Poppy De Winne claimed the 2025 Benalla Open Women’s Club Championship in May, a remarkable feat at just 15.
Golf clubs around the world often reserve car spots in prime positions next to the clubhouse for their reigning club champions, a little perk afforded to the golfer who put it all together on the biggest day to take out the title.
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But if Benalla had a designated spot for its recently crowned Open Women’s Champion, it would sit vacant — she’s not old enough to drive.
At just 15 years old, Poppy De Winne is a star on the rise, having captured the Benalla Golf Club Championship in May to continue her phenomenal trajectory after only starting to swing a golf club seriously two years ago.
It’s still hard for the teenager to comprehend her most recent achievement, which came over a gruelling 36 holes in May, capturing the title with a hole to spare.
“I’m in disbelief, I cannot get my head around it. I’m super happy though,” she said while recounting the victory last week.
“It was seven hours of golf, so it was a very long day. I just tried to keep myself together and just tried to be confident, even though I was going down a bit.”
Benalla teen Poppy De Winne claimed the Benalla Open Women’s Championship in May, and has her sights set on one day becoming a professional. Photo: Alexander Dabb
With a large crowd following, and trailing by one at the halfway mark, it would have been understandable if the young gun faltered slightly under the circumstances, but remarkably, Poppy was able to block out the external noise and rise to the occasion.
“There was lots of pressure, but I just tried to not even think about the crowd,” she said.
“I was just trying to be in the moment and put my game face on a little bit, but there was lots of pressure still though.”
Poppy had a secret weapon up her sleeve to help her navigate the tense moments down the stretch, however, with the 1989 Victorian Country Week Champion, three-time Benalla club champion and course record holder carrying her bag — her grandfather, Graham Tonkin.
“It was such a special moment,” she said.
“I’ve always wanted him to be my caddy if I played in the club championships, and I feel like that made him so proud as a grandpa, to caddy for his granddaughter when he was once a club champion.
“It was such a special moment for me, I will remember that for the rest of my life.”
Poppy De Winne and her grandfather, three-time Benalla club champion Graham Tonkin, share a hug after the teen’s victory.
Given the family pedigree, it comes as no surprise Poppy has managed to make a name for herself; however, it is the rapid rate of her progress that is staggering.
It was just two years ago that she began to play golf, having given the Women’s Get into Golf program — a Golf Australia initiative — a try when she was between sports, quickly showing a natural aptitude and seeing her handicap tumble at lightning speed from 50 down to her current 8.7.
A win at the RACV Junior Open in Ballarat last November, competing at the Jack Nicklaus-designed Heritage Golf Course for the Heritage Junior Tournament in January and even securing a sponsorship from Primal Health Club are just some of the accolades Poppy has racked up in her short time on the links.
But the success she has tasted is spurring her on to achieve her ultimate goal.
“Just thinking of the progress I’ve made (from) 13 to 15, the amount of progress I’ve made in such a short time is really good,” she said.
“Ever since I started, it’s always been a goal to become a club champion, and then also become pro.
“That’s been the biggest goal of mine, to become pro, so that’d be really nice.”
While there is a way to go before realising that goal, given she is still only 15, Poppy has her sights set on a more immediate target, where she is set to test herself against some of the best in her age group at the Victorian Junior Amateur, a 72-hole stroke event to crown the best juniors in the state.
“That will be a really good experience, it’s over four days,” she said.
“It’s the first week of the school holidays, so it should be really fun to compete against some really good girls my age off plus-one (handicaps).”
