South Australian PGA Championship

The South Australian PGA Championship was a professional golf tournament played in South Australia. It was first held in 1927.

OG Roberts South Australian PGA Championship

Tournament information
Location	Mount Gambier, South Australia, Australia
Established	1927
Course(s)	Blue Lake Golf Club
Par	67
Length	5,993 yards (5,480 m)
Tour(s)	PGA Tour of Australasia Von Nida Tour Australasian Development Tour
Format	Stroke play
Prize fund	A$110,000
Month played	April
Final year	2008
Tournament record score
Aggregate	248 Heath Reed (2008)
To par	−20 Richard Ball (2002) −20 Heath Reed (2008)
Score	8 and 7 Rufus Stewart (1939)
Final champion
Heath Reed
Location map
Blue Lake GC Location in Australia Show map of Australia Blue Lake GC Location in South Australia Show map of South Australia

History

The first South Australian Professional Championship was held in 1927 and was a 72-hole stroke-play event. It was won by Rufus Stewart, four ahead of Fergus McMahon. Stewart had recently won the Australian Open.^[1] McMahon won in 1928, 1929 and 1930, and as a three-time winner he permanently kept the trophy that had been presented in 1927.^[2] With only a small number of professional in the state, there were only four different winners in the first 15 championships. Stewart won 6 times and McMahon 5 times, while Alf Toogood won twice, before he moved to Tasmania, and Willie Harvey also won twice, in 1938 and 1940.^[3][4] The format changed to match-play in 1937, all matches being over 36 holes. In 1937 and 1938 there were just 8 entries and a straight knock-out format was used.^[5][6] However, there were 9 entries in 1939 and a 36-hole qualifying stage was used to reduce the field to 8.^[7] In 1940 the qualifying stage was retained but just four players advanced to the match-play stage.^[8] The 1941 event was reduced to a single day, with 36 holes of stroke-play.^[9]

The championship resumed in 1946, using the 1940 format with four players qualifying, and this format was retained for a number of years.^[10][11] From 1946 to 1950 only 16 players qualified for the Australian PGA Championship. Each state was allocated a specific number of places and organised their own qualifying event for those places. South Australia was allocated just one place. In 1946 there was a 36-hole qualifying event but from 1947 to 1950 the winner of the South Australian Professional Championship qualified.^[12][13]

In the early 1950s, there were a few notable tournaments. In 1951, in the semifinals, while playing against Murray Crafter, competitor Willie Harvey had a heart attack on the 11th hole and died. Administrators considered cancelling the event.^[14] However, they ultimately decided that the tournament would proceed though the finals would be delayed about a week.^[15] Crafter would go on to win, defeating his brother Brian Crafter 6 & 5.^[16] In 1952, there was a dispute between the two finalists, Brian Crafter and Fred Thompson. Crafter won the match at the 38th hole but at the 35th hole he had lifted and dropped his ball away from a staked tree. Thompson objected and the matter was not fully resolved until just before the 1953 event, confirming Crafter as the winner.^[17][18][19]

Winners

Year	Tour[a]	Winner	Score	To par	Margin of victory	Runner(s)-up	Venue	Ref.
OG Roberts South Australian PGA Championship
2008	VNT	Heath Reed	248	−20	2 strokes	Tristan Lambert Peter Senior Aaron Townsend	Blue Lake
Hahn South Australian PGA Championship
2007	VNT	Tim Wise	266	−14	Playoff	Ashley Hall	Blue Lake
South Australian PGA Championship
2006	VNT	David Diaz	279	−9	1 stroke	Dean Alaban	Tanunda Pines
SA PGA Championship
2005	VNT	Tony McFadyean	273	−15	1 stroke	Andrew Duffin	The Grange
Schweppes SA PGA Championship
2004	VNT	Martin Doyle	282	−6	5 strokes	Brad Lamb	The Grange	[20]
2003	VNT	Stuart Bouvier (2)	268	−16	1 stroke	Scott Hend	The Vines
2002	ANZ	Richard Ball	264	−20	5 strokes	Adrian Percey	The Vines
2001	ANZDT	Tony Carolan	282	−10	Playoff	Chris Gray	Tea Tree Gully	[21][22]
Schweppes South Australian PGA Championship
2000	ANZDT	Chris Gray	279	−9	2 strokes	Craig Carmichael	Glenelg
South Australian PGA Championship
1998–1999: No information known
1997		David Capaldo	205	−11	2 strokes	Shane Robinson	McCracken	[23]
1996	FT	Lyndsay Stephen	278	−10	Playoff	Craig Spence	McCracken	[24]
1995	FT	Stuart Bouvier	206	−10	Playoff	David Bransdon	McCracken	[25]
Lasseters SA and NT PGA Championship
1994	FT	Stuart Appleby	201	−15	11 strokes	Michael Barry	Alice Springs	[26][27]
South Australian PGA Championship
1993		Mark Officer	202		2 strokes	Mike Colandro	Wirrina Cove	[28]
1990–1992: No information known
1989		Roger Stephens	142	−2	1 stroke	Peter Lonard	Wirrina	[29]
1978–1988: No information known
1977		David Galloway					Flagstaff Hill	[30]
1976		Bob Tuohy	285	−3	1 stroke	Frank Phillips	Flagstaff Hill	[31]
1975		Vaughan Somers	287		2 strokes	Vic Bennetts Frank Phillips		[32]
1974		John Sheargold	288		1 stroke	Stan Peach		[33]
1973	ANZ	Stan Peach						[34]
1972: No information known
1971		Vic Bennetts			9 strokes	Barry Coxon Bill Dunk Jerry Stolhand		[35]
1970		Glen McCully	290		3 strokes	Murray Crafter Dennis Ingram Stan Peach	Kooyonga	[36]
1962–1969: No information known
1961		John Sullivan	2 and 1			Murray Crafter		[37]
1960		Murray Crafter (8)	6 and 5			John Sullivan	Royal Adelaide	[38]
1959		Murray Crafter (7)				Brian Crafter	Kooyonga	[39]
1958		Murray Crafter (6)	3 and 2			Brian Crafter	Royal Adelaide	[40]
1957		Murray Crafter (5)
1956		Murray Crafter (4)
1955		Murray Crafter (3)
1954		Bruce Auld (3)	1 up			Murray Crafter	Royal Adelaide	[41]
1953		Fred Thompson	2 up			Murray Crafter	Royal Adelaide	[42]
1952		Brian Crafter	38 holes			Fred Thompson	Kooyonga	[17]
1951		Murray Crafter (2)	6 and 5			Brian Crafter	Royal Adelaide	[16]
1950		Murray Crafter	5 and 4			Gordon Westthorp	Kooyonga	[13]
1949		Bruce Auld (2)	37 holes			Willie Harvey	Royal Adelaide	[43]
1948		Gordon Westthorp	2 up			Denis Denehey	Kooyonga	[44]
1947		Denis Denehey	6 and 5			Willie Harvey	Royal Adelaide	[45]
1946		Bruce Auld	4 and 3			Willie Harvey	Kooyonga	[46]
1942–1945: No tournament due to World War II
1941		Rufus Stewart (6)	159		4 strokes	Sam Walsh	Kooyonga	[47]
1940		Willie Harvey (2)	2 up			Fergus McMahon	Kooyonga	[4]
1939		Rufus Stewart (5)	8 and 7			Bill Robertson	Royal Adelaide	[48]
1938		Willie Harvey	5 and 3			Bruce Auld	Kooyonga	[49]
1937		Fergus McMahon (5)	5 and 4			Rufus Stewart	Royal Adelaide	[50]
1936		Rufus Stewart (4)	301		4 strokes	Fergus McMahon	Royal Adelaide	[51]
1935		Rufus Stewart (3)	294		4 strokes	Fergus McMahon	Royal Adelaide	[52]
1934		Fergus McMahon (4)	297		14 strokes	Alf Toogood	Kooyonga	[53]
1933		Alf Toogood (2)	296		2 strokes	Fergus McMahon	Royal Adelaide	[3]
1932		Alf Toogood	302		2 strokes	Rufus Stewart	Royal Adelaide	[54]
1931		Rufus Stewart (2)	303		5 strokes	Willie Harvey	Royal Adelaide	[55]
1930		Fergus McMahon (3)	307		Playoff	Alf Toogood	Royal Adelaide	[2][56]
1929		Fergus McMahon (2)	296		4 strokes	Rufus Stewart	Royal Adelaide	[57]
1928		Fergus McMahon	297		4 strokes	Rufus Stewart	Royal Adelaide	[58]
1927		Rufus Stewart	299		5 strokes	Fergus McMahon	Royal Adelaide	[1]

Notes

1. ANZ − PGA Tour of Australasia; ANZDT − Australasian Development Tour; FT − Foundation Tour; VNT − Von Nida Tour.

References

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