The 44th NEDLANDS JUNIOR MASTERS was played on Sunday March 2 and Monday March 3 attracting a talented field of 45 boys and 27 girls from around the state.
The history of the Nedlands Junior Masters has been well documented and the names of two new winners will be added to the Honour Board in the downstairs bar. The Board was presented by Ian MacDonald, a long-time sponsor of the Junior Masters.
Our loyal Major Sponsors joined us again this year, SRIXON as naming rights sponsor and RETRAVISION as the major supporting sponsor. We acknowledge with appreciation their continuing support.
Joining the Major Sponsors were our supporting Sponsors, including APC GROUP, PERTH STITCHING, GOLF BOX, COCA COLA AMATIL, BAKERS DELIGHT SUBIACO, WEIR’S BUTCHER BROADWAY and McINERNEY FORD We thank them for their contribution.
FIRST ROUND SUMMARY
The 72 strong field set out on Sunday morning in their quest for the Nedlands Junior Masters titles. Twenty of those held handicaps of Scratch or better, so some good scoring was expected – but really did not eventuate with only 5 players in the entire field having nett scores of Par or better – on a perfect golfing day with the greens running at between 11 feet and 11’6”
Four Boys had Gross scores of 72 or better and no girls matched par.
Some of the Highlights from Round One were-.
BOYS
The 2024 Runner-up Ollie Marsh from Wanneroo Golf Club was leading the way with a fine 4 under par round of 68 which included 7 birdies.
He led by 2 strokes from Spencer Harrison from Royal Perth whose card included 6 birdies. A triple bogey 7 on his penultimate hole after hitting his tee shot OOB spoilt his card. He did bounce back with a Birdie on the 18th.
Next was Mason Burr from Gosnells on 71 – his round included 3 Birdies including one on the 18th with Krishav Sheth from Lake Karrinyup a further shot back.
Not without a chance was Nate Johnson from Joondalup who carded a first round one over 73.
The defending Champion Declan Pereira from the Vines did not have a great day and signed for 78 – 10 shots adrift of the leader.
GIRLS
The girls also struggled with the fast greens and the best score came from the defending champion, Royal Perth’s Isabella Leniartek who carded a one over par 75. Her back nine of 40 spoilt a good card.
It was however good enough to give her a 5 shot lead from Aprileen Sirait from Gosnells and Katie Seol from Joondalup.
FINAL ROUND SUMMARY
Once again, a perfect day for golf greeted the players with no more than a very light sea breeze and temperatures around 27-28 degrees.
In the Boys, it seemed to be a tussle between the top 4 who were paired in the final two groups and in the Girls, Isabella seemed to have too big a lead to see anyone challenging – but the lead was by no means unassailable.
BOYS
We will concentrate on the leading 5 players and see how they progressed throughout the afternoon.
Spencer Harrison 1 under after front nine TOTAL 3 UNDER
Ollie Marsh 3 over after front nine TOTAL 1 UNDER
Mason Burr 2 over after front nine TOTAL SQUARE
Nate Johnson 1 over after front nine TOTAL 2 OVER
Krishav Sheth 4 over after front nine TOTAL 4 OVER
With 9 holes to play there were 4 players in with a realistic chance of taking the title – all within five shots of each other
So, we tune into the Leaderboard after 32 holes-
Spencer Harrison TOTAL 2 UNDER
Ollie Marsh TOTAL 1 UNDER
Nate Johnson TOTAL 2 OVER
Mason Burr TOTAL 5 OVER
It looked like a race in 4 with “AMEN CORNER” left to negotiate.
Spencer Harrison increased his lead after a par on the 15th and a Birdie on the 16th – 2 pars followed and he signed for a 1 under 71 and 143 total.
Ollie Marsh parred 15,16,17 but a double bogey on the final hole gave him a final score of 77 and 145 overall.
Nate Johnson birdied the 15th but could only manage pars on the final 3 holes and finished with an even par round of 72 and a total of 145
Mason Burr dropped out of contention when he bogeyed the 15th finishing with a 6 over par round of 78 and 149
The defending champion Declan Pereira flew home with an even par round and 6 over – sharing 5th place with Kloden Brown from Royal Fremantle who had the round of the day – 2 under par 70.
FINAL LEADERBOARD
Spencer Harrison (70,71 = 141), Nate Johnson (73,72 = 145), Ollie Marsh (68,77 = 145), Mason Burr (73,77 = 150), (74,76 = 150), Kloden Brown (80,70 =150), Declan Pereira (78 72 = 150), Krishav Sheth (72, 78) = 150
GIRLS
It looked as though it was a race in three –Isabella Leniartek (75), Aprileen Sirait (80) and Katie Seol (80) The question was could anyone overtake the defending champion? A tough ask but as we all know anything is possible in golf.
Once again it was a tough scoring day for the girls
So, after 9 holes the leaderboard looked like this-;
Katie Seol – 1 under thru 9 and a total of 5 over
Isabella Leniartek – 7 over thru 9 and a total of 8 over – started with a triple bogey 7
Aprileen Sirait – 3 over thru 9 and a total of 9 over
Over the next 6 holes Katie Seol played steadily for 1 over and a total of 6 over. Isabella Leniartek was 1 over and 9 over total. Aprileen Sirait was 2 over and 11 over.
Isabella was the first to crack when she finished Triple Bogey, Bogey – a round of 12 over par and a total of 161.
Aprileen was next with bogeys at 16 and 17 to card a second round 81 and a total of 161.
Katie had an Eagle 3 on the 13th hole and then in the concluding stages tried hard to lose it with Double Bogeys at the final 2 holes and she ultimately carded 77 for a total of 157. So, Katie Seol is crowned the 2025 Champion, 4 shots ahead of Aprileen Sirait.
FINAL LEADERBOARD
Katie Seol (80, 77) = 157 Aprileen Sirait (80,81 = 161), Isabella Leniartek (75, 86 = 161), Halia Edwards (Gosnells- 82,80, = 162), Kortni Houston (Lakelands – 84.80 = 164)
Editor’s comments
- The Girls Champion, Katie Seol is 14 years of age and plays off +2.3 – lowest girls handicap in the field. Kate has recently moved to Dalkeith and has joined the club.
- Our own Noah Keren was the only player in the field who scored better than Nett Par with 140. Luke Bai was second.
- Noah Keren won the inaugural CEDRIC BELL TROPHY presented to the player (boy or girl) with the best 36 hole nett score – well done
- There were four Eagles during the 2 rounds including an Eagle on the 18th hole in Round 2. – 176 Metres from the rough!!
- In 2024 no player broke par – this year 5 Boys broke par and no girls.
FINAL ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The course was presented in excellent condition. Thanks to Brad Hebble and his team for a job well done – not forgetting the team of volunteers who lend a hand. The green speeds were between 11’ and 11’6” and the surfaces of the new greens were excellent.
To the two Tournament Directors, Cedric Bell and Marty Morris the club thank you for the amount of time and effort you put into the event every year. Enjoy your retirement in 5 years time!!
Stewart Wharton joined myself on the Rules Committee and we were kept on our toes throughout the two days.
Susie Rich and her volunteers are, as always, acknowledged for their support over the 2 days. A special vote of thanks to Marg Doyle, Ali Baker and Carolyn Browne in their capacity as Scorers.
Thanks to the Office Staff, Ben Unbehaun and Karen Wilson for assisting the Tournament Directors prior to and during the event.
Sean and his staff together with Zamry and Alvin in the kitchen contributed to a successful 2 days.
Thanks to the Ong family, Joe Alexander and Rowan Morris who cooked up a storm on the downstairs barbecue – well sausages anyway!!!
An enjoyable sundowner was held on Sunday evening for the volunteers and we thank the CBCo and other supporters of the evening, for their contribution to its success.
The Proshop staff, led by Andrew Gott, are acknowledged for their efforts over the two days.
The NEDLANDS JUNIOR MASTERS is over for another year, and we congratulate our two new Champions Spencer Harrison and Katie Seol on their performances.
From Greg Fitzhardinge
