Joint leader – Lucas Herbert – Photo: PGA of Australia
Victorian, Lucas Herbert, took full advantage of the perfect morning conditions on day one of the Australian PGA Championship at RACV Royal Pines on the Gold Coast, his 5 under par round of 67 handing him a share of the lead with Brisbane golfer, Brett Rankin, as the morning half of the field completed their rounds.
Herbert, who plays on the European Tour for much of the year, has struggled in 2019 compared to an impressive breakout season in Europe in 2018, battling a hand injury for much of the latter half of the season but it is no longer causing the problem it was earlier, his round today evidence of just that.
“It’s been a lot better,” said Herbert who was up early for a 6.20 tee time. “I can still just feel it a little bit at times. There was one shot into the eighth today that I felt it a bit and it was bit sore, but I think at the Open I was kind of flinching and trying to not hurt my hand whereas I’m not really doing that now.
“Whether it’s like a wedge that you’ve got to take a pretty steep divot with, I’m actually okay with doing that, whereas I wasn’t two weeks ago. Yeah, hand’s really good, can’t complain there. It’s good to be healthy again and able to play.”
His round this morning was highlighted by an eagle at his 3rd hole (the 12th of the course) which came after birdies at his first two holes . “It was a 6‑iron,” he said when asked what club he had hit for his 2nd at the par 5. “I was actually in between clubs. I kind of just wanted to get it middle of the green and I kind of pulled it and hit it a bit hard and it got all the way back there. Yeah, take the good breaks when you get them.”
He would bogey his next two holes and after being 4 under through 4 holes was just 1 under heading to his 10th tee but he would play the back nine in 4 under to complete an impressive start to the week.
“It’s actually been an interesting day. Usually I kind of set little targets for myself to get through numbers‑wise, but I really didn’t today, I kind of just let everything go and just enjoyed being out there. The course is in great shape, so I was just enjoying some nice weather, walking around a great golf course with one of my best mates on the bag.”
The mate on the bag was brought about by a new caddie he hired last week for next season being unavailable for this event. “I’ve just hired someone for next year Friday of last week, but he couldn’t make it this week so it’s kind of just a fill‑in for the week.
“But Marcus caddied for me when I finished 11th in the Aussie Masters in 2014, so got some good chemistry there, had some good results together before. And he’s just a mate carrying a bag, but he’s doing a great job, always standing in the right place and never sort of annoying me, which is great.”
Rankin has battled away on the PGA Tour of Australasia and the Queensland Sunshine Tour for much his nine-year professional career but in 2019 he would finally make his breakthrough when winning the Northern Territory PGA Championship. He has been a prolific winner of pro-ams but until this year was struggling to convert that success to a higher level.
Brett Rankin – file photo
“Winning NT PGA just sort of gives you that confidence you know you can do it, your best golf can win on this tour,” said Rankin after his round.
“It’s a tough tour, there’s so many good players out here. So you gain that confidence from winning multiple pro‑ams and you take that to the next level, you win a tour event, and the next you’re like, okay, I belong here. You gain confidence just from doing that.
“It’s also just a bit of a stress relief, to be honest. You question it, you think about it and you’re like, am I good enough to win, and you finally do it. You sort of tick that box and you’re like, all right, let’s go to bigger and better things.”
Herbert and Rankin led by one over South Australian, Nick Cullen, New Zealander, Ryan Chisnall, and New South Welshman, Travis Smyth, as the morning field vacated the course for the afternoon field to do their stuff.
With a gathering breeze and a golf course drying out in the afternoon warmth, the task was always going to be a little more difficult for those out in the second half of the day one draw and so it would prove.
Adam Scott was one of those to play late on day one and the 2013 champion appeared to be on track when he holed a 30-foot birdie putt at the 10th to move to 2 under and within three of the lead.
The 13th at Royal Pines, however, is one of the toughest driving holes on the course and when Scott found the water from the tee he would drop two shots and was back in the pack.
He would, though, hit a stunning drive at the 15th and holed a 16-foot eagle putt to return to 2 under and that is the way he would finish the day, just three shots from the lead.
“I played good today,” said Scott. “Unfortunately, I really mis‑hit that driver at 13 and it cost me two. Other than that, it was pretty stress free. I was very happy with it. It wasn’t that easy out there.
“I seemed to get a lot of in‑between numbers and you have to kind of ‑‑ when it’s windy here, you kind of have to be a little bit careful because you don’t want to be chipping short‑side around here, the grain is just too much to deal with.
“So I was pretty stress free. I wish I could have that swing on 13 over again, but all in all I feel good about my round. A round like I ended up at 2 under leaves me in a great spot with hopefully light winds tomorrow morning to come out.”
Playing with Scott were tournament invite and former Open Champion, Stewart Cink, and the immensely talented West Australian, Min Woo Lee. Lee has just completed his first season on the European Tour when playing events on invite and although he was unable to gain full status for 2020 he has done enough to be assured of as many as twenty events in Europe next year.
The brother of Australia’s leading female golfer, Minjee Lee, Minwoo is considered by many to be one of the future stars of Australian golf and gave further evidence of that when playing in the elite company of major champions, Scott and Cink.
Lee finished the better of the trio with an opening round of 4 under 68 and, along with South Australian, Wade Ormsby, led the afternoon field. Lee’s round was made all the better given he began with two bogeys early before birdies at six of his last 13 holes.
Ormsby has some history at RACV Royal Pines having been part of the three man playoff in the event won by Greg Chalmers in 2014.
Defending champion Cameron Smith finished with a round of 74 but two late birdies at least made the round reasonable. He finds himself in a share of 94th place and while very much back in the field he is still just seven shots from the lead and the chance of winning three Australian PGA Championships in a row is still a possibility although hardly a probability.
So, as the Australian PGA Championship heads into day two, Lucas Herbert and Brett Rankin are ahead by one.
Around 45 players broke par on day one and, with the likelihood of similar conditions tomorrow, the cut appears as if it will fall at the even par mark.
Scores
New Zealand Open’s Success Reflected in Increased Prizemoney
New Zealand’s favourite golfing son Sir Bob Charles with 2019 champion Zach Murray
The New Zealand Open Golf Championship, Presented by Sky Sports, continues to defy the trend of professional golf events in this region, increasing its prizemoney by 12 percent for the 2020 championship, the total for the event itself $NZ1.4 million with an additional $NZ50,000 available for the pro-am aspect of the event.
When the event moved to Queenstown in 2014 and adopted the pro-am format as a means of rebuilding the championship to a level of sustainability, it carried prizemoney of $NZ850,000.
The increase since, therefore, speaks to the growth of the event and its popularity, not only in terms of the professional field but also the jam packed field of amateurs who have played such a key role in the New Zealand Open being the success it has become.
Now jointly sanctioned between the PGA Tour of Australasia and Asian Tour and sharing a special partnership with the Japan Tour, the New Zealand Open, one of the world’s oldest professional events, has also played a key role in the promotion of New Zealand and more specifically the Queenstown region as a golfing destination.
After a period of instability through the 2000’s with the controversial visit of Tiger Woods in 2002 and the joint sanctioning with Europe of the event in 2005, 2006 and 2007, followed by a period jointly sanctioned with the Nationwide Tour, the New Zealand Open needed reviving.
The introduction of a Alfred Dunhill Links style format, while controversial initially, has proven a tremendous success and the regular growth in prize-money is clear evidence of just that.
Tournament organisers have never been lulled into the payment of appearance money at any stage and have stuck rigidly to that. While the event has therefore been unable to attract the superstars of the game it has found its place as, arguably, the most popular on the PGA Tour of Australasia schedule and ensured the New Zealand Open has continued its remarkable legacy in Australasian golf.
Herbert and Rankin Early Leaders at RACV Royal Pines
Joint leader – Lucas Herbert – Photo: PGA of Australia
Victorian, Lucas Herbert, took full advantage of the perfect morning conditions on day one of the Australian PGA Championship at RACV Royal Pines on the Gold Coast, his 5 under par round of 67 handing him a share of the lead with Brisbane golfer, Brett Rankin, as the morning half of the field completed their rounds.
Herbert, who plays on the European Tour for much of the year, has struggled in 2019 compared to an impressive breakout season in Europe in 2018, battling a hand injury for much of the latter half of the season but it is no longer causing the problem it was earlier, his round today evidence of just that.
“It’s been a lot better,” said Herbert who was up early for a 6.20 tee time. “I can still just feel it a little bit at times. There was one shot into the eighth today that I felt it a bit and it was bit sore, but I think at the Open I was kind of flinching and trying to not hurt my hand whereas I’m not really doing that now.
“Whether it’s like a wedge that you’ve got to take a pretty steep divot with, I’m actually okay with doing that, whereas I wasn’t two weeks ago. Yeah, hand’s really good, can’t complain there. It’s good to be healthy again and able to play.”
His round this morning was highlighted by an eagle at his 3rd hole (the 12th of the course) which came after birdies at his first two holes . “It was a 6‑iron,” he said when asked what club he had hit for his 2nd at the par 5. “I was actually in between clubs. I kind of just wanted to get it middle of the green and I kind of pulled it and hit it a bit hard and it got all the way back there. Yeah, take the good breaks when you get them.”
He would bogey his next two holes and after being 4 under through 4 holes was just 1 under heading to his 10th tee but he would play the back nine in 4 under to complete an impressive start to the week.
“It’s actually been an interesting day. Usually I kind of set little targets for myself to get through numbers‑wise, but I really didn’t today, I kind of just let everything go and just enjoyed being out there. The course is in great shape, so I was just enjoying some nice weather, walking around a great golf course with one of my best mates on the bag.”
The mate on the bag was brought about by a new caddie he hired last week for next season being unavailable for this event. “I’ve just hired someone for next year Friday of last week, but he couldn’t make it this week so it’s kind of just a fill‑in for the week.
“But Marcus caddied for me when I finished 11th in the Aussie Masters in 2014, so got some good chemistry there, had some good results together before. And he’s just a mate carrying a bag, but he’s doing a great job, always standing in the right place and never sort of annoying me, which is great.”
Rankin has battled away on the PGA Tour of Australasia and the Queensland Sunshine Tour for much his nine-year professional career but in 2019 he would finally make his breakthrough when winning the Northern Territory PGA Championship. He has been a prolific winner of pro-ams but until this year was struggling to convert that success to a higher level.
Brett Rankin – file photo
“Winning NT PGA just sort of gives you that confidence you know you can do it, your best golf can win on this tour,” said Rankin after his round.
“It’s a tough tour, there’s so many good players out here. So you gain that confidence from winning multiple pro‑ams and you take that to the next level, you win a tour event, and the next you’re like, okay, I belong here. You gain confidence just from doing that.
“It’s also just a bit of a stress relief, to be honest. You question it, you think about it and you’re like, am I good enough to win, and you finally do it. You sort of tick that box and you’re like, all right, let’s go to bigger and better things.”
Herbert and Rankin led by one over South Australian, Nick Cullen, New Zealander, Ryan Chisnall, and New South Welshman, Travis Smyth, as the morning field vacated the course for the afternoon field to do their stuff.
With a gathering breeze and a golf course drying out in the afternoon warmth, the task was always going to be a little more difficult for those out in the second half of the day one draw and so it would prove.
Adam Scott was one of those to play late on day one and the 2013 champion appeared to be on track when he holed a 30-foot birdie putt at the 10th to move to 2 under and within three of the lead.
The 13th at Royal Pines, however, is one of the toughest driving holes on the course and when Scott found the water from the tee he would drop two shots and was back in the pack.
He would, though, hit a stunning drive at the 15th and holed a 16-foot eagle putt to return to 2 under and that is the way he would finish the day, just three shots from the lead.
“I played good today,” said Scott. “Unfortunately, I really mis‑hit that driver at 13 and it cost me two. Other than that, it was pretty stress free. I was very happy with it. It wasn’t that easy out there.
“I seemed to get a lot of in‑between numbers and you have to kind of ‑‑ when it’s windy here, you kind of have to be a little bit careful because you don’t want to be chipping short‑side around here, the grain is just too much to deal with.
“So I was pretty stress free. I wish I could have that swing on 13 over again, but all in all I feel good about my round. A round like I ended up at 2 under leaves me in a great spot with hopefully light winds tomorrow morning to come out.”
Playing with Scott were tournament invite and former Open Champion, Stewart Cink, and the immensely talented West Australian, Min Woo Lee. Lee has just completed his first season on the European Tour when playing events on invite and although he was unable to gain full status for 2020 he has done enough to be assured of as many as twenty events in Europe next year.
The brother of Australia’s leading female golfer, Minjee Lee, Minwoo is considered by many to be one of the future stars of Australian golf and gave further evidence of that when playing in the elite company of major champions, Scott and Cink.
Lee finished the better of the trio with an opening round of 4 under 68 and, along with South Australian, Wade Ormsby, led the afternoon field. Lee’s round was made all the better given he began with two bogeys early before birdies at six of his last 13 holes.
Ormsby has some history at RACV Royal Pines having been part of the three man playoff in the event won by Greg Chalmers in 2014.
Defending champion Cameron Smith finished with a round of 74 but two late birdies at least made the round reasonable. He finds himself in a share of 94th place and while very much back in the field he is still just seven shots from the lead and the chance of winning three Australian PGA Championships in a row is still a possibility although hardly a probability.
So, as the Australian PGA Championship heads into day two, Lucas Herbert and Brett Rankin are ahead by one.
Around 45 players broke par on day one and, with the likelihood of similar conditions tomorrow, the cut appears as if it will fall at the even par mark.
Scores
Adam Scott In Pursuit Of Titles
Scott following his 2013 Australian PGA win
Australia’s leading ranked male golfer, Adam Scott, will play the Australian PGA Championship at RACV Royal Pines this week in pursuit of his first title anywhere in over three years.
Scott’s last victory came at the WGC Cadillac Championship in March of 2016 and while his world ranking has improved considerably in 2019, he would be prefer to be winning tournaments than improving his standing in the world ranking and this week’s Australian PGA Championship offers an opportunity to do just that.
“I mean, the rankings kind of only matter to get you in all the tournaments,” he said in his pre Australian PGA Championship media conference.
“You know, I’m not necessarily motivated to be the No. 1 player in the world as much as I’m motivated to win a major championship. I’ve been now ‑‑ all of it’s great, but a major championship can happen on a week and to get to No. 1 is a very long process.
“If you start getting up there, then maybe that motivation will come again, but to win some trophies and win some tournaments, certainly the majors, there are a few other specific tournaments around the world I would like to win that I haven’t won.
“But here this week, absolutely. I felt like whatever years were my best golf, a couple of these slipped away, one in a playoff here to win the PGA again. There was an Australian Open or two that I was close at. It would be nice while I’ve got a few decent years left in me to kind of wrap up a few more wins down here and leave as strong a legacy in the Australian game as well.”
“It’s frustrating because I feel there have been some weeks where I’ve had the chance and it hasn’t happened and it’s very hard to find where I put a foot wrong in those examples. Someone just played better and that’s annoying because it’s hard for me to control what they’re doing. It just means I’ve got to lift my game a little bit higher. It’s all right there.
“But I feel like I’ve been in a similar spot in my career to this before. If I remember, maybe 2012 I was playing at a very high level and I didn’t win all year. I ended up winning the Australian Masters at the end of the year, but I’m at that point where I just need to keep pushing myself along, keep the intensity at the right level because I’m doing the right things, it’s going the right way.
“A breakthrough win here this week can carry me a long way into next year with Augusta only a few months away now. So it’s important that I kind of get that win, and the confidence that those wins give you can take you a long way.”
Scott has been a regular visitor to RACV Royal Pines since the event moved to the Gold Coast layout in 2013, winning that year and finishing runner-up the following year when defeated by Greg Chalmers in a playoff. He has also missed the cut in the event, so he has mixed fortunes over the revamped Graham Marsh layout but today expressed his pleasure in the manner in which the golf course has matured since its redevelopment in 2015.
“Yeah, it’s looking good out there this morning, in very nice condition for us this week. I think now the greens have really settled in since the changes over the last five or six years. It was nice to see them receiving shots so well, but generally the course is in great shape.
“It’s a lot to play for this week. My goal is to kind of bring a similar kind of focus that I had going last week to the golf course and try and get my name on that trophy again.”
Scott and Cameron Smith arrived on the Gold Coast following a gut-wrenching for him defeat at the Presidents Cup last week at Royal Melbourne and he was still expressing disappointment today.
“I was sure waking up Sunday morning that was not going to be the result. I thought everything we had done all week was correct and there wasn’t anything unusual about what we had done for Sunday, so I’m surprised.
“I don’t know how every match went, but it just felt like we got off to a slow start in most matches. There wasn’t a lot of guys up early and that kind of cost us in the long run. The guys who were up seemed to tie.
“But, you know, it’s so disappointing because the guys had done an incredible job to get in that position we were in. I don’t think anyone would have given us a chance of getting a 10‑8 lead at the start of the week if you look at the teams on paper.
“But once that American train gets running, it’s strong. It’s got a lot of depth and if I’m rationalising it, maybe that’s where we came up a little bit short on Sunday. We just didn’t quite have the depth to match them. They just played to their potential on Sunday. I don’t know. I’m not sure exactly what we could have done different. When you lose, you can pick on anything, but I think we’re all a bit surprised that we couldn’t get it done.
“So on a positive note, you know, I think there was a lot of good come out of it for our team and how we should structure ourselves moving forward, so I’ll look forward to hopefully having another chance in a few years and try and get it over the line this time.”
While upset about the result last Sunday, Scott was fully appreciative of the support of the Australian crowds and how much of a thrill he got from the atmosphere the local crowds generated.
“As mentioned last night at the dinner that the PGA held, that last week the reception from the crowd in Melbourne for me personally ‑‑ our whole team felt it, but certainly personally for me was a week that I’ll never forget. It was fantastic.
“They played a big part in lifting our team and my performance last week. Holing a couple putts in front of them and having people go crazy was a lot of fun for me in my home country, so I’m so appreciative of that. I wished I could have done a little bit better on Sunday because it would have been really fun to win a match in front of everyone.”
If Scott was to win this week it would add to the Australian Open, Australian PGA Championship and two Australian Masters already to his name in terms of domestic titles.
A victory on Sunday would not only add to that legacy it might well provide the boost ahead of a 2020 season in which Scott converts consistency into titles.
Cameron Smith Chasing Australian Golf History
Cameron Smith after one of his two Australian PGA Championships to date – photo Bruce Young
Cameron Smith takes to the fairways of RACV Royal Pines Resort on Thursday morning in pursuit of a place in Australian golf history.
While several golfers (Dan Soutar, Norman Von Nida, Kel Nagle, Billy Dunk and Robert Allenby) have won more than three Australian PGA Championship titles, only Dan Soutar in 1907 has completed three in succession and Smith feels good enough about his game for the quest to join Soutar to be a realistic one.
“I feel pretty confident in my game,” said Smith before his first look at the course in 2019. “It’s probably the best I’ve felt with my iron play all year, and to do it on such a challenging layout last week, you know, against some of the best players in the world was quite good. Yeah, I can’t wait for this week. I’m feeling good.”
Smith was of course referring to his debut at the Presidents Cup where he recorded an impressive victory over Justin Thomas on Sunday.
So why is it that Smith has been able to win this event in the past two years, the victories his only individual titles in six-year career to date?
“I like the golf course obviously. I play well around here. It’s just such a good week for me off the golf course, lots of family and friends and everything. One team of members come down, so the support is really good throughout the week. I don’t know, it’s just a good kind of cruisey week. I don’t do much off the golf course and just go and hang out. Yeah, just feel relaxed.
Smith hails from Brisbane, an hour north and played his amateur golf at both the Wantima and Royal Queensland Golf Clubs in that city.
“I think you have to be pretty pinpoint with your irons into the greens. It’s not difficult off the tee, the fairways are quite generous. You can be the big guy and hit the drivers and stuff if you want, if you’re feeling good.
“But I think you have to really control your irons and into the wind around here, as you know, it’s always windy around here. So, I think that’s been the big thing the last couple years is I’ve just been able to hit those three‑quarter shots and those low shots and stuff and control them.”
So, is iron play Smith’s strength?
“I think it was at some points through the year. It kind of went out the window a little bit, but I’m starting to feel really confident with that again. Typically, when my irons are on, I play really good golf, so it kind of takes the stress off, you know, the putter and the driver knowing that you’re going to get chances. Yeah, it’s just easy golf, I guess. It’s not stressful at all.”
Smith was asked what goals he has in store for 2020 and mentioned that he would like to achieve what he had set out to do in 2019.
“Probably the same as last year. I didn’t quite get to the top‑20 in the world. I wanted to do that all year and didn’t quite make it. I think I got down to maybe 25 or 26 or something like that at the start of the year. But I definitely want to get in there. I feel like that’s the next kind of big step. But it’s a lot of hard work and it’s a lot of good results, but I’m willing to do that.”
Speaking of goals, is the opportunity to become the first player in 112 years and only the second in history to win this event on three consecutive occasions a goal this week?
“I mean, especially being in my backyard essentially. It will be really nice. I haven’t really ‑‑ I don’t really like thinking about, you know, “what if.” I’m just kind of going to try to do my job to the best of my ability and if it happens on Sunday, great. But if not, you know, I’ve given it my all and it kind of is what it is.”
Stewart Cink Playing With a Different Perspective
Stewart Cink – photo PGA of Australia
Stewart Cink is playing in this week’s Australian PGA Championship and despite the fact he is an Open Champion, a six time PGA Tour winner on the PGA Tour and an earner of over US$38 million he will likely escape much of the attention this week unless of course he gets into contention.
The 46 year old Cink is here after a three-day break in Queenstown in New Zealand to recharge the batteries and is excited to be back in Australia to play for the first time since 2003 when he played at the Australian PGA Championship at Hyatt Regency Coolum.
“I like playing around the world everywhere,” said Cink in his pre-tournament press conference on Tuesday. “You can look at my calendar, I’ve played in France on the European Tour this year not that long ago. So I like to go around and we just wanted to include the PGA Tour Australia on our calendar.”
“My wife has never been anywhere ‘Down Under’ before so we’ve been trying to put this on the calendar for a little while now. We almost made it last year, but we had to back out at the last second. So this year we added New Zealand, a little holiday before we came here.”
Despite not winning anywhere in nearly ten years, Cink is not here just to make up the numbers and feels his game is in the sort of shape it needs to be in to play well at RACV Royal Pines.
“I feel like I’m playing as well as I’ve played in my whole career. And as I get older now, I’m 46, my perspective and my expectations probably are changing a little bit, but I feel like if you break down the way ‑‑ if you break down golf into the categories, you know, the short game and all that, I think that I’m playing better golf now than I’ve played anytime in my career.
“I had some really good long runs where I’ve had really good finishes and a lot of wins on the U.S. Tour. The game of golf is a lot deeper now than it used to be, but I think I have what it takes to compete. And I’ve had some brushes with really good success over the last couple years at times.
“I’ve had some down moments, but I think as you age you can still reach the highest ‑‑ you can reach the highest level of form, but you might not be able to stay there as often. So you have to be able to expect a few little troughs along with the peaks.”
His wife Lisa has battled cancer in recent years and while not yet completely free of the disease she is doing well enough to make the trip down to Australasia. Cink says her battle with illness has provided a much better perspective for him in how he faces life.
“Actually, my wife going through ‑‑ well, she’s still going through it, she’s not out of the woods, but she’s doing great. She’s really had a tremendous response and she’s really doing fantastic.
“But watching her dig in and fighting with everything she had through the time of her diagnosis and her chemotherapy in 2016, it really caused me to sort of turn the mirror around and look at myself and say, well, if she’s fighting like this, what am I not doing? I’m not fighting for my life necessarily, but I’ve got something pretty important to me and our family to fight for.
“And it did, it opened my eyes a little bit and I dug around in some corners that maybe I hadn’t dug around in for a few years and it gave me a new sense of intensity and intention when I was out there practicing every day and going through all the off‑the‑course things I need to do.
“You know, the result was it showed up in better scores and it gave me sort of this new confidence that I think I can compete and I can carry this all the way past my 50th birthday and who knows what happens after that.”
Cink’s attitude to travel and seeing new places became even more apparent when discussing the possibility of playing the European Tour should, by chance, he win this week. Being a European Tour event, a win here would provide him European Tour status and it is something he likes the thought of.
“It’s absolutely an option. I haven’t filled out the paperwork yet, but I do plan to initiate the affiliate thing. I’m just learning about all that.
“But yeah, I like playing around the world and I’ve enjoyed playing in the European Tour events, the odd one here and there where I’ll turn up and I’ll get a few slanted looks from players, like what are you doing here? That’s fine, I like that.
“But my wife and I love traveling and we’re at a stage where our kids are all in university or beyond, out of the house and it’s just the two of us. She comes everywhere I go and it’s fun for us to see other places besides the regular stops on the U.S. Tour that I’ve seen now for 23 years.
Ten years ago Cink recorded his greatest moment in golf when winning the Open Championship. It should have been heralded as a great victory, which it was, but that he defeated 59 year old people’s favourite, Tom Watson, in a playoff to do so resembled shooting Bambi in some people’s eyes.
Cink though fondly remembers the graciousness of Watson during the playoff and in the aftermath.
“Throughout the whole thing he was just perfectly gracious, just like you would expect any, you know, highly regarded champion to be. He couldn’t have been any nicer, and he was just as respectful of me as the winner as I would have been of him as the winner.
“You know, I felt like when Tom finished the regulation, making bogey on that hole, that I just had an opportunity because I felt like his energy just took a little step down, and it’s so important to have the energy in that situation.
“I felt like I had it because I finished strong with a birdie on the 72nd, so I felt super confident. I felt like there was no way I was going to lose that.
“I played really well in the playoff. I probably played better in the playoff than I played at any point during the entire week. I played great, didn’t really miss a shot.
“But the memories, it’s been 10 years, but I remember it like it was yesterday. I still have plenty of little spots here and there, like tapping in or the first shot in the playoff, watching Tom hit his driver and being like whoa, he is not going away. So the memories, even though they’re 10 years old, they’re still very fresh.”
Stewart Cink is one of those golfers who, despite his significant success, escapes a lot of attention but for those assembled for his press conference yesterday he left all with a warm fuzzy feeling about his love of the game, his family and life.
‘Under the Radar’ Greg Chalmers Excited Ahead of Aust PGA
Greg Chalmers with his 2014 trophy – photo Bruce Young
2011 and 2014 Australian PGA Champion Greg Chalmers is about to make just his second genuine attempt at tournament golf in the last eighteen months and if today’s press conference at RACV Royal Pines is anything to go by then he is certainly expecting more than was the case at the Australian Open just two weeks ago.
Chalmers has been kept from the game in that time by serious health issues and at his return at the Australian Open he produced a remarkable week to finish 5th after a horror start to the week.
“I’m actually really excited,” said Chalmers. “I’ve had 18 months off, had arthritis in my spine and every joint in my lumbar spine, tore a ligament in my spine. So right around ‑‑ took a while to get diagnosed correctly, but I hadn’t played seriously for 18 months.
“I did play last year down here, but that was more just to see after six months if I could play, and I couldn’t. So I got it fixed this year and I think I was 4 over after nine at the Australian Open.
“It was pretty much what I expected, a lot of rubbish and a lot of rust, but wiped it off quickly. Four under on the back nine and went on to finish tied fifth. I’ve got a lot of energy about me, about my golf right now, and I’m really looking forward. It’s been a great break. Been around my family and now I’m very keen to be playing and excited.”
Chalmers won at RACV Royal Pines in 2014 when the layout was in the middle of a full transformation, only half of the 18 holes completed when he defeated Adam Scott and Wade Ormsby in a playoff to win the event for the second time.
He has played since but today made reference to the fact that the golf course continues to improve and mature and he is liking what he sees of the golf course now compared to the early stages of its restoration.
He is also complimentary as to how the PGA Tour of Australasia is setting up golf courses in recent years and feels that will play a role on Royal Pines’ continued development as a tournament layout.
Chalmers has been working with former two-time Australian Masters Champion and Presidents Cup player, Brad Hughes, in recent times, Hughes beginning to build a reputation as a coach resurrecting careers including that of recent PGA Tour winner Brendon Todd who has won twice in his last three starts on the PGA Tour after not having won for five years and almost giving the game away.
“I went to Brad about two and a half years ago and I was still ‑‑ two or three years ago and I was struggling with my back, but I was struggling with my game more than anything else. Still trying to play even though my back wasn’t great.
“I said, look, I don’t have time to rebuild the ark, I have a shorter window here, can you help me with my ball‑striking without me taking years to get that done? He said absolutely, I’ve taken a look at what you’re doing. He said I think I can help you.
“The ball‑striking’s improved. Been at it for a while now with him. Pretty simple stuff but very effective, a lot of getting better use out of my feet and my groundwork, and then better position with my hands and path with the club through the ball. So, it’s led to better ball‑striking and that’s important for me. If I can strike it even marginally better with my short game, it’s going to see some good results, so I’m excited about the future.”
Because of his health issues, Chalmers get another chance on the PGA Tour in 2020 and is excited about the prospect of what lies ahead despite now being into the rundown to playing senior golf.
“I’ve got seven starts left on a medical and so I’m hoping to start that in late January. That’s my expectation right now, play my seven. And depending on when I finish, though, and how I play, I could get four or five more starts, you know, in Reno, for example, or Barbasol or John Deere.
“There’s some events that will pop up along the way so I could get 10 to 12 starts, which starting in January, you’re looking at maybe two starts a month, which wouldn’t be too bad for me after having 18 months off.
“Depending on how I go, I’m exempt into the Playoffs to get your card back on the Korn Ferry, so I’ve got those three playoff events placed on previous performance. That’s how my year frames out at the moment.”
Chalmers has been one of the more prolific winner of major titles in Australia in recent times with a Players Championship, two Australian Opens and two Australian PGA Championships to his name.
It might be a bit much to expect that to improve this week at this stage of his recovery but if he can replicate his last 63 holes at the Australian Golf Club two weeks ago then he is not without hope.
RACV Royal Pines Hosts 7th PGA Championship
Looking over 9th green to hotel in background – photo Bruce Young
The Australian PGA Championship is, this week, played for the 7th occasion at RACV Royal Pines on the Gold Coast, five of those being staged over the fully re-designed Graham Marsh layout.
When the event was brought south in 2013 from its former venue on the Sunshine Coast, where it had been since 2002, RACV began to put in place plans to redevelop the rather benign layout that had played host to many of the female game’s great players at the Australian Ladies Masters since 1992.
It was considered a pleasant resort course at the time but while the original designer had met the brief in terms of creating a golf course geared towards play for golfing tourists, it needed a revamp if it was to challenge the sort of fields that the Australian PGA envisaged would play the event over the ensuing years.
The upgrade was also becoming necessary due to the changing nature of the game since the course’s opening all those years ago, equipment changes also forcing the requirement for strengthening of the golf course.
The new layout would also appeal a lot more aesthetically than had been the case and, very importantly for the commercial viability of the golf course, it would be better engineered to move surface water in a more efficient manner, thus avoiding some of the down-time heavy rains had created previously.
In 2013, therefore, Graham Marsh, a former winner of the Australian PGA Championship and one of Australia’s best players over a thirty-year period, was appointed to make the changes which were to be undertaken in two six-month periods in 2014 and 2015.
Logistically, it was one of Marsh’s most demanding of the many design projects in which he had been involved, given the time constraints which his design company, Graham Marsh Golf Design, was required to work under and the delicate, environmental issues the site, situated in the Merrimac floodplain, presented.
In 2014 the event was played with half the course completed and in 2015 it was played for the first time as a fully revamped venue.
Now, after four years and after a shaky start as it began the maturing process, the new layout has been increasingly accepted as a fine test for a tournament of this nature and importantly for its owners, RACV, it has enticed not only an increasing number of golf tourists, it has become a highly popular club course attracting members from other clubs and many of the Gold Coast’s best amateurs to become members of RACV Royal Pines.
It has, therefore, met the brief set out by RACV back in 2013.
The history of the event at RACV Royal Pines to date has seen some outstanding contests, Adam Scott winning the inaugural staging of the event at the venue in 2013 when overcoming a weather delay during the middle of the final round to defeat Rickie Fowler by four shots.
Adam Scott 2013
Greg Chalmers claimed his second Australian PGA Championship in 2014 when defeating Scott and South Australian, Wade Ormsby, in a playoff which saw Ormsby defeated at the first hole before it took Chalmers and Scott another six holes to break the deadlock.
Greg Chalmers
Another playoff was required in 2015 when the fully redesigned layout was played for the first time, Victoria’s Nathan Holman edging out South African Dylan Frittelli and American Harold Varner 111 to win and earn European Tour status in the process, the event having joined forces with the European Tour for the first time that year.
Nathan Holman
In 2016 Harold Varner 111 atoned for his playoff loss the previous year when he defeated Queenslander, Andrew Dodt, by two shots before another local, Cameron Smith, won the first of two consecutive victories when, in the event’s third playoff in four years, he defeated Jordan Zunic at the second extra hole.
Harold Varner 111
Smith would win again when he held off Marc Leishman in 2018 and so the young Presidents Cup player, who defeated Justin Thomas in the singles at Royal Melbourne just last Sunday, gets the chance to win the event for the third consecutive occasion.
Cameron Smith
The field for the 2019 event is headlined by the leading world ranked player in the field, Adam Scott, who is chasing his first victory anywhere in more than three years. Scott has however been very consistent in 2019 improving his world-ranking from 41st to 18th since this time last year despite his lack of winning success.
His most recent form has not been great having missed the cut at the Australian Open two weeks ago and going down to Xander Schauffele in last week’s singles at the Presidents Cup. It had, admittedly, been a month since he played prior to the Australian but provided he is not overly fatigued from a demanding week at Royal Melbourne, he should do well.
Cameron Smith clearly has a love affair with RACV Royal Pines and the event and venue has one for him also. A very popular figure, especially amongst the many who will travel down the M1 from Brisbane to see him play this week, Smith is looking to add his name to a very select group in Australian golfing history.
Several players have won more than three Australian PGA Championships but only Dan Soutar in the very first three Australian PGA Championships has won three in a row and so Smith can join one of Australia’s legendary figures in doing so. He will be buoyed by his impressive Presidents Cup debut and he will be a tough man to beat once again.
The Australian PGA has made a very good move in attracting a young man destined for big things in the game, Cameron Champ. Champ has just completed his first full season on the PGA Tour and has commenced his second season. He has already won twice in that time but, not only is he a proven winner, he is the longest hitter on the PGA Tour and as such will attract tremendous interest.
He will have been brought here for a considerably lower fee than many of his contemporaries would have commanded given his relative newness, but his powerful game provides a real point of difference compared to many of the mid-level players brought to the event in the past and will offer real appeal to the crowds.
Stewart Cink is in the field, the 2009 Open Champion and six time PGA Tour winner not at the peak of his game at present but an opportunity to see a player with his record will be taken up by many this week.
Greg Chalmers has already won around RACV Royal Pines and in what was his first appearance anywhere for twelve months at the recent Australian Open he finished a very impressive 5th. Chalmers has overcome a debilitating back injury with radical treatment and if his showing at the Australian Golf Club is anything to go by then he might improve even further.
Added to that list are the very impressive and ever improving, Jason Scrivener, the current leader of the PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit, Ryan Fox, exciting young prospect, Min Woo Lee, Japan Tour player Mikumu Horikawa, one of the leading players in Japan this year, and of course a host of young emerging Australasian talents.
The Australian PGA Championship therefore carries plenty of interest. Can Cameron Smith join Dan Soutar in making it three in a row, can Adam Scott win his second Australian PGA Championship, can the powerhouse Cameron Champ tame the Royal Pines layout, can Ryan Fox win the PGA Tour of Australasia’s Order of Merit or will it be an relative unknown who will step up to the plate and win and, in the process, leapfrog their way onto the European Tour?
All will be revealed over the next few days and by Sunday someone will have earned themselves a very nice Xmas present, three days ahead of Santa’s arrival.
Ruffels and Drewitt Earn Korn Ferry Tour Status
Ryan Ruffels – file photo
Victorian, Ryan Ruffels, and New South Welshman, Brett Drewitt, have gained Korn Ferry Tour status for 2020 following the completion of qualifying in Florida this morning.
Ruffels finished in 21st place and Drewitt 27th, the leading 40 players exempt into the first eight events on the tour before the first re-rank.
Ruffels, who has been playing the Latino America Tour in recent times, will now get the chance to display his considerable skill at this higher level while Drewitt, who has been playing the Korn Ferry Tour in 2019, gets the chance to again bid for the right to return to the PGA Tour where he has played previously.
The leading 25 players on the money list at season’s end on the Korn Ferry Tour will advance to the 2021 PGA Tour and will be joined by the leading 25 players form the Korn Ferry Tour Final series.
The news was not so good for Sydney’s Harrison Endycott who despite two late birdies in his final round missed out on being inside the top 40 by just one shot.
New Zealander Nick Voke was 53rd and Queenslander Daniel Nisbet was forced to withdraw after just 45 holes.
Powerful U.S. Side Again Claims Presidents Cup
The jubilant USA Team – photo Golfile
In the final analysis the outcome of the 2019 Presidents Cup came down to a weight of numbers, those numbers being the world ranking strength of the Americans compared to that of the Internationals who were so brave in their attempt to win the event for just the second occasion in the 13 times the event has been held since 1994.
The final result was 16 to 14 and perhaps, to a large extent, that margin represented just how close this Presidents Cup was, despite the disparity between the relative strengths of the teams.
Leading into today’s singles matches by a two-point margin, the Internationals needed only 5½ points of the 12 on offer today to take the encounter, but holding off the powerful Americans was never going to be an easy task and they would need to build some early momentum.
Working against them, however, was the presence of Tiger Woods who had intentionally put himself in the first match of the day in order that his current good form would lead to an early point for the Americans and set the tone for those behind on the golf course and that was exactly how it would work out.
It was thrust and counter thrust between Woods and Mexican, Abraham Ancer, however, especially over the opening nine holes and, although never behind in the match, Woods was still forced to fight hard for what was 3&2 victory.
When that first match had finished the score was 10-9 to the Internationals but with so many of the matches on the golf course favouring the Americans, the tide was turning in their favour and it was a case of whether the or not the Internationals could have any say in halting the increasing momentum being built by their opponents.
There were still enough points remaining in the matches on the golf course for there to be hope however and with half points from Adam Hadwin and Hideki Matsuyama and a full point from the impressive Sungjae Im it was 12 points each with another six points still up for grabs.
Patrick Cantlay added another point for the Americans when he defeated Joaquin Niemann 3&2 and the defending champions were ahead 13 – 12.
Wins by Xander Schauffele and Webb Simpson took the total to 15 for the Americans and at that point they became mathematically unbeatable although when Cameron Smith defeated Justin Thomas, who had been 3 up early in their match, the USA could not lose the encounter but for the Internationals the door remained open to at least share the honours.
Until, that is, Matt Kuchar holed a putt at the 17th to go 1 up with one to play and therefore the worst he could do was a half point in his match against Louis Oosthuizen and the result had been determined in favour of the Americans.
The final match on the golf course was between Marc Leishman and Rickie Fowler and that they shared honours was a fitting end to a close match and a week in which both teams felt like they could win or lose.
So, the Americans are successful again in this very statistically one-sided contest but this week the contest was far less one-sided than any stats could indicate.
To have kept the outcome in doubt until late into Sunday afternoon ensured there was interest for the huge crowds that flocked to Royal Melbourne and a worldwide audience to the very end and confirmed that the final result was perhaps not as predictable as the relative strengths of the suggested it might be.
Tiger Woods showed raw emotion in his post event interviews. Clearly this was a very proud moment and a special achievement in a career full of achievements.
“We won and we did it together,” said Woods highlighting his pleasure in being part of a team. “I’ve been a part of teams before where we have won. Also been a part of, unfortunately, this Presidents Cup when we lost 21 years ago, and so to come here and to do it in this fashion, to do it with this team, in particular, it was an honor for me as a player and even more of an honor to be their captain.
“Each individual team is unique and it’s different. It has its own organic feel to it, and these guys, we’ve all bonded together. We did it together. We were coming down, I mean, I think J.T. said it out there, was it 26 hours and change — 26 hours and change coming down here; it was a commitment to do this.
“We came out here, trying to get over the jet-lag, trying to figure this out, trying to figure this golf course out,
trying to get a feel for the pairings and how we’re going to do this, and we’re in it together, and all of a sudden
Kuch makes that putt and it’s finally over.”
“I had faith in all the 11 other players,” added Woods when referring to the order he sent out players today. “We love the lineup. We love how we set it up going into the singles. We all knew that we were all playing well on this golf course; in particular, with this lineup, we felt like we were going to get it done and we did it.”
Ernie Els appeared exhausted from the incredible role he played in bringing together an eclectic mix of nationalities and individuals to the point where they had the Americans on the ropes for a lengthy part of this week.
“I can only give them my love,” said the South African. “They tried so hard. They played so hard for each other and the team, and to buy into something new like I tried, I really have to take my hat off to every one of them.
“There are a lot of young, young players, a lot of players that the world has never seen or heard but you will see them a lot in the future. I have admiration for my guys and the caddies and the wives, it’s been fantastic.
“We’re getting closer. We’ve just got to keep it up. You know, our team is not as deep as the U.S. Team. All credit to the U.S. Team. They have an absolute stacked team. They have great champions, major champions. We’re building on that.”
Els was asked whether there was anything that might be changed to make the event even better and he created quite a talking point with his response.
“I know it’s a PGA TOUR-sanctioned event, okay, but to really be able to do what you need to do, you need to
be almost a separate — you need to be away from the PGA TOUR.
“I mean, I love these guys, they work for the Tour and all that, but to make our own rules, to get our own choices, to do our own thing, I mean, it’s hard to explain. But we need to be separate.
“That’s a long, long process. I don’t think it will happen very soon. But you know, The Ryder Cup works because of the Europeans do their own thing and the U.S. do their own thing, you know, and it’s two groups that clash.
“We’re trying to do it under one umbrella, so under the TOUR’s office, under their roof, you know, and there’s a
lot of things that clash.”
It was a week that had it all. Tiger Woods in action and playing well, a contest that remained in doubt until late in the day and a stunning 95 year old golf course which remains relevant despite the modern game.
Presidents Cup Outcome Delicately Poised
Ancer and Leishman face the press after their magnificent comeback to salvage a half point
The outcome of the 2019 Presidents Cup is delicately poised as the event enters tomorrow’s 12 singles matches following a dramatic third day at the Royal Melbourne Golf Club today.
The overall score is now 10 points to 8 in favour of the Internationals but, given the relative world ranking strength of the Americans, then that lead might well be considered the advantage the Internationals need to hold the Americans at bay.
Whatever the outcome, the final day could hardly contain a more mouth-watering prospect.
The chance for the Internationals to win the Presidents Cup for just the second time in the 13 occasions the event has been held to date and, both of them here at Royal Melbourne, shapes as one of the more thrilling days in Australian golf, at least for some time.
The crowds which have flocked to Royal Melbourne on the opening three days will be back tomorrow to potentially witness a special piece of golfing history, although lets not get ahead of ourselves.
At one stage on Friday, the Internationals held a projected 9 -1 lead but the Americans closed fast on day two to be just three points behind heading into the Saturday morning fourballs. Although they lost further ground on Saturday morning, the USA side clawed back some of the deficit in the afternoon foursomes although it might have been even better for them.
Just as the Americans had staged a magnificent comeback on Friday to keep their hopes alive, this afternoon it was the International’s turn to fight back late in the day after, at one stage, looking to be the victims of a whitewash.
The Americans appeared as if they might well draw level in overall points when they led all four of their afternoon encounters but magnificent recoveries by Marc Leishman and Abraham Ancer, who were at one stage 5 down to Justin Thomas and Rickie Fowler, along with the pairing of Ben An and Joaquin Niemann to square their matches, after both pairings had been behind ensured the momentum is now evenly balanced.
“Well, it was a big last hour for us today,” said Leishman. “Certainly feel like it showed our intentions as a team. There’s a lot of heart sitting here next to me (referring to Abraham Ancer). That was huge for us, and also Ben and Joaquin Niemann digging deep and finding a halve.
“It goes a long, long way, the half-points. The score line is really good for us, considering what it was looking like with a couple hours to go, you know, but tomorrow is another day. We’re in the middle of a fight and we’re all going to be up for it.
“That’s probably as good as I’ve felt on a golf course, and I only halved the match. We’ve all won up here; we’ve won tournaments, but we don’t get chances to play with a teammate very often.”
Admittedly, the Internationals have the numerical advantage given they begin the final round two points to the good, but the Americans appear to be finding their feet after a slow start to the week and given their overall strength in terms of world ranking, then tomorrow shapes as a real battle to determine the fate of the 13th Presidents Cup.
The surprise of the afternoon was that Tiger Woods declared himself a non-starter and at one point it appeared to be a genius decision given the dominant position his team found themselves in midway through the afternoon foursomes. Whether his decision will play a role in the final outcome remains to be seen but it was one that surprised many, especially given the manner in which he had been playing.
Woods therefore had yet another opportunity to observe and there were some aspects of the crowd that he was not happy with. “There’s obviously some yelling. There’s people who have had a lot to drink and have gone over the top. Bipartisanship is part of playing in team matches, whether you’re home or on the road; it’s part of the deal. As long as, you know, the fans are respectful, and that’s all we ask is for them to be respectful, and hopefully they will be excited tomorrow and into the matches and be very respectful of all the players.
“Have people said things that have been over the top? Yes. I’ve heard it. I’ve been in the groups playing when it has happened, and I’ve been inside the ropes as a captain today witnessing it. As I said, all I ask for all the galleries is be excited but be respectful of the players, all 24 of us.”
Ernie Els supported Woods’ comments but he was also keen to defend what he felt had been an overall respectful Melbourne crowd.
“I just want to say one thing about the crowd. I’ve played in many Presidents Cups. I’ve played in the U.S. many times. If you look back at New York and how these players were treated in New York, this crowd is pretty quiet. I mean, we just get treated the same wherever you go as an away game, there’s some heckling going on and we all know that, and you prepare for that, and that’s just the way it goes.
“We shut up and we get on with things. That’s what we did in New York. So it’s part of the game. And I’m with Tiger; I absolutely, I’m against heckling. I’m against crowds being disrespectful to the players, but it happens. We as professionals, we move on.
“I think Tiger is one of the ultimate professionals that’s ever played the game. I’ve played with him where he’s been heckled in U.S. Opens and a lot of other places. He’s taken it on the chin and he’s moved forward. He’s been an example. Same has happened to me. It’s happened to a lot of players. But I must say, this Aussie crowd, okay, they got a little bit boisterous this afternoon with a couple of beers, but we move on.”
An incident during the course of the afternoon perhaps brought this conversation to a head. Patrick Reed began the week as a likely target of crowd but it would be his caddie who would be the victim to a large extent.
His caddie Kessler Karain was involved in an altercation with a spectator as both were out watching the matches in the afternoon. The altercation turned ugly as Karain defended his boss from verbal abuse involving Reed’s rules indiscretion in the Bahamas last week.
A statement was released late in the day by the PGA Tour indication that Karain will not return to the event for the Sunday singles.
Reed himself in what was a carefully prepared statement that he respected the Tour’s decision and that he and his team are focused on winning the Presidents Cup.
The momentum changes in this type of contest is a source of fascination in itself. Nothing is over until it is over and tomorrow there will likely be many swings and roundabouts before the winner is finally decided.