Katana Webb, 14, the men’s winner as Mandy Sudlow-Brown retains title at Albany Golf Club’s Wittenoom events

The Wittenoom Cup heralded a weekend of firsts at the Albany Golf Club by providing its youngest ever men’s winner and first woman to retain her crown. Katana Webb, 14, an Albany schoolboy who started playing golf just three months ago, took the men’s Wittenoom Cup by a stroke from Ian Smith, formerly of the Albany links course but now attached to Busselton. Nedlands Golf Club member Mandy Sudlow-Brown, who won the Brenda Wittenoom Open last year, triumphed again, this time needing a countback to keep her grip on the plate from Bunbury’s Jo Jones in a historic weekend of golf. Webb, whose ambition even in these early days is to play on the pro tour, found the going tricky over the two rounds as the breeze came in and the greens firmed up. However, the Albany Senior High School student held his nerve for a maiden victory — and a likely reduction in his handicap in the near future. He plays off 29 but the maximum handicap for the Wittenoom Cup is 27 so he lost two shots of benefit each day. Despite that the teenager fired a nett 73 in round one on Saturday and followed it up with a nett 69 on Sunday for a tally of 142, one shot better than Smith. Webb said he tried to make it simple. “I tried to play the course easier than normal because the conditions were pretty tough,” he said. The 13th, he said, was especially hard — a par four where he took seven —– but pars at the 4th, 15th and 18th showed a player who is fast maturing. He was born in Collie but with dad Jayden, a sheep shearer, the family have lived in Darkan and Kojonup before settling in Albany. It was his dad who introduced him to golf, but he said it’s Rory McIlroy and Bryson DeChambeau who inspire him. “I would love to play on the pro tour — that’s the aim,” he said. “But in the meantime, I just want to learn to have the best swing I can.” Mandurah’s John Wanless was third with 143 while local Ian Guildford claimed the gross title with 149. Sudlow-Brown was thrilled to retain her title thanks to her second-round nett 71. A birdie at the par three 14th made the difference — and reduced the impact of the nine she took on the par-five 16th. She said the conditions had made the two-day event a battle. “I was playing rescue golf most of the time and had to force myself to focus very hard,” she said. She has a holiday home in Albany but is usually to be found in Perth where she runs a women’s golf program at Collier Park. Sudlow-Brown said she had been practising in Albany, escaping the Perth heat. “It was 40C in Perth on Christmas Day so I rang up work and said they would see me in a month,” she said. The Vines’ Bernie Caffrey was third with 142 while Albany’s Sally Carey had the best women’s gross score with an impressive 163. Club manager Dan Northcott said the week-long festival had been a success with hundreds of local players and visitors taking part in handicap competitions throughout the week and more than 1000 rounds having been played. “It has been a really big week for the players and for our staff, but it is always great to see people who come back year after year,” he said.