Gosnells Golf Club member Josiah Edwards has finished top of the Golf Australia Boys’ Order of Merit for the 2022-23 season.
Sixteen-year-old Edwards (pictured above) played 11 ranking events across the season and topped the standings with 1009 points from his six best results, the highlight of his season being a stunning 18-stroke victory at the Tasmanian Junior Amateur back in January.
Overall, Edwards posted eight top-10 finishes in the 11 counting events and placed no lower than T23rd. During his January hot streak, Edwards finished T8th, T2nd, 1st and T3rd in four consecutive ranking events in South Australia and Tasmania to throw down the gauntlet to his rivals.
Top three finishes in his home state at the Cobra Puma Junior Championship and Drummond Golf Junior Amateur Championship of WA in winter also counted towards Edwards’ final points tally score, with his nearest rivals in the season-ending standings being Rupert Toomey (Vic) and Campbell Kerr (QLD).
The next highest-placed WA golfer, meanwhile, was Joondalup Country Club’s George Barclay in 12th place. You can view the season-ending Order of Merit table here.
It marks the second year running that a WA player has topped the boys’ Order of Merit after Joseph Buttress (WAGC) claimed top honours for the 2021-22 season, and Edwards admitted to being delighted with his year’s work.
“Winning the Order of Merit was my biggest goal for the year, so I’m pretty happy with that,” he told GolfWA. “I had such a good start to the year that I knew I was a contender – especially when I got the win in Tasmania.”
The Year 11 student will play some events in Asia in the off-season and is already re-aligning his short-term ambitions. “I would really like to take my game up a level and start being considered to represent Australia,” he added. “That is another big goal for the next two years.”
There was also WA representation in the top 10 of the Girls’ Order of Merit, with two-time WA Girls’ Champion Erina Tan (Mount Lawley) finishing the season in 8th place, while clubmate Amanda Gan was 14th.
Marc Pike, Game Development & High Performance Manager at GolfWA, paid tribute to Edwards’ and Tan’s achievements, saying: “At GolfWA, we pride ourselves in developing athletes that are good people first, and performance golfers second. Josiah and Erina are fine examples of this through the way they balance golf, education and day-to-day life.
“GolfWA has a history of developing exceptional athletes and we are excited about what is to come from both Josiah and Erina, as well as the rest of our up-and-coming athletes, in 2024 and beyond.”
Mount Lawley’s Erina Tan was the highest-placed WA player in the national Girls’ Order of Merit in 8th place
WA golfers are also currently in the top 10s of the Men’s and Women’s Orders of Merit, highlighting the present strength-in-depth of golf in a state that punches well above its weight.
With one ranking event still to play, Lake Karrinyup Country Club’s New Zealand-born Joe Owen sits in second place in the men’s table, while GolfWA High Performance Athlete Jordan Doull is in 6th place. View the standings here.
in the Women’s Order of Merit, Royal Fremantle’s reigning state amateur champion Abbie Teasdale was the highest-placed WA player in 9th, with Celine Chen (Joondalup CC) 15th.
Image credits: Australian Golf Media
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