The Australian — making his first appearance back on home soil for three years due to Covid-19 travel restrictions — delighted the crown with a convincing three-stroke victory in a weather-affected final round for his first triumph since his LIV Golf crown at Chicago in the summer.

The 150th Open Champion was reeled in at the start of the back nine at the PGA of Australasia and DP World Tour co-sanctioned event after a weather suspension due to lightning, but three birdies in five holes restored his three-stroke lead, and the world No. 3 never looked back to finish on 14-under.

A third Fortinet Australian PGA Championship ??? #AusPGA pic.twitter.com/IlDafPOhK7

— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) November 27, 2022

Fellow Australian Jason Scrivener and Japan’s Ryo Hisatsune finished in a share of second at 11-under after posting rounds of 67 and 65, respectively.

Another home favourite Min Woo Lee was two shots further back in fourth alongside England’s John Parry.

“I really didn’t think I had it in me at the start of the week,” Smith said. “I was a bit scratchy and the game has got better and better as the week went on, other than the front nine today. I just held on and played really solid those last eight holes.”

“I knew that I had to kind of step it up a little bit,” Smith said.

“Obviously Scrivy [Jason Scrivener] is a great player and I knew he’d keep putting the pressure on me. It was a good last seven holes.

“I mean, lots of pressure and the golf course really wasn’t letting up even though it was a little bit softer.”

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The post Cameron Smith the toast of Brisbane with third Australian PGA Championship title appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Joel Beall
The Australian PGA Championship is the latest golf event to fall victim to the coronavirus pandemic.

The event, co-sanctioned by the PGA Tour of Australasia and European Tour, was scheduled to begin on Dec. 3. However, current COVID-19 restrictions and quarantine protocols in Queensland made hosting the tournament an impossibility.

“The uncertainty created by the Covid-19 pandemic makes it extremely difficult to stage events at the level we would normally expect,” said PGA of Australia chief executive Gavin Kirkman. “We will continue to be agile and rely on the expert advice of the Queensland Government to safeguard against the spread of the virus.

“Our new date will be subject to health regulations and will be reviewed again in early December, when we expect to be armed with a more accurate prediction of Covid-19’s impact across the country during summer.”

The tournament—won last year by Adam Scott— is now pushed back to February, meaning the event could be played twice in 2021. But a final decision on its fate will likely come in December.

The news follows the postponement of the Australian Open in July, an event that has yet to be rescheduled.

The post Australian PGA Championship postponed due to coronavirus appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Dubai-based teen Zubair Firdaus has just scored a 12-month residential scholarship to the Hills Academy in Queensland, Australia on the back of his recent victory at the AmBank International Junior Golf Championship in Malaysia.

The 14-year-old is an elite junior squad member at the European Tour Performance Institute (EPTI) and is reaping the benefits of 18-months hard work at the Jumeriah Golf Estates facility.

As well as topping the 13-14-year-old boys’ category in Malaysia, Firdaus carded the top gross score in the under-18s category against 120 competitors to clinch the scholarship worth more than AED 120,000 ($32,000).

Mark Gregson-Walters, Director of Instruction at the EPTI, sees a bright future for one of his star pupils. As well as the win in Malaysia, Firdaus has also captured the Emirates Junior Open, the Abu Dhabi Golf Club Junior Open and the Sharjah Golf & Shooting Club Junior Open in the past two months.

“At the European Tour Performance Institute, we are committed to developing and nurturing talent, particularly when it comes to the next generation of golfers. Zubair is a shining example of a local young athlete who is talented, hardworking and determined to improve his skills and compete at the highest level for his age group,” Gregson-Walters said.

“With the support of our team at the world-class ETPI facility, Zubair has excelled. We are not only proud of his achievements to date but there is genuine excitement about watching him grow, and realising his potential for future success.”

Recently voted as ‘Golf Academy of the Year’ at the 2016 Middle East Golf Awards, the EPTI is a state-of-art instructional facilities offering an unrivalled teaching and practice experience and the chance to rub shoulders with some of the game’s biggest names as Firdaus did recently meeting Open champion Henrik Stenson (pictured below on the range at JGE).

It features the latest swing analysis studios, a full gym with personal trainers, along with wellbeing services such as nutritional consultancy and sports massage.

Main image courtesy Emirates Golf Federation

The post Dubai teen Zubair Firdaus <br> wins $32,000 scholarship <br> to Australian academy appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.