WA went winless on day one of the Australian Interstate Teams Matches in NSW after falling to defeats against strong Queensland and Victoria sides.
Both the eastern states boast players flying high in the World Amateur Golf Rankings and their strength-in-depth ultimately told against WA at St Michael’s Golf Club, despite only fine divides in a number of individual matches.
Indeed, WA got off to a fine start against QLD in the morning fixture with Celine Chen and Jordan Doull putting points on the board in the top two matches.
QLD – who count Australian internationals Justice Bosio and Sarah Hammett in their line-up – gained the upper hand in the remaining matches, though, edging several close encounters on their way to a 6-2 team victory.
More of the same was to follow for WA in their afternoon tie, with a number of tight matches going the way of their Victorian opponents. Mount Lawley’s Doull continued to show impressive form, however, in a 3&2 win over Blaike Perkins, while Abbie Teasdale was sharp as she bested Australian international team-mate Keeley Marx 4&3.
Elsewhere, it was slim pickings for WA with only Joe Buttress adding to the team total after a halved match against the highly-rated Connor McDade.
The results leave WA’s title hopes hanging by a thread, with significant wins now required over powerful NSW and South Australia teams tomorrow to give them any chance of reaching Thursday’s final.
“We had some very tough matches but some very close ones, too, and the team played better than the scorelines suggest in challenging, changing conditions,” said Team Manager Catherine Strickland.
“It was not our day today, but the players’ ability to deal with the setbacks and remain energised for tomorrow’s matches is indicative of the strong team culture we have in place,” added Team Coach Alex McKay.
“Nothing better than putting on the black and gold and bagging a win!” Jordan Doull was WA’s MVP today with two wins out of two
Match 1 vs QLD
Celine Chen beat Kate McFarlane 3&2
Jordan Doull beat Blaike Perkins 2UP
Amie Phobubpa lost 3&2 to Sarah Hammett
Joe Buttress lost 3&2 to Tyler Duncan
Erina Tan lost 6&5 to Hannah Reeves
Connor Fewkes lost 3&1 to Samuel Slater
Abbie Teasdale lost 3&1 to Justice Bosio
Josh Greer lost to Quinnton Croker 1DOWN
Final score: WA 2 – 6 QLD
Match 2 vs Victoria
Amie Phobubpa lost 3&2 to Jesika Clark
Jordan Doull beat Nathan Page 3&2
Amanda Gan lost 2&1 to Molly McClean
Joe Buttress halved with Connor McDade
Celine Chen lost 3&2 to Amelia Harris
Connor Fewkes lost to Phoenix Campbell 2DOWN
Abbie Teasdale beat Keeley Marx 4&3
Josh Greer lost to Jasper Stubbs 2DOWN
Final score: WA 2.5 – 5.5 Victoria
You can view the full day’s scores and tables here.
Image credits: Australian Golf Media
You can follow live scoring of the event on the Golf Australia website. You’ll also be able to keep up with WA’s progress on our Facebook, Instagram and Twitter feeds.
