Weekly Wrap - Week 32
A week for the young guns on the LET, PGA Tour and the women's amateur game.
US Women's Amateur Championship
A great week for our Ozzie women amateurs. Five of our six competitors made it through to the matchplay following the 36 hole strokeplay. Jazzy Roberts and Amy Hodgkins lost in the round of 64. Raegan Denton bowed out in the round of 32 and Ella Scaysbrook and Rachel Lee lost in the round of 16 with Lee losing to the ultimate champion, Asterisk Talley.
A fantastic win for Talley who has come close in some previous big tournament. She came second at the 2024 US Women’s Amateur and the 2025 ANWA. Talley said of her win, "This pretty much completes my amateur career.....This is one of the biggest events to ever win, so I think this is going to be the top of my list from now on.”
There are surely big things ahead for this seventeen year old star. It is interesting to contrast her career so far with Canadian Anna Huang, also 17. Huang has four wins on the LET and amassed over €500,000 in winnings. Talley has stayed on the amateur course and all eyes will be watching what the next step is for this prodigiously talented young woman.
LET
Tournament: PIF London Championship
Dates: 6-9 August
Course: Centurion Club
Purse:USD $2.0M
Ozzies in the field: Kelsey Bennett, Kirsten Rudgeley, Madison Hinson-Tolchard, Justice Bosio, Steph Bunque, Sarah Kemp, Amelia Garvey (NZ), Momoka Kobori (NZ),
What a tournament this was. A second round -11 from Charlie Hull set the tournament alight bringing her right into contention following her first round one over 74.
Paired with eventual winner Anna Huang on the final day Hull held a one shot lead coming to the par 3 seventeenth. Four putts later and Hull had relinquished her lead and a birdie on the final hole was not enough as Huang would eagle the same hole to run out a two shot winner. It was seventeen year old Huang’s fourth LET tournament and she became the youngest player to do so ahead of Lydia Ko and Jeeno Thitikul.
Best of the Ozzies was Kelsey Bennett who finished solo fifth. Bennett’s opening -5 had her sitting in second but two rounds of -2 to follow saw her slip backwards to 4th and then 6th. A final round -5 saw her stabilise her position on the leaderboard. A nice week for Maddison Hinson-Tolchard with a strong T17 finish. On the OOM Bennett remains in 3rd place with Kirsten Rudgeley 19th, Justice Bosio 29th, Hinson-Tolchard 54th, Sarah Kemp 63rd, & Steph Bunque 72nd.
1st Anna Huang – USD $259,905
5th Kelsey Bennett – $61,164
T17 Maddison Hinson-Tolchard - $28,199
19th Amelia Garvey (NZ) – $26,510
T37 Justice Bosio – 11,609
T55 Kirsten Rudgeley – $5,660
T59 Steph Bunque – $4,938
MC Momoka Kobori (NZ), Sarah Kemp,
LETAS
Tournament: CSK Steel Women’s Open
Dates: 5-7 August
Course: Himmerland, Denmark
Purse: €50,000
Ozzies in the field: Kristalle Blum, Munchin Keh (NZ), Wenyung Keh (NZ), Elmay Viking (Cook Islands)
Possibly one of the most bizarre playoffs ever seen included a 2 shot penalty for improving a lie in a bunker and a player not finishing out
The ultimate winner was Moa Svedenskiold who started the day nine shots behind overnight leader Tereza Zapetal. At the end of the final round Svedenskiold was tied with Beth Coulter and German amateur Lena Geir.
At the first playoff hole Geir was eliminated. On the second playoff hole Svedenskoid got up and down from a bunker for a par whilst Coulter missed her par putt. Coulter then picked up her ball without finishing out and Svedenskiold began celebrating a win. Ten minutes later officials advised Svedenskiold that she had been assessed a two stroke penalty for
Again no Hannah Reeves who currently sits at no 10 on the OOM where the top 7 at season end get promotion to the LET. Following her recent win Reeves can enter any tournament but is not currently entered in anything through to the end of season.
EPSON TOUR
Tournament: Smoky Mountain Championship presented by Food City
Dates: 6-8 August
Course: Green Meadow Country Club, Alcoa, TN
Purse: USD $250,000
Ozzies in the field: Jennifer Elliott, Caitlin Peirce, Su Oh
Mirabel Ting captured her first win on Tour beating Rachel Kuehn on the first sudden death playoff hole. No luck for our Ozzies as they all missed the cut.
1st Mirabel Ting – USD $37,500
MC Jennifer Elliott, Caitlin Peirce, Su Oh
PGA Tour
Tournament: Wyndham Classic
Dates: 6-9 August
Course: Sedgefield County Club, Greensboro, NC
Purse: USD $8.5M
Ozzies in the field: Jason Day, Cam Davis, Karl Vilips
Another win from the under 25 brigade with Michael Brennan getting his second Tour victory. The big focus was however on the FedexCup rankings as this was the final tournament before the playoffs and the last chance to get into, or remain, in the top 70 which is the magic number to qualify for the first end of season playoff tournament, The Fedex St Jude Championship. Brennan’s win catapulted him from 105 to 47th.
At the start of the week there was Jordan Smith is at 68th, Steven Fisk at 69th, Jackson Koivin at 70th, Mac Meissner 71st, Keegan Bradley 72nd, Andrew Putnam 73rd, Johnny Keefer 74th and Jason Day at 75th.
Jordan Smith improved to 64th, Jackson Koivin held onto the final spot at 70th.Steven Fisk was the unlucky player to move down to 71st. Meisner, Putnam, Keefer, Bradley and Day did not do enough to get into the top 70.
The Ozzies finished; Min Woo Lee 17th, Ryan Fox 22nd, Adam Scott 29th, Jason day 82nd, Karl Vilips 129th, Cam Davis 191st.
So positions 1-70 are guaranteed tour status next season. Positions 71-100 also have full status and positions 101-125 have conditional status. However 71-125 can all change around in the eight tournaments of the fall season which starts on September 17 at the Biltmore Championship and concludes on November 22 at The RSM Classic.
So expect to see Karly Vilips and Cam Davis continue to play to try and move into those 71-125 spots. Day is probably secure at 82nd but may play some tournaments to solidify his position.
1st Michael Brennan – USD $1.53M
MC Karl Vilips, Jason Day, Cam Davis.
Korn Ferry Tour
Tournament: Pinnacle Bank Championship presented by Woodhouse
Dates: 6-9 August
Course: The Club at Indian Creek, Omaha, NE
Purse: USD $1.0M
Ozzies in the field: Rhein Gibson
If you go into the final round in the lead and shoot 64 most weeks you end up a winner but not when someone shoots 59 and you then have to be in a playoff and then you lose the playoff. Frankie Harris carded -12 in his final round to take the clubhouse lead but then overnight leader Alistair Docherty birdied his final four holes to join the Harris. Harris won on the second playoff hole.
Frankie Harris – USD $180,000
MC Rhein Gibson
Hotel Planner Tour
Tournament: Scottish Challenge supported by The R&A
Dates: 6-9 August
Course: SCHLOSS Roxburghe, Heiton by Kelso Scotland
Purse: GBP 250,000
Ozzies in the field: Daniel Gale, Haydn Barron, Sam Jones (NZ)
Christofer Blomstrand claimed another win on the HotelPlanner Tour. He won by two shots from Adam Wallin. The Swede had a three under 68 on the final day to claim his second Tour win.
A good week for Ozzie Daniel Gale who had his best finish for the season with a T8.
1st Christofer Blomstrand - €46,700
T8 Daniel Gale - €6,171
T47 Haydn Barron - €1,284
MC Sam Jones (NZ)
Legends Tour
Tournament: Staysure British PGA Senior Championship
Dates: 6-9 August
Course: Trump International Golf Links
Purse:€
Ozzies in the field: Scott Hend, Michael Campbell (NZ), Michael Long (NZ), Mark Brown (NZ), Jason Norris
Michael Block got an invite to a big Tournament and may or may not have just walked off the course in the final round. Block’s account is that he injured his wrist, told hid playing partners and withdrew. Tournament records show that he was disqualified.
On a brighter note was Darren Fichardt’s victory overcoming last year’s playoff disappointment to win by five shots over Mikael Lundberg.
1st Darren Fichardt
T7 Michael Campbell (NZ)
30 Scott Hend
T33 Michael Long (NZ)
T49 Jason Norris
Sunshine Tour
Tournament: SunBet Challenge Times Square Casino
Dates: 5-7 August
Course: Wingate Park Country Club
Purse: R 2,500,000
Ozzies in the field: Austin Batista
No joy for Austin Batista as he missed the cut but plenty of smiles for the winner, Luke Brown.
LIV Golf
Tournament: LIV New York
Dates: 6-9 August
Course: Trump National Golf Club Bedminster
Purse: USD $30.0M
Ozzies in the field: Ripper GC: Cam Smith, Marc Leishman, Lucas Herbert, Travis Smyth.
Joaquin Niemann is a prolific winner on LIV Golf and he added another victory to that resume this week. Niemann won by three shots from Harold Varner III with the ‘crushers taking the team title.
Despite finishing in a tie for 48th at +8 John Rahm has clinched the individual Championship title with one event still to play. It marks Rahm’s third consecutive crown as LIV golf season champion and this year he achieved it with two wins and four second places.