A full field of 144 players, 116 men and 28 women will compete for South Australia’s premier Amateur Golf Championships, the Golf SA Men’s Amateur Classic and Women’s Rene Erichsen Salver partnered by W Sports & Media.
The Championships played concurrently from Tuesday 21 to Friday 24 March will be played at the pristine Royal Adelaide Golf Club which only last month hosted the ISPS Handa Women’s Australian Open.
The 72 hole Championships which are classified as Australian Amateur Ranking Events, have again attracted a stellar field of local and interstate talent.
SA Amateur Classic
The men’s field features 9 of the top 20 ranked Australian players. Of the 116 men’s entrants, the quality of the field is highlighted by a record 77 players currently holding a GA handicap of scratch or better, with Zach Murray from Commonwealth Golf Club (VIC) the lowest marker off +4.1.
19-year-old Murray, the 2015 Master of the Amateurs champion and who is ranked 12th nationally, finished 24th at last week’s Riversdale Cup. In an omen, this time last year, US Masters bound Amateur Curtis Luck, entered the Classic as the 12th ranked amateur in the country and earlier this week moved to the position of No.1 amateur in the world.
Last year’s winner at Royal Adelaide was Harrison Endycott from NSW who finished at 15-under (273). Endycott fired rounds of 68, 69, 67, 69 to win by four. Local Antonio Murdaca won in 2015 at 11-under. Murdaca turned professional six months later in October 2015.
Without Endycott and Murdaca a new winner will be crowed in 2017 with a score better than 10-under expected.
A total of 34 local South Australian players will do battle against 82 interstate visitors, with 30 players from Victoria, 21 New South Wales, 17 Queensland, 9 Western Australia, 2 Tasmania, 2 ACT and 1 NT.
Local hopes will rest with Lachlan Barker from Glenelg Golf Club and Matthew Lisk from The Grange.
Barker who won the Malaysian Amateur in 2016 has been in solid form winning the SA Junior Amateur Championship in January and finished tied 6th with Ben Ferguson from WA at 8-under at Riversdale.
Barker who turns 18 on 28 March and is off to Iowa State University later this year will be set for a big tournament.
Lisk who finished 3-under and tied 5th last year finishing with a final round 67 has developed his game since gaining a start in the 2015 Emirates Australian Open and will be a strong contender.
Any local victory will be hard fought however, with current US Junior Amateur Champion Min Woo Lee from Royal Fremantle in form finishing third at Riversdale at 11-under. Lee is due for another big win.
ACT’s Josh Armstrong from The Lakes Golf Club in NSW will be another looking for success in Adelaide. Having won his first ranking event, the Avondale Amateur in January, Armstrong should be right in the mix.
Others to watch are Kiran Day and Haydn Barron both from Western Australia.
Back at Royal Adelaide for a third straight year, the Classic was first played in 1985 as the SA Invitational and held for 25 years straight at Royal Adelaide until a switch to Glenelg for five years from 2010.
The Classic has produced an impressive list of former winners including Brett Ogle (NSW, 1995), Peter O’Malley (NSW, 1996), Stuart Appleby (Vic, 1992), Greg Chalmers (WA, 1994) and Brett Rumford (WA, 1996).
Five South Australian’s have won the Classic: Phil Roberts (1988), Rob Hammer (2000), Brad Moules (2010), Chris Brown (2012) and Antonio Murdaca in 2015.
Rene Erichsen Salver
The 2017 Rene Erichsen Salver also boasts a quality line-up, with ten South Australian’s doing battle against 18 interstaters.
14 players in the field hold handicaps of scratch or better with Karis Davidson from Sanctuary Cove the lowest marker off +3.1.
Eighteen-year-old Davidson currently the top ranked Australian Amateur is in superb form after taking out last week’s Riversdale Cup in Victoria. Davidson will be full of confidence in Adelaide after posting a three-under final round and making birdie on the final hole to claim the title.
Strong competition will come from Victorians Montana Strauss and Olivia Kline ranked fifth and fifteenth respectively.
18-year-old, Rebecca Kay from Coolangatta-Tweed Heads Golf Club is another to watch after having recent success at Royal Adelaide winning the Golf SA Junior Masters in January. Kay ranked third nationally, fired rounds of 70, 69, 73 to finish the 54-hole reduced event at 7-under the card.
SA’s main hopes rest with Elysia Yap from Glenelg Golf Club and Ella Adams from The Grange. Yap ranked a career high 14th in Australia finished fourth last year and has the game to challenge once again at Royal Adelaide.
And 17-year-old Adams who will be off to college in the US mid-year will be looking to perform well in her last big event on home soil.
First played in 1967, the Salver has an impressive list of former winners including 5-time winner Jane Crafter, Anne-Marie Knight, Sarah Kemp and current world number 17 Minjee Lee in 2013.
The Golf SA Amateur Classic and Rene Erichsen Salver will be played from Tuesday 21st to Friday 24th March at the Royal Adelaide Golf Club.
Play commences from 8am Tuesday and Wednesday with a cut after 36 holes. The leading 60 men plus ties and 21 women plus ties, qualify for the 3rd and 4th rounds from 8.00am Thursday and Friday.
Entry is free. Spectators are welcome.