This week’s WA Open is shaping up to the biggest in years with a host of top names set to tee it up at Mount Lawley GC.
Taking place from October 16-19, the Nexus Advisernet Bowra & O’Dea WA Open will feature one of the strongest fields of any pro golf event in Western Australia for many years, with Marc Leishman the headline act.
The LIV Golf superstar and Aussie Olympian will become the highest profile player to contest the WA Open since the days of Greg Norman and Ian Baker-Finch in the 1980s, and will start the event as hot favourite.
Beyond Leishman, though, there are plenty of players to get excited about, including a very strong contingent of Western Australians.
At the tail-end of a year that saw him win the New Zealand Open, partner Phil Mickelson at The Open Championship and become familiar to millions of golf fans through his fascinating back-story, Ryan Peake will attract plenty of attention.
Having earned exempt status on the DP World Tour and Asian Tours through his strong season on the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia, the sight of Peake competing at his home state open may become a much rarer thing in coming years.
Winner of this event in 2016 whilst still an amateur, Korn Ferry Tour member Curtis Luck will be targeting a second WA Open title after going so close at Mandurah Country Club in 2024.
In contention throughout the week, Luck ultimately missed out on the title-deciding playoff by a single stroke and will hope to go one better this time around as he continues his rehabilitation from serious injury.
Curtis Luck went close to winning a second WA Open title in 2024
Other past champions in the field include Brett Rumford and Braden Becker, while Hayden Hopewell, who claimed the title in 2020 whilst still an amateur, returns from his season on the European Challenge Tour to throw his hat into the ring.
Intriguingly, multiple WA Open champion Stephen Leaney will also return to this year’s event after a break of several years.
Now aged 56, the Busselton man is synonymous with the event having collected the Roy Paxton Bowl on six occasions between 1991 (as an amateur) and 2017 — a record he shares with WA golfing icon Terry Gale.
Also look out for Haydn Barron, who is looking to get his game into shape prior to a projected return to the European Challenge Tour in 2026.
A past WA state skipper, ‘Baz’ has a best finish of second place at the WA Open, achieved in 2020. The affable big-hitter has been out of action for the past six months with injury and would be a very popular winner.
Home-club hopefuls
With the WA Open returning to Mount Lawley for the first time since 2018 next week, a couple of home-club favourites will be targeting a big week in front of their fellow members.
Following his excellent rookie year on the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia, hopes are high that Jordan Doull can put up a strong title challenge on home turf.
The 26-year-old earned his first tour win at the Webex Players Series Perth event at Royal Fremantle in January and his intimate knowledge of the course should offer him a significant advantage.
Home advantage could also be a key factor for Kirsten Rudgeley as she bids to make the cut at the WA Open for the second time in her career.
The tournament invite — now a leading light on the Ladies European Tour — is still the only woman to play all four rounds at a WA Open, a feat she achieved back in 2019.
Jeff Guan won the Terry Gale Cup for Low Amateur at the 2022 WA Open
Finally, it’s heartening to see Jeff Guan (pictured above) in the WA Open field as he continues his comeback from a devastating eye injury sustained at a pro-am last September.
The promising New South Welshman, 21, will be assured of a rousing reception wherever he plays and Mount Lawley will be no exception.
Guan has history with the WA Open, winning the Terry Gale Cup for Low Amateur at The Western Australian Golf Club in 2022.
The Nexus Advisernet Bowra & O’Dea WA Open takes place at Mount Lawley Golf Club from October 16-19. Entry is free. Full details on the event here.
You can tune in to live coverage of the championship on Foxtel and Kayo over the closing two rounds
Saturday, October 19: 1pm – 4pm (AWST)
Sunday, October 20: 11am – 4pm (AWST)
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