ANDREW Dodt has enjoyed being closer to home and competing on the Asian Tour this year where he has notched a win and a string of top 15 finishes.
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But the Newcastle-based Queenslander and former European Tour member is not content and is aiming for a strong finish to the year in Australia and a crack at either the US or Japan.
Fresh from finishing 12th at the Taiwan Masters, Dodt is preparing for the $125,000 Victorian PGA at Cape Schanck on the Mornington Peninsula next week.
"The benefit of the win in Malaysia (and year exemption) is that I have a free run at anything I want," Dodt said. "If I can have a good Aussie summer and get in the top five or ten on the order of merit, next year I have a choice on which Q schools to go to. I can give America a crack. I really enjoyed the tournament in Japan a couple of weeks ago. That is another option, Japanese Q school. I'm not sure about Europe. I'm happy to play the co-sanctioned events between Europe and Asia. Maybe Japan or the US is the next avenue."
Dodt, 33, spent almost a decade on the European tour, but after the birth of daughter Azalea in November he "wanted to be closer to home and Asia is the perfect fit for that".
Now that his Asian card is secure, the right-hander is focused on the Vic PGA, Australian Open and Australian PGA. He currently sits 19th with $34,307 on the Australasian order of merit. Josh Geary is fifth with $106,544.
"I would love to try and win another one before the end of the year," he said. "My game is good enough. I just have to prepare well and make sure my goals are in tact and go for it. Top five in the order of merit gets you to final stage anywhere. It's a nice choice to have if you can finish in the top five."
Dodt has ramped up his practice since returning in August from a three month lay-off with a back injury.
"The back injury, as bad as it was having all that time off, it was a really good reset," he said. "I got to go through my entire game and add and edit things that I needed to work on or change. I wasn't practicing enough under pressure, for starters. I can get a little bit technical at times and try to make the swing perfect rather than practicing playing the game and practicing under pressure. I have done a better job of that over the past month or two and the results have shown that."
When not on the course with other players, Dodt has altered his drills to incorporate a competition element.
"You might have to hole x-amount of putts or gets so many chips up and down," he said. "I wasn't doing enough of that."
Dodt will be joined at Cape Schanck by fellow Novocastrians James Nitties, Callan O'Reilly, Aaron Townsend, Jake Higginbottom and Blake Windred.
* Blake Windred saved the best for last in his maiden professional event, firing a final-round six-under 66 to finish eighth at the West Australian PGA Championships at Kalgoorlie on Sunday.
The 21-year-old equalled the best final round, highlighted by a birdie-eagle finish, to pocket $3414.58. The top-10 finish earned the Charlestown right-hander a start at the Vic PGA.
"I'm just so happy to achieve a small goal to finish in the top 10 and get a start next week," Windred said. "I had a more committed mindset on Sunday and better conditions. I just felt so comfortable out there."
* Young guns Harry Atkinson, Brij Ingrey and Kiana Toole made the finals of the Jack Newton Junior Golf Fayde Match Play Championships at Mount Broughton.
Atkinson (Kurri Kurri) went down to Kai Komulainen (Long Reef) 4 and 3 in the final of the 13 years division.
Brij Ingrey continued his strong form, progressing to the decider in the 14-year division, where he went down to Jye Halls (NSW) 6 and 5.
In the girls handicap division, Kiana Toole (Belmont) lost a close tussle with Robyn Keen (Avondale) 3 and 2.
*The Toronto Cup is being held on Saturday. Taree's Reid Brown is the defending champion.
* A bizarre incident involving Swede Jesper Parnevik during a professional tournament on Sunday was so unusual officials had to consult the game's ruling body for clarification.
The three-times European Ryder Cup member missed the chance for a "mulligan" - golf terminology for a free shot - when his short bogey putt horseshoed around the hole and hit his foot.
Rather than replaying the putt without penalty from its original spot, Parnevik instead tapped the ball in from where it ended up for what he thought was a double-bogey, only to find out later that the rules require a re-do.
"When a ball on the putting green accidentally hits any person, animal or immovable obstruction, this stroke does not count and the ball must be replaced on its original spot," rules official Brian Claar said. "Jesper tapped it in. Unfortunately he gets a two-stroke penalty for playing from the wrong place, and the one where he tapped in counts but the original stroke does not count."
Which added up to a triple-bogey.
Parnevik finished equal 68th in the tournament won by American Jerry Kelly at Prestonwood Country Club.
