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With a scintillating six-under in his final five holes Braden Becker has claimed another historic title at the 2022 Sanwell Cottesloe Open.
Not even a course record eight-under 64 by Becker’s nearest challenger, Brady Watt, could stop the recently crowned WA Open champion from winning his first Cottesloe Open.
Starting with a one-shot overnight lead after a four-under 68 on Saturday, Becker went head-to-head with Watt in the idyllic conditions, with both players trading birdies throughout the afternoon.
The day started strongly for Watt, who overtook Becker on the front nine with a superb five-under 31 that included five birdies in a row from the third hole. When Watt added another birdie at the par-3 11th and Becker bogeyed the 11th and 12th, he had stretched his lead to three shots and was not putting a foot wrong.
It was the 14th hole onwards where the fireworks started – both players making birdie before Becker edged within two with another birdie at the uphill 15th hole. Becker then hit his tee shot on the reachable par-4 16th to within two metres of the cup to set up a sensational eagle.
Not to be outdone, Watt responded with a birdie of his own to retain a one shot lead. When both players birdied the par-5 17th, it came down to some last hole heroics for Becker as his second shot from the fairway finished 10 metres from the pin. With Watt looking over a three-metre birdie putt, Becker drained his long range birdie to join Watt at 11-under. Watt’s putt for the title narrowly missed and the two combatants headed back to the 18th tee for a playoff.
With it all to play for, Becker was first to hit his approach into the 18th green and produced another quality shot to inside a metre. When Watt’s birdie attempt from a similar location to Becker’s in regulation burned the edge of the cup, it was Becker who calmly stepped up to make yet another birdie and clinch the 2022 Sanwell Cottesloe Open.
In the Cottesloe Senior Invitational running concurrently for the Lyndsay Stephen Memorial Trophy, New Zealander Michael Long took the crown, firing a second round five-under 67 to finish at four-under, three shots ahead of runner-up Peter Fowler.
In the amateur ranks, Royal Fremantle’s Connor Faulds claimed the Kelly Rogers Medal for leading amateur, with a four-under total.
The WA swing of the adidas PGA Pro-Am series continues at Lakelands on Tuesday with The Green Lakelands Pro-Am.
