Lara Thomsen and Josh Fuller claimed the 2026 NSW Amateur Championships in contrasting finals, with Fuller delivering a one-sided win while Thomsen needed 35 holes to secure her breakthrough title.
Fuller produced a dominant 10 & 8 victory over West Australian Adam Baillie, powered by a nine-under morning round that effectively decided the match early. The 24-year-old from The Vintage Golf Club was five-up at the turn and never eased off.
“Played really, really good this morning,” Fuller said. “I just made a few putts in the last five or six holes to put me up.”
Fuller’s week began on the edge, as he was one of the last players to qualify for match play after rounds of 75 and 66 for an even-par total. He then edged Kade Bryant 1-up in the Round of 32. Bryant had finished T-2 in stroke play qualifying after rounds of 67 and 65.
Fuller followed with another tight 1-up win over Blake Phillips in the Round of 16, before finding momentum in the later stages. He defeated Blair Christie 5&3 in the quarterfinals, beat Ben Dowling 2-up in the semifinals, and then produced a runaway finish in the final against Baillie.
The title capped a strong run of form. Fuller finished T-3 at last week’s Avondale Amateur, and in 2025 he played seven ranked events, highlighted by a runner-up finish at the Concord Cup in February and a T-3 at the Queensland Amateur Championship in August.
The women’s final delivered far more drama. Thomsen, 17, outlasted 13-year-old clubmate Sophie Tong in a match that swung repeatedly before she closed it out on the 35th hole for a 3&1 win.
“I can’t believe that I finally won such a big event like this,” Thomsen said. “This is definitely my biggest win so far.”
Thomsen entered match play as a top seed after finishing T-1 in stroke play qualifying with rounds of 70 and 70 for four-under 140. She opened her match play campaign with a commanding 7&6 win over Zoe Arcus in the Round of 16, then defeated Allegra De Guzman 4&2 in the quarterfinals.
In the semifinals, Thomsen edged Camilla Kim 1-up to set up the final against Tong, where she held her nerve deep into the afternoon to secure the biggest win of her career.
Thomsen also arrived with momentum after finishing T-4 at last week’s Avondale Amateur. In 2025, she placed 19th at the Australian Amateur and was runner-up at the NSW Champion of Champions.
Both champions now turn their focus to next week’s Australian Amateur Championship in Perth, looking to carry their form into the national event.