WHILE the final margins may have been somewhat larger than expected, very few who have followed the fortunes of two of Australia’s brightest young golfing stars would have been surprised when the pair scored dominant wins in Perth at the recent national amateur titles.
For Queenslander Billy Dowling and Victoria’s Jazy Roberts, victory in the 2026 adidas Australian Amateur Championships put an exclamation mark on their impressive amateur careers.
In the men’s championship Dowling closed with a 7-under 63 at The Western Australian Golf Club to finish at 18-under, in claiming a five-shot victory over NSW pair Joshua Fuller and Kayun Mudadana, while Roberts was even more in control of the women’s event, firing a course-record 10-under 63 on the last day to finish the week at 27-under, six shots clear of Japan’s Anna Iwanaga.
“I felt in control of everything and knew exactly where I was hitting it. It was just a matter of plotting along hole by hole,” Dowling said of his final round.
Queenslander Billy Dowling scored a dominant five shot win in the 2026 adidas Australian Amateur Championship.
Starting the day tied for the lead with the ACT’s Harry Whitelock at 11-under, Dowling parred the opening hole, before the Brisbane Golf Club member would birdie the next three and mix eight birdies with just a solitary bogey on 16.
For the 20-year-old, the victory completes a major amateur goal as he eyes turning professional in the coming months following strong results on the PGA Tour of Australasia over the summer.
Returning from Dubai late last year after a fifth placing at the Asia Pacific Amateur, Dowling made five cuts in six Australasian Tour events, highlighted by a second at the Queensland PGA and a third at the Webex Players Series Victoria event.
“It means a lot,” Dowling said. “I’ve represented Australia, I’ve won my state amateur, but the Australian Amateur is one everyone knows goes down in history.
“I can’t really put into words how much it means.”
In the women’s championship, Roberts began the fourth round four shots ahead, holed a 15-foot birdie putt on the first, before making 10 more birdies, including five in a row on the back nine and on six of the final seven holes.
Shooting a 10-under par 63 on the final day, Jazy Roberts has claimed the 2026 Australian Amateur title.
The 63 from Roberts kept Iwanaga at bay despite the Japanese visitor closing with a 9-under 64 of her own.
The win adds to the 21-year-old Yarra Yarra Golf Club member’s outstanding amateur resume, with this expected to be her final appearance at the Australian Amateur before turning professional.
“I think I’ve done pretty much everything I wanted to as an amateur,” Roberts said. “It’s definitely the one I wanted to win the most.”
Names on the Australian Amateur trophy include major champions Cameron Smith and Michael Campbell, along with Minjee Lee, Grace Kim and Lydia Ko, underlining the quality and class of some of the tournament’s former winners.
“Obviously there’s still a lot of hard work to be done,” Roberts said. “But it gives me a lot of confidence that I can go on and do what they’ve done.”
With five wins in World Amateur ranking events, including a victory at the Dunes Medal last November, after also taking out the Pacific Northwest Women’s Am and placing second at the North and South Women’s Am in the US during her golfing travels in 2025, and Roberts also has the amateur pedigree to make a successful tilt at the professional ranks in the years to come.
Stars on the rise and two young Australian’s set to make their mark on the world golfing scene.
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