Double Delight for In-Form Bennett

Singapore: In-form Kelsey Bennett has reached a personal-best World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR) position after doing the double in the Port Phillip Open Amateur and Victorian Amateur Championships.

Joint runner-up in last month’s Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific at Abu Dhabi Golf Club, Bennett continued her recent outstanding run with a one-shot victory at Commonwealth & Kingston Heath Golf Clubs, posting a five-over total of 299 (76, 75, 73 and 75).

The New South Wales player then defeated Malaysian Jeneath Wong 3&2 in the Victorian final. Bennett climbs 19 spots to 104th. Wong is ranked 113th.

Meanwhile, Avani Prashanth further marked herself out as one of India’s most promising juniors with her second victory in her last two starts.

Prashanth added the All India Juniors to the IGU All India Ladies Amateur Championship she won last month. The 15-year-old returned a six-over 222 total thanks to rounds of 75, 73 and 74 for a six-shot victory. She pushes eight positions up the WAGR table to a career-high 128th.

Aloysa Margiela Atienza of Singapore was the most improved player of the week in the women’s standings with a jump of 685 rankings to 608th, a new high.

Atienza shared victory in the HSBC Youth Challenge 1st Leg & 4th Leg National Ranking Game with compatriot Hailey Loh, who advanced 80 places to 749th.

Among the men, Australian Harrison Crowe has climbed 84 places on the WAGR to 222nd, a new high, thanks to victory in the Victorian Amateur.

Crowe finished 11th in the Port Phillip Open Amateur before advancing to the Victorian final at Peninsula Kingswood Country Golf Club, where he defeated Jack Buchanan 2&1 in the final.

On the WAGR, Buchanan improves 182 positions to a new high of 439th.

Chris Fan won the Port Phillip Open Amateur by two shots, and joins Crowe and Buchanan in reaching a personal best with a 641-ranking climb to 450th.

Fellow Australian Daniel Gill had the distinction of being the week’s ‘biggest mover’ with a 1,415-ranking rise to a high of 1,495th after seventh place in the Port Phillip Open Amateur. He then reached the semi-finals of the Victorian Open.

With a joint third-place finish among the professionals in last week’s Volvo China Open, Ding Wenyi has returned to the top-20 with a two-ranking move to 19th.

The 17-year-old is now just one spot behind Bo Jin, the leading Chinese player in the standings. He is also within range of bettering his best-ever ranking of 17th.