Playing at the Wentworth Golf Club in Orange on Sunday, the 17-year-old right-hander shot a seven-over 79 in challenging conditions and won by the length of the straight.

It was her second win at the competition, having also taken it out in 2013.

“She played very well, I can’t remember how close the runner-up was but it was at least 10 shots back,” Brendan McHugh, Anna’s dad, explained.

“Because she is studying for her HSC at the moment she hasn’t had the chance to play a lot of regular golf but she did play a round in the schools competition and then had a hit the day before this event, so that obviously got her hitting the ball well.

“She is nearly 18 now and the State Age Championships at the end of June are really the last major tournament in her junior career aside from this event in Wentworth so she wanted to do well.”

McHugh made a strong start with a birdie and a couple of pars in her first three holes.

By that stage she had put a significant gap between herself and her playing partners and none of the remaining competitors were able to get close.

Playing off eight going into the event, she was steady throughout her round to record the 77, and in the conditions her round was rated even better than the scorecard indicated..

“After taking in the course calculations and the formula they use to work out what a round is worth, based on the difficulty of the conditions, it worked out to be a 3.7 [over par] which is the best she has ever recorded,” Brendan McHugh said.

“Her previous best was exactly four. It was pretty wet and boggy in patches and the win was a bit of a factor, too. It was generally a pretty difficult day for golf. It is also based on how everyone else played so, given she was well clear, her adjusted score came down further.”

McHugh was playing off eight going into the competition, and her effort was enough to now drop her handicap to seven.

The Western Region Academy of Sport athlete will spend the next four or five months focusing on her studies and won’t be able to dedicate much time to her chosen sport but is still confident that her career path lies in the golfing direction.

“After the State Age Championships that’s basically it, though the Jack Newton Junior Golf Foundation do let players who’ve turned 18 in a given year contest the Harvey Norman Week of Golf the following January,” Brendan McHugh said.

“She will concentrate on her HSC though, and she thinks that she would like a career in the sport, not as a professional player but as a coach or something in that area.”