Now in its 30th year, the PGA Tour of Australasia continues to showcase the very best of the southern hemisphere’s golfing talent in gripping fashion, as not just a springboard for golfers aiming to break into the international PGA Tour, but also a passionately contested prize in its own right. Let’s catch up with the action on this year’s tour so far, and see what lies ahead over the coming months.
The state of play
The 2013 order of merit top 50 to date is dominated by Aussies, albeit with a strong New Zealand presence towards the top of the table. Kiwi Michael Hendry tops the rankings with impressive earnings so far this season of 99,814.68 Australian dollars on the tour. Australia’s Scott Strange lies second in the rankings, with New Zealander Josh Geary just behind him in third.
We’ve already seen some captivating golf at the NZ PGA Open, the South Pacific Open Championship and the Victorian Open to name but a few of the events that have already made 2013 a memorable season for the Australasian PGA Tour. Thankfully, we’re only just over half-way through a very busy schedule, with plenty more action to come.
What’s still to come?
From November 7-10, the Tour pays a visit to Queensland’s beautiful Gold Coast for the Australian PGA Championship, presented by Coca Cola, surely one of the biggest and best contests on the tour. Later that month, the Talisker Masters in Melbourne and Gloria Jean’s NSW Open in Sydney keep the ball well and truly rolling, The latter of the two acts as a warm up for one of the jewels in the Australasian PGA Tour crown, the Emirates Australian Open, taking place from Nov 28-Dec 1.
A special bonus event that does not form a part of the tour but is worthy of your complete attention nonetheless comes from Nov 21-24 in the form of the World Cup of Golf. The tournament, which is to be held at the Royal Melbourne Golf Club carries a whopping 8 million AU$ prize kitty. Will the USA defend their title from two years ago and scoop the big prize?
If you can’t make it to the fairways to see the action in the flesh, click here for a guide on where exactly to watch the tour unfold, online.
For the full official schedule, click here.
Where’s the smart money?
Don’t bet against the USA defending their World Cup of Golf crown – Uncle Sam’s pocketed 24 golfing world cup trophies over the years, with South Africa a distant second on 5 wins.