Coletta, Lau triumph at Vic Open

ANOTHER Vic Open has been run and won, with two first-time winners taking home championships in their respective fields at 13th Beach Golf Course in Barwon Heads.

Victoria’s Brett Coletta came out on top in a head-to-head duel with Jordan Zunic to claim the biggest victory of his career, while Malaysian Ashley Lau added another win to her impressive summer.

Former world No.1 Jiyai Shin’s final shot of the day to level the scores fell just short – a win in the playoff would have made her the first woman to successfully defend a Vic Open title. Lau decided not to watch Shin’s play on the 18th hole.

“I said, ‘You know, I can’t do this, I’m super nervous, I’ve never felt this nervous before’, so I went and took a walk and talked to my friend for a little bit,” Lau said.

“When the news came in that I’d won, I started crying.

“I came down here just to prepare for the upcoming Epson Tour. This is a big confidence boost.”

After starting the final round on the Beach Course two shots from the lead after three rounds, Coletta fired a mesmerising 7-under-par 65.

The performance claimed his third Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia title and now moves him to second place on the tour’s Order of Merit rankings.

“This is pretty big. I’m pretty emotional inside,” Coletta said post-win.

“I know I’m able to win out here in the smaller events, the tier twos I suppose. The next level is to really up your game and win these bigger ones.

“Hopefully I can continue the trend and roll the dice at the bigger events, the PGA and the Australian Open.”

Cam Pollard and Steven Lockey were crowned the 2024 Victorian Inclusive and Australian Wheelchair champions after outstanding final rounds.

It was also the first time Pollard managed to complete back-to-back under-par rounds in a big tournament.

Lockey chased down overnight leader James Gribble to complete a gutsy come-from-behind win in the Australian Wheelchair Championship.

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