25 Jan 2022 | Amateur golf |
NSW Am: Greer, Hammett claim qualifying spots
by Golf NSW
Josh Greer and Sarah Hammett have claimed the major prizes after the Medal and Strokeplay rounds of the NSW Amateur Championship at The Links Shell Cove and Wollongong Golf Clubs.
Western Australian Greer was all but flawless around The Links Shell Cove this morning, adding an eight-under 63 to go with his opening seven-under-par effort on day one at Wollongong to claim medallist honours by five shots.
Glenelg’s Jack Buchanan finished in second place at ten under, while Avondale’s Chris Fan produced the day’s best round, carding an eight-under 63 late in the day to finish in third place at nine-under-par.
Fan’s withering final round proved more than enough to pick up the NSW State Champion of Club Champions honour as well.
Mollymook’s Jye Halls, Pelican Waters’ Joel Stahlhut and Jye Pickin rounded out the top six qualifiers, the trio finishing at seven-under.
Pickin, whose course-record 10-under par effort at The Links Shell Cove was a PB, couldn’t find the magic two days running and carded a three-over 73.
Greer was the man of the moment though and was especially pleased with how he had played over the last two days. His 15 under total is easily one of his better performances in recent years.
“It was weird; everyone was telling me how easy it was, then I saw the course and thought I just had to be as aggressive as I could.
“I didn’t try to protect anything, make as many birdies as I could.
“I;’ve been bogey-free a couple of times before; I dont normally make many bogeys, but I dont make this many birdies either,” he grinned.
Medallist honours also guaranteed Greer a place in the Golf Challenge NSW Open, to be played in Mid March.
“I knew coming into this week that if I won the Medal or the match play, I was in the NSW Open. Now I’m in. Hopefully, I’ll get a chance to win both.
A playoff was required in the Women’s Strokeplay to decide the champion after Queensland’s Sarah Hammett and south Australian Cailtin Pierce couldn’t be separated following the regulation 36 holes.
In the end, it was Hammett who slotted a birdie on the third playoff hole to claim the win and add another title to an already growing trophy cabinet.
Hammett, who held the overnight lead alongside fellow maroon Justice Bosio, found the going a little tougher on the city course but held on to card a respectable two over 73 in the challenging afternoon breeze, while Pierce shot the round of the day, an impressive one-under effort.
Already a two-time winner this year at the Harvey Norman ACT week of Golf and the South Australian Junior Masters this year, the win was the 15-year-old Queenslander’s first senior-level victory.
“It feels unreal,”an elated Hammett gushed after the playoff. “I was extremely nervous, I knew it was going to be tough. She (caitlin) is such a good player.” “There were plenty of butterflies, they were getting to me.” Despite the butterflies, Hammett held her nerve long enough when it was needed. “I had a similar putt on the first (playoff hole) so I knew where it was going to break and it went straight in.”
The win also assures Hammett a start in the 2022 Women’s NSW Open Coolangatta -Tweed Heads in late April. It will be an other first for the grade 10 student; getting to test her game against some of the finest players on the Ladies European Tour.
“Yeah, it will be good to see how my game compares against them,” she smiled.