Australian Jack Buchanan aiming high at NZ Open
Heading into this week's $A1.8 million Open at Millbrook Resort, Buchanan sits in fourth spot on the Australasian Tour order of merit (OOM).
The three players above him - big-name Australians Elvis Smylie, Cameron Smith and Lucas Herbert - already have full cards on either the LIV or DP World Tours.
If the 22-year-old Buchanan can hold onto fourth spot or move even higher, he'll gain a full European card - just as Micheluzzi did two years ago.
Micheluzzi made the best of the opportunity, finishing 72nd on the money list on debut to easily retain his card and gain access to the biggest events on the European Tour in 2026.
"I spoke to David about a few things during the practice round on Tuesday," said Buchanan, who only turned pro 15 months ago after a celebrated amateur career which included playing a key role in Australia's silver-medal finish at the 2023 Eisenhower Cup.
"Its good to learn from guys like David, to see how he's progressed in his career and that you can do it too.
"Obviously the focus is to play well here this week, but you can afford to think about the big picture as well with the order of merit.
"In golf you've got to accept being under pressure.
"It's definitely the ultimate goal and it would be great to get out onto the European Tour next year."
The Scottish-born Buchanan got off to a flying start on the 2024-25 Australasian Tour with wins at the WA PGA and the Webex Players Series South Australia.
He than finished high enough in a LIV qualifier in Saudi Arabia to gain automatic entry into the 10 International Series events on the Asian Tour in 2025.
The winner of the Australasian OOM is guaranteed a start in the 2025 British Open at Royal Portrush and will almost certainly get invited to the US PGA as well.
There's another British Open spot on offer to the winner of the NZ Open which has helped attract such a strong field including the likes of Smylie, Herbert, Micheluzzi and Australian Open runner-up Curtis Luck, Japanese star Ryo Ishikawa and New Zealanders Daniel Hillier, Ben Campbell and Steve Alker.
"I was playing here no matter what, but when I saw that (a guaranteed British Open start for the winner) it was like 'alright, let's get into it'," said Micheluzzi.
"That will fit nicely in the schedule when we get to Europe.
"But I'm just looking forward to the week.
"The course is always immaculate, I've got a few of my mates staying with me this week and I've got my girlfriend here as well."
Smylie will effectively lock away the OOM title if he finishes fourth or better this week.
But in the unlikely event that the Australian PGA champion misses the cut, any of the top six could overtake him, with LIV Golf star Herbert the main danger.
Australasian Tour OOM (with four events remaining)
1. Elvis Smylie, 1247.56 points
2. Cameron Smith, 735.68
3. Lucas Herbert, 717.06
4. Jack Buchanan, 626.21
5. Curtis Luck, 523.44
6. Anthony Quayle, 496.54
* The winner of the NZ Open receives 760 points. The remaining three events offer 190 points each to the victor.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Post
an hour ago
- New York Post
There's ‘nothing worse' than what Xander Schauffele is going through right now
What a difference a year makes. Xander Schauffele stamped himself as one of the premier players in golf in 2024 when he captured his first two majors with wins at the PGA Championship and British Open. His 2025 season has been one of frustration — and is now ending early. Schauffele finished outside the top 30 and failed to qualify for the Tour Championship in East Lake this week for the first time in his career. Advertisement 3 Xander Schauffele failed to qualify for the Tour Championship. Getty Images 'There's nothing worse than trying your hardest and playing like ass,' Schauffele told reporters after finishing tied for 28th at the BMW Championship on Sunday. 'It's the worst combo. Some of us do it, some of us don't. It's been a while since I have, and I did it for a few weeks now, and it sucked.' Advertisement Schauffele, 31, is the third-ranked golfer in the world behind Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy, so finishing 42nd in the FedEx Cup standings is a significant step below his standards even with a slew of solid results. 3 Xander Schauffele reads a putt during the first round of the BMW Championship on Aug. 14, 2025. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect The biggest falloff came on the green, where he went from 12th in strokes gained putting last season to 131st in 2025. Schauffele made the cut at all four majors, finishing no worse than 28th. However, he did not have a single top five in any of the 15 events he played. Advertisement 'At some point I'm going to sit back and reflect and try and learn something from it,' said Schauffele, who missed two months at the start of the season with a rib injury. 3 Xander Schauffele voiced frustration with his play of late after the BMW Championship. Getty Images 'Yeah, it was mentally a long season for me even though it was short. So, physically I feel a lot better, which is a plus. No sort of recurring injury, which is a plus. About the only positives I can think of so far.' Schauffele will now wait until he, along with much of the US Ryder Cup team, is expected to play the Procore Championship in the second week of September. Advertisement Schauffele is one of the six players guaranteed a spot on the US team, though his frustration of late makes him far from a sure thing to secure points against a stacked European squad.
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Who is Victoria Mboko? The surging Canadian youngster who won her first WTA title
An 18-year-old tennis prodigy storming through a WTA event, knocking out ranked players and winning the title for the first time in their career. No, we're not talking about Emma Raducanu's run to the US Open final in 2021, but instead Victoria Mboko's eerily similar surge to the final of the Canadian Open in Montreal. Yet, where Raducanu's charge from qualifier to title winner came out of the blue, Mboko's run feels more like the culmination of a superb season. The teenager began 2025 ranked outside the top 300 players on the women's tour, but a breakthrough year saw her win 22 successive matches in January and February to clinch four ITF singles titles. By early May, her win-loss record for the season was 33–3. Her success sent her inside the top 200 in the rankings and earned her a wildcard entry into a first WTA 1000 main draw at the Miami Open where she defeated Camila Osorio in the first round. Mboko then qualified for the Italian Open and was beaten by Coco Gauff in the second round despite taking the opening set off the American. Two grand slam appearances followed, the first at the French Open, where Mboko fought through qualifying and made it to the third round, and the second at Wimbledon, where she lost to Hailey Baptiste. But the best was yet to come. Mboko was born in Charlotte, North Carolina, but was raised in Toronto and is a Canadian citizen. The National Bank Open is her 'home' tournament, and a straight-sets win over Kimberly Birrell in the opening round kickstarted her remarkable run. That victory shot her to a career-best No 85 in the world rankings, but her run through the tournament in Montreal is set to propel her inside the top 50. On her way to the semi-finals, she dropped just one set, against the Czech Republic's Marie Bouzkova, having seen off experienced threats such as Sofia Kenin and Gauff in a rematch of their Italian Open meeting. Mboko was the superior player this time around and swept the No 1 seed aside 6-1, 6-4 in the round of 16. Onlookers may have thought her remarkable tournament would end in the last four, as she was drawn against 2022 Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina, but Mboko revealed how strong her mental game is alongside an impressive physical performance. Rybakina stormed through the first set, winning it 6-1, and had a match point in the second, which Mboko managed to save. After that, she dug deep to take the set before clinching a deciding set tie break in front of adoring home supporters to become the first Canadian to beat three former grand slam champions in a single WTA event in the Open era. 'I had everyone supporting me and pushing me through. Without you guys, I don't think I would've been able to pull this through,' she said after defeating Rybakina. Mboko was just the third wildcard to reach the final at the Canadian Open in the Open era, after Monica Seles in 1995 and Simona Halep in 2015. She faced Naomi Osaka for the chance to win a first WTA title, the four-time grand slam champion having booked her place in a WTA final for the first time since Miami in 2022. Osaka, the first Japanese player to reach the final at the Canadian Open and had something to prove after a lean period in her own career. Yet, Mboko's fairytale run could not be denied as the teenager came from a set down to clinch a 2-6, 6-4, 6-1 victory and become only the third Canadian to win their home event. Winning the title in Montreal is the crowning achievement of Mboko's incredible year, but it is only the start of what could be a fascinating career for the Canadian teenager. This triumph will be just a stepping stone for Mboko, who has a bright future ahead of her.
Newsweek
4 hours ago
- Newsweek
Ian Poulter Pushes Major Champion Teammate to LIV Relegation with Insane End in Indianapolis
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. If the story of Jon Rahm winning the LIV Golf season's individual title without having wona single tournament was interesting, but so was the story of the three Majesticks GC co-captains in danger of being relegated. Ultimately, it fell to Ian Poulter to be the decisive factor in the matter, in the way he least wanted. Poulter entered the 15th hole of the final round at Indianapolis tied for 36th with a score of 8-under for the tournament, cementing his place in the relegation zone. However, the Englishman surprised everyone by birdieing the final four holes, climbing to a tie for 17th and edging his teammate Henrik Stenson by 0.38 points. Henrik Stenson of Sweden and Ian Poulter of England smile on a green during a practice round prior to the 120th U.S. Open Championship on September 15, 2020 at Winged Foot Golf Club in Mamaroneck,... Henrik Stenson of Sweden and Ian Poulter of England smile on a green during a practice round prior to the 120th U.S. Open Championship on September 15, 2020 at Winged Foot Golf Club in Mamaroneck, New York. MoreThe Swedish major winner finished the final event of the individual season tied for 22nd, just one stroke behind Poulter. The Englishman rounded out the 48-player field that avoided relegation, while Stenson was the highest-ranked player among those who lost their spot. The other two team members, Sam Horsfield and Lee Westwood, finished ranked 39th and 46th, respectively. Majesticks GC finished 12th in the team standings, so they will have to play every round at next week's Team Championship. According to The Telegraph, relegation will be enforced strictly this season, so Stenson and the rest of the relegated players will have to seek their return to LIV Golf through the Asian Tour's International Series or the Promotions Event. Ian Poulter has just made 4 birdies in a row to climb OUT of the LIV Golf League relegation zone and directly push his team mate and Majesticks co captain Henrik Stenson into it. The Postman always delivers when his back is against the wall. What a wild finish! — Flushing It (@flushingitgolf) August 17, 2025 LIV Golf has a history of doing exactly the opposite. Just a year ago, Bubba Watson and Branden Grace were re-signed by their teams after being relegated without any kind of qualification. Five other players were relegated along with Stinson. They are Andy Ogletree of HyFlyers GC, Mito Pereira of Torque GC, Yubin Jang of IronHeads GC, Frederik Kjettrup of Cleeks GC, and Anthony Kim, who played as a wild card. It's noteworthy that both Jang and Kjettrup arrived in the league just this year on direct contracts from their teams. Stenson is one of the most important players in his country's history, and also one of the most important names in European golf during the first two decades of the 21st century. His resume includes 22 professional victories, including six on the PGA Tour and 11 on the DP World Tour, with victory in the 2016 Open Championship being the greatest highlight of his career. More Golf: Xander Schauffele Ends FedEx Cup Run 'Mentally Tapped,' Aims to 'Cool Off'
