Raegan Denton leads after round one of the Australian Women's Amateur

January 14, 2025 | by Golf Australia

Raegan Denton (Golf Australia/Ethan Cunningham Photo)

An impressive first round 7-under 66 with eight birdies saw her take a two-shot lead

Rising South Australian star Raegan Denton equalled the Commonwealth course record with a stunning, 7-under 66 today to grab the first-round lead in the adidas Australian Amateur.

The 17-year-old from Royal Adelaide has year 12 studies on her mind for 2025, but while the school holidays continue she would love to secure her first national championship.

Already the reigning Queensland Amateur champion, Henley High School student Denton made nine birdies despite playing her opening round in the windier conditions of the afternoon and on the tougher of the two courses hosting this week.

At 7-under she leads by two shots from 13-year-old Peninsula Kingswood wunderkind Feiyu Xing, who shot 5-under at Cranbourne today. Concord Golf Club’s Michelle Bang is next-closest at 4-under, having shot 68, also at Cranbourne, which played the easier of the two host courses in what amounted to great playing conditions in Melbourne.

Denton’s 66 equals the course record for women set by Grace Kim (2017) and Min A Yoon (2018). But she could have gone lower. A double bogey five at the par-3 15th hole was her only glitch on a brilliant day.

“I hit a bit of a cut,” she said of her offending tee shot at 15. “Missed right of the green, misjudged my chip shot and went over the other side, chipped it back, and had two putts. It was a bit unfortunate, but I focused on the next hole. I didn’t want it to spiral.”

Runner-up in last year’s Australian Junior Amateur, Denton prioritizes study in 2025 but hopes to have committed to a scholarship in the US college system by the end of the year; she is talking to several already.

“I was really happy with my putting, specifically, holed some good putts out there,” she said. “I guess I just expect to do my best and the result will be the result. My best is actually 7-under so I just missed a PB, but I’m very happy with the way I played today.”

Bang’s day at Cranbourne was highlighted by her own thunderclap: a hole-out for an eagle at the par-5 fifth hole. “Slam dunk,” she said. “Just went straight in the hole!”

Bang, 17, the Victorian and NSW Junior Amateur champion in 2024, changed to new clubs just two days ago and benefited from the different look.

Later, she said she would be turning professional after this event; she finished fifth at WPGA Tour school in December and is awaiting full status.

Teenager Xing also enjoyed using a new set of clubs. “I holed a lot of putts and I saved a lot of pars,” she said. “My driver … I played the Master of the Amateurs and it was terrible. I went in the trees every time. Today, I got a new driver and new irons, and they’re really good this time.”

Another well within reach is Barbados player Emily Odwin at 3-under. Odwin plays her golf at Southern Methodist University in Texas and credits her college coach, Queenslander Lauren Mason, for pushing her to come Down Under.

"I've got two Aussie teammates as well. One's from Perth and one's from Sydney. So yeah, my coach convinced me to come out here and the other two were like, 'oh my god, yeah, you've got to go’!” she said.

Odwin's trip coincides with another passion of hers; tennis. Often having to stay up until 3am to watch the Australian Open, Odwin has already seen some live tennis at Melbourne Park and has more tickets throughout the rest of the week.

Results: Australian Womens Amateur

Place	Player	Location	Pts	Scores
1	Rachel Lee	, Australia	1000	70-65-70-77=282
2	Sarah Hammett	, Australia	700	70-67-70-78=285
3	Raegan Denton	, Australia	500	66-72-75-75=288
T4	Jazy Roberts	, Australia	500	73-71-71-74=289
T4	Hyojin Yang	, Korea	500	71-75-69-74=289

View full results for Australian Womens Amateur

About the Australian Womens Amateur

Raegan Denton leads after round one of the Australian Women's Amateur

The Australian Men's and Women's Amateur Championships are Australia's oldest Amateur Golf Championships, with both having been played since 1894. Long held as a match play event, in 2021 the format changed to 72 holes of stroke play.