WA youngsters Cooper Geddes and Fred Lee have set up a tantalising matchup for tomorrow’s Men’s WA Amateur final at Cottesloe Golf Club.
Geddes, 14, and Lee, 16, unwittingly wore the same outfit for their semi-final matchups, and the colour paid off as Geddes defeated Nick Curnow 6&4 and Lee advanced over Haydn Barron 2&1.
Geddes is yet another exciting prospect to come out of Mandurah, and he’s made it three straight final appearances for his club after Hayley Bettencourt’s back to back wins in 2014 and 2015.
Coached by club pro Gary Colquhoun, Geddes has also been taken under the wing of high flying Mandurah professional Jason Scrivener, who finished third a fortnight ago at the Perth International.
“I’ve been practicing with Scrivvy lately and he’s been helping my game heaps,” said Geddes.
“I’ve learnt a lot so a lot of credit can go to him.”
Scrivener is currently playing the True Thailand Classic where he made a hole in one on Thursday, so Geddes isn’t expecting him to have the time to send a good luck message.
“He’ll probably say nothing really he’s a bit blunt!” said Geddes with a laugh.
“He’ll just say I hope you win, I dunno.”
As Geddes and Lee got together for a photo after winning their semi-finals they joked about possibly wearing matching shirts again for the final.
“We were talking about it but I’m not sure if he’ll follow through, I hope he does though,” said Geddes.
Even if Lee doesn’t co-ordinate outfits, the Royal Perth junior says he’s expecting an enjoyable day out.
“I think we’ll have a lot of fun,” said Lee.
“I haven’t played with Cooper a lot but the times that we have we’ve always have a laugh.
“We’re pretty good mates, play on the same team at the Interstate Series, so the best of luck to him as I think it will be a good time.”
While Geddes has a professional golfer on his side, Lee’s gone left field for his mentor. Lee’s caddy in Jarrad Pryor has a handicap around 20, but he brings a lot more to the table as a former representative for the Perth Wildcats.
“He’s obviously has lots of training and experience under pressure,” said Lee of Prior, who was a part of the Wildcats championship winning team in 2009/10.
Prior has also kept Lee on top of his nutrition, which is crucial with Lee heading into a third straight day of playing two rounds of golf.
“He’s kept me calm throughout the whole tournament,” said Lee.
“He’s been getting me eat a lot of food, which is one thing I struggle with. I’ve felt energised and I have him to thank for that.”
The 36 hole Men’s Final will get underway at 8am at Cottesloe Golf Club with the afternoon round commencing at 12:30pm. The women’s final between Ebony Heard and Jessica Whitting will start at 8:15am with the afternoon round away at 12:45pm.