Young tour professionals from all over Australia and New Zealand have arrived in Kalgoorlie for one of the most important weeks of the year.
The TX Civil & Logistics WA PGA Championship is the last tournament on the ISPS Handa PGA Tour of Australasia schedule before the mid-season elevation category is implemented. Essentially, this category provides an opportunity for players to increase their playing opportunities by being re-ranked according to their performance in the first half of the season.
Reaping the benefits of this elevation will be 15 players who will, after this week, be likely to receive starts in some of the PGA Tour of Australasia’s biggest tournaments, including the Australian Open and European Tour and Asian Tour tri-sanctioned Fiji International presented by Fiji Airways.
Thanks to a runner-up finish at the Oates Vic Open, Harrison Endycott sits comfortably on top of the elevation category listing and is using this security on his home circuit to pursue success internationally on the PGA Tour–Latinoamerica, where he is currently ranked 28th on the moneylist.
However, plenty of players have travelled to Kalgoorlie Golf Course looking to cement their position in the elevation category, including South Australian Antonio Murdaca. Currently ranked 16th, just one spot outside the qualifying number, Murdaca needs a top-10 finish this week to safely move inside the top-15. Experienced on the Kalgoorlie layout, Murdaca recorded a top-10 result in the 2015 WA PGA Championship.
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“It’s a pretty important week and a great golf course as well. I enjoy coming back to Kalgoorlie to play; the course suits me so I will see what I can do this week,” Murdaca said. “A top-10 finish is probably a must this week. I am going to go out there and take it one shot at a time, hopefully, hit some good ones, hole some putts, not get ahead of myself at all and see what comes at the end of the week.”
While the elevation category is important the biggest opportunity this week comes from winning the $125,000 tournament. In addition to the winner’s share of the prize purse, the winner also receives Official World Golf Ranking points and, most importantly, is fully exempt on the PGA Tour of Australasia until the end of the 2019 season.
“A win is definitely up there in lights for me,” Murdaca said. “Hopefully, I can sneak a win but if it’s not this week then later in the year. So hopefully I play some good golf this week and see what comes of it.”
The TX Civil & Logistics WA PGA Championship tees off tomorrow with the winner decided on Sunday. Entry to Kalgoorlie Golf Course is free for spectators.
The final two rounds will be live-streamed on PGA TV from 12pm (AWST) on Saturday and from 10am (AWST) on Sunday.
