McIlroy – enjoys his third Dubai victory – photo Getty Images
Whatever way it is viewed, the final day of the 2023 Hero Dubai Desert Classic became a tournament promoter’s dream.
The two protagonists in a petty spat earlier in the week, Rory McIlroy and Patrick Reed, found themselves head to head against each other over the closing nine holes of the event, McIlroy finding it hard to contain his glee when holing a 14 foot sliding downhill left to right putt at the 72nd hole to take the title by one over Reed.
Reed had approached McIlroy, his caddie and his coach on the driving range on Tuesday to seemingly break some ice that had been developing essentially over Reed’s involvement with LIV Golf and McIlroy’s opposition to it and the pursuit of legal action by Reed’s legal team on McIlroy.
While McIlroy’s caddie shook Reed’s hand, McIlroy essentially snubbed Reed and, as he walked away, Reed threw a tee in McIlroy’s direction. It was perhaps more innocent than it was made out to be but clearly became the subject of a lot of media speculation and a source of tension throughout the week.
So to Monday, which had developed into the final day of the event due to weather disruptions earlier in the week.
Reed, playing in the second to last group, began the final round four shots behind McIlroy but through 13 holes he was 7 under for the round and had drawn level with the Northern Irishman. Both players dropped at shot over the closing holes but birdies at the 17th and 18th by McIlroy saw him move ahead of Reed who had drawn level again when he birdied the last.
McIlroy, who needed to make birdie or better at the 72nd hole to win and avoid a playoff, missed the fairway and, in fact, was lucky to not find the water along the right side of the fairway in the landing zone for a long drive. He was unable to get enough club on the awkward lie to allow him to seriously consider taking on the water short of the green and so layed up to 90 yards and then pitched to 14 feet.
Needing putt to win, McIlroy steeled himself and holed the snaking putt to take his third Dubai Desert Classic title.
McIlroy was doing his best to contain his emotions after the win but it was hard to ignore his clear satisfaction in getting across the line and his need to put the much discussed issues aside. It might be a bit much to suggest but it was to some extent a win by the non-LIV Golf fraternity over LIV.
“I think mentally today was probably one of the toughest rounds I’ve ever had to play because it would be really easy to let your emotions get in the way and I just had to really concentrate on focusing on myself. Forget who was up there on the leaderboard, and I did that really, really well.
“I really feel like I haven’t had my best all week but I just managed my game so well and played really smart. Even that second shot at the last there, you know, I was in two minds. I probably could have got to the green but seeing what happened yesterday and what happened last year, giving myself a wedge to try to get up-and-down to try to get the win.
“Just ecstatic that I gave myself an opportunity the first week back out and yeah again as I said I managed my game well. I definitely feel like there’s tons of room for improvement but it’s a great start to the year.
“I feel like I showed a lot of mental strength out there today, and again, something to really build on for the rest of the year.”
Reed is very much a polarizing figure but whatever your stand is on the rights and wrongs of the way he goes about his business that he was able to force McIlroy to birdie the last to win in such a dramatic week tells the story of an incredibly tough character.
Three LIV golfers finished inside the top ten. Reed, Ian Poulter(6th) and Henrik Stenson (8th) added fuel to the fire of an ongoing debate.
Australian Lucas Herbert, the winner of this event three years ago, produced a final round of 66 to finish alone in third position and two from the winner.
Herbert was playing his first event of 2023 after finishing 2022 with a top 10 at the Australian Open after a messy finish to his final round when contending for the title.
Herbert improves form 67th to 53rd in the world ranking.
“Yeah, it’s promising signs,” said Herbert. “It still feels like there’s some work to do and I can get better than what I produced this week. So that’s exciting. You know, to finish third here in this quality field or second or fourth or wherever it finishes, to do that in sort of quality field, I think it’s good signs ahead for 2023.
“I’m happy with that finish. I felt like we were probably almost playing for second going into the day. It’s pretty hard to spot Rory five shots and try and chase him down to win a tournament.”
SCORES
Dimi Papadatos two from lead in Singapore Classic
Papadatos, who gets a start in the DP World Tour event courtesy of performances on the PGA Tour of Australasia, is just two from the lead of Northern Ireland’s Tom McKibbin and Chinese amateur Wenyi Ding.
Several players are yet to finish round two after weather then darkness delays on Friday but Papadatos’ position is not expected to be impacted greatly when those players return top the course on Saturday morning.
Papadatos’ second round of 65 saw him soar up the leaderboard from his overnight 31st place and with this event being a DP World Tour event, the opportunity exists for the 31 year old to gain status in Europe should he go on to win.
Papdatos might otherwise have been defending his Vic Open title this week but the lure of the bigger purse (US$2 million) and the opportunities this and two similar events in Thailand and India over the next two weeks was too big a chance to turn down.
Then follows the New Zealand Open in early March, an event Papadatos won in 2014 so the next few weeks offer an important stretch for the Central Coast golfer.
Several other Australians and New Zealanders are in the field, headed by Anthony Quayle who is currently tied for 23rd and three shots behind Papadatos.
SCORES
Zach Murray finds form in Oman
Zach Murray – an encouraging start in Oman – photo Asian Tour
Australian Zach Murray is just two from the lead at the Asian Tour’s International Series Oman event, the former New Zealand Open Champion rebounding after missing nine of his last 12 cuts to be in the firing line heading into the weekend of the US$2 million event.
On a day dominated by strong winds at Al Mouj Golf in Oman, Murray’s 2 under total through 36 holes has him sharing 3rd place and two behind the lead of Japan’s Takumi Kanaya.
Victorian Todd Sinnott is another shot back in 7th place in an event where several LIV Golf members are participating.
Not one player was able to break 70 in the demanding conditions but Kanaya, the former world number one amateur, took advantage of the slightly easier morning conditions and once his 4 under par total was posted, the increasing winds would mean his lead was unassailable for the remainder of day two.
The 24 year old turned professional two years ago after a sensational amateur career, which saw him ranked the number one amateur in the world for 55 weeks, during which time he won the Mitsui Sumitomo Visa Taiheiyo Masters on the Japan Tour. He has since triumphed twice on that Tour as a professional, most noticeably at the prestigious Dunlop Phoenix in 2020.
He leads by one over his fellow countryman Ryo Hisatsune whose recently shared second place at the Australian PGA Championship in Brisbane.
Murray won the New Zealand Open in 2019 and the WA Open a year earlier but although there has been a series of top ten finishes on the PGA Tour of Australasia he has not, as yet, been able to perform well outside of Australasia.
This good start in an Asian Tour event provides an opportunity to change that stat however and with the New Zealand Open now just three weeks away, it might signal a timely form reversal.
Murray gained a start in the event courtesy of his win at the New Zealand Open, that event now jointly sanctioned with the Asian Tour.
SCORES
Mike Hendry turns back to clock to lead the Vic Open
Mike Hendry in the zone today – photo Australian Golf Media
New Zealand’s Michael Hendry has made a brilliant start to the Vic Open at 13th Beach on the Bellarine Peninsula, adding a second round of 62 to his opening 66 and, at 18 under, he begins the weekend two shots clear of Gold Coast based Victorian, Deyen Lawson, with another two back to Queensland’s Gavin Fairfax.
Hendry, who has been a regular on the Japan Tour over the last ten years but now without full status there following a disappointing year in 2022 when returning from Covid restrictions, put together ten birdies over the Creek Course layout today to take control in a quest to win his first event since an emotional win in his own national open in 2017.
Lawson recently won his first PGA Tour of Australasian event when successful at the West Australian Open in November but he is without status on any other tour besides his home tour and the opportunity to improve on his current 8th position on the PGA Tour of Australasian Order of Merit could well yield dividends for the 42 year old.
Another shot back and in a share of 5th place are the former PGA Tour player, Australian Amateur Champion and Australian Tour Champion, Mathew Goggin, who has only recently returned to tournament golf after a lengthy period away from the game while involved in golf course development in his home state of Tasmania.
Goggin has also finished runner-up in numerous events including the Australian Open and PGA Championships, the Australian Masters and, on the PGA Tour, the Memorial and Western Opens. Perhaps however Goggin’s best-ever performance was when 5th at the Open Championship at Turnberry in 2009 behind Stewart Cink.
The Women’s Vic Open is being led by Sunshine Coast golfer, Cassie Porter, who at the halfway stage has opened up a five shot lead over Thailand’s Pavarisa Yoktuan.
Porter’s second round of 64 was the best of the week to date, bettering the previous best set of 66 set by herself on Thursday.
Cassie Porter – photo Australian Golf Media
Men’s Scores
Women’s scores
Richard Green makes PGA Tour Champions debut in Morocco
Richard Green – the leading qualifier at Q School gets his chance
Australia’s Richard Green gets his first opportunity to test his wares on the PGA Tour Champions as a cardholder when he tees it up in this week’s Trophee Hassan 11 Championship over the Royal Golf Dar Es Salam layout in Rabat in Morocco.
Green, who was so impressive in winning the PGA Tour Champions Tour School in December after earlier winning the first stage of qualifying, has been a three time winner on the European Tour, a winner of the Australian Masters and several times runner-up in other events and he now gets his chance to tackle the riches of the PGA Tour Champions.
Green has mainly played events on the Australasian Tour in recent times without a lot of success but the manner in which he handled the demanding qualifying process suggests he may well be yet another star from this part of the world on the PGA Tour Champions following the unbelievable success of New Zealand’s Steve Alker over the past eighteen months.
Alker was originally in this week’s field, but the passing of his caddie Sam Workman from cancer earlier this week has seen Alker withdraw.
Other Australasians in the field include Robert Allenby, Mark Hensby, David McKenzie, Rod Pampling and John Senden.
Steve Alker and caddie Sam Workman who passed away this week
Popular Vic Open gets underway Thursday
Two time winner Dimi Papdatos – looking to continue success at 13th Beach
One of the PGA Tour of Australasia’s more popular events, the Vic Open, begins at the 13th Beach Golf Club’s two course facility on Thursday, the event highlighting two separate events for women and men, both playing for separate purses of A420,000.
The figure pales in comparison to the A1.6 million on offer in previous years when jointly sanctioned with the then European Tour but nevertheless the venue and format, which includes the men and women’s events being played concurrently, has proven popular since moving to the Bellarine Peninsula from Spring Valley in 2013.
Dimi Papadatos will defend the title he won by a narrow one shot over New Zealander Ben Campbell, the women’s event won last year by Hannah Green who won her first Australian title as a professional when she took that title by six shots over Gold Coast golfer, Karis Davidson.
For Papadatos, it was his second Vic Open title and his 5th as a professional having previously won in 2017.
Papadatos again embarked on a campaign in Europe in 2022 following his win but there was not a lot to get excited about as he played both Challenge and DP World Tour events but he has an affinity with the layouts at the Creek and Beach courses at 13th beach and might do well again.
It may however be some of the emerging young players who end up as contenders by week’s end and the likes David Micheluzzi, Elvis Smylie, an improving Shae Wools Cobb and Hayden Hopewell might make their presence felt.
Green not only won this event twelve months ago but she would win the following week in a mixed Australasian Tour event (the TPS Murray River) and went on to record several top tens on the LPGA Tour and is currently the 19th ranked player in the Rolex World Rankings.
Green is not in this week’s field however and the women are headed in terms of world ranking by Korea’s Ji Yai Shin, a still prolific performer on the Japan and Korean LPGA Tours. Shin has also an excellent record in Australia having won the 2013 Australian Women’s Open, the RACV Ladies Masters and the Actew AGL event in Canberra. The two time Women’s British Open champion is a formidable force and the event is fortunate to have a player of her standing in the field.
Others of note are last week’s winner of the TPS Murray event, Sarah Jane Smith, TPS Victoria winner, Min Yoon, and LPGA players Grace Kim, last year’s runner-up Karis Davidson, Sarah Kemp, Su Oh and the legendary Karrie Webb.
MEN’S FIELD
WOMEN’S FIELD
Sarah Jane Smith wins first event in 15 years
Sarah Jane Smith – photo Australian Golf Media
A stunning weekend including rounds of 63 and 65 have given US based Queenslander, Sarah Jane Smith, a five-shot victory over Australians Shae Wools-Cobb and Andrew Martin at the TPS Murray River event at the Cobram Barooga OLD Course on the NSW Victorian Border.
It is the second consecutive win by a woman in a TPS PGA Tour of Australasia event following on from the victory of Min Yoon at the Rosebud Country Club last week.
The win provided the 38 year old with her first professional victory since her win in New York on the LPGA Tour’s feeder tour in 2008 and just her second as a professional.
Smith, one of Australian female golf’s best players as an amateur, turned professional in 2004 and gained LPGA Tour status a year later and although she has managed to retain her playing privileges to the LPGA Tour in many of the years since, she is currently without status there and so this win is a great boost as she looks to sustain her professional career.
After a poor season on the LPGA Tour last year after narrowly regaining her playing rights at the end of 2021, Smith made the decision not to attend the Tour School in December and so returned to the Sunshine Coast where she spent time with highly regarded coach Grant Field whose many other clients include Cameron Smith.
“I didn’t feel done at the end of last year, but I knew I wasn’t in the right place for (LPGA) Tour school,” said Smith. “I thought I’d come home, play the Aussie Open, it worked out that I could see Grant, spend some time with him.
“He’s been drumming into me that ‘it’s not over unless I want it to be’. To see everything come together this quickly is incredible. Because I was basically done at the end of last year, unless something changed drastically. I’m pretty happy, a little bit surprised with this.
“Grant gave me one thing that made me feel good all day. He told me to enjoy the (expletive) out of it, but he told me ‘just because you feel different doesn’t mean the skills won’t be the same’. That’s something I’ve felt when I was nervous before, I worried it would go away. I’d hit one bad shot and it would snowball. Today I kept repeating that, reminding myself that just because I felt like that, it wasn’t going to be any different.”
The win is worth A$45,000 to Smith and although she has earnings of close to A$3 million in the US, the money earned today will be both a boost of finances and confidence.
RESULTS
Hillier and Fox make weekend at Ras Al Kaimah Championship
Daniel Hillier – steady start to his DP World career – file photo
Perhaps surprisingly, there were just two Australasians in the field for the Ras Al Khaimah Championship in the UAE, one of them a previous winner at this venue, Ryan Fox, and the other New Zealand DP World Tour rookie, Daniel Hillier, and at the halfway stage of the event, both are tied for 23rd and six shots from the lead.
Fox began his quest to win at the Al Hamra GC for the second time in twelve months at this venue on Thursday with a round of 67 but, although he was well enough placed through eight holes of round two, he dropped four shots in his next three holes to slip out of contention. He recovered with late birdies but the damage was already done and he will need something very special over the final 36 holes if he is to chase down the leaders.
Hillier added a round of 69 to his opening 70 and in just his 5th start as a DP World Tour cardholder after gaining such status via the Challenge Tour in 2022, he has now made all five cuts.
The leaders, current Australian Open Champion Adrian Meronk, Scotland’s David Law and Rasmus Højgaard are tied at the top at 11 under and one clear, Højgaard looking to become the first of a brotherly pair to win the same European Tour title.
Højgaard’s brother Nicolai won this title twelve months ago.
SCORES
Leishman contends in Saudi Arabia Smith misses cut
Abraham Ancer – photo Asian Tour
The top of the leaderboard in the opening event of the 2023 Asian Tour season, the US$5 million PIF Saudi International, is littered with LIV Golf members but there are plenty of others within striking distance who might take an opportunity to grab the riches of one of the Asian Tour’s most lucrative event.
Mexico’s Abraham Ancer leads by one over American Cameron Young but in a share of 3rd place and three shots from Ancer are Thailand’s Sadom Kaewkanjana, Australian Marc Leishman and South African Louis Ooosthuizen.
Leishman’s fellow Australian but not a LIV Golf member, Lucas Herbert, is another shot back in 6th place.
Ten Australians made the cut but one who did not was Cameron Smith who despite improving four shots from his opening round of 73 missed out by two shots on making it to the weekend.
Leishman who has been out of form in recent times played in the stunning morning conditions of day two and took full advantage. The highlight of his second round was a holed shot from the fairway at the 10th.
“Hit a 3-iron off the tee and then had perfect yardage with my gap wedge,” said Leishman. “Hit a good shot, landed about a foot past it, a foot right of it, and spun back into the hole. They’re sort of unexpected, but it’s nice when they happen.
“Yeah, really happy. Yesterday to have two under in that weather was pretty pleasing. Then to come out this morning and to put a low one on the board in more benign conditions was pretty satisfying as well. Happy with the start.”
SCORES
Matias Sanchez leads by three at TPS Murray River
Matias Sanchez – photo Australian Golf Media
Victorian 24 year old, Matias Sanchez, has a three shot lead as the TPS Murray River In Honour of Jarrod Lyle event enters the weekend at the Cobram Barooga OLD Course on the border of NSW and Victoria.
Sanchez, a former (2017) Australian Amateur Champion, has struggled in the professional ranks and in fact had missed two of his last three cuts before this week but his round of 64 today which included six birdies and an eagle gave little evidence of the struggles he has endured of late.
“I’m just holing putts so far this week,” said Sanchez. “I’ve been hitting it really good for a while, but I haven’t been making putts at all in the last few months. To hole some today and yesterday has been very nice,” Sanchez said.
“I’ve been hitting a lot of low balls off the tee and keep it in play. Not doing anything silly off the tee and trying to hit the perfect shot. For me, keeping it in play is paying dividends this week.”
In second place alone at present is Queenslander Shae Wools-Coob, yet another product of the successful Sunshine Coast coach, Grant Field.
Like Sanchez the transition to the professional ranks has not been easy for the 26 year old Wools Cobb and two late bogeys put a dampener on his round to some extent but there have been encouraging signs for him over the first two days.
The improving Todd Power Horan and highly talented Perth golfer, Hayden Hopewell, are next are at 7 under and five from the lead of Sanchez.
Victorian Brett Coletta is next in a share of 5th place with the leading women Sarah Jane Smith and American Emma Talley.
SCORES
McIlroy edges Reed in Dubai Herbert 3rd
McIlroy – enjoys his third Dubai victory – photo Getty Images
Whatever way it is viewed, the final day of the 2023 Hero Dubai Desert Classic became a tournament promoter’s dream.
The two protagonists in a petty spat earlier in the week, Rory McIlroy and Patrick Reed, found themselves head to head against each other over the closing nine holes of the event, McIlroy finding it hard to contain his glee when holing a 14 foot sliding downhill left to right putt at the 72nd hole to take the title by one over Reed.
Reed had approached McIlroy, his caddie and his coach on the driving range on Tuesday to seemingly break some ice that had been developing essentially over Reed’s involvement with LIV Golf and McIlroy’s opposition to it and the pursuit of legal action by Reed’s legal team on McIlroy.
While McIlroy’s caddie shook Reed’s hand, McIlroy essentially snubbed Reed and, as he walked away, Reed threw a tee in McIlroy’s direction. It was perhaps more innocent than it was made out to be but clearly became the subject of a lot of media speculation and a source of tension throughout the week.
So to Monday, which had developed into the final day of the event due to weather disruptions earlier in the week.
Reed, playing in the second to last group, began the final round four shots behind McIlroy but through 13 holes he was 7 under for the round and had drawn level with the Northern Irishman. Both players dropped at shot over the closing holes but birdies at the 17th and 18th by McIlroy saw him move ahead of Reed who had drawn level again when he birdied the last.
McIlroy, who needed to make birdie or better at the 72nd hole to win and avoid a playoff, missed the fairway and, in fact, was lucky to not find the water along the right side of the fairway in the landing zone for a long drive. He was unable to get enough club on the awkward lie to allow him to seriously consider taking on the water short of the green and so layed up to 90 yards and then pitched to 14 feet.
Needing putt to win, McIlroy steeled himself and holed the snaking putt to take his third Dubai Desert Classic title.
McIlroy was doing his best to contain his emotions after the win but it was hard to ignore his clear satisfaction in getting across the line and his need to put the much discussed issues aside. It might be a bit much to suggest but it was to some extent a win by the non-LIV Golf fraternity over LIV.
“I think mentally today was probably one of the toughest rounds I’ve ever had to play because it would be really easy to let your emotions get in the way and I just had to really concentrate on focusing on myself. Forget who was up there on the leaderboard, and I did that really, really well.
“I really feel like I haven’t had my best all week but I just managed my game so well and played really smart. Even that second shot at the last there, you know, I was in two minds. I probably could have got to the green but seeing what happened yesterday and what happened last year, giving myself a wedge to try to get up-and-down to try to get the win.
“Just ecstatic that I gave myself an opportunity the first week back out and yeah again as I said I managed my game well. I definitely feel like there’s tons of room for improvement but it’s a great start to the year.
“I feel like I showed a lot of mental strength out there today, and again, something to really build on for the rest of the year.”
Reed is very much a polarizing figure but whatever your stand is on the rights and wrongs of the way he goes about his business that he was able to force McIlroy to birdie the last to win in such a dramatic week tells the story of an incredibly tough character.
Three LIV golfers finished inside the top ten. Reed, Ian Poulter(6th) and Henrik Stenson (8th) added fuel to the fire of an ongoing debate.
Australian Lucas Herbert, the winner of this event three years ago, produced a final round of 66 to finish alone in third position and two from the winner.
Herbert was playing his first event of 2023 after finishing 2022 with a top 10 at the Australian Open after a messy finish to his final round when contending for the title.
Herbert improves form 67th to 53rd in the world ranking.
“Yeah, it’s promising signs,” said Herbert. “It still feels like there’s some work to do and I can get better than what I produced this week. So that’s exciting. You know, to finish third here in this quality field or second or fourth or wherever it finishes, to do that in sort of quality field, I think it’s good signs ahead for 2023.
“I’m happy with that finish. I felt like we were probably almost playing for second going into the day. It’s pretty hard to spot Rory five shots and try and chase him down to win a tournament.”
SCORES