South-west golfers Noah Best and Hamish Huffadine win second youth pennant title with Commonwealth Golf Club

The match would be close friend and teammate Hamish Huffadine's last in the youth competition due to his age (23) and Best wanted to send him out on a high note.

While Best, 20, may have fallen narrowly short in his individual match, Commonwealth triumphed 3-2 against Riversdale to hand the south-west pair their second title playing together at the level.

"That (Hamish's final game) was definitely a motivating factor for me, I wanted to win, not only for me but for him and for the rest of the team," Best told The Standard.

"So it was really special to get one over the line for him.

"We've grown really close, we're the best of mates and I'd do anything for him, he'd do anything for me and I think if the roles were reversed he would have fought his heart out just like I fought my heart out for him."

The duo, Best from Warrnambool and Huffadine from near Port Campbell, first clinched the title with Commonwealth back in 2021.

Best explained that the feeling of winning differed between the two events.

"A little bit different this year given that I couldn't quite get over the line in my match but it feels really good..." he said.

"Obviously the first win, it's a lot more special and I had a bit of stuff going on for that one and to win down 18 (was great).

"But it still feels really good, I'm really proud of not only what I've done but what the team's done this season."

Huffadine prevailed in his contest while Best ultimately lost on the final hole but still walked away content with his efforts.

"I was three down at the turn which was a little bit of bad luck combined with some poor shots but I shot two- under around the back, so I couldn't have done much more other than hole a couple of putts here and there," he said.

"It was a well-fought match and Eric (opponent) played really well.

"I found out (we'd won) walking down the 18^th fairway, so once I found that out it didn't really matter what I did from there."

The former Warrnambool College student acknowledged that any mixed feelings he had about his individual season were pushed aside by the result.

"I had a couple of losses in there and a couple of wins but at the end of the day we won, so it was really good," he said.

Best's attention now turns to Commonwealth's club championships, with round two scheduled for the upcoming weekend.

He finished two over par in round one on Saturday.

"It could have been better, could have been worse," Best said of his performance in the first round.

"I'm sitting five back or six back.

"There's still a bit of ground to be made up but happy with the way I've played the last couple of days."

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