Newsmaker of the Month: Jasper Stubbs
It is unique achievement that has undoubtedly been done before but perhaps never with as much significance.
Victorian Jasper Stubbs had the honour of hitting the first tee shot at the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship at Royal Melbourne Golf Club; four rounds later his putt for par at the second playoff hole would bring the tournament to a close.
With starts at the Masters and The Open in the offing, the 21-year-old who plays at Peninsula Kingswood Country Golf Club, was brilliant in the final round.
In a week in which Royal Melbourne presented a challenge many of the amateurs in the field had never faced before, Stubbs flashed home in a manner synonymous with another of Melbourne’s iconic events.
Seven shots behind after six holes on Sunday, Stubbs played the back nine in just 33 strokes, signed for a two-under 69 and then waited to see whether it would be enough.
He would finish 72 holes tied with Chinese pair Yunhe Zheng and Wenyi Ding and then made the first birdie on 18 all day from 15 feet at the first playoff hole. Ding subsequently matched that to force a second trip down 18 but he was unable to get up-and-down from the sand the second time around, Stubbs two-putting from 40 feet for a potentially life-changing victory.
“The Masters is everything every kid dreams of,” Stubbs said. “It was always a dream. Now it’s a reality, I don’t know what it’s going to look like.”
Headliners
Minjee Lee: Breathed new life into her quest to become world No.1 with two wins in the space of four starts. Her victory at the BMW Ladies Championship took her to 10 career wins on the LPGA Tour.
Phoenix Campbell: Made history by becoming the first amateur to win the Queensland PGA Championship in the tournament’s 97-year history, birdieing the 72nd hole to win by one.
Ben Eccles: The 28-year-old Victorian who won the 2015 New South Wales Open as an amateur broke through for his first win as a professional, taking out the CKB WA PGA Championship in Kalgoorlie.
Nadene Gole and James Lavender: Gole capped an extraordinary year with her maiden Australian Senior Amateur crown while Lavender made it back-to-back wins.
Eisenhower Trophy trio: The team of Jeffrey Guan, Jack Buchanan and Karl Vilips earned Australia’s first Eisenhower Trophy medal since 2016, finishing tied for second behind the USA.
Austin Bautista: Produced a stunning back nine of five-under 29 to steal a one-stroke win at the inaugural Webex Players Series South Australia.
Min Woo Lee: Announced as the latest addition to TGL, a made-for-TV teams event that is the brainchild of Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy. The announcement came just days after Lee ended a two-year winless drought with victory at the SJM Macao Open.
Rod Pampling: Became the first Australian since Graham Marsh with multiple wins on the Champions Tour after a two-stroke victory at the SAS Championship in North Carolina.
Matt Docking: The Royal Hobart Golf Club head pro shot five-under 67 in the final round to edge T.J. King by one shot at the PGA Professionals Championship National Final.
Adam Henwood: The Victorian went wire-to-wire to win the NSW Senior Open at Thurgoona Country Club Resort, finishing three strokes clear for his biggest win on the PGA Legends Tour.
Levi Sclater: The first-year PGA associate at Rossdale Golf Club in Melbourne made par at the third playoff hole to edge South African Xander Basson and claim the 2023 PGA Associate National Championship.
Vale
The Australian golf community was left stunned at the news that iconic South Australian PGA professional Peter Ormsby had passed away on October 25, aged 70. A revolutionary figure due largely to the Pete’s Golf Superstore he opened in Adelaide that changed golf retail in this country, Ormsby was held in the highest esteem by those who he touched. An Instagram post by son Wade attracted tributes from major champions including Greg Norman, Ian Baker-Finch and Michael Campbell along with tour players such as Brett Rumford, Scott Hend, Marcus Fraser, Richard Green and Peter Fowler. Ormsby is survived by wife Cheryl and sons Jordan and Wade.
