Kirsten Rudgeley and Hayden Hopewell have taken the crown as 2020 Amateur Champions of Western Australia at Melville Glades.

This is the third title for 19-year-old Rudgeley and a second consecutively. She is the second female to ever win the Eileen Dawson Stroke play and Amateur Championship titles, but the first to break a course record during her win.

Royal Fremantle’s Hopewell, 18, was victorious on the 36th hole winning the men’s final one up after a see-sawing tussle against Mount Lawley’s Jordan Jung.

The Sir Charles Gairdner trophy was awarded to No. 1 seed Haydn Barron, narrowly winning the stroke play element over Hopewell by one.

Rudgeley defeated state teammate and great friend Kathryn Norris 3 & 2 in the 36-hole match play women’s final, making four consecutive birdies on the front nine to set the tone.

“My game has changed since my win last year,” she said later. “I feel stronger, more confident and making the distance. The parts of my game I have been working on seem to be coming together. I never used to be able to make birdies like I can now.”

Jung and Hopewell were evenly matched, with Jung at one point reaching three up. Coming up the 36th hole square, Hopewell hit his approach shot to a metre from the flag to set up the win. Jung found the greenside trap then thinned his bunker shot across the green and into another bunker.

“I told myself to stay patient, get a couple of birdies I could change the flow,’’ said Hopewell. “Eventually, I did on the last hole.”

SCORES