Bowra & O'Dea 72 Hole Classic
ELLIOTT CONTINUES TO DOMINATE IN WA
Victorian Breanna Elliott has won the Bowra & O'Dea 72 Hole Women's Classic at Lake Karrinyup Country Club.
Australian No 1 Elliott shot a 4-under par 70 on the final day to claim her second victory this year in Western Australian having taken out the WA State Amateur only a few weeks previous.
Elliott finished the national ranking event at 7-under par, three better local Whitney Hillier.
"I'm relieved!" says Elliott.
"I was up early, but then struggled for a couple holes and Whitney Hillier was playing very well so I was relieved to break away in the end".
"I'm very thankful for the support I've received while playing here in WA". "I'm starting to feel like a local".
Joondalup's Hillier carded a 3-under par in her final round to finish in second.
With Hillier's solid performances in recent national ranking events she has been selected to represent Australia at the Queen Sirikit Cup in Singapore in late April.
"A weight has been taken off my shoulders" says Hillier. "I wanted to play well today not only to finish strong, but also to earn my spot on the Australian team going to Singapore".
"I've also been working very hard over the past year in preparation for Q-School later this year".
Overnight co-leader Ashley Ona from Queensland finished in tied 4th after a final round of 7-over par 81.
ELLIOTT JOINS ONA ATOP THE LEADERBOARD AFTER DAY 2
Victoria's Breanna Elliott now has a share of the lead with Queensland's Ashley Ona at the Bowra & O'Dea 72 Hole Women's Classic at Lake Karrinyup Country Club.
Australian Number 1 Elliott, who recently took out the WA State Amateur Championship, finished the day with a 3-under par 71 to become co-leader with fellow National squad member Ashley Ona. Overnight leader Ona continued her solid form to shoot an even par 74 to put her at 3-under par for the tournament with Elliott.
Local and Australian Number 3 Whitney Hillier from Joondalup fired a blistering 7-under par on the first 9 holes which included 6 consecutive birdies to open the round. Hillier's charge was good enough to finish the day with a tournament best 6-under par 68 and 2 shots off the lead.
The final round gets underway Wednesday morning.
ONA LEADS BOWRA & O'DEA WOMEN'S CLASSIC AFTER DAY 1
In blustery conditions, Queenslander Ashley Ona leads the 2012 Bowra & O'Dea 72 Hole Women's Classic at Lake Karrinyup Country Club.
National Squad member Ona was able to take a 1 stroke lead on Day 1 after shooting 69 and 76 to leave her 3-under par.
Singapore's Charlotte Thomas sits only 1 back after shooting opening rounds of 72 and 74.
Australian Number 1 Breanna Elliott from Victoria finished with scores of 76 and 72, while Ellen Davies-Graham from Queensland shot 73 and 75 to both be 3 off the lead after Day 1.
"There was opportunity to shoot low scores,? says Ona. "The fairways were in great condition and the greens were running true?.
"I'm happy with the way I played today. I've mapped out the course and it seems to be working for me so I'll just continue to stick to the game plan?.
In the 54 hole event, Peta Roberts of Lake Karrinyup and Kate Goddard of Binningup share the lead.
Round 3 gets underway Tuesday morning.
AUSTRALIA'S BEST AMATEURS TAKE ON LAKE KARRINYUP
Over 80 players will be showcasing their talents at the 2012 Bowra & O'Dea Women's Classic at Lake Karrinyup Country Club from April 2 - 4.
The event will feature 7 of the top 10 Australian Women including Number 1 Breanna Elliott, Number 3 Whitney Hillier, Number 4 Grace Lennon and Number 5 Charlotte Thomas.
Elliott will be looking to continue her strong form after her recent victory at the WA State Amateur Championship over fellow Victorian Grace Lennon in the final. Lennon is also coming off a recent win at the Victorian Women's Stroke Play.
Similarly, Joondalup's Whitney Hillier will be hoping to continue her hot form having won the Riversdale Cup and the Lake Macquarie Amateur Championship, both National Ranking Events earlier this year.
Singapore's Charlotte Thomas is competing after a recent victory at the inaugural ANNIKA Invitational at Mission Hills and also took out the Victorian Amateur last December.
The Bowra & O'Dea Women's 72 Hole Classic is a National Ranking Event played over 72 Holes of Stroke Play. Day one will see the leading amateur players in the country play 36 holes with the final two rounds being played over the final two days.
History
The Western Australian Women's Amateur 72 Hole Classic started in 1981.
The Women's Golf Board of the time decided that our players needed more competition with top players from around the Nation so with the help of a very generous sponsor invited 2 top players from each state to attend the event. Now many interstate and overseas players attend each year as it is a National Ranking Event.
The tournament is held at Lake Karrinyup Country Club with the exception of one year that it was unavailable and Royal Fremantle allowed us the use of their course.
The Gross trophy was donated by Barbara and the late Laurie Kiernan from Lake Karrinyup Country Club and the Nett trophy was donated by the late Mrs Jane Vincent in 1992.
A 54 Hole Event was added in 1999 to encourage more locals to participate and then in 2009 a Mid Amateur event was added to the 72 hole stroke and a Seniors' Event added to the 54 hole event.
This is all still being done today thanks to the generosity of Bowra & O'Dea Funeral Directors and the participants still say it is the best 72 Hole Stroke in Australia.
A Sponsors Day precedes the event on the Sunday which enables WGWA to invite and thank all of our generous sponsors and also to give the players a chance to play the course before the event.
