Aussies of the month: Aces Galore!
Yes, you read that correctly as plural – Aussies of the Month. We saw several professional tour winners across the world, but no clear standout. So, the obvious development in the past month was the string of Australian weekend golfers (and one truly elite junior golfer) bagging aces:
Talk about a hole-in-one! At 91, New South Wales golfer Bob Peterlin produced the shot of a lifetime at Russell Vale Golf Club near Wollongong. Playing alongside his son, Mark, Bob teed up a 5-wood on the 148-metre 15th hole, swung with the rhythm of a 30-year-old and lost sight of the ball flight. Mark let his old man know it was a good shot and that it would be very close… perhaps in the hole. Just in case, on the drive to the green Mark grabbed his phone and started filming; sure enough, there was no ball in sight. A quick look in the cup confirmed the hole-in-one. It was Bob’s first ace having taken up golf 70 years ago. On the next hole, a par-5 guarded by a dam, the fierce competitor reappeared. After a screamer of a drive, Bob tried to carry the ball 190 metres over a corner with his second. The shot finished a few metres short in the water – and the ace ball was lost. No plaque, no framed ball, just a video and a memory that grows with each retelling.
And another hole-in-one! Further down the NSW South Coast at Gerringong Golf Club, 81-year-old Kate Quinn[above] registered her first ever ace on the 112-metre, par-3 eighth hole. Quinn’s incredible effort came during a Keno Women’s Ambrose event where she used a 5-wood and the backstop behind the green to funnel the ball into the cup.
And another, much younger ace! At the American Junior Golf Association’s Adidas Junior All-Star event held at Oregon’s Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club – long linked to Tiger Woods after his 1996 US Amateur win at the Witch Hollow course there – Australian junior Jesse Linden made a dramatic hole-in-one captured on his father’s smartphone. Linden, 14, was playing the Ghost Creek course’s 183-metre par-3 14th and the Hunter Valley teenager shaped a neat fade to a right pin with a 5-iron, watched it bounce a few times and roll into the cup. He also birdied the next two holes! A day to remember, and already Linden’s seventh ace.
Birdie of the month: A more open Augusta National
While the accolade belongs to the mega-famous American club, the beneficiary was the Australian Open after Augusta National Golf Club’s tournament committee adjusted its invitation criteria to award the winner of our national championship with a guaranteed spot in the 2026 Masters. The Scottish Open, Spanish Open, Japan Open, Hong Kong Open and South African Open were also included. Along with Rory McIlroy as headliner for the championship at Royal Melbourne this December, the Augusta reward boosts the Australian Open immeasurably.
Comeback of the month: Baby steps in Guan’s return
At the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia’s NT PGA Championship, Jeffrey Guan made his tournament comeback from a life-changing accident in September 2024 that left him without vision in one eye. Guan carded very respectable rounds of 74-73 at Palmerston Golf & Country Club in his first tournament in 11 months. At five-over, Guan narrowly missed the 36-hole cut.
Golfers in the news
That’s handy, Hendy! Scott Hend, 52, won the European Legends Cup in Spain by two shots in early September, claiming his third career Legends Tour title and extending his lead in the 2025 Order of Merit. The Queenslander, who had also triumphed at the Barbados Legends earlier in the year, shot a final-round 67 for a 16-under-par total. “It feels great to win – every win is a great thing,” Hend said. “At the start of the day, I had in my mind that if I went out and shot four-under then it would be very hard for the guys behind to catch me.”
Cam’s coming home: Brisbane’s favourite son Cameron Smith confirmed he would return to Royal Queensland Golf Club from November 27-30 to chase a fourth BMW Australian PGA Championship crown. The 32-year-old, already a 12-time professional winner, joins Adam Scott, Min Woo Lee, Elvis Smylie and Ryan Fox as confirmed starters in the field.
Aussie PGA pros in Canada: Australia couldn’t recreate the magic of its 2024 Four Nations Cup win this year. The event is an annual professional team event where the PGA of Canada, PGA of Australia, PGA of New Zealand and PGA of South Africa compete against each other in a matchplay format. Australia’s team consisted of T.J. King, Matthew Docking, Samuel Eaves and Mitchell Smith. However, Canada won overall and secured their second crown with a 4-2 victory on the final day at The Pulpit Club outside Toronto. The final standings were: Canada, New Zealand, South Africa then Australia.
Photographs by jared c. tilton/Getty images (augusta); monica marchesani/pga of australia (guan); aitor alcalde/Getty images (hend)
