Elvis Smylie – plays first US Major – image Australian Golf Media

The field for the 2025 PGA Championship at Quail Hollow in Charlotte, North Carolina, has been finalised with two Australians getting the chance to play the event for the first occasion when it gets underway on Thursday 15th May.

Elvis Smylie and Karl Vilips have played their way into the field courtesy of Smylie’s special invitation category due to his success on the PGA Tour of Australasia’s Order of Merit allowing him play his second major championship following a start at last year’s Open Championship while Vilips’ recent breakthrough PGA Tour win in Puerto Rico sees him play his second major following a start at the 2023 US Open.

Smylie has put together a couple of solid finishes in events on the DP World Tour in recent weeks while Vilips has struggled since his win in Puerto Rico in March, missing three of four cuts in that time.

For both players, however, the start gives them the opportunity to showcase their considerable talents against one of the strongest fields in the game, and, for Smylie, a chance to play a PGA Tour event in the US for the first time.

Smylie and Vilips will join fellow Australians (in world ranking order) Min Woo Lee, Jason Day, Adam Scott, Cam Davis and Cam Smith, Day having won this event in 2015, not long before attaining the world number one position.

FIELD

Lucas Hebert in action this week – image LIVGOLF

An outstanding final round of 10 under par 61, has given Australian Lucas Herbert a share of second place at the LIV Golf event at the Club de Golf Chapultepec in Mexico.

Herbert, whose final round brilliance was four shots better than any other player recorded on Sunday, finished three shots behind Chile’s Joaquin Niemann and in a share of second with Bryson DeChambeau.

Herbert started the final round ten shots behind the leader DeChambeau but unleashed a powerful finish which included three birdies and a hole out from the fairway eagle in his final four holes to not only aid his cause but assist his ‘Ripper’ teammates to a share of second place in the team’s event.

“Just one of those rounds where everything comes together,” said Herbert. “I thought I played pretty decent the last two days, I just didn’t get many breaks, and I just felt like today every time there was a line ball sort of thing I got the right kick and I’d make a putt where I needed to or just anything — just that sort of stuff.

“It just kept the momentum going through the round. Look, I played great, really enjoyed feeling everything I felt the last few holes, but it’s just one of those rounds where it all just clicks for you, and it was a pretty cool feeling to do it at an event like this.

“The last five or six holes, literally everything went through my mind. I could shoot 59, I could win the tournament, Ripper could win from a team perspective, I could make a bunch of money, I could win and get into the spots for the U.S. Open and British Open. There was a stack of different things that I was like, all these are possibilities. I’m like, yeah, on top of a 59, as well.”

Herbert earns a cheque for US$1,875,000 in addition to the US$375,000 he receives for his share of the second place the Rippers Team finished in the team event.

Cameron Smith, who began the final day just one behind DeChambeau’s lead, struggled to a final round 71 to share 5^th place with Tyrell Hatton.

Leaderboard

Oh the relief – McIlroy realises a dream – image courtesy of the Masters Tournament 

In one of the greatest days of Masters history and arguably one of the greatest in the history of golf, Rory McIlroy put to bed any of the demons and intense scrutiny and pressure that has plagued him over the last 11 years since his last major title with a playoff victory over Justin Rose.

McIlroy becomes the 6^th male player in the history of the game to win the career Grand Slam, joining Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods as golfers to have won all four of the game’s major titles.

McIlroy took a two-shot lead over De Chambeau into day four, but by the second hole the lead had gone with a double bogey at the first and a par at the second, allowing De Chambeau to take the lead.

McIlroy’s round was littered with brilliance and mistakes, his costly start overcome almost immediately by birdies at the 3^rd and 4^th holes to regain the lead by three after bogeys by De Chambeau at those same holes.

Birdies at the 9^th and 10^th had him ahead by four but while DeChambeau would begin to drop away challenges came from Justin Rose and Ludvig Alberg. After a messy run through holes 13 and 14, where he dropped 3 shots to briefly lose the outright lead, it would be two outstanding iron shots to the 15^th and 17^th that kept the dream alive for McIlroy.

After his drive at the 15^th finished a little further left than ideal, his curving 7iron to 5 feet set up an eagle chance. Although unable to convert, he would par the 16^th before a superb 9 iron at the 17^th set up a birdie and appeared to open the door to victory.

Then came a final bogey at the last after missing the green from the middle of the fairway with a gap wedge but he would then hit his approach at the first extra hole against Rose to just over 2 feet and he would make after Rose missed his 12 footer from behind the hole.

“It feels incredible,” said McIlory in the presentation ceremony. “This is my 17th time here, and I started to wonder if it would ever be my time. I think the last 10 years coming here with the burden of the Grand Slam on my shoulders and trying to achieve that, yeah, I’m sort of wondering what we’re all going to talk about going into next year’s Masters.

“But I’m just absolutely honoured and thrilled and just so proud to be able to call myself a Masters champion.

“I was really nervous going out. It was almost as if the double bogey at the 1st calmed my nerves a little bit and sort of got me into it in a funny way.

“I just think all week how I responded to setbacks, I think that’s what I’ll take from this week. Couldn’t be more proud I myself for that and being able to back bounce when I needed to.”

McIlroy’s reaction after the winning putt dropped told the story of the immense pressure and at times unnecessary criticism he has worn since his last major victory at the PGA Championship in 2014.

There are a lot of Monday morning quarterbacks singing his praises today, many of those prepared to knock him for his inability to get across the line but they have conveniently forgotten the many great titles aside from majors in the meantime that McIlory has won and his amazing success on the PGA Tour where he is second only to Tiger Woods in career money.

This victory could well open the floodgates for McIlroy, who has clearly felt the pressure of winning the Masters and completing the Grand Slam. With that burden relieved, it could well make his free-wheeling game even more so, and surely, another major title in 2025 is well within his reach. Imagine the reception if one of those was to come at the Open Championship at Royal Portrush in his homeland of Northern Ireland in July.

Justin Rose was also chasing a first Green Jacket and was outstanding in his comeback from a seven-shot opening deficit. Rose’s ten birdie round of 66 included a 30 footer across the green at the last to get within one, and when McIlroy then bogeyed the last, it was off to the playoff.

“Today was an unbelievable round of golf, said Rose. “This weekend, in fact, if I look back at yesterday, played unbelievable golf yesterday and just putter went stone cold on me, and then today just really began to feel that confidence come back with the putter, which is unbelievable.

“10 birdies on a golf course I thought was playing quite tricky, greens were firm and crusty, but with that came a few mistakes here and there.

“But listen, to make the putt on 18, the one you dream about as a kid, to obviously give myself an opportunity and a chance was an unbelievable feeling. Obviously I’ve been in this position before, 2017. It’s definitely tough, but I bounced back pretty well from that, too. Went on to be World No. 1 after that so I used it to my advantage.

“Last two majors I’ve played I’ve come up in second place, but it’s exactly what I’m trying to do with my career at this stage, and it’s more evidence that I’m doing some really good work.”

Jason Day threatened to get in the mix on occasions during the final day reaching 2 under for the day and 7 under for the tournament  through nine holes. Bogeys at his final two holes however, would cost him a place in the top ten, eventually finishing tied for 8^th.

It was however, Day’s best finish in a major since finishing runner-up at the 20023 Open Championship and there were plenty of signs that his game is very close to where it needs to be.

“I’m pretty gutted right now,” said Day. “It’s annoying to give myself the opportunities out there and not be able to take them. I mean, it’s a step in the right direction. That’s all I can say. It’s hard to walk off the golf course and go straight into an interview even though — I’m pretty headless right now.

“I understand. It is what it is. We should be able to be professional enough to hold our — at least keep our cool. It’s just really hard when you’ve just walked off the golf course, and you’re pretty furious with how you played, especially at the end.

“Like I said before, it’s like when I sit down and digest it all, I think it’s a good positive step in the right direction. Just a few minor tweaks here and there and a few more putts go in, it might be a different story this week.

“I’ve got to just take the positives when I sit down and think about how the week went.”

Leaderboard 

Jason Day in action today – image the Masters Tournament.

 

Jason Day – during day two – image courtesy of Augusta National

Jason Day’s second consecutive round of 70 has him in a share of 9^th place and four off the lead held by Justin Rose at the completion of 36 holes at the Masters Tournament.

Day progressed nicely through the opening nine holes to be 3 under for the day and 5 under for the tournament and although he continued to make pars through the back nine he was unable to convert several opportunities before a pulled drive at the last led to a bogey.

Day was frustrated at the number of opportunities he missed and suggested he would work on that after his round today.

“I feel like I’ve been very patient with myself out there,” said Day. “Yeah, I just need some putts to go in.

“I think overall I’m hitting really good putts. I’m just going to kind of work on that this afternoon.

“This golf course, it can frustrate you. It’s a funny golf course because where they put the pin locations, if you’re leaving yourself 30 to 35 feet, very rarely do you hit it very close. You’re always leaving yourself two, three, four-footers, and that can be very frustrating because you’re going to go through your process again and try and hole the putt, and that’s why you feel mentally fatigued getting off the golf course at the end of the day, just where they place the pin locations.

“But when you’re missing putts and giving yourself opportunities, it is what it is. I feel like the stats will soon kind of turn for me, and hopefully it’s this weekend.

“I feel like I’m playing very nicely. I just don’t get — we’ve got 36 holes left, so there’s a lot of golf to be played. If I can get myself rolling the way that I feel like I can, then I feel like I can get myself into contention.”

Min Woo Lee bounced back from a horror double bogey at the first to be 1 under through 15 holes and although a bogey at the last hurt, his round of 72 has him in a share of 22^nd and seven shots from the lead.

Cameron Smith and Adam Scott both missed the cut, Smith’s perhaps more of a surprise, given his recent record at Augusta National. A round of 78 left him three shots from the cut line.

Scott improved significantly on his opening round 77 for an even par 72 but will miss the cut for the first time since 2009.

Cam Davis stumbled to a second round of 79 to miss the weekend by seven shots and for the first time in three appearances in the event.

The leader Rose was out early and added a round of 71 to move to 8 under and now sits atop the leaderboard and one ahead of Bryson De Chambeau with Rory McIlroy and Corey Conners another shot back.

McIlroy bounced back from the disappointment of two late double bogeys on Thursday and finds himself very much in contention for what would be the completion of his own career Grand Slam.

Leaderboard

 

 

Jason Day in action on day one – image courtesy of  The Masters Tournament

The five Australians at this year’s Masters have experienced mixed results during round one at Augusta National Jason Day, Cam Smith and Min Woo Lee, making encouraging starts to be under par on a day where scoring apart from the effort of the leader Justin Rose appeared difficult.

Day is at 2 under par and in a share of the place, although five shots off Rose’s lead and despite an afternoon tee time on day two he is well enough placed to move into contention heading into the weekend.

“Today it was good,” said Day pleased with his effort. “I had a really good strategy out there. I think I didn’t get myself out of position too bad, and then when I did get myself out of position, I had a relatively easy up-and-down. Unfortunately, I just missed a few too many opportunities for birdies.

“But sitting at 2-under right now in fifth place (he finished in 7^th place), I’m pretty happy with it.”

“The funny thing about Augusta is it’s very, very easy to psych yourself out, depending on how the course is. You know that the progression of play from day-to-day gradually usually gets harder.”

“I feel like I’m definitely coming in under the radar. I’m not to the point of how Scottie has been playing, how Rory has been playing, some of the other guys. I feel very just comfortable with where my game is at right now. I’ve just got to do some work on the greens. Hopefully some more putts drop.”

Min Woo Lee was out early and finished with a round of 71 to be sharing 11^th place and after an opening bogey where he drove it in the trees, was long with his second and failed to save par when narrowly missing a ten-footer, he added two birdies.

“It’s a tough golf course today,” said Lee after his round. “It was a tough golf course. Yeah, very happy with 1-under. Obviously could have had a couple more, but again, tricky pins, and I played very solid. So that’s a plus.”

As Australia’s number one ranked male golfer, Lee is delighted to have achieved that mantle, but he knows there is a lot more to success than that.

“Yeah, no, one day I dreamt of that, so I’m here now. It is a very cool feeling. I still feel like a kid. I always say that, but I still feel like a kid and I look up to Jason and Scotty up there in the rankings.

“So yeah, it’s quite nice I guess to see that ranking, but we’re looking further than that.

“I mean, it’s good. It’s great. I’ve been trying to get to World No. 1. It’s still a quest. Just want to keep playing well and putting myself in contention.”

In this event last year Lee was restricted by a cold and recovering from a broken finger but was asked where he feels he is at compared to this time last year, especially given his recent PGA Tour event breakthrough.

“I had a lot of confidence, obviously, coming into this week, but then last year I had no expectations because I had a broken finger so I was kind of just go out there and play.

“I think I was like 4-over through 7 and I was like, yep, that’s pretty much a broken finger and a cold. But I managed to actually play really good after that and come 22nd.

“Yeah, I think in a way, very similar. I felt really good in different ways. But yeah, I was very cautious when I was in the gym last week.”

Cam Smith’s record at Augusta National is superb but he arrived off the back of an indifferent season to date so his start sets him up well for the next few days.

“It’s been a bit scrappy with the irons, said the former world number 2. “The driver felt all right. Just couldn’t quite see the shots out there and couldn’t quite commit.

“It was a really good scramble. I think I hit a couple of greens on the front nine and maybe three or four on the back. There was still plenty of good in there. The wedges felt great. The putter felt great. Even the driver felt great.

“Like I said, I was in some good spots and didn’t really make the most of it.

“I haven’t left myself too much work. For how I felt out there, it felt like it was going to be a bit of a long day. All in all, pretty pleased with the score. If I’m going to win this thing, I definitely need to do better than that. Golf is such a weird game.

“I feel like my last round last week at Doral was probably the best I’ve hit it in a long time, and coming out here today is probably the worst I’ve hit it in a long time.

“It’s just such a weird game sometimes. I felt really good at the start of the week, just a little bit of cleanup on the range, and we’ll be good.”

Cam Davis (74) and Adam Scott (77) have work to do if they are to be around for the weekend, the cut appearing at this stage as if it will be around 4 over or perhaps even 5 if the expected stronger winds arrive on day two.

Justin Rose is the talk of day one, however. The 44-year-old former US Open champion and twice a runner-up in this particular event took control of day one with six birdies in his first 10 holes and added two more before a bogey at the last after driving it into the trees. He leads by three over Corey Connors, Scottie Scheffler and Ludvig Aberg.

For a record fifth time, Rose holds at least a share of the first-round lead at the Masters, having done that in 2004, 2007, 2008 and 2021. He previously shared the record with Jack Nicklaus.

“Yeah, obviously delighted to get off to such a great start, and that start definitely, it happened out of the gates. So for the first few holes everything was going exactly where I was looking.

And certainly the first hole, which is definitely one of the trickier holes on the golf course, to knock in a nice 25-footer down the hill right-to-left, exactly what you need to settle yourself into the Masters, and then 2 and 3 are birdie opportunities.

“So to be 3-under through 3 kind of really got me on the front foot and felt like I was playing great golf. When I did find myself into in a little bit of trouble, especially early, No. 5, holed a great putt for par. And middle of the back nine I felt like there were a couple moments where the momentum could have changed. But really good up-and-downs on 14 and 15 to keep the round really hot.

“Obviously the only blemish on 18, but there’s no point dwelling on that. “It was a really good day’s golf on a golf course that was a stern test. I think if you look at the overall leaderboard, not many low scores out there. You had to hit a lot of quality shots, and delighted the way I played.”

Leaderboard