WA convincingly defeated New South Wales this morning by a margin of 5-1 to secure their third Interstate Series title in the past four years.
Western Australia raced out of the blocks early taking leads in four of the six matches, with Hannah Green leading the way with a formidable six hole lead through the front nine on the way to a 6 & 5 victory.
NSW’s Shelly Shin held the heavily favoured Minjee Lee at bay, trailing by only one stroke through the opening nine holes, but Lee hit a higher gear on the back nine to cruise home for a 5 & 3 victory.
Captain Hayley Bettencourt also entered the win column with a 3 & 2 victory over Doey Choi. It was the third interstate series title for Bettencourt who, alongside Minjee Lee, participated in the 2011 and 2012 winning teams.
Alyssia Keir, also a member of the 2012 side, came from behind to secure a 2up victory over Olivia Wilson, while Hira Naveed capped off a very successful Interstate Series campaign with a 1up victory over Aliza Huff. Naveed was undefeated for the entire tournament, wining four of her five matches and halving the remainder.
Claudia Pisano fell in WA’s only loss for the day, defeated by Celina Yuan 4 & 3.
The team was successfully coached by Ritchie Smith, who heads the Perth Golf Academy and is the coach of World Number 1 amateur Minjee Lee and Oliver Goss, the winner of the Low Amateur at the 2014 US Masters. Smith has been the state team coach over the past nine years, a period that has seen four Interstate Series titles come to WA. Minjee Lee, Hayley Bettencourt and Hannah Green (all coached by Smith) sit inside the top five ranked Australian golfers.
The series ended in disappointment for the men, who fell to Tasmania in their playoff match to finish in sixth place. Curtis Luck and Kiran Day highlighted the efforts of the Men’s team, with Luck winning four of his five matches as the number 1 seed, and Kiran Day going undefeated for the tournament.
