Mean on the greens and fearsome on fairways, Brett Kellow recently grasped both hands around the Victorian Men’s Ivo Whitton Trophy, named as one of four Order of Merit winners from across the state.
Kellow finished top of the Vic pile after playing a year’s worth of state Order of Merit tournaments, racking up 873 points to beat second-placegetter Matthew Dahlsen by a whopping 151-point margin.
Winners were judged on a scoring system based on graded event placings from November 2023 until October 2024, and in the men’s category, Kellow was untouchable.
“I’ve sort of been playing on and off for the last 10 years really, but I just decided to have a little bit of a crack this year,” he said.
“I played 14 events for the year, I think I finished top 10 in 13 of those, top five in nine of them and then had four wins as well.
“It was a very consistent year.”
That kind of consistency may see Kellow suit up for duty in the 2025 Victorian Open.
It would be a first for him and, unless qualification criteria has changed for the open, Mooroopna Golf Club’s marvel will be flying the fruit salad city’s flag on the state stage.
“In the past, the Ivo Whitton winner has got an invitation into the Victorian Open,” he said.
“I’m still waiting to hear whether or not that is still the case, but in previous years that’s what has happened.
“Fingers crossed I get an invite to that event, that would be great.”
Kellow labelled his Ivo Whitton Trophy collection as “nearly top of the list” of his golfing achievements, and reaching the Victorian Open would surely rank high, should all things go to plan.
However, among his many wins for 2024, Kellow may not have had a more thrilling finish than his Mooroopna Golf Club Championship victory last month.
A gold-standard game of golf was contested between Kellow and Jordan Geisler, with the former ending the final one-up to clinch the club title.
“That was a very high-quality match,” he said.
“I got it done on the first extra playoff hole; I think I was nine under par for the two rounds and Jordy was very similar — it was good.”
While Kellow has travelled far and wide in 2024 to play a bucket load of golf, he’s not resting on his laurels yet.
He intends to play the Australian Amateur on January 14-17 at Melbourne’s Cranbourne and Commonwealth golf clubs, where he could very well rub shoulders with some of the game’s future pros.
The last time Commonwealth hosted the nation’s premier amateur tournament in 2013, the winners were Cameron Smith and Minjee Lee, who both currently sit inside the world top 100.
