Dave Puig of Fireballs GC Looks to Capture the Australian PGA Championship

Followers of the global golf tour, LIV Golf, won't be surprised by the run that Dave Puig has been on this offseason. In his last three starts, at the Spanish Open, Hong Kong Open, and Saudi International, he's recorded no worse than a T16. There' s no doubt that he's flushed with talent and has the ability to win at any level, but he's often struggled to maintain his form throughout an event. He's prone to an untimely double bogey, or a rough stretch of holes at some point in the weekend. But it's tough to hold any of that against him, as he turned professional and joined LIV Golf at just 21 years old. Now 25, both he and his game have matured, and a lot of those kinks have been worked out, but today's final round at the Australian PGA Championship will be his biggest test in some time.

After opening rounds of 68-67-65 he finds himself tied for the lead with two others, Australian Anthony Quayle (not the British actor from the 20th century) and the Portuguese Ricardo Gouveia. That’s not all he’ll need to fend off, though, as Adam Scott, Min Woo Lee, Marc Leishman, Sebastian Munoz, and more are well within striking distance if any of the leaders take their foot off the gas.

Dave Puig has found himself in the winner's circle a couple of times already as a young professional, at the 2023 International Series Singapore, and then again at the 2024 Malaysian Open, but none will be as difficult to close out, or as prestigious as the Australian PGA Championship. Additionally, Puig and Gouveia will look to become the first non-Australian born winners since Harold Varner III claimed the win in 2017. The seven events since then have been won by Cam Smith (x3), Adam Scott, Jediah Morgan, Min Woo Lee, and Elvis Smylie.

DataGolf currently lists Puig as the favorite to win the event with a 21.6% chance.