Lucas Herbert – file
Wade Ormsby and Lucas Herbert have tied for 8th at the Omega European Masters at the Crans-sur-Sierre Golf Club in Crans Montana in Switzerland, but it was a case of two very different stories on the final day.
Ormsby began the day one behind the leader, Andres Romero, and immediately took the lead when he holed a 12-foot birdie putt at the first as Romero bogeyed.
The South Australian stayed very much in contention throughout until a double-bogey at the par 5 15th would be the difference between a potential win and his share of 8th as he would finish just two behind the five-way playoff for the title.
Herbert, on the other hand, continued to improve after a slow start to the week and, beginning the final round eight shots behind the then leader, Romero, the Victorian produced a final round of 64 and recorded his best finish and first top ten since his 7th place in Dubai earlier this year.
Ormsby improved to 63rd in the Race to Dubai standings while Herbert has moved to 110th and with the leading 110 retaining their European Tour cards at season’s end he needs to improve further if he is to be back in Europe next season.
The pair both earned cheques for the equivalent of A$85,000.
There are still seven or eight events in which Herbert is currently eligible for starts and so there is plenty of opportunity yet and, importantly, he has made a very positive move this week.
The winner would be Sweden’s, Sebastian Soderberg, who put a quick end to a five-way playoff with a birdie at the first extra hole to win his first European Tour title.
Amongst those Soderberg defeated in extra time was none other than last week’s PGA Tour Champion, Rory McIlroy, who found a way to bounce back from a slow start to birdie five of six holes in his back nine to join the playoff.
“This is my seventh event in eight weeks, I’ve played a lot of golf,” said McIlroy. “Playing so much, little mental errors can creep in here and there. The sloppy finish yesterday probably cost me, but I fought back today and did my best. It just wasn’t meant to be.
“I’ll put the clubs away for a few days, rest, recover and reflect on what has been a pretty good season so far, and try to get myself back up for (the BMW PGA Championship at) Wentworth.”
Soderberg holed a putt from ten feet at the first playoff hole to claim the title.
The 28-year-old finished 5th in Sweden last week and after finishing his round was delighted just to have saved his status in Europe after what has been an ordinary year to date.
“I’m pretty thrilled right now, hasn’t really sunk in yet, said Soderberg. “I felt like I was pressing down my emotions all day just to try to focus. It’s unbelievable. I’ve dreamt of winning on the European Tour, even better doing it this way.
“I was more nervous in the beginning than I was towards the back nine. Got on a good run and the ball kept going in. Just playing with Rory, there are so many people around. Playing with a guy like that adds heat to it right away.
“I proved to myself that I can play out here. I didn’t really know that I was ready to win, I had a terrible start to the season and I felt like I was just trying to make my way into the top 110 and keep my card for next year. It’s just a surreal way to do it.
“I was just trying to take one shot at a time and my brother (Jesper) told me most likely my card was secured when we’d finished, which was nice. I had nothing to lose at all and it’s going to change a lot going forward.”
The European Tour now moves to Germany for the Porsche European Open in Hamburg.
Final Scores
Casey, Els and Oosthuizen join Australian Open Field
The 2019 Australian Open has today announced a further strengthening of its field with the news that Ernie Els, Louis Oosthuizen and Paul Casey will tee it up at The Australian Golf Club beginning on December 5th.
It is perhaps a surprise that Els is participating given the commitments he has as Captain of the International Presidents Cup side in Melbourne the following week but his presence is a welcome addition as is that of Oosthuizen, who will be one of the key figures at the Presidents Cup, and Casey, who at this stage, is the leading world ranked player to sign on for the event.
Els has hardly been at his best in recent times, missing eight of his last nine cuts but he is one of the greats of world golf having won four major championship titles been runner-up in three others and won numerous other titles internationally.
Casey has had a great season in 2019, winning once on the US PGA Tour and finishing runner-up twice. At his most recent start Casey finished 3rd at the Tour Championship and has been one of the game’s more consistent players in 2019.
Oosthuizen was the Open Champion in 2010 when winning by seven shots at St Andrews and has been runner-up in majors on four other occasions.
The South African has not won to date in 2019 but he has been producing a lot of very solid finishes on the USPGA Tour and no doubt sees this as a great opportunity to acclimatise ahead of his important role in Melbourne and, maybe, become the first South African to win the title since Tim Clark’s win in 2008 and the second since Gary Player’s last win in 1974.
The news adds further to an event which will also include Australians Jason Day, Marc Leishman and Cameron Smith.
Cameron Davis Survives Pressure-Filled Korn Ferry Tour Championship
Sydney’s Cameron Davis has produced some important rounds of golf in his relatively new professional career but it might just be that his final round of 67 at this week’s Korn Ferry Tour Championship in Newburgh in Indiana will hold a special place in his memory.
By producing such a key round under the most demanding of circumstances, given than anything less would likely have meant him not being able to regain his PGA Tour card for next season, Davis has finished inside the top 25 of those competing in the three-event Korn Ferry Tour final series and as such will be eligible to play his second season on the PGA Tour beginning next week.
Beginning the final round in 29th position and needing to finish close to the top ten to secure his playing rights for 2020, Davis made a poor start with a bogey at the 4th hole but from that point on it was pedal to the medal as he reeled off six birdies in 12 holes to complete his round of 67 and secure 21st place amongst the 25 PGA Tour card recipients.
Those 25 join the 25 who secured their rights to play the big stage via the regular Korn Ferry Tour season.
Davis has now produced great rounds when he has needed them on several occasions including when winning Individual honours at the Eisenhower Trophy in 2016 and when reeling off a stunning final round of 64 to win the 2017 Australian Open Championship.
With the advantage of a year on the PGA Tour behind him in 2019, Davis will likely reap the rewards of that experience and the knowledge of knowing he can produce the goods when absolutely necessary.
Brett Coletta was the other Australian to make the cut in the event but facing an almost impossible task in today’s final round to secure the top 5 he needed this week he could only record a round of 71.
Coletta made a fast start to the day with a birdie and eagle in his first three holes but a disappointing back nine saw him finish in 33rd place for the week and 66th overall in the standings for the Korn Ferry Tour Finals.
Coletta will, therefore, be back on the Korn Ferry Tour in 2020.
Curtis Luck and Jamie Arnold began the week inside the all important top twenty-five but both missed the cut and will finish 29th and 36th respectively in the points table and will therefore be playing the Korn Ferry Tour next season.
The Australian recruits to the 2020 PGA Tour via the Korn Ferry Tour in 2019, therefore, will be Rhein Gibson, Cameron Percy and Cameron Davis with New Zealander Tim Wilkinson also advancing via the regular season.
Gritty Hannah Green outlasts exciting teenager in Portland
West Australian, Hannah Green, has today won her second LPGA Tour title with a tenacious final-round display at the Cambia Portland Classic in Portland in Oregon, coming from three behind the 54 hole leader, Yealimi Noh, to eventually wear down the inexperienced but impressive 18-year-old.22 year-old Green, who lost a substantial five-shot lead herself during yesterday’s third round, was still three behind Noh as the pair headed to the 15th tee but Green would birdie the 15th and 17th to draw level and at the 18th she holed a seven-foot putt for par to edge out Noh who bogeyed the last to go down by a shot.
It was a performance full of persistence and patience by Green who adds this title to the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship she won in June and takes her season’s earnings to US$979,000.
Green led through 18 and 36 holes before a faltering 73 on Saturday cost her the lead as the Monday qualifier and non-LPGA Tour member Noh took control of the tournament with a round of 64.
At stake for the Noh was the opportunity to join the LPGA Tour and that prospect may well have played a part in her two bogeys in the closing three holes.
It was, however, an outstanding effort by her to circumvent the need to attend LPGA Tour Q School in coming months but it was not to be.
Green has impressed in her now three years in professional golf having made it to the LPGA Tour via her three-victory rookie season on the Symetra Tour in 2017 followed by a solid LPGA rookie season in 2018.
She now has a major title to her name and this week’s win and appears on track to add a lot more LPGA Tour victories in the years ahead.
“It’s funny, I think yesterday I more nervous then I was today because I pretty much knew it was mine to lose, having a five-stroke lead,” said Green after her win.
“I was surprised with how different conditions were from Friday to Saturday, and I really struggled to adjust both with my approach shots in, and also putting.
“Today it felt a lot different, and I think I can definitely say that KPMG, having that experience, definitely helped me, especially the last five holes. Grinding out and making sure that I stayed patient.”
While Green was delighted to have won she was full of praise for her young opponent.
“I said to her, I don’t know if she actually heard me — I’m sure she was emotional. I said, “This is not the first time you’re going to be in this position.” I’m really impressed.
“This is my first time ever meeting and playing with her. To go out with her — she didn’t play that great towards the ends but still to have the result she had — I know she played well at Thornberry and she’ll be out here next year probably in the same position. Unfortunately I guess there’s always some failure to then have success, but I’m sure hers will come soon.”
Brittany Altomare continued her fine season with a third placing this week albeit three shots behind the runner-up Noh.
Su Oh was the next best of the Australians when she tied for 15th, a position she shared with new Zealand’s Lydia ko.
Robyn Choi was 63rd and Sarah Kemp 67th.
The LPGA Tour will now take a three-week break from regular tournament golf although the now enticing prospect of the Solheim Cup looms in 12 days-time at Gleneagles in Scotland.
Cameron Smith chases hat trick at PGA Championship
Cameron Smith is hoping to create history by becoming the first person in more than 100 years to win three consecutive Australian PGA Championship titles.
Smith has announced he will return to RACV Royal Pines Resort on the Gold Coast to defend his crown at the 19-22 December tournament after winning over Marc Leishman in 2018 and defeating Jordan Junic in a playoff in 2017.
Smith will arrive on the Gold Coast after representing the International side at the Presidents Cup in Melbourne the previous week.
The 26-year-old says he is elated to come back to his home state to compete against a world class field, including former world no.1 Adam Scott, at one of the country’s most prestigious sporting events.
“I can’t wait to come back to the Gold Coast and play in front of a home crowd to try and win three Australian PGA Championships in a row. It would be the perfect way to wrap up my year,” Smith said.
The passionate Queenslander, who dons maroon on the final day of each tournament, is vying to become the first player since Aussie golf pioneer Dan Soutar to win the Joe Kirkwood Cup – Australia’s oldest pro golf trophy – three times in a row.
The Scotland-born Soutar won the inaugural Australian PGA Championship in 1905, then went on to claim the 1906 and 1907 titles.
“I’m eager to finish the year on a high by emulating the feats of one of the game’s legends,” he said.
Contrasting stories for Ormsby and Herbert in Switzerland
Lucas Herbert – file
Wade Ormsby and Lucas Herbert have tied for 8th at the Omega European Masters at the Crans-sur-Sierre Golf Club in Crans Montana in Switzerland, but it was a case of two very different stories on the final day.
Ormsby began the day one behind the leader, Andres Romero, and immediately took the lead when he holed a 12-foot birdie putt at the first as Romero bogeyed.
The South Australian stayed very much in contention throughout until a double-bogey at the par 5 15th would be the difference between a potential win and his share of 8th as he would finish just two behind the five-way playoff for the title.
Herbert, on the other hand, continued to improve after a slow start to the week and, beginning the final round eight shots behind the then leader, Romero, the Victorian produced a final round of 64 and recorded his best finish and first top ten since his 7th place in Dubai earlier this year.
Ormsby improved to 63rd in the Race to Dubai standings while Herbert has moved to 110th and with the leading 110 retaining their European Tour cards at season’s end he needs to improve further if he is to be back in Europe next season.
The pair both earned cheques for the equivalent of A$85,000.
There are still seven or eight events in which Herbert is currently eligible for starts and so there is plenty of opportunity yet and, importantly, he has made a very positive move this week.
The winner would be Sweden’s, Sebastian Soderberg, who put a quick end to a five-way playoff with a birdie at the first extra hole to win his first European Tour title.
Amongst those Soderberg defeated in extra time was none other than last week’s PGA Tour Champion, Rory McIlroy, who found a way to bounce back from a slow start to birdie five of six holes in his back nine to join the playoff.
“This is my seventh event in eight weeks, I’ve played a lot of golf,” said McIlroy. “Playing so much, little mental errors can creep in here and there. The sloppy finish yesterday probably cost me, but I fought back today and did my best. It just wasn’t meant to be.
“I’ll put the clubs away for a few days, rest, recover and reflect on what has been a pretty good season so far, and try to get myself back up for (the BMW PGA Championship at) Wentworth.”
Soderberg holed a putt from ten feet at the first playoff hole to claim the title.
The 28-year-old finished 5th in Sweden last week and after finishing his round was delighted just to have saved his status in Europe after what has been an ordinary year to date.
“I’m pretty thrilled right now, hasn’t really sunk in yet, said Soderberg. “I felt like I was pressing down my emotions all day just to try to focus. It’s unbelievable. I’ve dreamt of winning on the European Tour, even better doing it this way.
“I was more nervous in the beginning than I was towards the back nine. Got on a good run and the ball kept going in. Just playing with Rory, there are so many people around. Playing with a guy like that adds heat to it right away.
“I proved to myself that I can play out here. I didn’t really know that I was ready to win, I had a terrible start to the season and I felt like I was just trying to make my way into the top 110 and keep my card for next year. It’s just a surreal way to do it.
“I was just trying to take one shot at a time and my brother (Jesper) told me most likely my card was secured when we’d finished, which was nice. I had nothing to lose at all and it’s going to change a lot going forward.”
The European Tour now moves to Germany for the Porsche European Open in Hamburg.
Final Scores
Another Top Ten For Karis Davidson in Japan
Gold Coast golfer Karis Davidson, in her second year on the Japan Ladies Tour, recorded yet another top ten with a 9th place finish at this week’s Nitori Ladies Golf Tournament on the northern island of Hokkaido.
Three consecutive rounds of 70 saw the 21 year old Scottish born but now Queensland resident earn ¥3 million or A$40,000 and she moves back to 45th on the JLPGA Tour’s money list with earnings over A$240,000 (equivalent).
It was Davidson’s 3rd top ten of the 2019 season and reverses some rather indifferent form of late, having missed her last four cuts.
Davidson finished seven shots from the winner, Ai Suzuki of Japan, who won by two over Koreans Jiyai Shin and Sun Ju Ahn.
Wade Ormsby one from Romero’s lead in Switzerland
South Australian Wade Ormsby has maintained his excellent run of form to find himself just one shot behind the leader, Andres Romero, at the Omega European Masters at the Crans-sur-Sierre Golf Club in Crans Montana in Switzerland.
A bogey at the final hole in his round of 67 cost him a share of the lead but Ormsby has clearly found something with his game in recent starts including when 5th at last week’s Scandinavian Invitation.
“I’ve been working on the swing. It’s not the bit that comes easy to me. Always need to work on the weaker stuff and I’m definitely making inroads there, so I’m looking forward to a good day tomorrow.
“I’ve rocked up here after a break the last couple of years and haven’t played well, so I made sure I played one before, which was Sweden last week, and I played quite nicely.
“So, I was coming here with high hopes. When you get expectations you normally get shot down, but I always come to these kind of places feeling like I’ve got an opportunity.”
The highlight of Ormsby’s round came at the driveable par 4 7th when he missed the green right but he holed a delightful pitch for eagle which came after an opening bogey and a birdie at the 6th.
Romero is a player good enough to have led the Open Championship in 2007 into the 71st hole before a double bogey cost him victory but he does own two European Tour victories and a win on the PGA Tour.
The Argentine’s most recent form, however, has been well below his best having not recorded a top twenty anywhere in twelve months.
Romero and Ormsby will need to hold off challenges from two of Europe’s best, however, Tommy Fleetwood just one behind Ormsby and Rory McIlroy another shot back.
Sergio Garcia also moved to the edge of contention when he added a third round of 66 to be four from the lead.
Top photo shows Andres Romero with his approach to the last today – Getty Images
Hopes Fading for Australians at Korn Ferry Tour Championship
The Korn Ferry Tour Championship has completed 36 of its 72 holes at the Victoria Golf Club in Newburgh in Indiana and the Australians who were hoping for this event to assist in earning the right to play the PGA Tour next season have been disappointing to date.
There are still many permutations to play out over the final 36 holes but, by missing the cut, Jamie Arnold has lost any chance of making it into the top 25 in the points table specific to the three-event Korn Ferry Tour finals and will, therefore, miss out on qualifying for the PGA Tour for the first occasion.
Arnold appeared to need a top 25 or better this week but, unfortunately for the US-based Sydney golfer, his dream of playing the PGA Tour is over for the meantime after dropping two shots late in his second round and missing the cut by one.
Curtis Luck also missed the cut this week and is now precariously placed in 23rd place in the points table as the event enters the final 36 holes without him in the field. He will, therefore, need to rely on the performances of others but he is delicately placed as he attempts to return to the PGA Tour where he played as a rookie this season.
Two double bogeys in his round of 75 today could well prove very costly for the talented Luck, a former US and Asia Pacific Amateur Champion and world number one amateur.
Cameron Davis and Brett Coletta have both made the cut this week but Davis, currently in 41st place this week following his second round of 73, now needs a big finish to force his way into the top ten he likely needs to regain his PGA Tour status.
Victorian, Coletta, improved sharply with his second round of 68 but he finds himself in 50th place heading into Sunday and Monday and, needing a top-five result this week to finish inside that all-important top 25 in the Finals points table, he faces a huge although not totally impossible task.
New Zealander Steve Alker’s chances of returning to the PGA Tour disappeared with a missed cut this week.
Australians Rhein Gibson and Cameron Percy have both missed the cut this week but they have their PGA Tour cards locked up courtesy of their performances throughout the season and, in the case of Percy, through his good finishes in the opening two events of the Finals.
Photo – Cameron Davis – his hopes still alive but something special needed over final 36 holes.
Career Best and Hannah Green takes control in Portland
Australia’s Hannah Green followed yesterday’s career-best round of 64 with an even better effort today when she added a second round of 63 at the LPGA Tour’s Cambia Portland Classic in Portland in Oregon to lead the event by five shots at the halfway mark.
Green, who played in the morning field on day two, took control of the tournament with an outward nine of 30 to race well ahead of the field and, adding a homeward nine of 33, she would eventually finish the day five clear of the Korean pairing of Sei Young Kim and Sun Hyung Park.
Given she missed the cut in last week’s event in Canada, it is quite a turnaround of fortune for the 22- year-old from Perth but as a major championship winner now she has greater expectations on her than ever before and is living up to them.
“I feel like I have more expectation on my now from outsiders, as well as from myself,” said Green after her round.
“But I think it’s also really a motivating thing to have ticked off a major championship so now I guess the monkey is off the back, I can and play more aggressive and some more experience for other events and other times that I’m in contention.
“I’m just happy to be in this type of position and hopefully I can look back on KPMG to have the same kind of result this week.
Although five shots ahead of two very well-credentialed players she is very much aware that the job is not yet done.
“Yeah, I just don’t want to get too ahead of myself. Obviously this is quite new to me, shooting such low scores back-to-back. I want to make sure I continue to do the same things and don’t get too disappointed if I don’t back it up with another solid round.
“Going to keep the same game plan. Doing everything much like I have. Obviously I’ve had some success with that, so just want to make sure that, yeah, I just post another low number tomorrow.”
Su Oh is the next best of the Australians in a share of 27th place, a position she shares with an improving New Zealander Lydia Ko.
Robyn Choi and Sarah Kemp also made the cut on the number.
Top photo – file photo
.
Wade Ormsby One Behind At European Masters
Wade Ormsby has picked up where he left off following last week’s 5th place finish at the Scandinavian Invitation, the South Australian just one shot behind the lead at the halfway stage of the Omega European Masters.
Ormsby added a second-round 64 to his opening 66 in Crans-Sur-Sierre Golf Club in the mountains of Switzerland and finds himself in a five-way share of second place behind only Malaysia’s Gavin Green.
Ormsby is playing the event for the 10th occasion and given his previous record over the Seve Ballesteros re-designed layout, on which he has missed five of his last six cuts, this significant improvement reflects a resurgence in his all-round game.
Ormsby improved to 77th in the Race to Dubai rankings last week and another good week here will continue his push towards the top 50 who earn the right to the riches of the DP World Tour event in Dubai later in the season.
Sharing second with Ormsby are last week’s PGA Tour Champion Rory McIlroy, Tommy Fleetwood, Andres Romero and Matthias Schwab.
Of the other Australians to make the cut, Lucas Herbert is best, the Victorian finding himself in 36th place after a second round of 67, while Deyen Lawson and Nick Cullen just scrapped into the weekend field and are tied for 58th.
The leader Green has yet to win on the European Tour but, in his second season in Europe, he is putting together a series of good finishes in recent months.
Green won the Asian Tour’s Order of Merit in 2017 and the long-hitting former University of New Mexico attendee is taking full advantage of the massive distances the thin mountain air offers at this venue.
Like everyone else, he is loving the beauty of Crans Montana and the Swiss mountains.
“The atmosphere and views are amazing. In Malaysia we don’t have anything like this,” said the 25 year old. “I’ve been here a couple of times now and the views never get old.
“The altitude is similar to where I went to university in New Mexico, Albuquerque, it’s a few thousand feet too. I’m pretty used to how altitude works. It’s just when it’s cold it gets a little tricky. But adjustments made and it’s been really fun.”
Rory McIlroy on his way to a round of 63 today – Getty Images