Haydn Barron (WAGC) has fired a 1-under final round to claim his second Steelscene Mandurah Amateur Open at Mandurah Country Club.
Perfect conditions greeted players as the final round of competition got underway early on Monday morning. The mercury peaked at 27-degrees early in the afternoon and the absence of any sea-breeze made for hot conditions on course.
Barron got off to a hot start early in the third round and surged towards the top of the leader board thanks to five birdies on the front nine. Two bogeys early on the back nine threatened to derail his round but the tall Yokine talent managed to steady thanks to birdies at 14 and 15.
Despite two dropped shots early in the final round, Barron’s name was a constant feature near the top of the leader board.
As his challengers faltered around him, Barron managed to card two more birdies on his final nine to secure a three-shot victory and a well-deserved second Steelscene Mandurah Amateur Open title.
Connor Fewkes (Goldfields) put together a fantastic fourth round with seven birdies and only three dropped shots. This performance saw him vault up the leader board into second place.
Jose De Sousa (Gosnells GC) got to work early on Monday morning and carded a blemish-free round of 3-under (68). This impressive form carried over into the final round with De Sousa hitting three birdies in four holes to move to 5-under for the tournament.
De Sousa’s approach shot into 10 found the greenside bunker and he was unable to get up and down to save par. This was his first dropped shot of the day after going bogey-free through the first 27 holes. Unfortunately, three more dropped shots followed and De Sousa found himself quickly out of contention.
Hayden Hopewell (Royal Fremantle) endured an inconsistent third round that featured five birdies, four bogeys and a double-bogey on 18. Hopewell was in contention for the title during the final round until bogeys at 16 and 17 halted his momentum. A second double-bogey on 18 rubbed salt into his wounds and saw the talented youngster slip into a six-way tie for fifth.
Overnight leader, Edward Donoghue (Victoria) never really got going on the final day of the tournament. Donoghue’s sole birdie in Round 3 was cancelled out by a double-bogey just two holes later. This trend continued into the afternoon as the Victorian dropped another three shots on the opening nine of Round 4.
A birdie at 13 proved to be the lone highlight in a frustrating final round for Donoghue that left him 3-over and dropped him to 10th overall.
