Local golf is under the spotlight this week with the PGA Tour of Australasia/Asian Tour/Japan Golf Tour coming together for the 102nd New Zealand Open which takes pride of place in the preview roster.
There’s also the designated Arnold Palmer Invitational, and opposite field Puerto Rico Open on the PGA Tour, as well as the boldly named HSBC Women’s World Championship.
Music by www.Audionautix.com
boo I’ve never seen anything like it before to attempt to hit the ball out of there is pure Madness the winner of the gold medal and the Champion golf for of the year is Cameron Smith this is the one that I’ve always wanted to win since I was a little kid so it just feels pretty amazing to be able to get it done today uh it’s amazing that it’s my destiny to be the first ay to win just incredible hello and welcome to episode three of playing from the tips golf Australia Magazine’s weekly preview and tipping podcast covering the week ahead’s tournament golf from around the world and all the tours I’m your host Jimmy Emanuel and this week myself and a few of our so-called experts will guide you through the action from the PJ tour of austral Asia as well as the PJ and lpj tours now let’s meet the so-called experts along for the ride this week making his third playing from the tips appearance a man with a podcast Network so vast some have taken to calling him the Crown Prince of golf podcasting welcome Rod Murray three guest appearances in a row made the cut three weeks in a row I’m building a career here you are it’s it’s a real middling to AO career I think I might just reach the dising heights of journeyman if I keep this up anything particular in the world of golf catch your eye last week Rod I was particularly interested again as log pointed out last week in that golf course in India at the hero Indian open you just can’t watch that tournament and not think to yourself This is golf on the moon if we ever play on the moon this is what it’s going to look like just extraordinary you mentioned Adrien log who failed to make the cup this week so rounding out our Trio attempting to Enlighten and entertain you this week is the man at the helm of all things golf Australia magazine editor Brendan James BJ congratulations on your playing from the tips deboo what do you think you’re going to bring to the table this week not much you got a sheet you got a sheet of paper you’ve got a print out sheet of paper that’s print sheet of paper and your spectacles case with the little cleaner in it You’ got it and I’ve got a copy of the magazine which won’t come in handy at all but um no I I hope that I can step into log shoes and fill them enormous enormous oddly shaped shoes doubt log shoes would suit your sorial style and I bring no no path theories with me this is a path free zone I think yeah we don’t do the paths he does get into the watches though on some of the chess and some of the weirder things I’ve want to watch for 30 years so me neither or a golf clove no I’ve never worn a golf clove you me and Freddy Couples that’s us Brothers before we move ahead this week a look back at the success or lack thereof of our tips last week we had four top 10 to add to the total for 2023 which now sits at five wins and 32 top 10s with the best finish of the week of T3 three for attire tial by myself one of two top 10 for me while there was one a piece for Rod and Adrien now to this week and we lead off with the 102nd New Zealand open presented by Sky Sports something of a rarity in the New World Order of professional golf in it that it’s Tri sanctioned so PJ tour of austral Asia Asian tour and Japan golf tour coming together this week uh Asian tour and other tours don’t necessarily play together that much given the live golf connection we’re going to see less and less of this we yeah it’s one of the very very few that I can spot on any schedule that’s Tri sanctioned this year so has a has a long history of Tri sanctioning actually the New Zealand open which comes back for the first time since 2020 due to co uh and goes back to the Queenstown region where Brad Kennedy won the Brody Breeze trophy which is a very classic and good trophy we’ve spoken about trophies before here and TPS trophy I don’t like TPS trophies and live golf trophies Brody Breeze trophy proper trophy two attached to yeah Legend of New Zealand golf Kennedy had a final round 63 to win last time and also done the spectacular feathered garment that the winner of the New Zealand open gets which is a great for a shot on Getty Midas by the way uh now milbrook is the solo Host this year uh now that its new course the Coronet course designed by Scott mcferson and Greg Turner is open and ready for play joins the remarkables designed by Bob Charles as the other host course beautiful scenery uh big part of the week nice and wide plenty of undulation surrounding Hills not surprising given the winter identity of the area as a skiing Haven something this Trio knows absolutely nothing about and thankfully for other skiers I’d suggest I’ve been to this part of the world in Winter to milbrook itself in fact on sort of a famila it was a rought many years ago and there were guys staying at the resort playing golf uh they were going skiing in the morning you could see the mountains and playing golf in the afternoon and at the start of winter they would cut three holes in each green because they freeze up overnight so you couldn’t cut a new hole every day and they just moved the pin between the three holes over the course of the winter hey bit different no mangr mountain I’ll tell you uh this is a proam format again this year 156 players they play each of the courses Thursday Friday cut to 60 and ties 40 Prime teams for Saturday then it’s just 10 teams on the final day uh when we get to field noticeable absence is Ryan Fox who gets his first start at the Arnold Palmer Invitational having been a huge supporter of his home open and partnering often with the late great Shane War but that doesn’t mean there’s not others to keep an eye on tough call for him Jimmy for National open yeah massive but um he’s going to get a start at the at Bay Hill and at the Players as well he can’t not really after last year playing so well missing President’s Cup and stuff like that which is partially the world rankings I think there’s a decision that Ryan’s going to bigger and better things so he may as well go and take the CH which will finally enough probably do at least as much for New Zealand golf as if he was to turn up play tough tough tough spot for a player absolutely uh defending Champion Brad Kennedy headlines the list of players to watch he he thrives in this event multiple time winner but this is his first start of 2023 he’s been having a rest and being a dance Dad up in the Gold Coast of Queensland uh not really a concern for him Mr consistent even if he comes off a spell gearing up for senior to a golf as he told Mar in the current issue of golf Australian magazine uh last week’s winner on the Aussie tour Bret Keta got a start only by winning the TPS Hunter Valley much deeper field this week but still deserves attention a promising youngster who sort of talked about giving the game away at one stage Jeff ogi has huge WS on Bret ket’s golf game was close to you know corn fery to PJ T sort of Avenue a few years ago and then came back home but looks like he’s found something uh same goes for Aaron Pike who recorded a top 10 on his return home after a couple of weeks on the DP World Tour that was actually in Asia same for’ Gibson who plays again after somehow playing TPS Hunter Valley after winning on the corn Fury tour and finishing Fifth and one of the world’s great birdie makers in a proam field on a Resort golf course could shoot 56 could Sho he is one of that’s golf addiction isn’t it like full season in the US trying to get your car come back and play the TPS Hunter Valley just because you’re here and it’s on came back played another event after he won came back and played that so didn’t even get to go home home to Lismore to see his family and friends and then goes to New Zealand and then we’ll come back and then eventually get there to sickness uh you’ve got order of Merit leader David muty who’s on an absolute TD run of golf but ad mid last week he let his frustrations get in the way which is what he hasn’t done this summer and which he previously did do including at TVs Hunter Valley where he had one of the great spits last year Well expectations go up don’t they yeah you play well for a period you can’t help but now your expectations go up and so while you’ve been managing them really well it’s a different set of expectations all of a sudden and you got to learn that lesson all over again I think it was Jones that said golf is a game we just learn the same lessons over and over and over again he Dave has this event circled as a big chance to just make the order of Merit a done conclusion with a couple of events to go so despite winning a couple weeks ago he was really looking at this one as a big chance to push ahead uh we’ll get a bit of a look at some Japan tour plays that we don’t ever see on TV this week which is always exciting although the history of Performing well in this event is not NE there we don’t get a lot of the bigger names out of Japan uh I like makuma hakawa who either misses Cuts or contends so nice I’d say he might miss the cuddle contend this week which is a exciting prospect it’s a case you could probably make in court yeah that’s right uh and then the Asian Tu gives us quite a few veterans couple of young players uh guys like Scott hen Zack Murray a former winner here Todd sinate and one of the great names in golf gun Cher Nicole just outstanding and not to be forgotten is Local Hero Steve ala who has made enough money since turning 50 he could front the prize money this week and not notice the bank balance hit um genuine chance has played New Zealand opens for as long as anyone can remember and just seems to love playing golf uh had a bit of a tough period of it lost his cadd to cancer very suddenly two weeks ago but Steve aers a big chance I think to be that only adds don’t you reckon be that adds to the potential for him to win this week having lost his caddy who’ been thr for a really special year for him last year one of the best stories it’ll either add to the to the achievement or it’ll it’ll weigh on him that he’s not that he’s long time C’s not there I can’t help but think of Ben crenchaw at the Masters in ’95 post Harvey P post Harvey Panic the week before Carri the coff the week before and then stood up and won the tournament the next those sorts of things tend to happen in gols I’d rate Alro a very good chance this week and now it’s time for some tips and given it’s his debut we may as well let BJ get us kicked off who do you like in New Zealand well you mentioned BR Keta there and I couldn’t help but really um admire the way he went about it at at Cypress Lakes and he’s now with that wind he’s not only obviously got the start now the New Zealand open but it’s also pushed up his chances of picking up one of those spots in the order of Merit the end of the season which is what they’re playing for we’re watching the week to we TPS the players are watching where they are on the order of Merit to get one of those cards for next year or even the other exemptions that come with to a schooling corn fairy finals Etc so I mean he’s had he’s had a win but he’s had five top 10 in 11 starts so you’ve got to think he’s he’s going to be thereabouts and I think if he gets a sniff um he could do what he did at Cypress Lakes and go lay the final day and put himself right in the right in the mix he’s he’s technically fifth in the Chase for the three DP World Tour cards cuz you take out your cam Smiths your minw Le and your Adam Scots who won’t P the required four Rod who do you like I like BR KET because I remember watching bre Keta at the New South Wales open at Twin not twin cigs at Stone Cutters Ridge he might have been still an Amer at the time just turned professional shot 61 if I recall in the first round which was his sort of announcement to the golf world he’d been a you know he’d been a no sort of an Amer incredibly impressive as as an athlete I can’t remember who it was somebody nominated him I think it was the Vic Institute of sport pound-for-pound one of the best athletes in any of their programs strong wiry really impressive And he as you said he had some issues I think sort of mental issues really weren’t they corre living on the road uh so I really like him I wouldn’t be surprised him but I’m going to go with I like the outside better Nick Flanigan oh yeah tied fifth last week in the hunter Valley at home has seen all of the highs and lows of golf absolutely Nick and he’s at a sort of perod his gr but he also finished tied third here three years ago last last time the tournament was played and so he’s clearly comfortable in the environment and the place and it’d be a nice story to see him get up um second last player to win the US Amer Curtis luck won it obviously after him but that was a huge deal when Nick Flanigan won the US amiter it’s a massive achievement for an international player and particularly a player from Australia to win that and he’s a really likable bloke he’s a really good player he’s a really nice guy and he can play I mean you don’t make a living playing golf which he’s done he’s done it the hard way all those years if you don’t know something about how to play so he hasn’t been a prolific winner but it would be a great story if he got up this week very good I’m going to go with Jordan zunich took the week off last week uh hitting the golf ball magnificently well if you can just work out how to roll the thing in the hole it’d be half a chance won this tournament before but has a significant leg up on the rest of the field cuz he’s actually played the new course at milbrook cuz his in-laws live right there and Jordan spent Christmas and New Year over there with his wife Olivia and his in-laws and played a lot of golf on these golf cours C for that shouldn’t there yeah if the tournament comes to your home course you should be capped a couple of shots I did I did note somewhere on the website a quote about someone talking about how excited they are to play such a great new golf course when none of them have played it but I think Jordan zunich and maybe Michael Hendry I don’t know but anyway Jordan’s my tip and should do well um just yeah just needs to roll the thing in the hole really he’s a bit Alam like I reckon zunic he’s got more natural talent in his pinky finger than most other players he hits it amazing but he gets in his own way all too often Jordan everything everything for him is about upstairs I mean doing that work with Nick when he nearly won the PJ that year lost to cam Smith in the P he played some incredible golf but you watch him hit it and he should be there he’s that class above uh the rest of the players in to be honest there there’s there’s probably three or four dozen guys that hit it yeah as well and it it comes down to yeah maybe yeah that’s the work on the green as Bruce young always likes to say you know don’t tell me that you played great didn’t putt well if you didn’t putt well you didn’t play great doesn’t matter how the game is of multiple factors and all those facets have to work cuz it’s a package not one section of what what about how easy I in Trig’s job is when he shows up to tour events and he’s teaching Elvis Smiley and Jordan zunich and you just stand on the Range and go well why don’t you just do that again pretty simple right next we uh head off to Florida probably one of the more uh completely different areas to Queenstown in the world for the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard and BJ you’re going to give us the lowdown on the PJ tour’s latest designated event yes the fourth designated PJ Tour event for 2023 at $20 million purse which is up 8 million on last year’s purse which is a significant jump found in the console of car you don’t go to master put the hand down the back of the lounge and what do you pull out you don’t go to MasterCard and say oh by the way you got an extra 8 mil this year you’ve got pj2 has clearly funded that so so not surprisingly with that that on offer and also the uh requirement for you know the best players on the PJ T to front up to the compuls they’ve got to play all of them they get one off they get one off yeah so there’s 44 of the top 150 in the official World Golf Ranking if you want to call it that um including obviously world number one John Ram there’s top 30 on the FedEx money list of there and every pj2 a winner this season so it’s a deep field and of course Scotty Sheffer will be there defending his title um it’s one of the more recognizable golf courses on the PGA tour um designed by Dick Wilson a bit of an Australian connection there um given that he he designed some of the replacement holes at Metro in Melbourne back in the uh early 60s and uh Wilson’s work’s been tweaked over the years and and the setup for an’s event is is typically tough um firm and fast greens which seem to get faster every year uh combined with a bit of wind like we saw last year when shef one uh bill becomes an absolute brute um in fact last year’s five under winning scores only the second time in 11 years that the the winner didn’t reach double digits under par so there only in fact there only 10 players that finished underpar last year pretty amazing in in a field of PGA Tour play you cannot stop these guys shooting under power it’s almost impossible of that’s amazing score five under was yeah you know that’s tough Golf and really grounded out the last five six holes you know making just paring in so much water there be even for good players water can be intimidated particularly out the closing stretch when the the nerves are jangling it’s you kind of kind of built around a big lake it’s just such a severe punishment water it really even for good players that’s why s grass TPC the 78 s grass is so difficult was bunker all around that green most players not coming back from a water that’s right exactly so it just plays with the mind just well out of the corner of your eye when you’re standing over the ball you just yeah it’s not one for the it’s not a course for the course architecture of fados um but it does as we as you said it does offer an exciting finish with water coming into play down the stretch um all that said um the course definitely suits the eye of some players um assumingly play well there every time they te it up tear it up there um of course Tigers won this event eight times uh between 2000 and 2013 but there are others like you know trell Hatton who was the winner in 2020 and was runner up last year uh Mark lman won there in 2017 he was the first recipient of the now famed red cardigan of course yeah uh um and was runner up in 2020 and then there was Matt Evy who only has a couple of pj2 Wis under his belt and both of them came at Bay Hill didn’t didn’t Adam Scott gift one of those to him maybe the first one if I recall Scott shot 61 or something in the first round but I remember he made a seven or a nine on one of the path I was just faffing about in the water like a 20 marker yeah and well that would surprise me this there if you look through the history of this event there are guys that will go out and shoot the absolute lights out and not figure in the result figing the result uh Greg Norman’s one he hold he’s an equal um she has a course record of 61 isn’t this where game as hold from the that was pretty that was was that the was that the start of the Norman snake bit Theory or was that at the end I can’t remember what year 1991 I believe SN a few yeah and it was it was nearly 10 years earlier when Norman ripped that course apart it was 62 actually um and didn’t and and just faded over over the next couple of days uh there’s quite a few Aussies in the field this week the semi- resurgent Aaron badley um Cam Davis Jason day Lucas Herbert who was tie seventh last year uh mimu lee uh Adam Scott as you mentioned has got some history there and Harrison Endicott is the second alternate so fingers crossed that Harrison may get a start in in what could be you know uh the opportunity to cash you know win some cash that sees him through to the end of the year um that’s a huge deal for a player I potentially if two blocks drop out that would be a huge deal for Harrison OT who’s listed in the field in Puerto Rico well I think he’ll be he’ll be obviously going to Puerto Rico and playing that that Open Championship rather than the arational that storied history tournament but things turn on that sort of thing don’t they cam Smith got a start in the PGA Tour event that was played in um Malaysia all those years ago because he playing well on the Asia classic finished top five ped that into a start the following week on the US tour and here we are yeah that is that is how it unfolded he would have got there another way obviously C but that one sort of opportunity Haron has a good week who knows what lead with with the way these designated events work now like BJ says you catch that much money and you kind of secure yourself and then he goes in free wheels for the year and a non-designated events the sort of thing Harrison could bob up and and win you know so takes off so much pressure and yeah and of course there no pressure If he does get a start cuz no one expects him to do anything no that’s right so fingers crossed and he he actually is the kind of guy that could actually do quite well at bill yeah yeah absolutely yeah yeah anyway we we’ll watch that with interest Rod who do you like at Bay Hill this week funly enough I like Jason day BJ’s right it’s a real horses for courses course here like Augusta National and day’s been top 10 last three starts two of those in these designated events where the fields are frankly as good as you’re going to see any week on any tour including Majors um that’s been pretty impressive now he’s not back to where he was Jason day but I think he’s far enough along the road that he could bob up and win an event uh three consecutive top 10 yeah absolutely and top 10 really at this level are as close to winning as almost anything you’re really talking a couple of bounces here or there or one you might be talking is anything you know three four shots maybe over the course of a week so that tells you how close he is but to do that three weeks in a row this pattern that’s emerging that and with each of those he’s getting more confident so I wouldn’t be at all surprised if Jason day was to to Bob up and grab it this week five years since he last one I know it’s extraordinary you can’t believe and when when he was winning you remember that period when he was like the world number one you couldn’t get enough on him he he was going to win everything every week now he not back to that yet but I don’t think he’s he’s far enough along the road back to that that he’s certainly capable of pulling one out spoke to him as part of a Australian Media Group last week and you can tell he actually is really enjoying Golf and he’s loving getting better and the thing that’s impressive about him at the moment is that he’s not even close to putting as good as he did when he was world number one and was the best putter on the planet so he’s doing it with his ball striking which is more impressive and quite healthy as well BJ you got a tip for us here it’s hard to go past Scotty Sheffer um won a few weeks ago at uh in Phoenix few tipped him to to defend his title there um but looking back few tipped him to win here last year and he and he got the job done um I think Sheffer will win this week and I’d really like to see him play in the final group on Sunday alongside Jason I think that’ be a really good shootout down the stretch can I say from my side number one I’d like to identify myself as a new Eric Cole fan nice yep mini tour batt but son of Laura ball who one of the best golf swings we’ve seen and some of the worst signature golf clubs ever produced best hair didn’t lpj to in the early ‘ 80s yep just that would been competitive category yeah oh there was plenty of Isa work with puffed up yeah yep plenty of work going on there I think it’s one of the two bigger Irishman from both sides of the Divide there Shane Larry plays well here I think this week but maybe not quite Rory maroy completely forget the two results he’s recorded where he didn’t win or come in the top 10 recently tournaments he wouldn’t normally necessarily play golf courses that don’t necessarily suit him this place suits him down to the ground home home in inverted commas in Florida and he is going to be right in it this week as he gears back up towards M he’s going to have a couple of those weeks I think during these designated events where he doesn’t have his best stuff and that he pH still finishes close enough to the top is showing where his game’s at he’s he’s set for a huge year and I think another win this week and now Rod you’re going to take the Reigns for the final two events and let’s look at the HSBC Women’s World Championship in Singapore it’s a bold name isn’t it the Women’s World Championship for a limited field event you’ve got to respect that that’s really just putting your cards on the table 66 players World Champ having said that though the field does kind of Warrant the title I mean they are Lexi Thompson’s the only top 10 world ranked player who’s not in the field this week so a little bit like what we’re going to see the Arnold Palmer uh this is kind of the the best of the best they call it Asia’s major which is there’s been a few attempts at that but I think the 66 players makes that a bit too light for to be called out but the strength of the field they’re doing all right that anything in a major on the lpj tour according to Evan nice knife you feel that knife just turning there thanks for those the sponsorship dollars yeah that’s exactly right that’s exactly right just played at the Sentosa Golf Club there’s two golf courses there most people will be familiar with the other course the serap course where they play the men’s Singapore open this is at the tangon course which was basically blown up and completely rebuilt in 2016 the lpj started playing there from 2017 on it’s a much better Golf Course for this sort of golf than it used to be green have been made a lot smaller uh all the bunkering has been moved they played the Asia Pacific h there in 2018 so the course really lends itself to the the scoring is always good here uh what’s most interesting about that though the guy who did the redesign work uh Andrew Johnston Andrew Johnston he’s also the director of agronomy and the GM at the club and says all course Architects should be forced to run one of their own golf courses for a year to see what the and appreciate what the day-to-day challenges are of what they’ve put in the ground that’ be an interesting experiment wouldn’t it uh I’d love to see Mike Clayton on greens tomorrow at 500 a.m. listen he’s a tournament director he’d be up at 5 so there’s no drama with that he is a tournament director uh jinang Co is defending um as she is well she’ll spend a lot of 2023 defending because she won so much in 2022 she would be among the players to watch for me Lydia Co and neelly cter both finished top 10 last week uh Lydia Co is in that John Ram sort of space at the moment um just you can’t put enough money so certainly don’t write her off um jinyang Co had eight under Sunday in Thailand which tells me this week is going to be good that’s dangerous for the field she hasn’t been at her best for a couple of months Jano but that says eight under was the equal best round of the day with willan Vu who won theour the wrist inju is not on her mind anymore yeah exactly so uh strange in the field Hanah green M Le neither did anything terrific last week but who knows could Hanah green played well Hanah green closed well on on Sunday last year so um um yeah it’s uh it look it’ll be a really good and interesting tournament as the opga does so or used to do so much more often than the PGA tour now these designated events have sort of fixed that we see the best more of the best of the best playing against each other more weeks on the LPGA Tour which is why I think as a spectator it makes it most weeks you turn on the LPGA you’ll have Lydia Co and Brook Henderson and MJ Lee and a lot more of the big names you get very few of those what we had last week at the Honda the real lesser known sort of name so and this will be one of those as part of this Asian swing so and have you got a player that you are going to tip outside there Leona Maguire better player than her record suggests yet having only been on tour for two years one win she’s a multiple LPGA winner in waiting and every week the Ticks by without her winning again brings her closer to her next win so she’s a good Shar in Lanna McGuire I don’t but having watched her up close at both the Vic open and at Bonville a couple of years ago when she was out here and sort of known but not really known she was on the L hadn’t made the LPGA yet really impressive player and a super smart and interesting and nice young woman I interviewed her for a thing about golf I know for the I said golf podcast at Bonville and she was really impressive in all way she had that maturity that tells you she’s got the mind for the game so yes if I could get Shar in Le you do like to tip her I do like to tip her um she doesn’t maybe I should stop maybe that’s why she hasn’t she she would probably like you to stop the weight of Rodney John Mor is not in added to the bag is L Maguire what have you BLS got PJ let you go first well whenever they go to Singapore whether it’s uh the men or the women I always like to look at the weather app first oh this is the sort of research deep research here this isar I don’t do because there’s there’s a real uh there’s a real big chance that it’s going to be heavy track and yes this week it’s going to be a heavy track there’s heavy rain expected in Singapore from today we we’re recording here on Tuesday uh through to Thursday which is going to take a lot of the sting out of that that Golf Course um despite the fact that they spent millions of dollars on the on the drainage there won’t matter a bit because it will be torrential absolutely there be no run whatsoever and and they’ll have to have three three days of of sunshine before there’s any run on that golf course which plays right into the hands of Mara Stark y with that uh big hitting sweed coming off a win tie second in a past in the past two starts massive chance to win this F extraordinary Talent extraordinary Talent great talent extraordinary Talent has she got a new caddy this when she played in Australia last year whatever I think she won the New South Wales open no disrespect to the girls she had caddying for they were clearly good friends but she looked like one of those players who was just a professional caddy away from being unbelievable the talent was off the charts it was just some of that decision a little bit like Min wo Lee when he first turned Pro he sort of he found a couple of caddies over time that have really helped his game I think she looks to me like one who so I don’t know whether she’s got a full-time professional caddy this year but that looked like the only missing piece in her game I thought Maja Stark for me I’m sticking with what I did last week and going with the ti tial who played really really well last week particularly on Sunday no thae player has ever won here despite the list of very good players they’ve had been quite Korean dominant the winnner list in Singapore but uh I think she can break that Trend she is quietly going about being one of the best players in the world because there’s all the lyia co- attention you get to America you get Nelly cter you get all that sort of stuff and then players like jinyang Co coming back she is going to have a really big year why do you reckon that is it’s interesting isn’t it because she’s got the runs on the board she’s what ranked three in the world now or something and yet we all I know I talk about a lot but you almost never hear people talking about it the way they talk about other players she’s been extraordinary since she was she’s still the youngest ever player to win a professional tournament she won at the age of 14 on the L I think right yeah I think she was younger than Lydia Co when she won the New South Wales open here it might be it might have something to do with the fact that she hasn’t got like a a standout killer killer blow like she’s not doesn’t hit it miles like she doesn’t hit Miles She Doesn’t ha every single but the entire game is so welled that there’s no stand out there’s no shiny bits to go oh look at that and she’s not a huge personality issue she’s always very bubbly and happy and and pleasant on the course but she’s not a huge personality issue she do Christy Cur I mean for for example last week she made four bogeys across the entire week and hit a lot of greens about 29 30 putts a day most Fairways miss a couple she’s not going to make any big mistakes she’s going to just sort of FL her way around the golf course and if the putter gets hot she’s going to win um but yeah she doesn’t have something that seems to drag all the attention but it’s a it’s a competitive field to get attention on the old to for variety of different reasons of personality so I think she’s still sort of coming into her own playing the lpj tour as well and and so yeah it’s going to be a tough week likely with that weather as well you like a player like that who’s just going to find Fairways and greens and doesn’t isn’t short by any means isn’t long by any means but kind of that prototypical lpj player to have a pretty long and successful career really steady Personality yeah finally we head to Puerto Rico for the pj2 is Puerto Rico open Puerto Rico these opposite field events are always interesting there’s the tournament within the tournament if you’re a deep hardcore golf fan there’s great stuff to watch in here for a couple of reasons one you got a bunch of young guys this is essentially a 2022 corn fairy tour elevated event all the graduates from the corn fairy tour who’ made it to the tour the field is full of those kind of guys so you’ll get some really interesting Golf and impressive golf they’ll all be in their comfort zone but I’m more interested for those of us of a certain vintage in some of the names who get a start in the second run I believe you just missed at me yeah would have been a I would have been on the plane but I got a few things on this week so uh Carlos Franco outstanding it’s always a good week when car get a start KJ Choy the tank Daniel choa Carl p Kevin Stadler these are just some I’ve picked out Omar resty the world’s greatest professional and Boo Weekley which is remarkable I haven’t heard of boo since he visited Australia what five or six years ago play been taken by a Croc yeah so um you have missed one in that I haven’t well I have okay tell me who I’ve missed Frank he’s first alternate got him on my list yeah but I think he’s a chance because like an indicot might get in an AR Invitational and Frank record for most heers smoked in Puerto Rico per round so best known sadly Frank for being charged for pulling a knife on a bloke in 97 in a bar which was I couldn’t find what what the result he was charged I don’t know what the result of all of that one of the purest ball strik is that ever to play golf great name to just unbelievable with ir just like stop and watch sort of stuff disappointing given the amount of invites here Drew love doesn’t get a start but he is playing in New Zealand playing in New Zealand which is you want look at the interesting we should have a category for most interesting player in the field each week for the various tournaments but there you go so for those of us of a certain vintage it’ll be like we’ve turned the TV back on in the mid 2000s watching some of those players at the other end of the Spectrum which is where you’d think the winners are going to come from some really interesting young Talent akshai Bara did I pronounce that right Jimmy he’s one of your how did you pronounce it I’m not going to try but that was close so how do you know if it’s close or not really impressive young left-hander made the news obviously for taking his shirt off twice was it last week to hit balls out of the also the golf golf Australia magazine caption competition this week enter and try with some golf balls cor fairy to a winner he’s played three PJ two events this year made the cut in all three hasn’t done anything amazing he’s a guy who could Bob up somewhere like this uh and all the cool kids seem to really like him so a bit of a darling of the PJ to a social media team so he’s got a bit of a profile so far so doesn’t he travel with his girlfriend in a girlfriend he won on the corn tour look he could he could walk off the tour tomorrow and be modeling yeah well he doesn’t need to he was modeling already at the weekend Beach no need to walk off the tour who knows what the endorsement Arrangement was there I hope if this week if there’s any any player that needs to take their shirt off it’s it’s a and not Carl pet or Kevin St or Kevin Statler and and if Kevin and Carl if you’re listening I look like you so I worry about it it’s you’re allowed to say was it now wasn’t Kevin Stadler in the the US Open group they complained it was Kevin Stadler the block from Zimbabwe bendon de and somebody else and it was the heavyweight group cuz usj used to do those funky bearings and they were the heavyweight group and one of them complained about it I can’t remember who the third member of that that was yes they’re all um they’re all in the XL a when it comes to shopping for shirts uh the course here really exposed to the wind it really can blow you can get two different golf courses depending on the Wind so that tends to make it interesting uh coming down the stretch last year’s winner Ryan Bren was one of those nice stories you like to see at these events we’ve all forgotten it but this was it was his last start on a medical exemption he had to win or finish solo second to earn enough to keep his card and he won with his wife carrying the bag so that’s the sort of stuff you’ll see here it won’t make the Channel 7 News over here but if you’re a hardcore golf fan there’ll be some interesting stuff to see strange in the field uh Greg Charmers Harrison andic Cott at this stage Jeff ogy and Cameron Percy uh tip yeah who do you like Ryan Gard or Gerard finished fourth at the Honda and almost unknown this is only this is only his third start as a professional but fourth of the Honda was a pretty good result who knows he’ll be a long shot I would imagine I imagine the whole Field’s long shots because the odds haven’t heard of some of them for a long time orever so that’s probably a fair assessment there’s a lot of names that will be familiar but unfamiliar for their recent play so that’s fair o by the way has been playing some decent golf he as we discussed yesterday absolutely yeah some just amazing names in there ruji like just so good did I see AR and Atwal was in AR getting onto the champions tour has the Indian golf press very excited as they told me in Thailand at the end of last year BJ have you got a tip for us that’s going to Enlighten us Eric Van royan nice nice uh it’s Miss 12 Cuts in his past 21 tournaments Jew Justin Rose waiting to happen that’s why I’m tipping him this week um and the fact is now that he Anis horribilis is done um PJ tour winner did he win on the tour yeah yeah yeah uh he finished tide six at the American Express last month um hasn’t done quite that well since but um I think that might have been the turning point and and to get him into a field let’s just say it’s a pretty ordinary fi he’ll feel like he should win this week he feel he’ll feel like he should win this week I mean the last time we saw some of his best work was when he destroyed that te at the PGA Championship yeah that was some fun and that’s going back a couple of years now um very good work so yeah Eric Van royan can get the job done this week I like it a little bit disappointed none of us have opted for France’s Martin trainer who wasn’t France’s Martin trainers who was America’s Martin trainer until this year cuz he’s trying to get Olympic I thought you were saying his name was Francis don’t know any golf is called Francis so from France Martin train what happed there I was with you there I thought Francis France now playing under the French flag how does that happen do we know I have no idea married into that or no I don’t believe yeah just why would you do one of the vagaries of these sorts of events that I perhaps who know yeah I think it’s O who who are some of the great like we’ve we’ve had Rory sabatini now Czech Republic we had Andre staltz was Swiss stals staly stal played under the Swiss cup of golf something tried to get into the World Cup I tried to convince demy papadis and James nites to turn to Greek Allegiance before the World Cup of golf at Metropolitan 2018 all the but a couple of South African guys did it instead yeah yeah anyway I will tip uh Hank Leota this week former housemate of Curtis luck showed some good golf at different times he’s actually a better player than sort of he’s shown I think and and a really good ball Striker and sort of guy who’s going to play these events probably more than he would like to but eventually we’ll snag one so left-hander left-handed indeed great visor wearer too Hank so and like we mentioned him before Jeff OG I think is a bit of a chance to actually record something good it’s exactly the sort of place where he could Bob up isn’t it yeah no expectations and he’s been playing some pretty strong fields on some pretty difficult golf courses the last few weeks so and C Percy played play well last week actually he serious campaign Charmers was second here through 36 holes last year just saying there we say where he finished but he was second through 36 holes so and according to his Twitter account he’s got a big fan base in Puerto Rico oh he would do he’s got big fan I got a big fan base he Raphael Campos the only Puerto Rican in the field finished tied third here a couple of years ago that’s me his only standown result tends to miss the cup but there’ll be a lot of support for Raphael if he can get it going including me I’d get on the Raphael train yeah if it starts going I’m sure you would that’s a nice nugget to finish on that’s it for us this week hope you enjoyed it and learned something ahead of this week’s golf that might even give you a chance to tip a winner for all the action from all these tournaments and more visit our website golf australia.com Au where you can also go in the draw to Win $5,000 worth of tiess golf gear by voting for Australia’s greatest golf holes that’s golf australia.com AU [Music] [Applause]
