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Australian Mid-Amateur: Ashleigh Arnold and Adam Hawkins easily win the titles

Arnold dominated the field to make it two mid-amateurs in a row while Hawkins won his first ever.

Ashleigh Arnold from Bonnie Doon in Sydney went back-to-back while Queenslander Adam Hawkins won his first Australian Mid Amateur championship in Perth today.

Arnold dominated the women’s event, shooting rounds of 83-75-77 to shoot 16-over and win by 17 shots at Hartfield Golf Club.

Hawkins, from Sanctuary Cove, had a tougher assignment, carding consecutive rounds of 73 to win the men’s by five shots from Royal Fremantle’s Adam Hatch.

For Arnold, it was the fulfillment of a year-long dream since she won the Mid-Amateur at Bribie Island in Queensland last year.

“I’m super-excited that I managed to win again this year,” she said. “It was a goal of mine to go back-to-back, so I’m happy that I put it together.”

Arnold bounced back from a difficult first round. “I’m glad I bounced back quickly and played a bit more solid the last two days.”

She will have a chance to make it a hat-trick next year when the championship moves to Wollongong and Shell Cove. “I can sneak down and have a practice round, and I look forward to it.”

Hawkins, who went top-10 in the Mid-Amateur in 2022, said his diligence had been worthwhile.

Hawkins shot 3-over with rounds of three rounds of 73 to win the championship by five shots.

“It feels good,’’ he said. “I’ve put a lot of work into my game so it’s nice to get something out of it.”

He was returning from a broken wrist sustained at the start of August.

“As soon as I did it, I looked at the schedule and decided this would be the event I’d try and get back to full playing capability for,” he said. “I’ve put a lot of time in the gym and it’s paid off.”

The event was played in conjunction with the WA Mid-Amateur Championship and the pair were also awarded those championships.

AmateurGolf.com Staff

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