They purposefully paired up at the American Family Insurance Championship a fortnight ago and now Cameron Percy and David Bransdon will tee off together in Round 1 of the Kaulig Companies Championship.

Formerly known as the Senior PLAYERS Championship and to be played at Firestone Country Club for the seventh straight year, 10 Australians will contest the third senior major of 2025 starting Friday.

Including Bransdon and Percy, eight Aussies have been paired together for the opening two rounds with Brisbane boys Michael Wright and John Senden to tee off at 12:10am Friday AEST, followed 11 minutes later by Bransdon and Percy.

A couple of country boys in Stuart Appleby and Mark Hensby will tee off at 12:42am while Victorians Richard Green and Steve Allan are in the same group off the first tee at 1:13am.

Rounding out the Aussie contingent this week are Rod Pampling (12:21am) and Greg Chalmers (12:42am), the influx from Down Under not going unnoticed each week on the PGA TOUR Champions.

“You hear all the time, ‘Not another Aussie’ when you’re going into the equipment truck or the gym,” said Wright, who is in his second year on the over-50s circuit.

“I took a few little mini Aussie flags over with me this year and I plant them all over the gym and put them in the equipment truck, just to stir them up.”

A journeyman who had never played on an international tour until earning his Champions Tour card in dramatic fashion in late 2023, Wright has been pleasantly surprised by the reception he has received, and not just from his fellow Aussies.

“The biggest thing that shocked me over here was how welcoming they were,” Wright said.

“I thought they'd just sort of snub me a bit, but they've done the opposite.

“Fred Funk went welcomed me. He almost took me under his wing, Freddy. I'm starting to talk quite a bit now with Bernard Langer; Stewart Cink’s a really nice guy.

“They're all really good guys, to be honest. I think they've just left their ego at the door.”

While legendary figures Peter Thomson (1984), Bruce Crampton (1986, 1987) and Graham

Marsh (1999) have all finished runner-up, only one Australian has ever won the Kaulig Companies Championship, Stewart Ginn in 2002.

Like the seniors, there is a strong group of Australians contesting the third women’s major of 2025, the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship in Texas, as Adam Scott and Jason Day dust themselves off after going four rounds with Oakmont Country Club to back up for the Travelers Championship, the final Signature Event of the PGA TOUR season.

Photo: David Berding/Getty Images

Round 1 tee times AEST

KPMG Women’s PGA Championship Fields Ranch East at PGA Frisco, Frisco, Texas 10:27pm* Robyn Choi 10:38pm* Grace Kim 11:28pm Lydia Ko (NZ) 11:44pm* Hira Naveed 11:50pm Minjee Lee 3:54am Cassie Porter 4:27am Stephanie Kyriacou 4:49am Gabriela Ruffels 5:28am* Hannah Green 5:33am Karis Davidson

Past champion: Amy Yang Past Aussie winners: Hannah Green (2019) Prize money: $US12m TV times: Live 1am-5am Friday, Saturday; Live 1am-8:30am Sunday; Live 1am-8am Monday on Fox Sports 505 and Kayo.

PGA TOUR Travelers Championship TPC River Highlands, Cromwell, Connecticut 10:30pm Min Woo Lee 11:10pm Jason Day 12:05am Adam Scott 12:45am Ryan Fox (NZ) 2:10am Cam Davis

Past champion: Scottie Scheffler Past Aussie winners: Greg Norman (1995), Marc Leishman (2012) Prize money: $US20m TV times: Live 9:30pm-8am Thursday, Friday: Live 10pm-8:30am Saturday; Live 9:30pm-8am Sunday on Fox Sports 503 and Kayo.

PGA TOUR Champions Kaulig Companies Championship Firestone Country Club, Akron, Ohio 12:10am* Michael Wright, John Senden 12:21am David Bransdon, Cameron Percy 12:21am* Rod Pampling 12:42am Stuart Appleby, Mark Hensby 12:42am* Greg Chalmers 1:13am Richard Green, Steve Allan 1:34am Steven Alker (NZ)

Past champion: Ernie Els Past Aussie winners: Stewart Ginn (2002) Prize money: $US3.5m TV times: 10:30am-12pm Friday; 10am-11:30am Saturday on Fox Sports 503; Live 6am-8am Sunday on Fox Sports 506; 1:30pm-3:30pm Monday on Fox Sports 503 and Kayo.

Ladies European Tour Tipsport Czech Ladies Open Royal Beroun Golf Club, Czech Republic Australasians in the field: Kirsten Rudgeley, Momoka Kobori (NZ), Kelsey Bennett, Amelia Garvey (NZ), Maddison Hinson-Tolchard, Amy Walsh

Recent champion: Marta Martin Past Aussie winners: Nil Prize money: €300,000

Korean PGA Tour 68th KPGA Championship A-One Country Club, Yangsan 8:20am* Changgi Lee (NZ) 8:40am* Matthew Griffin 9:15am* Wonjoon Lee 1pm Sungjin Yeo (NZ) 1:20pm Junseok Lee

Recent champion: Jeon Ga-lam Past Aussie winners: Andrew McKenzie (2008), Matthew Griffin (2014), Wonjoon Lee (2019) Prize money: KRW1.6b

Korn Ferry Tour Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas Wichita Open Crestview Country Club, Wichita, Kansas 10:20pm Rhein Gibson 5:05am Harry Hillier (NZ)

Past champion: Taylor Dickson Past Aussie winners: Jeff Woodland (1992), Bradley Hughes (2004), Mathew Goggin (2011) Prize money: $US1m

HotelPlanner Tour Blot Play9 Golf Bluegreen de Pléneuf Val André, Pléneuf, France 4pm* Hayden Hopewell 9:20pm* Sam Jones (NZ)

Past champion: John Parry Past Aussie winners: Scott Arnold (2015) Prize money: $US1m

Epson Tour Island Resort Championship Sweetgrass Golf Club, Harris Michigan Australasians in the field: Su Oh, Jess Whitting

Past champion: Soo Bin Joo Past Aussie winners: Nil Prize money: $US225,000