Lucas Bjerregaard – defending champion courtesy of Getty
When the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship was introduced to the European Tour in 2001, few would have imagined the great success the event would have experienced over the next eighteen years.
The concept of Europe’s leading professionals playing with celebrities from the sporting and entertainment world and those with business success stories provided plenty of early story-lines for the event but would the initial intrigue last, especially given its relatively late season date?
The then US$5 million purse was a factor in gaining some early momentum for the event, as was the opportunity to play three outstanding links layouts near the home of golf, two of them layouts on the rota of the Open Championship, but the subsequent longevity of the event has told the importance of a point of difference in tournament golf.
Certainly the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro Am in the US, the Bing Crosby Pro Am and a similar event in Las Vegas had set the tone for events of this format but that the Alfred Dunhill Links has lasted longer than many perhaps felt would be the case back in 2001 is a reflection on an event which provides both professionals and amateurs a unique opportunity.
Playing together in high end tournament conditions for the amateurs and the chance for many of the professionals to introduce friends and family to the inner cauldron of tournament golf has seen the event regularly attract some of Europe’s best.
Other events around the world have introduced a similar format, notably the New Zealand Open which was on a downward spiral and struggling for survival as a bona fide event on a world circuit before tournament organisers took the model they had created for the New Zealand PGA Championship two years earlier and introduced it, in 2014, to one of the world’s longest running events.
Again, the ingredients were the same. Sporting and business celebrities playing with professionals throughout the tournament week on two outstanding golfing facilities in an iconic location (Queenstown) proved an immediate success.
There were doubters early, too, in New Zealand. The purists felt that a national open championship might struggle in what appeared at the time to be a gimmicky format.
That the event has developed from its previous shaky existence into one of the most popular on the combined tours of Asia and Australasia tells the story of the importance of a point of difference in the week to week staging of regular 72-hole stroke-play events.
Millbrook Resort – host venue for the 2020 NZ Open – Photosport
The AT&T, Alfred Dunhill Championship and the New Zealand Open are exactly that, 72 hole stroke-play events, but that they offer a dimension which has assisted them to sustain their popularity and longevity is testament to their innovative format.
This week’s event being played over the Old Course at St Andrews, Carnoustie and Kingsbarns has attracted many of Europe’s best. Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm, Justin Rose, Tommy Fleetwood and Shane Lowry, to name a few, highlight an event that continues to attract the game’s best.
It is not the prize-money now that is the attraction. After all and very surprisingly, the purse in 2019 is essentially the same it was in 2001, but that many of the game’s best want to be part of this event is a reflection on the enjoyment they get out of playing with friends and family and the very inclusive nature of the event in one of the game’s very special locations.
Plenty of Australasians get their chance this week as not only those who have the right to play European Tour events at this level through their European Tour status will tee it up but so too will a number of players who get their opportunity through invitation or via their efforts on money lists elsewhere.
Lucas Herbert, Jason Scrivener, Wade Ormsby and Jake McLeod are European Tour regulars but they will be joined by fellow Australians, Min Woo Lee, Dimi Papadatos, Marcus Fraser, Harrison Endycott, Jarryd Felton, Daniel Nisbet, Terry Pilkadaris, Callan O’Reilly and Simon Hawkes who will be joined by New Zealanders, Ryan Fox, Michael Campbell and Daniel Hillier.
Karl Vilips heads Australians at Asia Pacific Amateur
Karl Vilips – photo Justin Falconer Golf Australia
US based Perth golfer, Karl Vilips, has finished as the leading Australian at the Asia Pacific Amateur Championship near Shanghai in China, the 18 year old recovering from a slow start to the event to finish in a share of 8th place in his first appearance in the prestigious event for the leading male amateurs in the Asia Pacific region.
Vilips moved past Australia’s long-time leading player this week, Blake Windred, who struggled to a final round of 76 after sharing the lead into the final day.
Windred was on the back foot early on day four, two bogeys early were followed by a brief fightback before a double bogey at the 9th. He would then drop shots at his last three holes to finish 13th.
Vilips, who later this year will head the International side in the Junior Presidents Cup, is scheduled to play collegiate golf at Stanford University in California in 2020 but he is already accumulating quite a record in amateur golf having won several significant junior events and in 2018 the Southern Amateur Championship.
Windred finished in 13th place while fellow Australians Nathan Barbieri and David Micheluzzi were 18th, Jack Thompson 21st and Kyle Michel 54th.
Harry Hillier was the best of the New Zealanders when he finished 18th.
The winner of the tournament was China’s Yuxin Lin who defeated the defending champion Takumi Kanaya at the second extra hole of a playoff to win the event for the second occasion having also won in 2017 in Wellington in New Zealand.
“It definitely means a lot to me, especially this week, winning at home is certainly huge for me and for China golf, as well. I’m just really honored to be alongside Hideki as a two-time winner,” said Lin, who turns 19 in two weeks.
The 18th hole had proven troublesome for Lin, who played the hole in four over par over his last three rounds.
“I was having a little trouble with the 18th three days in a row. We knew there were extra holes coming up and stepping on the 18th again wasn’t a great feeling for me. And especially that lie off the tee shot, in the first extra hole, definitely not what you wanted.
“But at least everything turned out pretty well, so pretty satisfied,” added the world No. 114, who clinched his first AAC title with an impressive birdie-eagle finish at Royal Wellington Golf Club in New Zealand.
“I didn’t really think about the win. I was just trying to play some good golf out there. I made some mistakes throughout the round but stayed patient the whole time.
“It really matters a lot playing against the best amateur in the world right now, and especially to be able to get that win is definitely huge. Obviously, Takumi is a great player. It gives me a lot of confidence to be able to compete with the No. 1 player in the world in extra holes.”
Lin gets to play the Masters and the Open Championship in 2020 having also played those events in 2018 as a result of his win at the Royal Wellington Golf Club.
It was China’s fourth victory in the event which has been running since 2009.
The winner Yuxin Lin – photo courtesy of AAC Golf
Brendan Jones Finishes 9th at Panasonic Open
The winner Toshi Muto – Asian Tour
Brendan Jones has finished in 9th place at the Panasonic Open near Osaka in Japan, a final round of 1 under par 70 giving the 44 year old Canberra golfer just his second top ten of the Japan Tour season although his other was a victory in the opening event of the domestic season.
Jones earned 4.2 million yen (A$57,000) for his finish and moves to 11th on the Japan Tour money list.
Jason Norris 34th, Brad Kennedy 37th and Andrew Dodt 50th were the other Australians to make the cut in the event jointly sanctioned between the Japan and Asian Tours.
The tournament was won in emphatic style by Toshinori Muto who won by four Shugo Imahira, Imahira recording his 10th top ten finish of the season.
Imahira finished alone in second place with another in form golfer, Ryo Ishikawa, one further back.
For Muto, it was his 7th Japan Tour win although his first since 2015. Consecutive weekend rounds of 64 saw him draw clear to win almost as he liked by an impressive margin over two quality players.
54 Hole Cut Made at Alfred Dunhill Championship
Photo Victor Perez – Getty Images
The 54 hole cut has been made at the Alfred Dunhill Championship in Scotland with England’s Matthew Southgate and Frenchman Victor Perez tied at the top of the leaderboard at 20 under par.
Each player in the field has thus far played one round at each of the Old Course at St Andrews, Carnoustie and Kingsbarns and for those who survived the very low cut of 9 under par they will return to St Andrews for the final round on Sunday.
For both Perez and Southgate, tomorrow represents an opportunity for a breakthrough victory on the European Tour.
Both players missed the cut at their last European Tour starts so this performance represents a significant turnaround in fortunes although 13 players are within five shots heading into the final round and so they will need to keep pressing forward if that breakthrough victory is to eventuate.
The pair leads by two over England’s Paul Waring but lurking just another shot back is Sweden’s Joakim Lagergren and American Tony Finau.
Perez, who lives with his partner in nearby Dundee, will be vying for a first European Tour victory in his rookie season, having graduated from the European Challenge Tour last year. The 27-year-old carded an eight under 64 at Kingsbarns Golf Links which included a run of five successive birdies.
Southgate, meanwhile, is making his 140th appearance on Tour and the closest he has come was a share of second place at the 2017 Dubai Duty Free Irish Open. The 30-year-old signed for a seven under 65 at the Old Course after finishing with a birdie at the ninth, his 18th.
“My swing feels very solid,” said Soutgate. “I feel very happy in my own head at the minute and playing with such a clear mind and just easy swing thoughts. The biggest job tomorrow is going to be keeping me in check rather than the golf swing. I’m hitting the ball fantastic the first three days, so there’s no reason why I can’t shoot another good score.
“Someone is going to post a good number, so it’s going to take a good score to get the win. I’m so passionate about winning tournaments and being here at the Home of Golf, tomorrow is going to be a difficult one to just keep myself in check and keep producing what I have done the first three days.”
“It was awesome,” said Perez. “Bit windier today. Out of all the courses, we got a bit fortunate to play here today, being a bit wider off the tee. Maybe the guys at Carnoustie would have been the tougher course today.
But it was probably Finau who summed up the week to date the best.
“It’s very cool to be at the Home of Golf. “The Old Course, there’s nothing like it. So, to be able to tee it up tomorrow and play and have a chance to win a golf tournament here is going to be something special.”
It has not been a good week for the large Australasian contingent in the field with only New Zealander Ryan Fox, of the 16 who started the event, surviving to play the final round.
Fox though has slowly lost ground after what had been an excellent start to the event when he opened with a round of 64 on Thursday. A third round of 73 cost him a lot of ground and he now finds himself in 32nd place and nine shots from the lead.
Australians Jason Scrivener and Wade Ormsby frustratingly missed the chance to advance by just one shot and Min Woo Lee by two.
Scrivener did, however, make it into the final day Pro-Am field of 20 teams when he and partner Andrew White combined for a third round of 61 at St Andrews.
Adam Scott falls off pace at Safeway Open
Adam Scott was unable to maintain the pace of his opening round of 65 at the Safeway Open at the Silverado Golf Club in Napa in California, a second round of 73 leaving the 39-year old six shots off the pace of Bryson DeChambeau who leads by two over Nick Watney.
Scott had shared the opening round lead with Andrew Landry but, after a birdie at the first, he soon lost momentum and eventually finished one over for the day and 6 under for the tournament at the halfway stage.
Scott was not helped by poor tee shots at the 17th and 18th holes which led to a bogey and a missed birdie opportunity at the last and he now faces a big task over the weekend to reel in the leaders.
A resurgent and now injury free Cameron Percy is the next best Australian along with Aaron Baddeley, the pair just one shot behind Scott and tied for 22nd.
Marc Leishman and Rhein Gibson also made the cut but are well back.
DeChambeau is playing the event for the third occasion having finished 17th in his last visit two years ago and having missed the cut in his opening event of the new PGA Tour season in White Sulphur Springs last week this is a welcome return to form.
Brendan Jones Four From Lead in Japan
Rahil Gangjee – Asian Tour
Defending champion Rahil Ganjee has the lead at the Japan Golf Tour’s Panasonic Open at the Higashi Hirono Golf Club near Osaka, the 40 year old Indian golfer one ahead of a group of four players including Japan sensation, Ryo Ishikawa.
Gangjee won this event by one shot last year when the event was played much earlier in the season and although he has had Japan Tour status since he has generally struggled although he has recorded good finishes in his last two events.
“It’s always difficult to defend because everyone is looking at you,” said Gangjee referring to the pressure he3 is under to repeat his 2018 success.
“I need to stay away from that. I try to stay away from that and don’t think about it. I just want to go and play golf. The whole of last year has been a big learning curve for me in Japan because all the courses I played were new to me.
“It’s also a different mindset because I am just trying to know about the courses and remembering the shots I hit out there. It has got nothing to do with score. Even though I don’t know the golf course well this week, that same mindset comes in and that matters to scoring and going deep.”
Ishikawa has again put himself fairly and squarely in the eyesight of Presidents Cup captain Ernie Els as a win this week could well make it near impossible for Els to ignore the two time Presidents Cup player’s chances of inclusion in the International side given his great from in Japan this season.
Brendan Jones leads the Australians at 5 under and just four from the lead in a share of 14th place, the Canberra golfer recovering from a slow start to his second round to birdie three of his last five holes for a round of 70.
Andrew Dodt is another two shots behind Jones in 27th place and Brad Kennedy 35th.
Australia’s Blake Windred Leads Asia Pacific Amateur
Photo: Windred in action today courtesy of AAC
New South Wales golfer, Blake Windred, added a second round of 71 to his opening round of 63 to lead the Asia Pacific Amateur Championship into the weekend at the Sheshan International Golf Club in Shanghai, China.
Windred, who is currently Australia’s second highest ranked male amateur golfer and is the 11th ranked amateur in the world, could not match his brilliance of day one but his one under par round gives him a one-shot lead over Japan’s Ren Yonezawa and Korea’s Jun Min Lee.
Windred, who ranks No. 11 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR), started from the 10th tee and was two-over par after his first 10 holes with three bogeys and one birdie. It was an incredible par save on the seventh hole that spurred him on for the grandstand finish.
“I was two over for a lot of that round, actually. I hit a lot of good putts out there that just didn’t want to drop. Obviously, I didn’t do as well as yesterday, but I’m so pleased with the way I stayed very patient,” said Windred, who smashed a six-iron from 175 yards out of a fairway bunker on the ninth to leave himself a 15-footer that eventually gave him the edge for the weekend.”
Windred said he was delighted with his position going into the weekend.
“The goal was basically shooting five under every round. So, I have a bit of work to do over the weekend, but so far, I’m on track,” said the Aussie who will retain his amateur status if he wins the AAC title in order to remain eligible to play in the 2020 Masters and The 149th Open at Royal St George’s.”
South Australian, Jack Thompson, is the next best of the Australians in a share of 10th place at 3 under and seven shots from his fellow countryman while US based West Australian, Karl Vilips, and NSW’s Nathan Barbieri are next best at 1 under and in a share of 18th place.
The Asia Pacific Amateur Championship has grown in stature since its inception in 2009, its most notable champion in that time being the two time winner, Hideki Matsuyama, who has gone on to be one of the leading players in the game.
If Windred is able to go on and win the event he will become the third Australian to do so in the footsteps of Anthony Murdaca and Curtis Luck.
SCORES
Adam Scott Picks Up Where He Left Off
Adam Scott – file photo Henry Peters
It might be over a month since Adam Scott last played an event on the PGA Tour but if there was any residual rust in the system when he played his opening round of the Safeway Open in Napa in California today it was hardly evident.
Scott began the event with a round of 7 under 65 to share the lead with American Andrew Landry, the pair opening up a one-shot lead over Italy’s Francesco Molinari and American Matthew NeSmith.
Aaron Baddeley also began his new season on the PGA Tour with a solid opening round. Baddeley recorded a 3 under 69 to be in a share of 15th place, Cameron Percy was round in 70 to be tied for 29th along with Marc Leishman, while Rhein Gibson 74 and Cameron Davis 76 were further back.
Scott began the week feeling frustrated at not being able to win despite playing some fine golf for much of last season especially during the playoffs. In fact, Scott has not won anywhere in more than three years but his consistency has been a hallmark of his play this year.
“A couple of my finishes I felt I played better then where I finished,” said Scott in a pre-event media conference. “A couple of late bogeys was certainly the theme especially at the majors. I’m looking to get back in the winner’s circle but have to find that little edge to get me over the line.”
The highlight of Scott’s round was a putt from over 50 feet for eagle at the 5th hole (his 14th).
Ryan Fox Again Excels in Links Golf
Ryan Fox – file photo Henry Peters
New Zealand’s Ryan Fox seems to thrive on links golf and he again proved that was the case with an opening round of 64 at the Old Course at St Andrews on day one of the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship in Scotland.
Fox trails South African Justin Walters by just one shot and shares second place with France’s Victor Perez, England’s Jordan Smith and Spain’s Adria Otaegui.
Four of the leading five scores on day one came from the Old Course, this event played over three courses (Kingsbarns and Carnoustie the other two) in the opening three rounds before the event returns to St Andrews for the final round on Sunday.
Several of Fox’s best finish on the European Tour have come on links layouts in events such as the Scottish Opens and he once again showed his liking for this style of golf with six birdies and an eagle including five birdies in his last six holes.
Fox also leads the Pro-Am event with cricketing great partner, Shane Warne, who added four nett birdies of his own for the team to open with a combined round of 12 under and a share of the lead in that contest.
“I played really solid and for the first time in a while,” said Fox. “I saw some putts go in and hit some great shots coming down the stretch. It was just nice to take advantage of those fairly benign conditions out there.
“It’s a cool format to get to play these three golf courses, and they look after us so well this week. I love Pro-Am formats, and I’ve played with Shane Warne the last couple years and we get along really well. We’ve had a lot of fun out there, become good friends because of this event.
“I feel like for me, he wants to do well here and I can kind of focus on trying to help him out, rather than focus on my score, which as professional golfers, I think we get stuck in a little bit too much.”
Fox will play Carnoustie in tomorrow’s second round.
Marcus Fraser is the leading Australian after his opening round of 66 at Kingsbarns to be in a share of 12th place. The Victorian has played on a limited basis in recent months and has missed the cut in the last six events he has played so this represents a significant turnaround for the tree time European Tour event winner.
New South Wales golfer, Callan O’Reilly and Dimi Papdatos are next best after their rounds of 68 at St Andrews while Lucas Herbert and Harrison Endycott are at 3 under 69 although given the low scoring they are tied for 53rd.
A massive 121 of the 168 players broke par on day one with pre tournament favourite off to a relatively slow start when he opened with 70 at Carnoustie.
Scores
Golf Betting Thoughts for September 26th
Hideki Matsuyama appears a good hope in California
This week’s betting focus rests on the PGA Tour event in Napa in California, the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship in Scotland and the LPGA Tour event in Indianapolis.
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Alfred Dunhill Links Championship – the Benefit of Innovation
Lucas Bjerregaard – defending champion courtesy of Getty
When the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship was introduced to the European Tour in 2001, few would have imagined the great success the event would have experienced over the next eighteen years.
The concept of Europe’s leading professionals playing with celebrities from the sporting and entertainment world and those with business success stories provided plenty of early story-lines for the event but would the initial intrigue last, especially given its relatively late season date?
The then US$5 million purse was a factor in gaining some early momentum for the event, as was the opportunity to play three outstanding links layouts near the home of golf, two of them layouts on the rota of the Open Championship, but the subsequent longevity of the event has told the importance of a point of difference in tournament golf.
Certainly the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro Am in the US, the Bing Crosby Pro Am and a similar event in Las Vegas had set the tone for events of this format but that the Alfred Dunhill Links has lasted longer than many perhaps felt would be the case back in 2001 is a reflection on an event which provides both professionals and amateurs a unique opportunity.
Playing together in high end tournament conditions for the amateurs and the chance for many of the professionals to introduce friends and family to the inner cauldron of tournament golf has seen the event regularly attract some of Europe’s best.
Other events around the world have introduced a similar format, notably the New Zealand Open which was on a downward spiral and struggling for survival as a bona fide event on a world circuit before tournament organisers took the model they had created for the New Zealand PGA Championship two years earlier and introduced it, in 2014, to one of the world’s longest running events.
Again, the ingredients were the same. Sporting and business celebrities playing with professionals throughout the tournament week on two outstanding golfing facilities in an iconic location (Queenstown) proved an immediate success.
There were doubters early, too, in New Zealand. The purists felt that a national open championship might struggle in what appeared at the time to be a gimmicky format.
That the event has developed from its previous shaky existence into one of the most popular on the combined tours of Asia and Australasia tells the story of the importance of a point of difference in the week to week staging of regular 72-hole stroke-play events.
Millbrook Resort – host venue for the 2020 NZ Open – Photosport
The AT&T, Alfred Dunhill Championship and the New Zealand Open are exactly that, 72 hole stroke-play events, but that they offer a dimension which has assisted them to sustain their popularity and longevity is testament to their innovative format.
This week’s event being played over the Old Course at St Andrews, Carnoustie and Kingsbarns has attracted many of Europe’s best. Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm, Justin Rose, Tommy Fleetwood and Shane Lowry, to name a few, highlight an event that continues to attract the game’s best.
It is not the prize-money now that is the attraction. After all and very surprisingly, the purse in 2019 is essentially the same it was in 2001, but that many of the game’s best want to be part of this event is a reflection on the enjoyment they get out of playing with friends and family and the very inclusive nature of the event in one of the game’s very special locations.
Plenty of Australasians get their chance this week as not only those who have the right to play European Tour events at this level through their European Tour status will tee it up but so too will a number of players who get their opportunity through invitation or via their efforts on money lists elsewhere.
Lucas Herbert, Jason Scrivener, Wade Ormsby and Jake McLeod are European Tour regulars but they will be joined by fellow Australians, Min Woo Lee, Dimi Papadatos, Marcus Fraser, Harrison Endycott, Jarryd Felton, Daniel Nisbet, Terry Pilkadaris, Callan O’Reilly and Simon Hawkes who will be joined by New Zealanders, Ryan Fox, Michael Campbell and Daniel Hillier.