Some of the most famous names in Australian golf are lining up to challenge for the Kel Nagle Cup at this week’s AVJennings New South Wales Open at Twin Creeks Golf & Country Club.
Even with Jake McLeod unable to defend his 2018 crown (he will be contesting the opening event on the 2020 European Tour this week), the field is shaping up as a strong one.
Many of Australia’s rising stars on the ISPS Handa PGA Tour of Australasia will be playing, including New South Wales’ Blake Windred, who will be making his home-state debut as a touring professional.
Min Woo Lee, the rising start form Western Australia who came within a whisker of securing his playing rights on the 2020 European Tour after a standout season, is back at Twin Creeks, alongside 2014 Australian Masters champion Nick Cullen and fellow West Australian, Jarryd Felton.
Recent tour winners, including Albury/Wodonga’s Zach Murray, Queensland’s Daniel Nisbet and Sydneysider Darren Beck will be keen to add another title to their successful 2019 campaigns.
Golf NSW and the PGA of Australia last week agreed to extend the field from 144 to 156 players. The move to add 12 players was taken due to the decision last Wednesday by the European Tour to postpone the Hong Kong Open. Invitations to the championship have now been extended and accepted by West Australians Brett Rumford and Terry Pilkadaris, New South Wales’ Andrew Dodt and Matthew Cheung of Hong Kong.
The field also boasts no fewer than three former Presidents Cup representatives: Peter Lonard, Mark Hensby and Nick O’Hern.
This will be Hensby’s second appearance at Twin Creeks, while Lonard will be looking for a second NSW Open crown to help springboard his career on to the lucrative PGA Tour Champions in the US in 2020. O’Hern, a regular on the Australasian Tour for so long, is back in Australia after several years living in the United States.
The field also boasts an impressive line-up of amateur talent, including the Australian Junior champion, Queensland’s Elvis Smylie.
India’s Kartik Sharma, the current NSW Amateur champion, will use Twin Creeks as a warm-up for his appearance in the Junior Presidents Cup; while a host of the state’s rising stars, including Harrison Crowe, James Conran, Lucas Higgins and Nathan Barbieri, are in the field.
The tournament begins on Thursday and finishes on Sunday, December 1.
