All six states will go head-to-head at Adelaide’s Glenelg Golf Club from today for the 2026 Australian Interstate Teams Matches, with squads stacked with many of the nation’s leading amateurs.
Each state fields up to 10 players – five men and five women – competing in a round-robin format, with the men’s and women’s titles decided before the top two teams progress to a grand final for the overall championship.
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New South Wales return as defending champions after beating Queensland in last year’s final, chasing a third overall title in the five editions of the combined event, while Victoria has claimed the other two (2022, 2024).
NSW also defends the men’s title, one of Australian golf’s oldest trophies dating back to 1894, with four of last year’s winning side returning: Jye Halls, Kayun Mudadana, Blake Phillips and Coby Carruthers.
“Our team is just as strong as last year, if not stronger,” Carruthers said.
It’s the final amateur event for four members of the NSW men’s team – Carruthers, Phillips, Halls and Josh Fuller – after all four secured Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia status at last month’s Q-School.
“It’s very exciting that this is our last event. It’s sad, but it’s exciting,” Carruthers said. “We’ve grown up together over the past few years, so it’s nice to go out together.”
Carruthers arrives in strong form after victory at the Faldo Series Asia Grand Final in Vietnam a fortnight ago.
“I’m hoping to carry that form into this week and hopefully be a bit of a threat – and hopefully we’re all a bit of a threat.”
Queenslander Billy Dowling will also make his final amateur appearance after earning PGA Tour of Australasia status by topping the Future Tour Order of Merit. Dowling’s strong results in professional events – highlighted by a runner-up finish at the Queensland PGA, third at Webex Victoria and ninth at Webex Perth – secured his tour card, while he also claimed a five-shot win at the Australian Amateur Championship in February.
While Queensland boasts a strong men’s line-up, its women’s team is chasing a third consecutive title in a championship dating back to 1897, with Grace Rho and Ionna Muir returning from last year’s winning side, Muir having been part of both recent triumphs.
The women’s field is particularly deep, featuring the likes of Victorian Jazy Roberts and South Australian Raegan Denton [pictured], both ranked inside the top 50 on the World Amateur Golf Ranking.
Like Dowling, Roberts dominated the Australian Amateur Championship, winning by six shots, before finishing third at the Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific to climb to No.41 in the world.
Denton, ranked 39th, opened her year with victory at the Australian Master of the Amateurs and recently produced the best-ever result by an Australian at the prestigious Augusta National Women’s Amateur, finishing tied fourth.
“I was able to prove to myself that I deserve to be in such prestigious events,” Denton said. “Not just being invited, but also competing and finishing tied fourth. It really shows I can compete with the best. I was able to take a lot away from it and hoping to put it into this week.”
Playing on home soil, Denton believes it gives her side an edge as underdogs.
“This is the home course for three of our players, so they know it like the back of their hand,” she said. “We might be a bit of an underdog coming into this week, but we’re looking really strong and it’s going to be a close contest.”
Victorian Amelia Harris also enters in red-hot form after claiming the Australian Junior Amateur, making it three wins from her past three starts.
The field is further bolstered by NSW duo Jye Halls and Rachel Lee, the 2025 Australian Amateur champions, along with Victorian Abel Eduard, winner of the 2026 Australian Master of the Amateurs, to name just a few of the many proven winners across a stacked field shaping as an exciting week of interstate championship golf.
TEAMS
Victoria
Men: Hamish Farquharson, Abel Eduard, Max Moring, Ben Stevens, Bailey Goodall
Women: Jazy Roberts, Amelia Harris, Fuyu Yang, Jessie Yun, Seabil Leong
Queensland
Men: Billy Dowling, Chase Oberle, Wesley Hinton, Harrison Gomez, Taylor Barr
Women: Alicia Ludi, Grace Rho, Ionna Muir, Allegra De Guzman, Elly Peterson
South Australia
Men: Kade Bryant, Jack Leonard, Malachy Marshall, Frank Vucic, Alan Xin
Women: Raegan Denton, Stephanie Keylock, Elyse Kozlovic, Zoe Manton, Amelia Whinney
Tasmania
Men: Elijah Monaghan, Mitch Van Noord, Jonty Lunson, Dylan Backhouse, Xavier Nicholls
Women: Kalynda Cowen, Lorissa Dobson, Jessie Richmond, Billie Richmond, Kirri Piper
Western Australia
Men: George Barclay, Spencer Harrison, Adam Baillie, Josiah Edwards, Nate Johnson
Women: Katie Seol, Valerie Khuu, Amanda Gan, Amie Phobubpa, Kortni Houston
New South Wales
Men: Jye Halls, Kayun Mudadana, Blake Phillips, Coby Carruthers, Josh Fuller
Women: Ella Scaysbrook, Rachel Lee, Camilla Kim, Lara Thomsen, Charlotte Perkin
