Declan O'Donovan takes the lead heading into final round of Australian Men's Amateur

January 16, 2025 | by Golf Australia

Declan O'Donovan (Golf Australia Photo)

A third-round of 3-under 70 saw O'Donovan propel to the top of the leaderboard and hold a one-shot lead

After turning around a frustrating day by playing his last six holes in 4-under-par, Sydneysider Declan O'Donovan leads the men's Adidas Australian Amateur Championship at Commonwealth Golf Club.

The Avondale member sits at 10-under for the week after a 3-under 70 today, with fellow New South Welshman Jye Halls (72) just one shot back.

Queensland’s Harry Takis, who now plays his golf at San Diego State in the United States, is a further shot back at 8-under, struggling to get things going today and signing for an even-par 73.

Carding the equal low round of the day, a 5-under, 68, another New South Wales product, Adam Coull, sits in solo fourth at 7-under, with Englishmen Jake Sowden (72) and Josh Reid (72) still well in contention at 6-under and 5-under, respectively.

With three players tied for seventh at 4-under and eight players within six shots of the lead, tomorrow is set to be a thrilling final day for Commonwealth.

Standing on the 13th tee on a windy afternoon that tested every player, O'Donovan was 1-over on his day and admits the frustration was beginning to set in and almost boil over.

"It was definitely a grind out there," he said. "I couldn't make a putt all day until 13. I had one bogey and 12 pars."

Safely onboard for two on the short par-5 13th, which was also playing downwind today, set O'Donovan on a run home for the ages.

"I made a nice two-putt birdie on 13, and then they just started flowing," he said.

"I hit some really good shots, and I honestly played some of my best golf to finish the way I did, and I'm very proud of it."

O'Donovan made three more birdies from 14 through 16 to make it four on the trot, and after finding the fairway trap on 18, made a clutch up and down from just short of the putting surface.

As the NSW Amateur winner in 2024, O'Donovan was afforded the incredible opportunity to play the opening two rounds of the 2024 NSW Open alongside eventual champion Lucas Herbert and 2022 Open champion Cameron Smith.

"I definitely want to play with those two guys again on the same playing field, but regardless of where my career goes, I've played with Cam Smith, who's won an Open, and that makes me very happy," O’Donovan said.

Off the back of his performance at Murray Downs, the Avondale member was invited to play in the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia's Gippsland Super 6, and his dedication to get himself to Warragul says a lot about the 21-year-old.

"I got a flight to Melbourne and had to get a train down, so I was lugging my golf clubs and suitcase around Melbourne," he said.

What he modestly left out of the story though was that once O'Donovan reached Warragul, not wanting to worry anyone, he set about the 30-minute walk to his billet’s house with his clubs on his back and suitcase in hand.

Results: Australian Mens Amateur

Place	Player	Location	Pts	Scores
1	Jye Halls	, Australia	1000	67-69-72-67=275
2	Hamish Farquharson	, Australia	700	69-74-70-69=282
3	Abel Eduard	, Australia	500	68-75-707-1=284
T4	Josiah Edwards	, Australia	500	71-73-72-69=285
T4	Lukas Michel	, Australia	500	77-69-69-70=285

View full results for Australian Mens Amateur

About the Australian Mens Amateur

Declan O'Donovan takes the lead heading into final round of Australian Men'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.