Australian Women's Classic returns to Bonville
Some of Australia’s best professional and amateur female golfers will return to Bonville Golf Resort this week for the fifth edition of the Australian Women’s Classic.
Freshly crowned Women’s NSW Open Champion, Kiwi Momoka Kobori will be joined by several winners on this year’s WPGA Tour, including Karen Pearce (Moss Vale Women’s Classic) and Jordan O’Brien (Wagga Wagga Women’s Pro-Am), Grace Lennon (The Athena) and Qualifying School winner, Kelsey Bennett.
Also competing this week are Ladies European Tour regulars Lydia Hall of the United Kingdom and Queensland’s Amy Walsh.
In the field are competitors from Thailand, Korea, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, New Zealand, Japan and the Cook Islands.
The field also boasts some of Australia’s brightest amateur female talent, including NSW State Team representatives Belinda Ji, Annika Rathbone, Grace Lee, Charlotte Perkins and June Song, who tied for seventh last weekend.
Queensland's Sarah Hammett will be out to build on her third-place finish at Tuncurry while locals competing include Coffs Harbour-based professional Amelia Mehmet-Grohn and Bonville’s own Adele Douglas.
This week’s venue, Bonville, is no stranger to the Australasian Tour schedule, and this week’s event will be the fifth time the Classic has been held at the stunning complex.
Just south of the beautiful coastal town of Coffs Harbour, Bonville meanders through towering gum trees with the Great Dividing Range proving the ideal backdrop.
About the Australian Women’s Classic
The Australian Women’s Classic, although relatively young, boasts a growing honour role that includes names who are becoming rising stars in the women’s game globally.
The inaugural winner, France’s Celine Boutier (2018), claimed her third LPGA Tour title (the LPGA Drive on Championship) last week in Arizona. In 2020, NSW amateur Stephanie Kyriacou captivated the audience with her runaway victory. She has established herself on the LPGA Tour and is now regarded as one of the brightest prospects in Australian Golf.
Honour Roll
2018: Celine Boutier (FRA)
2019: Marianne Skarpnord (NOR)
2020: Stephanie Kyriacou (a) (NSW)
2022: Meghan Maclaren (ENG)
Players to watch
Momoka Kobori: 2023 Women’s NSW Open Champion
Claire Shin (amateur): Teenage star was defeated in a playoff last week by Kobori and will be looking to claim her first win against professional-level competition
Lydia Hall: LET and WPGA Tour of Australasia winner.
Jordan O’Brien: Wagga Wagga Women’s Pro-Am winner (March 2023)
Kelsey Bennett: WPGA TOUR Q School Winner & quarter-finalist in the British and US Women’s Amateur in 2023, runner-up in the 2022 Women’s Asia Pacific Amateur.
Kristalle Blum: 2022 LET Access Tour winner.
Karen Pearce: Multiple winner on WPGA Tour of Australasia
Order of Merit
Min A. Yoon is the current leader of the WPGA Tour Order-of-Merit, with Sarah Jane Smith in second place. Grace Kim remains third, while Breanna Gill, courtesy of her fourth-place finish at Tuncurry, vaults into the top five. Cassie Porter, playing overseas, dropped a spot to fifth, while Momoka Kobori rocketed into sixth place with her $27,000 winner’s cheque from last week.
- Min A. Yoon $59,876.83
- Sarah Jane Smith $58,272.17
- Grace Kim $38,185.71
- Breanna Gill $34,940.71
- Cassie Porter $31,435.00
- Momoka Kobori $30,250.00
- Sarah Kemp $21,252.33
- Kelsey Bennett $20,112.21
- Su Oh $19,327.50
- Hanee Song $18,454.50
Schedule
Pro-am, Thursday: 12.30pm shotgun start
First round, Friday: Tee-times from about 8.30am (TBC)
Second round, Saturday: Tee-times from about 8.30am (TBC)
Third round, Sunday: Tee-times from about 8.30am (TBC)
Trophy presentation will be held on the 18th green and will occur immediately after the completion of the tournament.
How to follow
For live scoring and the latest news, please visit auswomensclassic.com.au
Golf NSW and WPGA Tour will post content and updates regularly via the tournament website and social channels.