Romantic partners Cassie Porter and Tyler Duncan completed a triumph for love at the prestigious Keperra Bowl in Queensland today.

Porter’s win in the women’s event was the climax of a stunning comeback from injury, and she was able to watch as Duncan took the men’s title with a par at the third playoff hole against Blaike Perkins. The tournament was shortened to 54 holes because of storms on the second day.

The 19-year-old Porter, who plays out of Peregian Golf Club on the Sunshine Coast, picked up four shots to par in the final four holes today on her way to a 67, the day’s low round.

At 10 under par, she won by two shots from last year’s winner, Justice Bosio.

It is her second victory since spending much of 2020 sidelined by a bad back injury that derailed her after a brilliant 2019 that included wins at the Northern Territory Women’s Amateur, the Jack Newton International Junior Classic and the Toyota World Cup Junior in Japan.

A stunning eagle at the par-four 15th was the highlight, coming with a hole-out with an eight iron from 142 metres. “One bounce and in,” she said later. “It was handy.”

Porter’s eagle-birdie-birdie-par finish was enough to take the prize, and she was delighted to add to her Katherine Kirk Classic win for this year. “This one’s special,” she said. “It feels good to be back in the winners’ circle, that’s for sure.”

The Peregian product was diagnosed with a back stress fracture late in 2019 that kept her away from the course and rehabilitating but she is “fighting fit” again now. “When you’re 17, you’re untouchable,” she said. “I have so much more respect now for how everything moves!”

Nineteen-year-old Duncan (Redcliff) and Perkins (Pelican Waters) both shot 67 to get into the men’s playoff at 10 under par, with Perkins having fallen away with bogeys at the last two holes of regulation play. They proceeded to go back down the par-four 18th hole three times, with Duncan holing an eight-metre birdie at the second playoff hole to extend it.

Then at the third playoff hole Perkins found a greenside trap and could not get up and down, leaving Duncan to win with a regulation par. “It’s my biggest win,” he said. “I won some junior events – the Vic Junior and the Gary Player and I was the No. 1 ranked Australian junior in 2019, but then Covid came.”

The pair were heading out for a celebration with friends tonight, with Duncan expressing delight for his partner’s return from the depths. “I’m over the moon for her,” he said.

Women's scores

Men's scores