Maverick Antcliff – image courtesy of Asian Tour 

Queensland’s Maverick Antcliff is just one shot off the halfway lead at the International Series Thailand event at the Thai Country Club in Bangkok.

Antcliff added a second-round 64 to his opening 63 on the low-scoring layout to be just one behind American Peter Uihlein in the US$2 million event.

“The course is not overly long and you’re going to have a lot of opportunities,” said the Australian, who mentioned his name is Maverick, “Coz dad liked Top Gun”.

“Obviously the course is limited to only two par fives, but if you can just hit good putts, you should probably have a low score.”

Coming off the back of a missed cut in last week’s Asian Tour event at Black Mountain, Antcliff has been bogey-free as he looks to improve on his current 27^th place on the 2024 Asian Tour Order of Merit.

31 year old Antcliff has yet to win an Asian Tour event although several years ago he won three events on the China Tour before earning DP World Tour status in 2020.

Despite finishing 3^rd in the Irish Open and runner-up in the Canary Islands, Antcliff eventually lost his status in Europe but he is enjoying a good season in Asian Tour events in 2024 including a 4^th place finish in Oman earlier in the year.

A former Hills International College (Jimboomba) and Augusta State attendee, Antcliff gained Asian Tour status earlier this year via the Q School.

Fellow first round leader, Jed Morgan, is the next best of the Australians in a share of 9^th place and five shots form the lead.

Leaderboard

 

David Bransdon – file photo

Victorian David Bransdon’s best finish of his rookie PGA Tour Champions season at this week’s Dominion Energy Classic in Richmond Virginia could not have come at a better time.

His 4^th top ten of the season and the resultant US$165,000 will see the 50 year old jump 21 places to 35^th in the Charles Schwab standings and ensure he makes it to the penultimate event of the season this week in Arkansas.

Beginning the week in 56^th place and with only the leading 54 advancing to this coming week’s event, Bransdon needed a solid performance. He got not only that but his best of the season to ensure his 2024 season will be extended. If he can retain a place inside the top 36 by next Sunday he will have made it to the Tour Championship in early November.

Bransdon was delighted with his effort given what another good week would mean to him in terms of retaining his full status on the Champions Tour.

The 50 year old was one of four Australians to earn their PGA Tour Champions cards via the Tour School last December and talked about the camaraderie involved.

“It’s awesome because we’ve got a bit of a bond going because from Q-School with all four of us getting through. It’s huge and it means a lot. It hasn’t sunk in yet, but yeah, like I said, there’s still some work to do, but I’m pretty damn happy with myself right now.

“I can plan that now. I didn’t have a flight booked, didn’t have a hotel booked. I didn’t want to forward think, so I left everything — didn’t book a thing. I looked once about four days ago for flights, but that was it. I didn’t book anything. As I said yesterday, I’ve wanted to let it, whatever happened, happened. If I had to change stuff, more than happy to do it. Now I get to do it for a really good reason.”

“I guess the 36 was a goal,” added Bransdon when asked what his goal had been after earning the right to play on the PGA Tour Champions.

“Then once I started to play, I wanted to win. Then towards the end of the season, the last few weeks my game was sort of not where I wanted it to be. My family had gone home and I was on my own in hotel rooms and it gets pretty lonely.

“I had that in Covid in ’21 when I was stuck in Japan for five-and-a-half months without my family. I was on a bad run then. I was starting to be on a bad run then, but I said to myself, c’mon, let’s just work through it. I did and I’ve exceeded what I thought I could do this week.

“I don’t want to put a damper on it, but if I had shot 75 today, I’d have been on a flight home to Australia in the next two days. It was a pretty important round of golf today and I was pretty proud of myself to stay out of my own way and let it happen. It was one of my better rounds this year, that’s for sure.”

Also making it to the event in Little Rock this week by being inside the top 54 in the standings are Steve Alker, Richard Green, Greg Chalmers, Mark Hensby, Stuart Appleby, Rod Pampling, Steve Allan, Cameron Percy and Michael Wright.

This week’s results 

Charles Schwab Cup 

Elvis Smylie – image Australian Golf Media

Elvis Smylie has promised for two years or so now to win an event on the PGA Tour of Australasia and today he confirmed his highly regarded golf game and potential with a playoff victory over South Australian Jak Carter in the West Australian Open at the Mandurah Golf Club south of Perth.

Smylie, a former Australian Boys Champion and already a golfer with six top-three finishes to his credit on the PGA Tour of Australasia, had yet to win in his professional career but a breakthrough was fast approaching and a 3^rd place finish last week when leading into the final round in Kalgoorlie suggested his best form was approaching and so it would prove.

In the most horrendous conditions, Smylie outlasted Carter and the luckless West Australian and former winner, Curtis Luck, holing from two feet for birdie at the first extra hole of a playoff against Carter to win the first of what many believe will be the first of many victories in his professional career.

Smylie added to a great Sunday for Perth-based coach Ritchie Smith who had earlier seen one of his other charges, Hannah Green, win her 6^th LPGA Tour title with a narrow in Korea.

Smylie joined Smith a year or so ago after much of his formative amateur and professional career under the guidance of highly respected Brisbane coach Ian Triggs.

Smylie, a tall left-hander from the Gold Coast, now takes the lead in the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit.

Carter had forced the playoff with a five-foot birdie putt at the 72^nd hole in wet and blustery conditions but then found the trees in the playoff and was unable to save par although, in the end, it was of little consequence after Smylie had hit a magnificent approach next to the hole.

Perth’s Curtis Luck, a former winner and runner-up in this event, finished 3^rd and just one shot from the playoff but he will rue being made to putt through a sodden green from long range at the 16^th hole, a task made all the more difficult by the need to clear the line of surface water before he putted.

Luck was left with an impossible task to determine the strength needed for the putt and eventually three-putted, the costly misfortune proving crucial in his chances of winning the event for the second occasion having won it in 2016 in a year in which he became the US Amateur and Asia Pacific Amateur Champion.

For 22 year old Smylie however the win appears to open the door for his already impressive professional career to blossom further.

The PGA Tour of Australasia now moves to South Australia for the first Webex event of the season ahead of the Queensland PGA Championship and the NSW Open.

Results   

Zachary Maxwell – image Australian Golf Media

The time-honoured West Australian Open has reached the halfway stage of its 2024 edition at the Mandurah Golf Club south of Perth, and Queenslander Zachary Maxwell has edged clear of the field in the A$175,000 event.

The Brisbane golfer, the son of PGA Professional Brett Maxwell, added a second round of 66 to his opening 63 to lead by one over South Australian Jak Carter and two over Queensland’s Elvis Smylie.

Maxwell’s best finish in a PGA Tour of Australasia event to date was when 30^th at the PNG Open in September and is currently ranked outside the top 3000 in the world but his form in the opening two rounds suggested a game significantly better than his ranking.

Maxwell played his final nine on Thursday in 28 and today, beginning his round at the 1^st hole be was 5 under through 4 holes before completing an outward nine of 31 to play his previous 18 holes in 59.

Two late bogeys slowed what might otherwise have been a phenomenal opening 36 holes but he has the lead and heads into the weekend with the possibility of his best finish by far at this level.

Carter returned from a start at the Alfred Dunhill Links at St Andrews two weeks ago where he failed to make the cut and finished at the back end of the field there to play solidly at last week’s WAPGA Championship and followed his opening round of 62 yesterday with 68 today to be back in the sort of form which saw him play so well throughout last season on the PGA Tour of Australasia.

Smylie played well in Kalgoorlie last week and shared the lead through 54 holes before finishing 3^rd . The talented young Queenslander has numerous top 3 finishes to his name on the PGA Tour of Australasia but the breakthrough win has proved elusive although this week may well change that.

Previous winner, Curtis Luck is in a group at 10 under and just three from the lead, the 2016 US Amateur and Asia Pacific Amateur Champion seemingly finding form after injury had curtailed his progress in the professional ranks.

Leaderboard 

Jack Buchanan – image Australian Golf Media 

The opening event of the PGA Tour of Australasia’s summer of golf, the WAPGA Championship was completed over the Graham Marsh designed Kalgoorlie Golf Course in Western Australia this weekend with 22 year old South Australian, Jack Buchanan, edging out West Australian Jordan Doull at the second extra hole of a playoff.

Both players are in their first year as professional golfers, and Buchanan’s win so early in his career assures him of status on the PGA Tour of Australasia for two years and provides a nice monetary boost, with the winner’s A$45,000 not going astray either.

Buchanan who played for Australia in the 2023 Eisenhower Trophy turned professional last November and has played events on the PGA Tour of Australasia and the Tartan Tour in Scotland since, recording two top three finishes in Scotland this year.

Like all professional golfers in the early stages of their career, Buchanan now has the surety of somewhere to play in the foreseeable future and access to events he might not otherwise have been able to.

Doull has little playing experience in 72 hole professional events but despite losing the playoff the confidence earned from such a good showing will be a significant benefit for the 25 year old in the months ahead.

Doull, from the MT Lawley Golf Club in Perth, has played well in pro-am events in his home state this year but has shown this week that his game is not far short of where it needs to be to potentially win in the events coming up on the PGA Tour of Australasia.

Queensland’s Elvis Smylie finished 3^rd, just one shot from the playoff, perhaps still ruinjg a double bogey at his final hole on Saturday.

The PGA Tour of Australasia now moves to the Mandurah Country Club south of Perth for this week’s WA Open.

RESULTS