By Neal Maidment
Jordan Doull, Tom Addy and Abbie Teasdale led the way into the knockout rounds of the WA Amateur Championships, claiming medallist honours in stroke play qualifying.
The two qualifying rounds were played in starkly contrasting weather, with the calm sunshine of Wednesday giving way to today’s breezy, wet and chilly conditions that created a very different kind of test around Royal Fremantle’s historic layout.
Mount Lawley’s Doull posted a best-of-the-day four-under 68 on Wednesday to lead the field after Round 1. He followed that up with a level-par 72 today to share the men’s stroke play medal with Joondalup’s Tom Addy, who posted back-to-back 70s. They lead a high-calibre field of 32 qualifiers who will now go head-to-head in knockout match play rounds to decide the overall title.
Despite his fine form, Doull is taking nothing for granted heading into the unpredictable match play rounds. “I’m feeling pretty good about my game, but I don’t want to get too confident,” he told GolfWA. “You just never know with match play, so now it’s just a matter of taking it one day at a time and one match at a time.”
His views were mirrored by Addy, who said: “I’ve got a lot of confidence after doing well in the stroke play, but we start all over again tomorrow.”
Jordan Doull and Tom Addy share men’s medallist honours
Royal Fremantle’s Teasdale topped the women’s stroke play leaderboard after firing consecutive rounds of one-under-par 72. She finished five strokes clear of second-placed Celine Chen to win the stroke play medal – an achievement that she is very proud of.
“I’ve never won the medal before, so that’s pretty cool,” Teasdale, the 2018 WA Amateur champion, told GolfWA. “I’m playing pretty well, but I’m not going to get ahead of myself because anything can happen in match play. I’m just going to play my own game and hope that will be enough.”
Thursday’s play concluded with a playoff in which five players were contesting the final four spots in the men’s match play draw. Braedon Law, Mandeep Singh, Evan Chase and Anthony Joseph with Lachlan Hall the unlucky man missing out.
The match play contenders
The championships will now be decided by matchplay clashes, with the men playing two 18-hole matches on Friday and Saturday before the 36-hole final. In the women’s, there will be two rounds of 18-hole matches on Friday and one on Saturday, followed by the 36-hole final on Sunday.
Amongst the 32 male qualifiers is veteran former pro Brendon Allenby, who could be a dark horse for the championship at his home club. Meanwhile, former Australian Ninja Warriors sensation Charlie Robbins has stealthily played his way into the match play rounds after rounds of 72 and 71. His TV ninja exploits show that visitor from Victoria has no fear of the big occasion and will be a player others will want to avoid.
Sixteen women will contest the match play rounds, including past champions Celine Chen and Amie Phobubpa. A number of exciting junior talents remain in the tournament, with the youngest being 12-year-old Zoe Grace Ong of Gosnells.
View the full match play draw here.
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