the last today reminding all of his presence and prospects of a first win in this event.
Fitzpatrick enjoys a good record at the Sheshan Golf Club in Shanghai with three top twenties in five starts.