A birdie on the first playoff hole was enough for Camilla Kim to claim the Girls’ title at the Australian School Sport 18 Years & Under Golf Championship, capping off a strong week for NSW golfers at Moonah Links Golf Club in Victoria.
Kim, who plays out of The Australian Golf Club, finished the three rounds of stroke play tied with Feiyu Xing (Peninsula-Kingswood Golf Club) at six-under-par, forcing a playoff that Kim settled with a birdie on the very first extra hole.
“It was definitely a very rewarding win,” Kim said. “I didn’t try to put too much pressure on myself last week, especially because I’ve been working a lot on my swing over the past month. I was just thinking, ‘go out there, try your best and have fun.’ So I think that’s what made it such a special win for me.”
It was a strong showing for NSW across the board. Constance Wang (Avondale Golf Club) finished tied third in the Girls’ event at two-under-par, while in the Boys’ competition Riley Lam (Pennant Hills Golf Club) finished tied second at five-under-par, edged out by Elbert Kim (Huntingdale Golf Club), who took out the Boys’ title at seven-under-par.
The Stroke Play phase of the Championship ran from Sunday 23 to Tuesday 25 August, before the field moved into Match Play from Wednesday 26 to Friday 28 August, also held at Moonah Links.
In the team standings, NSW’s boys backed up their number one seeding from Stroke Play by reaching the final of the Match Play, where they were ultimately defeated by Victoria to finish runners-up. The NSW girls, who finished second to Victoria in Stroke Play, went on to contest a bronze medal playoff against Western Australia in the Match Play and came away with the win to finish third, with Queensland finishing second. Victoria took out the Combined Match Play title overall.
NSW also had strong representation in the All-Australian Merit Team, which is selected following the conclusion of the Championship to recognise the top-performing players across the Stroke Play and Match Play events. Camilla Kim, Riley Lam, Blake Cranston, Alicia Lou and Cooper Giddings were all named in the side.
