Nadene Gole and James Lavender are the Australian Senior Amateur Champions for 2023 after hard-fought victories at Lake Karrinyup Country Club.
For Gole, the title caps off a sensational year of amateur golf, which saw her reach the world number one spot on the senior amateur rankings in March.
Gole, from Victoria Golf Club, claimed multiple state titles alongside a top-10 finish at the US Senior Women’s Amateur, and a runner-up position at the R&A Senior Women’s Amateur.
Fellow Victorian Sue Wooster (The National GC) was vying for a fourth straight win in the championship, but a second-round 83 left her with an uphill battle that ultimately proved too much to overcome.
It allowed Gole to close with a three-over-par 77, which gave her a three-stroke victory over Wooster, who closed with a fine 76. NSW’s Louise Mullard was third, three shots further back.
“I’m very excited. It’s something that could have possibly happened last year but didn’t, but I’m very grateful,” said Gole. “I’ve had an unbelievable year.”
In the men’s event, Lavender made a successful defence of his 2022 title, with the Victorian from Northern GC finishing at eight-over-par, two ahead of another Victorian, Gregory Rhodes (Coomealla GC).
The highest-placed WA golfers in the men’s championship were Paul Chappell (Hartfield GC) and Peter Robinson (Lake Karrinyup), who shared fifth at +15th, while Denmark CC’s Sharon Dawson was 7th in the women’s. The final results can be found here.
Attention now switches to the Senior Amateur Championships of WA, which take place at Royal Perth from October 23-25. You’ll be able to follow the event scoring here.
Image credit: Australian Golf Media
