Jed Morgan surges clear in Aust PGA

Murray Wenzel | January 15, 2022

Jed Morgan has extended his lead to seven shots at the turn during the third round of the Australian PGA Championship at his home Royal Queensland course.

The 22-year-old shot a course-record 63 on Friday to be six clear of the field in Brisbane.

He continued that form on Saturday with four birdies in a faultless front nine in front of a sizeable gallery in the country’s first major golf tournament in more than two years.

The 2020 Australian Amateur champion —who counts Ricky Ponting and world No.10 Cameron Smith as confidantes — is under-18 par with 2021 amateur winner Louis Dobbelaar, playing in the second-to-last group,. his nearest challenger.

Andrew Dodt was two-under through nine holes to be 10-under for the tournament while Min Woo Lee was six-under with five holes to play on moving day.

The event, won most-recently by Adam Scott and then Smith before that, is missing Australia’s US-based stars after it was postponed from its traditional late-year start due to COVID-19.

The winner will receive $180,000, starts in three DP World Tour events in July-August and all but guarantee status on the European tour as a top-three finisher on the Australasian Tour’s order of merit. 

Meanwhile, it’s a three-way race in the maiden Australian WPGA Championship, being played within the men’s event.

Su Oh was four-under through 10 holes to snatch back the lead at eight-under from overnight pacesetter Grace Kim (seven-under), while Sarah Jane Smith was a shot further back.

Smith surged to a share of the lead with a hole-out eagle on the second hole, before fellow LPGA member Oh took charge with four birdies in seven holes.