Michael Lucas secured a famous ‘three-peat’, while Lynn Delahey claimed victory on debut at the Senior Amateur Championships of WA.
The pair closed out the championships in contrasting fashions at Wanneroo Golf Club, with Delahey completing a wire-to-wire victory in the women’s event and Lucas pinching the men’s crown after a closing birdie blitz.
Having only just become eligible to play in senior golf, Wanneroo Ladies’ Captain Delahey made the most of home-club advantage to record a two-stroke win ahead of clubmate Jocelyn Hutchinson.
On a hot and sultry final day, Delahey looked set for a comfortable time of it as she extended her two-stroke overnight advantage to five by the turn.
She maintained this cushion until the 16th, at which point playing partner Hutchinson clawed back three strokes in two holes after going par-birdie to Delahey’s bogey-bogey.
Needing a grandstand finish, Hutchinson could only match Delahey’s closing bogey to fall two shots short of a memorable fight back.
For Delahey, winning the state seniors’ championship on her first attempt came as something of a surprise.
“I didn’t have too many expectations coming into the week, so to win is awesome. I just can’t believe it!” she told GolfWA.
Having finished as runner-up in Wanneroo GC’s Ladies’ Club Championship five times, Delahey was delighted to have found a way to win in WA’s biggest senior event.
“I don’t usually play very well in these sorts of things — I always choke at the end,” she continued.
“I lost out to Jocelyn at the club championship last year, but I had a different strategy to help me stay calm out there today, and it worked.”
‘Three-peat’ for fast-finishing Lucas
An extraordinary conclusion to the men’s championship saw Harvey Golf Club’s Michael Lucas come from behind to clinch the title for the third year running.
Hartfield CC’s Paul Chappell — the 2016 champion — held a three-stroke lead over Lucas heading into the final round, and clung onto that advantage throughout the front nine.
However, a double-bogey for Chappell at the 1st (his 10th) really put a cat amongst the pigeons, with Royal Perth duo Andrew Brown and Peter Bennett — playing in the group ahead — closing in fast.
A further double bogey at the par-three 4th saw Chappell fall into a share of top spot with Brown, and when the Royal Perth man birdied the next two holes, he leapt into a two-shot lead of his own.
Unfortunately for Brown, bunker trouble contributed to a critical double bogey on the par-four 7th, and he dropped another shot at the short 8th to leave the door ajar — with Lucas taking full advantage.
Michael Lucas has annexed the state senior men’s title for the past three years
Despite trailing Brown by four and Chappell by two with three holes remaining, Lucas kept his hopes alive with a sensational chip-in for birdie at the par-four 7th (his 16th).
He maintained his momentum with another at the par-three 8th to move ahead of playing partner Chappell, and made it three birdies in a row at the last, where he learned to his astonishment that the title was his.
“I heard that Andrew and Peter were going well ahead of me, and I was two shots behind Paul with three holes to go, so I thought I’d need a miracle at that stage,” Lucas told GolfWA.
“I finished birdie-birdie-birdie, and all of a sudden, I’m hearing people congratulating me. The guys in front stumbled right at the end, and it was a complete surprise when I found out I’d won.
“I can’t really put it into words. For me, it’s completely amazing because I felt like I was so far behind.”
Lucas’s two-stroke margin of victory over Brown and Chappell gives him a fourth senior men’s state championship, having first lifted the trophy in 2021.
View the final leaderboards here.
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