27 Oct 2022 | Amateur golf |

Order of Merit honours awarded

by Dane Heverin

The 2022 Golf Australia Order of Merit winners.

The 2022 Golf Australia Order of Merit winners have been confirmed with Queensland’s Justice Bosio securing her maiden Women’s OOM title and South Australian Jack Buchanan winning the Men’s OOM for a second straight year.

Queenslander Sarah Hammett took out the Girls’ OOM, the Boys’ OOM was won by West Australian Joseph Buttress and the Senior OOM returned from its two year Covid-19 pandemic induced hiatus with Victorians Sue Wooster and Greg Rhodes crowned the Senior Women’s and Men’s OOM champions.

The men's and women's Order of Merit winners will receive the inaugural Ross Herbert Trophies. Ross was a PGA Member for 20 years and the inaugural head coach of the Australian Institute of Sport golf program. Sadly, Ross passed away in 2001 at the age of 42, however remains very much a part of his family's day to day lives.

Ross' family said, "Ross pursued the highest ideals of personal integrity as a tour player, coach, friend, colleague, father and husband. He had a great passion and enthusiasm for the game of golf and for life and we are comforted to know that Ross is still remembered for his wonderful and inspirational work.

"We are honoured that Golf Australia would like to keep Ross' memory alive by presenting these trophies to the national Order of Merit winners, given Ross' passion for high-performance golf. Justice and Jack have had tremendous results over the last 12-months, and we look forward to watching their golfing journeys with interest."

Buchanan’s second OOM crown came off the back of a breakthrough win at the South Australian Amateur following a consistent season that nestled runner up finishes at the Victorian Amateur, the NSW Amateur, the South Australian Amateur and, most notably, the Australian Amateur.

The 20-year-old from Glenelg Golf Club has earned selection in the Australian team for next month’s Nomura Cup - the Asia-Pacific Amateur Golf Team Championship - in the Philippines as a result.

Harrison Crowe finished runner-up in the Men’s OOM courtesy of his victories at the Victorian Amateur, the Australian Master of the Amateurs, the NSW Amateur and the NSW Open, while fellow New South Welshman Chris Fan took third place.

Bosio has been a prolific junior and the 18-year-old found greater consistency at the open age level to triumph in her home state twice - at the Queensland Stroke Play and the Keperra Bowl - as well as finishing runner-up at the Australian Amateur and the Avondale Amateur.

The Caboolture member earned the top Order of Merit points available at the Australian Amateur due to New Zealand’s Fiona Xu claiming a wire-to-wire victory, and her victory in the Keperra Bowl - the last counting event of the season for the women - jumped her into top spot ahead of South Australian Caitlin Peirce.

Peirce, a Karrie Webb Scholarship recipient this year, also dominated at home with wins in the Rene Erichsen Salver, and both the stroke play and match play sections of the South Australian Amateur.

Bosio and Peirce will represent Australia at the Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific in Thailand next week due to their stellar performances, while Victorian Jeneath Wong rounded out the placings in the Women’s OOM with Hammett finishing fourth in the open age as well as winning the Girls’ title.

Hammett, the 15-year-old sensation, will also be in action in Thailand after her breakout year that included victories at the ACT Junior Week of Golf, the South Australian Junior Masters, the NSW Junior Championship and the Katherine Kirk Classic.

The Emerald Lakes member also won the NSW Amateur Championship, was runner-up at the Australian Junior Amateur and made a big statement with a pair of top-ten finishes at the Ladies European Tour’s Australian Women’s Classic Bonville and the Women’s NSW Open.

Last year’s champion Haruhi Nakatini finished runner-up to Hammett, while Yuuki Takada ensured that it was an all-Queensland top-three.

Buttress also chalked up four wins in counting events - at the Tasmanian Junior Amateur, the Tasmanian Junior Masters, the Cobra Puma Junior Championship and the Victorian Junior Open.

The 17-year-old West Australian Golf Club member also came runner-up at the Australian Junior Amateur and the School Sport Australia 18 Years & Under Championship, while Queenslanders Dujuan Snyman and Billy Dowling rounded out the top-three in the standings.

The accolades keep coming for Wooster who claimed her third straight Australian Senior Amateur crown at Launceston Golf Club last week to accompany her wins at the 2021 Victorian Senior Amateur and this year’s Western Australian Senior Amateur.

Fellow Victorian Nadene Gole won four events to finish second and New South Wales’ Jacqui Morgan won three times to come third.

In the Senior Men’s, Rhodes won four times this year, but only three of those triumphs - The National Senior Masters, CTHGC National Seniors Match Play and the South Australian Senior Amateur - counted in his best five results.

Novocastrian Ken Brewer came second with three wins and Queenslander Ian Frost had four top-three finishes to complete the podium.

The GA Order of Merit provides players the opportunity to track their performance based on results from particular Australian events, and is also used for various event exemption categories. Events in each state are selected as OOM events, encouraging Australian based golfers to travel within their state, or interstate, to accumulate points towards a season total. The GA OOM is calculated via a points system, which awards points according to the player’s finishing position in an event.

Men’s OOM

  1. Jack Buchanan (SA)

  2. Harrison Crowe (NSW)

  3. Chris Fan (NSW)

Women’s OOM

  1. Justice Bosio (QLD)

  2. Caitlin Peirce (SA)

  3. Jeneath Wong (VIC)

Boys’ OOM

  1. Joseph Buttress (WA)

  2. Dujuan Snyman (QLD)

  3. Billy Dowling (QLD)

Girls’ OOM

  1. Sarah Hammett (QLD)

  2. Haruhi Nakatini (QLD)

  3. Yuuki Takada (QLD)

Senior Men’s OOM

  1. Greg Rhodes (VIC)

  2. Ken Brewer (NSW)

  3. Ian Frost (QLD)

Senior Women’s OOM

  1. Sue Wooster (VIC)

  2. Nadene Gole (VIC)

  3. Jacqui Morgan (NSW)

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