A gruelling 36-hole day of championship golf in sweltering Sydney heat has produced four deserving finalists at the NSW Amateur Matchplay Championship at Oatlands Golf Club.
The day’s closest contest came in the women’s draw, where 13-year-old Sophie Tong from The Australian Golf Club held her nerve to defeat Concord’s Alicia Luo 1up in a match that went the distance. The young talent will face clubmate Lara Thomsen in an all-Australian GC final after Thomsen also prevailed 1up against Camilla Kim in another nail-biting semifinal.
In the men’s draw, The Vines’ Adam Baillie secured his spot in the final with a 2&1 victory over Concord’s Ti Fox, while The Vintage Golf Club’s Joshua Fuller edged past Keperra’s Ben Dowling 2up to set up tomorrow’s championship match.
The quarterfinals earlier in the day set the stage for the drama to follow. Tong had posted a commanding 3&1 victory over Concord’s Sahara Hillman-Varma, while Thomsen powered past Pacific’s Allegra De Guzman 4&2 to advance. Baillie opened his account with a 4&3 triumph over Royal Birkdale’s Greg Holmes, while Fuller posted a convincing 5&3 win over The Grange’s Blair Christie in the morning session.
Adam Baillie arrives in the final with confidence built on consistent ball-striking throughout the week.
“I’ve been driving it really well and just being in play has helped me enormously,” Baillie said after his semifinal victory.
“I’ve been playing pretty good. I think it was always coming, but I wasn’t necessarily expecting it yet.”
The Vines representative, who has tasted success on the professional circuit but is yet to claim a major amateur title, is treating the final as another challenge to embrace.
“I’ll go out there and do the same thing I’ve been doing, just hitting every shot as it comes,” he said.
“If I can get across the line, I’ll feel good.”
Joshua Fuller comes into the final off the back of a confidence-boosting tied-third finish at the Avondale Amateur last week, though he admits the week started shakily.
“I was four or five over early on the front nine in the first round, and then grinded it out,” Fuller revealed.
“I didn’t hit many fairways yesterday but just scrambled for a few wins, which was nice, and today I played a lot better.”
The Vintage golfer has found patience to be his greatest asset in the testing Oatlands conditions.
“The wind’s been up a little bit, so trusting the wind and just staying patient around the greens. They’re very slopey and slippery,” he said.
For Fuller, victory would represent his first win in several years and his biggest amateur triumph to date.
In the women’s final, Sophie Tong has defied expectations simply by reaching the championship match at just 13 years of age.
“I really didn’t expect it,” she admitted.
“I’m really lucky. Everyone played really well in the competition, and it was really hot today; it’s hard playing 36 holes.”
Supported by her parents throughout the week, Tong has impressed with her course management and maturity beyond her years.
“Sometimes when I have some longer clubs, I’m just not going for the greens when there’s bunkers,” she explained.
“I’ve got some notes in my yardage book that I just usually follow. Just take it hole by hole.”
Facing Tong in tomorrow’s final will be fellow Australian GC member Lara Thomsen, fresh out of school and competing in her first NSW Amateur final.
“Best I’ve ever done was getting into the semis at Belmont, and this year I’m in my first ever final, which I’m really excited for,” Thomsen said after her marathon semifinal against Kim that finished on the 18th hole.
Thomsen, who will have her coach on the bag tomorrow, has found her iron play to be the key to her success this week, despite some struggles off the tee in today’s semifinal.
“The driver was struggling today. I was just trying to keep it in play on some of my tee shots, but I got the job done,” she said.
For the promising young player, a victory would validate months of dedicated practice.
“I’ve been fresh out of school, been practising really hard, and it would be really good to see all the work pay off,” Thomsen said.
Sunday’s Finals:
Women: Sophie Tong (The Australian GC) v Lara Thomsen (The Australian GC)
Men: Adam Baillie (The Vines GC) v Joshua Fuller (The Vintage GC)
Related Links:
2026 NSW Amateur Matchplay Results
Opening Day of Matchplay Delivers Drama at NSW Amateur