After two rounds of competition at the 2025 Harvey Norman ACT Junior Championship, the leaderboards are tight in both the boys and girls divisions. The contrasting weather conditions over the first two days have added to the challenge, with players battling sweltering heat on Day one and cold, windy conditions on Day two.
Boys Division
Catalina’s Bill Eppelstun, with a two-round total of three-under par (69-72) leads by three. His consistent play under challenging conditions has him heading into the third round.
The quiet South Coast 17-year-old noted his scrambling on day two proving the difference.
“I played really well on day one, made a few birdies and took advantage of the good conditions. Today was so different, it was like a different golf course, but I scrambled really really well. Par was a good score today and I just found a way to grind out a few pars and I’m very happy to be in this position. I feel sorry for Max having to be disqualified, but I’ll just play on my own game tomorrow and see where that takes me”.
Eppelstun was referring to the one time 36-Hole leader Max Bedford-Brown (Cheltenham, Vic), who was disqualified on Tuesday afternoon after confirming with officials he had practiced on the course after the opening round on Monday. “It’s my first major tournament, I didn’t realise you weren’t allowed to practice on the course” the 17-year-old said. “I only played the course for the first time on Sunday, so we had an early finish and was sitting in the hotel room with not much to do so went out and played the back nine. I feel gutted to be leading and be disqualified, but it’s a good lesson to learn and I know never to do that again”.
The battle for second place is intense, with five players tied at even par:
- Ti Fox (Concord GC): 70-74
- Toby Farrar (The Australian GC): 71-73
- Cooper Giddings (Dubbo GC): 68-76
- Bo Chung (Concord GC): 72-72
- William Eldridge (Avondale GC): 69-75
Giddings’ strong opening round of 68 was undone by a difficult second round in the wind, while Chung displayed remarkable steadiness with back-to-back 72s, even if the second one was slightly boring with the excitement of a hole-in-one.
Girls Division
Kortni Houston from Gungahlin Lakes Golf Club leads the girls’ field at 1-over-par (71-76). Houston managed to hold her nerve in the blustery conditions on Day 2 to maintain her position at the top.
The lead should have been two, with Houston also making a major mistake on day two. Sitting at the scoring table convinced she had shot a two over par 75, Houston made an error with her scorecard, mistakenly signing for a three over par 76 instead! “I had a few three-putts today, and sort of lost track on what holes they were on. I knew I had two over, but when it added up to three over I thought maybe I missed a hole somewhere. I’m lucky the mistake was signing for one-shot higher and not one-shot lower, otherwise I would have been disqualified! It’s a big lesson to learn and will really motivate me to go out tomorrow and get that shot back”.
Just one shot behind is fellow Gungahlin Lakes golfer Sophia Chau (71-77), who remains firmly in contention in outright second.
- 3rd: Kiara Connolly-Jackson (Kooindah Waters GC): 76-77 (+7)
- T4th: Alicia Ludi (Sanctuary Cove GC): 79-75 (+8)
- T4th: Constance Wang (Strathfield GC): 77-77 (+8)
With two rounds to play, the girls’ leaderboard remains tightly packed, setting the stage for an exciting finish.
Looking Ahead
The third round tees off early tomorrow morning, with the first groups scheduled at 6:45 am and the final groups heading out by 8:55 am. Players will need to adapt quickly to the conditions and maintain focus as the competition heats up.
Live Leaderboard: Leaderboard
Full Tee Times: Tour Tee Times
