Firstly, gamble responsibly.
But secondly, if you’re a punting golf nerd, this Ford Women’s New South Wales Open might well have been your perfect storm.
Like finding Keegan Bradley or Y.E.Yang to win the US PGA Championship from the clouds, there’s a surprise brewing at the Wollongong Golf Club – unless you’ve been paying attention.
It’s accepted in golf circles that world rankings can – and do – lie.
And if you subscribe to that theory, joint first-round leader Hannah Reeves is your proof.
Reeves defied trying conditions to pile up the birdies and join fellow Australian Kelsey Bennett atop the leaderboard at six under after a weather-delayed round one.
Even the super organised LET media staff had to jog around to background the 23-year-old Queenslander currently listed at No.857 in the sport’s official pecking order, the Rolex Rankings.
Reeves, 23, left home in Stanthorpe aged 13 to attend the Hills Golf Academy west of the Gold Coast, made famous by Jason Day among others.
She had some fine achievements as an amateur including representing Australia with a top-25 finish at the 2025 Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific Championship and a top-20 result at the 2023 Australian Open.
But from a distant viewpoint (read Europe), these are – understandably – easily passed off as obscure results.
Until 2026 ticked over, those rankings had the Aussie Open and precious little else to reveal to the world.
But what they didn’t show is the genuinely stunning run of success Reeves has enjoyed since taking the professional plunge in early October.
Ford Women’s NSW Open – Leaderboard
She joined an elite group to have won at their first pay-for-play event at the regional qualifier for this week’s event at Mollymook, went into even more rarified air the following week when she backed it up at Wagga.
And then did something that may never have been done in pro golf anywhere by winning her next event at Dubbo, to boot.
Admittedly, they’re not LPGA Tour events – but they’re bloody hard to win against a hungry WPGA Tour cast.
She then won a non-tour event, the Sanctuary Cove Professional Shootout.
And as you’ve probably realised by now, not one of those victories means jot on the Rolex Rankings.
So while there’s a long way to go this week – and nobody is jumping to any conclusions – you can guarantee there won’t be an “857” linked to Reeves’ name for long.
Before she rushed back out to start her second round, Reeves joked that she would like all tournaments played in New South Wales, given her record south of the Tweed.
But regardless of venue, she’s already showing enough on her LET debut to show she won’t be daunted by the occasion.
“It’s amazing. It’s kind of what you are training for. So yeah, I’m stoked,” she beamed.
“I’m just kind of taking each tournament as it comes and I would love to play in the LET in the future.”
And nobody who has seen her play in the past six months would doubt that’s possible.
Maybe, just maybe, sooner than later.
LIVE: Wollongong Golf Club
Sat 28 Feb – 2:30pm – 7:30pm
Sun 1 Mar – 12 pm – 5 pm
