Australian Amateur Championships dominated by foreigners
A typically spectacular view at the NSW Golf Club – photo NSW Golf Club
The respective men’s and women’s Australian Amateur Championships have reached the halfway stage at the New South Wales and St Michaels Golf Clubs on the coastline of Sydney’s eastern suburbs and it is a case of Internationals leading the way in both fields.
Amongst the men, New Zealand’s Kazuma Kobori and Singapore’s Ryan Ang share the lead at 10 under par, one ahead of New Zealand’s Sam Jones and Ireland’s Robert Moran while in the women’s field, it is a case of Japan dominating the top of the leaderboard with Mamika Shinchi and Yuna Araki leading by one over Saki Baba with another shot back to Mizuki Hashimoto alone in 4th place.
The leading Australians through 36 holes in the men’s event are Perth’s Gareth Steyn and Jack Buchanan of Adelaide who are three shots from the lead along with Queensland’s Kai Komulainen of the Gold Coast.
The leading Australian women are Kirra St Laurent from the Gold Coast’s Links Hope Island and Annika Rathbone from the Australian Golf Club, that pair tied for 5th with New Zealand’s Amy Im and three shots from the leaders.
The leading 64 players and ties have made it through to the final 36 holes in the men’s event with 70 players remaining in their field while for the women 37 players made the top 36 and ties to contest the remainder of the championship.
With the opening 36 holes having been played at the NSW and St Michael’s layouts the event now focuses on the outstanding New South Wales Golf Club to decide the respective winners.
