The 2020 Amateur Championships of Western Australia return to Melville Glades Golf Club from March 11 to 15, the first time the club has hosted the event since 2011.
Located only 20 minutes South of the Perth CBD, Melville Glades Golf Club offers a parkland golf course nestled within the tranquil bushland surrounds of Leeming. Kangaroos and other local fauna line the fairways and offer the quintessential Australian golfing experience.
The 2020 Amateur Championships of Western Australia are set to be another wonderful showcase of our local and national golfing talent. The championships have a proud history and GolfWA encourages spectators to get along to Melville Glades to support the event.
History
The Western Australia Amateur Championship is the biggest event on our local amateur golfing calendar. The men’s and women’s events are played concurrently, a format that has endured since WAGA and WGWA amalgamated in 2011. This year is a homecoming of sorts as Melville Glades was the venue where the men and women played alongside each other for the first time.
This prestigious World Ranking event has helped to launch many professional careers with past champions including Minjee Lee, Min Woo Lee, Curtis Luck, Stephen Leaney and Craig Parry.
The Course – Key Holes
Hole 2, Par 5 | Men 480m, Ladies 438m
The second hole provides an early birdie opportunity, especially for the longer hitters. A drive up the right side of the fairway will open up the angle for those who are going for the green in two. If you’ve decided to lay up or are out of position off the tee then a mid-iron to the corner of the dogleg leaves a simple wedge shot to an elevated green.
- Hole 9, Par 3 | Men 200m, Ladies 152m
Bunkers short and left and a steep drop off to the right, finding the putting surface with your tee shot is no easy task on this hole! This long par 3 is a challenging way to end the front nine and it is the most difficult hole on the course for a reason. A par here is always a good result.
- Hole 15, Par 4 | Men 310m, Ladies 261m
A fine example that length isn’t a necessity of a good golf hole. This short par 4 is a definite birdie chance but there is trouble waiting for any player that gets too greedy and bites off more than they can chew. For the longer hitters, the green is definitely in play. Shorter hitters should carefully consider where the best position to chip/pitch from is located. The 15th could standout as a decisive hole across many matches during the tournament.
Tournament Format
The WA Amateur Championships tee off on Wednesday and Thursday with two 18-hole rounds of strokeplay.
A cut is made after 36 holes and the top 32 men and 16 women progress through to the matchplay section of the tournament.
Friday is full of action and starts with 18 holes of matchplay for both the men and women in the morning. The winners then progress to another 18-hole match in the afternoon.
Saturday morning again sees both the men and women playing 18-hole matches. The female winners of these morning matches progress straight through to the final on Sunday. For the four remaining men, there is another 18-hole round of match play on Saturday afternoon.
The men’s and women’s finals tee off on Sunday morning and competitors must battle through 36 holes of matchplay to claim the title.
The WA Amateur Championships are a battle of golfing attrition and the two champions will need to play good consistent golf across all five days of competition.
The Club
Melville Glades Golf Club General Manager, Matt Espie, is looking forward to the opportunity of hosting the WA Amateur.
“We love hosting big events and it is a fantastic opportunity for us to have the best players in WA test themselves on our course. We are a bit of a hidden gem and big tournaments like the WA Amateur help to promote our club and golf course”, Mr Espie said.
“The greens are looking really good and the course is in fantastic condition. We carried out some minor renovations to the bunkers about 18-months ago and it will be interesting to see how the players tackle the course.”
“Our clubhouse will be open all week long and we encourage as many people to come past, watch the golf and enjoy what Melville Glades has to offer. The more the merrier!”, Mr Espie said.
Players To Watch
2019 Women’s Champion Kirsten Rudgeley will be back to defend the crown she won at Wanneroo. Rudgeley will face stiff competition from Maddy Hinson-Tolchard and 2018 winner, Abbie Teasdale, who just won the Nedlands Junior Open.
2020 Tasmanian Open winner, Kathryn Norris is in some hot form early this year and the Mandurah local will be looking to go one better than her runner-up finish in last year’s event.
The Men’s side of the draw is littered with names that could take out the title. 2019 winner, Azer Pehlic is back to defend his title as is last year’s finalist, Haydn Barron. WA Open runner-up, Hayden Hopewell will be another hot prospect to keep an eye on after taking out the recent 2020 Tasmanian Open.
Zach Maxwell (Queensland) will lead the interstate charge after claiming Medallist honours in 2019. Joondalup CC has a host of contenders including Junior Presidents Cup player, Josh Greer as well as Connor McKinney and Aldrich Potgieter.
GolfWA’s hot tip for the men’s event is the long-hitting lefty, Ryan Peake. The Lakelands member has been in serious form over recent months and he is a good chance of going deep into the matchplay section of the tournament.
