Gold Coast’s Kade McBride daring to dream of fairytale hometown win at Australian PGA Championship

A BREAKOUT year at home and abroad has left Gold Coaster Kade McBride daring to dream of a fairytale Australian PGA Championship victory in his own backyard.

A BREAKOUT year at home and abroad has left Gold Coaster Kade McBride daring to dream of a fairytale Australian PGA Championship victory in his own backyard.

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Playing his first full season as a professional, the 24-year-old has emerged as one of the country’s brightest young stars with six top-10 finishes on the Australasian and Chinese tours, highlighted by third place at the PNG Golf Open in May.

Now, with a PGA Championship debut looming at RACV Royal Pines from December 19-22, McBride is hoping to transfer that success in arguably the biggest moment of his career.

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“It’s one of the biggest events that I’ll play this year, for sure. I’d love to win it but you’ve just got go out there, play your plan - you’ll need a few things to go your way - but if you stick to your plan and the cards fall your way then you’ve got a good shot,” McBride, now a Sanctuary Cove member after time at Burleigh and Lakelands as a junior, said.

“It’s going to be the first time I play in the PGA Championship at Royal Pines so I’m really looking forward to it. Obviously there’s a couple of little nerves that go with it but it’s like everything, you’re going to be a little bit nervous about it if it’s important, which it is.

Gold Coast golfer Kade McBride will play at the Australian PGA Championship at RACV Royal Pines. Picture: Jerad Williams

“Playing at home in front of family, friends and all the local fans - there’s a lot of big names coming out to play too – it’s going to be good for the event, good for golf in general and good for the Gold Coast summer of sport.

“It’s going to be the final event of the calendar year for my season so to finish it off here, what more could you ask for? I’ve been to a lot of places all over the world and seriously, there’s nothing quite like the Gold Coast.”

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Having played just a handful of tournaments last year after earning his Australasian and China tour cards, McBride gained more valuable experience at last week’s Australian Open in Sydney.

While he missed the cut by three shots, the Hope Island resident said it was all part of his grand plan to reach the US tour.

McBride at Surfers Paradise beach. Picture: Jerad Williams

“(This year) has a big learning curve for sure. Probably the travel is the hardest bit, you’re all over the shop for three-quarters of the year,” he said.

“The highlights have made things a lot sweeter than if you had a pretty average year. I’ve had a bunch of good results with top 10s and I shot a 60 over in China.

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“It’s been a really good, solid building year and then obviously looking to finish it off with some sort of cherry on top at the PGA would be nice.

“Long-term goals, I want to be playing over in the US for sure. It’s just about ticking the boxes on the way there to get there. Within a couple of years (is the aim), for sure.”