Cameron Smith – file photo
Cameron Smith’s quest to win the FedEx St Jude Championship in Memphis and climb to the number one ranking in the world was thwarted before it even started today when he was advised he had incurred a two-shot penalty dating back to yesterday’s third round.
At the 4th hole, Smith had hit his tee shot into the penalty area and took a drop but when he did so his ball was still touching the red line which delineated the penalty area.
Initially rules officials had seen the situation but had decided not to pursue it as camera angles were inconclusive however on further investigation on Sunday morning and after interviewing Smith it was determined an indiscretion had incurred.
As written by the PGA Tour’s website it was the PGA Tour’s Gary Young who was left with the task of talking with Smith and advising him of a possible indiscretion.
“Young found Smith in the clubhouse about an hour before his 12:30 p.m. tee time for the final round and asked him about the incident. When Smith told Young that, yes, the ball had been touching the line, the penalty was assessed. Smith would not have been penalized if he told Young that he believed his ball was outside the penalty area.
“I thought it was simply going to be a situation where I asked (Cameron) the question and he was going to tell me that he was comfortable that his ball was outside the penalty area,” Young said. “When I asked him the question, unfortunately, he said to me, ‘No, the ball was definitely touching the line.’ So at that point there’s no turning back.”
Young described Smith’s reaction to the penalty as “very calm, very matter of fact.”
“His answer to me was, ‘The rules are the rules,’” Young said.”
Smith understandably found the penalty a distraction and despite a birdie at the first, struggled for much of his round, slipping from a share of 5th and just two shots from the 54 hole lead to finish around 13th although, given the circumstances, he showed a lot of courage to record a final round of even par 70.
Adam Scott led the Australians when he finished in a share of 5th with a final round of 66 and has moved inside the all important top 70 and into the field for next week’s BMW Championship in Delaware.
“What’s satisfying” asked Scott when repeating that very question. “Getting through I guess ultimately, but I played really poorly yesterday and somehow shot a decent score and to turn it around and play solid today and give myself a chance to go through, I’m happy with that. I get to play four rounds next week.
“And my golf’s been pretty good and I’ve got nothing out of it. I feel even though I’m not winning this event, I feel like I’m getting something out of the week, so hopefully that’s good for the confidence going into next week and somehow have a big week and get through to East Lake.”
Cameron Davis tied with Smith for a share of 13th and he too is in the field next week as is Marc Leishman who finished 64th this week but sneaks inside the top 70 in 68th position.
Lucas Hebert missed the cut this week but is assured of a place in next week’s field in 54th position in the standings.
Scores
Projected FedEx Cup standings
Endycott and Lee start well in Korn Ferry Tour Finals
Min Woo Lee – has made a good start in his quest for the right to play the PGA Tour – file photo PGA of Australia
Perhaps building on the euphoria and momentum gained when earning a PGA Tour card in the final event of the regular Korn Ferry Tour season last week, Sydney’s Harrison Endycott has made a fine start to the opening event of the Korn Ferry Tour Finals in Boise in Idaho with a second round of 64 to be in a share of 7th place.
Play has been suspended in the low scoring event, with just a few players remaining on the Hillcrest Country Club’s layout, but all but one (Aaron Baddeley) of the five Australians in the field have completed their rounds. Baddeley has one hole to play and is one shot behind Endycott and fellow Australian Min Woo Lee.
Endycott has of course already a PGA Tour card for next season securely in his pocket, but he can improve his chances of early season PGA Tour starts by finishing well in the three event Final series and improving his priority standing.
Endycott shares 8th place with first round leader and fellow countryman Lee, who needs to finish inside the top 25 of the players not already qualified for a card at the end of the finals and after a second round of 69 to go with his brilliant opening 63 he is nicely placed.
Baddeley is chasing a return to full PGA Tour playing rights and at 9 under par with one hole to play he is tied for 15th.
Jason Scrivener is tied for 41st after an impressive second round of 66 while Anthony Quayle will miss the cut despite an opening round of 68 yesterday and will need to rely on a good week over either or both of the next two playoffs in Columbus, Ohio and at the Tour Championship in Newburgh in Indiana.
Lee, Baddeley, Scrivener and Quayle are all in the category of needing to finish inside the top 25 money winners from the Final series if they are to earn PGA Tour playing rights.
SCORES
Scott leads BMW and moves to 3rd in projected FedEx Cup standings
Adam Scott – file photo
Adam Scott began the Fed Ex Playoffs on the outside looking in as far as his chances of making it to the Tour Championship were concerned but an impressive share of 5th place at last week’s opening event of the FedEx Cup Playoffs in Memphis and now a brilliant start to the BMW Championship in Delaware, has the 42 year old Australian with not only Atlanta on his mind but the possibility of even winning the FedEx Cup.
Scott added a second round of 69 to his opening 65 and at the halfway mark of the penultimate event of the PGA Tour season, he leads by one and has improved 42 places to 3rd in the FedEx Cup projected standings.
Only Scottie Scheffler and Will Zalatoris are ahead of him at this stage and while there are many permutations which might eventuate over the next six rounds of the FedEx Cup, Scott has emerged as a real threat.
Scott leads the BMW over the projected FedEx Cup leader, Scottie Scheffler, Cameron Young, Corey Connors and Jordan Spieth with Australian Cameron Davis amongst a group another shot back and sharing 6th.
Scott’s only real blemish came at the par 4 16th where a poor drive led to a double bogey but that aside it was yet another impressive round to add to the solid form he has been in of late.
“Overall, I felt really in control today,” said Scott. “When you’re playing that way, it always could be a couple better, and a poor shot on 17 was quite costly.
“It’s a good reminder for the weekend that I’ve really got to keep it under control and don’t want to have too many get off the map and get out of position around here. But I kept it in position really well all day and had so many good looks and was cruising there for a while.
“I mean, last week I kind of got it done with the putter, and this week it feels like the game is taking shape a bit, which is a nice position, and I played very free and was able to let go a little bit today and swing freely and rolled a few in. That’s a nice feeling. I’d like that kind of feeling over the weekend.”
Davis has moved from 51st to 32nd in the projected standings and if he is able to continue his early form this week he might well make it all the way to Atlanta where the leading 30 players in the FedEx Cup standings get to fight it out for the pointy end of the riches of the FedEx Cup.
“It was really good,” said Davis enthusing about his round of 67. “I started off really strong. My big issue is getting the ball off the tee around here. It was the same sort of last week, and once I started finding fairways I could start to get a bit of momentum going.
“I would say a round of two halves. Found a lot of fairways early on, and then towards the end of the round started finding it a little difficult to get myself in play, but I feel like I’m managing it well enough to not lose too many strokes when things are going wrong.”
“That would be goal achieved for this year,” said Davis when asked about the possibility of making it to Atlanta. “Last year I got to BMW and didn’t quite get to East Lake. This year I wanted to make it one step further forward. All I could do is get myself here and have a chance, and I guess I’ve still got a chance, so I’ve just got to keep playing well.”
Marc Leishman is 22nd this week and now 61st in the standings, Lucas Herbert 33rd and now 53rd and so both need to improve sharply over the final 36 holes if they are to have any chance of one more event in their PGA Tour season.
SCORES
Australians eliminated at US Amateur Championship
Hayden Hopewell in action today – photo USGA
The two Australians who advanced to the match play phase of the US Amateur Championship in New Jersey have both been eliminated, Hayden Hopewell in the Round of 16 and Connor McKinney a few hours earlier in the Round of 32.
Hopewell, who survived a gripping first round match on Wednesday, was again locked in a tight battle in his Round of 32 encounter against American Ford Clegg, birdies at the 16th and 17th breaking him clear of a deadlock to win 2&1.
In his afternoon Round of 16 match-up against Californian, Stewart Hagestad, Hopewell recovered from losing the very first hole to be 1 up through 9 holes. The match was tied through 13 holes before the American drew clear when Hopewell bogeyed the 14th and 15th holes and although Hopewell won the 16th with a birdie, when Hagestad eagled the 17th he had won 2&1.
Australian Amateur Champion, McKinney, lost a close encounter against American Nathan Franks in the morning Round of 32, recovering from an early deficit to be 1 up through 15 holes.
Franks then won the 16th and 17th holes and when both bogeyed the last the American had won 1 up.
SCORES
Connor McKinney during his morning match which he lost 1 down. – photo Kathryn Riley USGA
Four Australians chasing PGA Tour cards via Korn Ferry Tour
Queensland based Anthony Quayle – gets a great opportunity to earn PGA Tour playing rights – photo Japan Tour
Five Australians get their chance to either gain, regain or enhance their PGA Tour playing rights when the first of the Korn Ferry Tour Finals, the Albertsons Boise Open, is played in Boise in Idaho.
One, Harrison Endycott, gained his PGA Tour card at the conclusion of the regular Korn Fery Tour last week in Omaha when he finished inside the top 25 players but the US based Sydneysider now has the chance to play each of the three Finals and enhance the standing he already has.
Four other Australians looking to secure the right to play the big smoke next season are Aaron Baddeley, Min Woo Lee, Jason Scrivener and Anthony Quayle.
They will need to finish inside the top 25 of the combined money list of the three Final events and of those not already qualified via the regular Korn Ferry Tour season at the completion of the Finals and, if they do, they are heading for the game’s holy grail.
Baddeley is a two-time Australian Open Champion, a four-time winner on the PGA Tour and a golfer who has accumulated more then US$22 million since joining the PGA Tour for the first time in 2003 and finishing runner-up in his very first event as a card holder.
The 41-year-old Baddeley has played on both the PGA and Korn Ferry Tours in 2002 with very little in the way of success but he finds himself with yet another opportunity to get his career back on track.
Min Woo Lee has reached a world ranking as high as 44 although he is currently 68th. His win at the Scottish Open last year and at the 2020 Vic Open were both DP World Tour events but in 2022 he has played seven events on the PGA Tour.
Jason Scrivener is looking for his first PGA Tour card after playing the DP World Tour over the last few years with some success including a runner-up and seven other top 3 finishes.
The South African born but Perth raised Scrivener has made steady progress in his professional career and is expected to do well if and when he gets to the PGA Tour. His time appears right.
Anthony Quayle has played his trade on the Japan and Australasian Tours since turning professional five years ago and with some success winning two events on the PGA Tour of Australasia and recording numerous other top 3 finishes on both Australia and Japan.
Quayle gets his chance as a result of his standing in the world ranking much of that boosted by his 15th place finish at the Open Championship this year.
Aaron Baddeley – chasing a return to full PGA Tour status 20 years after first gaining it – photo Bruce Young
Four Australians battle for starts at Tour Championship
Adam Scott currently in 46th, he and the other Australians need good weeks to make it to Atlanta
Five Australians remain with hopes of securing some of the riches available in the final event of the FedEx Cup Playoffs, the Tour Championship in Atlanta, but, before they do, four of them must ensure they get there and in order to do so they will need to be inside the top 30 in the FedEx Cup standings at the completion of this week’s BMW Championship in Wilmington in Delaware.
One of the five, Cameron Smith, is already assured of being in Atlanta but because he is struggling with a recurring hip injury he has decided to sit out this week’s event. Smith is currently 3rd in the FedEx Cup standings.
The other four, Adam Scott, Lucas Herbert, Cameron Davis and Marc Leishman all have work to do if this is not to be their last event of the 2021/ 2022 PGA Tour.
Scott begins the week in 46th place but his most recent form is encouraging in terms of reaching the Tour Championship once again, having won the event in 2006 and been a regular in the field since.
Herbert (53rd) has yet to play the Tour Championship and in fact has yet to play this event having only just secured his PGA Tour card when winning in Bermuda late last year and in the early part of the 2021/2022 season.
Cameron Davis (50th) too is striving to reach the Tour Championship for the first occasion although he did play this event last year, albeit at another venue. Davis continues to play well of late having finished inside the top 20 in each of his last five PGA Tour starts.
Marc Leishman (66th) has been a regular at the Tour Championship since first making the field in his rookie year and will play the BMW Championship, an event he has won and finished runner-up in previously.
Tee Times
McKinney and Hopewell through to second round at US Am
Connor McKinney in action today – photo Kathryn Riley USGA
West Australians Connor McKinney and Hayden Hopewell have both advanced to the second round of match play at the US Amateur Championship in New Jersey following their victories in the Round of 64 today.
McKinney made a fast start in his match against American Travis Vick, winning the first three holes with birdies, although Vick fought his way back into the encounter to be just one down with three to play.
McKinney, the current Australian Amateur Champion would birdie the 16th and 17th holes and take the match 3&1.
“One of my goals in match play, which I haven’t been amazing at, is getting up early, so to do today, it set the tone real good,” said the Scottish born but now Perth domiciled McKinney.
Vick had been the low amateur at the US Open earlier in the year and a semi finalist in this event last year so he was a potentially dangerous opponent.
“Yeah, I heard about that. The 64 guys, (that made it into the match play) they’re all good enough to qualify for the U.S. Amateur, like the match play, so anyone can beat anyone,” added McKinney.
Hopewell survived a gripping encounter against Mateo Fernandez de Oliveira of Argentina, coming from 2 down with five to play to eventually win the match 1 up with a birdie at the 19th hole.
The other Australian who finished inside the temporary cutline but who lost out on a playoff between 15 players attempting top gain one of the 11 remaining spots in the field, was Karl Vilips, his US Am journey finishing on Wednesday morning when all 15 players returned to the course to determine their fate.
Vilips has previously made the quarter finals in this event so the loss was a real blow for the former Perth but now US based golfer.
Hayden Hopewell hugs Ariel Hopewell after winning his match at the 19th – photo Grant Halverson USGA
McKinney, Hopewell and maybe Vilips through to match play at US Am
Hayden Hopewell – one of two possibly three Australians into the match play – file photo AAC
Two Australians are guaranteed to advance to the match play phase of the US Amateur Championships in Paramus in New Jersey but one has a wait for his fate to be determined following the completion of the 36-hole stroke play this morning.
The current Australian Amateur Champion Connor McKinney did best when he finished in a share of 14th after a round of 68 at the Arcola Golf Club, one of two courses being used for the 36-hole qualifying.
McKinney’s fellow West Australian Hayden Hopewell finished in a share of 30th place after consecutive rounds of 70 at the Ridgewood Golf Club and the Arcola Golf Club while former Perth resident Karl Vilips is forced to negotiate a 15 man playoff for 11 remaining spots in the 64 man field for tomorrow’s match play.
The playoff to complete the field for the knockout phase begins early on Wednesday morning US time.
SCORES
David McKenzie’s important runner-up finish on Champions Tour
David McKenzie earlier this year at the Senior PGA – photo PGA of America Montana Pritchard
Victorian David McKenzie’s runner-up finish in the PGA Tour Champion’s Boeing Classic behind Miguel Angel Jimenez in Washington State over the weekend opened the door for the successful retention of his full playing rights on that tour in 2023.
McKenzie has struggled with continuity of opportunities given his limited status on the PGA Tour Champions in 2022 but this performance could well open the door for a strong finish to the season.
So significant was the prizemoney (US$193,000) for finishing runner-up this week that it has jumped McKenzie from 74th to 45th on the money list and leaves him well placed to graduate to the opening event of the Charl Schwab playoffs in mid- October where the leading 72 players tee it up.
The 55-year-old McKenzie joined the tour with several top ten finishes on the 2017 PGA Tour Champions including a 9th place on debut at the Senior Open Championship that year. He would then finish 12th at the Tour School later they year to gain limited status and has continued to play each year since, albeit with varying degrees of status.
“I have been playing well for a year, but I hadn’t been playing,” said McKenzie who because of his limited status has been unable to gain the number of starts to build momentum.
“I played like, going back to The Traditional, played one week, there was a week off. The next week, the Senior PGA. Scraped in, got into the next one. But my preparation wasn’t good that week for Des Moines.
“Missed the next week, went home. So I had four weeks off. I came back, I played the Senior Players. Then I went to the U.K. to play the Senior British Open, missed the qualifying. So I had another three weeks off. Came back over here, got into Calgary, and then got in here late.
“So all of a sudden, it’s the first time I think all year that I have played two tournaments in a row. So hopefully, that’s just a bit of continuity to feel like I’m playing well, give myself chances, and hopefully that will continue. I don’t know what’s going to happen.”
Interestingly, McKenzie gained entry to this week’s event as an alternate.
The finish was McKenzie’s equal best finish to that when runner-up at the SAS Tournament in 2019. His earning since joining the PGA Tour Champions in 2017 are now US$2.24 million.
Steve Alker celebrated a year on the Champions Tour by finishing 5th this week, yet another top ten for the 51 year old whose PGA Tour Champions career earnings in that time total US$3.573 million including four victories and numerous top ten finishes.
Alker is still well clear on this year’s Charl Schwab standings, some US$564,000 ahead of Jerry Kelly.
SCORES
Five Australians and a New Zealander tackle US Amateur Championship
Connor McKinney – file photo AAC
Five Australians and one New Zealander will take to the fairways of the Ridgewood Golf Club in Paramus in New Jersey, chasing a third US Amateur Championship for Australia and a second for New Zealand.
Perth’s Connor McKinney, heads the group in terms of world ranking but Hayden Hopewell, Harrison Crowe, Karl Vilips, Jack Buchanan and New Zealander Kazuma Kobori also get their chance.
Nick Flanagan became the first Australian to win his event in 2003 followed in 2016 by Curtis Luck.
New Zealand’s Danny Lee became the only New Zealander to take the title when he won in 2008, Lee now firmly ensconced on the PGA Tour while Flanagan and Luck have previously held PGA Tour cards.
McKinney is the current Australian Amateur Champion winning in a three way playoff at the Cranbourne Golf Club in Victoria in April while Buchanan was joint runner-up to McKinney.
McKinney was born and raised in Scotland but moved to Perth at the age of 13. He not only won the Australian Amateur Championship but also the South Australian Amateur and earlier this year finished 5th at the WAPGA Championship.
Perth’s Hayden Hopewell is a highly credentialed player with wins in the West Australian Open and a runner-up finish in that same event two years ago. He has not played well in leading amateur events over the northern summer in 2022 but there is little doubting his significant potential.
Karl Vilips was born in Indonesia but then moved to Perth and in more recent times has based himself in the US where he attends Stanford University. Three years ago he won the prestigious Southern Amateur Championship and played on the International Junior Presidents Cup team.
Vilips reached the quarter finals of this event at Pinehurst in 2019.
New Zealand’s Kazuma Kobori and his sister Momoka are the New Zealand version of the Lees from Perth.
At the age of just 17, Kobori won the New Zealand PGA Championship and earlier this year finished 6th in a Japan Tour event while Momoka is making her mark in secondary events on the Australian and European Tours with several wins already.
The event will see the leading 64 players at the completion of 36 holes advance to the matchplay phase.
Karl Vilips on his way to the quarter finals in this event in 2019 – photo Chris Keane USGA
Cameron Smith’s quest for Number one thwarted
Cameron Smith – file photo
Cameron Smith’s quest to win the FedEx St Jude Championship in Memphis and climb to the number one ranking in the world was thwarted before it even started today when he was advised he had incurred a two-shot penalty dating back to yesterday’s third round.
At the 4th hole, Smith had hit his tee shot into the penalty area and took a drop but when he did so his ball was still touching the red line which delineated the penalty area.
Initially rules officials had seen the situation but had decided not to pursue it as camera angles were inconclusive however on further investigation on Sunday morning and after interviewing Smith it was determined an indiscretion had incurred.
As written by the PGA Tour’s website it was the PGA Tour’s Gary Young who was left with the task of talking with Smith and advising him of a possible indiscretion.
“Young found Smith in the clubhouse about an hour before his 12:30 p.m. tee time for the final round and asked him about the incident. When Smith told Young that, yes, the ball had been touching the line, the penalty was assessed. Smith would not have been penalized if he told Young that he believed his ball was outside the penalty area.
“I thought it was simply going to be a situation where I asked (Cameron) the question and he was going to tell me that he was comfortable that his ball was outside the penalty area,” Young said. “When I asked him the question, unfortunately, he said to me, ‘No, the ball was definitely touching the line.’ So at that point there’s no turning back.”
Young described Smith’s reaction to the penalty as “very calm, very matter of fact.”
“His answer to me was, ‘The rules are the rules,’” Young said.”
Smith understandably found the penalty a distraction and despite a birdie at the first, struggled for much of his round, slipping from a share of 5th and just two shots from the 54 hole lead to finish around 13th although, given the circumstances, he showed a lot of courage to record a final round of even par 70.
Adam Scott led the Australians when he finished in a share of 5th with a final round of 66 and has moved inside the all important top 70 and into the field for next week’s BMW Championship in Delaware.
“What’s satisfying” asked Scott when repeating that very question. “Getting through I guess ultimately, but I played really poorly yesterday and somehow shot a decent score and to turn it around and play solid today and give myself a chance to go through, I’m happy with that. I get to play four rounds next week.
“And my golf’s been pretty good and I’ve got nothing out of it. I feel even though I’m not winning this event, I feel like I’m getting something out of the week, so hopefully that’s good for the confidence going into next week and somehow have a big week and get through to East Lake.”
Cameron Davis tied with Smith for a share of 13th and he too is in the field next week as is Marc Leishman who finished 64th this week but sneaks inside the top 70 in 68th position.
Lucas Hebert missed the cut this week but is assured of a place in next week’s field in 54th position in the standings.
Scores
Projected FedEx Cup standings