23 Nov 2020 | Amateur golf |
Wilson, Dobbelaar triumph in Tas Am
by Martin Blake
Mackenzie Wilson won her home-state championship for the first time, while Louis Dobbelaar prolonged his winning habit by taking out the Tasmanian Amateur championships at Mowbray today.
Royal Hobart club champion Wilson, 17, dominated the women’s event, taking a four-shot lead into today’s final round and ultimately winning by 10 from Sarah Johnstone, another Tasmanian who plays out of Ulverstone Golf Club.
Wilson’s 74-74-70-70 left her at even par for the 72 holes, a personal best but a single shot away from her target for the week of getting into red numbers.
She is previously a winner of the Tasmanian Junior Masters and the Judy Elphinstone 54-hole tournament in 2019, but this was the biggest victory for Wilson, a year 11 student at Hobart’s Rosny College.
“I was a little nervous going into today, but not very,” she said. “This tournament, it’s all just come together. I didn’t hit it as well as yesterday, but I was steady.”
She aims to pick up a college scholarship in the United States after completing her amateur career.
Wilson took up golf as a six-year-old when her father Kier took her to a clinic at Tasmania Golf Club, which is her home club. It was her Dad who was on her bag today at Mowbray, where her grandmother and auntie are members and a course that she is familiar with.
Dobbelaar, 19, has previously won two Queensland Amateurs, the New Zealand Amateur and the Port Phillip Amateur in Melbourne making him one of Australia’s best rising male players.
A protégé of Cameron Smith’s coach Grant Field, he is keen to turn professional soon but unsure what 2021 holds. This is because the Australian pro tournaments have been cancelled and the overseas tour schools are unclear as well, due to the pandemic.
“Nothing’s set in stone as far as events and tour schools,” he said. “After that, I’ll be able to set more of a plan. I’m getting closer.”
Dobbelaar was five shots ahead at the start of the day and carded a one-under par 71 to go with his earlier rounds of 67-65-70. It left him eight shots ahead of last year’s winner, another Queenslander Will Florimo, the runner-up.
“I only had one bogey over the first 36, and that helps,” said Dobbelaar. “The rest of the week, I flatlined a little bit in terms of birdies but I still played some really good golf. I’ll take that.”
The Queenslander had set himself a target of reaching 20 under par. “I was chasing to get to 20 but to have a comfortable lead was all I had in mind, really,” he said.
“There’s definitely areas that have improved. As a result of not having many tournaments you can’t pin all your results on a tournament. But I consider that I’ve improved.”
He was impressed by what’s been done at Mowbray. “They do really well for themselves. Technically they’ve only got one employed greenkeeper and the rest are volunteers. Considering that, it’s really impressive.”
In the Tasmanian Senior Masters, legendary Lindy Goggin closed out the women’s section with by far the best round of the week, a 78, to win by 13 shots from Cheryl Richards of Mowbray.
In the men’s masters, Robbie Berne (Prospect Vale) won by seven shots over the 54-hole event.
Men's Tasmanian Amateur result
Women's Tasmanian Amateur result
Join our newsletter
Get weekly updates on news, golf tips and access to partner promotions.