Australian PGA Championship – November 30 – December 1
The prize: The Joe Kirkwood Cup
The purse: $1.5 million
Where’s it being played?
At the RACV Royal Pines Resort on the Gold Coast. The course has hosted the tournament since 2013 and while it’s a relatively flat layout, it features tight fairways and plenty of water.
Tight fairways and water? Might be a few balls getting rinsed then?
Yes. Drives off the par 5 fifth and approach shots to the par 4 eighth might meet a watery grave, but probably the most watched hole will be the par 3 16 th where any shots that come up short will definitely be wet.
Is the 16 th the million dollar hole?
Correct. The first player to ace the 16 th in the final round will pocket $500,000. And for the final round, each professional will be aligned with a golf fan who will also win $500,000 in cash and prizes if their pro holes out.
So what happened in the Australian PGA Championship last year?
American Harold Varner III toasted his Australian PGA Championship win by filling the Joe Kirkwood Cup with champagne and taking a swig. Varner had a closing 65 to win by two shots from Australian Andrew Dodt.
Sounds like Harold is a bit of a gun around Royal Pines then?
Last year’s win came after Varner was beaten in a playoff by Nathan Holman in 2015 so Royal Pines obviously suits his game. He'll make the trek Down Under to defend his title this year after a fortnight playing in Asia. He tied 41st in the Hong Kong Open, won by Aussie Wade Ormsby , on Sunday and tied 19th the week before in the Dunlop Phoenix in Japan, where US Open champ Brooks Koepka lapped the field when winning by nine shots.
Varner banked over US$900,000 and finished 90th in the US PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup in 2017.
What's up for grabs this year?
The tournament is co-sanctioned by the PGA of Australasia and European Tour and the winner will earn a two-year exemption on the European Tour.
Who are the big names teeing it up?
Always popular with golf fans, Sergio Garcia will be making his first tournament appearance in Australia since 2010.
Garcia won the Masters in April after beating Justin Rose in a playoff to claim a long overdue first major and will be hoping to continue his stunning year, having also been victorious in the Dubai Desert Classic in February and the Andalucia Masters at Valderrama in Spain last month.
The current world No.11 was a close second to Tommy Fleetwood in the European Tour's Race To Dubai last season and heads to the PGA Championship after finishing tied 19th in last week's Hong Kong Open.
Speaking of popular, Gold Coast native Adam Scott will tee it up in his home event.
Scotty has endured an indifferent year form wise, finishing 79 th in the FedEx Cup after a promising start when he was ninth in the Masters and sixth in the Players Championship.
The current world No.30, Scotty will be fresh for the PGA after having an extended break since playing the CJ Cup in Korea and the HSBC Championship in China late last month and loves Royal Pines - he's recorded a combined 40 under par around the course during his 2013 win, playoff loss in 2014 and third-place finish in 2016.
World No.13 Marc Leishman returns to Australia to play the PGA Championship and will spearhead the Australian hopes.
In-form Leishman has hit a purple patch on the PGA Tour of late, winning twice (Arnold Palmer Invitational and BMW Championship) and losing a playoff to Justin Thomas in the CJ Cup in Korea last month. He’s got the form and game to prove hard to beat around Royal Pines, where he finished tied for 21st last year and 11th in both 2013 and 2014.
Will Sergio and Scotty show off their green jackets?
Almost a certainty that the green jackets will be on display for the fans at the Australian PGA Championship.
Any previous winners playing?
Harold Varner III defends his title and Adam Scott, Nathan Holman, Greg Chalmers, Peter Senior, Daniel Popovic and Robert Allenby are all previous winners who are teeing it up.
Didn’t Peter Senior retire a couple of years ago?
Well, he called time on his career in the second round of the 2016 Australian Open after a dodgy hip became too much to bear. But the hip’s come good and he’s been playing in a few senior pro-am events (pun unintended). Senior decided to make a one-off appearance at the PGA to play in front of his family one last time because Royal Pines is close to his home and he can sleep in his own bed.
What’s happened to Nathan Holman?
The 2015 Australian PGA Championship winner endured a horror 2017 season on the European Tour, making only two cuts. Winning here would get him straight back onto the Tour for two more years – if he wants to.
That Australian Open champion from last week - what's his name? How’s he going to go?
You'd be referring to Cameron Davis . You'll probably be hearing more of his name and if he plays like he did last week in the Open, he’ll be in it up to his eyeballs here. Take away the round three brainfade when he found the water after playing an impossible shot from behind a tree, and it would have been a stroll to victory given his 64 in the final round.
Any other players capable of getting the job done?
Wade Ormsby won in Hong Kong on Sunday, beating the likes of Tommy Fleetwood, Justin Rose and Sergio Garcia, to claim his first win on the European Tour after 264 starts. He'll be keen to make it two in a row and his newly-minted moustache may have been the catalyst.
PGA Tour regular Jonas Blixt heads north after finishing runner-up in the Australian Open, as does Australian Cameron Smith , who was in it for a long way in the Open but just couldn’t close it out in the final round.
European Tour player Jason Scrivener , who secured his first professional win in the NSW Open a fortnight ago, and Matt Jones , who flew home with 30 on the back nine in the final round of the Australian Open, are serious contenders.
Big-hitting Kiwi Ryan Fox can build on last year’s top 10 finish in the PGA and don’t discount last year’s PGA runner-up and two-time European Tour winner Andrew Dodt , who plays well around Royal Pines. Dodt can be a bit streaky but is white hot when he's on.
Who are the leading European threats?
Apart from Garcia, Swedish veteran Robert Karlsson , who finished third in the British Masters last month, makes a long overdue tournament appearance in Australia. The 2008 European order of merit winner played in last week’s Hong Kong Open, finishing 39th.
Englishman Tom Lewis was top 10 in the Australian PGA Championship last year and could kick-start his career here after losing his card last season.
Although he's not European, American Chase Koepka is the younger brother of US Open champion Brooks Koepka. While he’s not as long off the tee as Brooks, he graduated from the European Challenge Tour last season and finished third playing alongside his brother in the Zurich Classic teams event on the PGA Tour.
Any Aussies capable of doing a Holman or Popovic?
While it hasn’t quite worked out for Holman or Popovic since their victories, the PGA Championship gives Aussie pros an instant chance to break into the upper echelons of world golf.
Lucas Herbert , who led deep into the final round of last week’s Australian Open, looks like a player who has the swing to succeed at the next level.
Japan Tour player Matty Griffin claimed the New Zealand Open last year and could strike at the Australian PGA Championship without really surprising, such is his consistency.
Dimitrios Papadatos , another Aussie who has won the New Zealand Open, would love to notch a PGA win and nab a Euro card, as would James Marchesani , who tied 12th in the Australian Open last week.
Curtis Luck locked away another impressive Australian Open after a final round 71 to finish tied 16 th and seems destined to succeed on a world tour at some stage.
Where’s the Great White Shark?
The Shark won’t be making an appearance in the PGA Championship. Time eventually wearies them all and his career appears done and dusted.
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