Graham Croker
Former Sydney University Sports Scholarship holder Julia Boland created history at Belmont Golf Club on Sunday when she became the first player to successfully defend the Lake Macquarie Women’s Amateur Championship.
Boland, who won the 2008 Lake Macquarie event as a prelude to winning the Riversdale Cup, Australia’s premier amateur 72-hole golf championship for women, could create more history if she can win back-to-back Riversdale titles.
Having graduated from Sydney University with a Bachelor of Applied Science (human movement), Boland recently moved to Melbourne to join the Australian Institute of Sport golf program.
And it seems to be paying dividends. The 23-year-old accounted for the Lake Macquarie field by seven shots and showed why she has been included as part of the AIS program this year.
She set up the win with a great four-under 69 in Saturday’s third round and when she putted out yesterday she was the only player to finish the 72 holes in the red – at two under.
A Sydney University golf Blue, Boland is poised to defend the 2008 Riversdale Cup, which she won by one shot from New Zealander Dana Kim and etched her name into the record books as the 50th winner of the Cup.
Boland earned her Blue in 2006 after winning the gold medal at the Australian University Games in Adelaide. Her three rounds of 72, 74 and 71 (217) saw her win the individual strokeplay event by a massive 16 shots. Boland and Sydney University’s Courtney Dickens (274) also won the teams’ event at the Games.
She was one of 10 Sydney University athletes selected in the Australian team to compete at the 24th World Universiade (Summer Games) held in Bangkok, Thailand in 2007.
She backed that up in 2008 with selection in the Australian women’s team to contest the Eisenhower Trophy and Espirito Santo Trophy respectively at the World Amateur Teams Championships, co-hosted by The Grange Golf Club and Royal Adelaide Golf Club.
It was only the second occasion Australia had hosted the event and marked the 50th anniversary since the inaugural Eisenhower Trophy was held at St. Andrews in Scotland.
