A brilliant 9-under-par 63 in the final round, the best score of the day by four strokes, gave Hopewell a two-shot margin over NSW’s Nathan Barbieri to earn the second win of his career on the adidas PGA Pro-Am Series.

Fresh off his victory at the Axedale Pro-Am in Victoria, Andrew Martin led at Bunbury Golf Club after an opening 65 on Saturday but the Victorian had to settle for third place after closing with a 71.

Hopewell is currently on a break from the Challenge Tour where he is ranked 47th on the Order of Merit as he strives for a DP World Tour card for 2025/26,

Turning point

Starting his round from the 10th tee, the former Bunbury junior made his run early, making five consecutive birdies from the 11th hole. An eagle at the par-5 second propelled him to 8-under for the day through 11 holes.

His only dropped shots for the day came with a double-bogey at the par-3 seventh, but he then birdied the eighth and ninth to see off Barbieri’s challenge.

Quick quotes

“Today was a special round,” the 23-year-old said.

“I hit it solid and the hole just felt like a bucket. I was seeing every putt and they were just dropping. It was quite uncanny at times.

“I was stoked to finish off the round by holing a nice putt on the last to tie the course record. It was on my mind. Being a junior here for a bit, it holds a special place in my heart.”

Leading scores

1 Hayden Hopewell 70-63

2 Nathan Barbieri 67-68

3 Andrew Martin 65-71

4 Jason Scrivener 69-68

T5 Braden Becker 69-69

T5 Cameron Kelly 67-71

T5 Daniel Fox 70-68

T5 John Boulton 69-69

9 Scott Strange 70-69

Next up

The TenGolf Group Pro-Am will be played The Cut Golf Club and Secret Harbour Golf Links on Tuesday and Wednesday (May 6-7)

May 1

Perkins, Dobbelaar share the title at Bunbury

Queenslanders Louis Dobbelaar and Blaike Perkins kicked off the Western Australia swing of the 2025 adidas PGA Pro-Am Series by sharing the title at the Urban Quarter Dunsborough Lakes Pro-Am on Thursday.

Rounds of 6-under-par 66 gave the duo a one-shot margin over PGA Legends Tour member Scott Barr (WA) in a field full of Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia talent.

For Perkins, it was his first pro-am series title, while the joint win continued a resurgence of form for Dobbelaar, who regained his Tour card at the recently completed Qualifying School at Moonah Links.

Turning point

Perkins rattled off five birdies in six holes on the back nine but was brought undone by going out of bounds which led to a double-bogey on the par-4 18th, his 12th hole of the day.

However a three on his final hole, the par-4 sixth, ensured he kept a share of top spot.

Meanwhile, Dobbelaar, who started on his round on the 14th, had seven birdies and a sole bogey in his round. He birdied the back-to-back par-fives on the back nine, 12 and 13, to get to 6-under.

Quick quotes

Perkins said: “I was flying at 6-under through 10 and then hole 18 hit me. I knew I had to get a few more birdies then to catch Louis and made a really nice short putt on the last there to tie him. It’s my first pro win so I’m pretty stoked about it.”

Dobbelaar said: “I got off to a good start and played the tough holes well. Hit the ball really nice and had a lot of opportunities during the day. It’s great to play a course in really nice conditions like here at Dunsborough Lakes. It was a bit of a treat.”

Leading scores

T1 Louis Dobbelaar 66

T1 Blaike Perkins 66

3 Scott Barr 67

4 Braden Becker 68

T5 Jordan Doull 69

T5 Cameron Kelly 69

T7 Cameron John 70

T7 Tim Hart 70

T7 Aaron Pike 70

Next up

The WA swing reaches Bunbury Golf Club for the South West Isuzu South West Open over 36 holes this weekend.