Ollie Marsh added a further title to his resumé, while Halia Edwards scored the most significant win of her career to date at the Drummond Golf 54-Hole Junior Classic.
The two achieved their successes in contrasting fashions, with Wanneroo GC’s Marsh leading from start to finish to run away with a comfortable victory, while Edwards came from behind to post a hard-fought, one-stroke win.
Marsh brought some strong form into the three-day championship having wrapped up the West Coast Open at Busselton Golf Club immediately prior to the Junior Classic.
He was out of the traps like lightning on day one, scorching to a seven-under-par 75 at Capel GC to establish a five-stroke lead over Declan Pereira (The Vines).
When a player of Marsh’s calibre takes a commanding lead it’s always going to be an uphill struggle for the field to reel them in and so it proved as he extended his advantage on day two.
A two-under-par 70 at Dunsborough Lakes GC edged Marsh a shot further clear of the valiant Pereira, who, at -3 after a 71, was the only other player in the field under par.
Pereira’s outside hopes of overhauling his rival essentially ended on the first hole of the final round at Busselton GC, when he could only par to Marsh’s birdie to fall seven back.
From then on, Marsh was in cruise control as he mixed an eagle and a further birdie with four bogeys to close out with a level-par 72.
Pereira did have the satisfaction of carding the best round of the day, his one-under 71 seeing him complete the week at -4 for the championship, five back from Marsh but 12 clear of third-placed Riley Schafer.
Ollie Marsh’s renowned scrambling skills served him well throughout the championship
Marsh’s defence of his title marked the culmination of a splendid season that has seen him claim all three of GolfWA’s ‘Junior Majors’ — the Junior Amateur Championship of WA; the Junior Masters of WA; and the 54-Hole Junior Classic.
The 17-year-old becomes the first boy since Min Woo Lee in 2014 to win all three events in the same year, and Marsh said he was delighted to get the job done.
“Winning the West Coast Open gave me a lot of confidence and I’m really pleased with how I planned my way around the courses this week,” he told GolfWA.
“The courses, particularly Capel and here, are pretty tight off the tee but if you play them right there are a lot of birdies to be had and I think I did a good job getting my game plan right before each round.”
That meticulous mental preparation also helped Marsh avoid any complacency that can come with big overnight leads.
“It’s definitely difficult [to keep your focus],” he admitted. “Golf is very unpredictable and you never know what’s going to happen, but I’ve been playing competitive golf for 10 years now and I’ve gained a bit of experience defending a big lead.
“You’ve got to block out all the noise, not worry about your playing partners and just keep doing what you’re doing, which for me was playing aggressively to smart targets. I’m really happy with how I did that.”
Next up for Marsh will be the Nexus Advisernet Bowra & O’Dea WA Open at Mount Lawley, where he will aim to defend the Low Amateur title he won at Mandurah Country Club last year.
Edwards adds to family legacy
The girls’ championship was a much closer affair, with several players in realistic contention throughout the week.
Royal Fremantle’s Taehee Woo made the early running with an excellent one-over-par 74 at Capel to take a two-shot first-round lead ahead of Halia Edwards (Gosnells GC) and Sienna McCulloch (Joondalup CC).
Seeking a breakthrough win of her own, Woo extended her lead to three strokes after day two, a 75 at Dunsborough Lakes moving her three clear of clubmate Heejoo Cho with 18 to play.
The final day’s play at Busselton proved fascinating, with momentum shifting between Woo, Cho and Edwards over the course of the front nine.
After a nervy start, Woo’s lead had evaporated as Cho drew level and Edwards moved within one stroke as they reached the turn.
The par-four 11th proved crucial. Woo and Cho made bogey, while Edwards birdied to take the lead for the first time. She then reeled off five straight pars, and though Cho drew level after a birdie at 13, she gave it back with a dropped shot at 15.
Halia Edwards produced a composed final round to secure the girls’ title
Both bogeyed the 17th, giving Edwards a one-stroke advantage over Cho on the final tee, while a birdie for Woo moved her to within two and seeking a grandstand finish on the closing par five.
All three players had a good look at birdie before all ultimately settled for par, leaving Edwards as champion by the narrowest margin, her level-par closing 73 the best round of the week in the girls’ event.
Winning her first national ranking event represents a big step for Edwards, who was struggling emotionally having lost a much-loved family member in the build-up to the championship.
“This a very big achievement for me,” she told GolfWA. “I haven’t been playing my best lately and I haven’t won a tournament this year, so I’m very proud of myself for winning this.”
The 14-year-old state junior representative is the sister of Australian international Josiah Edwards, who himself won the boys’ title in this event back in 2022 and landed the South Australian Amateur Championship in September.
Since then, Josiah lost in a playoff at the Hainan Open in China, which Halia says means she can claim to be the family’s current number one golfer.
“He just came second in China and I just won, so it’s me [who has the bragging rights]!” she laughed.
View the final leaderboards from the event here.
View image galleries from the event here.
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