Adam Scott file photo – JGTO
Adam Scott will head to Australia this week with his game in good shape ahead of an attempt to win a third Australian PGA Championship and a second Australian Open later this month and in early December.
Scott’s share of 5th place behind the Colombian Camilo Villegas at this week’s Butterfield Bermuda Championship in Southampton in Bermuda suggests he is ready to tackle the PGA Tour of Australasia and DP World Tour events in Brisbane and Sydney.
Scott won his two previous Australian PGA Championships at RACV Royal Pines on the Gold Coast and his one Australian Open to date at the NSW Golf Club in 2009 and he was keen to play this week to have his game in shape to play in his homeland.
“Well, it was really one of the reasons for coming to play was to kind of make sure I’m not rusty when I play at home,” said Scott after his final round today.
“I want to play well down there. I want to play well every week, but if I didn’t play great this week, I would have known what to do when I got there and not just guessing. But I really like where things are at.
“There’s a lot of good stuff to take out of my game this week and if I play in similar style down there, hopefully I can end up on top.”
Scott and the golfing world generally rejoiced in the return to the winner’s circle of Villegas, a player who has been good enough to win five PGA Tour events including the Tour and BMW Championships in 2008, and, who reached as high as number 7 in the world ranking.
Scott was asked today about some assistance he had given Villegas with his putting.
“Yeah, we kind of did a little scouting trip to Quail Hollow after the TOUR Championship last year before the Presidents Cup (where Villegas was an assistant captain) and there you get to really hang with the guys with very little commitment.
“Camilo and I were talking about his golf and putting and I kind of — I think I introduced him to the LAB putter at that point. I at least gave him the contact of Sam at LAB. He’s been putting great with it.
“He’s obviously very comfortable. In the last couple weeks has been incredible, so I’m stoked for Camilo. He’s such a positive guy. To see him playing well again is nice for an old mate.
Not only did Villegas win this week for the first time since 2014 but he last week finished runner-up after missing seven of his previous nine cuts suggesting a return to his glory days, made even more significant after the devastating loss of his young daughter Mia at the age of 2 to brain cancer.
“Tough to put in words right now, but wow, what a ride, man,” said an emotional Villegas.
“You know what, I love this game. This game has given me so many great things, but in the process it kicks your butt. Life has given me so many great things and in the process it kicks my butt, too. My little one up there watching.
“The support has been unbelievable, I mean, at every angle. The amount of text messages I got last week, I must have got 500 text messages, I didn’t even win the golf tournament. I felt the energy.
“You know what, it kept building up. Everybody here on the island was great, they were just rooting me on. Got to believe in energy, man. Like I said, I’ve got my little one up there watching it, smiling. She’s where she needs to be after a long fight. To everybody, just I want to say thanks, it’s been a fun week.”
Villegas was quick to thank Adam Scott for some assistance he had given him with his putting.
“Yeah, I guess I’ve got to thank Adam in a way because you’re right, we did a little trip to Quail Hollow before the Presidents Cup and I was watching Adam putt with a broom. He kept rolling it so good and he kept telling me how confident he was feeling.
“At one point I’m like, OK, man, let me try it. I started trying the broom, which I didn’t think I
was going to go to the broom, but we started talking about the technology behind the putter.
“I have always been a Scotty Cameron guy, which I love, respect and thank him for all the
support over the years, but then came this LAB putter and it felt good. It felt good right away.
I tried different versions of it, different lengths, different grips, different shaft leans on it and
then finally I came with one that feels very comfortable.”
SCORES
David Micheluzzi picks up where he left off with Vic PGA victory
David Micheluzzi – photo Australian Golf Media
Victorian David Micheluzzi has essentially picked up where he left off seven months ago with a come-from-behind win at the Vic PGA Championship at Moonah Links on the Mornington Peninsula.
Micheluzzi was the leading player on last season’s PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit and returned to this tour two weeks ago after a lengthy break to finish runner-up in the Queensland Open after two wins and two runner-up finishes in the first few months of 2023 in the second half of the 2022 / 2024 PGA Tour of Australasian Order of Merit.
By topping the Australasian Tour’s Order of Merit last season, Micheluzzi earned full membership of the DP World Tour season beginning on November 23rd at this week’s Australian PGA Championship and he has shown in his first two events of the new Australasian season that he may well be a force to be reckoned with at the Australian PGA and Open Championships in the next two weeks.
His win today came after starting the final round six shots behind the immensely talented New Zealander Kamura Kobori who only turned professional two weeks ago after winning the 2023 Australian Amateur Championship, the 2023 Western Amateur (US) and leading the individuals at the World Amateur Teams Championship several weeks ago in Abuh Dhabi.
A double bogey at his second hole after taking three to extract himself from a greenside bunker gave little evidence as to what was to come for Micheluzzi who added seven birdies in his next twelve holes to move one clear of his fellow Victorian Ben Eccles and held that position over the closing few holes.
22-year-old Kobori felt the pinch today after a bogey at the first hole and as is so often the case with the sort of lead he enjoyed when ahead by six through 54 holes, such can disappear quickly as it is often a question of the leader not knowing whether to attack or defend the lead.
Kobori is however a significant talent who will learn from the experience and there will be many occasions in the future where the experience he gained today will assist him to many wins. Let’s not forget also he defeated a not-dissimilar field to win the New Zealand PGA Championship as a 17-year-old amateur.
For Micheluzzi however, he will move to 3rd on the 2023 /2024 PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit behind only today’s runner-up Ben Eccles and The Gippsland 6 winner Kerry Mountcastle.
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Minjee Lee poised at CME Group Tour Championship
Minjee Lee in action in round two – image Getty Images
Australia’s Minjee Lee is just one shot off the pace at the halfway stage of the US$7 million CME Group Tour Championship in Naples, Florida.
Lee added a second round of 67 to her opening 64 to trail only Alison Lee and Nasa Hataoka in the season-ending event, sharing 3rd place with Amy Yang and Ruoning Yin.
Lee has found a rich vein of form late in the season having won two events and been runner-up and 6th in four of her last five starts to be in 6th place in the race to the CME Globe entering this week’s event at the Tiburon Golf Club.
Lee has played the event limited to the leading 60 players on the season-long Race to the Globe on eight occasions for a best of 5th two years ago, but given the manner in which she is playing currently and the position she has created over the opening two days a breakthrough win in the lucrative event is a strong possibility.
“My putting, it kind of — wasn’t as hot, say, the first half of the year,” said Lee after her round.
“So I feel like I worked really hard in that area of my game, so to see it all kind of coming together at Kroger and Korea and even here, I’m feeling like — it feels good because you get rewarded for how much effort you but you have put into that area.”
It is a significant event on the LPGA Tour schedule and Lee is keen to improve on her previous showings.
“It’s pretty great to be obviously a part of the LPGA and be a part of a tournament that Terry has elevated to such great heights.
“So, you know, to win it would be such a great honour. Obviously just winning on the LPGA is really hard, so it’s always special and always good if you’re able to be at the top of the leaderboard come the last day.
“So, yeah, no, hopefully it’s a good weekend and we get to be in that position come the end of the day on Sunday.”
Other Australians in the field are Grace Kim 16th, Hannah Green 33rd, Sarah Kemp 52nd and Stephanie Kyricaou 55th.
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Kazuma Kobori’s immediate impact as a professional
Kazuma Kobori – in action this week – image Australian Golf Media
New Zealand’s recently turned professional, Kazuma Kobori, has made yet another statement early in his career in the paid ranks by leading the Vic PGA at the halfway mark.
Kobori, from Rangiora near Christchurch, turned professional immediately after the Asia Pacific Amateur Championship two weeks ago and in his first outing at last week’s Queensland PGA Championship, he finished 9th.
Top six finishes at both the New Zealand Open and PGA Championships earlier in the year highlighted the 22-year-old’s readiness for life as a professional followed by topping the PGA Tour of Australasia Q School but he remained amateur and in recent weeks was the leading individual at the World Amateur Teams Championship (Eisenhower Trophy).
Kobori, the current Australian Amateur Champion, has already won a professional event on the PGA Tour of Australasia when successful as a 17-year-old at the New Zealand PGA Championship and his future already looks assured.
Today at Moonah Links on the Mornington PeninsulaKobori added a second consecutive round of 67 to open up a three-shot lead over Victorian-based Queenslander and tournament invite, James Gibellini and former DP World Tour player Maverick Antcliff of Queensland.
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Sam Jones and Haydn Barron earn DP World Tour cards
Haydn Barron – file photo Australian Golf Media
New Zealand’s Sam Jones and West Australian Haydn Barron have secured the right to play the DP World Tour next season by finishing inside the top 25 and ties following the completion of 108 holes in Tarragona, Spain.
In all 33 players finished inside the required mark.
27-year-old Jones, from Taranaki in New Zealand’s North Island, played collegiate golf in the US but has won on New Zealand’s Charles Tour as an amateur and this year represented New Zealand at the World Amateur Teams Championship (Eisenhower Trophy).
Jones finished in a very impressive 7th place this week while Barron tied for 10th place in the exhaustive qualifying process.
Jones’ performance was made even more meritorious as he went through all three stages of qualifying to claim his DP World Tour card.
Barron, who finished 4th at last year’s Australian Open in Melbourne and earned the right to play the Open Championship this year, gave an indication his game was in good shape when he finished runner-up at the recent West Australian PGA Championship in Kalgoorlie.
When asked how he felt after securing his card Barron would say; “I don’t know really. It has been a stressful week. I just tried to hang in there and make pars but I am just so happy. It’s a dream to play the DP World Tour and am just speechless.”
West Australians Hayden Hopewell and Connor McKinney made the 72-hole cut but finished outside the required mark and will earn conditional status.
SCORES
RSM Classic offers last chance saloon for Australians
Harrison Endycott – seemingly assured of conditional status but a big week would help – file photo Golf NSW
The final event of the 2022 / 2023 PGA Tour season begins on Thursday when the RSM Classic on St Simons Island in Georgia gets underway.
The event provides one last chance for those on the bubble as far as their status for next season is concerned to either maintain or improve their standing in their quest for starts on the PGA Tour in the new season.
Amongst the field this week are four Australians, Aaron Baddeley, Harrison Endycott, Cameron Percy and Greg Chalmers with only Baddeley assured of retaining full status in 2024.
The leading 125 on the season-long FedEx Cup points standing at the completion of this event gives players access to all Full-Field Events and THE PLAYERS Championship next season. Nos. 126-150 will earn conditional status, unless otherwise exempt.
Baddeley at 107 appears safe but for Endycott, while safe for conditional status, he needs a big week if he is to regain the full status he earned via the Korn Ferry Tour in 2022.
Percy at 159 needs a very good week to sneak back inside the top 50 and be assured of at least conditional status while Chalmers, at 219, will continue to rely on his Past Champions status to gain at least a few starts next season.
FedEx Cup Standings
Four Australasians in season ending DP World Tour Championship
The 2023 DP World Tour’s schedule comes to an end this week when the season’s finale, the DP World Tour Championship, is played at the Jumeira Estates in Dubai.
The leading fifty players on this year’s Race to Dubai, following last week’s Nedbank Challenge in South Africa, are eligible to play the event in which three-time winner Jon Rahm will start as the favourite along with two-time champion Rory McIlroy and Viktor Hovland.
Four Australasians have played their way into the field headed by New Zealand’s Ryan Fox followed by Australians Min Woo Lee and Lucas Herbert and New Zealand’s Daniel Hillier.
Fox will play the event for the 4th occasion, Lee and Herbert their third while Hillier is on debut after his great win at the British Masters this year has been the catalyst for his inclusion.
The best any of the Australasians in this week’s field have done in this event was when Lee finished 12th last year.
The winner this week takes home a US$3.3 million first-place cheque in addition to his share of a bonus pool for the final placings in the season-long Race to Dubai.
Steve Alker’s amazing run continues in Phoenix
Steve Alker – photo Getty Images
Steve Alker’s 7th PGA Tour Champions victory in Phoenix this past weekend at the Charles Schwab Cup Championship to finish the 2023 season as the runner-up in the season-long Charles Schwab Cup, further highlights what a remarkable 27 months it has been for the 52-year-old New Zealander since first joining the tour for the over fifties in August of 2021.
Nobody, not even Alker himself I would think, could have imagined the level of success he has reached in such a short time and, in many cases, against and ahead of players who were considerably more credentialed before they too embarked on a career amongst the over fifties.
Alker began the final round of the final Charles Schwab Cup event of the season with a four-shot lead but as is so often the case that sort of lead can quickly disappear despite the manner in which he had been playing over the first 54 holes.
He would though hold off strong challenges from Stephen Ames and Ernie Els to win by one to claim the US$528,000 first prize and the US$500,000 bonus for finishing runner-up in the season long series.
“You know, just trying to get my swing together a little bit, it wasn’t quite there today,” said Alker after the win when asked about a birdie at the 9th to settle things down after a struggling start to his final round. “But the putt was huge and just kind of settled me down I hit a great tee shot on 10 and kind of felt good after that. I made it exciting here at 18, but that wasn’t the plan, I tell you.”
“Another multiple-win season,” said Alker when asked if he could have imagined his success when embarking on this journey.
“I didn’t get it done this year. but Stricker had an amazing year, he was phenomenal, so we were chasing him all year. But to get second after going first last year, that means a lot just to keep the consistency. And I get a couple of wins, it’s nice. The guys are just getting better out here and just pushing harder, so you’ve just got to try a little bit better every year.”
The Charles Schwab Cup had already been claimed even before last week’s first shot was hit in anger with Steve Stricker so far in front of his rivals that even the forced withdrawal due to an illness to his father could not prevent him from claiming the trophy.
For Alker however, it followed a 2022 season in which he had won the Charles Schwab Cup and finished 3rd behind Padraig Harrington in the 2022 version of this week’s event.
The most stunning aspect of Alker’s success on the PGA Tour Champions is the turnaround of what had been a relatively mediocre regular tour career into one of the most successful in the early stages of a PGA Tour Champions career.
In August of 2021 Alker, like so many other hopefuls turning the age of 50, threw his hat in the ring at the Boeing Classic in Washington State in the hope of pre-qualifying for the event. He managed to do that by earning one of the only four spots available that week.
Not only did he secure a start he took full advantage by finishing 7th behind Rod Pampling and guaranteed himself a start the following week. In a total of ten starts in the remainder of the 2021 season, Alker recorded nine top tens including a win and the rest as they say is history.
Alker now owns 7 PGA Tour Champions titles, and has accrued US$7.3 million in earnings in just 27 months and, although some US$27 million behind the all-time PGA Tour Champions money leader, Bernhard Langer, given Alker has played just 53 events compared to the 340 by the German golfer he is making considerable headway on the now 66-year-old Langer.
But, it is not only the number of wins for Alker, it has been his amazing consistency recording 31 top-five finishes in his 53 starts.
Alker turned professional in 1995 and won a small tournament in the Pacific Islands before winning the Queensland Open late that year. This writer happened to be the on-course commentator for the ABC’s coverage of that event at Windaroo Lakes south of Brisbane and so impressed was I with the immaculately tidy game of the then 24-year-old I figured a highly successful career lay ahead.
Alker has admittedly been successful but he struggled to reach the elite level. After the then almost obligatory couple of years in Europe he headed to North America where he played in Canada and on the then Buy.Com Tour before graduating to the PGA Tour in 2003.
Unable to retain his playing privileges Alker returned to the Nationwide Tour (name change in 2003) before heading back to Europe in 2007 and returning to the USA in 2010 for good after a win at the co-sanctioned NZPGA Championship in Christchurch. He regained his PGA Tour playing rights for 2014 but again it was short-lived and he played out his regular tour career on the Web.Com and Korn Ferry Tour.
By playing competitively until he turned 50 in August of 2021 he was tournament sharp when the opportunity arose to qualify for a PGA Tour Champions event and he has subsequently become one of the dominant figures since his arrival along with the likes of Bernhard Langer, Padraig Harrington, and Steve Stricker.
Alker possesses a very simple but technically sound and effective golf swing in which very little that can’t be fixed in a hurry can go wrong and this along with his fitness and health has worked wonders for him at this level.
It is hard to imagine that this level of success can not continue for several more years to come for the affable now Arizona-based man from Hamilton in New Zealand’s Waikato province.
Charles Schwab final standings
Adam Scott ready for Australian campaign after 5th place in Bermuda
Adam Scott file photo – JGTO
Adam Scott will head to Australia this week with his game in good shape ahead of an attempt to win a third Australian PGA Championship and a second Australian Open later this month and in early December.
Scott’s share of 5th place behind the Colombian Camilo Villegas at this week’s Butterfield Bermuda Championship in Southampton in Bermuda suggests he is ready to tackle the PGA Tour of Australasia and DP World Tour events in Brisbane and Sydney.
Scott won his two previous Australian PGA Championships at RACV Royal Pines on the Gold Coast and his one Australian Open to date at the NSW Golf Club in 2009 and he was keen to play this week to have his game in shape to play in his homeland.
“Well, it was really one of the reasons for coming to play was to kind of make sure I’m not rusty when I play at home,” said Scott after his final round today.
“I want to play well down there. I want to play well every week, but if I didn’t play great this week, I would have known what to do when I got there and not just guessing. But I really like where things are at.
“There’s a lot of good stuff to take out of my game this week and if I play in similar style down there, hopefully I can end up on top.”
Scott and the golfing world generally rejoiced in the return to the winner’s circle of Villegas, a player who has been good enough to win five PGA Tour events including the Tour and BMW Championships in 2008, and, who reached as high as number 7 in the world ranking.
Scott was asked today about some assistance he had given Villegas with his putting.
“Yeah, we kind of did a little scouting trip to Quail Hollow after the TOUR Championship last year before the Presidents Cup (where Villegas was an assistant captain) and there you get to really hang with the guys with very little commitment.
“Camilo and I were talking about his golf and putting and I kind of — I think I introduced him to the LAB putter at that point. I at least gave him the contact of Sam at LAB. He’s been putting great with it.
“He’s obviously very comfortable. In the last couple weeks has been incredible, so I’m stoked for Camilo. He’s such a positive guy. To see him playing well again is nice for an old mate.
Not only did Villegas win this week for the first time since 2014 but he last week finished runner-up after missing seven of his previous nine cuts suggesting a return to his glory days, made even more significant after the devastating loss of his young daughter Mia at the age of 2 to brain cancer.
“Tough to put in words right now, but wow, what a ride, man,” said an emotional Villegas.
“You know what, I love this game. This game has given me so many great things, but in the process it kicks your butt. Life has given me so many great things and in the process it kicks my butt, too. My little one up there watching.
“The support has been unbelievable, I mean, at every angle. The amount of text messages I got last week, I must have got 500 text messages, I didn’t even win the golf tournament. I felt the energy.
“You know what, it kept building up. Everybody here on the island was great, they were just rooting me on. Got to believe in energy, man. Like I said, I’ve got my little one up there watching it, smiling. She’s where she needs to be after a long fight. To everybody, just I want to say thanks, it’s been a fun week.”
Villegas was quick to thank Adam Scott for some assistance he had given him with his putting.
“Yeah, I guess I’ve got to thank Adam in a way because you’re right, we did a little trip to Quail Hollow before the Presidents Cup and I was watching Adam putt with a broom. He kept rolling it so good and he kept telling me how confident he was feeling.
“At one point I’m like, OK, man, let me try it. I started trying the broom, which I didn’t think I
was going to go to the broom, but we started talking about the technology behind the putter.
“I have always been a Scotty Cameron guy, which I love, respect and thank him for all the
support over the years, but then came this LAB putter and it felt good. It felt good right away.
I tried different versions of it, different lengths, different grips, different shaft leans on it and
then finally I came with one that feels very comfortable.”
SCORES
Kerry Mountcastle adds to great New Zealand golfing weekend
Kerry Mountcastle – image Australian Golf Media
New Zealand’s Kerry Mountcastle, currently ranked 1931st in the world ranking, will make a significant dent in that ranking and ensure access to all the upcoming events on the PGA Tour of Australasia with victory today in the Gippsland Super Sixes event at the Warragul Country Club in Victoria.
Mountcastle, a former New Zealand Eisenhower Trophy representative and a two-time winner on the Jennian Homes Charles Tour, claimed his first Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia title with a victory over Queensland’s Jake McLeod after Mountcastle had defeated amateur Joseph Owen in the semi-final and McLeod accounted for South Australian Jak Carter to reach his encounter with the eventual winner.
Mountcastle had survived a lengthy playoff on Saturday evening just to get into the final 24 to compete in today’s six-hole head-to-head match-ups.
Mountcastle earns A$36,000 and moves to the top of the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia money list.
It would be the first of two New Zealand victories on Sunday, Ben Campbell winning in Hing Kong just a couple of hours later.
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Ben Campbell’s strong finish claims Hong Kong Open
Ben Campbell – image Paul Lakatos
In what is no doubt the most significant moment in the golfing career of New Zealander Ben Campbell, the 32 year old Queenstown based golfer holed a 15-foot putt at the final hole of the Hong Kong Open to defeat Australia’s Cam Smith and secure the US$360,000 first prize.
Always a considerable talent, Campbell has won only one tournament on a recognised tour since turning professional in 2012, that being at the New Zealand PGA Championship in 2018, but he has been plagued by injury and illness especially early in his career.
Today he produced a final round of 66 including birdies at his final two holes to edge out the prolific winner on the LIV Tour and the 2022 Open Champion Smith.
Campbell a former runner-up in both the New Zealand and Australian Amateur Championships, now moves to 4th on the Asian Tour Order of Merit for 2023.
Campbell had arrived on the final tee today tied with playing partners, Smith, and Thailand’s Phachara Khongwatmai.
Smith was forced to lay up and could only make par while Phachara three-putted for his bogey to finish tied for 3rd.
“It’s good to finally get the monkey off the back and yeah, sort of just battling away all day,” said Campbell referring to his first Asian Tour victory.
“Sort of didn’t get off to the greatest of starts and swing wasn’t feeling that great. Sort of went back to a few close losses and wrote a few notes down in my yardage book last night, and really used them on those last four or five holes.
“It was getting a bit tight in the swing and just from those past experiences managed to, I think, you know, put a couple of nice swings coming down the stretch which really helped.”
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