NEWS • OPINION • HOLIDAYS • LIFESTYLE • GEAR • TRAVEL • INDUSTRY AUSTRALIA’S M O S T - R E A D GOLF MAGAZINE ISSUE 230 // DECEMBER 2024 WWW.INSIDEGOLF.COM.AU RICHARD GREEN CASHING IN ON THE CHAMPIONS TOUR ‘DUNN’ DEAL 56 CLUB CHAMPIONSHIPS AND COUNTING CLUB OF THE MONTH MAGENTA SHORES GOLF & COUNTRY CLUB SOCIAL GOLF WHERE TO PLAY TRAVEL SPECIAL NSW FAR NORTH COAST EQUIPMENT WE TRIED IT >CALLAWAY WEDGES >SRIXON WOODS ‘NEXT GEN’ AUSSIE STARS READY TO TAKE ON THE GOLFING WORLD XMAS GIFT GUIDE CONTACT US: 0413 736 245 www.cgegolf.com.au | play@cgegolf.com.au STOP DREAMING & START PLANNING! BOOK YOUR 2025 & 2026 GOLF TOUR NOW CGE GOLF WILL LOOK AFTER ALL OF YOUR REQUIREMENTS ITINERARY SUMMARY: Seven rounds of championship golf 5-star twin share accommodation Scottish breakfast daily Welcome Dinner All ground transfers Escorted by the CGE team And so much more... COURSES ON OUR TOUR: The Old Course, St Andrews New or Jubilee, St Andrews Kingsbarns Carnoustie Castle Stuart Nairn Royal Dornoch ST ANDREWS OLD COURSE GUARANTEED TEE TIME & BALLOT OPTION AND SCOTTISH HIGHLANDS GOLF EXPERIENCE - 26TH JULY - 6TH AUGUST 2026 THIS BUCKET LIST EXPERIENCE IN SCOTLAND IS NOT TO BE MISSED.
ECCO GOLF LT1 „FEELS LIKE A SECOND SKIN“ Available from ping@americangolf.com.au
JPX represents the restless, pioneering spirit that flows through every product we create. It is our platform to innovate, to challenge convention, and question what has come before - ensuring each JPX Series advances the modern golfer in every facet of play. Choose from three distinct models, all sharing a common technology package: Hot Metal for all-around forgiveness, Hot Metal Pro for a slimmer profile and Hot Metal High Launch for added launch and height.
December 2024 www.insidegolf.com.au THE FIRST TEE 5 Long, strong and talented - just like Adam Scott 25 years ago FLICKING the channels recently I landed on KAYO and The Race To Dubai event, the season-ending tournament on the European Tour. And right in the finish before placing in the top five was 44-year-old Australian Adam Scott. After arguably one of the most consistent seasons of his celebrated career, Scott was still doing his thing and doing it very well at that. And while I certainly hold no grudge, memories came flooding back as I was reminded it was the same Adam Scott who helped end my career way back when. Maybe it’s best to qualify that statement, he least helped me decide that it was time to perhaps find a more secure way of making a dollar, other than playing golf for a living. It was at the 2000 Australian PGA, played at Royal Queensland, the year Robert Allenby won. Allenby would back up and win a year later as well. However, as good as Robert was back in his prime, it was a relatively unknown kid at the time who helped determine my immediate future. Hitting balls on the range at RQ in the days leading up to the PGA Championship, a tallish, skinny youngster parked his bag next to mine, emptied his bucket of range balls, before going through his practice routine. He had been at University in the US, had just turned pro, but whoever he was and whatever he’d been doing, I had no choice other than to be impressed. The ball striking, the skill level, the confidence, the superstar quality was evident. Watching the excellence of everything he was doing, with every club in the bag, I knew I was done, no longer had the game to compete with the young guns of the day and was happy to move aside for the next generation, although he would have quickly left me in wake whatever I decided to do. This sweet swinging kid from Queensland was destined for greatness. Adam Scott would win the US Masters, the first Australian to do so, 14 PGA Tour events, along with a collection of other significant championships around the globe. And after 24odd years as a professional, he’s still doing it and doing it well. He finished fourth on the final standings of the PGA Tour’s FED EX Cup this year and was ranked in the top 20 in the world after an outstanding 2024 season. Scott shows no sign of slowing up. Now this isn’t all about Adam Scott, and not for a minute am I suggesting his time has come, however there is a new generation of Australian stars ready, willing and able to take the golfing world by storm. We could have put a bunch of them on the cover of this December issue but picked out Elvis Smylie and Jack Buchanan. I’d heard of Smylie before his recent win at the WA Open, seen Mike Clayton take an interest in his game, carrying his bag on occasion in big Australian events. Buchanan was a new one. A South Australian kid, with a powerful swing which belies his slight build, he’s already displayed an ability to win and to get the job done when the pressure is at its greatest. Two more climbing the charts with a bullet are Phoenix Campbell and Jak Carter, Campbell winning a spectacular playoff against Carter at the Queensland PGA, who has now been twice a runner up on the Australasian Tour in 2024. And there are many more. Jasper Stubbs has played at the Masters already after winning the Asia Pacific Amateur, Quinn Crocker an impressive rookie is currently navigating his way through the US Tour school, Karl Vilips after four years at Stanford University, then following a strong season on the Korn Ferry in 2024 will play his first year on the PGA Tour in 2025. They look to be the real deal. That’s naming just a few. Then there are a bunch of exciting young amateurs timing their run before entering the pay-for-play ranks. Men and women, boys and girls, with the promise and potential to be challenging for the biggest titles in world golf. Then there are those who have already made an impression overseas, with David Micheluzzi a solid performer in his first full season in Europe, and it’s easy to forget Min Woo Lee is just 26 years of age, while Cam Davis and Lucas Herbert aren’t much older. We have great courses, coaches to compare with the very best, junior and development programs the envy of the world, all combining to give our best youngsters a chance to succeed. Keep on keeping on Adam, by no means am I suggesting your best days are behind you, but you are about to have some company. The new crop of ‘next gen’ stars are long, strong, fearless, extremely talented and very ambitious. You can read about some of them on the pages to follow. I look forward with great interest to watching their progress. PUBLISHER: Sam Arthur | sam@insidegolf.com.au Outdoor Sports Publishing Pty Ltd ACN 113 836 301 ABN 30 043 104 919 PO BOX 437, Miami, QLD 4220 EDITORIAL: Editor: Rob Willis rob@insidegolf.com.au Editor-At-Large: David Newbery david@insidegolf.com.au NSW/ACT Journalist: Michael Court michael@insidegolf.com.au VIC/TAS Journalist: Michael Davis michael.davis@insidegolf.com.au QLD Journalist: Peter Owen peter.owen@outlook.com.au Design & Layout: Stacey Broomhead, Rob Kirk CONTRIBUTORS: Larry Canning, David Newbery,Tony Webeck, John Riley, Karen Lunn, Michael Cooney, Andrew Crockett Distributed to over 450 golf clubs, social golf clubs, driving ranges and retailers Australia wide every month. Combined print and online national monthly readership over 210,000. AUSTRALIA’S MOST-READ GOLF MAGAZINE www.insidegolf.com.au Cover photos: Jack Buchanan (left) and Elvis Smylie. Photos courtesy of Golf Australia Inside Golf publishes opinion from a wide range of perspectives in the hope of promoting constructive debate about consequential questions. SALES: National Sales: Sam Arthur P: 1300 4653 00 M: 0410 575 303 | E: sam@insidegolf.com.au Northen NSW/QLD/NT Sales: David Ross M: 0439 612 458 | E: david.ross@insidegolf.com.au NSW/ACT Corp Sales: David Andrews M: 0404 871 479 | E: david.andrews@insidegolf.com.au Sydney/NSW Sales: Michael Hamilton M: 0423 455 572 | E: michael.hamilton@insidegolf.com.au VIC/TAS Sales: Marc Wilson M: 0419 107 143 | E: marc@insidegolf.com.au WA Sales: Gary Powell M: 0439 350 363 | E: gary@insidegolf.com.au SA Sales: Brett Crosby M: 0403 323 198 | E: brett@insidegolf.com.au ACCOUNTS: Sheridan Murphy M: 1300 465 300 | E: accounts@insidegolf.com.au Get in touch If you have an opinion on this or any other topic in the magazine, send your letter to the editor to rob@insidegolf.com.au and you’ll be in the running to win a gripping prize. Rob Willis rob@insidegolf.com.au
December 2024 www.insidegolf.com.au 6 HE’S LIVED in Australia since he was 11 and speaks with such a broad Aussie accent that you’d wager he’d never left these shores, but Jack Buchanan was born in Scotland and remains proud of his Scottish heritage. It was the reason he returned to his homeland this year to compete in four mid-summer tournaments on Scotland’s Tartan Tour. The first-year pro did well there, finishing second in the Newmachar Classic after leading into the final round, third in the Ladybank Masters and top 30 in the other two events on a tour that’s perhaps a step below our own Australasian Tour. Buchanan’s dad Billy was a fine golfer who influenced his son to take up the game and when the family moved to Australia a decade ago, the Buchanan’s settled in South Australia, young Jack becoming a junior member at Flagstaff Hill, south of Adelaide. “I can’t explain the accent,” he said. “Maybe I arrived here young enough to pick up the way Aussies talk.” A member of the South Australian state team by the age of 14, Buchanan switched to the Glenelg Golf Club and enjoying an outstanding amateur career, winning the South Australian Amateur Championship and finishing a close second in the Australian Amateur in 2022. He was also a member of Australia’s silver medal-winning Eisenhower Trophy team last year. He turned professional immediately before the 2023 Queensland PGA Championship, and enjoyed moderate success in a handful of starts last season, his best performance being fifth in the Gippsland Super 6 and 15th in the Victorian PGA. That all changed when Buchanan returned from Scotland. At his first outing this season he won the Western Australian PGA at Kalgoorlie, beating local hope Jordan Doull in a playoff after both golfers finished at 17-under-par “Getting over that first hurdle makes you believe you can do it more,” Buchanan said. And he did. A fortnight later Buchanan shot a course record 62 in his final round to claim his second victory of the season at the Webex Players Series South Australia at the Willunga course. “Winning at Kalgoorlie definitely helped,” Buchanan said. “It gave me so much more belief – just knowing you can do it when you need to.” It was an extraordinary performance by Buchanan who was 10 strokes from the lead after a disappointing first round, his win taking him to top spot on the PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit, and a likely card for next year’s DP World Tour. Buchanan has been supremely consistent this season. As well as his two wins, he was sixth in the Queensland PGA, 12th in the WA Open and 13th in the PNG Open. His World Golf Ranking is heading north, having leapt from 2700 before he turned professional to a current 785. Buchanan describes himself as an aggressive player, who seldom takes the easy option on the golf course. “I’m a good driver and a good ball striker and I generally take the game on,” he said. He said when a golfer gets on a roll like he did in the final round in Adelaide, “it’s just a great feeling.” A popular member of the tour, regarded as a laid-back character who is fun to be around, Buchanan says he’s ‘pretty good at relaxing’ and finds it easy to switch off from golf. He says he enjoys nothing better than ‘hanging out with my mates.’ He’s looking forward to competing on the Australasian Tour for the remainder of the season, then plans to campaign in Europe next year – almost certainly finding time for another visit to his native Scotland. INSIDE NEWS IN THIS ISSUE 52 56 TRAVEL MID NORTH COAST FEATURE AMATEUR GOLF 18 CLUB NEWS 30 BUNKER-TOBUNKER CLUB OF THE MONTH CHRISTMAS GIFT GUIDE 38 36 42 PRO NEWS 7 INDUSTRY NEWS 21 NEW GEAR 40 LETTERS 39 SOCIAL GOLF FEATURE 62 GOLF DIRECTORY 84 19TH HOLE 82 DEMO DAYS 81 Australia’s next generation of golfing stars WITH A host of eager, young professionals battling each other every week and winning regularly on the Australasian PGA Tour, our next generation of golfing stars seem poised to take Australia right to the top of world golf. Not since Adam Scott, Aaron Baddeley and Jason Day elbowed their way onto the PGA Tour two decades ago, or perhaps since Greg Norman, Ian Baker-Finch and Wayne Grady made their mark on world golf a generation earlier, has Australia’s golfing nursery looked brighter. Led by young guns and recent winners Jack Buchanan, Elvis Smylie and Pheonix Campbell, Jak Carter, twice a runner up in through the first five events of the season, supported by newly minted pros Harrison Crowe, Jasper A happy homecoming for Herbert Stubbs and Quinnton Croker, with supertalented amateurs Billy Dowling and Declan O’Donovan, in naming just two, waiting in the wings, and the Aussies are poised to gatecrash the world’s major tours. Benefitting from the training programs put in place by Golf Australia, the mentoring of world-class coaches, and the convenience of playing on their own highly competitive tour, our top young golfers are showing what they’re capable of. See our profiles on Buchanan and Smylie, both winners on the Australasian Tour this season and a brief wrap of the Queensland PGA. In this December edition of Inside Golf, see the stories of our Next Gen stars. – PETER OWEN INSIDE NEWS HE arrived as the main support act, but finished the week as the headliner, with local boy Lucas Herbert, already a winner in the US and Europe, claiming his first win on the Australasian Tour with a victory at the Ford NSW Open. Born and raised in Bendigo, over the river in Victoria just two hours from the host venue at Murray Downs, Herbert mastered the difficult conditions on Sunday the best, outlasting his LIV Ripper GC teammate and tournament drawcard Cam Smith in posting a 15-under-par total for a three-shot victory. Smith finished tied for second with Corey Lamb and Alex Simpson. “Very, very special to win in front of all my friends from Bendigo, some family in there as well,” Herbert said. “To beat Cam starting four shots back on Sunday. Yeah, pretty special feeling.” Herbert returned the best score on the final day, a four-under par round of 67, while Smith battled an uncooperative putter in shooting a last day three-over par score of 74. “I didn’t feel like I hit bad putts, but it was pretty comical in the end. It just wasn’t my day. I felt like I had 85 putts out there,” Smith added. Order of merit leader Jack Buchanan finished tied for fifth in continuing his exceptional season so far. News, views and observations from around the golfing world A trip to Scotland flicked the switch for Buchanan Jack Buchanan, already twice a winner on the Australasian Tour, just five tournaments into the current season. By Peter Owen Campbell collects win, and a cheque, at the Qld PGA WHEN he burst onto the scene in winning the Queensland PGA when still an amateur in 2023, Victorian young gun Phoenix Campbell took home the trophy, however there would be no prizemoney to go with it as a reward for his efforts. Fast forward 12-months to the 2024 staging of the event and now a rookie professional, Campbell wound up in a playoff with South Australian Jak Carter, before defending his title, with his name added to the trophy once again, while this time taking home the winner’s cheque for $45,000. Campbell and Carter finished the 72-hole event played at the Nudgee Golf Club level on 11-under par, three ahead of LIV Golf star Cameron Smith and Queenslander Blake Proverbs. Elvis Smylie, winner of the recent WA Open, was alone in fourth a shot further back. The playoff on Nudgee’s demanding par three 18th hole was spectacular, the pair trading birdies, before an unfortunate bunker lie brought the South Aussie unstuck at the second extra hole, Campbell holding his nerve to close out his first Australasian Tour victory as a professional. Campbell became the first player since Lucas Parsons in 1997-1998, to win the Queensland PGA Championship in successive years and the first player to defend a title won as an amateur, then having turned professional since Aaron Baddeley’s Australian Open double in 1999-2000. Lucas Herbert upstaged tournament drawcard Cameron Smith to win the Ford NSW Open for his first Australasian Tour victory. Another of the up-and-coming stars of Australian professional golf, Phoenix Campbell claimed a second Queensland PGA title with a win at the Nudgee Golf Club. With Inside Golf Editor Rob Willis, with Peter Owen
December 2024 www.insidegolf.com.au PRO NEWS 7 First win worth smiling about for Elvis ELVIS Smylie made such an impression when he burst into big-time Australian golf three years ago that it seemed inevitable the Queenslander would win early and often – not just in this country, but throughout the world. By Peter Owen Smylie, the 19-year-old with the good looks and the silky smooth left-hand swing, was still an amateur when he shot matching weekend rounds of 63 to come within a stroke of winning the 2021 Webex Players Series Victoria event at Rosebud. When he turned professional and, a month later, tied for third in the Players Series Sydney, then was runner-up in the NSW Open, Smylie seemed to have the world at his feet. In the coming months, however, he was to discover just how difficult it is to win a golf tournament. Like with Justin Rose, the teenage amateur who exploded onto the golf scene in 1998 with his fourth placing in the Open Championship, turned professional, then hardly made a cut for the next two years, there were quiet whispers that perhaps his early success was just a flash in the pan. But, while others may have doubted him, Smylie, now 22, never stopped believing in his ability, or his right to be competing against the world’s best. “Outside noise!” he described the commentary. “Golf is a difficult game with many more lows than highs. “You must be patient and believe that the work you’re doing will put you in a position to win. “As soon as I turned pro I went straight to the European Tour and just got everything thrown at me at once,” he said. “It was tricky dealing with that. But stepping back a bit, what has happened has been a blessing in disguise. “As time’s gone on, I think I’ve appreciated everything that has happened. I’ve got a better perspective on how I can manage everything as well as I can moving forward.” “Golf teaches you so many things, both about the game and about yourself as a person. What has happened over the past few years will help shape me into the person I’ll become.” Smylie was perhaps as much relieved as he was delighted when he broke through to win his first tournament, the Western Australian Open at Mandurah in October, pipping the unlucky Jak Carter in a playoff. “It meant everything to me,” he said. “It was great to win for all the people, my family, my friends, who have helped me so much.” With the first three placegetters on the Australasian PGA Tour at season’s end assured of status on the DP World Tour – Smylie was in second place after the Queensland PGA – he is hopeful of returning to Europe next year. He enjoys touring, though he says it takes time to get used to living out of a suitcase and being away from home. “My parents help,” Smylie said. “When I was playing in the Open at Troon this year my mum was commentating at Wimbledon and we were able to spend some time together.” Mum, of course, is former tennis star Liz Smylie, a one-time Wimbledon doubles champion. Dad Peter was also a tennis professional, and Smylie said their experience as professional sports people has helped him on tour. Smylie pre-qualified to play in this year’s Open, an experience he describes as the best he’s had in golf. “Just being with those other players, seeing what I need to do, the areas I need to sharpen up, was exciting. But, in the end, it’s just a regular tournament and everything I do I tried to keep the same – maybe with a bit more excitement,” he said. Smylie says he’s well organised, meticulous in his preparation for a tournament and always ‘ready to go’ on Thursdays. When he’s touring he likes to split up his days – practice and prepare in the mornings; sightsee and relax in the afternoons. “After all, we get to visit some of the most amazing parts of the world,” he said. He’s built up a group of friends on tour. “We have dinner together and root for each other, We’re all playing to win, of course, but we’re also playing against the course.” After working with Queensland’s Ian Triggs for most of his career, Smylie joined Western Australian Ritchie Smith’s team early this year and believes the real benefits of that move will become apparent in the next 12 months. Elvis Smylie was finally a winner, capturing the WA Open title in a playoff over Jak Carter. Twice a runner up over the first six events, Jak Carter is another of the young guns knocking on the door in search of his first tour victory.
December 2024 www.insidegolf.com.au PRO NEWS 8 ‘Second-to-none’ season for Green on the 2024 Champions Tour NOW playing on the PGA Tour Champions, Richard Green enjoyed a breakout year in the US, his second placing in the Charles Schwab Cup Championship, his fifth runner’s up finish of 2024 seeing the Victorian wind up third on the season-long points list behind just Steve Alker and Ernie Els. Green collected US$3,137,821 in prizemoney on the year - as well a bonus of US$300,000 on top for his efforts. Prior to competing on the seniors circuits of the world, Green managed three wins in Europe, highlighted by his victory at the 1997 Dubai Desert Classic, won in a playoff against former World No 1’s Greg Norman and Ian Woosnam. Green also claimed two titles on home soil, including the 2004 Australian Masters. Before he teed it up in the Charles Schwab finale, Inside Golf’s US correspondent Garrett Johnston caught up with Green to chat about his outstanding 2024 season. How was your time on the PGA Tour Champions in 2024? I’m just happy that I’ve been able to put myself in contention a lot this year. I’ve shown myself signs that my game’s good enough to compete with the best of them out here. I suppose I just need to keep playing golf this same way so I give myself a chance to try and win again. That’s the overall idea for me. What do you make of your PGA Tour Champions journey, two seasons under your belt now? It’s been amazing so far. This Tour is as good a place you can end up in the over 50 crowd, playing anywhere in the world. Being from Australia and trying to consistently continue playing top level golf, this is the best place to do it. Hands down. It’s the best competition, the best presented courses, the best tournaments, and the best prize money that you could ever imagine to play for. So I’m very fortunate to be out here and good enough I guess. The process I went through a couple years ago where I went to Q School with no status and won my card was very crazy you just don’t know what’s going to happen. There are only four or five spots at Q School. You’ve got to be on your game to get one of those spots. Thankfully it was a couple McKenzie never in front at Thurgoona – until it mattered most VICTORIAN David McKenzie struck the perfect shot to within tap-in distance in birdieing the final hole to win the NSW Senior Open played at the Thurgoona Country Club near Albury. The Victorian carded a closing five-underpar 67, for a 12-under-par total to beat third round leader Mat Goggin by one shot. “At the time, you’re never really sure what’s going on around you, so in the end, even when I hit it into about a foot and a half, it still seemed a bit far away for my liking,” McKenzie joked of his 9-iron approach on the final hole. “They’re hard to win. I’ve had a lot of chances a lot of times and haven’t got it done. And the times I have won, I’ve won well and going away so it was good to get one in a close (finish). Scott Barr and Peter Lonard shared third another shot back. David McKenzie, winner of the NSW Senior Open at Thurgoona. years ago and I’m here now and I’m certainly cherishing it and hopefully I’ll hang onto it for another few years. You had a great year in 2024, how gratifying has the consistency been for you? It’s very, very rewarding to get some good results based on the amount of work we’ve put in. Year to year, to keep doing it is hard. I hope my form can continue well into 2025 and there’s no reason why it can’t. This year I was a little more familiar with the courses and I knew what to expect, whereas in the first year out in 2023 I was a little surprised, and I was learning the courses each week. It felt a bit exploratory. I was trying to find out how you’ve got to play certain holes and certain shots. Then this year (2024) has been a little bit nicer about knowing what I’m getting into and knowing what kind of course is in front of me. You’ve just got to work hard and you’ve got to be fit. I’ve been a little down with an injury the last few weeks in my lower back. I’ve done a lot of work with my physic Tyson to get back into playing shape. You’ve got to be 100 percent to play out here with the guys and it’s a hard enough game to play fully healthy, let alone with an ailment. It’s symptoms that I’ve had before from lifting weight and twisting the wrong way. I think I hurt it after a practice session on the range in September. We’re not getting any younger and I’ve got to learn to pace myself in regards to the work ethic I suppose and make sure I’m fit to play all of the time. What part of the game does a lower back injury affect the most for you? Really everything. You feel it standing over the ball. You feel it swinging the club on every shot. It’s a requirement for me to feel fit at all times and ready to play and to go after it hard, so if there’s something that’s a little bit off in my body then it’s very difficult for me to even swing the club. My physic Tyson has been a huge help and kept me in shape throughout the playoffs and now we’ve just got to have a good plan moving forward and hope this doesn’t happen again. You learn from it and then press on. What have you learned about yourself in your 2024 season when you had four second place finishes (the Schwab Championship was his fifth), being so close to winning? I guess that I believe that I’m good enough to be out here on the Champions Tour winning with the strong caliber of the players. You’ve got some unbelievable players out here like Ernie Els, Vijay Singh, Padraig Harrington, and Bernhard Langer. All of these guys have been profound winners on Tour over the course of their careers. I may not have won as many times as they have but it’s just nice to come out here and have the sort of game that can compete with them. I’ve got myself into a place of belief where I know I can do it, given the right conditions and the right course, everything hopefully falls into place for a win. That’s probably what I’ll take the most out of 2024, I’ve had so many good results and so many times in contention that makes me feel like I can do it. What do you expect from your caddie under the pressure of a Sunday when you guys are trying to win? I expect a lot, actually. I expect him to help keep me thinking straight under the gun. I want him to keep me making the right decisions and talk through the options. We can’t take any decision lightly. We’ve got to be thorough as we talk over a shot and then I’ve got to be very committed to the strike once I get over the ball. It always helps when a caddie is able to keep you in a strong sense of mind. How often do you get back to Australia these days? Not enough (laughs). It’s always a long year and I’m certainly looking forward to going home for the offseason. We’ll have a nice break for sure. Can’t wait. I’ll get home at the start of the year and depending on what the golf schedule looks like next year, I’ll be looking for other opportunities to get home. It’s important to pace yourself on this Tour, and when we’re away for a while without any real home base, it’s important to pace yourself when you’re away and look for opportunities to have a rest. – TWITTER: @JOHNSTONGARRETT Despite not recording a tournament victory, Richard Green enjoyed a sensational 2024 season on the PGA Tour Champions. Langer – 67 and no sign of slowing down AT the ripe old age of 67, German Bernhard Langer continued to amaze with another victory on the PGA Tour Champions, this one coming at the season-ending Charles Schwab Cup Championship. Langer shot rounds of 69-64-67-66, for an 18-under par total, one clear of Australian Richard Green and Kiwi Steve Alker. The win, his only victory of 2024 and first since the 2023 U.S. Senior Open, earned Langer his record-extending 47th win on PGA Tour Champions from 356 starts. He moved up from 22nd at the start of the week to seventh on the final Charles Schwab Cup standings. Remarkably it was Langers 18th consecutive year with a win on PGA Tour Champions, dating back to his debut season of 2007. The victory also extended his record as the oldest winner in PGA Tour Champions history, at 67 years, 2 months, 14 days and his 14th win since turning 60 years old, a number which alone would rank tied 18th on the over 50’s tour for all-time wins. It was Langer’s first win at the Charles Schwab Cup Championship in 16 appearances, with a previous best finish of second, and it was the 25th different tournament on PGA Tour Champions that he has won. In the last round of the Schwab Cup in Phoenix, Langer shot his age or better for the third consecutive day and 23rd time overall on PGA Tour Champions. Before joining the senior tour, Langer was twice a major champion, winning the US Masters on two occasions, while also claiming 42 tournament victories in Europe. Bernhard Langer’s amazing winning streak continued with a victory at the Charles Schwab Cup Championship in Phoenix.
December 2024 www.insidegolf.com.au PRO NEWS 9 Greg Chalmers enjoyed a strong rookie season on the PGA Tour Champions circuit in 2024. Cameron Percey, the 2023 qualifying school medalist, enjoyed a solid rookie season on the PGA Tour Champions. Aussie ‘old boys’ cashing in HIGHLIGHTED by the performance of Richard Green, the Victorian lefty finishing one shot behind winner Bernhard Langer at the final event and third on the 2024 moneylist, the Aussie contingent of over 50’s performed strongly on the PGA Tour Champions during the past year. Seven Australians qualified for the Charles Schwab Cup Championship, the season-ending event contested by the 35 leading players on the year-long points list. While Green led the way, Rod Pampling (19th), Greg Chalmers (25th), Mark Hensby (27th), Stuart Appleby (34th) and Cameron Percey (35th) should also be satisfied with their efforts in 2024, so to David Bransdon, Steve Allan and Michael Wright, the trio enjoying solid rookie campaigns on the Champions Tour, narrowly missing a place in the field for the Schwab Cup while retaining playing rights for 2025. Chalmers, profiled in the May edition of Inside Golf, began 2024 without fully exempt tour status, before winning his way into tournaments via Monday qualifiers. He would play 19 events, finish in the top 10 on five occasions, tee it up in the Charles Schwab Championship where he placed 15th, while collecting the handsome sum of US$830,000 in prizemoney for his efforts. Pampling recorded six top 10’s in 27 starts, while finishing fifth in the Schwab Cup Championship event. Special mention to Steve Alker, the Kiwi continuing his remarkably consistent run. Tied for second with Green behind winner Bernhard Langer in the Charles Schwab Cup Championship, Alker finished in the number one spot once again after being number two in 2023 and the Charles Schwab Cup champion in 2022. AFTER winning a second Australian PGA Seniors Championship at the Richmond Golf Club the focus for Andre Stolz will turn to an upcoming tilt at the US PGA Tour Champions qualifying school with the aim of joining the large collection of Australian professionals on the world’s biggest over50’s circuit. Beginning the final day tied at the top of the leaderboard with Jason Norris, Stolz opened a commanding lead midway through the final round at Richmond, stumbled with back-toback bogies, before responding with a birdie on the 14th, then an eagle on 15. His winning total of 17-under par was five clear of joint runners-up Norris and Matthew Goggin. “I know I’ve won a lot of events on this Tour, and I’ve won the Order of Merit the last three years and leading again this year, and winning all those events is great, but these are the ones that we all want,” Stolz said of his win at the Australian PGA Seniors, coming on the back of a top 10 finish at the NSW Senior Open the week prior. However with his victory in Australia’s richest Legends Tour event, Stolz will put some of the $27,000 winner’s cheque to good use in chasing a PGA Tour Champions card in a few weeks’ time. “It’s just really good timing,” Stolz said. “Obviously this time of the year is pretty much peak season for us. It’s a big expense to blow for a week, but we’ll go and roll the dice.” Also entered and attempting to win their way onto the US senior tour In coming weeks are recent NSW Senior Open winner David McKenzie, Tasmania Goggin, runner up at both Richmond and at Thurgoona, along with the likes of Brendan Jones, Brad Kennedy and Scott Barr. The first round of Tour qualifying was set to take place in mid-November at various venues, with the final stage to tee off at the TPC of Scottsdale course in Arizona from December 3. Victorians Cameron Percey and Richard Green were medalists at the past two final qualifying events, while in 2023 four of the five full Champions Tour memberships for 2024 went to Australians, Percey leading the way, with Steve Allan, David Bransdon and Michael Wright also earning exempt PGA Tour Champions status. And Andre Stolz and co look to join them…. After claiming a second Australian PGA Seniors title, Andre Stolz has now set his sights on earning a PGA Tour Champions card.
December 2024 www.insidegolf.com.au PRO NEWS 10 Part-timer Sam finds his way into PGA field SAM Eaves had given up hope of qualifying for the PGA Professional Championship National Final when he stood on his final tee at Nudgee Golf Club, the site of the south-east Queensland qualifier. Not even a birdie would be enough to get the Toowoomba-based pro into the final. “I hadn’t played that good,” Eaves said. “I stood over the ball for my approach shot and there were people walking everywhere. There was even a golf cart on my line, but what did it matter? I just hit the ball towards the green.” And then, as sometimes happens in feel-good movies and in golfers’ most outrageous dreams, it went in for the unlikeliest of eagles. Playing partners Matt Guyatt, who went on to win that qualifier, and Matt Ballard just shook their heads in amazement as the ball made its way unerringly to the hole. The hole-out gave Eaves a one-under-par 71, a tie for 11th position in the event, prizemoney of $176 and, best of all, the very last spot in October’s PGA Professional Championship National Final at Melbourne’s Heritage Golf and Country Club. After a build-up like that you just knew something special would happen there, too. Eaves breezed around the 54 holes of the national final in nine-under-par 207, including a second round 66 and a final round of 69, for a three-stroke victory in a tournament to determine the country’s best vocational professional golfer. But Eaves doesn’t even have a job in golf any longer. The former head pro at Warwick Golf Club is now a full-time salesman for Noosa Springs Golf & Spa Resort's championship course is located in Noosa Heads. Play & Stay, just minutes from the main beach and vibrant Hastings Street. NOOSA SPRINGS GOLF & SPA RESORT For more information scan the QR code, visit noosasprings.com.au or call 07 5440 3333 Play and Stay in the heart of Noosa By Peter Owen a Toowoomba real estate firm, his golf is pretty much confined to occasional members’ competitions at City Golf Club. Celebrating his win in the national final, Eaves said: “I’m not here to keep a tour card or go places in golf. I’m here to just enjoy the game as much as I can and that’s why I play so good, because I’ve got so much freedom.” As well as taking home the winner’s cheque for $11,700, Eaves’ win at The Heritage earned him a spot in the Australian PGA Championship at Royal Queensland, and a place on the Australian team for next year’s Four Nations Cup in Canada. Remarkably, Eaves has pre-qualified for, and played in, every Australian PGA Championship since the event moved to Royal Queensland. In January of 2022 he lined up for pre-qualifying, was successful against four others in a playoff, before making the cut against a field which included Adam Scott, Cameron Smith and Min Woo Lee. “There were no nerves,” he said. “It was just pure enjoyment. I don’t have to keep a tour card. I don’t have to win money or do any of that. I’m just a golf fan playing golf inside the ropes.” Eaves said he would take the same attitude into this year’s event. “I play really well around Royal Queensland,” he said. “There’ll be no pressure or expectations on me to do anything, and I get to go and have the most fun for a week.” After six years as head professional at Warwick, Eaves moved to Toowoomba in 2022, thought about playing professionally full time, reconsidered and dabbled in a few jobs, before deciding real estate would be a good fit for a man who was energetic and got on well with people. Though he retains PGA membership, and says he always will, he’s finished with touring and has no intention of returning to the golf industry. “I just play a few events each year,” he said. “I’ll just go away and play, indulge myself for a week, go to the pub with the boys and treat it as a social event.” Though he may take a casual approach to tournaments there is no doubt that Eaves has a seriously good golf game. He tells of prequalifying at Caboolture for the 2020 New Zealand Open, shooting seven under par to earn a start, where he then recorded rounds of 73, 66, 68 and 68 – a final round which included a hole-in-one - to finish 14th. Eaves, 35, said he thought about his father Alan, a stalwart of the Maryborough Golf Club who died a year ago after a battle with heart disease, during the PGA Professionals national final. “He would be one of the first people I’d call at the end of a round – talking through the final holes, the putts I holed and the critical moments. He’d been there and done it all before so he knew exactly what I was going through.” Sam Eaves is greeted by a spray of champagne from mates after the event. Sam Eaves celebrates after winning the PGA Professional Championship National Final. 1800 630 343 Email: sales@travelrite.com.au • www.travelrite.com.au 29 September to 13 October 2025 Tee o in style at world-renowned Portugal courses, including Oitavos Dunes in Lisbon, the Quinta do Lago South and Laranjal Golf Course in Portugal’s stunning Algarve region, before crossing continents to experience the iconic Royal Dar Es Salam Golf Course in Morocco. Visiting Lisbon & the Algarve in Portugal and Marrakech, Rabat & Fez in Morocco withROBERT STOCK P.G.A. PROFESSIONAL Portugal & Morocco GOLF ADVENTURE
DECEMBER / JANUARY FULL SCHEDULE AND BROADCAST INFORMATION WEBEX PLAYERS SERIES PERTH 9 – 12 January, 2025 Royal Fremantle Golf Club WEBEX PLAYERS SERIES VICTORIA 23 – 26 January, 2025 Rosebud Country Club GIPPSLAND SUPER 6 12 – 15 December, 2024 Warragul Country Club GIPPSLAND SIX VICTORIAN PGA CHAMPIONSHIP 5 – 8 December, 2024 Moonah Links
December 2024 www.insidegolf.com.au PRO NEWS 12 Keh a winner at first NSW Women’s Open qualifier A GOOD ‘feed’, washing some dirty clothes and taking to the air to fly home. They were the top of the ‘to-do’ list for New Zealand golf professional Wenyung Keh after qualifying for the 2025 Women’s NSW Open at Mollymook Golf Club last month. Keh fired back-to-back rounds of 72 at the testing Hilltop course at Mollymook in what was the first regional qualifying event for the Women’s NSW Open. The 27-year-old admitted her final round was pretty “chilled”, no doubt benefiting by having her sister Munchin, who is also a professional, playing in the same group. Munchin was also in contention with back-toback rounds of 73 to finish in equal fourth spot. Wenyung prevailed by a shot from the 2023 Australian Women’s Classic champion, Breanna Gill, who secured second spot on a countback after scores of 74-71. Keh later admitted she was uncertain where she was placed as she came down the final fairway. “I actually didn’t know what was happening as I was walking down 18,” she said. “I thought I was still in contention and I’d just try to birdie the last. “In the end I had to make a six-footer for par. “But it feels good, it still hasn’t really kicked in yet.” Keh did suggest staying calm and collected was the key to her victory. Green wins a second Greg Norman Medal FOLLOWING a three-win season on the LPGA Tour and in a year in which she reached a career high world ranking, Western Australian Hannah Green has been awarded her second Greg Norman Medal. At the PGA Awards Gala Dinner on Tuesday night more than 350 guests attended the glittering awards ceremony at Brisbane City Hall at an event which serves as a precursor to the BMW Australian PGA Championship, with Green’s Greg Norman Medal win among a total of 10 awards presented throughout the evening. The West Australian climbed to number five in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Ranking during 2024 on the back of a win at the HSBC Women’s World Championship in Thailand in March, a successful defence of her JM Eagle LA Championship title in April and a wire-towire victory at the BMW Ladies Championship in Korea. It was the 27-year-old’s greatest single-season yield in her career to date. Green also won the Greg Norman Medal in 2019 when she had two wins – including the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship – and was honoured to once again receive Australian golf’s highest accolade. “It has undoubtedly been one of the best years of my career and to cap it with a second Greg Norman Medal makes it all the more special,” said Green, who was in Florida for the seasonending LPGA event and unable to attend the PGA Awards. “I would like to thank everyone in my team, my husband Jarryd, my family and friends for their support this year.” On hand to accept the Greg Norman Medal on Green’s behalf was her coach, Ritchie Smith, who was named PGA National Coach of the Year – High Performance, for a fourth time. It is a fourth national win for Smith, who also received the High Performance gong in 2014, 2019 and 2021 and in 2024 had three players - Green, Minjee Lee and Min Woo Lee - represent Australia at the Paris Olympics. The PGA Awards were announced as Inside Golf was going to press. A full list of the award winners will be published in the January issue. Hannah Green, winner of the Greg Norman Medal for a second time. Michael Court michael@insidegolf.com.au “I wasn’t thinking too much about the score; it was just about getting the ball in play,” she said. “I was out of position a couple of times but managed to get it back in play, so I think that’s what helped. “When we made bogeys, we didn’t get too emotional about it and just kept going and kept moving forward.” “I have played with my sister Munchin a couple of times, but it’s always nice. “Kristalle [Blum] and Justice [Bosio] were good too, so we really had a fun time.” Keh has played numerous NSW tournaments in previous years and said she enjoyed the experience at Mollymook. “We love coming back to Australia,” she said. “Mollymook has been fun. It’s always a good time to come back,” As for her post-tournament plans, Keh kept things practical: “I’m not sure. I’ll just do some laundry, get a good feed and I’m looking forward to going home tomorrow.” Gill also qualified for the NSW Open with her second placing, with Queensland’s Justice Bosio finishing tied with Gill at plus-one. Six venues across NSW will each host 36 holes of action, with the leading two placegetters securing spots in the 2025 championship to be held at Wollongong Golf Club Resort in March. ON HER WAY TO THE NSW OPEN: Wenyung Keh enjoyed a win at Mollymook GC. *Tour extensions available on request JAPAN GOLF TOUR 2025 ATTEND THE US MASTERS IN 2025 • Enjoy WED, FRI & SUN at The Masters • Play Pebble Beach, Pinehurst & others • Dedicated Tour Host • Private transfers throughout • 3 fine dining experiences • Private housing only minutes from Augusta National • 14 day Golf Tour of Japan • Play Orai Showood GC, Grand PGM Ishioka GC & Gotemba West GC • Explore the Senso-ji Temple in Tokyo and Kyoto’s historic streets • Travel in style on the Shinkansen (Bullet Train) & soothe in the hot springs of the Oshino onsen • Luxurious accommodations await ROVOS RAIL GOLF SAFARI SOUTH AFRICA 2025 Experience the Ultimate Blend of Golf and Safari Adventure ALL INFORMATION IS CORRECT AT TIME OF PRINT AND IS SUBJECT TO CHANCE WITHOUT NOTICE, DUE TO MATTERS OUTSIDE OUR CONTROL SUCH AS ADVERSE CURRENCY FLUCTUATIONS, TAXES AND FUEL SURCHARGES. MASTERS PACKAGES FROM AS LITTLE AS $5000USD PER PERSON STOP PRESS:
LEARN MORE AT GOLFWORKS.COM.AU
December 2024 www.insidegolf.com.au PRO NEWS 14 Will mighty McCarty open the floodgates for future lefties? WHEN Matt McCarty won the Black Desert Championship on the US PGA Tour in October – his fourth tournament victory in 10 starts over a three-month period – he gave notice that a new golf star might just have been born. And a left-handed one, at that. His spectacular entry to big-time golf – Black Desert was just his third Tour start – put renewed focus on the place of lefthanded golfers in the game of golf. Whereas lefties dominate in sports like cricket, tennis and baseball – think Brian Lara, Alan Border, Rafael Nadal, Rod Laver and Babe Ruth among countless others – successful lefthanded golfers are as scarce as orchids in the desert. While left-handed individuals make up about 10-12 percent of the worldwide population, only about five percent of PGA Tour golfers are lefties. And the proportion of winners is even smaller. Only 18 left-handed golfers have won on the PGA Tour since New Zealand’s Bob Charles broke the lefties’ duck in the 1963 Houston Open. That was also the year he won the British Open at Royal Lytham and St Anne’s to become the first lefthanded major winner, a feat subsequently equalled by only Phil Mickelsen, Bubba Watson, Mike Weir and Brian Harman. On the LPGA Tour, left-handed women golfers have fared even worse. Bonnie Bryant, who won the Bill Branch Classic 50 years ago, remains the only member of the LPGA Tour to win a tournament while playing left-handed. The trend may be changing, however. Four PGA Tour events were won this year by lefties - two by Bob McIntyre (the Canadian and Scottish Opens), one by Akshay Bhatia (Texas Open) and McCarty’s recent success at Black Desert. So, why are there so few left-handed golfers? Many suggest it is because of the lack of equipment for lefties. Especially in times past, left-handed clubs were not readily available, particularly the hand-me-down clubs that youngsters typically use when getting started. It’s also easier to learn golf right-handed, as nearly all the instructional literature and videos tend to assume a player is right-handed. And the fact that right-handed golfers have historically dominated the game may tend to encourage lefties to reach for right-handed clubs in their formative years. Canadian Mike Weir famously wrote to Jack Nicklaus when he was 13, seeking his advice on whether he should switch to playing right-handed. Nicklaus replied: “No. I believe you should stick to your natural swing. Stay left-handed. The fundamentals apply to both sides of the ball.” It was sage advice. Weir went on to win the 2003 Masters and become, arguably, his country’s finest golfer. But many left-handed players have indeed switched to righthanded and achieved notable success. By Peter Owen They include this year’s Mexico Open winner Jake Knapp, whose elder brother was right-handed, his father refusing to buy two sets of clubs, and Jordan Spieth, whose advice was: “Try both and go with whichever one you’ve got more power with.” Renowned coach Sean Foley said there remains a social stigma against left-handedness. “There are many guys who started playing golf left-handed and were then told, ‘No, you’ve got to switch to right-handed.’ Being left-handed had a negative bias to it,” Foley said. Whatever the reason, many natural left-handers have played golf right-handed. Among them are major winners Arnold Palmer, Ben Hogan, Nick Price, Curtis Strange, Johnny Miller and Greg Norman, as well as Spieth. Interestingly, though, some right-handers have played their entire careers as lefties, perhaps searching for the poetic, rhythmic swings that grace the games of left-handed players like our own Richard Green and Elvis Smiley. Who would have thought that leftie icons like Mickelsen, Charles, Watson and Harman were all naturally right-handed? As difficult as it is to compare athletes from different areas, following are 10 of the very best left-handed golfers, past and present. 1. Phil Mickelsen With 45 PGA Tour wins and a highest Official World Golf Ranking of two, Mickelsen’s position as the world’s best lefthanded golfer is secure. He won the 1991 Northern Telecom Open as an amateur, as well as six major championships, including three Masters. 2. Bob Charles Charles was the first left-handed golfer to win the British Open, and the first to win on the PGA Tour. He was runner-up in a US PGA Championship, and placed third in two US Opens. Charles won six times on the PGA Tour, had 79 worldwide victories, and was the first leftie to be inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame. 3. Mike Weir Canada’s best-ever golfer, Weir won the Masters in 2003, becoming the first leftie to win at Augusta and the first to win a major since Bob Charles 40 years earlier. He had eight career PGA Tour wins, is still competing successfully on the PGA Tour Champions, and captained the Internationals in this year’s Presidents Cup. 4. Bubba Watson Watson is a two-time Masters champion, having won in 2012 and 2014, and has long thrilled galleries with his almost magical ability to shape the ball. He notched 12 PGA Tour wins and nearly $US50 million in earnings before signing up to LIV Golf. 5. Brian Harman Harman’s victory in the 2023 Open came on top of two earlier PGA Tour victories (2014 John Deere Classic and 2017 Well Fargo Championship) and he is one of nine lefties who have multiple wins on the PGA Tour. 6. Robert McIntyre Already a key member of the European Ryder Cup team, McIntyre broke through on the PGA Tour with a mid-year victory at the Canadian Open, then followed up with a win in the Scottish Open six weeks later, outplaying Rory McIlroy to take his country’s national event. 7. Akshay Bhatia With his supple body, tight pants and expansive swing, bespectacled Bhatia is already a dual winner on the PGA Tour. He also won on the Korn Ferry Tour at his very first start. 8. Steve Flesch After becoming only the second left-handed golfer to win on what is now the Korn Ferry Tour, Flesch became a four-time PGA Tour winner, including twice in 2007. He was top 10 in three of the four majors, and tied 20th in the 2000 Open. Flesch is still contending regularly on the Tour Champions. 9. Greg Chalmers Evergreen Aussie Greg Chalmers won the 2016 Barracuda Championship on the PGA Tour in his 386th event. Also won the Australian PGA Championship twice, a winner on the European Tour, Chalmers is currently competing on the PGA Tour Champions. 10. Matt McCarty McCarty, from Scottsdale, Arizona, had won three times on the Korn Ferry Tour this year to gain promotion to the PGA Tour where, at only his second subsequent outing, he won the Black Desert Championship in October. Rising PGA Tour star Matt McCarty, a recent winner on the PGA Tour – and a lefty! $2895p/p twin share Package INCLUSIONS... 6 x Nights at the 5-Star Nusa Dua Beach Hotel Welcome Cocktail Function Gala International Dinner 19th Hole Functions Daily Prize Giving Ceremony after each round 2 x Rounds at Bali National 2 x Rounds at New Kuta Golf Cart, caddie, transfers Golf Goody Bag Lucky draw prizes over $10,000 Non Golfers & Partners Welcome Tee off in Paradise BALI AMATEUR OPEN 1st / 7th June 2025 www.baliamateuropen.com.au JOIN NOW !! Full details ....
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NTc1MjU0