KK Park and Blake Windred with former Prime Minister John Howard (Golf NSW photo)
Blake Windred had three shots to make up at the start of the day, but there’s a reason he is the second-highest ranked Australian in the world. Windred’s final-round 68 was just enough to pull off an Avondale Amateur title defense and secure his first major amateur victory of 2019.
Windred, No. 11 in the
Golfweek/AmateurGolf.com World Ranking and the highest-ranked player in the field, finished 72 holes at Avondale Golf Club in Pymble, Australia with a 9-under 275 total. His final-round 68 included four birdies and a bogey.
A breakthrough was obviously coming for the 21-year-old after a quarterfinal run at the Australian Men’s Amateur and a top-3 finish at the Master of the Amateurs.
“Last year I hit it awful and scrapped it around to get the win, but this year, it was better,” Windred said. “I could’ve holed more putts this week, which is usually my strength, but I’m so happy with the way I hung in there. I’m pretty speechless at the moment, really.”
Next up for Windred is the Victorian Open at 13th beach, by far the biggest tournament he has played in.
It was a show-what-you’ve-got kind of day at Avondale, with the best round coming from a player who was six groups ahead of Windred. That was fellow Aussie
Jediah Morgan, who had a final-round 66 that included only one bogey, at the second.
Morgan climbed all the way into solo second, at 8 under, with that round. Jordan Garner, with rounds of 71-66-69-71, was solo third another shot back.
Jye Pickin, the Avondale local who flew out to the first- and second-round lead with opening 66s, had closing rounds of 74 to finish sixth.
In the women’s division, Korean KK Park cruised to a sizable eight-shot win over compatriot Min A Yoon. Interestingly, the 18-year-old had an edge from the word go after eagling her opening hole.
“I am so happy because it is my first win in a major tournament,” Park said.
Information from Golf New South Wales used in this report
ABOUT THE
Avondale Amateur Medal
One of the top events in Australia, the Avondale
Amateur consists of a men’s field of 120 players
competing for the Avondale Medal. Players from the
UK, Europe, Asia and the Americas compete in the
event against the very best Australian players. 72 holes
of Stroke Play with a 36-hole cut to the low 60 players.
View Complete Tournament Information