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March 2026 www.insidegolf.com.au THE FIRST TEE 5 The integrity of handicapping I’M writing to express growing concern about the direction Golf Australia appears to be taking with handicapping, particularly the push to have more “Conforming Social Scores” influence players’ daily handicaps outside the traditional oversight of competition rounds. At club level, handicaps have always relied on one thing above all else: confidence that scores are being returned under fair conditions, with proper scrutiny and consistency. Competition formats, despite their occasional flaws, at least provide structure, rules, and a level of accountability. That framework has helped protect the integrity of handicapping for decades. But what happens when score submission increasingly shifts into social play environments, where scrutiny is variable or non-existent? We are already seeing examples of visitors arriving at clubs with handicap records containing multiple conforming social scores from external “membership platforms” or affiliated channels. While these scores may technically meet the requirements of the system, they introduce a practical reality: they are far easier to manipulate, whether intentionally or not. In a competitive environment, members can recognise and report inconsistencies. In social golf, oversight is often informal, casual, or absent; and that makes the system vulnerable. The issue becomes even more concerning when players can obtain “membership” through third-party programs, such as Golf Australia Club and similar models, gaining cheaper access to rounds elsewhere and potentially having social scores processed and uploaded to handicap histories. If the pathway exists, it is naïve to think it won’t be used, and eventually abused, by those seeking an edge in competitions and prize events. In effect, Golf Australia risks encouraging an ecosystem where: 1. players can build or shape a handicap through lowscrutiny rounds, 2. clubs unwittingly facilitate social scores for people outside their own culture and controls, and; 3. the burden of policing fairness falls back onto clubs already struggling to protect competition integrity. Even more worrying is the long-term consequence: the erosion of competitive club golf itself. If members believe handicaps can be influenced too easily through socially processed scores, faith in the level playing field disappears. Once that happens, competition participation declines. And when competition participation declines, clubs lose one of the core elements that sustains membership value, camaraderie, and the very purpose of a handicapping system. To be clear, this isn’t about resisting modernisation or discouraging social golf. Social golf is thriving; and should. But social golf and competition golf serve different purposes, 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 CONTRIBUTORS: Larry Canning, Tony Webeck, Michael Cooney, Andrew Crockett www.insidegolf.com.au 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/SA Sales: Marc Wilson | M: 0419 107 143 E: marc@insidegolf.com.au ACCOUNTS: Sheridan Murphy E: accounts@insidegolf.com.au 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 Australian Amateur champions Jazy Roberts and Billy Dowling. Photo courtesy Golf Australia 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 dozen Bridgestone balls. Aussie Owned - Aussie Operated and a handicap system that leans too heavily on unregulated rounds risks undermining both. There is also a more serious consequence emerging beyond club competitions. There have been recent allegations, and in some cases, substantiated instances, of lower-marker golfers using conforming social scores strategically to keep their handicap artificially low, potentially below their true playing ability. The motive in these cases is to gain eligibility or advantage in elite amateur qualifying pathways, where handicap thresholds can determine entry or selection. This practice is plainly disadvantageous to genuine amateurs who maintain legitimate handicaps under proper competition scrutiny, only to miss qualification or fail to make the cut because someone else has effectively undercut them with an inaccurate handicap record. When the national governing body is actively promoting more social score submission for handicap purposes, clubs are left asking: What can we actually do to protect the integrity of our competitions? If the answer is “not much,” then Golf Australia may inadvertently be creating a mess that clubs will spend years trying to unwind. I would be very interested to hear whether other clubs are seeing similar issues, and whether Golf Australia is prepared to acknowledge the unintended consequences of this shift before the confidence in handicapping, and competition golf is damaged beyond repair. The Concerned Clubman. ED NOTE: Inside Golf received the above letter from our ‘Concerned Clubman’ who had obvious concerns as to the integrity of the handicapping system and where competition golf was headed. Golf Australia Club, a $15 per month subscription administered by the governing body, which offers an official Golf Australia handicap in addition to other membershiplike benefits, is one such example of the changing landscape when it comes to club and competition golf in Australia. With golf continuing to thrive, grow and attract newcomers to the game in large numbers, many choose to join one of these various ‘membership’ options available, with an official handicap a part of the deal. Often citing the reasons of membership fees being excessive and out of reach, and long waiting lists at metropolitan clubs, an increasing number of golfers are signing on to Golf Australia Club, Social Golf Australia, or something similar. Far be it from us, nor is our ‘concerned’ reader trying to discourage social golf or social golfers, however the question remains as to the validity and accuracy of handicaps when much of the golf played is away from traditional rules, regulations and club competition structures. An interesting topic, let us know your thoughts. BIGGER IS BETTER PRO-PREFERRED RUBBER SURFACE ULTRALITE CONSTRUCTION TWIST-RESISTANT STABILITYCORE™ ZEN LITE NEW & IMPROVED JMX ZEN LITE Jason Day 2015 PGA Championship winner
March 2026 www.insidegolf.com.au 6 INSIDE NEWS INSIDE NEWS IN THIS ISSUE AMATEUR GOLF 18 INDUSTRY NEWS 21 CLUB NEWS BMW CUP FINAL LIFESTYLE 28 26 44 PRO NEWS 8 CELEBRITY SWINGER 20 LETTERS 43 BUNKER-TOBUNKER 42 News, views and observations from around the golfing world With Inside Golf Editor Rob Willis rob@insidegolf.com.au PGA SHOW 56 TRAVEL 46 62 60 WE TRIED IT CORPORATE GOLF FEATURE NEW GEAR 58 EVENTS 72 DEMO DAYS 73 HUSQVARNA, leaders in robotic mower technology, help take the hard work out of lawn maintenance, not just on golf courses and sporting fields, but also for home owners around the world. Now, with Husqvarna teaming up with Inside Golf, make your lawn the envy of friends and neighbours, and without missing out on that weekend round of golf or needing to slave away in the hot summer sun. 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Win the Husqvarna Automower® Aspire™ R4 by entering via the Inside Golf competition page at www.insidegolf.com.au/category/ competitions/. Competition closes March 31. Model available April 24, 2026. Visit the Husqvarna website at www.husqvarna.com/au/roboticlawn-mowers/automower-aspire-r4-with-installation-kit/ to find out more about the Husqvarna Automower® Aspire™ R4 and the comprehensive range of Husqvarna products. 19TH HOLE 74 WIN With Husqvarna and Inside Golf CANCELLED rounds and shortened tournaments due to torrential rain and on occasion gale force wind, we’ve heard before. But too cold? And in the semi-tropical climate usually experienced in the city of Orlando in the US state of Florida. With the temperature dipping to below freezing on Saturday afternoon, before Sunday started with lows of -4 degrees Celcius, with winds whipping up to 25 kilometres per hour, then barely rising to only 4 degrees later in the day, and with the forecast for Monday again predicting temperatures below freezing, the final round of the LPGA’s season opener, the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions was reduced to 54-holes. The plan was for play to resume at 11am on Sunday, however when the sub-freezing temperatures failed to improve the final round was cancelled at 12.40 pm, citing a ‘non-optimal competitive environment’. Whatever than means. Nelly Korda, who had zero wins in 2025 following seven in 2024, claimed the victory after climbing into the lead with a third round ALL good things eventually come to an end, which was the case for Xander Schauffele at the North Course at Torrey Pines in late January. Schauffele hadn’t missed a 36-hole cut since the US Masters in April of 2022 – 72 tournaments in a row - however that impressive streak came to an abrupt halt in the Farmers Insurance Open, played in his hometown of San Diego. Needing a birdie at his 36th hole, Schauffele’s putt from three-metres slipped by, leaving him on two-under par and one shot shy of playing on the weekend. Schauffele has six wins to his credit, including the PGA and Open Championship’s in 2024, which both came during the streak. His consecutive cuts mark was the fifth best in PGA Tour history, with Tiger Woods sitting on top of the tree, having made 142 consecutive cuts from 1998 to 2005. Next best was Byron Nelson with 113 (19411949), then Jack Nicklaus at 105 (19701976) and Hale Irwin who made 86 cuts in row from 1975 to 1979. Taking over as the current consecutive cuts leader, Scottie Scheffler started slowly just two weeks later at the WM Phoenix Open, was under pressure following a twoover par score on day one, however a second round 65 made it 66 weekends in a row for the world number one. Scheffler would eventually finish third in Phoenix, just one shot behind winner Chris Gotterup and Hideki Matsuyama. It was his 18th consecutive top 10 finish. An impressive run of 72 cuts in a row came to an end for Xander Schauffele in San Diego. Schauffele streak comes to an end Scoring hot, Florida weather not so much! shots shy of a playoff between Cameron John and eventual winner Jordan Doull. Doull sealed the victory, his second tour title, when he made a birdie putt from around two metres at the fourth extra hole. DANIEL Gale, a three-time winner on the Australasian Tour and former Melbourne Storm NRL premiership winning fullback Ryan Papenhuyzen formed a player-caddie partnership during the golfing summer, with the pair first teaming up at the Webex Players Series Victoria event in late January. Papenhuyzen, now an Australian Golf ambassador who has stepped away from rugby league as he considers his sporting future, was alongside Gale when he climbed the leaderboard with a 63 in Friday’s second round at the Rosebud course. “He’s a good buddy of mine and loves his golf. He definitely helped me out and he’s a good green reader too,” Gale said. “We’ll play out the Aussie season and most events he’ll be on the bag,” Gale added. Unfortunately for Gale and his celebrity caddy, the weekend didn’t go to plan at Rosebud. Gale finishing in a tie for 10th, four Premiership winner turned Tour caddy Ryan Papenhuyzen has swapped the rugby league field for the fairways of the Australasian Tour, taking on the job as caddy for Sydney. professional Daniel Gale. GOLF DIRECTORY 76 NSW CENTRAL WEST FEATURE 51 64. It was her first victory since November 2024 and Korda’s 16th LPGA Tour win. Amy Yang was second in the event played at the Lake Nona course. Nelly Korda was the beneficiary when the LPGA’s Tournament of Champions was reduced to 54-holes due to cold weather.
March 2026 www.insidegolf.com.au 7 AUSTRALIAN AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIPS Dowling and Roberts, young stars on the rise WHILE the final margins may have been somewhat larger than expected, very few who have followed the fortunes of two of Australia’s brightest young golfing stars would have been surprised when the pair scored dominant wins in Perth at the recent national amateur titles. For Queenslander Billy Dowling and Victoria’s Jazy Roberts, victory in the 2026 adidas Australian Amateur Championships put an exclamation mark on their impressive amateur careers. In the men’s championship Dowling closed with a 7-under 63 at The Western Australian Golf Club to finish at 18-under, in claiming a five-shot victory over NSW pair Joshua Fuller and Kayun Mudadana, while Roberts was even more in control of the women’s event, firing a course-record 10-under 63 on the last day to finish the week at 27-under, six shots clear of Japan’s Anna Iwanaga. “I felt in control of everything and knew exactly where I was hitting it. It was just a matter of plotting along hole by hole,” Dowling said of his final round. Starting the day tied for the lead with the ACT’s Harry Whitelock at 11-under, Dowling parred the opening hole, before the Brisbane Golf Club member would birdie the next three and mix eight birdies with just a solitary bogey on 16. For the 20-year-old, the victory completes a major amateur goal as he eyes turning professional in the coming months following strong results on the PGA Tour of Australasia over the summer. Returning from Dubai late last year after a fifth placing at the Asia Pacific Amateur, Dowling made five cuts in six Australasian Tour events, highlighted by a second at the Queensland PGA and a third at the Webex Players Series Victoria event. “It means a lot,” Dowling said. “I’ve represented Australia, I’ve won my state amateur, but the Australian Amateur is one everyone knows goes down in history. “I can’t really put into words how much it means.” In the women’s championship, Roberts began the fourth round four shots ahead, holed a 15-foot birdie putt on the first, before making 10 more birdies, including five in a row on the back nine and on six of the final seven holes. The 63 from Roberts kept Iwanaga at bay despite the Japanese visitor closing with a 9-under 64 of her own. The win adds to the 21-year-old Yarra Yarra Golf Club member’s outstanding amateur resume, with this expected to be her final appearance at the Australian Amateur before turning professional. “I think I’ve done pretty much everything I wanted to as an amateur,” Roberts said. “It’s definitely the one I wanted to win the most.” Names on the Australian Amateur trophy include major champions Cameron Smith and Michael Campbell, along with Minjee Lee, Grace Kim and Lydia Ko, underlining the quality and class of some of the tournament’s former winners. “Obviously there’s still a lot of hard work to be done,” Roberts said. “But it gives me a lot of confidence that I can go on and do what they’ve done.” With five wins in World Amateur ranking events, including a victory at the Dunes Medal last November, after also taking out the Pacific Northwest Women’s Am and placing second at the North and South Women’s Am in the US during her golfing travels in 2025, and Roberts also has the amateur pedigree to make a successful tilt at the professional ranks in the years to come. Stars on the rise and two young Australian’s set to make their mark on the world golfing scene. Queenslander Billy Dowling scored a dominant five shot win in the 2026 adidas Australian Amateur Championship. Shooting a 10-under par 63 on the final day, Jazy Roberts has claimed the 2026 Australian Amateur title.
March 2026 www.insidegolf.com.au LIV NEWS 8 A remarkable ‘Kim-back’ ANTHONY Kim, thrown a career lifeline by LIV Golf ahead of their 2024 season, completed a remarkable comeback to competitive golf with a victory at LIV Adelaide. Playing in the final group on Sunday alongside Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau, Kim produced a sizzling 9-under par 63 around The Grange course for a 23-under par total and a three-shot win. The triumph for the 40-year-old American came after 12 ½ years away from competitive play due to injuries and personal challenges, while it was Kim’s first professional win in 16 years. “I’m very overwhelmed with this feeling right now,” said Kim, who almost didn’t make it to the first tee on Thursday due to visa issues. Having played as a wildcard during his first two seasons, before being forced to re-qualify to play on LIV in 2026, Kim also officially signed with the 4Aces GC team in the days before the tournament began. It was a win that perhaps only Kim himself may have thought was possible. “I was able to produce some good golf today. I knew it was coming,” Kim said. “Nobody else has to believe in me but me, and for anybody that’s struggling, you can get through anything.” After the dust had settled and the numbers were revealed, it was a deserved win for Kim, who’s bogey-free 63 was the best on the final day by two shots, he made just three bogies throughout the tournament and led the greens in regulation statistical category, hitting 60 of 72 greens for the week. Dates confirmed for LIV Golf Adelaide 2027 DATES have already been announced for the fifth staging of LIV Golf Adelaide. Next year’s event will tee off more than a month later than this year’s instalment, with the 2027 tournament scheduled for March 18–21, and at the new venue of the Kooyonga Golf Club. The Grange has hosted the previous four LIV Golf Adelaide events, and while the South Australian capital will remain the exclusive home to LIV Golf in Australia through at least 2031, the event is set to shift to the redeveloped North Adelaide Golf Course in 2028, a venue located close to the heart of the Adelaide CBD. LIV Golf Adelaide 2026 set a new attendance record for a professional golf event in Australia with more than 115,000 spectators attending over the four days. Tickets to next year’s tournament are already on sale. A ‘Ripper’ start for Elvis and LIV Golf’s Aussie boys THE 2026 LIV season kicked off in ideal fashion for the Australian Ripper GC team with wins in Riyadh then on home soil in Adelaide, while Elvis Smylie held off Jon Rahm to claim individual honours in his first event since signing on with the LIV Golf Tour. Smylie’s victory and outstanding performance in Riyadh, a tournament played under lights in the Saudi Arabian capital, helped guide Ripper to the first team title of the year, before it took a four-man effort at The Grange in Adelaide to make it the perfect start for the Aussie boys over the opening two events of the 2026 LIV schedule. Captain Cameron Smith and his Ripper GC teammates rallied past Rahm’s Legion XIII team for a twoshot win in Adelaide, their second triumph at home in three years. “Unreal. So good,” said Smith. “We had a training camp before the season, and this was our goal, to win this event, and we did it. It’s pretty special when you tick off a goal this early in the season.” The Adelaide victory came a week after Ripper GC also took out team honours in Riyadh, finishing three shots clear of Torque GC, the win built around the 24-under par individual total produced by Smylie. The 23-year-old Smylie shot 64 in the last round in Riyadh for what was quite the debut performance. “It’s a dream come true,” said Smylie. “I wanted to come out here and make a statement. I wanted to prove that I’m one of the best out here, and I feel like I’ve done that. It’s only up from here.” Anthony Kim capped a remarkable comeback to competitive golf with his win at LIV Adelaide. The winning Ripper GC team of Elvis Smylie, Marc Leishman, Cam Smith and Lucas Herbert.
March 2026 www.insidegolf.com.au PRO NEWS 9 “Having Steph play in both major events, as well as Webex Players Series Sydney, is a huge positive for our tour. “We’re building real momentum for women’s golf in Australia and having our star players return to support our major events in March will help us continue on our mission.” The 2026 Women’s Australian Open and the Australian WPGA Championship are co-sanctioned by the WPGA Tour of Australasia and the Ladies European Tour (LET). In addition to the marquee four, several of Australia’s leading female professionals will be aiming to upstage their high-profile rivals, including Su Oh and LET members Kelsey Bennett, Kirsten Rudgeley, Maddy Hinson-Tolchard and Justice Bosio. Also set contest the Open and WPGA championships will be international visitors Lydia Hall from Wales, Malaysian Ashley Lau, both Vic Open winners on the WPGA Tour of Australasia, along with defending Australia Open champion Jiyai Shin. Australia’s best chasing glory on home soil MAJOR championship winners Hannah Green and Grace Kim will be joined by LPGA star Steph Kyriacou at the ‘big two’ Australian women’s tournaments during March, while Australia’s No. 1 Minjee Lee has confirmed her participation at the Australian Open, for what promises to be an exciting fortnight for women’s professional golf. Kim, Green and Kyriacou will contest both the Australian Open at Kooyonga Golf Club from March 12-15, then the 2026 Australian WPGA Championship at Sanctuary Cove Golf and Country Club the week following, while Lee will be in the field in Adelaide looking to add the national open crown to her already impressive list of achievements. Ranked No.26 in the world and in arguably career-best form following a standout 2025 season, highlighted by her breakthrough major championship victory at the Amundi Evian Championship last year, Kim was first to sign on for the local events back in December, closely followed by the announcement that Lee will compete at the Open. Western Australian Green and Kyriacou have since committed for both events, with the young Sydneysider keen to display her talents on home soil. “There’s nothing quite like competing at home and being part of two tournaments with world-class fields in Adelaide and on the Gold Coast is something I’m really looking forward to,” Kyriacou said. “I think we will see two events that really highlight how strong women’s golf is in Australia. We’re in an awesome position at the moment. “Both the Open and WPGA are going to be great moments to be part of and it’s always special to play in front of the Aussie fans.” After earning an LPGA Tour card in 2022, Kyriacou has established herself as one of Australia’s leading players, the 25-year-old recording five top-10 finishes on the LPGA Tour last year. Included amongst her best results were a tie for fifth at the Mizuho Americas Open and the T-Mobile Match Play, while Kryiacou also played a key role, alongside Lee, Green and Kim, in Australia’s win at the 2025 Hanwha LIFEPLUS International Crown teams event. After trumpeting the announcements around the first three Aussie stars, Golf Australia CEO James Sutherland was equally Gold Coast Festival a golfing celebration THE Australian WPGA Championship, staged in conjunction with the Gold Coast Festival of Golf, will be four-day celebration of the women’s game. A high-energy, feel-good celebration awaits, where golf meets food, fun, fashion, and community spirit, the Festival of Golf, like the WPGA Championship, will be free to attend and packed with entertainment, golfing experiences and displays. The Festival of Golf will run from 11am to 6pm on Thursday, March 19 to Saturday, March 21, and 11am to 5pm on Sunday, March 22. WPGA Tour of Australasia CEO Karen Lunn expressed; “It’s a great opportunity to watch some first-class golf and enjoy all the attractions and entertainment at the Festival of Golf.” The winner of the WPGA Championship will receive the Karrie Webb Cup in honour of Australia’s best ever female professional. excited to announce Kyriacou’s participation in what he described as another significant boost for the women’s Australian Open. “Having our leading Aussie players like Steph, Hannah, Minjee Lee and Grace Kim compete at Kooyonga provides a fantastic opportunity for Australian fans to see the best of women’s golf on home soil and on one of the country’s best courses,” Sutherland said. While WPGA Tour of Australasia CEO Karen Lunn was also appreciative of Kyriacou’s decision to include a Webex Players Series event, as well as the WPGA Championship, on her 2026 tournament schedule. Can Steph Kyriacou upstage her more experienced Aussie rivals and claim one of the ‘big two’ Australian championships? JAPAN GOLF TOUR 14 DAY | STAY, PLAY! 6-19 MAY Embark on an unforgettable 14-day Golf Tour of Japan, combining worldclass golf with breathtaking scenery, rich culture, and refined hospitality. Play at a handpicked selection of the country’s most prestigious courses, including the iconic Oarai Sherwood GC — one of Japan’s only seaside courses — and the renowned Shizu Hills and Taiheiyo Club Minori courses. You’ll also experience premier golfing in Okinawa, with rounds at PGM Golf Resort Okinawa and the spectacular Southern Links GC, perched along dramatic ocean cliffs. Pricing Twin/Double: $12,295 AUD per person Single Supplement: +$3,000 AUD Inclusions • 13 nights accommodation, including breakfasts • All Coaches and Private Transfers • Eight rounds of golf with caddy • English Speaking Tour Guide • Lunch at local restaurant on arrival • 3 nights dinner at Katsuragi Kita no Maru Ryokan Please note: International and domestic flights are not included. FROM AUD $12,295 PP* 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.
March 2026 www.insidegolf.com.au PRO NEWS 10 Three months passed and then an unexpected letter arrived from the kid who had carried his bag. He laid out his life in the letter – an absent father, brushes with drugs and alcohol and a small-town wrestling coach who dragged him off the streets and into discipline. He told Lehman that he’d turned his life around and dreamed of going to college but didn’t have the money. That was until the $2500 payday. “He wanted to go to school,” Lehman recalled. “There was a college not far away. He didn’t want to leave his mom. But he couldn’t afford tuition until he got the cheque I gave him. For me, it was an incredible lesson learned.” Lehman went on to win five times on the PGA Tour, captain the US Ryder Cup team in 2006 and collect a dozen PGA Tour Champions titles. He would make millions yet that $20,000 he won in 1990 and the anonymous high school wrestler who stumbled into his golf life remains front of mind. “It taught me that it’s not always about me,” he said. “It’s about other people too and the folks around you.” In closing, the 66-year-old urged the students to consider their objectives and impacts. “Some of you will go on in golf, some of you will use golf as a hobby or in your business,” he said. “But through golf, you can really touch people. Be aware that the impact you have on the people around you is either going to be negative or positive. “Just make up your mind that you’re going to be a positive influence on the world.” In the end, Lehman’s message wasn’t about trophies. It was about integrity, perspective and the responsibility that comes with talent. – DAVID NEWBERY Lehman’s life lesson to young golfers FORMER Open champion Tom Lehman has spent a lifetime achieving success, but now he is giving back to the game through the college system. And when he speaks, young players listen. Recently, a group of 70 college golfers gathered to hear from him expecting yarns about his 1996 Open victory, the Ryder Cup or his time as world number one – albeit for one week. Yes, they got some of that but mostly they got a candid lesson on integrity. Lehman told a story about when he was just another journeyman grinding on the mini tours, trying to claw his way back to the PGA Tour. In the mid-1980s, after an initial stint on the PGA Tour (1983 to 1985), Lehman found himself scrambling for starts and income. In 1990, opportunity came in the form of a Ben Hogan Tour (now the Korn Ferry Tour) event where the winner would bank $20,000, which was serious money for a young family living out of a jalopy. The only hitch was Lehman wasn’t a full member of the Hogan Tour and didn’t have a regular caddie. So, he strolled into the pro shop looking for one. No luck. He asked if they could find one. They did, but the candidate was hardly a natural fit. Rather, he was a high school wrestler who had never set foot on a golf course. “I’m thinking, ‘Alright, this is my guy this week’,” Lehman told the college players and reporter Nick Stavas. During the practice round Lehman dished out quick-fire instructions – where to stand, when to take the pin out and how to rake bunkers. “I basically told him how to do everything and away we went,” he recalled. A few days later, Lehman won the tournament and did so without a single club selection, green read or wind check from his bag-carrier. The $20,000 prizemoney gave his family a little breathing space and it meant he could keep chasing his dream. Then came payday. Lehman and his caddie agreed on a flat $500 fee for the week’s work. And since the caddie knew nothing about golf, he also knew nothing about the customary 10 per cent from the winner’s cheque. “I didn’t want to pay him,” Lehman told his audience. “He didn’t read a single putt, give me a club or read the wind. He didn’t do anything a caddie does. I just wanted to say, ‘Here’s 500 bucks and a dozen golf balls’.” For a young family living lean, $2000 was no insignificant amount. Yet Lehman found himself thinking less about the precedent of tipping and more about the principle of teamwork. “He was part of the team that week,” Lehman explained. “It was me and him against the world. I really didn’t want to, but I went ahead and wrote him a cheque for $2500. “Where in the golf guidebook does it say your caddie has to be good in order for you to pay him what he earned?” CHAMPION: Tom Lehman is giving back to golf through the college system. Designed in Australia for Performance www.sl.com.au Since 1991
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March 2026 www.insidegolf.com.au PRO NEWS 12 Comfortable in Europe, but Hillier eyeing the PGA Tour NEW ZEALAND’S Daniel Hillier was playing a friendly nine-hole match with countryman Ryan Fox early in January, striking his irons with precision and his putts with laser-like accuracy, when Fox looked at him and said: “Why can’t you play like this when you’re in a tournament?” Hillier, ranked second only to Fox among the current crop of Kiwi professionals, is hardly an anxious golfer, generally taking everything in his stride and seemingly going about his work in a relaxed, almost carefree, manner. But something in Fox’s words struck a chord with the young man, who at the time was preparing to contest the Dubai International, the DP World Tour’s first event for 2026, at the Dubai Creek Resort course. “So I just pretended I was playing a little nine-hole match against the golf course, and basically taking it one shot at a time,” he said. “For the most part, happy days.” Happy days, indeed. Hillier went on to shoot rounds of 69, 72 and 69, followed by a spectacular final round of six-under-par 65, featuring an eagle and four birdies, to rocket up the leaderboard and finish second to Spain’s Nacho Elvira. Reed ready to return to the PGA Tour PATRICK Reed has left LIV Golf with the intention of returning to the PGA Tour. A member of LIV Golf since its inception in 2023, Reed made the decision following his victory at the DP World Tour’s Dubai Desert Classic in late January. Under the conditions of his potential return, the 2018 Master champion will serve a oneyear suspension for competing in unauthorised events, backdated to when the 2025 LIV Golf season finished. In late August 2026, Reed will be eligible to play again in PGA Tour events and to compete in the FedEx Cup Fall Series through sponsor exemptions and Monday qualifying. In the meantime, he’ll play on the DP World Tour, with the potential to earn full 2027 PGA Tour status by finishing in the top 10 of the season-ending Race to Dubai points list. By Peter Owen It continued a remarkable run of form that took the Wellington-born Hillier, 27, into fifth place on Race to Dubai standings, and marked him as one of the world’s most promising young golfers. In the space of just a few weeks late last year, Hillier was runner-up in the Hero Dubai Desert Classic, tied fifth in the Abu Dhabi Championship, tied fifth in the Australian PGA Championship and tied sixth in the Australian Open at Royal Melbourne, his performances notable for steady ball-striking and clutch putting. Now in his fourth season on the DP World Tour, he finds himself comfortable competing against the world’s best players, and increasingly familiar with the courses the tour visits around the globe. Hillier’s international success comes as no surprise to those who have followed his career since he decided at the age of 13 to concentrate on golf. He was the New Zealand junior champion in 2015 and 2016, represented his country in the 2016 Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship in South Korea, and crossed the ditch that same year to take the Australian Junior Championship. Hiller was New Zealand amateur champion in 2015 and 2017 and in 2018 was co-medalist at the US Amateur Championship at Pebble Beach, eventually going down to current US PGA Tour member Davis Riley in the round of 32. Victor Hovland won that event. That same year he was part of New Zealand’s three-man Eisenhower Cup team in Dublin, the Kiwis finishing in fourth place in the teams’ event, and Hillier third in the individual standings. While still an amateur, he qualified for the 2019 US Open, shooting rounds of 70 and 66 in a qualifier at London’s Walton Health Golf Club. Hillier was 13th in the World Amateur Golf Rankings before he turned professional in September 2019. He played on New Zealand’s Charles Tour in 2020, winning that year’s Order of Merit. Hillier moved to Europe in 2021 to compete on the secondary Challenger Tour, where he had been promised a handful of starts. He made the most of his opportunities, winning the Challenge Costa Brava and ending the season in 23rd place, ensuring his full card for the 2022 season. Knowing he needed to finish in the top 20 to secure full playing rights on the 2023 DP World Tour, Hillier won the Swiss Challenge event and notched five other Top 10 finishes throughout the year, ending the season in seventh place on the Order of Merit. He broke through for his first – and, so far, only – win on the DP World Tour when he finished eagle, birdie, eagle, par to win the 2023 British Masters. The following year he notched his best result in a major – a tie for 19th at the Open at Royal Troon. Hillier’s world ranking is now 110 and last year, like his good mate Elvis Smylie, he came within a few strokes of winning status on the US PGA Tour, a reward offered to those who finish in the top 10 of the DP World Tour at season’s end. “I gave it a good run at the back end of the year,” he said. “The last few months have been really good. I’m pretty proud that I gave myself a chance at the end.” Though it’s far from one of the world’s premier tournaments, Hillier was looking forward to competing in this year’s New Zealand Open at Millbrook, where he hoped to become only the second Kiwi to win their national open in the past 20 years. He has spoken about what the event means to him, saying how special it was to compete at home in front of supporters, family and friends. Daniel Hillier has developed into a world class performer who has ambition to win his way onto the PGA Tour - Pic courtesy of Photosports.NZ Reed was sitting in second place following the Bahrain Championship. Reed’s world ranking (which was No. 25 as of first week of February), is also likely to qualify him for the 2026 major championships, one of which being the US Masters where he enjoys a lifetime invitation. His return follows that of Brooks Koepka, who left LIV Golf despite having a year to run on his contract and has already started to compete on the PGA Tour courtesy of the Returning Member Program. Reed shared the news in a tweet. “I’m a traditionalist at heart, and I was born to play on the PGA Tour, which is where my story began with my wife, Justine. I am very fortunate for the opportunities that have come my way and grateful for the life we have created. I am moving forward in my career, and I look forward to competing on the PGA Tour and DP World Tour. I can’t wait to get back out there and revisit some of the best places on earth.” He did however depart while thanking LIV Golf and the 4 Aces team. “I want to thank everyone involved for helping me make this decision,” he said. “Over the last four years, I have learned a lot about myself, about who I am and who I am not, and for that I am forever grateful. To Dustin Johnson, The Aces, and LIV Golf, I want to thank you for the memories we shared and created together.” Reed began 2026 in outstanding form, winning against a world class field in Dubai, at what was one of the DP World Tour’s Rolex Series events, before losing in a playoff the following week in Bahrain. Patrick Reed has left the 4 Aces and LIV Golf to potentially return to the PGA Tour later in 2026.
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March 2026 www.insidegolf.com.au PRO NEWS 14 Legends Tour a new beginning for Jeffress WHEN his friend John Beecher was struck down with Alzheimer’s during the lockdown days of Covid, Steve Jeffress had no hesitation in giving up his career as a professional golfer and becoming a fulltime carer for his great mate. “There is always a shortage of support workers, and I wanted to do something to help,” Jeffress said. “Dementia is such a terrible disease.” For four years Jeffress made caring for his friend his priority. He would pick Beecher up each day, drive him to his Gold Coast home where the pair would spend hours in Jeffress’ work shed, take him to the local gym, swimming pool and coffee shop, and ride with him to Surfers Paradise on their bikes. Though dealing with memory loss, behavioural changes and the gradual transformation of the person he once knew was physically and emotionally taxing, Jeffress was fully committed to the process. He hardly hit a golf ball for four years. And when Beecher finally lost his battle with dementia in late 2024, Jeffress found the experience of caring had been so profound and personally rewarding that he volunteered with the Gold Coast’s Community Access service provider to continue his support work. But, while he’s still committed to assisting his current client Peter, his priorities have changed a little. “John was a good friend and, with him, it was a personal thing,” Jeffress said. “His care came first, ahead of golf. This time it’s different – golf will come first, and my support work will be second. “If I’m playing in a tournament, for example, I’ll give those shifts away.” By Peter Owen Jeffress’ comeback to professional golf began late last year when, after celebrating his 50th birthday in November, he played a few of the season-ending swing of Legends Tour events on the Sunshine Coast. He did well enough to give him himself real confidence going into the tour’s qualifying school tournament at Murwillumbah in January. “I hadn’t played many events leading up to Q School but I was still going there to win,” he said. “I knew if I could play somewhere near my best golf I had a chance of winning.” And win he did, delivering a composed and clinical performance that saw him finish the 36-hole tournament three shots clear of Wayne Perske, Mark Brooker and David Van Raalte. Given his record since turning professional in 1999, it was no real surprise. Jeffress had been a prolific winner on the pro-am circuit, notching nearly 70 victories, winning the Victorian PGA Championship in 2016 and the Fiji International in 2014, and competing in Phil Mickelson’s 2013 Open Championship at Muirfield. Despite his imposing record, Jeffress considers himself a golfer who needs to work really hard to compete successfully at the highest level, and he’s been a recent regular toiler on the driving range at Southport Golf Club, where he’s also a part-time teaching professional. He skipped the Legend Tour’s season-opening swing in New Zealand, but planned to compete in some of the tournaments in and around Melbourne in late February and early March. He’s particularly looking forward to the events in Papua-New Guinea and Fiji. “I never really travelled much when I was on the pro-am circuit so I’m looking forward to visiting some new places,” he said. And, though his presence is likely to create some concern for those players who have dominated the tour in recent years, Jeffress is not seeking Order of Merit success just yet. He still has other commitments to fulfil. But he concedes he’s very competitive and, though he understands the appeal of the Legends Tour as an opportunity for veteran golfers to travel the country and enjoy spending time with old mates, that’s not on Jeffress’ radar. “I’m not in it for that,” he said. “I’m out to win. I’ve done the travelling – I had seven years in Japan and many more years in Asia. I want to win golf events.” Golf coach Lawrie Montague, who specialises in mental toughness and has worked with Jeffress for 23 years, said Jeffress had an extraordinary ability to stay present, reflect honestly, and adapt quickly. “Steven’s success is a testament to his willingness to stay awake, evolve, and face challenges with clarity and purpose,” he said. “It’s a mindset I strive to inspire in all my clients because it transcends sport and leads to excellence in any area of life.” After winning the recent Australian PGA Legends Tour qualifying event, Steve Jeffress looks forward to playing, and winning, on the over-50’s circuit. MARCH 5TH – 8TH, 2026 MAGENTA SHORES GOLF & COUNTRY CLUB www.auswomensclassic.com.au WALK THE FAIRWAYS WITH SOME OF THE WORLD’S BEST PROFESSIONAL PLAYERS AND RISING STARS OF THE GAME REGISTER FOR FREE ENTRY
March 2026 www.insidegolf.com.au PRO NEWS 15 No distractions for Cam in chasing an OOM win A fourth title for Hall at Women’s Vic Open Welshwoman Lydia Hall secured a fourth WPGA Tour of Australasia title with a victory in the Women’s Vic Open, played alongside the men’s event at 13th Beach Golf Links. A closing 72, for an even par 288 total, saw Hall finish four shots clear of Kelsey Bennett of NSW and West Australian Kathryn Norris. Australian amateur representative Raegan Denton took fourth place at five-over-par. Further down the leaderboard, reigning women’s Australian Open champion Jiyai Shin climbed to sixth place thanks to a bogey-free 70 in the final round. 25-year-old John ahead of Christopher Wood into top spot with seven tournaments left on the 2025-26 schedule. The potential rewards at the end of the season are huge and John hopes to follow the path already taken by David Micheluzzi, Kazuma Kobori and Ryan Peake to the DP World Tour, as well as earning a start at The Open Championship. Cam John after his win at the Vic Open and runner’s up finish at the Webex Players Series Victoria event, led the Australasian Tour order of merit with seven tournaments left on the schedule. Lydia Hall claimed a fourth Australasian Tour title with her win at the Women’s Vic Open. “Obviously there’s still a bunch of weeks to go,” John said. “I have had a good chat with (mindset coach) Ben Crowe and we’re just identifying what are some distractions that can potentially come up in the next events. That’s probably one of them, but it’s one that you want to have. “It’s not necessarily a bad distraction, but it’s just something that I’ve identified.” John’s pursuers are a talented bunch with Wood, James Marchesani, Nathan Barbieri and Jay Mackenzie among them. “We all want to finish on top of the Order of Merit. We all want to play on another tour, but it is just an opportunity, and we just keep playing week in, week out and hopefully it goes my way.” John almost won a third title to go with his Vic Open win and Queensland PGA Championship victory prior to Christmas. That was before his putter ran cold on the last day of the newly badged Marcus Fraser Players Series event at Rosebud. This included missing the tournament deciding putt from inside two metres on the fourth hole of the playoff to hand the title West Australian Jordan Doull. But he’s taken the positive out of that close call that his all-round game is still in great shape. “I feel like I’m hitting the ball well. Everything feels like it’s going nicely, just didn’t roll any putts in,” John said of his near miss at Webex Victoria event. “Sometimes it goes that way. “I watched ‘Barbs’ (Nathan Barbieri) play the final round of the Vic Open, and I didn’t see him make a single putt. It felt like that for me (on the last day) at Rosebud.” Just a week earlier, John overtook Barbieri in the last stride in the Vic Open after the runner up had shown the field a clean pair of heels, until faltering in the last stride. ONE of the many upsides the local Australasian PGA Tour, which includes Webex Series tournaments as well as state Open’s and PGA Championships, is that it provides a genuine professional pathway to the elite level of the game without aspiring young golfers having to travel the world. It has also guaranteed the survival of historically important events which could easily have withered on the vine. The Australasian PGA could not have achieved this without the ongoing support of so many clubs and courses in Australia and New Zealand (Moonah Links, 13th Beach and Rosebud Country Club in Victoria just three who come to mind). That’s why it was pleasing to see Cam John’s win in the Vic Open at 13th Beach pay homage to past winners Peter Thomson, Gary Player, Greg Norman, Mike Clayton, Ian Baker-Finch and Robert Allenby to name but a few. The significance was not lost on John, either, as he moved closer to his goal of winning the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit. Mind you, there were still a swag of events to play, and he vowed not to make the No 1 spot on the OOM a distraction, given that he was still vulnerable at the top of the pile as two of the remaining events – the NZ Open and the Japan Australasia Championships later this month - carry extra OOM points. A runner-up finish at the Webex Players Series Victoria at the impeccably Ian Toddprepared Rosebud Country Club vaulted Michael Davis michael.davis@insidegolf.com.au
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