Jasper Stubbs has won the Asia Pacific Amateur at Royal Melbourne, punching his ticket to next year’s 2024 Masters and Open Championship. Stubbs, 21, who lives 2km from Royal Melbourne, was five-over for the tournament after six holes of the final round but rattled off four birdies in his last 12 holes to shoot 69. Read more…
RA& boss Martin Slumbers, who is in Melbourne for the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship, said there were two hurdles to jump before Portmarnock could host an Open.
Could the R&A be thinking of adding a new course to the Open Championship rota? Or at least making a one-off visit outside the traditional circle of host venues?
Brian Harman wasn’t treated kindly by the Royal Liverpool crowds during his Open Championship conquest. Luckily, the reception back home in the United States was more fitting for the Champion Golfer of the Year.
Earlier this week PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan released a wide-ranging memo to membership, outlining the tour’s endeavours towards a deal with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund as Monahan and tour leadership attempt to regain and rebuild trust with players. On Thursday, one of those players detailed the reception to Monahan’s efforts.
The Champion Golfer of the Year in 2023 produced a performance not as miraculous as Cam Smith’s last year but equally strong in the circumstances of today.
Harman has devised an entire strategy around what he can do best: win around the corners. It has led to 12-year career on the PGA Tour and wins at every level he’s played. And now, an Open championship victory.
The ice-cool left-hander, who took a five-shot lead into the final round and won by six, doesn’t plan on his life evolving too much now that he’s the Champion Golfer of the Year.
Beneath that veneer of positivity, there must surely linger some doubt. What does the Belfast boy need to do to turn things round? It is obvious: he needs to putt better.
Australian Golf Digest
