2009 Year in Review: Australian Amateurs
BY Anthony Powter | 02 Jan 2010
The year started off with Mark Anderson winning the NEC Master of the Amateurs from fellow American, Ricky Fowler, on the third play-off hole after both players finished the tournament proper at 4-under-par at Yarra Yarra Golf Club in Melbourne.
Third round leader, Australian Daniel Beckmann, was unlucky not to join Fowler and Anderson in the play-off after firing a final round 2-over-par 74 to fall short by a single shot.
Ryan McCarthy came within a stroke of making a three-way play-off at the Asia-Pacific Open Amateur Golf Championship in Mission Hills, China in January, after finishing the tournament at 2-over-par with rounds of 72-77-70-71. McCarthy would later win his state open title winning the Tasmanian Open with a 14-under-par total at Launceston Golf Club, six strokes from his nearest rival and fellow Tasmanian, Kalem Richardson. Then April, McCarthy made it a triple, winning the Tasmanian Amateur Championship, defeating Craig Hancock, 6&4.
Scott Arnold then won the Lake Macquarie Amateur in style following a closing round 67, to finish at 15-under-par for a three-stroke victory over local, Brendan Smith. Julia Boland collected the women’s title and later added that with her win at the Victorian Women’s Stroke Play title.
At the NSW Amateur Championship in February, Michael Smyth used his local knowledge around his home layout to win the NSW Amateur Championship over Scotland’s Ross Kellett 2&1 at The Australian Golf Club in Sydney’s east. Medalist honours were shared between Jason Scrivener, Kyle Grant and Lincoln Tighe, after all three finished the four round qualification series at 5-under-par.
At the Riversdale Cup in March, Jordan Sherratt dominated the field as he cruised to his first National Trial event title winning at 21-under-par, five shots from nearest rival and defending champion, Scott Arnold. Ashlee Dewhurst took out the women’s title over New Zealand’s Emily Perry.
The Australian Stroke Play Championship at Royal Queensland Golf Club in March resulted in Bryden Macpherson adding to his rapidly growing list of victories after the Victorian finished equal with Jin Jeong at 7-under-par. A birdie on the first play-off hole handed the Stroke title to Macpherson.
Scott Arnold then secured one of his biggest titles in his amateur career when he won the Australian Men’s Amateur Championship over Daniel Beckmann 3&1. Arnold then moved to be the number one ranked amateur in the world.
The Australian Amateur title added to Arnold’s impressive list of amateur achievements that included 2006 Hong Kong Amateur, the 2008 Riversdale Cup and the 2009 Lake Macquarie Amateur a runner-up finish at the 2007 St Andrews Links Trophy, before making his professional debut on the European Tour at The European Open in May.
Julia Boland took out the Australian Stroke Play Championship, whilst 17-year-old Justine Lee became one of the youngest ever to win the Australian Amateur Championship with a 1 up over Taipei’s ,Wendy Tsai.
A fortnight later, Lee then took out the West Australian 72-hole stroke championship in a two-hole playoff over local hope, Whitney Hillier.
Jason Scrivener then collected his first major amateur title with his win at the 2009 Western Australian Amateur in April at Cottesloe Golf Club, defeating John Marino, 4&3. Scrivener would later following that with a top-10 finish at the Scratch Players Championship in the US.
Daniel Beckmann withstood a determined Tim Hart to collect his second National Trial event with a win at the Mandurah Easter Amateur in Western Australia in April. Beckman finished at 14-under-par to claim another National Trial Event title after winning the Federal Amateur back in 2007 and to make amends after finishing runner-up to Scott Arnold a few week’s earlier at the Australian Amateur Championship.
Daniel Nisbet cruised to a wire-to-wire victory at the 2009 Golf SA Amateur Classic at Royal Adelaide to claim his maiden National Trial event title in what would be a record run for the talented 19-year-old.
In one of the strongest runs in Australian Amateur golf, Nisbet would go onto record three further wins at home with the Queensland Amateur Stroke, the Queensland Amateur and the Keperra Bowl, before winning his maiden international title at the Hong Kong Open Amateur in November.
Added to his runner-up finish at the Sahalee Players Championship in the US in July, a 4th place finish at the St Andrews Links Championship in the UK and making the match-play segment at the British Amateur, Nisbet’s performances, both at home and abroad, arguably made him one of the standout Australian male amateurs for the year.
Bryden Macpherson, winner of the 2009 Australian Amateur Stroke title in March, played peerless golf to win the New Zealand Amateur Stroke Play title in April, three strokes ahead of South Africa’s, Nicol Van Wyk. Macpherson in the process secured the unique honour of being the current holder of both the Australian and New Zealand Amateur Stroke Play championships titles.
Matt Jager then secured the New Zealand Amateur Championship with a 6&5 victory over South Africa’s, Nicol Van Wyk, at Titirangi Golf Club in Auckland. It was Jager’s first national title and second international win, after winning the Tournament of International Jockey Club of Rosario in Argentina in September 2008. The win also sees Jager receiving an invitation to next month’s New Zealand Open in Queenstown.
In Club Pennants in May, for the second time in as many years Moore Park won the Sydney Major Pennant flag after defeating Mona Vale, 4 1/2 to 2 1/2, whilst Commonwealth Golf Club won the 2009 Division 1 VGA Pennant Final 4&3 over defending champions, Victoria.
In their first international hit out for the year, Matt Jager in June finished the best of the Australians at the Scottish Stroke Play Championship at Murcar Links, just north of Aberdeen at 14th.
The next week three bogeys over the last nine holes at the St Andrews Links Trophy potentially cost Daniel Nisbet a shot at claiming the championship title, as he finished in a tie for 4th position at 1-over-par and three behind eventual winner, Ireland’s Alan Dunbar.
In June, Matt Jager could not have asked for a better start for his opening round of the British Amateur Championship in Liverpool than with a course record 66 at Formby Golf Club.
Jager and Brendan Smith finished the stroke qualification rounds in a tie for 4th and along with three other Australians, Bryden Macpherson, Daniel Nisbet and Lincoln Tighe, made it through at Formby and West Lancashire Golf Clubs in Liverpool, with Jager finishing the best of the Aussies taking England’s John Carroll to the wire in the 3rd round, before eventually going down in the match on the 20th hole.
It was a chilling blow for Jager in a championship that had shaped up nicely for him and had promised so much.
A win in defending his Federal Amateur in October had Jager back in the winner’s circle and he would end the year out nicely with a tied second finish at the Nedlans Masters, a professional event in Western Australia, as well as retain his position inside the world’s top-10 amateurs and as Australia’s top-ranked amateur.
In the US, Victorian Ben Weatherly secured in July a top-32 finish in the prized North and South Amateur Championship at Pinehurst Resort in North Carolina.
A week after Tarquin Macmanus and Luke Bleumink finished the best of the Australians in a tie for 6th at the Players Amateur in Bluffton, South Carolina.
Macmanus, who is based with the University of Arizona, would then go onto his second top-10 finish at a major US amateur tournament in as many starts after the Queenslander finished in a tie for 3rd at the Southern Amateur Championship at the Colonial Country Club in Tennessee.
Another US based Australian, Matthew Giles, made his Nationwide Tour debut in July with the Children’s Hospital Invitational in Columbus, Ohio. Giles received a PING All-America honourable mention by the Golf Coaches Association of America and was one of University of Southern California’s main players finishing the 2008-09 US Collegiate season as the team’s low scoring player. In November, Giles was the only amateur to make the cut at the JBWere Masters in Melbourne.
Texas Tech based Matt Smith was the lone Australian to qualify for the US Amateur in August at Southern Hills Country Club and Cedar Ridge after Smith was the 45th qualifier and progressed to the top-32 of the Championship.
Just seven Australians attempted this year to qualify for the championship with Smith taking medallist honours at sectional qualifying in Ralls Course, Texas. Jason Scrivener went ever so close in Connecticut, finishing the first alternative in his qualification round at Wampanoag Country Club, whilst Tarquin MacManus was another who was unlucky, narrowly missing in Tucson, Arizona.
Jordan Sherratt won the Barrett Amateur in Canada and later posted a 3rd place finish at the Asian Amateur, with Matt Giles also recording a 6th place result.
Back home in the Australian Interstate Series in September, the Victorian Men’s interstate team made it two from two after winning the 2009 Interstate Series at the Peninsula Country Club in Victoria, whilst NSW took out the Ladies series.
A player of the future to follow is Michael Willams, who won the Jack Newton International, featured strongly at the Keperra Bowl, had a 3rd place finish at the Cameron Corbette Vase in Scotland and made the top-32 at the Australian Amateur back in March.
As the year ended, Victorian Kieran Pratt was making his mark with three wins in as many starts after winning The Dunes Medal in December to collect his maiden National Trial event title and followed that with wins at the Victorian Medal and the Victorian Amateur Championship. Pratt’s world ranking jumped to 55 and he heads into the new year as the player to beat.
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