Weekly Wrap - Week 44

WEEK 44 – WEEKLY WRAP

Week 44 and nearly another Ozzie victory. Hannah Green falls at the last hurdle (bunker) but her improved form sees her finish T2 at the Maybank Championship. Heaps of tension at the Hotel Planner Tour finale to see who earned cards in the main tour next season and more nail biting action at DP World Tour Second Stage. LIV player Connor McKinney seals the deal with an emphatic victory at the Hong Kong Open and secures a place in two of next years majors.

LPGA

Tournament: Maybank Championship

Dates: 30 October – November 2

Course: Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club, Malaysia

Purse: USD $3.0M

Ozzies in the field: Karis Davidson, Hannah Green, Grace Kim, Cassie Porter, Robyn Choi, Lydia Ko (NZ)

Hannah Green was soooo close to getting it done in Malaysia. An errant tee shot on 17 cost her a bogey. She made it up with birdie on the last which got her into the playoff. Then the good fortune which Green had benefited from through the last round deserted her in the playoff as her second into the par five 18th came up short and plugged into the face of the greenside bunker. From there she hit a poor bunker shot and could only make a par. Yamashita converted her birdie chance from 20 feet and claimed the win.

Ozzies in the field:

• Hannah Green T2
• Lydia Ko (NZ)T9
• Grace Kim T16
• Karis Davidson T16
• Cassie Porter T49
• Robyn Choi T67

Porter slips down 2 positions to 60th on the Race to the CME Globe (OOM). A precarious position as only the top 60 get to play in the season finale CME Championship. Porter is not entered into the penultimate event of the season in Tokyo this week so will need a good result in The Annika starting 13 November. Robyn Choi who maintained her position at 62 also needs a good end to the season to sneak into the CME Championship. Karis Davidson moved up 5 spots to 81st edging closer to the top 80 who secure full playing rights for next season. An important couple of weeks coming up for our three Ozzie women.

Hotel Planner Tour

Tournament: Rolex Grand Final supported by The R&A

Dates: 30 October – 2 November

Course: Club de Golf Alconada, Port d’Alcúdia, Mallorca

Purse:€500,000

What a great watch this tournament was. So much tension and drama as everyone watched the live projection of Race to Mallorca OOM chop and change all the way to the finish. In the end it was Englishman James Morrison who took out the tournament and in the process elevated himself 30 spots on the Race to Mallorca OOM and earned himself a card on the DP World Tour next season. Great scenes as he won with his 13 year old son on the bag. This was going to be Morrison's last tournament but his victory has prolonged his career. There was tension all over the leaderboard for those fighting out for the last spots to be promoted to the DP World Tour next season.

NOTE: In the current season players who earn status via the Race to Mallorca had status in category 15. There are 150+ players ahead of them each week vying for entry to tournaments. Early season success is critical to get enough points to qualify through the updated OOM following re-shuffles.

DP World Tour

Q School – 2nd Stage

The second stage of the DP World Tour is held across 4 venues in Spain from 30 Oct to 2nd November. There were a number of Ozzies trying to advance to Final Stage.

Quinnton Croker T16, qualified at Desert Springs Resort

Connor McKinney T5 qualified at Golf Las Pinaillas. Campbell Phoenix, Andrew Martin and Danny List failed to qualify.

Tyler Hodge (NZ) T60 failed to qualify at Isal Canela Links

Tyler Wood (NZ) 1st and Jack Thompson T19 qualified at Fontanals Golf Club. William Bruyers and Daniel Gale failed to qualify.

Those who follow the travails of Eddie Pepperell of the Chipping Forecast podcast will be please to know that Eddie qualified with a T16 finish at Fontanals GC.

Those who qualify now play the Final Stage at Infinitum Golf in Spain this week 7 November – 12 November. It is a brutal 108 holes. See What’s on this Week to see the Ozzies in the field.