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Joaquin Niemann’s outstanding show on the final day today has secured him the 2023 Australian Open victory via a two-hole Playoff shootout v Rikuya Hoshino

by Sports Benches

The 2023 Australian Golf Tournament is finally done and dusted just in time with rainy weather at the Royal Australian Golf Club in Sydney. First of all, we entered Championship day with our Aussie own Min Woo Lee and Japan’s Rikuya Hoshino as the joint leaders as they both battle it out upfront once again this time for the Stonehaven Cup. Now Hoshino has bounced back through the end to score a playoff shootout but not with Min Woo though as the 25-year-old from Perth did not have a great weekend out, even though he finished two strokes shy of third with a final score today at two over 72.

The same can be said with fellow Aussies Adam Scott & Lucas Herbert who sniffed around top spot earlier in the day for a while & they weren’t also bad too in the Top 10 alongside Min Woo, but both of them couldn’t keep up the consistency particularly at the back nine in Tied 4th & outright 7th respectively. Instead, Hoshino was met by a new challenger in none other than Joaquin Niemann Chile after he was simply outstanding today at five under 66.

So both Niemann & Hoshino were tied at -14 ahead of the two-hole Playoff shootout with Niemann keeping it straight, while Hoshino couldn’t get the ball land through the middle of the fairway as it ended up going wide either near the trees or the bunker. Yes, Hoshino is excellent at getting out of trouble, especially when he was lucky the first time around after Niemann missed that eagle put. However, Hoshino’s luck eventually ran out at the 2nd attempt when Niemann’s perfect eagle performance on Par 5 18 has all but confirmed the Chilean with the Stonehaven Cup trophy by just one stroke.

Great day by Niemann who had to wait for like two hours with some driving & putting practice before he had to play again at the 18th hole twice with Hoshino for the Playoff shootout. But his final day performance has been extraordinary with some sensational drives & shots along the way that saw him move his way up front as he deserves to win the 2023 Australian Open Golf tournament – well done!!

And on Hoshino, it’s hard to see him fall short once again like he was last weekend to Min Woo Lee at the Australian PGA Championship as no one likes to miss out the top prize in 2nd place. He has been an top player to watch though where Hoshino knows how to get into the game late during the final weekend rounds over the last two weeks & if he can keep the consistency all along from start to finish, then he’ll sure win sooner rather than later.

It was a fantastic two week show of major Australian Golf Tournaments this year as they’ve been brilliant hosts to all players both here & overseas across Brisbane for the Australian PGA Championship & Sydney over the last four days with the Australian Open. They will be back back bigger & better for the next one in 2024.

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It’s Min Woo Lee v Riyuka Hoshino Round 2 this time for the Stonehaven Cup trophy in 2023 Australian Open Golf ahead of Championship Day tomorrow in Sydney

by Sports Benches

While Min Woo Lee’s performances on Moving Day earlier today might not be as the same as Day 2 yesterday, but he’s still leading the 2023 Australian Open alongside Japan’s Rikuya Hoshino where they are both at -13 ahead of Championship day tomorrow to finish off the two weeks of major tournament golf here in Australia. But that’s not all as there’s couple of players going after them for the Stonehaven Cup such as Alex Fitzpatrick from England (-12) while American Patrick Rodgers (-12) never looked out of place so far right from the very start. Plus, don’t forget fellow Aussie Lucas Herbert who also done well today as he is just three strokes (-11) behind the Top 4 front runners over in outright 5th. Yes, it’s possible that we will see a strong Top 5-10 finish when it comes to our representation of Aussies in action. But it’s all about Min Woo v Hoshino again where his amazing final day performance last Sunday has saw him won the Australian PGA Championship at the Royal Queensland Golf Club in Brisbane. Will Min Woo get to pull off the same thing tomorrow and complete the double as the next Aussie to win this tournament since Matt Jones in 2019? Otherwise, will we see Hoshino get his revenge or a else different foreigner keeping the Stonehaven Cup away from the locals like Poland’s Adrian Meronk did last year come tomorrow arvo.

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2023 Australian Open Golf Day 1 & 2 Review: Cameron Davis off to a flying start but Min Woo Lee’s strong Back 9 yesterday has overtaken Connor Syme with a two-shot lead

by Sports Benches

The 2023 Australian Open Golf is back for another year this time in Sydney where the  first two days were held at two different golf venues (The Lakes Golf Club & Royal Australian Golf Club) since it’s a combined mixed event for the men’s, women’s and all abilities categories. It’s also good to see our Aussies lead the charge as well with Cameron Davis off to a great start as the opening day leader. Now he might have slipped away over the course of Day 2 yesterday, but there’s another Aussie who absolutely shines from difficult and extraordinary situations in none other than last weekend’s Australian PGA Championship winner Min Woo Lee. He too wowed majority leader of Day 2 Connor Syme from Scotland as he’s currently leading by two strokes at -12, especially when Min Woo got away with strong back nine performance from 14th to 1st that includes sharing the lead with Syme for a while before he became the outright leader after a birdie the Par 4 16th. And we also couldn’t forget a brilliant end to his shift off the back of a eagle on the Par 5 18th – what a player he is so far by our own Min Woo Lee.

It’s also great to see some Aussies moving up the leaderboard ahead of moving day today with Jason Scrivener & Jeffrey Guan. Plus, Lucas Herbert is in Tied 16th & Cameron Smith gets to play this weekend down in Tied 28th after he missed the cut last week during the Australian PGA Championship. Gotta say it’s Min Woo v the world for this one as he hopes to keep on staying up front by flying the flag for Australia with more of his individual brilliances coming his way later today in Sydney. 

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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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A sensational finish in the 2022 Australian Open saw the towering Adrian Meronk crown as the first-time winner after rough Day 4 outings from Adam Scott & Min-Woo Lee

by Sports Benches

What a day, what a moment from the unbelievable & very tall Adrian Meronk of Poland – who just won this year’s Australian Open Men’s Tournament here in Cheltenham, Victoria. He got away with a fantastic front nine of back-to-back birdies at the start plus a two more on the 9th & 15th before Meronk wrapped up his final shift with a sensational eagle putt on the Par 5 18th at 4 under 66. How good!!

Adam Scott came home in 2nd by just five strokes behind Meronk at -9. He was on par with the Pole for the majority since his remarkable turnaround over the last two days. However, a mix of bogeys on the front nine & an poor 17th hole on double bogey – including an out of bounds mistake in his first shot – have effectively ended his hopes on top – as he finished Day 4 on two over 72. After Scott, Min-Woo Lee rounds out the Top 3 on -8. He came here hoping to take home home this tournament his own after an unreal first hole eagle on the Par 5 – but couldn’t find much special to kick on ever since that saw him settle for 3rd best on 1 under 69. 

Plus, hats off to Alejandro Canizares from Spain when he moved a whopping 26 spots up to Tied 4th at -7 alongside Haydn Bannon, as well as topping the charts of the final day alone with eight birdies despite two bogeys in between Holes 2 & 4 on six under 64. And it’s good to see a bunch of Aussies finish inside the Top 10-15 mark – including the resurgent Lucas Herbert down in Tied 10th by ten shots behind Meronk (-4) – when he fired off slow in the early stages – but found a way up over the weekend that reflected his late progress right until the very end. 

That is that as congrats to Adrian Meronk with his stunning day today as the new Australian Open Men’s champion.

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Adam Scott’s fantastic Day 3 performance puts him in the box seat towards the Australian Open Men’s title going into the final day

by Sports Benches

Adam Scott is such an amazing player to watch since his resurgence from Day 2 on Friday, as he will enter the fourth & final Day as the Australian Open Men’s leader on 11 under par. He was consistent through for most of the time bar the bogey on the Par 5 9th, but his back nine was superb especially when he sinked two birdies plus an unreal end to his shift with an eagle on the Par 5 18th of 3 under 67. 

Look out behind Scott by one stroke in 2nd at -10 when it comes to the towering 6 ft 6 in Adrian Meronk from Poland. He too also continued his resurgence like Adam with an extraordinary front nine of six birdies alone before he capped off a brilliant spell including an additional three birdies of the last 4 holes on 7 under 63.

It’s also good to see another pair of Aussies such as Haydn Barron & Min-Woo Lee in Tied 3rd – who are both ready to challenge Scott & also Meronk for the trophy – as they’re just four strokes behind Scott at -7. Bannon never looked out of place after he got away comfortably on two under 66, while Min-Woo Lee continued his progress further through the field but he would need a perfect Sunday finish & pray for the best if a breakthrough win ends up on his way. The same goes with Jason Scrivener when he moved way up from T32 to T12 at -4 after a brilliant run today of two under 66, but he doesn’t want another repeat of what happened last Sunday when a mix of errors on the Par 3 17th at the Australian PGA Championship ultimately cost him the title. 

Although David Micheluzzi‘ strong first-half start went downhill from top spot to Tied 12th following a rough score of -7 73, but again he would need a mix of consistency & luck if he wants the Australian Open title so bad by the end of tomorrow afternoon. But there’s one player for sure who can’t be present on Day 4 after he missed the 2nd cut-off bubble; Sadly, it’s current Australian PGA Championship winner Cameron Smith – even though he slightly improved a bit on Day 3 but a poor first half ruined his chances of collecting the double here in Victoria.

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Day 3 of this year’s Australian PGA Championship changed everything with Cameron Smith now as leader despite a mixed day today

by Sports Benches

Well, moving day of this year’s Australian PGA Championship has dramatically shaken up the leaderboard going into the final Day tomorrow at the Royal Queensland Golf Club in Brisbane. Cam Smith is your leader right now at -11 despite four bogeys on the 9th & back nine; plus a couple of visits outside the putting green today alongside six birdies sandwiched in between on two under 69.

Just behind Cam by three shots is a pair of Internationals in China’s Yan Wei Liu who nearly sinked a hole-in-one Par 3 11th & Masahiro Kawamura from Japan as they’re both currently in Tied 2nd (-8), while Min Woo Lee & Brad Kennedy are back in the hunt in Tied 4th (-7) following their respective inconsistent Day 2 scores yesterday, especially when Min-Woo was extremely good on the front nine with four birdies.

Joining Min-Woo & Brad is Jake McLeod where he was exceptional as always since his rapid rise from T40 to the Top 3-5 yesterday. Although Day 1 & 2 leader Jason Scrivener may have endured a tough day in the office today with only back-to-back birdies on the 17th & 18th on top of five bogeys, but he’s out of the race just yet alongside Min-Woo, Brad & Jake. The same can be said for Cameron John when his score today of three over 74 saw him slip down from Top 3 to Tied 11th.

There’s also a couple players who emerged as of late starting with Spaniard Alfredo Garcia-Heredia in Tied 8th (-6) following his Day 3 rebound at four under 67; So does Scott Hend and David Micheluzzi where they both never looked out of place going into the final day inside the Top 10 alongside Garcia-Heredia, as they hope to wrap up on a high note.

And if that’s not enough, look out for Sam Brazel (T11), Scott Strange & Cameron Davis (both T15) as outsiders not far away from the Top 10, as well as another Japanese pair of Takumi Kanaya & Ryo Hisatsune (both T11).

Who will take home the Joe Kirkwood Cup & the $2 million prize money tomorrow? Will it be one of the local boys, another Aussie from another State or will it be an International player this time since Harold Varner III (USA) in 2016? We’ll wait & see.

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