The South Coast Junior Masters took place at Catalina Club over the weekend, with Harrison Preece (Pymble) and Savannah Webb (Stonecutters Ridge) claiming impressive victories in the Boys Open and Girls Open divisions.
Starting the day one shot behind the overnight leaders, Harrison Preece (Pymble) got off to a slow start with three bogeys in his first four holes. He bounced back with a birdie on the fifth and, after nine holes, found himself just two shots behind the leaders.
Preece birdied the 12th and 14th holes and, with just four holes to play, had taken the outright lead, with six players within one shot of him. Birdies on 16 and 18 allowed Preece to pull away from the field and claim a four-shot victory with a final-round one-under-par 71, finishing with a two-round total of even par.
“It was a tough start today. I was three over early, but I got it back on the back nine and was happy to have gotten the job done,” Preece said.
“My putter was a bit cold this weekend, but I managed to hole a few putts coming in, which definitely helped,” he said.
Joint overnight leader Cooper Holman from Yarrawonga Mulwala Golf Club cruised to a 10-shot victory in the Boys 13 Years and Under division. Rounds of 72 and 76 saw Holman finish with a two-round total of four-over-par and claim his third age-group victory of the year.
In the Boys 14 and 15 Years division, joint overnight leader Beau Cain (Cronulla) also held on to take out his age group. Cain carded rounds of 72 and 76 for a two-round total of four-over-par, finishing one shot clear of Wollongong’s Samuel Cheoi.
Consistency was the key for Savannah Webb as she claimed victory in the Girls Open division at Catalina. The Stonecutters Ridge representative started the day two shots behind the overnight leader but quickly moved ahead with 14 consecutive pars to begin her round, building a 10-shot lead.
A lone bogey on the 15th was immediately followed by a birdie on the 16th, before Webb closed with two pars to card a very steady even-par 72. She held on to her 10-shot lead to finish with a two-round total of four-over-par and punched her ticket to the Bonville Champions Trophy for the second consecutive year.
“I’m feeling pretty good. I made a lot of pars today. I definitely left a few out there, but I’m still happy with how I played,” Webb said.
“I haven’t had the best year so far, so I wasn’t expecting much out of today. I just wanted to have a good round and do my best,” she said.
Strathfield’s Violette Seo took out the Girls 13 Years and Under division with rounds of 79 and 87, finishing with a two-round total of 22-over-par. It was Seo’s first age-group victory at a Junior Masters event.
Ivy Zhang from St Michaels finished in solo second in the Girls Open division, while also claiming victory in the Girls 14 and 15 Years division. Zhang carded rounds of 82 and 76 for a two-round total of 14-over-par, finishing nine shots clear of the field.
