Perth junior Hannah Green won her maiden Australian ranking title after blowing away a top class field by eight strokes at the Bowra & O Dea Women’s Classic played at Lake Karrinyup Country Club. Starting the final round with a three stroke lead over Mandurah s world no 11 junior Hayley Bettencourt, Mount Lawley member Green extended her lead with three birdies on the opening four holes and never looked back. After another birdie on the par-5 seventh, Green had increased her lead to eight strokes making the win a near formality. Currently number 2 in the Australian girls rankings, the 16 year old played near flawless golf all week and her final round was no exception, sealing an emphatic win with a 5-under par 69, 13-under par for the championship. Green becomes only the sixth West Australian to win the prestigious title and joins an honourable list of winners including Australian Major champion Karrie Webb. Hayley Bettencourt who started the day three strokes behind Green, faded badly after an opening hole birdie, finishing with a 4-over par 78 to slip back to fourth position overall, 12 strokes behind the winner. Australian no 6, Cathleen Santoso (NSW) capped off a solid week with a 2-under par 72 final round to finish in second place. Recent WA women’s amateur runner up, Tatiana Wijaya finished strongly with a 4-under par 70 to surge into outright third place. The performances of both West Australians will be a welcome sight for the WA State team who are looking to win their third consecutive Australian Women’s Interstate Teams Championship starting on Tuesday in Tasmania.
Author: Golf WA