Join Now
WA golfer Curtis Luck wins Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship
Posted
West Australian golfer Curtis Luck has stamped his dominance on the world of amateur golf, adding the Asia Pacific crown to the US Amateur title he won in August.
Luck came from seven shots back heading in to the final round, to close with a five-under-par 67 around Korea's Jack Nicklaus Golf Club.
"I've had an amazing year and this has topped it off, it's pretty sweet," he said.
The 20-year-old shot rounds of 70, 69, 70 and 67 to defeat Victoria's Brett Coletta by a single shot.
Coletta led heading in to the final round and was aiming to lock in a spot in the US Masters with a win, before struggling to a three-over-par 75.
Luck was the only player in the 118-man field that wasn't playing for a spot in the Masters, after guaranteeing his place with victory in the US Amateur event.
"It's an amazing event to play and to get my name on that trophy is awesome," Luck said.
"I've got some pretty amazing professional events coming up, and these past few months have given me a lot of confidence and a good understanding of where I'm at.
"I have performed pretty well this year in these big events, so put it this way, I'm very excited to be able to play here and test my ability."
As Coletta and NSW golfer Cameron Davis both faded down the stretch, Luck made his move.
"I thought that if I made birdie down the last hole it might be good enough to win," Luck said.
"I was walking from my second shot I saw that the leaderboard had updated and Brett had made a good birdie on 17, so it made my job really clear knowing that we were tied and knowing Brett had a good opportunity to make birdie down the last.
"I was pretty nervous over that bunker shot but I managed to flub it out and hole a good putt on the last, so it was pretty nerve wracking for me."
The Cottesloe Golf Club member says despite the joy at winning, he felt for Coletta who had played three good rounds of golf leading in to the final round.
"Brett's a really close friend of mine, so I obviously understand about the opportunity of what he's just missed out on, so I will say that I feel a little guilty and a little bad, but unfortunately that's the spot we're in, and I'm so competitive that I couldn't give up the chance to win an event like this, but I definitely feel for Brett."
