He made a beeline for a Red Rooster roll and an iced coffee hours after landing in Brisbane, but Scott Hend denies he has any advantage for his Queensland PGA Championship homecoming at Nudgee Golf Club in Brisbane.
A 10-time winner on the Asian Tour who was tied for 13th at the International Series Egypt event last Sunday, Hend’s history at Nudgee stretches back to his formative years in the game.
A three-time Nudgee junior champion from 1992-1994, Hend completed the final year of his PGA of Australia traineeship under John Downs at the club in 1997.
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A favourite son of Nudgee – whose Rio Olympic golf bag takes pride of place in the clubhouse – familiar faces abound at every turn. Yet the 49-year-old has homework to do to get up to speed on the James Wilcher-designed Kurrai course.
Hend hit the ceremonial first tee shot when the course was under construction in January 2020 but has not been home since, taking to the course on Tuesday afternoon despite just 45 minutes’ sleep after his 20-hour journey from Egypt.
“It’s been three years since I’ve been here, so it’s really nice to come back,” Hend said. “I’ve already had a Red Rooster roll and an iced coffee, so I just need a meat pie and a sausage roll and maybe a custard slice and we’ll be good to go.
“I don’t think there’s any home-ground advantage. There might be advantage to me feeling so happy that I’m actually back, but home-ground advantage has disappeared well and truly.
“I’m learning the golf course from scratch. A lot of guys have got a big start on me from playing here a few times, so we’ll just see what happens.
“A few of the boys are telling me how tough it played last year and I’m going to take a few extra balls for my practice round.”
If the home-course advantage has been nullified, there is no question where the home-town support will be directed.
The Scott Hend Development Squad aids Nudgee juniors in their golf journey and the club Facebook page is regularly updated with Hend’s performances across the globe.
This week, he has the opportunity to add to the fond memories he has of his early days at the club.
“I know it probably sounds a bit silly, but just come here, play nine holes, walk in with the boys and have a beer,” reflected Hend, who tees off alongside Stephen Allan and Sam Brazel at 11:29am local time tomorrow.
“Just wholesome golf. Love of golf and it’s a great golf club.
“I was always going to be a professional golfer. I was always going to play for a living. Whether I made money out of it or not, I was still going to have a go.
“I’ve just been fortunate enough to do it for many, many years. Hopefully I’ve got 20 more years in me.”
Other notable names in the field this week include Allan, the 2002 Australian Open champion, ISPS Handa PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit winners Jake McLeod and Matthew Griffin and the winners of the first three events of the 2022-2023 season: David Micheluzzi (WA PGA), Deyen Lawson (WA Open) and Andrew Martin (Victorian PGA).
The Queensland PGA Championship also represents one of the final opportunities to earn automatic entry into next week’s $2 million Fortinet Australian PGA Championship at Royal Queensland Golf Club.
The Queensland PGA Championship will be played at Nudgee Golf Club from Thursday, November 17 until Sunday, November 20. The final two rounds will be broadcast live on both Fox Sports and Kayo from 2:30pm Saturday and 12:30pm Sunday (AEDT).
