It has been a whirlwind few months for PGA
professionals travelling across the Australian countryside competing on the
Australian PGA Pro-Am Series.

Since April, more than 100 pro’s from all
over Australia and New Zealand have tackled not only the golf course but
encountered the trials and tribulations of life on tour and more specifically,
life in outback Australia.

While the journey of a tour pro has been
well documented before, the past few months for this group could be compared to
what European adolescents encounter on a backpacking trip across the Australian
outback.

Starting the year on the east coast,
touring through regional Victoria and New South Wales, the Australian PGA Pro-Am
series eventually made it’s way to the sun drenched West Coast, and it was here
that the journey really began.

While there was more than one small group
of journeymen taking a similar road, it was hard to overlook this group who
made the most of every second as they criss-crossed their way across Western
Australia.

The journey alone in Western Australia
involved more than 4,500kms of open road and when they didn’t have four sets of
titleist irons and taylor made drivers in the backseat across the laps, it was
walking more than 300km on the lush fairways and greens on the best courses
Western Australia has to offer.

"It was an amazing experience and one which
was hard at times but we made it something pretty special" said Callan O’Reilly
who joined fellow New South Welshman Dale Brandt-Richards in a hatchback hire
car for the final few weeks of the adventure.

The pair packed themselves into the yellow
rental which was quickly nicknamed "Thelma" and together shared the journey
with South Australian Brad Moules and Western Australian locals Braden Becker,
Jason Chellew and the only female on the trip was Hayley Bettencourt who also
happens to the the girlfriend of Becker.

"I cant even imagine taking a holiday in
Australia which would have been more amazing than what we did the last few
weeks" said Becker who hails from the Mandurah Golf Club.

The daily itinerary either involved a
tournament round on the PGA Pro-Am Series or a spot of fishing.

"Most days were spent on the course but we
all made the most of the location and we
did a fair bit of fishing and found some incredible places in far north Western
Australia" said Bettencourt who matched it with the boys throughout the Pro-Am
Series.

The trip was highlighted by the major
events in Kalgoorlie which hosted the TX Civil & Logistics WA PGA
Championship in May, an event which took the players into the heartland of
Australia for the week.

O’Reilly held the lead with only a few
holes to play in Kalgoorlie but a poor finish on the final hole cost him the
title.

It was Perth based Stephen Dartnall who won
the championship but it was O’Reilly who impressed and it was a sign of things
to come for the Newcastle based pro.

The 25-year-old O’Reilly completed the tour
of Western Australia by taking out the Broome Furnishings Carpet & Paint
Pro-Am with impressive rounds of 68-65 and an eight-shot win over experienced
tour star Kym Felton.

The win in Broome was the second for O’Reilly
who also won the Kwinana Pro-Am a few weeks beforehand.

Brandt-Richards won the Dunsborough Lakes Pro-Am
with a superb round of 66, showing that despite not having the most luxurious
forms of transport, a good swing will make up for lack of horsepower.

"I had never been out to some of these
remote parts of the world and we had so much fun along the way…it’s an amazing
way to play professional golf and see things most people would never get a
chance to see" said Brandt-Richards who is enjoying a solid rookie season in
2016.

Other PGA professionals joined the group along
the way and some even had made the drive from Sydney to Adelaide before making
the remarkable trek across the Nullabor all to compete and experience life on
tour.

The Western Australia pro-am circuit
comprised of 19 events and two Australasian PGA Tour events including the TX
Civil & Logistics WAPGA Championship and the Nexus Risk WA Open
Championship.

"It is a fantastic series of events over in
WA and something all the players from around Australia and New Zealand find
very appealing" said Moules who won the South Pacific Export Papa-New-Guinea
Open before charting a course for Western Australia. 

The trip did provide some scary reminders
as to what can and will go wrong on long road trips as a mature male kangaroo
found out on a rainy night somewhere between Geraldton and Port Hedland.

Despite the occasional drama, it will
surely be an adventure they won’t forget.

So when you see them inside the ropes in
the years to come, be sure ask who caught the biggest fish.

The PGA Pro-Am Series continues on to
Queensland this month as players will venture up and down the Sunshine state
competing in the inaugural Cairns Classic which begins next week.

For all the scores and updates and to
follow your favorite PGA Tour player, visit www.pga.org.au