The state’s most prestigious amateur golf titles are on the line once more, as Cottesloe Golf Club hosts the 2026 WA Amateur Championships from February 18-22.
The concurrent men’s and women’s championships will be staged at Cottesloe for the first time since 2016, when the titles went to Freddie Lee and Jess Whitting.
Two stroke play qualifying rounds take place on Wednesday and Thursday with the top 16 women and top 32 men progressing to the knockout match play draw.
Last year’s event at Sun City saw two first-time winners enter the state champions’ enclosure, with Sheridan Clancy and Silvester Tan (both pictured above) claiming narrow victories in the respective women’s and men’s finals.
However, with Tan having switched to the pro ranks and Clancy an absentee due to US college golf commitments, there will be no back-to-back champions crowned at Cottesloe GC.
As always, the unpredictable nature of match play golf makes it notoriously difficult to forecast winners. However, with a number of established WA state golfers unable to compete this year, the field seems as wide open as it has ever been.
Long-time WA state captain — and 2025 men’s runner-up — Connor Fewkes is an absentee after largely winding down his competitive golfing career, while 2023 runner-up Tom Addy is also sitting this one out.
In the women’s competition, state representatives Katie Seol (Cottesloe) and Amie Phobubpa (Joondalup CC) are missing due to respective injury and overseas travel. Both would have been amongst the favourites had they teed it up.
Cottesloe GC has undergone a number of modifications since last hosting the championship but its chief defence lies in its undulating design, which features numerous changes in elevation from tee to green.
Accuracy off the tee will be important, but good distance control to manage approach shots into the elevated or lowered greens will be paramount to good scoring.
Featuring several drivable par fours (for the men, at least) and par-fives reachable in two, there is great potential for some swashbuckling match play golf encounters, while the wind — so often a factor at Cottesloe — could have a pivotal impact on the outcome of the championship.
While any of the 32 men and 16 women who progress to the match play rounds are theoretically in with a chance of glory, here we outline some of the key contenders for both the women’s and men’s competitions, as well as identifying a few dark horses who could cause some upsets along the way.
Women’s championship contenders
Ruby Cotton (Mount Lawley): An excellent runner-up spot at the 2025 Bowra & O’Dea Women’s Classic and a solid start to 2026 in national ranking events shows that 20-year-old Cotton can mix it up with Australia’s best on her day. Runner-up in the women’s championship in 2024, she could well go one better this year.
Amanda Gan (Royal Fremantle): After injury ravaged the second half of her 2025 season, Gan only returned to competitive golf in January after a six-month lay-off and has played just two tournaments so far this year. On her day one of WA’s standout performers, that lack of competition is the biggest question mark over the 2024 champion’s chances here.
Kortni Houston (Lakelands CC): A remarkable start to the year saw the 16-year-old win the Webex Perth Junior event thanks to an albatross on the final hole, while she also finished strongly to claim a top-10 finish at February’s Australian Amateur. A win this week would represent a major step forward in her career, but she has the game and confidence to prosper.
Valerie Khuu (Mount Lawley): Still only 18 despite being at the top of the WA amateur game for several years, Khuu is an old head on young shoulders and has the temperament required to go deep this week. While she hasn’t always produced what she’s capable of in this event, Khuu is a class act who will feel she has as good a chance as anyone.
Isabella Leniartek (Royal Perth): A prolific winner at junior level on WA soil, as well as a canny match player, it’s perhaps surprising that Leniartek has only reached the semi-final stage at the WA Amateur once, back in 2022. Straight off the tee and tidy around the greens, if Leniartek brings her A-Game she ought to do very well.
Dark horses: Heejoo Cho, Georgia Garner-Dart, Sienna McCulloch, Dempsey Brown
Men’s championship contenders
Adam Baillie (The Vines): Has grown in stature since his run to the semi-finals of last year’s championship and is now firmly established as one of WA’s most consistent players in national ranking events. Cool and composed, with a sure touch on and around the greens, Baillie has the game — and current form — to go the distance.
George Barclay (Joondalup CC): Few can match his consistency from tee to green and if his putter gets hot Barclay could easily add a second WA Men’s title to the one he claimed in 2024. Hasn’t been at his very best for the past few months but remains a very tricky match play opponent.
Josiah Edwards (Gosnells): Runner-up in this event in 2022, a win here would be a big statement of intent for Edwards as he targets the biggest prizes in Australian amateur golf. The fearless 18-year-old has every shot in the bag and, for many, will be the player to beat.
Spencer Harrison (Royal Perth): Australia’s number one ranked junior in 2025, Australian international Harrison is still only 17, but has the game and poise of a veteran. Even-tempered and creative, he has all the goods to go one better than his runner-up finish in 2024.
Ollie Marsh (Wanneroo): A winner of this event at the age of 15 in 2023, Marsh’s renowned short game and putting make him a dangerous foe for anyone in the match play draw. Having already won two national ranking junior events in 2026, he brings strong form into the week and should go well.
Dark horses: Nate Johnson, Declan Pereira, Jordan Jung, Bailey Hampson, Michael Hanrahan Smith
This year’s event will once again incorporate the Mid-Amateur Championship for golfers over the age of 30, which will be decided over the 36 holes of stroke play.
Stephen Lord (Cottesloe) defends his men’s title, although last year’s women’s champion Kristie Smith (Collier Park) is not in the field.
Follow this year’s action at our dedicated website hub.
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