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Matt Cleary
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We flocked to see them in our Summer of Golf, but are the Rippers Australia's golf team?
In the film Master And Commander, Russell Crowe says of HMS Surprise, “Though we be on the far side of the world, this ship is our home. This ship, is England.” At Royal Queensland and Kingston Heath, Ripper GC merchandise was about. But whether captain Cam Smith and his team is "Australia", floating around the world, taking prizes, representative of we the greater Australian sports-watching punterati, remains to be seen.
2 Dec 2024
Kingston Heath, Jiyai Shin, and the shot from Neptune's moon
The last group of the 2024 Australian Women’s Open sported three major champions and promised a three-horse war. Yet it was blown open early when Jiyai Shin conjured a shot from the stars.
1 Dec 2024
Final Round Tee-Times - Women's Australian Open
The shoot-out is on at Kingston Heath on championship Sunday of this women's Australian Open, as Korean star Jiyai Shin goes head-to-head with Aussie superstar Hannah Green and reigning two-time Australian Open champion Ashleigh Buhai of South Africa. Strap yourself in and ...
30 Nov 2024
In pursuit of a dream, Smith has one of those rounds
Matt Cleary followed Cameron Smith in round three of the Australian Open at Kingston Heath and empathised with his golf game more than he'd like.
30 Nov 2024
Fortune favours the bold in wild Friday at Australian Open
It was all happening, everywhere, all at once, in a wild round two of the Australian Open, as our man on the ground, Matt Cleary, reports.
29 Nov 2024
Sandbelt softness upsets purists but fans thrilled by shot-making
Cameron Smith did not, as they say, miss 'em, in his critique of the softness of the greens for this year's Australian Open, and legions on Sandbelt purists could but nod along. Yet the crowds were out with the sun at Kingston Heath and Victoria, and they were thrilled by world class shot-making.
28 Nov 2024
Higgs vows to keep shirt on at Kingston Heath; but hole-in-one at 15 may test resolve
Harry Higgs has vowed to keep his shirt on at this Australian Open, even if he wins a BMW on Kingston Heath's famous par-3 15th, a hole he rates as “one of the coolest I’ve ever seen”.
27 Nov 2024
Cleary: Sky's the limit for Elvis but the tale of Jed Morgan is cautionary
Elvis Smylie has won the 2024 PGA Championship in super-impressive fashion, holding off his "elders" Cam Smith and Marc Leishman over the closing holes at Royal Queensland. But a tale of another 22-year-old "Next Big Thing" is cautionary.
25 Nov 2024
Judgement Day: Jason Day's last-round tilt at Joe Kirkwood
Jason Day began his tilt at the Joe Kirkwood Cup 40 minutes before and four shots behind tournament leaders Cam Smith and Elvis Smylie. Our man Matt Cleary walked the fairways with Day to see if the Queenslander would catch fire in the Brisbane heat.
24 Nov 2024
If the game is for the fans, let them follow the players
Matt Cleary joined the multitudes following the marquee group of Smith, Day and Lee at Royal Queensland for the PGA Championship, and wasn't able to, well, see very much. And he has a plan to return the game to the fans.
23 Nov 2024
Elvis may not be The King. But Next Big Thing? Look out
Our man Matt Cleary set out to find a man in a yellow bucket hat. He came back with tales of the PGA Championship leader, Elvis Smylie.
21 Nov 2024
What would Australian golf do if the Saudis turned up with a big bag of money?
In part three of our feature with Gavin Kirkman, the PGA of Australia chief expands on our local tour, his hopes that LIV and PGA Inc. will find common ground, and what he'd say if Saudi PIF executives turned up with a big bag of money.
21 Nov 2024
LIV, the PGA, the PIF, and all that: Gav Kirkman on where Australia sits in golf's ecosystem
In part two of our feature piece with PGA of Australia chief Gavin Kirkman, we discuss Australia's position in the great PGA Tour versus LIV Golf imbroglio, how to attract international players to our 'major' tournaments ("have you heard of the Whitsundays?"), and why Australia has aligned with the 'European' tour when there's a Saudi-funded Asian one on our doorstep.
20 Nov 2024
It's complicated: the challenges and opportunities for Australia's PGA
Gavin Kirkman, CEO of the PGA of Australia, has to provide the best pathway opportunities for Australia’s players and at the same time try to satisfy local fans and sponsors by luring the biggest names in golf come to support our major tournaments. In part one of Matt Cleary's feature (in our December issue, on shelves now) we discuss his organisation's challenges and opportunities...
19 Nov 2024
PGA Personal Lesson - Andrew Cooper, Victoria GC
You’ve hit the back of the green and are now faced with a long, big-breaking, downhill putt which is well within three-putt territory. The keys from here are process, touch and feel, according to Head Teaching Professional at Victoria GC, Andrew Cooper
19 Nov 2024
Cleary: Murray Downs was cool but Seven wasn't Heaven
The NSW Open at Murray Downs was a celebration of some of the best things about Australia and golf in this country, as a pair of superstars did battle with the best of the locals. But the television broadcast left Matt Cleary shouting at a cloud.
18 Nov 2024
Cleary: Moore Park fires salvo in War on Golf
The Save Moore Park Movement has fired its first salvo in the War On Golf, and come up with a plan to assuage the NSW government's desire for "green space" while still maintaining Moore Park as an 18-holer. Our man Matt Cleary nods along but reckons the movement needs bolder, grander, shorter-form vision...
11 Nov 2024
Cleary: Giving it a Nudgee. The players who brought "It" at Queensland PGA
Nudgee GC was a worthy championship venue and produced a worthy champion. Yet it was the eyes of those gunning for the title that proved the compelling entertainment in the Queensland PGA, according to Matt Cleary.
4 Nov 2024
Cleary: Is it time for the men's and women's Australian Opens to stand alone?
The Australian Open and the Australian Women's Open will again run concurrently this year, taking place at Kingston Heath and Victoria golf clubs from November 28. And for sure we'll get along and tune in. But are both tournaments lesser for it?
20 Oct 2024
Cleary: Build it and they will come? No need - the venue for every Australian Open is already here
Every year, about this time of year, ahead of our ‘Summer of Golf’, players, punters and media pundits highlight, bemoan, call-it-what-you-will, the lack of international star power attendant at our showpiece ‘major’ golf tournaments, the Australian Open and the Australian PGA Championship.
14 Oct 2024
Viva Las Vegas: Join Golf Australia magazine's Matt Cleary on a golf and rugby league spectacular
On March 1 of 2025, our Senior Writer, Matt Cleary, who moonlights as a golf tour operator, will be hosting a group of like-minded types in Las Vegas where they'll play some of the most spectacular Nevada desert golf and attend the rugby league season opener at Allegiant Stadium. And you may join his party for the party.
2 Oct 2024
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