The temperatures were well into the 30s, but the standard of golf was even hotter during the first round of the 2023 GolfWA Junior Pennants tournament.
The girls’ fixtures all took place at Royal Perth, and defending champions Mount Lawley 1 showed why they’ll be the team to beat once again by serving up a dominant 5-0 victory over Gosnells 1 in the top division. The other top-flight fixture saw Royal Perth 1 and Joondalup play out an entertaining half.
In Division 2 it was honours even between Gosnells 2 vs Mount Lawley 2 (pictured above) and Lakelands vs Royal Fremantle 1, while WAGC beat Lake Karrinyup/Cottesloe 3.5-1.5 to take an early lead in the table. In Division 3, South West and Gosnells 3 drew 2-2 and Mandurah bested Royal Perth 2 4-0.
There was a heavyweight clash in the Boys Division 1 meeting between WAGC 1 and Gosnells 1 at Cottesloe, with Joseph Buttress taking on in-form Josiah Edwards in the lead-off match. Despite holding a three-hole lead at the halfway mark, Gosnells’ Edwards met his match in Buttress, who reeled in his opponent with some sensational golf on the back nine to seal a 1-up victory.
WAGC 1 eventually triumphed 4.5-0.5, while there were also wins for Royal Fremantle 1 over Joondalup 1 (3-2) and Lake Karrinyup 1 over Mount Lawley 1 (3-2).
There was plenty of high quality across all the boys’ divisions, with Lakelands’ Riley Stephens holing a clutch putt on 18 to win his Division 2 match and give his team a hard-fought 3-2 win over WAGC 2. Royal Fremantle 2 were the big winners in Division 3 with a 4-1 victory over Lake Karrinyup 2, while Gosnells 3 and Mandurah enjoyed their visits to the Western Australian Golf Club as they defeated The Vines 2 and South West 2 respectively.
The full results from all the fixtures can be viewed at the GolfWA Junior Pennants hub.
Our thanks go to our host clubs and volunteers, and we congratulate all the players, who demonstrated great sportsmanship and camaraderie at all the events.
Image credit: Sue Thompson via Twitter
