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2024 Australian PGA Championship: Elvis Smylie def. mentor Cameron Smith for the Joe Kirkwood Cup after a terrific final day at the Royal Queensland Golf Club

by Sports Benches

What a day it has been to finish off the 2024 Australian PGA Championship by Queensland/Gold Coast local Elvis Smylie with the win for the first time at the age of 22 from the Royal Queensland Golf Club. 

He had an outstanding Day 1 to begin whilst holding top spot when Friday’s Day 2 play was ultimately abandoned due to heavy rain that led to a shortened three-round 54-hole contest rather than the usual four day 72-hole tournament going into the weekend.

Although he may had some close competition along the way from someone he looks up to in 2022 British Open champion & current LIV Golf star Cam Smith from there, having fell behind a bit following moving day yesterday & also ahead of the final day today. 

He kept up his game right through the final hole 18 nonetheless where not he regained the lead and then defeated Cam but he also managed to hoist the Joe Kirkwood Cup — another huge plus to see yet another different Aussie take home that ultimate prize as well.

Don’t forget he has a huge sporting family too albeit from Tennis via his parents in Liz and Peter but Elvis does what he does best and gotta say that golf is definitely his main thing, even though the way golf and tennis players swing the ball is quite similar alongside some hand-eye coordination without needing to run back and forth too much physically in golf. Don’t forget we can also hear Liz’s insights with her Tennis commentary on the world feed every January with the Australian Open as well as the lead-up tournaments in case you may not know – congrats to this amazing family right there after Elvis’s huge win!

Yes, Elvis also made his major debut also at the British Open a few months ago but couldn’t make the cut. However, time will tell if he can go on to hopefully make a big splash at some point like his mentor Cam.

Other than that, great to see a bunch of other Aussies making up the final leaderboard at least within the Top 6 – such as Marc Leishman and Anthony Quayle in Tied 3rd, David Micheluzzi in 5th and Cameron Davis over in Tied 6th.

One Aussie major PGA tournament done, one to go as we are off to Kingston Heath and the Victorian Golf Club for the Australian Open starting Thursday 28th November to Sunday 1st December 2024.

And thank you to the Royal Queensland Golf Club in Brisbane on putting up an amazing show for yet another year of Australian PGA Championship Golf.

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2024 Australian PGA Championship: Heavy rain leads to a shortened three-round contest but there’s still a few Aussies up front being led by Queensland local Elvis Smylie

by Sports Benches

We may not have seen Day 2 of the 2024 Australian PGA Championship unfortunately today due to heavy rain over at the Royal Queensland Golf Club up in Brisbane, but there will be two more rounds to make up a shortened round of three rather than four going into tomorrow and Sunday. 

The good news is though that a few of our Aussies are currently in front with QLD local Elvis Smylie leading the way at six under 65 ahead of a few front running Internationals like the Swiss Joel Girrbach & Victor Perez from France who are both sharing in Tied 2nd. 

Don’t forget there’s Cameron Smith, Jason Day, David Micheluzzi and Marc Leishman not far behind in Tied 6th with last year’s winner Min-Woo Lee over in Tied 14th, so lots can change over the next 36 holes in a race to hoist the Joe Kirkwood Cup. 

We still have a great track record of Aussies winning this tournament most of  the last decade in the hope of crowing yet another domestic winner, with American Harold Varner III being the last non-Aussie winner back in 2016.

And for everyone else, there’s not a lot of time left in order to beat the cut – so they  go all in to finish off whatever place they hope as highest as they possibly can for final day Sunday. 

This is still going to be one hell of a golf contest we don’t want to miss as long as there’s no more bad weather before we move over to Kingston Heath & Victorian Golf Club for the Australian Open starting later next week. 

It’s never been a better time now to tune in across Nine & Fox Sports between 12-5pm AEDT this weekend where we can only get to see some stunning golf including some star players from the globe who come in to play at our backyard twice a year.

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Min Woo Lee’s brilliance has defeated Japan’s Riyuka Hoshino on the final day that saw him take home the 2023 Australian PGA Championship in Brisbane

by Sports Benches

What an amazing end to the 2023 Australian PGA Championship at the Royal Queensland Golf Club in Brisbane where we saw two excellent challengers vying to take home the Joe Kirkwood Cup – Aussie’s own Min Woo Lee & Riyuka Hoshino from Japan. Now Min Woo fired off with some early disappointing scores where Hoshino stole the lead for a while, but a few of his extraordinary shots out of nowhere from difficult areas including a eagle on the Par 5 9th have all but confirmed his championship win at -20.

Fair play to have a Japanese player finish well in 2nd for another year this time in Hoshino after Ryo Histasune last year to Cameron Smith, even though it can be a bit hard to watch seeing someone win that tournament. As said, he was an early threat on Championship day but a series of Min Woo’s masterclasses saw him fall short by 3 strokes (-17) towards the end.

Plus, great to see a few more Aussies wrap it up at their best with Todd Sinnott finishing comfortably inside the Top 10 in Tied 7th & Marc Leishman being the best scorer for the final round alone (7 under 64) in outright 3rd ahead of 4th placed Curtis Luck, who always kept the front-runners in check from Day 2. And shoutout to a few Spanish-speaking trio also rounding out the Top 10 including Chile’s Joaquin Niemann (5th) as well as both Spaniards down in Tied 7th Rafa Cabrera Bello & Opening Day leader Joel Moscatel.

The first of the two big Australian PGA tournaments is done now where they will be back at the same place, same time in late November next year. For now, there’s still the Australian Open to come this Thursday through to next Sunday at The Australian Golf Club in Rosebery, Sydney.

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Min Woo Lee still holds on top spot after Day 3 as he hopes to go one better with the Joe Kirkwood Cup on the Final Round tomorrow of the 2023 Australian PGA Championship

by Sports Benches

So there we have it, Moving day is done where some hold on top while some have gone up and down the leaderboard ahead of Championship Day tomorrow in the 2023 Australian PGA Championship at Royal Queensland Golf Club in Brisbane.

We’ll start off with Min Woo Lee who continued to stay on top after a great show over the last two days at -17. The same goes to Curtis Luck where he too has also turned things around from Round 2 yesterday like Min Woo as he’s four strokes behind him. They are both sandwiched in between Japan’s Rikuya Hoshino – currently in 2nd place by just three strokes shy of the leader. There’s also another Japanese player to look for in Ryo Hisatsune following a great run today at five under 66. Now he fired well into Tied 4th on Day 1 before Ryo slipped away down the middle of the field prior to the weekend. He’s currently just outside the Top 10 in Tied 11th where Ryo is nine strokes behind Min Woo, but he has been so close last year to Cameron Smith alongside Jason Scrivener in joint 2nd as anything can be possible on the final day tomorrow.

Adam Scott has some work to do if he wants to win the Joe Kirkwood Cup tomorrow in 4th for the first time since 2013 ahead of two Tied 5th players in Lucas Herbert & Scotland’s Cameron Syme. Meanwhile, Cameron Davis & Marc Leishman wasn’t bad all along within the Top 16 so far as they both leads a quarter of players at Tied 7th alongside Round 1 leader Joel Moscatel from Spain & Chilean Joaquin Niemann. And speaking of the NZers on show, Michael Hendry is in Tied 14th at -7 after he was brilliant today with 7 birdies at a score of 64 strokes. He too has been improving over time off the back of a slow start as Hendry hopes to post a strong finish inside the Top 10 on the final day tomorrow. Plus, Josh Geary hasn’t moved much today in Tied 21st & Daniel Hillier has slipped away a lot down in T53 following a poor Day 3 score of 2 over 73.

We will see a new champion replacing Cameron Smith as will it be an Aussie again this time in Min Woo Lee? Or will someone else other than an Aussie become the first player to win this tournament since American Harold Varner III back in 2016? It all plays out when the first of the two major Australian golf tournaments will conclude by 5pm AEDT tomorrow afternoon.

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2023 Australian PGA Championship Round 1 & 2 Review: Unknown Spaniard Joel Moscatel Machshon surprises the field on Day 1 but it’s Min Woo Lee who leads right now in Brisbane

by Sports Benches

Yes, it’s moving today in Round 3 of the 2023 Australian PGA Championship but let’s look back over the last two days during Thursday & Friday at the Royal Queensland Golf Club in Brisbane. There was a little known Spaniard named Joel Moscatel Machshon, who is currently ranked World No.1162, has topped the opening round leaderboard with a few birdies on eight under 63. Although he might have been slipping away on Day 2, but he will be looking to bounce back soon enough right now at Tied 4th alongside Curtis Luck.

It’s good most of our Aussies lfilling up the Top 10 positions though where Min Woo Lee stayed ahead going into the next day after he overtook Moscatel as the current outright leader at 12 under, as well as Adam Scott just behind him by a single stroke in 2nd from 4th. Plus, you also got John Lyras & Lucas Herbert in 3rd & 4th respectively ahead of a bunch of other improved players in the mix such as Cameron John (6th) & David Micheluzzi (7th), whom they have been excellent all along with Min-Woo & Adam as of Day 2. Speaking of Cameron Smith, Smith unfortunately wasn’t the same player like he was last year after winning both the British Open & this tournament. He got away with just one birdie on two over 73 at Tied 109th before things went from bad to worse after scoring 78 on the second day, which means he has missed the cut-off bubble & he won’t be back to defend his crown this weekend.

And on the New Zealanders in action, Daniel Hillier has improved a couple of spots yesterday to Tied 21st alongside Josh Geary who fired not bad earlier from Day 1 in Tied 16th & so does Michael Hendry where he made some ground after a slow start. Things aren’t looking great right now when a few of them are languishing down the ladder, but you never know as there’s still time between now & the end of tomorrow afternoon.

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Main Event Cameron Smith is your Australian PGA Championship winner for the third time after a long day today through two rain delay hold-ups at the Royal Queensland Golf Club

by Sports Benches

Here it is…Cameron Smith is your main man this year in the Australian PGA Championship for the third time (2017, 2018 & 2022) after an stellar Day 4 shift of three under 68, even though there were two rain delays in between throughout today at the RQGC in Brisbane. 

Love the way how Cam responded after that bogey on the Par 3 11 when he executed his 2nd out of nowhere that led into a birdie on the Par 4 12th – before he made a few more including a consecutive birdie on the 13th – and kept himself at bay right until the very end in which was enough to take home the Joe Kirkwood Cup. 

Then we go a bit further down the leaderboard where Jason Scrivener was back in the hunt at one point earlier today, but then his unfortunate hit & misses on the Par 3 17th when he was a shot away from Smith beforehand on the tee at ultimately saw him settle for 2nd best at four under 67. The same goes with Min-Woo Lee who just couldn’t find something special on the back nine after a good start with back-to-back birdies, as Min-Woo finished in Tied 4th alongside John Parry (England). 

Looking further on Parry, he started Day 4 on Tied 20th before he made a huge turnaround, especially when he wrapped things up well on the back nine that saw him left the RQGC by only five shots behind Smith at six under 65 today.

It’s also good to see a trio of Japanese competitors finish within the Top 10-11 mark. Although Masahiro Kawamura slipped away from the Top 3 thanks to his struggles on the back nine that eaten up more shots at of over one 72, but he‘s not a bad player nonetheless when he was a decent threat back on Day 2 & 3. We also covered briefly about another two players to watch from Tied 11th in Ryo Hisatune & Takumi Kanaya; they too ended up on a high with Ryo as joint runner-up alongside Scrivener, as well as Kanaya who capped off a consistent weekend run of 69 strokes in Tied 7th. 

And shoutout to the ever-consistent David Micheluzzi who stayed in the Top 10 all along from around 8-10th to 6th; he’s now ready to do some damage at the Australian Open in a few days time at Kingston Heath in Cheltenham, Victoria.

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Jason Scrivener stays on top after Day 2 of the 2022 Australian PGA Championship with a pair of Camerons in Smith & John, as well as few International competitors sniffing around his radar

by Sports Benches

Jason Scrivener is still your leader by himself this time at -10 following Day 2 of this year’s Australian PGA Championship at the Royal Queensland Golf Club in Brisbane. He too never looked out of place of four under 67 today when Scrivener kept it up with plenty of pars, as well as four birdies on the front nine & Hole 12 with no bogeys at all.

But he will need to be aware of current British Open champion Cam Smith right behind him in 2nd at -9. Cam not only continued to be consistent on the front nine, but his improved progress of a whopping eight birdies including another the back nine that helped him work his way through the field of six under 65.

There is not only one Cameron fighting for the title, but there’s also another in Cameron John who is currently in Tied 3rd at -8. He may have fired off slow on Day 1 yesterday before he turned around with seven birdies including three on the back nine also with today’s score of six under 65.

Then we have a mix of International players looking to split Smith & Scrivener up top. We’ll start off with Japan’s Masahiro Kawamura where he played really well after an improved Friday run of five under 66 that helped him soar in Tied 3rd alongside Cam John. So does the likes of Adrian Meronk from Poland, China’s Yan Wei Lou & Spaniard Alejandro Canizares who are all currently in Tied 5th at -7.

Plus, don’t write off a some domestic stars such as Anthony Quayle and NZ’s Denzel Ieremia also in Tied 5th despite their respective scores today of 69 from 66 and 68 from 67. The same goes with Min Woo Lee & Adam Scott when both players may have came off their disappointing spells today; Although Scott sinked a nice long range putt birdie on the Par 3 17, but there’s still two days left for both players to rebound.

And we won’t see Jed Morgan defend his title in T78 following another sub-par score of three over 74 that saw him miss the cut, as well Lucas Herbert – who pulled out prior to Day 2 due to a sore back – as he looks to recover in time for next week’s Australian Open. 

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A three-way tie for the lead between Min-Woo Lee, Jason Scrivener & John Lyras after Day 1 of the 2022 Australian PGA Championship in Brisbane

by Sports Benches

Well, it was such a competitive first day of this year’s Australian PGA Championship where there were plenty of contenders in the mix at the Royal Queensland Golf Club in Eagle Farm, Brisbane. 

The likes of Min Woo Lee, Jason Scrivener and John Lyras are all sharing top spot right now at six under 65. All three players kept up the consistency, especially on the front nine with plenty of pars, seven birdies and just one bogey.

Looking at outside the Top 3, Adam Scott may have been a bit inconsistent with back-to-back bogeys on Holes 4-5 on the front nine – but he wrapped his shift really well in Tied 4th right now even though the early wake-up alarm was stressful just like how Min-Woo flew straight here to Brisbane from Dubai two days ago – with three straight birdies between holes 16-18 at five under 66. 

Joining Scott is Anthony Quayle – who made some sensational shots here & there – especially when he nearly sinked a hole in one on the Par 3 at Hole 4 before Quayle scored an eagle from the bunker on a Par 5 at the 7th hole. Now he hopes to improve on the back nine going into Day 2 tomorrow; The same goes with Brad Kennedy and South Korea’s Jeungjun Wang.

Meanwhile, World No.3 Cam Smith is back following his breakthrough major win at the British Open in St. Andrews, Scotland a few months ago. He got away well with a 1st hole birdie followed by a couple more on Holes 6-7 & 9, but again Cam needs to bridge the consistency towards the back nine as he’s currently Tied 14th at three under 68.

And World No.55 Lucas Herbert endured a tough Day 1 on T91 at plus one 72. He may have fixed the 6th hole on Par 4 from just outside the putting green with a birdie  – but there’s still lots of work to do if he wants to continue his title hunt here going into this weekend’s final two rounds that could hopefully see him return to The Masters in Augusta, Georgia early next year. 

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