Portsea Open Amateur 2026

The Men’s and Women’s Champions of the 2026 Portsea Open Amateur.

After playing in the final group in 2025 and coming up just short, Edward Sargeant returned to Portsea in 2026 and played scintillating golf across the three days, including a course-record 9-under 62.
67, 62, 73, 69 (-13)

Returning as defending champion, Feiyu Xing yet again outclassed the field with her consistency to go back-to-back as the Women’s Portsea Open Amateur Champion.
70, 71, 70, 70 (-7)

2026 Event Recap

The 2026 Portsea Open Amateur delivered a week of record-breaking golf results under rare winter sunshine, culminating in dominant victories for Ted Sargeant and defending champion Feiyu Xing.

For the first time in recent memory, all three days were played under clear blue skies and calm conditions, a welcome change from the usual winter wind and rain that has almost become synonymous with this tournament. With a newly installed fully automated irrigation system, Portsea presented some of its best winter conditions in years, with firm fairways and slick greens making for a true test for all players.

Both the Men’s and Women’s fields were their strongest ever, highlighted by a full field of women for the first time and an automatic handicap cut-off of +0.3 for the Men. With past champions Jorja Bailey (2024) and Feiyu Xing (2025) returning to the Women’s field and past contenders in the men’s field such as Ted Sargeant, Jack Nibbs and Maxwell Oldham, as well as 2025 there were plenty of big names to watch out for. Local hopes flying the flag included Club Champion Will Fitzpatrick, Harry Ritchie and Oscar Lonergan, ready to put in a good performance at their home course.

Round one saw 21 players finish at even par or better, a theme for the week with perfect conditions for scoring. In the morning field, runner-up finisher from last year, Ted Sargeant, took the round one lead with a steady 4-under 67 that included seven birdies, closely followed by Eugene Smith with 3-under 68.

The star of the day came from the Women’s field, where Sophie Mann rebounded from an opening bogey to card a brilliant 5-under 67, including a chip-in eagle at the par-5 fourth. Her round not only stood as the low round of the week but also tied the women’s course record alongside Feiyu Xing and Jeneath Wong—a fantastic achievement.

Day two saw the jumpers come off as another picture-perfect day meant another chance for low scoring. In a post-round one interview, Ted Sargeant still felt he had left a few out there, especially on the par 5s.

“Didn’t quite take advantage of the par fives,” Sargeant said. “I might just change up strategy for them tomorrow.”

Whatever that strategy was, it worked. Sargeant played the three par fives in 4-under, including an eagle on the third. His eagle, eight birdies and one bogey ended his afternoon round on 9-under 62, smashing the men’s course record and etching his name into the history books at Portsea Golf Club. There were many brilliant scores across the day in the Men’s field, including Shaun Hedger (66), Christopher Thomson and Malachy Marshall (67), however, they weren’t enough to stop Sargeant from building a nine-shot lead.

In the Women’s event, Sophie Mann couldn’t replicate her outstanding first round, but remained in contention only four shots back heading into the weekend. All eyes were on Feiyu Xing, who backed up a first round 2-under with a cruisy 1-under 71 to lead by four over Joyce Zhu, Jessica Zhu and Sophie Mann.

Sunday came around in a flash with both fields cut in half for the final 36-hole day, with the cut falling at +10 for the Men and +7 for the Women, setting up a high-quality weekend shootout.

Final Day – Men
Sargeant’s lead was cut back to just five after a third round 2-over 73 that included a costly triple bogey 7 at the difficult par 4 fourth. Elbert Kim was looking to make a charge in the final round, sitting just five back at 6-under for the tournament after rounds of 70, 69, and 68.

However, an early slip-up proved costly. Kim carded a 9 on the par-5 third hole, opening the door for Malachy Marshall, who made birdie to close the gap to five. This lead would get as close as four on the sixth hole as Sargeant made his second bogey of the day. With his lead narrowing, Sargeant responded in style, making three straight birdies on 7, 8, and 9 to take his lead back out to seven. After an uncharacteristic three-putt bogey on 15, Sargeant’s lead sat at six as they stood on the 16th tee.

Marshall had nothing to lose, putting one close on 16 and knocking in a birdie and following that up again on 17 to put the pressure on Sargeant. Sitting long of the green after his second shot on 17, Sargeant was faced with a downhill chip to a green sloping away from him. All of a sudden, the gap didn’t feel so big. A bogey would see the lead cut to three going down the last and a double wasn’t out of the question. Once again, Sargeant showed a touch of class, hitting a fantastic chip below the hole and making a clutch par putt to keep the lead at four. Both Marshall and Sargeant finished off their rounds in style, hitting their approaches close into 18 and knocking in their birdies.

A valiant effort from Malachy Marshall, who shot a bogey-free 5-under 66 with birdies at his final three holes to apply pressure. It wasn’t enough to stop the talent that is Ted Sargeant. Congratulations Ted, your performance across the three days was outstanding.

Final Day – Women
After a 2-over par 74 in her first round, Joyce Zhu had bounced back with 71 and 69 to be just three shots behind Feiyu Xing, who shot another 2-under 70 in the third round, heading into the final 18 holes on Sunday.

Joyce Zhu stumbled early, bogeying her first three holes to fall six behind Feiyu, who looked comfortable in a position she has come to know well. Joyce rallied with back-to-back birdies at 10 and 11, trimming the lead to four, but Feiyu went on to make birdies at 13, 15 and 16. Feiyu showed brilliant iron play, controlling her flight and spin into the greens, capped off by her tee shot on 16 that landed a foot from the hole.

An enticing back-and-forth down the stretch between Feiyu and Joyce ended with Feiyu tapping in for par to win by six shots and claim her second straight Portsea Open Amateur title. Congratulations Feiyu, you have yet again proven your status as one of the best amateur golfers in the country.

Thank you to all the players involved in the event for showcasing top-level amateur golf across three incredible days. It is always exciting to see the best amateurs in Australia take on Portsea. To the volunteers, the club could not run this tournament without your help. Thank you for taking time out of your days to be a ball spotter, starter or assist at registration.

We can’t wait to see you all back for a bigger and better 2027!