Harvey Golf Club’s Michael Lucas and NSW visitor Cath Stolz claimed the Senior Amateur Championship of WA titles in contrasting fashions at Rockingham Golf Club.
Despite struggling with COVID throughout the 54-hole championship, Shelly Beach GC member Stolz was in contention from day one and pulled away from the chasing pack to establish a five-stroke lead going into the final round.
On a scorching afternoon at Rockingham, Stolz fired a joint best-of-the-week 79 to close out the championship, extending her winning margin to seven strokes from Denmark Country Club’s Marion Nelson, with Jo Jones (Bunbury GC) a shot further back in third.
Although drained by the experience, Stolz was delighted by the manner of her victory in just her second appearance at the championship after making her debut in 2023.
“I played some of the worst golf I’d played in a while on that first day, but luckily I was able to work things out on the range on the second day and things improved from there,” she told GolfWA.
“Despite not feeling my best, I really enjoyed the experience. The course is great, the greens rolled true and there were some tricky pin positions out there today. It was a lot of fun.”
Cath Stolz battled COVID but was still able to record a fine victory
Lucas edges Chappell in playoff thriller
For Harvey GC’s Michael Lucas, the route to victory was much more treacherous. Leading by one stroke overnight from Paul Chappell Hartfield GC, with Royal Perth’s David Alexander four further adrift, the final round was something of a cat-and-mouse affair.
Lucas and Chappell traded blows throughout with the lead changing hands several times before a double bogey at the par-five 13th saw Chappell’s one-shot advantage handed back to Lucas.
A further bogey for Chappell at 16 left his rival two clear with two holes to play, but he refused to yield and birdied the final two holes to force a playoff when Lucas could only par his way home.
The first extra hole played out in a classic match play style, with Lucas leaving his approach short of the green before Chappell confidently found the putting surface.
Lucas, however, produced a masterful chip to four feet while Chappell left his first attempt six feet short and missed the subsequent par putt. This allowed Lucas to knock in his own par putt and claim his second Men’s WA Senior Amateur title, three years after his first.
Michael Lucas edged a close contest to win his second Men’s Senior WA Amateur crown
“I played pretty solid golf all three days, putted well and felt confident throughout,” Lucas told GolfWA. “I was marking Paul’s card today and trying not to get in a match play mindset, which was hard to do at times.”
Of his match-winning chip on the first playoff hole, Lucas added: “I was hoping not to flub it and nipped it perfectly. Under pressure, it was a pretty good shot!”
Third place, meanwhile, went to the fast-finishing Andrew Brown of Royal Perth, who carded a joint best-of-the-week round of 70 (-2) to miss the playoff by a single stroke at +5 for the championship.
As the highest-placed WA golfers, Lucas and Marion Nelson will now represent WA at the Australian Senior Amateur Championship in South Australia this October. GolfWA will cover their entry fees and make a contribution towards their travel costs.
You can view all the results from the WA Senior Amateur here.
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