After a flurry of big names committed to the 100th staging of the championship, the Bowra & O’Dea Nexus Advisernet WA Open is shaping up to be a modern classic, with plenty of WA golfers likely to be in contention.
Here we outline some of the home favourites for this year’s event, some WA dark horses who could slide under the radar, as well as some of the likeliest challengers from the eastern states.
THE FAVOURITES
Jason Scrivener
With his DP World Tour status secured for another year, Scrivener’s commitment to his home state open at his home course is a huge boost for the championship – and for WA golf fans. A veteran of nearly 250 starts on the European circuit, 35-year-old Scrivener will be the man to beat at the course he blitzed round in just 58 strokes (-13) as recently as April.
Curtis Luck
In another coup for the championship, Luck’s recovery from a serious shoulder injury has come just in time for him to tee it up at the WA Open after a four-month lay-off. A former world number one amateur and Korn Ferry Tour winner, Luck knows the course well, and if his shoulder gives him no trouble he could well add to the 2016 WA Open title he won as an amateur in 2016.
Haydn Barron
After enduring a tough rookie season on the DP World Tour, Barron has returned to his home state to compete in both the WA PGA Championship and WA Open. The affable big-hitter is a hugely popular figure amongst WA golf fans, and his DP Tour experiences in 2024 should hold him in good stead for a title challenge.
Braden Becker
While the 2021 WA Open remains his only tour title, the Mandurah local will go into this year’s championship in buoyant mood at a club where he’s been a long-time member. With a swashbuckling playing style and high-energy personality, if he gets off to a fast start and has the crowd behind him, Becker will take some stopping.
Jordan Doull
As he proved with his stirring runner-up finish at the weekend’s WA PGA Championship, tour rookie Doull is the real deal with the game to be a week-in, week-out contender. The dogged 25-year-old Mount Lawley product is now a member and popular figure at Mandurah Country Club and could easily be in the mix come Sunday.
DARK HORSES
Connor McKinney
After a disappointing rookie year on the European Challenge Tour, McKinney may feel he has a point to prove back on home soil. If he can rekindle the attacking flair that saw him make a thrilling title charge at the 2023 WA Open, he could be a real contender.
Brett Rumford
A perennial golden boy of WA golf, Rumford can never be discounted – particularly on a strategic layout like Mandurah Country Club where nous is more important than length off the tee. His renowned short game and scrambling skills should hold him in good stead, especially if the wind picks up.
Jarrod Moseley
Out of retirement to play the 100th WA Open at his home club, former European Tour winner Moseley is in confident mood and looking to give local fans something to shout about. Having worked on redesigning several of the Country Club’s holes, no one knows the course better than Moseley and club insiders believe he still has what it takes to contend.
Josh Greer
Missed cut at the WA PGA Championship notwithstanding, Greer could be one to watch after an excellent off-season that featured two wins and a flurry of high finishes in the adidas PGA Pro-Am Series. He followed this up with a top-five at the tour’s season-opening PNG Open in August suggesting his game’s not far off where it needs to be to be right in amongst it.
EASTERN STATES CHALLENGERS
Jasper Stubbs (VIC): The 2023 Asia-Pacific Amateur champion has had a year to remember that included appearances at the US Masters and The Open Championship. Fresh from turning pro, he’s entirely capable of finding winning ways at tour level in a hurry.
Cameron John (VIC): The joint 36-hole leader at the recent Dunhill Links Championship in Scotland, John achieved his first Aus PGA Tour win at The National Tournament in March and his career appears to be on an upward trajectory. Expect a big year domestically from the likable 24-year-old.
Nathan Barbieri (NSW): Bounced back from the disappointment of losing his Aus PGA Tour card last season by winning Q-School medallist honours and excelling in the adidas PGA Pro-Am series, where he won both the Cottesloe Open and Sun City Pro-Am.
Ben Eccles (VIC): The winner of the 2023 WA PGA Championship in Kalgoorlie, Eccles played plenty of golf at Mandurah during his amateur career and could well be a title threat as he looks to take his career up a gear.
Michael Sim (QLD): Now based on the Gold Coast, Sim grew up playing golf in Perth and is no stranger to Mandurah Country Club. A winner of the WA Open at Cottesloe in 2019, the wily 39-year-old still has one of the sweetest swings on tour and could go well here.
The Bowra & O’Dea Nexus Advisernet WA Open will take place at Mandurah Country Club from October 17-20 and is FREE for spectators to attend. Find full details about the event here.
Not able to get to Mandurah to attend the event in person? No problem. You can tune in to live coverage of the championship on Foxtel and Kayo over the closing two rounds.
- Saturday, October 19: 1pm – 4pm (AWST)
- Sunday, October 20: 11am – 4pm (AWST)
