Twelve months ago, Sarah Jane Smith was lauded for beating the boys. This year, the greatest threat to her Webex Players Series Murray River mantle may come from an expanded women’s presence.
The second in five Webex Players Series events on the 2023-2024 Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia schedule, this year’s Murray River tournament is the third in succession at the Old course at Cobram Barooga Golf Club.
To this point it has been a tournament dominated by the women, Hannah Green’s world-first triumph in 2022 followed up by Smith in 2023. But if the men hope to end that trend in 2024, they will have to contend with a larger and deeper field of players from the WPGA Tour of Australasia.
Last year’s field featured 34 women professionals and four amateurs. Smith is thrilled to see that number grow to 60 this week with players from Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Thailand, Scotland, South Africa, Northern Ireland and England adding an international flavour.
“The rest of the world has been really desperate to come back here,” Smith said. “Once they opened up Q-School to everybody, that made a lot of people very happy. To be able to come down and do Q-School and get into the Aussie summer of golf… a lot of people have missed it from their schedule.
“The Thai girls that come out onto the LPGA Tour are teeny-tiny but hit it a million miles and shoot low every time they go out.
“I think we’re going to see a lot of really good finishes from a lot of girls this season.”
This year’s event is also rich in family ties. Confined to dad duties with son Theo last year, Smith’s husband Duane is back on the bag this week while newlyweds Darcy Boyd and Danni Vasquez Boyd will play their first tournament as husband and wife.
The three Kiwi Keh sisters – Wenyung, Munchin and Siyi – are all in the field, while siblings Momoka and Kazuma Kobori and Kevin and Celina Yuan will face off as will Thai sisters Peerada and Tunrada Piddon.
Rounding out the family affair is Barooga local Steffanie Vogel and her father Terry, the Cobram Barooga course superintendent hoping to use intimate knowledge of the layout to claim bragging rights in the Vogel household.
For Duane Smith, the opportunity to contribute to a successful defence would only add to their happy memories at Cobram Barooga.
“It was so strange dropping her off on the Sunday,” recalled Duane, who only arrived back at the course when Sarah Jane had three holes left to play in the final round.
“It was a very strange day, but a great day. We had family organised every week to come and help with Theo, except for this week. This was the only one. We spent a lot of time at the local playgrounds.
“That last day, Theo fell asleep in the back seat so I just drove around for a couple of hours. I was getting updates from everyone back home.”
Given her playing career was at something of a crossroads, Smith hopes to draw on the memories of that week and go back-to-back, with a little help from hubby.
“This week I get to ditch the buggy and I get my caddie back,” Smith joked.
“The year didn’t end up being great, but it couldn’t have been a more satisfying way to start the year. It proved that we were on the right track with what we were doing with Grant (coach Grant Field) and we needed it in so many ways.
“It definitely feels nice to be back, and I love this golf course. Sometimes you go to a course and remember all the bad places you might have hit shots but I have a lot of good memories here.
“Being back here, there are a lot of nice memories from that week.”
Entry is free all four days for spectators and coverage on Fox Sports and Kayo is 4pm-7pm on Saturday and 2pm-7pm on Sunday.
