Amelia Whinney and Jack Buchanan have been recognised as South Australia’s best performed amateur golfers –
Amelia Whinney and Jack Buchanan have been recognised as South Australia’s best performed amateur golfers – topping the State’s 2020/21 Order of Merit (OOM).
Jack Buchanan & Amelia Whinney
Whinney, an 18-year-old, based out of The Grange Golf Club, was outstandingly consistent throughout the season, with four wins and three seconds from her thirteen starts, to win her maiden Women’s Vardon Trophy from Caitlin Peirce (Royal Adelaide Golf Club) and Jin-Young Yun (The Grange Golf Club) respectively.
Wins in the Flagstaff Hill, Kooyonga, Royal Adelaide and Glenelg Vardon events demonstrated the talented teenager’s ability to compete and dominate on the toughest courses in South Australia.
“I’ve been really happy with my progress this year, especially with completing year 12 and Covid impacting on travel and the events calendar,” said Whinney.
Buchanan, 19, from Glenelg Golf Club, retained the Men’s Vardon Trophy, last played in 2019 when he was a junior. After winning the season ending strokeplay component of the SA Amateur Championship and a semi-final position in the matchplay component, Buchanan overtook second place Billy Cawthorne (Royal Adelaide Golf Club) with Harrison Burner (Glenelg Golf Club) taking third spot.
This was a truly exceptional season for Buchanan who was also crowned the Australian Men’s Order of Merit winner.
” I’m pretty happy with where my game was this year, to win the National OOM and the SA Vardon series shows I played pretty consistent”, said Buchanan.
“Hopefully I can play similar golf into 2022. Obviously Covid made a huge difference this year in regard to events, but hopefully next year restrictions can ease, and all the events will go ahead giving us a big year of golf.”
The 2021/22 Open Age OOM for both Men and Women, kicked off at the Robe Hotel Village Classic Vardon event on November 14.
In the South Australian Junior OOM, Amelia Whinney has put together a terrific season to claim victory along with her Women’s OOM title.
Whinney dominated throughout the season with an exceptional record of seven wins and four runner-up spots from eleven starts. Wins in all three of the Junior 36-hole opens and Vardon wins at The Vines, Flagstaff Hill and Blackwood were capped off by a standout eight shot winning margin at the South Australian Junior Masters.
Raegan Denton (Royal Adelaide Golf Club) finished in second place, edging out Glenelg Golf Club’s Jade Kinita by one point.
The Boys OOM saw The Vines Golf Club of Reynella’s Charlie Nobbs reign supreme holding off clubmate and 2020 champion Jordan Percey and Nicholas Siegmund (The Grange Golf Club) in a close finish.
Nobbs recorded victories at the first Junior 36-hole open along with Vardon events at Tanunda Pines and West Lakes.
The 2021 Mount Osmond Vardon on November 21 will be the first event of the new 2021/22 Junior OOM seaso