Yarrawonga schoolboy Baxter Droop beat a stack of the best amateurs from the Border and North East, as well as Melbourne, to claim the Gen Z event in Wodonga on Wednesday.
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Droop, the son of long-time Yarrawonga Mulwala Golf Club pro Evan and younger brother of emerging star Frazer, fired a terrific one-under par round of 69 in the heat and wind.
"I played really solid all day, didn't do too much wrong," he offered.
I played really solid all day, didn't do too much wrong.
- Baxter Droop
The 17-year-old, who will continue his Year 12 studies at Sacred Heart College this year, shot five birdies and four bogeys for the biggest win of his rising career.
"It's a good achievement for me to win this event, which is the first time Geoff (Ogilvy) has done it and he's given me a couple of opportunities to go into the next couple of events," Droop said.
The Geoff Ogilvy Foundation is targeting the next generation of Australian talent after his own stellar 20-year career overseas, with 18 on the US PGA and two in Europe.
Meanwhile, Alexandra Hilliard won the leading female amateur with a round of 75, three-over par.
"I think it was really good to be playing under the same conditions, the same tees as well as the pros, just to gauge the difference and show me where I need to be," she explained.
The 21-year has been playing since she was four and is a member at Commonwealth Golf Club in Melbourne.
Hilliard has won a number of State amateur events, which helped her at Wodonga.
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"It was very hot and the wind was tough to judge," she admitted.
"It was swirling all the time and I wasn't sure about my club choice, I started on the second and had a pretty solid start, a few up and downs, a couple of birdies, but I slowed down a little on the back nine."
