Bathurst Ladies Open draws strong support from across state

A large number of first-time contenders are tackling the open and many low-handicap golfers will be lining up for a shot at A grade glory when the tournament starts on Monday.

Organisers have received 130 entries across the three days of play and more than 30 players will be taking on the tournament for the first time.

Bathurst Ladies Golf club captain Jane Mitchell said it's been fantastic to see such strong support for the city's premier women's event.

"There's really strong fields in each division. In the lower handicaps we've probably got around eight players who are in contention," she said.

"I'm so pleased and proud of our golf club because we put on a great tournament and everyone enjoys it.

"This year we've got 30 new players while the rest are returnees. We've done really good promotion this year and have a new sponsor on board in Professionals Bathurst, who have really helped us with that.

"The word's getting out that we run a good tournament and people want to play in it."

Entries have been received from Sydney and Canberra for the tournament, while looking westward entries have been made from Trangie and Wellington golfers.

Among the entries are players not far away from playing off scratch, plus a couple of rising talents.

Mitchell said the amount of talent competing for the top grade prize is great to see.

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"We've got two juniors who are very low markers. They're under 10 handicappers. There's also a couple of players around the five mark," she said.

"Casey Thompson, our local, is one of the juniors playing and Olivia Molino from Sydney is the other."

Both of the young stars have strong history at the Bathurst Golf Club.

Thompson is a former winner of the Bathurst Junior Classic from 2016 while Oatlands golfer Molino was victorious in the 2014 edition of the Peter O'Malley Junior Masters.

Bathurst's Chelsea Litchfield has dominated the tournament in recent times, winning three of the past four editions.

Last year she shots rounds of 76 and 77 to win the tournament by 12 strokes.

Players tee off from 8am through to 10am.

Notable players in the field include Susan Fenwick from Duntryleague, Barbara Bohdanowicz plus local players Lousea Johnston and Katrina Ferris.

The Bathurst Women's Open runs over Monday and Tuesday while the action continues with the foursomes event taking place on Wednesday.