State representatives Ollie Marsh and Katie Seol produced dominant displays to land the Junior Masters of WA titles at Wanneroo GC.
Fresh from victory at last week’s Junior Amateur Championships of WA, home-club favourite Marsh was hotly tipped here and led the field after a 71 in his first round.
He had to dig deep to overcome a determined chasing pack on day two, however, before eventually pulling clear on the back nine to post a four-stroke victory.
Seol, meanwhile, had opened her account with a one-over 74 to share the first-round lead with Aileen Sirait but left the field in her wake on day two as she, too, cruised to a four-shot win.
Marsh marches on
Marsh warmed up for the Junior Masters in fine style by firing two rounds in the low 60s at Wanneroo GC over the weekend.
He didn’t hit quite the same high notes over the 36-hole championship, however, and had to rely on his prodigious short game skills to keep his nose in front on day one.
His one-under-par 71 was enough for the overnight lead, but didn’t leave much room for comfort with Liam Sullivan (72), Nate Johnson (73), Mason Burr (74) and Declan Pereira (75) all snapping at his heels.
Two birdies in his opening three holes on day two suggested Marsh might have been in the mood to run away with it, but he sandwiched a further birdie between a bogey and a double to reach the turn at level par.
Ollie Marsh’s renowned short game helped him keep the field at bay
While Sullivan’s challenge petered out, Johnson and Burr kept the pressure on playing partner Marsh with solid golf of their own to remain only two back at the turn.
Out in the group ahead, meanwhile, Pereira also piled on the pressure with an eagle on nine to reach the turn in 34 and close the gap to Marsh to just two shots.
However, bogeys for Pereira on 12 and 14 halted his charge and a birdie for Marsh on 10 left him firmly in the driving seat.
With Johnson and Burr unable to rein him in, even a double bogey at 15 couldn’t erode Marsh’s momentum and he picked up a birdie at 17 to close with a level-par 72 to win by four from Johnson, Pereira and Burr.
“‘m really happy with how I handled myself out there,” Marsh told GolfWA at the conclusion of his round.
“I probably wasn’t on my best game today but I scrambled well, made a lot of pars and even though I hit a couple of doubles I remained patient and stuck to my gameplan.”
Despite admitting to feeling the weight of expectation of delivering at his home club, Marsh says he used the pressure to his advantage.
“The experience you gain when playing under pressure is really valuable,” he added. “We’re out here to win golf tournaments, so it’s really a privilege to be in these situations and that’s what keeps me motivated.”
Marsh’s win means he has now won this event twice to add to his two WA Boys’ Amateur titles and the WA Men’s Amateur crown he won in 2023.
Seol throws down the gauntlet
Having only moved to Perth from Adelaide in late 2024, Katie Seol has swiftly identified herself as a serious talent.
The 13-year-old won the Nedlands Junior Masters in March before making the WA teams for both the junior and open interstate series.
The manner of her victory here suggests she’ll be a force to be reckoned with for years to come, as, playing alongside co-leader Aileen Sirait on day two, Seol was out of the blocks like lightning.
Four birdies in her opening six holes set a blistering pace that Sirait – even with two birdies of her own – just couldn’t keep pace with.
Cool, calm and collected: Katie Seol is a force to be reckoned with in WA junior golf
Seol reached five-under for her round on the 12th – establishing a six-shot lead – and even a double bogey on 16 proved inconsequential as she held on for three-under-par 70 and a four-shot win from Gosnells’ Sirait.
Defending champion Isabella Leniartek (Royal Perth) closed with a fine 71 to claim outright third place, three strokes further back, but a first-round 80 ultimately left her with too much to do.
“I’m really happy to get the win,” Seol told GolfWA. “I didn’t do a lot wrong today and holed a lot of putts, which made all the difference.”
View the final leaderboards here.
View the Day 1 image gallery here.
View the Day 2 image gallery here.
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