Dowling and Roberts Crowned Australian Amateur Champions

Yokine, Western Australia, Australia: Billy Dowling and Jazy Roberts have been crowned the 2026 adidas Australian Amateur Champions, both delivering final-round masterclasses to close out the championship in style at The Western Australian Golf Club.

Dowling closed with a seven-under 63 to finish at 18-under, claiming a five-shot victory over New South Wales pair Joshua Fuller and Kayun Mudadana.

Roberts was even more dominant, firing a course-record, 10-under 63 to finish the week at 27-under, six shots clear of Japan’s Anna Iwanaga.

Starting the final round tied for the lead with Harry Whitelock at 11-under, Dowling took control immediately when a par on the opening hole gave him the outright lead after Whitelock’s bogey.

A three-time Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship participant who was a member of the Australian line-up at last year’s World Amateur Team Championships for the Eisenhower Trophy, Dowling went on to birdie the next three holes and never looked back, mixing eight birdies with a solitary bogey on the 16th.

Brisbane Golf Club member Dowling said: “That par at the first definitely settled the nerves. I knew I’d started pretty well, but at the same time there were still a lot of holes left and anyone could come from behind.

“I felt in control of everything and knew exactly where I was hitting it. It was just a matter of plotting along hole by hole.”

Despite being without PGA Tour of Australasia winner Haydn Barron – his caddie for the first three rounds, who spent Friday celebrating his 30th birthday instead – Dowling still produced his best round of the week.

“I actually started the round wishing Baz was on the bag,” Dowling said. “Me and him worked well together early in the week. He’s got a really easy-going charisma, keeps things calm, and I just really enjoyed having him out there.”

For the 20-year-old, the victory completes a major amateur goal as he eyes turning professional in the coming months following strong results on the PGA Tour of Australasia.

“It means a lot,” Dowling said. “I’ve represented Australia, I’ve won my state amateur, but the Australian Amateur is one everyone knows goes down in history. I can’t really put into words how much it means.”

In the women’s championship, Roberts began the day with a four-shot lead but faced immediate pressure from Japanese duo Iwanaga and Ai Goto on the opening hole.

In what was a defining moment, with her playing partners both lining up tap-in birdies, Roberts holed a 15-foot birdie putt of her own to maintain her momentum.

She said: “As soon as I hit it, it was exactly where I wanted it. It was great pace and went in dead centre. That really got the ball rolling.”

Roberts went on to make 11 birdies – including five in a row on the back nine and six of the final seven holes – keeping Iwanaga at bay despite her own impressive nine-under 64.

“They were definitely putting the pressure on. I didn’t really know the scores at one point because everyone was making birdies, so I just focused on making my own,” said Roberts, who will fly the flag for Australia at next week’s Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific in New Zealand.

It adds to the 21-year-old Yarra Yarra Golf Club member’s outstanding amateur career, with this expected to be her final Australian Amateur before turning professional.

Roberts said: “I think I’ve done pretty much everything I wanted to as an amateur. It’s definitely the one I wanted to win the most.”

Past Australian Amateur champions include Cameron Smith, Minjee Lee, Grace Kim, Lydia Ko, Michael Campbell and Jim Ferrier, underlining the tournament’s role as a launchpad for world-class careers.

Roberts said: “Obviously there’s still a lot of hard work to be done. But it gives me a lot of confidence that I can go on and do what they’ve done.”

*Report by Golf Australia.