The opening day of matchplay at the 2026 NSW Amateur Championship delivered thrilling finishes, with seven matches requiring extra holes to determine winners at Oatlands Golf Club.
The tournament’s unique format saw men complete two rounds of matchplay while women contested their first round, setting the stage for tomorrow’s quarter-finals before both fields advance to semi-final action in the afternoon.
The day’s most dramatic moment came on the 21st hole, where top seed Jye Halls (New South Wales) suffered a stunning upset to Adam Baillie (The Vines) in the round of 16. The women’s draw saw its own upset, with top seed Amelia Whinney falling to Sahara Hillman-Varma 2&1. Camilla Kim (The Australian) also needed extra holes, outlasting Ruby Cotton (Mt Lawley) on the 21st hole in another marathon encounter.
“I’ve never felt more zesty,” Kim said, still buzzing from her victory.
“On 17, I had this 25-footer, and Ruby had a much shorter birdie putt. I just hit my putt, and it was going in, and I fist pumped – never fist bumped in my life – and it just went in.”
Several players stamped their authority on the championship with convincing victories. Lara Thomsen (The Australian) defeated Zoe Arcus (The Australian) 7&6 in one of the day’s most commanding performances.
“I went out there and played really solid,” Thomsen said.
“I didn’t really do much wrong, so I was happy to get the win. I struggled a little bit on the back nine yesterday, but I managed to get into a playoff with a good birdie on the last hole. I came out here with a fresh mind, and yeah, I played really solid.”
In the men’s round of 32, Taylor Barr (Sanctuary Cove) dispatched Joseph Serhan (St. Michaels) 6&5, while Callum Sharp (Avondale) defeated Harry Atkinson (Pymble) 5&3.
Greg Holmes (Royal Birkdale) impressed with a 4&3 victory over Nihal Gaundar (Stonecutters Ridge) in the round of 16, and Ti Fox (Concord) advanced to the quarter-finals with a 3&2 victory over Sharp, though he admitted to a sluggish start to his day.
“I definitely wanted to go back to sleep, I didn’t feel the greatest,” Fox said.
“But I finished strong with four birdies in the last five holes. Then in the second match against Cal Sharp, who’s a good bloke, I got up 2 and 3 early and held that all day.”
Fox, who lost in last year’s semi-finals, has his sights set higher this time.
“I want to get to the finals. I lost in the semis to Deco last year, so it’d be good to get to the finals.”
Ella Scaysbrook kept local hopes alive with a 3&1 victory over teammate Rachel Lee, though she downplayed championship talk.
“Me and Rachel are really good friends and teammates, so it was a friendly match,” Scaysbrook said.
“I’m not really thinking about winning at the moment, just going match by match. But obviously it’d be really nice to get the home state championship.”
Scaysbrook credited recent adjustments with her coach for her solid form, noting she’s in the middle of a demanding six-week stretch of competition.
“I’m kind of just trying to pace myself a little bit,” she said.
“Everything at the moment’s really good. Probably putting, I would say, I’m putting decent at the moment.”
Related Links:
2026 NSW Amateur Matchplay Leaderboard
Halls, Whinney Claim Stroke Play Honours at NSW Amateur
