Aussie of the month: Karl Vilips
The choice between sublimely talented rookie Karl Vilips and the redemption story of Ryan Peake wasn’t easy. But Vilips won the gong for this column, given he signed on as the first brand ambassador for Tiger Woods’ Sun Day Red apparel line and, in his second start wearing the legend’s clothing brand, bagged his first PGA Tour win. It was Vilips’ third start as a pro on the PGA Tour.
Vilips, who turned pro only in May last year, triumphed at the Puerto Rico Open, holding off Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen to bag a $US720,000 winner’s prize ($A1.1 million). Before his Puerto Rico victory, Vilips’ career earnings had totalled $US56,410. More importantly, Vilips, a student of Jason Day’s coach Col Swatton, earned a PGA Tour exemption until the end of the 2027 season. He also grabbed a last-minute entry to the Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass, minutes from where he is now based in Florida. He will also play in next month’s PGA Championship at Quail Hollow. “I’m trying to soak it all in at the moment,” Vilips said after the win.
Vilips could be considered a native of Perth, although he spent some time in Melbourne before the child prodigy moved to the US to complete high school and attend the former college of Woods, Stanford University, where Vilips became a bigger star and even qualified for the 2023 US Open. He earned his PGA Tour card by finishing 19th on the Korn Ferry Tour in 2024, where he also earned a victory within his first five starts.
“If you told me less than a year ago when I was at Stanford that I would be a PGA Tour winner at this point in my career, I think I would be a little surprised,” he said.
For Australian golf fans familiar with Vilips’ rise, it was no surprise at all.
Golfers In The News
Brand new Day: News emerged in early March that Colin Swatton, who has coached Vilips for several years, was also brought back to the team of former world No.1 Jason Day. Swatton famously met a teenaged Day while he was the golf coach at the Kooralbyn International School. Swatton became Day’s coach and caddie when the Queenslander turned pro and eventually rose to world No.1 shortly after winning the 2015 PGA Championship. The pair split in 2020 and after five years apart, Day summoned Swatton to return as his coach. The US-based Aussie swing guru, who now also commentates on the PGA Tour, is confident Day can still win majors at age 37.
What lies Jeneath: Former Australian Junior champion Jeneath Wong claimed the seventh edition of the Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific Championship in Hoi An, Vietnam. The 20-year-old etched her name in the record books as the first Malaysian winner of the prestigious regional event, despite having moved to Melbourne when she was 10 years old.
Three shots clear of the field going into the final round, Wong, who had won multiple club championships at Metropolitan Golf Club, played Hoiana Shores in rounds of 65-69-64-68. Her 72-hole aggregate of 266 was the lowest winning total in tournament history.
“It’s unreal. I’m in shock,” said Wong, who earned invitations to three women’s major championships in 2025 – the AIG Women’s Open at Royal Porthcawl in Wales, the Chevron Championship in Texas and the Amundi Evian Championship in France.
Riversdale Cup thrillers: The prestigious Riversdale Cup saw final-round drama with two winners who chased down deficits at Melbourne’s Riversdale Golf Club. Ann Jang birdied the first playoff hole to defeat Amelia Harris. In the men’s title, Max Moring won with a six-under 66, launching him past Hamish Farquharson to victory.
Birdie of the month: Ryan scales his Peake
A candidate for Australian sports story of the year, Ryan Peake’s redemption win at the New Zealand Open after time spent in prison was a win golf needed. Peake, once a member of the Rebels bikie gang and jailed for assault, played the round of a lifetime at the New Zealand Open outside Queenstown. The 31-year-old claimed the 104th edition by one shot, which also secured a spot in the 153rd Open Championship at Royal Portrush this July. The win also moved him within striking distance of a DP World Tour card.
A promising golf talent while growing up in Western Australia, the left-hander played plenty of golf with, and against, the likes of Cameron Smith. But Peake drifted away from the game in his late teens and early 20s and became a member of the Rebels. At 21, he received a five-year prison sentence for assault in 2014. While in jail, Peake was contacted by celebrated golf coach Ritchie Smith – the long-time guru for Min Woo Lee, his sister, Minjee, fellow LPGA major champion Hannah Green and DP World Tour winner Elvis Smylie. Smith urged Peake to throw himself into golf after his release. He did just that, and earned a defining victory.
“I’ve just changed my life,” Peake said as he choked back tears. “This is what I do. I want to be here and just play golf. [My] story is what it is, but I’m just out here playing golf,” said Peake, who bagged $201,600 in prizemoney.
The top three finishers on the order of merit when the Australasian Tour season ends in late March secure cards on the DP World Tour and, at the time of writing, Peake was in second place. “It’s life-changing; this morning I woke up four shots behind… now I’m a member of the Asian Tour, an [Australasian] tour winner, second on the [Australasian] order of merit and chasing down a [DP World] Tour card,” Peake said. “[A lot] has changed.”
Bogey of the Month: Cyclonic cancellation
Cyclone Alfred. Apart from the obvious devastation, it also forced the cancellation of the Australian WPGA Championship days before the first round. The event was an important stop on the Ladies European Tour during its Australian swing, but with heavy rainfall, extreme winds and flooding, the decision was made for the safety of players, staff and spectators at Sanctuary Cove Golf & Country Club. It was a tough hand to be dealt by the weather gods and we feel for all those involved in the tournament.
getty images: Kevin C. Cox (vilips), hannah peters (peake), gallo images (cyclone)
