In this Issue

1. 🧑🏽‍🍳 Woosy’s Home Cooking

2. ⛳ Australian Open Preview

3. 🍴 Quick Bites

   • Mean Dean Bermester’s win makes things awkward for the DPWT

   • Mickelson and Shipnuck are at it again

   • PGAT releases the PIP results

   • Aussie veteran John Senden battles Parkinson’s

4.  📅 Schedule for the Week

🧑🏽‍🍳 Woosy’s Home Cooking

Min Woo Lee, the man that made the phrase “let him cook” his own, was on fire at Royal Queensland Golf Club finishing 20-under after 4 rounds and winning the Australian PGA Championship by three shots. He played aggressive golf all week, attacking pins and smoking everybody off the tee with (as Phil Mickelson would say) “nasty bombs”💣. After entering the final round with a three-shot lead, things were tight on the front side as the players prepared to turn for the inward nine. However, the tournament’s pivotal moment saw Min Woo chip in for eagle on 9 green which led to the crowd erupting and inspired Lee towards his first victory on home soil. It was an emphatic win in front of the large Brisbane crowd at RQ.

Over the week, Lee hammed it up with the crowds, who had turned up in droves to support the top Aussie players. Lee had his own band of fanatics dressed up in chef’s attire to see Min Woo cook around the magnificently conditioned RQ layout. He gave back to the crowd, especially on the 17th party hole, where he led a “Viking clap” to KISS’s “I was made for loving you” whilst wearing a chef’s hat 😂😂😂.

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The leaderboard was a delight for the PGA of Australia and for Australian golf fans. Lee and Adam Scott were the standouts through the first two rounds, but Scotty was stuck in neutral over the weekend, unable to progress himself much beyond his Friday standing (-1 over the weekend) finishing 6th overall. LIV Golf players, Mark Leishman and Joaquin Niemann, finished 3rd and 5th respectively.

The PGA of Australia missed a real opportunity to showcase Niemann, who is a world class golfer (having won on the Genisis Invitational on the PGA Tour prior to joining LIV). Until the final round, Niemann was effectively frozen out of the coverage, presumably due to the PGA of Australia’s unrequited loyalty to the PGA Tour and DP World Tour. This was a dumb play and the coverage was poorer for it. It’s also disappointing that the governing bodies are still stuck in a cesspit of politics, because the players certainly don't hold any grudges against each other for playing on different tours. This was very clear in their interactions, both on and off the course, during the course of the week.

Leishman shot a final round 63 on Sunday to equal the course record and show good form going into the Australian Open this week. Curtis Luck, former number one amateur player in the world (which earnt him a start at the 2017 Masters), has struggled to make progress in the US of late, but had a solid week on home soil finishing 4th overall after a hot back nine of 31 on Sunday and making the first ace of the tournament on Friday.

Obviously, the big disappointment of the week was Cam Smith missing the cut (in an event that he has won three times before) in front of his home crowd in Brisbane. After a lackluster opening round of 73 (+2), the wheels fell off for Smithy on Friday, blowing out with a seven-over par 78 to finish 147th at +9. He was totally out of sorts with wayward driving, horrible approach shots, and even his putter deserted him. It was just not the Smithy we know, and a long way from the major champion that he is. Despite this, Cam fronted the media (as many top players wouldn't - think Rory), almost in tears and owned his result. “It's unacceptable, it's shit” he said when reflecting on his performance. He also backed up at RQ on Saturday morning to sign autographs for juniors and give some time back to his loyal fans that had supported him despite his struggles over the week. He demonstrated some true Aussie spirit and showed why we all love him as an ambassador for Australian golf.

Overall, the tournament was a big success for the PGA of Australia. Large crowds, a beautifully presented course and a popular Australian winner all fit the script for the organisers. The week was capped off with the announcement that the tournament will return to RQ again next year, which is great news.

⛳ Australian Open Preview

The Australian Open returns to Sydney this week with an innovative format that allows fans to see some of the best men and women golfers playing for different titles on the same course at the same time. The men and women will be playing in alternating groups across both The Australian Golf Club and The Lakes over the first two days, and then The Australian only on the weekend. They will be playing for a combined men’s/women’s purse of $3.2m.

The favoured players in the men’s field are very similar to last week for the PGA Championship. Unsurprisingly, Min Woo tops the list at $6, with Smithy close on his heels at $6.50. We actually think Cam will be very dangerous this week - he’ll have a point to prove following the disappointment of last week and will likely give The Aussie Open a real shake. The other leading Australians include Adam Scott ($11), Cam Davis ($10) and Marc Leishman (who we think is great value at $17 after his 3rd playing over the weekend).

In terms of the international contingent, Joaco Niemann leads the way at $13, followed by defending champ Adrian Meronk ($17) and then a fair gap to the likes of Hisatsune ($29), McIntryre ($36) and Hoshino ($31). And then there is Michael Block - Blocky has become a social media sensation (read “pest”) since he shot to fame at the US PGA Championship last year, where he finished T15 an made an ace that went viral around the world. He’s currently sitting at $501, and true to form, has been doing Golf Australia’s bidding on socials - talking up the courses and the tournament as only he can.

Turning to the women, the field will include:

• a selection of Australia’s best including Minjee Lee (world no. 5), Hannah Green (no. 28), and Grace Kim (no. 76).

• a number of international stars as well: former world No.1 and 2013 champion Jiyai Shin, defending champion Ashleigh Buhai (who won the title at Royal Adelaide last year), two-time major champion So Yeon Ryu, LPGA winner Jenny Shin and rising star Lucy Li.

The women’s contingent now boasts six players inside the top 100 of the world rankings. So, all in all, it is expected to be another great week of golf down under, and let’s hope the Sydney crowds turn out in force to create a real buzz.

🍴 Quick Bites

Here are some golf quick bites for you to snack on:

• Mean Dean Bermester’s win makes things awkward for the DPWT - Sporting his LIV Golf/Stinger GC gear, Bermester won the DPWT’s Joburg Open this weekend, earning an exemption into the 2024 Open Championship at Royal Troon. DPWT officials would have been sick at the sight of a LIV player taking out the tournament given the current state of world golf.

• Mickelson and Shipnuck are at it again - In the latest issue of the ongoing Phil Mickelson-Alan Shipnuck spat, Lefty replied to a tweet of Shipnuck’s and called him a “lying POS.” Mickelson later deleted the tweet, but it’s clear the ill-will remains (stemming back to Shipnuck’s initial outting of Mickelson and his comments regarding the Saudis as “scary mother-fuckers” and seeking “leverage” against the PGAT).

• PGAT releases the PIP results - the PGAT’s “Player Impact Program” or PIP has finished for the year and the results are in. The Tour has dished out $100m for what is effectively a social media popularity contest. It is one of the methods that the PGAT is using to remunerate top players who remained loyal and did not defect to LIV. It also makes a joke of the Tour’s charitable/tax exempt status.

• Aussie veteran John Senden battles Parkinson’s - in sad news, one of Australia’s and Queensland’s favourite golfing personalities, John Senden, has revealed he is battling Parkinson’s Disease. Senden has 6 professional career wins, including 2 on the PGAT and the 2006 Australian Open (fending off Geoff Ogilvy for the title). We wish John all the best with his health.

📅 Schedule for the Week

Your golfing schedule for the week, and how to watch is below:

• PGAT: The Hero World Challenge - Albany Golf Course (Bahamas), $3.5m purse, Friday 1/12 to Monday 4/12 - Coverage on Foxtel & Kayo, starts 4.30am Friday.

• PGA Tour of Australasia/WPGA: The Australian Open - The Australian Golf Club and The Lakes (Sydney), $3.2m combined purse, Thursday 30/11 to Sunday 3/12 - Coverage on Channel 9, Foxtel & Kayo, starts 11am Thursday.

• DPWT: The South African Open - Blair Atholl Golf & Equestrian Estate, Johannesburg (South Africa), $1.5m purse, Thursday 30/11 to Sunday 3/12 - Coverage on Foxtel & Kayo, starts 8pm Thursday.

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