The PGA Tour’s new season begins this week when the Military Tribute at the Greenbrier gets underway at the Old White TPC at White Sulphur Springs in West Virginia.
The opening event of any PGA Tour season often carries more interest than any other event of similar standing as it offers hope for those looking to rebuild their careers or those who have gained the right to play the game’s most prestigious golf tour for the first time.
Amongst those are twelve Australasians, all of whom either have or have have had PGA Tour cards previously but no doubt keen to get their seasons off to a good start for a range of reasons.
The list is headed in terms of world ranking by Marc Leishman who has generally struggled in this event having missed three of his last four cuts at the Greenbrier and has a best of 16th in five starts.
Leishman comes off the back of a 20th place finish at the Tour Championship but just to have made it to that event suggests he is playing well enough to do well this week provided he can find a way to play this layout a little better than has been the case previously.
Cameron Smith will play this event for the first occasion and while his most recent form has hardly been spectacular it has not been bad either and he could do well.
Stuart Appleby achieved world fame when a final round of 59 saw him win this event in 2010 but he has missed all six cuts in the event since. Appleby does not enjoy PGA Tour status now but gets a start courtesy of the generosity of the sponsors as a previous winner.
Appleby has played only four events this year as a result of injury and three of those were on the Korn Ferry Tour. He is however a nine-time PGA Tour winner and so his return to the PGA Tour albeit briefly will be of interest.
New Zealand’s Danny Lee won his only PGA Tour title at the Greenbrier Classic in 2015 and was also 9th two years ago but he, too, is in the middle of a slump having a best of 81st in his last five starts. He will need to rely on some of the great memories he has of this layout to rekindle his form.
Matt Jones’ results at Greenbrier have been a roller coaster to say the least. In 2013 he finished runner-up to Jonas Blixt but that aside he has missed four of five other cuts in the event. His most recent results have been a bit of a lottery also having finished 4th at the Barbasol but missing four of five other recent cuts.
Cameron Davis, Rhein Gibson, Cameron Percy and New Zealander Tim Wilkinson return to the PGA Tour courtesy of their efforts in Korn Ferry Tour events in 2019, only Wilkinson having played the event previously.
Davis and Gibson play the event for the first time, but Percy has has made four of six cuts in the event and has played well on occasions.
John Senden and Rod Pampling are both looking to resurrect their PGA Tour career, Senden fighting his way back after attending to family illness while for Pampling, having missed 16 of 19 cuts on the PGA Tour in 2019 it is a long way back for the 49 year old who is no doubt eying a career on the PGA Tour Champions if he can get there.
The final Australasian into the field in Victorian and former Australian Open winner, Steve Allan, who led the Monday qualifiers.
Allan, who was a regular on the PGA Tour for several seasons, has played just two events on the PGA Tour this season, Monday qualifying each time to get a start and he has managed to do so again.
The tournament carries a purse of US$7.5 million with a first prize of US$1.35 million.
Photo shows Stuart Appleby holing out for 59 to win in 2010
Jake McLeod improves further at KLM Open
Queenslander Jake McLeod has improved on his opening round of 70 with a second round 68 at the KLM Open in Amsterdam and finds himself in a share of 17th place and five from the lead of Scott Jamieson.
McLeod, who has struggled for much of his rookie European Tour season, recorded a five birdie, one bogey round of four under to jump nine places from his opening round position and given he is currently 159th in the Race to Dubai standings a continuation of this form will go a long way to regaining his playing rights for next season.
With eight missed cuts in his last tens starts, this week’s effort to date represents a significant turnaround of the 25-year old who led last year’s PGA Tour of Australasia money list.
The only other Australian to make the weekend was Sydney’s Harrison Endycott although Adam Bland, Dimi Papadatos and Deyen Lawson were just one shot short of the required mark.
Endycott, a member of the 2016 Australian Eisenhower Trophy winning side, has been playing on the PGA Tour’s South American series in 2019 but made the cut last week at the European Open and has done so again this week.
The leader, Jamieson, has won only once on the European Tour, but that came back in 2013 so this is a nice turnaround for the Scot although to add further to the pressure he will face over the final 36 holes is the ominous presence of Sergio Garcia who is tied for second and just two from Jamieson’s lead.
“Obviously I have been doing a lot of good things this week,” said the Spaniard. A couple of things that need to do better but overall a good amount of good things and I just have to go out there and trust it, believe in myself and see what happens.
“I have been working hard. It feels pretty good, I wouldn’t say it feels like 120% but it feels pretty good. Some of the things I have been working on seem to be working this week. I have putted well for the most part, so that’s nice to see too and I have to keep hitting the ball where I’m hitting it and make a couple of putts here and there.”
The ‘Camerons’ Lead Aussies at Greenbrier
Cameron Smith and newly reinstated PGA Tour player, Cameron Percy, are the leading Australians after the opening round of the Military Tribute at Greenbrier in White Sulphur Springs in West Virginia.
The pair began the opening event of the new PGA Tour season with rounds of 3 under par 67 to share 32nd place, one ahead of Matt Jones with Rod Pampling another shot back at 1 under.
Smith has of course become one of Australia’s leading players while for Percy he was able to regain his PGA Tour status courtesy of the recent Korn Ferry Tour Finals
New Zealanders Danny Lee and Tim Wilkinson are at even par and tied for 98th on the low scoring layout which, in 2010, saw Stuart Appleby record a final round of 59 to win.
The event is led by Korn Ferry Tour graduate Rob Shelton who won twice and finished runner-up on one other occasion on the Korn Ferry Tour in 2019, his round of 62 leaving him two ahead of a five-way tie for second.
Marc Leishman withdrew from the event after an opening round of 76.
SCORES
Jake McLeod early Australian leader at KLM Open
European Tour rookie, Jake McLeod, heads the Australians after the opening round of the KLM Open in Amsterdam, the 25 year old Queenslander’s round of 2 under 70 having him four shots behind the leader, Callum Shinkwin of England.
McLeod sits in 26th place in the event being held at The International, one shot ahead of Victorian, Deyen Lawson, with South Australia’s Adam Bland and NSW’s Dimi Papadatos another shot back.
McLeod, who gained European Tour status courtesy of his success on the Australasian Tour money list in 2018, currently sits in 159th position on the Race to Dubai Rankings and with only those 110th or better retaining their European Tour status for next season he has work to do over the next few weeks of the regular tour season.
Since graduating to the European Tour at the Australian PGA Championship last December, McLeod has missed the cut in more than half of his 17 events but he could possibly get things moving forward this week.
The leader Shinkwin is currently 126th in the Race to Dubai so it will be important for him also to build on the start he has made.
The 26 year old has yet to win on either the European or Challenge Tour although he did finish runner-up at the Scottish Open in 2017.
He has bounced back from forced withdrawals at each of his last two events, food poisoning and a back issue being the reasons for not completing his last two events.
“My golf as of late has not been great, as has my health as well, but the golf… is still not there, still very uncomfortable but I managed to turn it round today and shoot a good round of 66.
“I caught food poisoning back in Sweden – it can happen anywhere – but I caught it there and couldn’t get up on that Friday morning and then I’ve had a bit of a bad back as well. My back went last week and I thought the best thing to do it to walk in and basically have the weekend off and recover.
“Just working hard really. Been down the range, working on what I needed to work on. I wasn’t hitting the ball very well, that’s probably why the back wasn’t great but I’m just working hard and if I’m feeling uncomfortable then that means I’m doing the right things.”
One of the pre-tournament favourites, Sergio Garcia, lies in 9th place at 4 under and two from the lead.
Betting Thoughts for September 12th
After a couple of good results last week with the victory by Paul Casey ($9) in Germany and the near misses by Matthias Schwab ($26) in Germany and Hiroshi Iwata ($41) in Japan we attempt to find further success this week at the PGA Tour’s opening event of the new season in White Sulphur Springs, the European Tour’s KLM Open in Amsterdam and the Women’s equivalent of the Ryder Cup, the Solheim Cup at Gleneagles in Scotland.
Two Australians Make Junior Presidents Cup Team
Karl Vilips with one of his many trophies
Twenty-four players, 12 international and 12 from the United States, have qualified for the 2019 Junior Presidents Cup hosted by the American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) and PGA TOUR, amongst them two Australians.
The event’s second edition will welcome players from 10 states, Australia, China, Chinese Taipei, India, Korea and South Africa. South Africa will have the most representation on the International Team with five, while two Australians – Karl Vilips and Joshua Greer – will have the opportunity to compete on home soil. North Carolina and Texas will be represented by two players each on the U.S. Team.
U.S. Team qualification was determined by the Rolex AJGA Rankings, while International Team selection was based on the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR).
Set to take place on the Melbourne Sandbelt at the famed Royal Melbourne Golf Club, the Junior Presidents Cup will kick off Presidents Cup week on Sunday and Monday, Dec. 8-9. All 24 players will compete in six Four-ball matches on Sunday morning followed by six Foursomes matches that afternoon. The Junior Presidents Cup will conclude with 12 Singles matches on Monday morning.
At No. 47 in the WAGR, Australia’s Karl Vilips qualified as the No. 1 player for the International Team. Originally from Perth, Australia, Vilips moved to Wesley Chapel, Florida, at 11 years old and has verbally committed to Stanford.
Vilips is a three-time Rolex Junior All-American and owns five AJGA titles. As a member of the 2017 Junior Presidents Cup team, Vilips recorded a 1-2 record, which included a Singles match win over Prescott Butler.
Adding to the Australian contingent at the Junior Presidents Cup is Connolly’s Josh Greer, who bookends the International Team as the last player to qualify at No. 12 in the standings.
Currently No. 408 in the WAGR, Greer won the 2019 Western Australia Amateur, finished T17 at the IMG Academy Junior World Championship and qualified for his first U.S. Junior Amateur Championship this year.
Twelve Australasians Tackle PGA Tour’s Opening Event
The PGA Tour’s new season begins this week when the Military Tribute at the Greenbrier gets underway at the Old White TPC at White Sulphur Springs in West Virginia.
The opening event of any PGA Tour season often carries more interest than any other event of similar standing as it offers hope for those looking to rebuild their careers or those who have gained the right to play the game’s most prestigious golf tour for the first time.
Amongst those are twelve Australasians, all of whom either have or have have had PGA Tour cards previously but no doubt keen to get their seasons off to a good start for a range of reasons.
The list is headed in terms of world ranking by Marc Leishman who has generally struggled in this event having missed three of his last four cuts at the Greenbrier and has a best of 16th in five starts.
Leishman comes off the back of a 20th place finish at the Tour Championship but just to have made it to that event suggests he is playing well enough to do well this week provided he can find a way to play this layout a little better than has been the case previously.
Cameron Smith will play this event for the first occasion and while his most recent form has hardly been spectacular it has not been bad either and he could do well.
Stuart Appleby achieved world fame when a final round of 59 saw him win this event in 2010 but he has missed all six cuts in the event since. Appleby does not enjoy PGA Tour status now but gets a start courtesy of the generosity of the sponsors as a previous winner.
Appleby has played only four events this year as a result of injury and three of those were on the Korn Ferry Tour. He is however a nine-time PGA Tour winner and so his return to the PGA Tour albeit briefly will be of interest.
New Zealand’s Danny Lee won his only PGA Tour title at the Greenbrier Classic in 2015 and was also 9th two years ago but he, too, is in the middle of a slump having a best of 81st in his last five starts. He will need to rely on some of the great memories he has of this layout to rekindle his form.
Matt Jones’ results at Greenbrier have been a roller coaster to say the least. In 2013 he finished runner-up to Jonas Blixt but that aside he has missed four of five other cuts in the event. His most recent results have been a bit of a lottery also having finished 4th at the Barbasol but missing four of five other recent cuts.
Cameron Davis, Rhein Gibson, Cameron Percy and New Zealander Tim Wilkinson return to the PGA Tour courtesy of their efforts in Korn Ferry Tour events in 2019, only Wilkinson having played the event previously.
Davis and Gibson play the event for the first time, but Percy has has made four of six cuts in the event and has played well on occasions.
John Senden and Rod Pampling are both looking to resurrect their PGA Tour career, Senden fighting his way back after attending to family illness while for Pampling, having missed 16 of 19 cuts on the PGA Tour in 2019 it is a long way back for the 49 year old who is no doubt eying a career on the PGA Tour Champions if he can get there.
The final Australasian into the field in Victorian and former Australian Open winner, Steve Allan, who led the Monday qualifiers.
Allan, who was a regular on the PGA Tour for several seasons, has played just two events on the PGA Tour this season, Monday qualifying each time to get a start and he has managed to do so again.
The tournament carries a purse of US$7.5 million with a first prize of US$1.35 million.
Photo shows Stuart Appleby holing out for 59 to win in 2010
Paul Casey Claims First European Title in Five Years
Paul Casey has survived a thrilling battle to win his second event of 2019 but his first European Tour title in five years by holding off strong final day challenges from Matthias Schwab, Robert MacIntyre and Bernd Ritthammer to win the Porsche European Open in Hamburg.
Casey was playing his first stand alone European Tour event since finishing 7th in this same event twelve months ago and needed to be at his best to survive an intriguing final day.
He did so by producing a bogey free final round of 66 but it was a near thing as all three of the runners-up had their chances to at least force a playoff.
Casey dedicated the win to two-time European Open champion Gordon Brand Jnr, whose funeral will be held tomorrow after passing away last month at the age of 60.
“I’ll be dedicating this to Gordon Brand Jnr, without question,” he said in the post round media room.
“This is an incredibly prestigious trophy with a lot of history to it on the European Tour. I’m over the moon and so happy to be Porsche European Open champion.
“I volunteered at this event at Walton Heath in 1991 – as a standard bearer – walking around the golf course. Walton Heath is not far from where I grew up as a kid, I never thought I’d be sitting here with the trophy, which is very, very cool.
“I’ve been lucky to win at Wentworth, and to win this one feels very special. We had some great players in the field, and the young players pushed us older guys right to the end.
“I’d been away from the Tour for a few years, since then I’ve had a couple of wins in the US. The Ryder Cup last year is part of the highlight package.
“I feel good about that – age is just a number. I feel as fit at 42 as I’ve ever felt. I have an understanding of my golf game and a lot of enthusiasm. I love working hard for it and the quest of being as good as I can be.”
Lucas Herbert continued the improved form he displayed last week in Switzerland by leading the Australians when finishing 22nd, Scott Hend and Min Woo Lee were 36th, Dimi Papadatos and New Zealander Ryan Fox were 60th, Jake McLeod 63rd, Harrison Endycott 64th and Adam Bland 66th.
The European Tour now moves to Amsterdam in the Netherlands for the KLM Open.
Photo Paul Casey – courtesy of Getty Images
New Zealand’s Josh Geary Runner-Up in France
New Zealand’s Josh Geary has finished runner-up in a European Challenge Tour event in France, the 34-year old producing one of his well-known low rounds (64) today to finish two shots behind the winner, Sebastian Heisele.
The finish moves Geary to 12th in the Race to Mallorca standings and inside the all-important top 15 who will earn the right to play the European Tour in 2020.
Geary was playing his 10th event of the season as he chases a return to the European Tour after losing his status there following an unsuccessful 2018 season.
The runner-up at this year’s New Zealand Open behind Zach Murray has also finished runner-up on one other occasion on the Challenge Tour this season but while brilliant on occasions it is his lack of consistency that prevents Geary from becoming the player many felt he would when turning professional 12 years ago.
He has however won events in China, Australia, New Zealand and in Canada during that time and is known for producing some very low rounds throughout his career.
Geary led the event through 36 holes but on the low scoring Golf Bluegreen de Pleneuf Val Andre in Pleneuf, a third round of 70 saw him begin the final round three behind Heisele.
Geary, playing two groups ahead of Heisele, briefly took the lead with an eagle on the 11th hole but the 31-year-old duly responded with birdies on the 10th, 11th and 13th and despite a dropped shot on the 14th hole he would stand on the 18th tee needing just a par to secure his first Challenge Tour victory.
He made no mistake, hitting his approach to within a foot of the cup to ensure a tap in was all that was required to be crowned the 2019 Open de Bretagne champion.
Ben Eccles was the only Australian in the field, the former NSW Open and Amateur Champion finishing 55th.
Seven events remain on the European Challenge Tour for this season, culminating with the Tour Championship in Mallorca in early November.
Photo Josh Geary – file
Rookie Perry Best of Australians at Fujisankei Classic
Korea’s Sang Hyun Park has today won his second Japan Golf Tour title nearly three years after his first with a two-shot victory in this week’s Fujisankei Classic west of Tokyo.
Park came from four shots off the 54-hole pace set by his fellow Korean Ho Sung Choi and American Chan Kim, a bogey free final round of 65 seeing him home by two over Choi and Hiroshi Iwata, a former winner of the event.
Kim finished alone in 4th place, one shot ahead of Ryo Ishikawa who was looking to win this event for the third occasion.
The 36-year old, Park, has won another six titles on the Korean PGA Tour.
It was not a particularly good week for the Australasians in the field, rookie Dylan Perry doing the best when he finished tied for 24th. Perry recovered from his third round of 74 to finish with 69 and he moves to 59th on the money list for this season.
New Zealander Michael Hendry was 32nd, Brendan Jones 40th and Matthew Griffin and Won Joon Lee 50th.
The Japan Golf Tour will now play the ANA Open in Sapporo, Hokkaido.
Photo Dylan Perry – file
Impressive Rookie MacIntyre Leads European Open
Scotland’s impressive European Tour rookie, Robert MacIntyre, has taken the lead at the halfway stage of the Porsche European Open in Hamburg, the 23 year old’s round of 65 today moving him four shots clear of the field.
McIntyre has yet to win on the European Tour but he has been twice runner-up this year and gained a lot of further admirers for his 6th place finish at the Open Championship six weeks ago.
Four shots behind is Germany’s Bernd Ritthammer, who delighted the home crowds with a six under par round of 66 to reach a seven under par total. He is two strokes ahead of the trio of first round leader, Paul Casey, Guido Migliozzi and Matthias Schwab.
It’s probably the best I’ve driven the ball this year,” said MacIntyre. “It’s not just going straight, it’s going miles. I don’t know what I’m doing but it’s working, and I’ll try and continue to do it.
“I’ve changed quite a few things over the season to improve. Dave, my coach, is on the bag this week, he’s doing a great job off the course when I’m at home and doing the right things. It’s great to see the reward.
“It’s going to be tough, especially when it’s the first time that I’ve got such a lead – whether on the Challenge Tour or here on the European Tour – I’ll have to learn from this experience. I’m doing the right things on the course and the right things off the course, I’m nice and relaxed. Everything at home has been brilliant, so I’m in the right mindset for going out this weekend.”
Casey may yet be the man to beat, however, recovering from a slow start to his day to be round in 73 and although six behind the leader is well enough placed to better his 7th place in the event last year.
The Australians are led by tournament invite, Harrison Endycott, who has been playing in South America for much of this year. The Sydney golfer double-bogeyed his final hole today but he is in a share of 20th place at 1 under and ten shots from McIntyre’s lead.
Lucas Herbert and Scott Hend are at even par, Minwoo Lee at 1 over, Jake McLeod and Dimi Papdatos at 2 over and Adam Bland and New Zealander Ryan Fox just making the weekend field at 3 over.
Harrison Endycott – file – courtesy of Golf NSW
Top photo Robert McIntyre – Getty Images