There will be a new name on the WA Men’s Amateur Championship trophy on Sunday when first-time finalists Nate Johnson and Adam Baillie go head to head.
On a gruelling day at a breezy Cottesloe Golf Club, both men emerged unscathed after testing quarter and semi-final matches against quality opposition.
It was 17-year-old Joondalup Country Club ace Johnson who was first to book his place in the final after a convincing 5&3 win over Kloden Brown (Royal Fremantle) in the afternoon semi.
This came hot on the heels of a nail-biting quarter-final clash against home-club favourite Michael Hanrahan Smith, which Johnson edged 1UP.
While that was a nip-and-tuck affair, Johnson made a fast start to his semi-final, winning the first five holes to put clear blue skies between himself and fellow teen Brown.
Although Brown settled into the match and stemmed the tide with some clutch putting, he never threatened to reel Johnson in and a rock-solid par at the 15th was enough to see the Joondalup man progress to Sunday’s showpiece.
Nate Johnson has hardly put a foot wrong in the match play rounds so far
It has already been a memorable week for Johnson, who claimed the scalp of top seed Spencer Harrison in the round of 16 having never previously gone past the round of 32.
After four rounds of excellent match play golf so far, Johnson says he feels good about his game heading into the biggest day of his career.
“It’s a big step up for me to reach the final. I got off to a good start against Kloden, which made things a lot less stressful, so I’m feeling pretty good.
“I’m not expecting a whole lot going into tomorrow. I’m just going to try to do what I have done the last few days and hopefully come out with a good result.”
Assured Baillie eases through
Arguably WA’s most consistent performer over the past six months, Adam Baillie has quietly and calmly gone about his business this week and looks in ominous form heading into the final.
On the back of two good wins yesterday, Baillie faced a potentially treacherous tie against Vines clubmate Declan Pereira in this morning’s quarter-final — only to run out a comfortable 4&2 winner.
His semi-final opponent was Queensland visitor Justin Wei, a prodigious hitter who had earlier accounted for Wanneroo’s Ollie Marsh in a tight quarter-final only decided on the 18th green.
Dark horse Wei held a one-hole lead early on but Baillie showed typical composure to draw level before pulling clear down the back stretch, reeling off three holes in a row from the 14th to go from all square to a 3&2 victory.
Adam Baillie has made serene progress to Sunday’s match play final
“This means a lot,” Baillie told GolfWA. “I got to the NSW Amateur final a few weeks ago, but it’s great to get through here, too. I’ve been working very hard on my game these past few months and I’m excited for tomorrow.
“I know Nate’s been playing really well this week, but I’ll just stay patient, do my own thing and if it happens, it happens. I don’t expect to win, but I believe that I can win, and I’m going to do everything I can to win.”
The 36-hole men’s final commences at 7.40am on Sunday morning. Spectators are very welcome.
Men’s semi-final results
Nate Johnson won 5&3 over Kloden Brown
Adam Baillie won 3&2 over Justin Wei
Men’s quarter-final results
Nate Johnson won 1UP against Michael Hanrahan Smith
Kloden Brown won 1UP against Mason Burr
Adam Baillie won 4&2 against Declan Pereira
Justin Wei won 1UP against Ollie Marsh
All the results from the men’s and women’s match play rounds can be viewed here.
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