The PGA and WPGA Tours of Australasia move into New South Wales this week, with the latest addition to The Players Series presented by Webex taking place at Cobram Barooga Golf Club.
Nearby his hometown of Shepparton, the event will be played in honour of the late Jarrod Lyle with money raised for Challenge.
Many of the players from the concurrently played Vic Open fields have headed north to the golf, food and wine rich Murray River region, including both the men’s and women’s champions, with The Players Series seeing men and women compete for the same title on scaled courses.
Over the weekend, 25 elite juniors will also tee it up alongside the pros and amateurs for their own trophy.
DEFENDING CHAMPION: Inaugural event.
RIGHT: Dimi Papadatos is in great form and chasing a DP World Tour card via the Order of Merit over the coming weeks. PHOTO: Golf Australia.
COURSE: Home to 36-holes, Cobram Barooga Golf Club’s Old Course will host the TPS contestants this week.
Considered the better of the two 18 hole loops at Cobram Barooga, the Old features tighter fairways than the West course, yet aggressive players will still be able to take driver from the tee, but execution will be key to low scoring.
Originally named Cobram Golf Club when first playing golf on the Victorian side of the border, nine holes were built on the current site in 1928, more land purchased in the 1950s by the club that changed its name to reflect its location on the northern side of the river not long prior.
Legendary Australian designer Vern Morcom was contracted by the club to create an 18-hole course that opened for play in 1956, Sloan Morpeth adding the grass greens soon after.
The Old Course is currently ranked No.94 in Australia’s Top-100 Public Access Courses by Golf Australia Magazine and will measure 6,190 metres from the back tees this week.
PRIZEMONEY: $200,000
RELATED: So-called expert golf tips for this week
PLAYERS TO WATCH: This list cannot start with any player other than Hannah Green.
Green won her maiden four round event at home last week when she captured the Vic Open crown in extremely impressive fashion across 13th Beach Golf Links on the Bellarine Peninsula.
A major champion, the West Australian displayed the benefits of her added clubhead speed and improved ball striking last week, two skills that will come in handy around the Old Course at Cobram Barooga, and could see her become the first woman to claim one of the mixed TPS tournaments.
Green’s fellow winner last week, Dimi Papadatos, is also in the Murray this week and is looking to further elevate himself up the PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit ranks as he chases one of three DP World Tour cards on offer.
Papadatos has been working hard on his game, and he possesses an outstanding short game that will hold him in good stead across Vern Morcom’s design.
Aaron Pike once again put together three great rounds of golf last week, with his Sunday 74 dropping him from contention for a third local Tour title.
Pike is another with a magnificent short game that will help around the relatively short host venue this week, where most players will be unfamiliar with the challenge presented, and like Green has added some significant distance to his game.
Kiwi Ben Campbell managed three consecutive rounds of 66 at 13th Beach to take second by a shot from Papadatos and earn a start at the 150th Open Championship to be held at St. Andrews in July. One of the many players travelling with the Aussie Tour without the opportunity to return home in a simple manor thanks to travel restrictions, Campbell will be keen to continue to his good form that has validated the decision to leave the land of the long white cloud.
The primary challenger to Green for much of the week in the women’s event at Barwon Heads, Whitney Hillier was relishing playing tournament golf at home and will have taken plenty away from her share of runner-up honours last week.
Hillier is yet to tee it up in a Players Series event, but her game looked sharp last week and it wouldn’t surprise if she was in the mix come Sunday.
Worth paying attention to and see how she backs up from the biggest mistake of her career so far, Grace Kim returns to action after being disqualified last week for signing for an incorrect scorecard following round one at 13th Beach.
Kim has been impressive all summer, loves playing the mixed events and is a determined competitor who will have another reason to play well this week after the disappointment of the events that played out late last Thursday.
This is almost a home game for Zach Murray who hails from nearby Wodonga.
It is impossible not to root for the player widely known as ‘Muz’ who has been brave and open in discussing his battles with panic attacks that cruelled the early stages of his professional career, and he is a talented player in serious form.
Sharing eighth last week after a disappointing final round of 74, Murray will have plenty of support at Cobram Barooga and is a proven winner, with the New Zealand Open and WA Open already on his resume at just 24 years of age.
72-HOLE THE PLAYERS SERIES RECORD: 264 (-20, Todd Sinnott, 2022, Rosebud)
TV TIMES*
Round 3: Saturday (Fox Sports 503 2:30pm – 5:30pm)
Round 4: Sunday (Fox Sports 503 12:30pm – 5:30pm)
*AEDT, check local guides
Related Articles
Aussies hang tough in the U.S Women's Open fight
Playing From The Tips Ep.105: The National, Houston Open, World Sand Greens, TGL final & more
