Albany Golf Club member Stacey Carey claims maiden 2023 Brenda Wittenoom Open

Frankland River young gun Stacey Carey won her first Brenda Wittenoom Open after a dazzling opening day helped her claim the prestigious event against strong opposition at Albany Golf Club at the weekend. Carey defeated a talented field, scoring excellent rounds of 67 and 71 to finish on 138 and win by six shots ahead of Kerry Steicke (144) and Gail Kneale (144). The 22-year-old Albany Golf Club member took the lead on the first day after a dominant showing on the first 18 holes and never faltered from there, holding on to win her maiden title on day two. Carey, only having taken up the sport in the past year, said she was feeling the heat after a scintillating first nine holes on the first day had her in pole position for victory. “It was a shock for me, I think everyone else was betting on me a little bit which added a little bit of pressure,” she said. “I wasn’t really expecting to win at all but I’m really happy to get the result. “The first day was definitely better than the second one, I started off really well on day one. “I had a score of 41 on the first nine holes and then my second nine definitely wasn’t as good but that strong start kind of made up for it. “The next day I had about four shots more than the first day, I was really feeling a lot more pressure on that second day that’s for sure. “We play down at Albany every weekend so it’s always special to win there.” Runner-up Steicke shot rounds of 73 and 71 respectively while Kneale secured a podium finish with scores of 70 and 74 across the two days. Anna Wolfe recorded scores of 70 and 75 on both days to grab fourth with a total score of 145 while Marie Intini rounded out the top five with 145. Intini sat just two strokes behind Carey overnight after shooting a great round of 69 but a score of 76 on day two relegated her to fifth spot. The gross winner for the competition was Steicke who shot 85 and 83 on Saturday and Sunday.