Amateur Eccles Beats The Pros At Their Own Game
Victorian amateur Ben Eccles beat the pros at their own game to claim the 2015 NSW Open, securing the title in a week of challenging weather conditions at the Stonecutters Ridge course in western Sydney.
Eccles opened the tournament with a blistering round of 64 and followed it up with rounds of 67 & 66 to grab an almost unassailable lead.
He cruised to victory with a final-round even-par 72—his 19-under-par total enough to seal a three-shot victory from Rohan Blizard and Matthew Millar. Veteran Peter Lonard finished tied fourth at 15-under.
Western Australian Rick Kulacz was the last amateur to win the NSW Prior to Eccles. On the PGA Tour of Australasia Newcastle’s Jake Higginbottom made history in 2012 when he became the first amateur since 1956 to win the New Zealand Open.
British Born Eccles won the NSW Amateur Championship in 2013, joining a select list of players in the sport’s modern era who have won the NSW State Double.
| Pos | Player | State/Nat | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | Tot | +/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ben Eccles (a) |  | 64 | 67 | 66 | 72 | 269 | -19 |
| 2= | Rohan Blizard |  | 69 | 62 | 73 | 68 | 272 | -16 |
| 2= | Matthew Millar |  | 67 | 67 | 68 | 70 | 272 | -16 |
| 4= | Tim Hart |  | 65 | 68 | 72 | 68 | 273 | -15 |
| 4= | Jared Pender |  | 72 | 65 | 68 | 68 | 273 | -15 |
| 4= | Tom Bond |  | 67 | 71 | 67 | 68 | 273 | -15 |
| 4= | Daniel Fox |  | 66 | 67 | 71 | 69 | 273 | -15 |
| 4= | Peter Lonard | | 68 | 67 | 66 | 72 | 273 | -15 |
| 9= | Troy Cox | | 66 | 71 | 69 | 68 | 274 | -14 |
| 9= | Mitchell A. Brown | | 68 | 68 | 68 | 70 | 274 | -14 |
| 9= | Aaron Wilkin | | 69 | 62 | 71 | 72 | 274 | -14 |
| 12= | David Klein |  | 69 | 69 | 68 | 69 | 275 | -13 |
| 12= | Clayton Bridges | | 66 | 68 | 67 | 74 | 275 | -13 |
| 14= | Aaron Townsend | | 71 | 69 | 68 | 68 | 276 | -12 |
| 14= | Deyen Lawson | | 69 | 70 | 69 | 68 | 276 | -12 |
| 16= | Ryan Haller | | 70 | 68 | 69 | 70 | 277 | -11 |
| 16= | Jordan Zunic | | 69 | 69 | 69 | 70 | 277 | -11 |
| 18= | Alex Hawley | | 67 | 67 | 75 | 69 | 278 | -10 |
| 18= | Matt Jager | | 68 | 70 | 70 | 70 | 278 | -10 |
| 18= | Dale Brandt-Richards (am) | | 72 | 69 | 66 | 71 | 278 | -10 |
| 18= | Darren Beck | | 64 | 69 | 74 | 71 | 278 | -10 |
| 18= | Brett Rankin | | 71 | 65 | 71 | 71 | 278 | -10 |
| 18= | Jarryd Felton | | 67 | 70 | 70 | 71 | 278 | -10 |
| 18= | Daniel Gale (am) | | 65 | 70 | 71 | 72 | 278 | -10 |
| 25= | Isaac Noh (am) | | 67 | 71 | 73 | 68 | 279 | -9 |
| 25= | Michael Choi | | 70 | 69 | 70 | 70 | 279 | -9 |
| 25= | Scott Laycock | | 66 | 72 | 70 | 71 | 279 | -9 |
| 25= | Daniel Nisbet | | 70 | 68 | 66 | 75 | 279 | -9 |
| 29= | Patrick Wilson (a) | | 69 | 67 | 78 | 66 | 280 | -8 |
| 29= | Damien Jordan | | 67 | 69 | 75 | 69 | 280 | -8 |
| 29= | Nathan Green | | 67 | 73 | 70 | 70 | 280 | -8 |
| 29= | Jason Hong (am) | | 69 | 72 | 68 | 71 | 280 | -8 |
| 29= | Ewan Porter | | 65 | 70 | 73 | 72 | 280 | -8 |
| 29= | Anthony Summers | | 68 | 72 | 68 | 72 | 280 | -8 |
| 29= | Troy Moses (am) | | 67 | 68 | 73 | 72 | 280 | -8 |
| 29= | Daniel Pearce | | 70 | 70 | 67 | 73 | 280 | -8 |
| 29= | Chris Gaunt | | 67 | 66 | 73 | 74 | 280 | -8 |
| 29= | Andrew Martin | | 70 | 68 | 65 | 77 | 280 | -8 |
| 39= | Ben Wharton | | 66 | 70 | 72 | 73 | 281 | -7 |
| 39= | Neven Basic | | 69 | 68 | 68 | 76 | 281 | -7 |
| 41= | Andrew Evans | | 72 | 69 | 71 | 70 | 282 | -6 |
| 41= | Harrison Endycott (am) | | 69 | 69 | 73 | 71 | 282 | -6 |
| 41= | Callan O'Reilly | | 67 | 66 | 76 | 73 | 282 | -6 |
| 41= | Tae Koh (a) | | 65 | 72 | 70 | 75 | 282 | -6 |
| 45= | Steve Conran | | 69 | 70 | 73 | 71 | 283 | -5 |
| 45= | Christopher Wood | | 71 | 68 | 72 | 72 | 283 | -5 |
| 45= | Gavin Flint | | 69 | 69 | 73 | 72 | 283 | -5 |
| 45= | Edward Stedman | | 68 | 69 | 70 | 76 | 283 | -5 |
| 49= | Josh Cabban | | 67 | 73 | 75 | 69 | 284 | -4 |
| 49= | James Grierson (am) | | 69 | 71 | 72 | 72 | 284 | -4 |
| 49= | Sam Lee |  | 71 | 70 | 70 | 73 | 284 | -4 |
| 49= | Adam Stephens | | 71 | 69 | 70 | 74 | 284 | -4 |
| 53 | Jihoon Kim |  | 70 | 67 | 76 | 72 | 285 | -3 |
| 54= | Andrew Kirkman | | 69 | 70 | 75 | 72 | 286 | -2 |
| 54= | Hayden Beard | | 64 | 75 | 72 | 75 | 286 | -2 |
| 56= | Anthony Houston | | 73 | 67 | 75 | 72 | 287 | -1 |
| 56= | Dale Williamson (am) | | 67 | 74 | 73 | 73 | 287 | -1 |
| 56= | Luke Humphries | | 69 | 70 | 74 | 74 | 287 | -1 |
| 56= | Travis Smyth (am) | | 68 | 70 | 73 | 76 | 287 | -1 |
| 56= | Grant Binns | | 71 | 68 | 69 | 79 | 287 | -1 |
| 61 | Martin Dive | | 73 | 67 | 74 | 74 | 288 | EVEN |
| 62= | Simon Hawkes |  | 70 | 71 | 75 | 74 | 290 | 2 |
| 62= | Kieran Muir | | 68 | 72 | 75 | 75 | 290 | 2 |
| 64 | Mitchell Venables (am) | | 74 | 67 | 76 | 76 | 293 | 5 |
| 65 | Nathan Mann | | 70 | 71 | 76 | 77 | 294 | 6 |
| Players below failed to make the cut | ||||||||
| 66= | Taylor Cooper | | 72 | 70 | 142 | -2 | ||
| 66= | Andrew Tharle (am) | | 71 | 71 | 142 | -2 | ||
| 66= | Leigh McKechnie | | 69 | 73 | 142 | -2 | ||
| 66= | Jamie Hook | | 71 | 71 | 142 | -2 | ||
| 66= | Brayden Petersen (am) | | 72 | 70 | 142 | -2 | ||
| 66= | Marcus Cain | | 70 | 72 | 142 | -2 | ||
| 66= | Matthew Wittenburg (am) | | 77 | 65 | 142 | -2 | ||
| 66= | Mitch Davis | | 74 | 68 | 142 | -2 | ||
| 66= | Michael Long | | 72 | 70 | 142 | -2 | ||
| 66= | Timothy Wood | | 71 | 71 | 142 | -2 | ||
| 66= | Christopher Thorn | | 67 | 75 | 142 | -2 | ||
| 77= | Charles Wright | | 73 | 70 | 143 | -1 | ||
| 77= | Mitchell Gannon (am) | | 75 | 68 | 143 | -1 | ||
| 77= | Daniel Hoeve | | 74 | 69 | 143 | -1 | ||
| 77= | Joshua Munn (a) | | 69 | 74 | 143 | -1 | ||
| 77= | Anthony Brown | | 71 | 72 | 143 | -1 | ||
| 77= | Brad Shilton | | 68 | 75 | 143 | -1 | ||
| 77= | Alexander Pitty | | 73 | 70 | 143 | -1 | ||
| 84= | Benjamin Clementson | | 70 | 74 | 144 | EVEN | ||
| 84= | Josh Armstrong (am) | | 70 | 74 | 144 | EVEN | ||
| 84= | Joshua Ingram | | 71 | 73 | 144 | EVEN | ||
| 84= | Jordan Mullaney | | 67 | 77 | 144 | EVEN | ||
| 88= | Jack Sullivan (a) | | 70 | 75 | 145 | 1 | ||
| 88= | Logan Toms (am) | | 74 | 71 | 145 | 1 | ||
| 88= | Jason Chellew | | 73 | 72 | 145 | 1 | ||
| 88= | Byungwook Song | | 74 | 71 | 145 | 1 | ||
| 88= | Toby Walker (am) | | 70 | 75 | 145 | 1 | ||
| 88= | Tim Sayers | | 76 | 69 | 145 | 1 | ||
| 88= | Ben Breckenridge | | 74 | 71 | 145 | 1 | ||
| 88= | Lachlan Wall | | 69 | 76 | 145 | 1 | ||
| 88= | Lindsay Wilson | | 73 | 72 | 145 | 1 | ||
| 88= | Daniel McGraw | | 74 | 71 | 145 | 1 | ||
| 88= | Oliver Roberts (am) |  | 72 | 73 | 145 | 1 | ||
| 88= | Ryan Lynch | | 74 | 71 | 145 | 1 | ||
| 88= | Todd Iffland | | 73 | 72 | 145 | 1 | ||
| 88= | Jack McLeod (am) | | 73 | 72 | 145 | 1 | ||
| 88= | Genki Tamashiro (am) |  | 71 | 74 | 145 | 1 | ||
| 88= | Jordan Garner (am) | | 70 | 75 | 145 | 1 | ||
| 104= | Martin Pettigrew | | 73 | 73 | 146 | 2 | ||
| 104= | Nam Chul Kim (am) | | 70 | 76 | 146 | 2 | ||
| 104= | Toby Williams (am) | | 72 | 74 | 146 | 2 | ||
| 104= | Andy Chu (am) | | 75 | 71 | 146 | 2 | ||
| 104= | Jason Pavese | | 74 | 72 | 146 | 2 | ||
| 109= | Shoya Ushijima (am) | | 72 | 75 | 147 | 3 | ||
| 109= | Jake Nagle | | 70 | 77 | 147 | 3 | ||
| 109= | Cameron Haines (am) | | 70 | 77 | 147 | 3 | ||
| 109= | Thomas Holz (am) | | 71 | 76 | 147 | 3 | ||
| 113= | David Abbott | | 72 | 76 | 148 | 4 | ||
| 113= | Alex Edge | | 71 | 77 | 148 | 4 | ||
| 113= | Ben Pedersen | | 74 | 74 | 148 | 4 | ||
| 113= | Harry Bateman | | 73 | 75 | 148 | 4 | ||
| 113= | James Conran (am) | | 69 | 79 | 148 | 4 | ||
| 113= | Josh Whitehouse | | 73 | 75 | 148 | 4 | ||
| 113= | Hiroaki Abe (am) | | 76 | 72 | 148 | 4 | ||
| 120= | Glen Haynes |  | 77 | 72 | 149 | 5 | ||
| 120= | Michael Moore | | 73 | 76 | 149 | 5 | ||
| 122= | Mitchell Brown | | 75 | 75 | 150 | 6 | ||
| 122= | Jonathon Holder | | 75 | 75 | 150 | 6 | ||
| 122= | Liam Gransden (am) | | 73 | 77 | 150 | 6 | ||
| 122= | Nick Gillespie | | 76 | 74 | 150 | 6 | ||
| 122= | William Flitcroft | | 73 | 77 | 150 | 6 | ||
| 127 | Mitchell Norbis (am) | | 73 | 78 | 151 | 7 | ||
| 128= | Sung Yong Park | | 74 | 78 | 152 | 8 | ||
| 128= | Reece Oliver (am) | | 73 | 79 | 152 | 8 | ||
| 130= | Andrew Fiorenza (am) | | 75 | 78 | 153 | 9 | ||
| 130= | Steven Donnelly (am) | | 70 | 83 | 153 | 9 | ||
| 130= | Bradley Doherty (am) | | 75 | 78 | 153 | 9 | ||
| 133 | Matthew Stieger | | 85 | 69 | 154 | 10 | ||
| 134 | Luke Whitbread | | 75 | 80 | 155 | 11 | ||
| 135= | Luke Streater (am) | | 78 | 78 | 156 | 12 | ||
| 135= | Gregory Rodgers | | 77 | 79 | 156 | 12 | ||
| 135= | Ben Rollo (am) | | 82 | 74 | 156 | 12 | ||
| 138= | Young Park (am) | | 77 | 80 | 157 | 13 | ||
| 138= | Kevin Seo | | 78 | 79 | 157 | 13 | ||
| 138= | William Seo | | 80 | 77 | 157 | 13 | ||
| 141 | Michael Smyth | | 80 | 80 | 160 | 16 | ||
| 142 | Justin Field (am) | | 85 | 77 | 162 | 18 | ||