WA’s Isobel Dorrington & Georgia Garner-Dart loom large for Lake Karrinyup’s Bowra & O’Dea Women’s Classic

Isobel Dorrington and Georgia Garner-Dart hope local knowledge can give them an edge when the Bowra & O’Dea Women’s Classic tees off at Lake Karrinyup Country Club on Monday. The friends and regular playing partners, aged 19 and 21, have been members for years, and are the only two locals in the field of 24 for the 72-hole main event. “I love it out here, it’s like my second home,” said Dorrington, who took up golf aged seven and has been competing at the State’s premiere course since she was 11. “So having an event like this and I’m used to the course, it’ll definitely be a fun round. “It’s nice, because you have all the support, and every one of the members and your family and everyone they just want to come out and support you, which will be great.” Dorrington has spent so much time at Lake Karrinyup Country Club, with her mother Jan the the current women’s captain and her dad and grandparents also members, she feels like the has grown up at the club. “ I always come out and hang around with my granddad or my dad,” she said. “I remember spending a lot of time here (Lake Karrinyup Country Club) with my family, it has just always been somewhere I have enjoyed coming to.” Garner-Dart’s start in golf came when her dad taught her how to swing a plastic club before she could walk. The 21-year-old quickly rose up the ranks and made the Western Australian State program in 2017, finding a love for competitive golf. Now in her 15th year at Lake Karrinyup, Garner-Dart has an opportunity to showcase her talents on her home course alongside Dorrington. “I’m excited for it to be here (Lake Karrinyup),” Garner-Dart said. “It’s a course I know well and a beautiful one too. It should be a great few days playing and to do it with Isobel is really cool too.” Dorrington and Garner-Dart will be looking to propel themselves into the limelight after the Classic with former winners, such as Hannah Green (2013), going on to bigger and better things. The next step for Dorrington is to turn pro, as she sets her sights on giving back to the sport she loves. “My plan next year is to do my PGA traineeship,” Dorrington said. “So that’s going down a three-year traineeship path, and after three years you could become a PGA professional. “I’ll probably head down into the coaching pathway, and then maybe a few years later down the track into management. “I think by having a female coach when you’re 10 or however old you are, can definitely be inspiring, so I hope to do that.” As for the week ahead, the pair plan to use their home-course advantage as best they can. “I am just looking forward to playing on such a nice course and one I am lucky enough to call my home course,” Garner-Dart said. The 72-hole women’s competition and 54-hole mid-amateur and senior contests will tee off on Monday from 7.30am.