Two Queenslanders – Godiva Kim and Wesley Hinton – have prevailed after two days of gruelling match play to be crowned this year’s Queensland Amateur champions.
Played at the stunning Bribie Island Golf Club, and supported by the City of Moreton Bay, both players were made to work for the trophy, encountering tough opponents at all stages after qualifying via the 72 holes of stroke play earlier in the week.
Kim, who plays her golf at RACV Royal Pines Resort Golf Club, finished third in the stroke play and took 23 holes to defeat Mimi Thomsen (NSW) in the round of 16 yesterday.
The Queenslander made headlines last year when she won the Ford Women’s NSW Open Regional Qualifying Event at Bathurst against the professionals, and she showed that class with an 8&7 win over Jordyn Deen (NSW) n the quarterfinals.
The two women who finished above her in the stroke play, fellow Queenslander Hannah Reeves and medallist Ella Scaysbrook (NSW), proved to be Kim’s final opponents.
The match with Reeves was another close one, Kim eventually triumphing 2&1.
It was not surprise to anyone that Scaysbrook made the final. The US Amateur semi-finalist blitzed the stroke play to let the entire field know that her form was not temporary.
The decider proved to be a see-sawing affair, but Kim was able to hold her composure and defeat the championship favourite 2&1.
“I’ve definitely got some things I need to solve at the driving range later,” Kim joked. “Other than that I think I held on pretty tightly, so it ended up being a great result.
The golfing gods were on Kim’s side today, with a putt she self-described as “absolutely whacked” that luckily found the bottom of the cup, and a sliced drive that ricocheted into the fairway.
“I’d just like to thank my dad who was very stressed, but he’s happy now so that’s good,” she said.
In the men’s event, Hinton finished in a share of ninth at the end of the stroke play championship.
He beat interstaters Kade Bryant (SA) 2&1 and then Tom Addy 3&2 in Thursday’s matches before coming against another interstate visitor in Joshua Fuller (NSW) in his semi-final match. It was another close affair with the local eventually running out a 2&1 winner.
It wasn’t until the final that Hinton came up against a fellow Queenslander, with his opponent Lachlan Jones, from The Brisbane Golf Club, carrying plenty of momentum after knocking off men’s medallist Lincoln Morgan in the semi-final.
While hailing from the same state, the final was still a cross town grudge match, with Hinton calling Keperra Golf Club home.
The men’s final proved to be just as close as the women’s, with Hinton describing how he was unable to pull away throughout the match.
“It definitely had its ups and downs,” he said. “It was pretty stressful out there.
“My lead never got to more than two up the whole day, so we were neck and neck for a lot of the day, and so I’m pretty stoked to come away up.”
It took all 18 holes to separate the pair, but Hinton was able to finish with a 1-up advantage, crediting his love for match play and how it allows him to play with freedom for the win.
“I feel like it frees me up a little bit. You can go at flags, be a bit more aggressive with certain putts and you’ve only got to beat one person in match play,” he said.”
The Queensland Amateur is Hinton’s biggest win to date, and continues a strong year which has included being undefeated at the Australian Interstate Teams Matches in April.
Full scores.
