Minjee Lee head-hunted for Australian Open appearance
Golf powerbrokers are hopeful humble superstar Minjee Lee will headline the field when the Australian Open returns to South Australian fairways in 2026.
After ditching the contentious dual-gender format for next year's national championships, Golf Australia on Friday announced that Kooyonga Golf Club would host the Australian Open women's event in Adelaide from March 12-15.
Co-sanctioned by the WPGA Tour of Australasia and Ladies European Tour, the Open is returning to the Festival State for the first time since 2020.
No Australian has won the title since the great Karrie Webb claimed the trophy for a fifth time in 2014.
WPGA Tour boss Karen Lunn says Lee, the newly crowned Women's PGA Championship winner, and Australia's other LPGA Tour stars such as Hannah Green, Grace Kim and Steph Kyriacou are on the organisers' hit list to lure to Adelaide.
"We hope that we'll have all of our Australian stars at this event," Lunn said.
"They're dying to get their hands on the Patricia Bridges Bowl, which our great Karrie Webb has won five times."
Despite boasting four top-five finishes from 11 starts, the closest Lee has come to claiming her national championship was in 2023, when the now-triple major winner finished runner-up at The Australian Golf Club in Sydney.
In tipping his hat to the 29-year-old for her latest triumph on Sunday in Texas, Golf Australia chief James Sutherland said Lee was obviously on the Adelaide tournament organisers' radar.
"It's not every week that an Australian golfer wins a major championship," Sutherland said.
"She may be the most under-rated champion athlete that we have in Australia.
"She's certainly understated in her own way - a proud Australian, but someone that is a champion on the biggest stage.
"She's one of only four Australians now - male or female - that have won more than two major events, and she's on the verge of her own career grand slam.
"So congratulations Minjee, and we're certainly very hopeful, like the (SA) premier, that Minjee will be here in March next year."
Lee's PGA Championship victory propelled her above Perth stablemate Green back to Australian No.1 and sixth in the world rankings.
The 11th-ranked Green and Kim were the top finishers at last year's Australian Open at the co-hosting Kingston Heath and Victoria clubs in Melbourne, sharing fourth spot behind South Korean winner Jiyai Shin.
The shift from early December back to its traditional March time-slot means there will be no women's Australian Open contested in 2025.
But it is hoped the move away from a clash with Thanksgiving Day in the US will help lure the world's best players back to Australia and restore the Open's status as one of international golf's biggest tournaments.
Golf powerbrokers are hopeful humble superstar Minjee Lee will headline the field when the Australian Open returns to South Australian fairways in 2026.
After ditching the contentious dual-gender format for next year's national championships, Golf Australia on Friday announced that Kooyonga Golf Club would host the Australian Open women's event in Adelaide from March 12-15.
Co-sanctioned by the WPGA Tour of Australasia and Ladies European Tour, the Open is returning to the Festival State for the first time since 2020.
No Australian has won the title since the great Karrie Webb claimed the trophy for a fifth time in 2014.
WPGA Tour boss Karen Lunn says Lee, the newly crowned Women's PGA Championship winner, and Australia's other LPGA Tour stars such as Hannah Green, Grace Kim and Steph Kyriacou are on the organisers' hit list to lure to Adelaide.
"We hope that we'll have all of our Australian stars at this event," Lunn said.
"They're dying to get their hands on the Patricia Bridges Bowl, which our great Karrie Webb has won five times."
Despite boasting four top-five finishes from 11 starts, the closest Lee has come to claiming her national championship was in 2023, when the now-triple major winner finished runner-up at The Australian Golf Club in Sydney.
In tipping his hat to the 29-year-old for her latest triumph on Sunday in Texas, Golf Australia chief James Sutherland said Lee was obviously on the Adelaide tournament organisers' radar.
"It's not every week that an Australian golfer wins a major championship," Sutherland said.
"She may be the most under-rated champion athlete that we have in Australia.
"She's certainly understated in her own way - a proud Australian, but someone that is a champion on the biggest stage.
"She's one of only four Australians now - male or female - that have won more than two major events, and she's on the verge of her own career grand slam.
"So congratulations Minjee, and we're certainly very hopeful, like the (SA) premier, that Minjee will be here in March next year."
Lee's PGA Championship victory propelled her above Perth stablemate Green back to Australian No.1 and sixth in the world rankings.
The 11th-ranked Green and Kim were the top finishers at last year's Australian Open at the co-hosting Kingston Heath and Victoria clubs in Melbourne, sharing fourth spot behind South Korean winner Jiyai Shin.
The shift from early December back to its traditional March time-slot means there will be no women's Australian Open contested in 2025.
But it is hoped the move away from a clash with Thanksgiving Day in the US will help lure the world's best players back to Australia and restore the Open's status as one of international golf's biggest tournaments.
Golf powerbrokers are hopeful humble superstar Minjee Lee will headline the field when the Australian Open returns to South Australian fairways in 2026.
After ditching the contentious dual-gender format for next year's national championships, Golf Australia on Friday announced that Kooyonga Golf Club would host the Australian Open women's event in Adelaide from March 12-15.
Co-sanctioned by the WPGA Tour of Australasia and Ladies European Tour, the Open is returning to the Festival State for the first time since 2020.
No Australian has won the title since the great Karrie Webb claimed the trophy for a fifth time in 2014.
WPGA Tour boss Karen Lunn says Lee, the newly crowned Women's PGA Championship winner, and Australia's other LPGA Tour stars such as Hannah Green, Grace Kim and Steph Kyriacou are on the organisers' hit list to lure to Adelaide.
"We hope that we'll have all of our Australian stars at this event," Lunn said.
"They're dying to get their hands on the Patricia Bridges Bowl, which our great Karrie Webb has won five times."
Despite boasting four top-five finishes from 11 starts, the closest Lee has come to claiming her national championship was in 2023, when the now-triple major winner finished runner-up at The Australian Golf Club in Sydney.
In tipping his hat to the 29-year-old for her latest triumph on Sunday in Texas, Golf Australia chief James Sutherland said Lee was obviously on the Adelaide tournament organisers' radar.
"It's not every week that an Australian golfer wins a major championship," Sutherland said.
"She may be the most under-rated champion athlete that we have in Australia.
"She's certainly understated in her own way - a proud Australian, but someone that is a champion on the biggest stage.
"She's one of only four Australians now - male or female - that have won more than two major events, and she's on the verge of her own career grand slam.
"So congratulations Minjee, and we're certainly very hopeful, like the (SA) premier, that Minjee will be here in March next year."
Lee's PGA Championship victory propelled her above Perth stablemate Green back to Australian No.1 and sixth in the world rankings.
The 11th-ranked Green and Kim were the top finishers at last year's Australian Open at the co-hosting Kingston Heath and Victoria clubs in Melbourne, sharing fourth spot behind South Korean winner Jiyai Shin.
The shift from early December back to its traditional March time-slot means there will be no women's Australian Open contested in 2025.
But it is hoped the move away from a clash with Thanksgiving Day in the US will help lure the world's best players back to Australia and restore the Open's status as one of international golf's biggest tournaments.
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The Advertiser
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"Every day of delay means more Australians fall victim to an industry that profits from harm and despair," AMA President Danielle McMullen said. Wesley Mission chief executive Stu Cameron expressed deep disappointment in the government's failure to act on a bipartisan road map to tackle gambling harm."Two years on, the silence from Canberra is deafening," Rev Cameron said. "While the government hesitates, lives are being torn apart." The three say the government must use their parliamentary mandate to make systematic reforms, including banning gambling ads, implementing a national regulator and treating gambling as a health issue. A spokesman for Communications Minister Anika Wells said she has had several meetings with harm reduction advocates, broadcasters and sporting codes. 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Wesley Mission chief executive Stu Cameron expressed deep disappointment in the government's failure to act on a bipartisan road map to tackle gambling harm."Two years on, the silence from Canberra is deafening," Rev Cameron said. "While the government hesitates, lives are being torn apart." The three say the government must use their parliamentary mandate to make systematic reforms, including banning gambling ads, implementing a national regulator and treating gambling as a health issue. A spokesman for Communications Minister Anika Wells said she has had several meetings with harm reduction advocates, broadcasters and sporting codes. He said the government had delivered "some of the most significant gambling harm reduction measures in Australian history", pointing to mandatory ID verification and banning credit cards for online gambling and launching BetStop, the National Self-Exclusion Register. Australians top the list for the world's highest gambling losses, placing $244.3 billion in bets every year. National Gambling Helpline 1800 858 858 Lifeline 13 11 14 beyondblue 1300 22 4636 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) Men's Referral Service 1300 766 491 Australia risks losing a whole generation of kids to gambling, as criticisms are levelled at the government for failing to implement reforms from a landmark report two years on. The "You win some, you lose more" parliamentary inquiry into online gambling and its impacts, chaired by fierce gambling reform advocate the late Peta Murphy MP, delivered 31 recommendations in 2023. The unanimously supported proposals focused on reducing harm, protecting children and applying a long-overdue public health approach to gambling in this country. But two years to the day, gambling reform advocates, health bodies and church groups say the federal government have been silent. More than 80 per cent of Australians want a gambling advertisement ban, and parents are sick of turning on the TV only to find their 10-year-olds discussing the game in terms of odds, Alliance for Gambling Reform chief advocate Tim Costello said. "Smoking is legal, but kids shouldn't be seeing it. Same with gambling. People can gamble, but there's grooming of kids," Rev Costello told AAP. "We now have, with the two-year implementation (delay), a whole generation of kids who only think of NRL and AFL in terms of odds." Gambling harms lead to suicides, one-in-four 18-to-24-year-old young men are addicted, 600,000 underage Australians gambled last year, and domestic violence spikes threefold if there is gambling in a family, Rev Costello said. "This industry has been treated as having a normal social license when it's actually pushing very addictive products," he said. "We have literally given our kids over to sports betting companies as fodder for their profits." Vested interests, including the AFL and NRL, sports betting companies, and the commercial broadcasting networks, had stalled reforms, Rev Costello said. The nation's peak body for doctors, the Australian Medical Association, is demanding the government immediately action all 31 recommendations, accusing it of exposing millions of Australians to predatory betting companies. "Every day of delay means more Australians fall victim to an industry that profits from harm and despair," AMA President Danielle McMullen said. Wesley Mission chief executive Stu Cameron expressed deep disappointment in the government's failure to act on a bipartisan road map to tackle gambling harm."Two years on, the silence from Canberra is deafening," Rev Cameron said. "While the government hesitates, lives are being torn apart." 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The Advertiser
6 hours ago
- The Advertiser
Hensby hangs tough with power pairing in US Senior Open
Padraig Harrington and Stewart Cink endured the ups and downs of the US Senior Open together for a second straight day and found themselves tied for the lead. The payoff - sharing the final tee time to kick off the weekend at the hilly, hard-to-read Broadmoor. Cink made up five shots over the final nine holes of his head-to-head pairing against Harrington, and the players headed into the weekend tied at six-under 134, along with the late-charging Mark Hensby. Cink shot 31 on the front nine, their second nine, to match Harrington's score on the back. Both players - the only two who average more than 300 yards driving on the 50-and-over PGA Tour Champions - called it a comfortable pairing, especially on a hilly course at altitude where gauging distance is anything but routine. "If anything, he'd be a little bit longer than me," Harrington said. "But I suppose I know his game enough that I can see what's happening, as well. He is definitely a partner I would choose to play with." Hensby shot his second straight round of three-under 67, finishing the day with his 14th and 15th birdies of the tournament. That included a 20-footer on No.8 that would have been from closer had his tee shot not hit Doug Barron's ball on the green. Hensby was nine-under par on the front nine and three over on the back after two days. "Making a lot of birdies, so that's a good thing around here," the Australian said. Three behind are Thomas Bjorn (69), followed by YE Yang (68) and Billy Andrade (69) at two under. At one under, Darren Clarke, Steve Flesch and Miguel Angel Jimenez rounded out the list of nine players heading into the weekend under par. Cink hit all 18 greens in regulation, making it 35 of 36 for the week. He called that stat overrated, especially at a course where the real test starts on the notoriously difficult-to-read greens that cant away from a monument lurking above the course on Cheyenne Mountain. "You don't want to be chipping downhill on this course, it's not a secret," said the 52-year-old Cink, the 2009 British Open champion who is playing in his first US Senior Open. Cink two-putted from 45 feet on No.9 for his fifth birdie on the front and a score of 66 - the best of the tournament so far. After Harrington shot 31 on the more difficult back nine, then kept the lead at five with a birdie on the par-5 third, he was thinking there might be an opportunity to open a big lead heading into the weekend. A pair of three-putts - one on the seventh and the other on the par-3 fourth green that has been slowed down to temper the severe slope - resulted in bogeys. But it ended well for the three-time major champion, whose wins came at the 2007 British Open and the '08 British and PGA Championship. Short-sided in a greenside bunker on No.9, Harrington made a 20-footer along the same line Cink had just putted for a birdie to head into the clubhouse in a tie. "I got a lovely read off Stewart. I don't think I would have given it as much break, so that was nice," said Harrington, who won the US Senior Open in 2022. "They're the breaks you get when things are going well." Australian Scott Hend (69) is tied 10th at even par, while Steven Alker and Stuart Appleby are a shot further back. Among those missing the cut were 12-time senior major champion Bernhard Langer, who shot 77, and Angel Cabrera, a two-time major winner this year, who shot 75. Both missed the number by three. Padraig Harrington and Stewart Cink endured the ups and downs of the US Senior Open together for a second straight day and found themselves tied for the lead. The payoff - sharing the final tee time to kick off the weekend at the hilly, hard-to-read Broadmoor. Cink made up five shots over the final nine holes of his head-to-head pairing against Harrington, and the players headed into the weekend tied at six-under 134, along with the late-charging Mark Hensby. Cink shot 31 on the front nine, their second nine, to match Harrington's score on the back. Both players - the only two who average more than 300 yards driving on the 50-and-over PGA Tour Champions - called it a comfortable pairing, especially on a hilly course at altitude where gauging distance is anything but routine. "If anything, he'd be a little bit longer than me," Harrington said. "But I suppose I know his game enough that I can see what's happening, as well. He is definitely a partner I would choose to play with." Hensby shot his second straight round of three-under 67, finishing the day with his 14th and 15th birdies of the tournament. That included a 20-footer on No.8 that would have been from closer had his tee shot not hit Doug Barron's ball on the green. Hensby was nine-under par on the front nine and three over on the back after two days. "Making a lot of birdies, so that's a good thing around here," the Australian said. Three behind are Thomas Bjorn (69), followed by YE Yang (68) and Billy Andrade (69) at two under. At one under, Darren Clarke, Steve Flesch and Miguel Angel Jimenez rounded out the list of nine players heading into the weekend under par. Cink hit all 18 greens in regulation, making it 35 of 36 for the week. He called that stat overrated, especially at a course where the real test starts on the notoriously difficult-to-read greens that cant away from a monument lurking above the course on Cheyenne Mountain. "You don't want to be chipping downhill on this course, it's not a secret," said the 52-year-old Cink, the 2009 British Open champion who is playing in his first US Senior Open. Cink two-putted from 45 feet on No.9 for his fifth birdie on the front and a score of 66 - the best of the tournament so far. After Harrington shot 31 on the more difficult back nine, then kept the lead at five with a birdie on the par-5 third, he was thinking there might be an opportunity to open a big lead heading into the weekend. A pair of three-putts - one on the seventh and the other on the par-3 fourth green that has been slowed down to temper the severe slope - resulted in bogeys. But it ended well for the three-time major champion, whose wins came at the 2007 British Open and the '08 British and PGA Championship. Short-sided in a greenside bunker on No.9, Harrington made a 20-footer along the same line Cink had just putted for a birdie to head into the clubhouse in a tie. "I got a lovely read off Stewart. I don't think I would have given it as much break, so that was nice," said Harrington, who won the US Senior Open in 2022. "They're the breaks you get when things are going well." Australian Scott Hend (69) is tied 10th at even par, while Steven Alker and Stuart Appleby are a shot further back. Among those missing the cut were 12-time senior major champion Bernhard Langer, who shot 77, and Angel Cabrera, a two-time major winner this year, who shot 75. Both missed the number by three. Padraig Harrington and Stewart Cink endured the ups and downs of the US Senior Open together for a second straight day and found themselves tied for the lead. The payoff - sharing the final tee time to kick off the weekend at the hilly, hard-to-read Broadmoor. Cink made up five shots over the final nine holes of his head-to-head pairing against Harrington, and the players headed into the weekend tied at six-under 134, along with the late-charging Mark Hensby. Cink shot 31 on the front nine, their second nine, to match Harrington's score on the back. Both players - the only two who average more than 300 yards driving on the 50-and-over PGA Tour Champions - called it a comfortable pairing, especially on a hilly course at altitude where gauging distance is anything but routine. "If anything, he'd be a little bit longer than me," Harrington said. "But I suppose I know his game enough that I can see what's happening, as well. He is definitely a partner I would choose to play with." Hensby shot his second straight round of three-under 67, finishing the day with his 14th and 15th birdies of the tournament. That included a 20-footer on No.8 that would have been from closer had his tee shot not hit Doug Barron's ball on the green. Hensby was nine-under par on the front nine and three over on the back after two days. "Making a lot of birdies, so that's a good thing around here," the Australian said. Three behind are Thomas Bjorn (69), followed by YE Yang (68) and Billy Andrade (69) at two under. At one under, Darren Clarke, Steve Flesch and Miguel Angel Jimenez rounded out the list of nine players heading into the weekend under par. Cink hit all 18 greens in regulation, making it 35 of 36 for the week. He called that stat overrated, especially at a course where the real test starts on the notoriously difficult-to-read greens that cant away from a monument lurking above the course on Cheyenne Mountain. "You don't want to be chipping downhill on this course, it's not a secret," said the 52-year-old Cink, the 2009 British Open champion who is playing in his first US Senior Open. Cink two-putted from 45 feet on No.9 for his fifth birdie on the front and a score of 66 - the best of the tournament so far. After Harrington shot 31 on the more difficult back nine, then kept the lead at five with a birdie on the par-5 third, he was thinking there might be an opportunity to open a big lead heading into the weekend. A pair of three-putts - one on the seventh and the other on the par-3 fourth green that has been slowed down to temper the severe slope - resulted in bogeys. But it ended well for the three-time major champion, whose wins came at the 2007 British Open and the '08 British and PGA Championship. Short-sided in a greenside bunker on No.9, Harrington made a 20-footer along the same line Cink had just putted for a birdie to head into the clubhouse in a tie. "I got a lovely read off Stewart. I don't think I would have given it as much break, so that was nice," said Harrington, who won the US Senior Open in 2022. "They're the breaks you get when things are going well." Australian Scott Hend (69) is tied 10th at even par, while Steven Alker and Stuart Appleby are a shot further back. Among those missing the cut were 12-time senior major champion Bernhard Langer, who shot 77, and Angel Cabrera, a two-time major winner this year, who shot 75. Both missed the number by three. Padraig Harrington and Stewart Cink endured the ups and downs of the US Senior Open together for a second straight day and found themselves tied for the lead. The payoff - sharing the final tee time to kick off the weekend at the hilly, hard-to-read Broadmoor. Cink made up five shots over the final nine holes of his head-to-head pairing against Harrington, and the players headed into the weekend tied at six-under 134, along with the late-charging Mark Hensby. Cink shot 31 on the front nine, their second nine, to match Harrington's score on the back. Both players - the only two who average more than 300 yards driving on the 50-and-over PGA Tour Champions - called it a comfortable pairing, especially on a hilly course at altitude where gauging distance is anything but routine. "If anything, he'd be a little bit longer than me," Harrington said. "But I suppose I know his game enough that I can see what's happening, as well. He is definitely a partner I would choose to play with." Hensby shot his second straight round of three-under 67, finishing the day with his 14th and 15th birdies of the tournament. That included a 20-footer on No.8 that would have been from closer had his tee shot not hit Doug Barron's ball on the green. Hensby was nine-under par on the front nine and three over on the back after two days. "Making a lot of birdies, so that's a good thing around here," the Australian said. Three behind are Thomas Bjorn (69), followed by YE Yang (68) and Billy Andrade (69) at two under. At one under, Darren Clarke, Steve Flesch and Miguel Angel Jimenez rounded out the list of nine players heading into the weekend under par. Cink hit all 18 greens in regulation, making it 35 of 36 for the week. He called that stat overrated, especially at a course where the real test starts on the notoriously difficult-to-read greens that cant away from a monument lurking above the course on Cheyenne Mountain. "You don't want to be chipping downhill on this course, it's not a secret," said the 52-year-old Cink, the 2009 British Open champion who is playing in his first US Senior Open. Cink two-putted from 45 feet on No.9 for his fifth birdie on the front and a score of 66 - the best of the tournament so far. After Harrington shot 31 on the more difficult back nine, then kept the lead at five with a birdie on the par-5 third, he was thinking there might be an opportunity to open a big lead heading into the weekend. A pair of three-putts - one on the seventh and the other on the par-3 fourth green that has been slowed down to temper the severe slope - resulted in bogeys. But it ended well for the three-time major champion, whose wins came at the 2007 British Open and the '08 British and PGA Championship. Short-sided in a greenside bunker on No.9, Harrington made a 20-footer along the same line Cink had just putted for a birdie to head into the clubhouse in a tie. "I got a lovely read off Stewart. I don't think I would have given it as much break, so that was nice," said Harrington, who won the US Senior Open in 2022. "They're the breaks you get when things are going well." Australian Scott Hend (69) is tied 10th at even par, while Steven Alker and Stuart Appleby are a shot further back. Among those missing the cut were 12-time senior major champion Bernhard Langer, who shot 77, and Angel Cabrera, a two-time major winner this year, who shot 75. Both missed the number by three.
