The Keperra Bowl has rapidly risen to become one of Australian amateur golf’s most cherished prizes.

And even amidst the tumult of 2020, the proactive Keperra Country Golf Club in Brisbane’s north-western suburbs is taking another key step to securing that mantle.

Entries for the 2020 edition, to be played from 13-16 October, open today -- and for the first time in its 16 years, there will be a female crown up for grabs.

It’s a move that Keperra general manager Gavin Lawrence said was “only logical” for the national rankings tournament.

“We all know that women’s golf is critical to the future of the sport and, to be honest, this has been something of a void for us, so we’re delighted to introduce women to the Keperra Bowl,” he said.

“From Marc Leishman as our first men’s winner and onwards, we’ve got a great honour roll and we’d love to see that become exactly the same in the women’s (division).

“Everyone at the club’s right behind it and very supportive, so we can’t wait.”

Golf Australia’s female pathway manager and former Vic Open champion Stacey Peters was equally excited.

“It’s fantastic that the decision was made to have a women’s field join such a prestigious and well regarded event,” she said.

“We’ve felt a lot of momentum building around female golf lately and the more we see clubs get behind this concept, the better it will be at all levels of the game.

“We commend Keperra for being so proactive and encourage all clubs to consider such moves to help us promote the equality we’re striving for as part of Vision 2025.”

The field will comprise 136 men and 36 women, with additional non-exempt entries balloted out based on GA handicap at 30 September.

A pair of 36-hole cuts will reduce the fields to 40 (and ties) and 21 (and ties), respectively, for third-round play.

Registration link here