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AAP
Sport
Darren Walton

Australian summer of golf reaches a climax

Australian PGA champion Jed Morgan will lead the field at the Northern Territory PGA Championship. (AAP)

The Australasian summer of golf climaxes on Sunday with coveted spots on the DP World Tour and US opportunities also on offer at the Northern Territory PGA Championship.

Australian PGA champion Jed Morgan already has Order of Merit honours stitched up after pocketing $190,408 so far in prize money this season.

With an unassailable lead over second-placed Blake Windred ($125,285), Morgan has already secured a start in two majors in 2022 - next month's US Open at Brookline Country Club, Massachusetts, and the 150th British Open at St Andrews.

The 22-year-old has also clinched a card for the 2022-23 DP World Tour card and exemption to the Korn Ferry Tour's qualifying school later this year in America.

But there is still plenty to play for at Palmerston North, with the top three finishers on the Order of Merit on Sunday night also winning a DP World Tour card.

The top five on the Order of Merit will also gain the opportunity to contest the final stage of the Korn Ferry Tour qualifying.

The secondary Korn Ferry Tour has proven a stepping stone for many Australians in recent years, with Harrison Endycott the latest emerging star eyeing a spot on the PGA Tour after winning the Huntsville Championship in Alabama on Monday.

Endycott has jumped from 103rd to 12th on the Korn Ferry Tour money list, with the top 25 at the end of the regular season earning PGA Tour status in 2023.

While Morgan and Windred are guaranteed to claim both DP World Tour and the Korn Ferry Tour tickets, opportunity knocks for several others this weekend.

Andrew Dodt ($111,230), Dimitrios Papadatos ($110,261), Anthony Quayle ($97,217), Louis Dobbelaar ($96,691) and defending NT PGA champion Aaron Pike ($93,480) are also well positioned for top-five Order of Merit finishes.

Now competing in Japan, Quayle has opted out of this week's event, while Papadatos has already booked his place at St Andrews following his Vic Open triumph in February.

Daniel Gale ($77,901) and Jordan Zunic ($74,675) are also within striking distance of a top-five Order of Merit spot - and the accompanying spoils - if they win on Sunday.

With border restrictions forcing the cancellation of the Australian Open, New Zealand PGA and NZ Open for the second consecutive COVID-ravaged year, officials are delighted that 14 events were staged this season.

"When we committed to the Australian PGA and WPGA championships there was still a great deal of uncertainty regarding travel between states, never mind international borders," said PGA of Australia Tournaments Director Australasia, Nick Dastey.

"There is a lot of money invested in the weeks and months prior to these events which could have gone down the drain at any moment if there had been a 'snap' lockdown called or border closures reinstated."

ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit standings entering this week's season-ending NT PGA:

1. Jediah Morgan $190,408.77

2. Blake Windred $125,285.83

3. Andrew Dodt* $111,230.70

4. Dimitrios Papadatos* $110,261

5. Anthony Quayle $97,217.33

6. Louis Dobbelaar* $96,691.10

7. Aaron Pike* $93,480.83

8. Brad Kennedy $85,985

9. Jarryd Felton $78,775

10. Daniel Gale* $77,901.88

* Denotes in the field for NT PGA Championship

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