Charlotte Heath ruled in Queensland as she became the first Brit for a quarter of a century to win the Australian Women’s Amateur Championship.
The Huddersfield teenager dominated Indonesia’s Mela Putri as she claimed a 7&6 victory in the 36-hole final at Royal Queensland Golf Club.
Heath won or halved the first 20 holes. She was 4up after 9 and birdied 10, 12 and 13 to extend her lead to seven holes. She was up by eight at the halfway mark.
Holing out for eagle from the 3rd fairway, as the afternoon round got under way, took her to 10up and, while Putri won four of the next five, it was only holding off the inevitable.
An England squad member and Yorkshire county player, 18-year-old Heath won the title in style, holing a 12-footer from off the green at the 12th for a half and to take the title.
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Julie Hall, in 1995, was the last British women to win the Australian Amateur and Heath adds her name to a list that includes Miss M Backhouse (1905), Miss JB Walker (1935) and Miss V Anstey (1955).
It’s the biggest win of her amateur career and follows successes in the Pleasington Putter and Sir Henry Cooper Junior Masters.
After qualifying for the matchplay stages in a tie for 17th in the two-round strokeplay, with rounds of 71 and 74, Heath saw off Fiona Xu (4&2), Charley Jacbos (4&2), Lion Higo (3&2) and Minju Kim (3&2) – before raising her game again in the final
She told Golf Australia: “It was a bit stressful and I was super nervous to start with.
“I got off to a quick start so that helped and then the second 18 she started playing really good so it was a really intense match.”
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On her winning putt, she added: “I was just like ‘hole it’ – it was for a half anyway so if I missed it and it went six feet past it didn’t really matter.”
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Heath will now play in both the Women’s Australian Open and Vic Open next month, both events that are sanctioned by the LPGA Tour.
“I’ve never played in any (LPGA) events before, so hopefully I can get it off school,” she said. “My mum us working on it.”
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