After Bland\u2019s long-awaited win, the Tour\u2019s three-week run across Western and South Australia is now complete \u2014 but not without another rules controversy that covered a player in plaudits.<\/p>\n
Elsewhere, one rising star needed a caddie ring-in that many Australian sport fans will be familiar with. <\/p>\n
Here\u2019s what we learned at Players Series South Australia. <\/p>\n
![\"Adam](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/df6ddffdb16b9a878199c7fb059c9c9f.jpeg\")
Adam Bland broke an 11-year win drought on the PGA Tour of Australasia on the weekend.Source: Supplied<\/p>\n
AGE BEFORE BEAUTIFUL BALL STRIKING<\/p>\n
Travelling the world for much of his life playing professional golf in Canada, Japan and America, Bland now considers himself a part-time golfer and part-time coach.<\/p>\n
Based back home in Adelaide having won four-times previously, 44-year-old Bland\u2019s last victory in his home country was the 2005 WA PGA, some 7,817 days before Sunday\u2019s triumph in McLaren Vale wine country.<\/p>\n
Followed by an army of family and friends around the fairways of Willunga, Bland was clinical in his dismantling of a course where he claimed a runner-up finish a year prior.<\/p>\n
Leaning on years of experience in cool conditions, that included rain and a lightning-induced weather delay, Bland picked his spots to attack and wielded his putter like a weapon.<\/p>\n
Chased down by some of the Aussie Tours young guns, including the final group of Louis Dobbelaar and Canadian Thomas Giroux, whose combined age is only eight years more than Bland\u2019s 44, the home hope was emotional when his par putt at the last secured a two-shot win.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s definitely been a long time between drinks on this Tour, that\u2019s for sure,\u201d Bland said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s awesome. I just love playing in front of family and friends and to be able to do it in front of them is just unbelievable.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was going to give it up to just being home with the kids because they\u2019re 16, 12 and eight now and I figured if I play for another five years, their childhood\u2019s pretty much gone. <\/p>\n
\u201cStaying home and then if I could actually keep competing 10 events a year, I still kind of get my little bit of competition fixed and it\u2019s worked out well.\u201d<\/p>\n
Working out well enough to now guarantee Bland a place in the Australian PGA and Australian Open later this year, Bland\u2019s win was ridden every inch of the fairways by Blewett, who walked in the throng of Bland fans.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not sure if I am supposed to have favourites as the host,\u201d Blewett told the broadcast in the closing stages.<\/p>\n
The benefits of experience, especially on a shorter, slightly tree lined course were on full display as Bland added another piece of history at Willunga in the golf course\u2019s 50th year, and on a site where Charles Sturt once camped.<\/p>\n
The Players Series, which included men and women competing for one prize, now goes on the mantlepiece alongside one of the oddest tournament names in golf; the Japan PGA Championship Nissin Cupnoodles Cup, which Bland claimed in 2015.<\/p>\n
Bland celebrated with some local red at one of the famed local wineries of the region with his new trophy \u2014 and no plans to emerge from the vines in semi-retirment.<\/p>\n
Bland said he considered just about giving up the professional game.Source: Supplied<\/p>\n
THE FUTURE IS BRIGHT<\/p>\n
Bland\u2019s victory might be something of a throwback, but those below him on the leaderboard provided a promising glimpse into the future of Australian golf.<\/p>\n
Dobbelaar in second place, courtesy of a hat-trick of birdies on the back nine, has long been touted as player to watch. Having battled through a tough stretch two years ago, he is firmly back in the spotlight.<\/p>\n
Just 25, and already a winner on Tour, Dobbelaar has a desirable form line to start the 2026\/2027 season, which reads T2-T16-T10-2nd. Despite a bout with influenza A along the way, he has moved to the top of local circuit\u2019s Order of Merit.<\/p>\n
Eyeing a DP World Tour card \u2014 which he\u2019ll earn if he stays top at the end of the season \u2014 Dobbelaar is not alone in leaving South Australia with his star shining a little brighter.<\/p>\n
Finishing at 8-under and in a share of 11th, amateur Jazy Roberts was the best of the women in the field at just 21 years of age.<\/p>\n
Owning an already-glittering amateur record, one that includes winning this year\u2019s Australian Amateur Championship, Bendigo\u2019s Roberts looked like a seasoned professional as she took on both male and female professionals.<\/p>\n
A winner of events in America and England, Roberts will no doubt join the play-for-pay ranks before long, where she aims to continue the golden age of Australian women\u2019s golf, which includes major winners Hannah Green, Minjee Lee and Grace Kim.<\/p>\n
Louis Dobbelaar has moved to the top of the Order of Merit.Source: Supplied<\/p>\n
PHONE A FRIEND<\/p>\n
Heading into the weekend in the mix for a second Tour win, Dobbelaar was in search of caddie to carry his bag.<\/p>\n
Hailing from Queensland, and with competitors snapping up players who had missed the halfway cut, the Brisbane product made a hail mary call to a caddie with plenty of experience, and a winning way in the family.<\/p>\n
At one time travelling consistently with Dobbelaar before fatherhood, Gary Kissick, a PGA Associate and husband to retired tennis star Ash Barty, was on the other end of the call.<\/p>\n
Kissick arrived in Adelaide on Saturday morning in time for a storm to roll over Willunga and delay play for over an hour before carrying the clubs for the eventual runner up.<\/p>\n
The joys of a quick caddie stint might\u2019ve worn off when he headed to the airport in the wee hours for an early morning flight back to Queensland. <\/p>\n
Nonetheless, he might\u2019ve had an improved rating on the 6\/10 Dobbelaar gave him in Kalgoorlie on the Fox Sports social channels.<\/p>\n
Lee wins car at LPGA in South Korea | 01:15<\/p>\n
RULES ARE MADE TO NOT BE BROKEN \u2026 EVEN IF NOBODY KNOWS<\/p>\n
The official rules of golf book expands to in excess of 500 pages, including clarifications and local rules that would put even the most ardent golf fan to sleep quicker than counting birdies.<\/p>\n
Full of oddities and every possible scenario, players should know the rules, including the local rules of the week that are published on a piece of A4 paper and handed out `on the first tee, in addition to the \u201chardcard\u201d of the Tour they are playing on, which has more depth on the rules in play.<\/p>\n
Among the rules last week at Willunga was the distance marking posts lining the fairways that are so common at public golf courses to signify 100 metres and so on to the centre of the green.<\/p>\n
Despite being physically movable, they were classified immovable obstructions \u2014 a fact that Jake McLeod and amateur Rachel Lee found out after having already moved the \u2018immovable\u2019 on Thursday.<\/p>\n
Following a second round 65 on Friday, McLeod, rather than getting away with something seemingly inconsequential while he was in the mix, called the rules officials and alerted them to the issue.<\/p>\n
Jake McLeod called the penalty on himself.Source: Supplied<\/p>\n
The Queenslander, and Lee playing in the same group and among the top-10 at the time, were retroactively handed a two-shot penalty.<\/p>\n
McLeod ultimately finished in seventh place. It would have been fourth if not for the penalty.<\/p>\n
But he was able to live with himself, and no doubt has some good golfing karma coming his way.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can\u2019t sleep at night if I\u2019ve done the wrong thing,\u201d McLeod said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI heard about that they were immovable this week. Most weeks they are movable, so this week it\u2019s not and that\u2019s how it is and got the ruling wrong.<\/p>\n
\u201cI called up last night and let them know and to be honest, I thought it could have been disqualified. <\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t really know what the ruling was, but they\u2019ve amended all that now and it was two shots.\u201d<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the Tour resumes at the NSW Open in two weeks after McLeod and Lee joined American Tyler McCumber a fortnight prior in doing the noble thing.<\/p>\n
The Aussie Tour this season has proven a shining example of eight time major winner Tom Watson\u2019s view on the sport.<\/p>\n
\u201cGolf is a game of ego, but it is also a game of integrity: the most important thing is you do what is right when no one is looking.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Adam Bland broke an 11-year win drought on the PGA Tour of Australasia on the weekend, taking out…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":941216,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[566],"tags":[64,63,755,85],"class_list":["post-941215","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-golf","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-golf","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/941215","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=941215"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/941215\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/941216"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=941215"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=941215"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=941215"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}