Strong field goes for gold
Canadian squash star Dane Sharp and Jamaica's Lewis Walters have been installed as top seeds for the men's division of the annual $18,000 City of Kalgoorlie-Boulder Golden Open, which gets under way today.
But they will have to find winning form against No.3 seed, Canberra's Joshua Larkin, as they chase a slice of $5000 prize money.
All three contested last weekend's City of Perth WA Open, with Larkin notching victories over Sharp and Walters before beating Korea's Ko Youngjo in the final.
Youngjo, 19, is among three Koreans in the Golden Open field, alongside Jaejin Yoo and Jong Myoung Park.
The strong international flavour for the 43rd Golden Open includes England's Mark Broekman and Japan's Ben Takamizawa Harris.
Despite the absence of defending champion Mike Corren, tournament director Peter Siebert said it was a quality field.
"I'm happy with who we've got and it's great to see so many top players following up major events in the Northern Territory, Adelaide and Perth to come here," he said.
Defending women's champion Cindy Meintjes returns as the No.1 seed.
Last year, Perth-based Meintjes beat New Zealand's Katrina Palmer, 3-1 (11-8; 8-11; 11-3; 11-1) in just 18 minutes to grab a sixth Golden Open title.
Meintjes will also contest the women's masters.
This weekend's program features 117 players across 18 divisions.
Twenty-five Goldfields players make up the field, including Charlotte Polmear in the women's first division and Janelle Hanks and Jade Woods in division 2.
Among the men's field, local chances include Nigel French (division 2) and Siebert, Richard Moss and Luke Seinor (division 3).
Finals will be played on Monday, with the top division clashes set for 10.30am (women) and 11am (men).
