A strong field of 102 players will contest the 2015 South Australian Men’s & Women’s Amateur Championship partnered by Host Plus.
The first round of stroke play will be held on Monday 28 September at Tea Tree Gully Golf Club, while the second and final qualifying round will be played at The Grange Golf Club on Tuesday 29 September.
A field of 82 players will contest the Men’s SA Medal Event. The leading 32 qualifiers after 36 holes will continue on to contest the SA Amateur Championship Match Play at Kooyonga Golf Club with the final being held on Sunday 4 October.
This year’s Championship promises to be a tightly contested affair with 13 interstate players and one International adding considerable depth to a field which features 27 players boasting a handicap of scratch or better.
The field is wide-openwith SA’s leading player Antonio Murdaca unavailable trying to defend his Asia-Pacific Amateur title in Hong Kong 1-4 October.
Among the favorites for this year’s title is Jack Williams from the Grange Golf Club, winner in 2012 and 2014.Williams who is currently ranked 38 in Australia and 786th in the world is in good form after placing 8th at the Mandurah Amateur earlier this month.
Others to watch are locals Mathew Lisk (The Grange), Will Somerfield (Kooyonga) and last years medallist Scott Ready from Flagstaff Hill.
A field of 20 players will contest the Women’s Championship, with Jenny Lee from Glenelg Golf Club starting favorite. Lee is currently ranked number 8 in the Nation and 228 in the World Rankings and would be looking for a solid result to gain confidence prior to competing in the first stage of European Tour Qualifying school in Morocco in December.
Chizuru Ueda(The Lakes – NSW), Robyn Choi (RACV Royal Pines – QLD)and Sophie Cusack (Bonnie Doon – NSW) are the main interstate contenders.
The intriguing player in the field is SA’s Ebony Heard now a member of Goldfields in WA. Heard is a three time SA Amateur Champion and with a form line unknown is another player to watch.
Last year’s runner up from The Grange, Kristalle Blum will also be in the mix after recently returning from playing a series of events in the UK.
The women’s field contest the Medal rounds over 36 holes, before the leading 8 players progress through to the Amateur Championship match-play rounds at Kooyonga.
For all Championship draws and click here for the tournament event page on the Golf SA website.
About the Golf SA Amateur Championship
The SA Medal and Amateur is the pre-eminent individual championship for an amateur golfer in the State.
The Men’s Amateur Championship has an unbroken history dating back to the inception of the South Australian Golf Association (SAGA) in 1905. There were two periods of recess (1914-1918 World War I & 1940-1945 World War II). Records indicate that the Amateur Championship was played from 1900-1904, although not under the auspice of SAGA. The name of the Amateur Champion is placed on the SAGA Honour Board.
The Women’s Amateur Championship dates back to 1902 when it was played as the Ladies’ State Championship. It was conducted under the auspices of SAGA from 1905 to 1929 when the South Australian Ladies Golf Union (SALGU) was formed as a separate entity. There were two periods of recess (1914-1918 World War I & 1940-1945 World War II).
In 2009, Golf SA combined the Men’s & Women’s Medal & Amateur Championships into one consolidated event. The Medal is a stroke event that leads to qualification for the Amateur – a match play final – where the winner is declared the South Australian Amateur Champion.
In 2015, the leading male and female SA Country Players after 36 Holes Stroke Play will be declared the SA Country Champions.
For a full list of previous Championship winners, click here for the tournament event page on the Golf SA website