Two Albatrosses, A Hole-In-One And A Familiar Face In Contention Caps Chaotic Moving Day At Australian Pro Event

An albatross is the rarest bird of them all in golf but, at the Webex Players Series Perth, we've seen three in the space of three rounds.

Being played at Royal Fremantle Golf Club, the tournament is hosted by the brother-and-sister duo of Min Woo and Minjee Lee, with blustery conditions causing chaos throughout the week.

Prior to the weekend's action, headlines were made by Australian James Mee, who made the first albatross at the par 5 sixth. Despite carding the two, it still wasn't enough for Mee to make the weekend, as he finished his second round one back of the level-par cutline.

If that wasn't enough, just 24 hours later, two albatrosses followed in the tournament, with Hayden Hopewell and Brady Watt producing the feats during their third rounds.

Hopewell, who sits in a share of 12th at six-under, made his at the 11th, while Watt's also came at the sixth.

In fact, the Aussie, who is solo fourth going into the final round, produced a stunning approach from the trees that landed in the hole on the second bounce. The attempt from 170 yards led to a one-under 71 on Saturday.

At the top of the leaderboard, you will find Connor McKinney, who sits 15-under-par and two strokes clear of a familiar name.

That two stroke advantage came thanks to a late hole-in-one from the 24-year-old, who aced the 170 yard 17th hole late on Saturday. What's more, the Aussie then backed it up with a birdie at the last hole to go three-under in his last two holes.

The player he leads is former DP World Tour winner Andrew Johnston or, as he's known to many, 'Beef.'

Johnston's issues with injury have been well-documented over the last few years, with the Englishman making his return to the professional circuit back in October after a year out.

Prior to his return at the Genesis Championship, his past 25 starts had taken place between July 2021 and September 2024. At the Webex Players Series Perth, though, he has a chance to claim his first win since the 2016 Open de Espana.

At one point, Johnston shared the lead but, with three bogeys over his final four holes, he fell two back, as his putter deserted him over the closing stretch.

"It’s something that I’ve been working hard on, trying to improve," stated Johnston. "The back nine wasn’t too pretty with the putter and it’s something I’m going to go and work on now.

"This is exactly where we want to be and this is where you gain so much experience. Being in the final groups is where you’ve got to get comfortable doing it.

"Dipping in and out for the last few years, playing so little events, this is real good for me. It’s good to get in amongst it and get them juices flowing."