They purposefully paired up at the American Family Insurance Championship a fortnight ago and now Cameron Percy and David Bransdon will tee off together in Round 1 of the Kaulig Companies Championship.
Formerly known as the Senior PLAYERS Championship and to be played at Firestone Country Club for the seventh straight year, 10 Australians will contest the third senior major of 2025 starting Friday.
Including Bransdon and Percy, eight Aussies have been paired together for the opening two rounds with Brisbane boys Michael Wright and John Senden to tee off at 12:10am Friday AEST, followed 11 minutes later by Bransdon and Percy.
A couple of country boys in Stuart Appleby and Mark Hensby will tee off at 12:42am while Victorians Richard Green and Steve Allan are in the same group off the first tee at 1:13am.
Rounding out the Aussie contingent this week are Rod Pampling (12:21am) and Greg Chalmers (12:42am), the influx from Down Under not going unnoticed each week on the PGA TOUR Champions.
“You hear all the time, ‘Not another Aussie’ when you’re going into the equipment truck or the gym,” said Wright, who is in his second year on the over-50s circuit.
“I took a few little mini Aussie flags over with me this year and I plant them all over the gym and put them in the equipment truck, just to stir them up.”
A journeyman who had never played on an international tour until earning his Champions Tour card in dramatic fashion in late 2023, Wright has been pleasantly surprised by the reception he has received, and not just from his fellow Aussies.
“The biggest thing that shocked me over here was how welcoming they were,” Wright said.
“I thought they’d just sort of snub me a bit, but they’ve done the opposite.
“Fred Funk went welcomed me. He almost took me under his wing, Freddy. I’m starting to talk quite a bit now with Bernard Langer; Stewart Cink’s a really nice guy.
“They’re all really good guys, to be honest. I think they’ve just left their ego at the door.”
While legendary figures Peter Thomson (1984), Bruce Crampton (1986, 1987) and Graham Marsh (1999) have all finished runner-up, only one Australian has ever won the Kaulig Companies Championship, Stewart Ginn in 2002.
PGA TOUR Champions
Kaulig Companies Championship
Firestone Country Club, Akron, Ohio
12:10am* Michael Wright, John Senden
12:21am David Bransdon, Cameron Percy
12:21am* Rod Pampling
12:42am Stuart Appleby, Mark Hensby
12:42am* Greg Chalmers
1:13am Richard Green, Steve Allan
1:34am Steven Alker (NZ)
Past champion: Ernie Els
Past Aussie winners: Stewart Ginn (2002)
Prize money: $US3.5m
Kaulig Companies Championship TV times:
10:30am-12pm Friday; 10am-11:30am Saturday on Fox Sports 503; Live 6am-8am Sunday on Fox Sports 506; 1:30pm-3:30pm Monday on Fox Sports 503 and Kayo.
ORIGINAL STORY: TONY WEBECK | GOLF AUSTRALIA/PGA AUSTRALIA