Australian PGA 2024: DP World Tour opening event shortened to 54 holes after ‘course flooding’ – Australian Golf Digest

by Admin
November 21, 2024

[Photo: Evin Priest/Australian Golf Digest]

Never before in 60 years of the Australian PGA Championship’s strokeplay era had it been shortened to 54 holes.

More than 250mm of rain forced an unwanted slice of history.

Over the course of seven days, torrential rain battered Brisbane and Royal Queensland Golf Club so heavily that tournament officials were forced on Friday to scrap 18 holes from the opening event of the DP World Tour’s 2025 season.

Since the Australian PGA ditched its matchplay portion and became a 72-hole stroke play event in 1964, the chase for the Joe Kirkwood Cup had never been shortened to 54 holes.

Jose Maria Zamora, the DP World Tour Tournament Director for the BMW Australian PGA Championship, said: “Continued downpours throughout the morning have left a number of fairways at Royal Queensland Golf Club saturated and the course has been deemed unplayable today,” Zamora said. “We want to ensure we are able to bring this incredible tournament to the planned conclusion on Sunday, mindful of the logistics of playing next week’s ISPS HANDA Australian Open over two courses.”

Groundskeeper rakes the bunker before round 2 of the BMW Australian PGA Championship at Royal Queensland golf course in Brisbane, November 22, 2024. Picture: Australian PGA Championship

The course was brought to its knees in Thursday’s first round, with water pooling on all fairways and mud pits created in high-traffic areas. Australian Elvis Smylie took the lead with a six-under-par 65 while superstars Cameron Smith and Jason Day trailed by two shots.

“It was pretty wet, but the greens were still perfect and there was a little bit of bounce in them, it was very playable,” Australian tour pro Dimi Papadatos said. On Friday morning, more than five hours of delays to the morning wave of the second round left officials scrambling for a solution.

Tournament director Nick Dastey said a Monday finish was an option explored. But with the Australian Open being held next week at co-hosts Kingston Heath and Victoria golf clubs – meaning players needed to prepare on two courses – as well as as necessary Monday qualification events, it was not the best option. “Players have to get down to Melbourne and prepare,” Dastey said. “It’s obviously disappointing but it does mean we’ve got a massive weekend of golf.”

Royal Queensland’s greens had “held up really well” but it was pooling water on the fairways that created unfair playing conditions, particularly on the front nine. “The golf course is just not getting a chance to dry out and get to a position where we’re even looking at getting any reasonable play where it’s fair and equitable,” Dastey said.

The $2 million Australian PGA has a field of 156 and a 36-hole cut will still be made to the top 65 and ties after the second round finishes on Saturday. Papadatos, the 2014 New Zealand winner, said the scrapping 18 holes was “necessary”.

“We did talk about (a Monday finish) between us players but I don’t think it was feasible,” he said. “It was definitely necessary … with back-to-back DP World Tour events, I think (officials) wanted to run two great events, and try to do the best they can for both.”

The tournament will restart at 6am on Saturday with Smylie leading by one shot from Swiss golfer Joel Girrbach, Australian Matias Sanchez, France’s Victor Perez and Chile’s Cristobal Del Solar. Three-time Australian PGA winner Smith, and Day, shot 67 and were among a large group at four-under including LIV golfer Marc Leishman.

Papadatos said the silver lining was that the entire field would have to take it up a gear. “It (works in) favour of the guys who had a good start,” Papadatos, who shot four-over 75 on Thursday, said. “Someone like myself at four-over, or even if you are at even par, we’ll have to get a bit of a move on on Saturday. It’s probably going to make it feel pretty bunched on Sunday afternoon, so it should be pretty good viewing.”