Dobbelaar and Kim Savour Australian Amateur Successes

Adelaide, Australia: Victory in the Australian Men’s Amateur Championship gave Louis Dobbelaar a unique Antipodean double.

With a 10-under 278 aggregate at Kooyonga Golf Club in Adelaide, Queenslander Dobbelaar delivered a two-shot success.

“This is special. I played some pretty good golf at times and I’m excited to have my hands on the trophy,” said the 19-year-old Brookwater member after adding his national title to the 2016 New Zealand Amateur.

He also attained his highest World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR) status with a 66-ranking rise to 197th.

In the women’s standings, Grace Kim was rewarded for her triumph in the Australian Women’s Amateur Championship by climbing back into the world’s top 50 with a move of four places to 50th.

Kim posted a three-under 285 aggregate to finish seven strokes ahead of second-placed Kirsten Rudgeley, who had entered the final round with a two-shot lead from Kim.

The 20-year-old Kim, from Avondale in Sydney, adds the national title to the New South Wales Amateur she won at the end of January and the junior national crown in 2017.

Two other Australians were also celebrating after achieving their personal best ranking.

Elvis Smylie joined Trent Phillips in the top 50 with a move of three rankings to a personal best of 48th after finishing second among the professionals in the TPS Victoria, hosted by Geoff Ogilvy.

For her part, Cassie Porter jumped two spots to 49th, one in front of Kim in the top half-century.

Meanwhile, Virunpat Olankitkunchai is now Thailand’s third best player on the WAGR table after winning the FAU Paradise Invitational by six shots.

Virunpat, who attends the University of Maryland, sandwiched a second-round 67 between a pair of 69s to post an 11-under total at Boca Lago Country Club in Florida. She soars 35 places to 107th.

The award for the biggest ranking improvement of the week went to India’s Avani Prashanth.

Victory in the Hero Women’s Pro Golf Tour Leg 3 saw Prashanth break into the top 500 for the first time with a move of 757 positions to 416th.