Josiah Edwards held his nerve to win a two-hole playoff and secure the coveted Riversdale Cup.
The tournament, played at Riversdale Golf Club in Victoria, is one of the oldest and most prestigious in Australian amateur golf, having first been contested in 1896.
Past winners of the men’s championship include Robert Allenby, Jarrod Moseley and Aaron Baddeley, and Edwards looked a shoo-in to join them as he led after 36 and 54 holes.
Indeed, Gosnells member Edwards held a four-stroke lead heading into the final day after rounds of 67, 64 and 69 had moved him to -16 for the championship.
His nearest challenger was fellow WA state golfer Michael Hanrahan Smith (Cottesloe GC), but it was Victorian Hamish Farquharson who really took the fight to Edwards on the final day.
Farquharson – who started the day six strokes off Edwards’ lead – was solid as a rock to move into contention after a level-par first nine holes.
Edwards, meanwhile, reached the turn in 40 strokes after four bogeys, briefly allowing Hanrahan Smith to share the lead after the Cottesloe man traded two early bogeys with two birdies.
Hanraham Smith even took the lead after another Edwards bogey on the 10th, but that was short-lived as he bogeyed the 11th, and Farquharson put his foot on the gas to take pole position.
The Metropolitan Golf Club member made three birdies in four holes from the 12th to take a one-shot lead over Edwards in what was shaping up to be a grandstand finish.
After both players parred the 16th, Edwards clawed level with a crucial birdie on the par-three 17th and when both birdied the last, they were headed to a playoff.
There, at the second extra hole, Edwards got the job done to add the Riversdale Cup to his other national ranking event titles, the Port Phillip Open Amateur and South Australian Amateur Championship, won in 2025.
Hanrahan Smith, meanwhile, closed with a 73 to finish outright 4th on -11 for the championship, three shots off the playoff, while George Barclay (Joondalup CC) was T33rd.
The concurrent women’s event was won by Victorian Jazy Roberts, with WA trio Amie Phobubpa, Valerie Khuu and Kortni Houston all finishing in the top 10.
View the final leaderboards here.
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