Queenslander Grace Rho defeated Mount Lawley’s Ruby Cotton in a playoff to win the Bowra & O’Dea 72-Hole Women’s Classic today.
On a fascinating day’s play at Lake Karrinyup Country Club, momentum swung one way then another as several players jockeyed for position at the top of the leaderboard.
Starting the day two strokes adrift of leader Katie Seol (Cottesloe GC), Rho made a decisive start, birdieing her first two holes to throw down the gauntlet to her rivals.
Seol, however, bogeyed her opening two holes and dropped two more shots on six and seven to fall off the pace. Despite a strong back nine, she left herself with just too much to do and ultimately had to settle for third place, two shots off the playoff.
Thirteen-year-old Victorian Fuyu Yang also made a bright start, birdieing the first to briefly hold the championship lead before fading on the back nine and finishing fourth.
Playing immediately ahead of Rho, Yang and Seol, WA state golfer Cotton made a steady start, mixing up one birdie with two bogeys to reach the turn in 38.
This left her two strokes of Rho with nine to play, but Cotton produced some magic, first holing out from a greenside bunker for a birdie on 10 before picking up another shot at the next.
Ruby Cotton holes out from the sand on the 10th during a thrilling final-day charge
Rho, meanwhile, double bogeyed the 10th to lose the outright lead, but bounced back with three straight birdies to reestablish her authority at the top of the leaderboard.
Cotton showed great resilience to overcome dropped shots of her own at 12 and 13 with birdies at 14 and 16, but a birdie for Rho at 16 gave her a one-stroke advantage, which she took to the final tee.
Up ahead, Cotton made a gritty par to set a clubhouse target after an excellent round of 73 (one under par) and when Rho left a pitch short and two-putted for a bogey to also card 73, the event headed to a playoff for the second year running.
There, a nervy Cotton pushed her tee shot right into the trees, while Rho split the fairway to heap the pressure on her rival.
Cotton could only scuttle a low recovery shot from the trees to the left of the green and was unable to get up and down. Rho, meanwhile, found the heart of the green with her approach and two-putted for par to wrap up the title.
Rho makes most of WA excursion
It marked the culmination of a productive trip for the Royal Queensland GC member, who plays off a +6.6 handicap and improved markedly as the week went.
Having never played Lake Karrinyup before, 18-year-old Rho opened with a six-over-par 80 before steadying the ship with a second-round 76. She then produced a best-of-the-week 72 in her third round to lay the foundations for her success.
Grace Rho delivered a masterclass in driving throughout the week
“This course has a lot of places where you have to hit it in the right spot to be able to attack, and over time I got the hang of that a little bit more,” Rho told GolfWA.
“My tee shots were really consistent all week, so I felt very calm on the tee during the playoff and I hit a good drive to give myself a great chance.
“I enjoyed playing alongside Ruby. She had a really good week, so I’m happy I was able to get it done.”
Following on from her recent win at the Bunbury Bowl, Cotton’s game is trending upwards after a difficult start to the year and the 19-year-old says she is taking plenty of positives away with her.
“I was very consistent all week and it feels good to shoot under the card for the final round to give myself a chance,” she said.
“It’s all about experience. I’ve only been in one playoff before, so to be in that position is a positive for me and I’m really proud of how I played here.”
In the concurrent 54-hole tournaments, Nadine Smith (WAGC) closed her account for the week with an 82 to romp to a comprehensive victory in the Mid-Amateur Championship.
Lake Karrinyup’s Carmen Palframan was a very popular winner of the Senior competition as she posted a four-stroke victory ahead of clubmate Yi Cui to successfully defend the title she won at The Western Australian Golf Club in 2024.
View all the final leaderboards here.
Joe O’Dea with Mid-Am champion Nadine Smith (left) and Senior champion Carmen Palframan
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