Pines shootout tipped
ROYAL Pines is set for a Scott and Sergio shootout, with PGA Australia chief executive Gavin Kirkman declaring his preference for a course that allows records to be sizzled.
While Australian PGA Championship headlines focus on crowd-drawing Spaniard Sergio Garcia and Gold Coast hero Adam Scott, officials have quietly begun talking layouts for the November 30 December 3 tournament.
American Harold Varner III fired 19-under to claim last year’s crown, while Lismore’s Rhein Gibson blazed his way to a second-round milestone of eight-under-par 64 in 2015.
A low-scoring gunfight now looms for Scott and Garcia, who could yet configure in an all-star triumvirate on the Gold Coast should talks progress well with in-form Aussie Marc Leishman. to
“We’re always big on a course that is challenging but conducive to rewarding quality golf,” Kirkman said.
“We want quality golf for our fans. My personal opinion is I like low-scoring golf that rewards quality golf shots and I think that’s what happened on the US PGA Tour and that’s what we want at RACV Royal Pines.”
PGA Australia director of tournaments Andrew Langford-Jones, who has already had two site visits to Royal Pines, will play a vital role in the layout of the Graham Marsh-designed course.
“It’s been built for tournament golf but it’s a great layout for the other 51 weeks of the year,” said Kirkman, who provided a glimpse into the science of tournament golf. “It’s very strategic. “From the tour perspective we go in there and look at the height of all the cuts from primary roughs to secondary roughs to green fringes. (We look at) the fairways and the width we need.
“They will be looking at landing areas and the length of hitters, and pin positions. The tournament set-up is very critical and the team at RACV Royal Pines would already be going through all that now.
“The guys will have all that (information) in their reports from 2016 and that’s what they will take on-board this time around.”