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.
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
Dylan Perry Heads Australians in Japan
Dylan Perry heads the Australians through 36 holes of the Fujisankei Classic at the Fujizakura Golf Club west of Tokyo, the Japan Tour rookie in a share of 13th place although nine shots behind the joint leaders, Ho Sung Choi of Korea and American Chan Kim.
24 year old, Perry, originally from the Hunter Valley of NSW but these days based at Sanctuary Cove in Queensland, turned professional last November but had status on both the Australasian and Japan Tours within just a few weeks.
Perry is currently in 60th place on the Japan Tour money list so his focus over the next few weeks will be to retain his status on the Japan Tour for 2020 and he has made a very good start this week to do just that.
Perry finished 8th in the opening event of the season in Japan but has missed the cut in his last three starts so this is an important week in which to take advantage of a good start.
New Zealander Michael Hendry is tied for 19th one shot behind Perry, Brendan Jones in 30th place another shot behind while Won Joon Lee and Mathew Griffin just made the cut on the number.
The leaders Choi and Kim lead by four over Gunn Charoenkul, who is, in turn, three shots ahead of the trio in 4th place.
Casey Leads European Open – Herbert starts well
Photo Getty Images
Despite his tremendous success internationally, England’s Paul Casey has not won on the European Tour for nearly five years but playing in this week’s Porsche European Open he has taken a significant step to changing that.
Casey’s opening round of 66 in the event being played in Hamburg, has given the 42 year old a one shot lead over the in form Matthias Schwab on a cold breezy day in the north of Germany.
Casey played late in the day on day one and, after a relatively slow start, his closing nine of 5 under 33 gave him the lead although Schwab, who has been recorded top ten finishes in his last two events, had his chances to take a share of the lead over the closing nine holes.
Casey who finished 3rd at the recent Tour Championship in the US has focused much of his attention in the US in recent years but he is a prolific winner of titles in Europe, the last of those coming when winning the KLM Open in The Netherlands in 2014.
Casey, who finished 7th in this event last year, was delighted with the round and described it as one of his best this year.
“It was a really good round of golf,” said Casey. “There were a couple of putts that slipped by, but that is such a difficult golf course. I was happy with the patience I was showing and the quality of strike, considering I hadn’t played well in the Pro-Am.
“Now I stand here happier. The score doesn’t really do it justice – that’s one of the finest rounds of golf I’ve played this year.”
Australian, Lucas Herbert, picked up from where he left off in his final round of 66 in Switzerland last week to open with a round of 69 today and is tied for 6th and three from the lead.
Herbert is currently in 110th place in the Race to Dubai standings and needs to retain or better that position in order to hold on to his European Tour playing rights for next season.
He has, it would appear, found something in his game as, after a series of indifferent months of tournament play, he is putting together some good golf.
He leads the Australians, South Australian Adam Bland the next best after his round of 71 while Jake McLeod and tournament invite, Harrison Endycott, are 23rd after their rounds of even par 72.
Lucas Herbert
SCORES
Betting on Golf Events for September 5th
It is a relatively quiet week in the world of tournament golf this week with just two events available on most betting agencies. We focus on the European Tour’s Porsche European Open in Hamburg and the Fujisankei Classic in Japan.
Photo shows two time winner of the Fujisankei Classic Ryo Ishikawa
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.