Australian Open Archives - Golf Digest Middle East

Adrian Meronk, Ashleigh Buhai continue breakthrough seasons with historic twin wins at the Australian Open

Golf Digest Middle East — Mon, 05 Dec 2022 06:37:34 +0000

Adrian Meronk is expected to rise inside the top 50 in the World Ranking with the win and potentially become the first Polish golfer to compete in the Masters in 2023. Daniel Pockett

By Evin Priest
The prize money was small, but the stage was massive as the Australian Open pulled off the historic first of running a men’s and women’s national championship simultaneously on the same courses. And the payoff for Adrian Meronk’s victory in men’s tournament will be far more valuable than the $183,000 he bagged for defeating local hero Adam Scott in an exciting finish on Melbourne’s famed Sandbelt.

Meronk secured his second DP World Tour victory of the year when he overcame a one-shot deficit to former World No.1 Scott—Meronk’s final-group playing partner and “childhood idol”—with a four-under 66 on the final day at Victoria Golf Club. The native of Poland sealed the deal with an eagle from off the green at the par-5 18th, and at 14 under, he won by five over Scott (72).

DP World Tour winner Min Woo Lee was third at eight under, and he joined fellow Australian Haydn Barron and Spain’s Alejandro Canizares (both T-4, seven under) in securing starts in next year’s 151st Open Championship via the Open qualifying series this week.

MORE: Cam Smith’s early exit at Australian Open puts end to wild year

Meronk said outplaying former Masters winner Scott on home soil was a dream come true.

“To be honest, I really wanted to play with [Scott],” Meronk said. “He was always my role model growing up. To beat him in a final group in front of the big crowds in Australia, it was just an unbelievable experience.”

And that's how you win the 2022 @ISPSHanda Australian Open! ?

Congratulations @AdrianMeronk! ?#AusOpenGolf | @Melbourne | #PowerOfSport pic.twitter.com/pWM6ZTWQ0h

— Australian Open (@AusOpenGolf) December 4, 2022

Scott wrestled back a share of the lead mid-way through the back nine but failed to birdie the short par-4 15th while Meronk did and he never looked back. Without his A-game, Scott was no match for the big-hitting Meronk, who blasted his way through the strategic Victoria layout with driver on nearly every hole. “He’s a big guy with a lot of speed, and in today’s game that seems to be the recipe you need,” Scott said.

The prize money Meronk secured Sunday at the Australian Open pales in comparison the $1 million the 29-year-old banked for his breakthrough victory at the Irish Open in July. But the benefits for winning the DP World Tour-sanctioned Australian Open will be felt well into 2023.

Meronk’s victory has him projected to rise eight places to No. 48 on the Official World Golf Ranking, where he should remain for the Dec. 31 cut-off for Augusta National’s first wave of invitations. In fact, Meronk said earning a Masters debut was a lure to make the journey down to Australia after a long season that finished with a T-7 at the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai last month. He flew straight from Dubai to Brisbane, where he finished T-34 at last week’s Australian PGA Championship, another DP World Tour co-sanctioned event.

“[The Masters] was definitely on my mind coming to these two weeks to Australia to improve my ranking and I think that should be enough going forward,” Meronk said. “I’ll just wait until [Monday] when the ranking comes out, but I think it gives me a good chance to be inside that inside that top 50. To play the Masters will be an unreal feeling.”

Meronk has played just two majors in his career, the 2021 U.S. Open and the 150th Open at St. Andrews this year. But at 6-fooft-6 and with an average drive of 310 yards on the DP World Tour, he feels he can compete on golf’s biggest stage. “I’ve been playing some really good golf,” he said. “I think if I can keep it going I can compete on any level, even majors and I can win the best tournaments in the world.”

Then there’s the Ryder Cup. Meronk earned 1,500 European points for the Australian Open win. He has previously expressed his dream to line up for captain Luke Donald’s European team at next year’s Ryder Cup in Italy, where he’d be the first Polish golfer to play in a Ryder Cup. He’s used to that title, having become the first player from Poland to win on the Challenge Tour, to secure a DP World Tour card, to play in a major and to feature in the Olympics. But lining up for Europe at a Ryder Cup in Rome would top them all.

“I know [Rome 2023] is a long way to go, but if I keep playing like that, I think I should still make the team and that would be dream come true for me,” he said.

Meronk’s win was set against the narrative of the 10th oldest golf tournament in the world pulling off a world’s first in becoming the first national open to host its men’s and women’s championships at the same time—and for the same prize money. It wasn’t all smooth sailing—five-hour rounds were common this week as tournament organizers scrambled to pack in both genders and the Australian All Abilities Championship, at Victoria G.C. and Kingston Heath for the first two rounds and then just Victoria on the weekend. There were 149 players on Saturday, and then a 54-hole cut was made to the top 30 and ties for Sunday’s final round. But the sentiment was well-received by fans; they got to watch alternating men’s and women’s groups all week. Minjee Lee, Hannah Green, Ashleigh Buhai, Marina Alex and Jennifer Kupcho were just some of the names in the women’s field.

In the group proceeding Scott, Lee and Meronk coming up the 18th hole, reigning Women’s British Open champion Buhai (73, 12 under) defeated two-time Women’s British Open winner Jiyai Shin by one shot (75, 11-under). LPGA Tour star Green (74) was third at 10 under. Buhai joined seven-time major winner Karrie Webb (2002) and Yani Tseng (2010 and 2011) as the only women to complete the British-Australian double in the same year.

“It’s the cherry on the top I guess” Buhai, 33, said of her breakthrough season in which she claimed her first LPGA and major titles.

Ashleigh Buhai celebrates after winning the 2022 ISPS HANDA Australian Open. Daniel Pockett

Buhai had her husband, Dave, on the bag this week. He was shown on the broadcast at Muirfield in August as a nervous wreck, drinking beers and celebrating her every shot. This week, though, he was a calming influence.

“He just kept me calm,” Buhai said. “We walked off 16 and I think by then I was tied for the lead and he said, ‘Well, whatever happens now, I want you to commit to every shot, no matter what the outcome is—that’s all you can do.’ That’s what got me the job done at the British this year and that’s all I tried to focus on all day.”

The post Adrian Meronk, Ashleigh Buhai continue breakthrough seasons with historic twin wins at the Australian Open appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Sibling rivalry on show at Australian Open for the Lees

Golf Digest Middle East — Wed, 30 Nov 2022 08:45:04 +0000

By GolfDigestME.com
Min Woo Lee is excited to make it a family affair when he tees it up at the ISPS Handa Australian Open alongside sister Minjee, when the tournament features on the DP World Tour for the first time.

The event is being played alongside the Women’s Australian Open at the same time and at the same venues, putting Australian golf on the world stage for two consecutive weeks with Australian PGA Championship staged at Royal Queensland last week, where Cameron Smith thrilled the Brisbane crown with a three-stroke victory.

Victoria Golf Club is the primary host venue across all four days of the tournament and Kingston Heath Golf Club is set to host play on Thursday and Friday.

Two-time DP World Tour winner Min Woo comes into the event on the back of a top-five finish in the season-opening Australian PGA Championship and will hope playing again in front of home fans will inspire him to another strong showing.

World No. 4 Minjee, who won her second major earlier this year, has never won the Women’s Australian Open despite being in contention on numerous occasions in eight attempts, with a best finish of third at Royal Adelaide in 2017.

Meanwhile, home favourite Lucas Herbert is determined to overcome a back injury that forced the 26-year-old to withdraw from last week’s Australian PGA. With some time off over the festive period to come, Herbert was determined to play to maintain some momentum as he looks to move up from 57th into the top 50 in the Official World Golf Ranking and earn a place at the Masters Tournament.

Major winners Adam Scott, Karrie Webb and Ashleigh Buhai are also in the field, while Ryan Fox will hope to end a hugely successful 2022 in style after missing the cut last week at Royal Queensland following a hectic journey from the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai.

“Just to see the fam I think is a special thing,” said Min Woo. “We don’t get to see each other that much, so just to put the band together, it’s pretty cool. We don’t get to do it that often, so it is very cool. Then we can spend Christmas together, so I think with the schedule and all that, it works really well. It brings everyone together, which is awesome, and what we want and what we need. Especially in Australia, playing in front of the home crowd. It was special last week and I‘m sure this week will be even better.

“I think for both of us we’ve had very good years, so to look back and just give this one a hot crack. It doesn’t really matter how it goes, we’re obviously really happy with the way everything’s gone this year and we’re looking for a rest, but this is obviously a really big event in the schedule and we want to do well in our home event. We’re looking forward to it. We may be tired but I think we’re looking forward to how the week goes.”

Minjee added: “I mean it’s pretty cool to be able to play with the men and also the All Abilities tournament that’s going on all at the same time. Obviously playing with Min Woo and being able to see him is really special to me. Just being back in Australia I think is really cool. I haven’t played in a couple of years back home, so I think it’s going to be a great turnout and I’m looking forward to seeing all the fans come out and maybe a lot of little kids here and there. I think it will be really fun.

“I think the Australian Open, your national championship, is always really high on the list. For me, I always want to do well. The previous Aussie Opens that I have played, I think I haven’t quite shown that as much, so hopefully I can settle the nerves and just enjoy it and just play well for me and play well for the Australian crowd.”

The post Sibling rivalry on show at Australian Open for the Lees appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Cameron Smith aims to finish career-best year on a high at Australian Open

Matt Smith — Tue, 29 Nov 2022 07:21:14 +0000

By Matt Smith
Fresh from winning his third Australian PGA Championship title, Cameron Smith is targeting yet more glory to sign off on a career-best year at the ISPS Handa Australian Open at Victoria and Kingston Heath golf clubs this week.

Smith claimed the Australian PGA crown for a record third time on Sunday at Royal Queensland Golf Club in front of a raucous home Brisbane crowd, but he is not resting on his laurels as he goes again on Thursday hunting back-to-back titles in Oz, and a maiden Australian Open trophy.

The 150th Open champion started the year with a victory at the Sentry Tournament of Champions in Hawaii, and he is hoping to end 2022 in similar style in Melbourne.

“It would be a really nice way to finish off a really good year,” Smith said. “The plan was to come down here and win both of them and I ticked one box and hopefully can do one more this week.”

“I think these golf courses (Victoria and Kingston Heath) are a really good mix between links golf and almost like Augusta,” Smith said. “You get to play plenty of shots, you have to, to play good golf around here. I feel like I play my best golf when I’m creative and I’m just happy to be down here.

“I think as a kid growing up playing the amateur stuff down here and stuff like that, you take it for granted. You go everywhere else around the world and realise that this is the best that golf has got to offer. It’s just cool to be back down here. I think the crowds will be enormous and I just think it will be a good week.”

The post Cameron Smith aims to finish career-best year on a high at Australian Open appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Cameron Smith returns to Australia for the first time in three years — and takes the Claret Jug on a victory lap

Golf Digest Middle East — Wed, 23 Nov 2022 06:15:04 +0000

By Evin Priest
The Claret Jug is one of the most famous trophies in sports, engraved with the names of many of the most iconic golfers in history. Each year, the winner of the Open Championship receives a replica to show off for 12 months and then hand back the following year.

As significant as it may be in the golf world, the Claret Jug does not, however, get any special treatment by security staff at Los Angeles International Airport. This is something that its current holder, Cameron Smith, found out recently on a long journey back to his native Australia.

Smith, who won the 150th Open at St Andrews in July, recently undertook the 9,000-mile trek from his base in Jacksonville, Florida, to his home in Brisbane to compete in this week’s Australian PGA Championship. Upon arrival at LAX, airport security made Smith open the travelling case in which the trophy was kept so that they could perform a very routine bomb search before the 15-hour flight to Australia’s east coast.

Once Smith, his father, Des, and childhood best friend and support staffer, Jack Wilkosz, had touched down in Sydney, there was another Claret Jug curve ball: the case for the trophy, which is 20¾ inches tall and 7¼ inches wide at its base, wouldn’t fit in the overhead for the final flight from Sydney to Brisbane. In the end, airline staff allowed the 29-year-old Smith to stash the jug in the compartment where jackets are kept for business class passengers.

Cameron Smith willl be playing in this week’s Australian PGA Championship and next week’s Australian Open. Bradley Kanaris

Some 30 hours of travel later, Smith was in his homeland after a three-year absence caused by Australia’s harsh COVID-19 border restrictions.

“Cam had a window seat flying into ‘Brissie’ and his eyes were glued to the view outside after a long time away,” Wilkosz told Golf Digest on Tuesday at Royal Queensland Golf Club, host of the Australian PGA. Smith added: “I’ve teared up a few times since I’ve been home. Seeing family and friends, doing stuff I haven’t been able to do for three years, has made it emotional.”

When he arrived at Brisbane airport last Thursday, Smith was swarmed by media and hundreds of Australian fans wanting a photo with one of the country’s most talked-about athletes in 2022 — a golf star who sports a famous mullet and who won three big events, including the Open Championship at the Home of Golf, then controversially left the PGA Tour circuit to join the rival LIV Golf series.

“It’s insane,” Smith said of Australians’ reactions to the Claret Jug so far. “It’s like they’ve seen a ghost the first time they’ve seen it.”

The Claret Jug’s tour Down Under then made a sentimental stop at Smith’s childhood home course, Wantima Country Club, last Saturday. It’s not really a country club as such, more a blue-collar, publicly accessible golf club 30 minutes north of Brisbane where Smith honed his game before moving onto Royal Queensland as an elite teenage amateur. Wantima hosted a celebration for Smith and 200 members inside its modest clubhouse. Smith sat down for a 45-minute Q&A session before passing the jug.

“It was an amazing night for members,” said Jason Patterson, Wantima’s general manager on Tuesday as he showed Golf Digest several proud, but understated, shrines to Smith inside the clubhouse. “Everyone got photos of the jug and some were holding it like a baby.”

Smith adds: “It was pretty neat for a little club like that on the north side of Brisbane to have that jug in the clubhouse, something those people will never forget.”

The homecoming formalities were turned up a notch on Tuesday morning when Brisbane mayor Adrian Schrinner handed the key to the city to Smith, the 52nd recipient to receive the honour but the first golfer. “Not in my wildest dreams did I ever think I’d get the key,” Smith said, before joking that “thought it was for important people, not golfers”.

Upon Cameron Smith’s return to Brisbane, the city’s Lord Mayor, Adrian Schrinner, gave him a key to the city. Bradley Kanaris

Smith then held a press conference at Royal Queensland to talk about his primary purpose for coming back to Australia: to try and win a third Australian PGA Championship, having won the 2017 and 2018 edition, and to try to earn a maiden Australian Open win next week in Melbourne. Smith came close at the 2016 Australian Open when he lost in a playoff to Jordan Spieth at Royal Sydney. This week, he’ll face strong competition from solid players such as 2013 Masters winner Adam Scott, Lucas Herbert and Cam Davis, as well as DP World Tour star Ryan Fox from New Zealand and Min Woo Lee. But after some rest following LIV Golf’s Team Championship in Miami last month, where Smith took his all-Australian team to second-place finish the World No. 3 is feeling good.

“I took a couple of weeks off, and now I feel probably more mentally fresh than I ever have coming down to Australia,” Smith said. “The golf course looks great so it should be a good week.”

After this upcoming stretch of golf, Smith will take almost two months off and remain in Australia before LIV’s second season starts in February. He said he was confident he could arrive at the majors in 2023 competitively sharp, despite LIV’s format of 54 holes and no 36-hole cut. If nothing else, he says he’s motivated to win another Open so that he can keep that Claret Jug for another year.

“I think coming close in a few majors has made me really hungry. I felt like I should have had one before this, but I’m happy this was the first one,” Smith said, referencing his close calls at the Masters, including a tie for third behind final-group partner Scottie Scheffler at Augusta this year and a share of second to Dustin Johnson at the 2020 Masters. “I think I can do it. [St Andrews] something that I’ll never forget. It still hasn’t sunk in. I still can’t believe I won it. I don’t want to give it back. I want to keep hanging onto it.”

The post Cameron Smith returns to Australia for the first time in three years — and takes the Claret Jug on a victory lap appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

How a former U.S. Open champ got four iconic Australian courses to commit to innovative new event

Golf Digest Middle East — Fri, 22 Oct 2021 00:33:05 +0000

David Cannon
The par-3 16th hole on the East Course at Royal Melbourne Golf Club.

By John Huggan
It’s a great idea. An obvious idea. And now it is going to happen. Driven by the formidable pair of 2006 U.S. Open champion Geoff Ogilvy and former European Tour player Mike Clayton, the inaugural Sandbelt Invitational will take place Dec. 20-23. Four of Melbourne’s world-famous collection of courses—Royal Melbourne, Kingston Heath, Peninsula Kingswood and Yarra Yarra—will host one round each in a 72-hole event with 60-strong mixture of male and female pros and amateurs, a relatively low-key start to what both men hope will evolve into one of Australia’s biggest tournaments.

The potential is obvious, the philosophy novel in a world typically driven only by financial matters. Yes, Ogilvy’s eponymous foundation is kicking in a $50,000 (Australian) purse—and other sponsors will hopefully be in place by December. But for now the motivation is more altruistic than economic.

“Clayts has to take most of the credit for the idea,” Ogilvy told Golf Digest. “A couple of months ago we heard that the Australian Open was unlikely to happen [the men’s and women’s events were officially cancelled last week for the second year due to the pandemic], at which point Mike decided we had to have something in its place. We’ve been doing a few little things over the last few months, one-day 18-hole events that gave promising youngsters opportunities to play some competitive golf. So he called round a few clubs in Melbourne to see if we could expand that to a four-day deal.”

It didn’t take long. Ogilvy describes the reaction as “unbelievable.” Royal Melbourne was in straight away. Peninsula said yes within 30 seconds. Yarra Yarra and Kingston Heath followed quickly, too.

“Once we had the clubs involved, we sat down and thought about the field,” Ogilvy said. “The actual breakdown isn’t too clear right now because of COVID travel restrictions, so we’ll have to see how that pans out. But we’ll have the best field we can get, both men and women, professionals and amateurs.”

That concept, too, is an extension of what the Ogilvy/Clayton team has been doing with what they call “the game,” a series of one-day 18-hole events with men and women competing against each other designed to provide promising young Australians with competitive opportunities in these trying times.

“I want to make it clear the Sandbelt Invitational is not going to be like a ‘normal’ event,” says Clayton, who, much to the amusement of all who know him, will be “tournament director.” “Not yet anyway. It’s not going to be on television. There won’t be too many spectators. There won’t be any roped-off fairways or scoreboards. It’s all about getting the best players we can find competing with each other again. But the real stars of the show will be the courses. It’s not an event built round star names, which has been the norm down here for a few years.”

Michael Dodge
Ogilvy hopes the Sandbelt Invitational can provide playing opportunities for local golfers who have been limited in events they can compete in due to travel restrictions during the pandemic.

Disappointingly, it would seem unlikely that the leading Australians on the PGA Tour—Marc Leishman, Cam Smith and Adam Scott—will be able to tee-up this year. But the reaction from Ogilvy and Clayton’s fellow pros has been, as you might expect, unanimously positive.

“What a treat this will be, undeniably one of the best collection of golf courses worldwide,” said former Ryder Cup player Nicolas Colsaerts (whose wife is Australian) in a tweet.

Japanese Tour player Matt Griffin was even more effusive.

“Since the halcyon days of the 1990s, Australian golf has been all about who is not here rather than who is,” said the native Melburnian. “This announcement is the perfect example that it might be time to celebrate who is here rather than who isn’t. We have a heap of talent that’s been starved of big tournaments for 24 months desperate to prove itself. If you forget about the names, the product is basically the same and possibly even better, as the Vic Open has proved.”

Speaking of which, the Sandbelt Invitational will offer exemptions into both the Vic Open (a mixed-event sanctioned by the European Tour and the LPGA) and, for the men, the Australian PGA Championship. Already, legitimacy is growing.

“I really hope this will expand every year, to the point where it becomes a really big and important event,” says Clayton, one of golf’s most erudite and thoughtful commentators on all things architectural. “But we don’t need a huge purse at this stage. That only raises expectations, ones we can’t meet because of all the travel restrictions in place. Players from Western Australia, for example, can’t come to Melbourne right now. So the money doesn’t really matter that much.

“People have criticised Golf Australia for cancelling the Australian Open. But our event is different. We’re not comparing apples with apples. We don’t have to deal with sponsors or television. We have no expectations. All we’re trying to do this year is run an ‘amateur’ tournament with good players on great courses. And we’ll see how it goes.”

The post How a former U.S. Open champ got four iconic Australian courses to commit to innovative new event appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

CBS Sports catches heat for broadcast mistakes during Genesis Invitational

Golf Digest Middle East — Mon, 17 Feb 2020 06:26:57 +0000

(Photo by Katelyn Mulcahy/Getty Images)

By Joel Beall
CBS Sports’ broadcast of the final round of the Genesis Invitational drew criticism from fans Sunday.

Although social media can be cruel and uncompromising when it comes to its opinion of golf coverage, several mistakes left viewers wondering what was going on at Riviera. These slips included:

• An incorrect score board from the LPGA’s Women’s Australian Open, caught by No Laying Up. The tournament ended Saturday night.

• A singular Korn Ferry Tour highlight, featuring a putt from Peter Uihlein. Although Uihlein entered the day with the lead, he finished T-20 at the Suncoast Classic, which had already been decided when the event update was televised.

• Delayed footage of Harold Varner III topping his tee shot at the iconic 10th hole. Varner was tied at the time of the miscue, which was noted by CBS Sports analyst Ian Baker-Finch. Varner’s top was eventually shown in a highlight package some 90 minutes after it occurred.

• The relative broadcast absences of Max Homa, one of the more popular PGA Tour players on social media, and Joel Dahmen. As the Twitter handle Deep Fried Egg pointed out, at one juncture Homa, then a stroke back of the lead, had only a single shot televised while Rickie Fowler—who was not in the field—had two highlights during the program.

Golf Digest spoke with sources associated with the CBS Sports golf broadcast on Sunday. There was acknowledgement that, while no broadcast is perfect, some of the mistakes were inexcusable. Other misses, like not originally airing the Varner shot, can get lost in the chaos of the production van.

As for complaints that players were not given their proper television time, deciding who to show and when is an inexact science, a matter complicated due to Sunday’s compacted leader board.

CBS Sports recently overhauled its golf lineup, both in front of and behind the camera. The network did not renew the contracts of Gary McCord and Peter Kostis, added Davis Love III and Trevor Immelman and elevated Dottie Pepper and Frank Nobilo to new roles. Meanwhile, longtime producer Lance Barrow will step down following the 2020 season.

The post CBS Sports catches heat for broadcast mistakes during Genesis Invitational appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Matt Jones survives adventure on the 18th hole to win the Australian Open

Golf Digest Middle East — Sun, 08 Dec 2019 18:57:21 +0000

Icon Sportswire
Matt Jones celebrates with his caddie after securing a one-stroke victory at the 2019 Australian Open

By John Huggan
SYDNEY — He did it the hard way, but Matt Jones got it done. Just. Standing on the 18th tee at The Australian Club (where he is a member), the 39-year-old PGA Tour regular was 15 under par and a comfortable-looking three shots clear of Louis Oosthuizen, who was playing in the group ahead. No problem, right?

Wrong.

After a near-perfect tee shot found the narrow and elusive fairway, Oosthuizen ripped an equally impressive approach onto the green on the water-strewn, 535-yard par 5. The ball stopped no more than 15 feet from the cup, from where the 2010 Open champion calmly rolled in the eagle putt to cap a round of five-under 66. Suddenly, he was 14 under for the week and only one back.

Meanwhile, Jones was doing his best to make things even more exciting. In contrast to Oosthuizen’s beautifully flighted effort, Jones’ drive finished well left of his desired target. A diminutive punch shot was required under some tree limbs if the ball was to successfully make its way back to short grass. But it wasn’t even close. Striking a branch, Jones was faced with another tough play from some wood chips under said tree. Still short of the green in three, he was left with an awkward up-and-down over an intervening bunker if he was to put his name on the historic Stonehaven Cup for a second time after winning previously in 2015.

That was the reality at least. Unfortunately for Jones, he had reached that spot armed with false information. Until he saw the scoreboard at the 18th green, he had thought a bogey 6 was going to be enough to see him safely over the finishing line.

Anyway, despite that sudden shift in emphasis, the chip was struck purely as the checking spin indicated, the ball pulling up maybe four feet beyond the flagstick. And the pas putt was never missing. Cue much celebration as Aussie native was joined on the green by his wife and three young daughters.

“I was under the assumption that I had a two-shot lead,” he explained. “So I wasn’t playing for the green on my third shot, I would have been happy to hit it in the bunker. I’m happy I didn’t though. That bunker shot wouldn’t have been as comfortable. But then I realized what I had to do, and the chip wasn’t that difficult.”

Jason McCawley/Getty Images
Jones celebrates on the 18th green with his children after winning on Sunday.

As for Oosthuizen, the amiable South African was happy enough with his performance heading into next week’s Presidents Cup at Royal Melbourne, where he will be making his fourth appearance on the International team.

“On the back nine, I just wanted to try and get some numbers up there so that Matt would be feeling a little bit of pressure,” Oosthuizen said. “But he did really well. Just about the whole day he was three shots ahead. So I had to do something. I went for it on the last, and it paid off. I’ll take a lot of confidence out of this though. And hopefully we can pull it off next week.”

As well as the A$237,500 first-place check, Jones, for the third time in five years, clinched one of the three British Open spots available in the first of 13 Open Qualifying Series (OQS) events that will identify as many as 46 players over the next few months. Joining Jones at Royal St. George’s next July are fellow Australian Aaron Pike and the world’s No. 1 amateur, Takumi Kanaya of Japan. Both shot nine under par to finish T-3.

“I’ve played in maybe five [four actually] Opens, and it’s the one major I would most like to win,” Jones said. “To qualify and be able to plan a schedule around it is brilliant. I love coming back here because it’s a great chance for me to make the Open. I’ve been lucky enough to do it a few times, and now I’ll be back there next year.”

Still, it is to be hoped that this latest batch of qualifiers fare better than their immediate predecessors. Last year’s Australian Open champion, Abraham Ancer of Mexico, and fellow qualifiers Dimitrios Papadatos and Jake McLeod all failed to qualify for the weekend at Royal Portrush in 2019. Indeed, since the OQS began in 2013, no player identified by the Australian Open has gone on to finish inside the top 25 at the following year’s Open. Eleven have failed to make it through 36 holes, with Aaron Baddeley’s T-27 finish at Royal Birkdale in 2016 the best result by any of the 18 previous qualifiers.

The post Matt Jones survives adventure on the 18th hole to win the Australian Open appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Tiger Woods alters Hero World Challenge date to accommodate Presidents Cup, but conflict remains with Aussie Open

Golf Digest Middle East — Wed, 24 Apr 2019 09:01:17 +0000

David Cannon/Getty Images

By Joel Beall
Tiger Woods has slighted changed the dates to his Hero World Challenge to accommodate one event in Australia. But another tournament will still be calling foul.

The Hero World Challenge, Woods’ non-official event featuring 18 of the world’s best in the Bahamas, is annually held in the beginning of December. A date that proved problematic for 2019, given the Presidents Cup—which will likely be comprised by at least half the Hero field—is the following week in Melbourne. That includes Woods, who will be the United States team captain and, thanks to his Masters victory, will likely qualify as a player. Even for golfers used to traveling from continent to continent, it’s a pretty tight turnaround.

“There are so many things that are up in the air,” Woods said at last year’s Hero. “One of the logistical things I’m trying to figure out is try to get where there’s like eight to 10 guys plus four or five more, and you’re getting close to 50 people from the Bahamas to Australia in time for a practice round, opening ceremonies and the event. We have our work ahead of us trying to logistically try to make this all happen.”

Keeping this itinerary in mind, Hero officials announced on Tuesday morning that this year’s schedule has been moved to a Wednesday-Saturday slate, hoping the extra day provides enough breathing room for players competing in both. The tournament will be held Dec. 4-7.

Unfortunately, the date continues to coincide with the Australian Open. The once-prestigious event has been zapped of its star power over the years thanks to the Hero, but Australian officials were hoping, with the Presidents Cup in their backyard, more U.S. players would compete in the national tournament.

For Woods’ part, he’s made it clear where he wants his American team to be.

“I hope they play at the Hero World Challenge—that’s an obvious one,” Woods said in Melbourne this December.

The 2019 Presidents Cup begins Dec. 12 at Royal Melbourne Golf Club, the site of the only International win in the event’s 25-year history.

The post Tiger Woods alters Hero World Challenge date to accommodate Presidents Cup, but conflict remains with Aussie Open appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Too little, too late for Jordan Spieth but closing 67 Down Under keeps things positive

Golf Digest Middle East — Sun, 26 Nov 2017 12:31:10 +0000

Jason McCawley/R&A
Jordan Spieth and swing coach and caddie for the week Cameron McCormick during day four of the 2017 Australian Golf Open.

By John Huggan
Jordan Spieth hadn’t played since Sunday at the Presidents Cup seven weeks earlier, and it showed at times as he attempted to defend his title at the Australian Open. But the three-time major champion performed with some distinction on the final day, even if it was too late to etch his name on the Stonehaven Cup for a third time.

Frustratingly ineffective on the greens over the first 54 holes, Spieth, with his coach Cameron McCormick on the bag temporarily this week, finished with a flourish—an eagle on the 18th—his 67 hauling him up to eighth place, five strokes behind eventual champion Cameron Davis.

“It was a great finish, it was nice,” Spieth said. “I felt like I hit a lot of really beautiful shots that weren’t necessarily rewarded today based on just trying to judge the cross winds. Cam was getting frustrated in himself. We were talking through the shots, and I said cross winds are a caddie and player’s worst enemy. It would have been the same struggle no matter who was on the bag. That’s all it was today. I really felt like I shot 62 but it was 67. I had so many looks [at birdie].”

On the positive side, Spieth, playing for the first time since competing at the Presidents Cup seven weeks earlier, was pleased at how much he and McCormick had learned over the course of the 72 holes.

“We picked up quite a bit, stuff that’s personal between the two of us,” he said. “I was voicing a lot more than I would have ever voiced to [regular caddie] Michael [Grellar]. I would have just said, OK, get over it Jordan and go, but I thought it was important for Cam to hear how I was feeling hole after hole, day after day and about different situations. We actually made a lot of progress in that sense, or at least have a good starting point to make some progress this off-season.”

The post Too little, too late for Jordan Spieth but closing 67 Down Under keeps things positive appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Jason Day more than comfortable sleeping on lead with national championship in his sights

Golf Digest Middle East — Sun, 26 Nov 2017 05:46:13 +0000

WILLIAM WEST
Jason Day acknowledges the applause after hitting out of a bunker during the third round of the Australian Open.

By Ryan Herrington
Jason Day is a step closer to fulfilling a lifetime dream of winning his national Open—not to mention winning his first tournament of any sort in 18 months.

The 30-year-old navigated tricky, gusty winds on Saturday at The Australian Golf Club in Sydney, shooting a two-under 69 and taking a one-stroke advantage on 36-hole leader countryman Lucas Herbert at the Australian Open.

While the one-shot margin is slim, the psychological plus of being the man out front is something that appeals to Day, who throughout the week has not shied from talking about his desire to win this event at home for the first of what he hopes will be multiple times in his career.

“That’s the thing, you have to learn to love the lead,” Day said. “A lot of guys through some of their careers have learned to win from behind because there’s less pressure than being out in front. I mean, this is a great position to be in. You always learn from being in this position, no matter what the tournament is. I’d much rather be in this position than one stroke back.”

In the last 13 tournaments that Day has been out front entering the final round, he has won just six times. However, he has closed things out successfully in five of his last six.

Sleeping on the lead was tricky for Herbert, an up-and-coming 21-year-old who shot a respectable Saturday 71 to remain very much in contention.

“I don’t know how I slept last night,” Herbert said. “It’s like trying to drink three cans of Red Bull and then trying to sleep. But after I made a couple of pars at the start it cooled the nerves and I was good to go.”

Indeed, Herbert was playing well until a double bogey on the 11th hole erased at the time a two-stroke edge.

Day, meanwhile, was bidding his time, making pars on his first 13 holes before getting up-and-down from the sand on the reachable par-5 14th hole, then following it with another birdie on the 15th hole. A bogey on the 17th hole was offset by a two-putt birdie on the par-5 18th.

The trick, of course, now for Day is to handle to internal pressure he’s already put on himself this week.

“You can look at it, the names on the cup, a lot of all of fame members, great players, a lot of future hall of fame members on that cup as well,” Day said. “It’d be nice to add my name to that list as well, but the hardest thing for me is you don’t want to get ahead of yourself.”

The post Jason Day more than comfortable sleeping on lead with national championship in his sights appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.