The 2023 portion of the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia’s 2023/24 season is in the books with first-time champions, winners from the past re-emerging and a young superstar on the rise contributing plenty of highlights to remember.
Another eight tournaments, including the New Zealand Open presented by Sky Sports, will come after the Christmas-New Year break, starting with the return of the Heritage Classic at The Heritage Golf and Country Club on the fringes of the Yarra Valley from January 11-14.
Still very much on the line at the halfway point of the season is the 2023/24 Order of Merit title, with defending champion David Micheluzzi well in the mix again.
The fight also continues for the three cards on the 2024/25 DP World Tour which will be awarded to the Order of Merit’s top three eligible players after the finale at The National Tournament in mid-March.
Here’s a look at six Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia members who came to the fore in the first half of the tour season:
Min Woo Lee
His spectacular hole out from off the green at ninth hole during the final round of the Fortinet Australian PGA Championship at Royal Queensland is definitely be on the list of the Tour’s Shots of the Year. After winning an Aussie major first time, the West Australian almost made it two in a row before eventually finishing third at the ISPS HANDA Australian Open.
Ben Eccles
The Victorian was understandably emotional when he won for the first time in eight years at the CKB WA PGA Championship, backing up his 2015 victory as an amateur at the NSW Open. A few weeks later, he almost won again, only missing out by a shot at the Victorian PGA Championship. He sits at No.2 on the Order of Merit, trailing only Min Woo Lee.
David Micheluzzi
The reigning Order of Merit champion stormed home to win the Victorian PGA at Moonah Links, his fourth victory on Tour in just over 12 months. One week earlier, he was in an eight-way tie in a wild finish at the Queensland PGA at Nudgee. With a full-time DP World Tour card for this season, Micheluzzi will be overseas for much of the rest of the Australasian Tour but he has entered the Heritage Classic to try and win No.5.
Kerry Mountcastle
The Kiwi, who leads the Rookie of the Year standings, was a first-time winner at the Gippsland Super 6 at Warragul Country Club, surviving a playoff on the third day before running the table in the knockout matchplay on Sunday. He’s also had top-10s at the Nexus Advisernet Bowra & O’Dea WA Open (T4) and PNG Open (T10).
Lachlan Barker
The South Australian was the early leader on the Order of Merit with his breakthrough victory in Port Moresby in May, setting up his win with a brilliant 7-under 30 on the front nine of his final round. He backed the win up with a T9 at the Tailor-Made Building Services NT PGA Championship and a T3 at the CKB WA PGA Championship.
Andrew Campbell
The next player to seize his first Tour title may be the Coffs Harbour professional who turned in a consistent start to his 2023/24 campaign with five top-15 finishes, highlighted by sharing second at Webex Players Series South Australia at Willunga. He’s 11th on the Order of Merit, but ranked seventh amongst those who have already completed the minimum number of four events to qualify for an end-of-season position.
2023/24 Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit standings
1 Min Woo Lee 1044.00*
2 Ben Eccles 340.37
3 Adam Scott 326.67*
4 Marc Leishman 314.93*
5 David Micheluzzi 312.90
6 Lachlan Barker 273.94
7 Kerry Mountcastle (NZ) 267.28
8 Austin Bautista 265.75
9 Lucas Herbert 245.23*
10 Simon Hawkes 233.26
11 Andrew Campbell 208.64
12 Daniel Gale 197.32
13 Lawry Flynn 192.73
14 Jake McLeod 191.60
15 Jak Carter 191.11
16 Michael Wright 177.76
17 Sam Brazel 163.65*
18 Andrew Kelly 146.09
19 Maverick Antcliff 135.59
20 Chris Crabtree 134.24
(* have currently played less than the four events required to qualify for end-of-season ranking)
