Tyler Hodge, a left-handed 19-year-old from Levin, New Zealand, will meet Cameron Davis, also 19, of Sydney.
Reaching the final meant winning two matches on Saturday. Hodge took down fellow countryman Jason Gusalekharam in the morning 2-and-1, then ended Kevin Yuan's run in the semifinals with a 3-and-2 win. Davis won 3-and-2 in the quarterfinals against Jake Sullivan of Queensland and went to the 19th hole with Justin Warren in the semis.
DAY TWO RECAP: Corey Conners topples defending champion Koh in third round
DAY ONE RECAP: Lucas Herbert takes down Nick Marsh in Australian Amateur opening round
STROKE PLAY: Nick Marsh, So- Young Lee medal at Australian Amateur
Hodge entered the 12th hole three-up on Yuan but had his lead trimmed to two through 14, eventually closing out the teenager from New South Wales on 16. Davis and Warren needed one extra hole, with Warren missing his par attempt after Davis chipped to two feet.
Davis is quite the story, in that though he plays right-handed, he is almost as talented of a player from the left side — where his opponent on Sunday hits the ball from.
“It just came naturally – I like trying new things and when I was younger I put the ball behind the trees a bit more often and so I had to find a way to get out of trouble,” Davis told Mark Hayes of Golf Australia.
Davis is already off to a nice start in the new year, tying for 12th at the Australian Master of the Amateurs before finishing in the top-three a week later at the Lake Macquarie Amateur, which was won by Canadian native and top-ranked Corey Conners.
Conners reached Saturday's quarterfinals after defeating the defending champion Tae Koh of New Zealand, but lost 2-and-1 to semifinalist Yuan.
For the updated match play bracket, please click the link below.
