Epic albatross helps Kortni claim un-fore-gettable win

Imagine making an albatross, golf’s rarest of birds, on the final hole to win a tournament by one shot. 

Well, that’s exactly what Como Secondary College student Kortni Houston did at the Australasian PGA Tour’s Players Series at Royal Fremantle Golf Club in early January. 

Trailing by two shots with one hole to play in the tournament’s junior championship, Kortni produced a contender for shot of the year when she holed her second shot on the par five 18th hole for an albatross. 

Her perfect seven iron, from 155m, saw the Year 11 golf prodigy leapfrog leader Heejoo Cho in a single swing and walk off the green a winner in front of a stunned gallery. 

The odds of making an albatross, three shots under the par of a hole, are approximately one in six million. 

With pro golfer dad Simon caddying for her, Kortni initially thought her ball had found the greenside bunker. 

“It was a pretty sandy lie, so I just wanted to hit it to the front edge of the green,” Kortni said. 

“It came out hot and hooked early so I thought it went in the bunker. 

“But dad said, ‘good shot’ and we started walking, then everyone went crazy. 

“It was very unexpected. I didn’t see it actually go in until I saw it on the replay, but it was pretty cool.” 

Kortni attends the specialist golf program at Como Secondary College, where she enjoys working with coaches to hone her swing and sharpen her short game. 

“There’s about six hours of golf a week,” Kortni said. 

“We still do all the regular classes, but our sport and health curriculum is golf. 

“We practise at Collier Park Golf Course in period zero before school and also complete a theory class every week.” 

Golf program students compete in a yearly order of merit and the centrepiece 36-hole Como Championship. 

For 15-year-old Kortni, the program offers the ideal preparation to help her become a professional golfer like her dad, who teed it up in the main draw of the Players Series. 

Aside from her attention-grabbing albatross exploits, the Player Series also offered Kortni valuable experience playing in front of TV cameras alongside elite pros. 

She was paired with English DP World Tour winner Andrew “Beef” Johnston on Saturday and played with Ladies European Tour member Kirsten Rudgeley when she made the albatross on Sunday. 

“It was amazing,” Kortni said. “I’d never played a Players Series before.  

“On the Saturday, we had 200 people following us the whole time and it was on TV. 

“It was so cool.” 

Kortni received her trophy from tournament hosts and WA golf superstars Minjee Lee, a three-time major winner and current women’s world No.3, and her brother Min Woo Lee, a PGA Tour winner and men’s world No.45. 

Find out more about Como Secondary College’s specialist golf program.