Victoria are the first state to hoist the Australian Interstate Team Matches trophy in the event’s new mixed gender format after a 5.5-2.5 win over traditional rivals South Australia in Thursday afternoon’s final at Sorrento Golf Club.

The home side finished top of the table and they showed why with consistent performances across the board in the final as co-captain Andre Lautee, Konomi Matsumoto, Toby Walker, Amelia Harris and Jasper Stubbs claimed the five victories which secured the title.

Lautee led from the front and earned a 1-up win over Jack Buchanan with a stunning hole-out eagle to resounding applause by the strong local crowd gathered around the final hole. 

“Off the club I knew it was going to be close and then I could tell it went in by the applause so that was pretty nice,” Lautee said.

“It hasn’t really sunk in. I always knew that Jack’s a great player and it was going to be a tough match. I’m just really stoked that the team got up.

“I’m super proud of them. We did super well the last two days. Everyone performed and I’m super proud of all the boys and girls who played this week.

“We definitely believed going into the week that we could win. Obviously there were some strong teams but we always knew that we could do this.”

Fellow captain Keeley Marx shared the same sentiments as Lautee, but she made special mention of 13-year-old Amelia Harris, who won both her matches on Thursday, and 15-year-old Molly McLean, who won in the morning against WA and had a nail-biting loss in the final.

“It’s honestly insane the ability they have. They played so well this week, everyone on our team did, and it’s an amazing effort to get this win,” Marx said.

To honour tradition, the men’s and women’s trophies are also awarded with South Australia taking out the men’s for the first time in 39 years and Victoria claiming the women’s after last winning that title in 2017.

Scores from every match in the final

Final leaderboard