The country’s top junior golfers, as well as a strong contingent of internationals, have completed their preparations ahead of descending on Gosnells Golf Club in Perth from today for this year’s Australian Junior Amateur.
With names like Lee, Scott, Oh and Smith on the trophies, the Australian Junior has long been a proving ground for Australia’s next stars.
The format is 72-hole strokeplay, with a cut made after 54 holes. Play commences today with the final round on Friday.
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The girls championship
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The nature of junior golf is such that golfers rarely get the chance to defend their titles, with wins often coming in their last year in the age category before they enter the open ranks. Sixteen-year-old Ann Jang is an exception to that rule however, thanks to an incredible triumph at last year’s event at Tasmania Golf Club.
Back to defend her title, Jang, from New South Wales Golf Club, will have to do battle again with last year’s runner-up, New Zealand’s Eunseo Choi. Choi is coming into the week with some strong finishes to start the year. With a T-3 at the adidas Australian Amateur and a win at the New Zealand Women’s Stroke Play Championship, both open age events, Choi is playing some commanding golf.
While Jang and Choi will prove hard to beat, Sarah Hammett, Amelia Harris and Chloe Lam will be three of the favourites to do just that.
Queenslander Hammett has been playing in a number of professional events to test her game and was at Coffs Harbour for the rain-affected Australian Women’s Classic last week. Last November, she took on the strongest field in Australian women’s golf to finish 18th at the ISPS Handa Australian Open. More recently, Hammett finished runner-up at the historic Queen Sirikit Cup in New Zealand, featuring a blistering five-under 67 in the second round, highlighting just how dangerous she can be to the field.
Younger than most in the field, 15-year-old Harris will be looking to repeat Ann Jang’s achievements of last year. The Melbourne teen felt the agony of many a golfer before her at this year’s adidas Australian Amateur. With a six-shot lead heading into the final round, Harris was chased down by one of Japan’s top amateur golfers. What Harris revealed that week however, is that she is capable of going lower than most, and she will definitely be one to watch at Gosnells.
New Zealander Lam boasts one of the lowest handicaps in the field, plus-5.1, and will be looking to upset the Aussie girls at their home event.
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The boys championship
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Unlike the girls, many of the boys from the top of last year’s leaderboard have moved on to the open ranks, paving the way for a new champion to etch their name into the trophy. Victorian Rupert Toomey, who finished fourth at Tasmania Golf Club last year, is the only player from last year’s top five who is back to compete again this year.
Fellow Australians Jesse Trembath and Hamish Farquharson from Victoria, alongside Queenslander Chase Oberle, have all had strong starts to their seasons and will have high hopes coming into the week.
Last season’s boys order of merit winner, Josiah Edwards, may well be the No.1 favourite. A member at Gosnells, Edwards will be hoping his innate course knowledge will give him an edge over his competitors.Â
New Zealand quartet Robby Turnbull, Jack Van Prehn, Joshua Bai and Cooper Moore will all be favourites to be at the pointy end of the leaderboard by the end of next week.
Like fellow Kiwi Choi, Turnbull won the New Zealand Men’s Strokeplay Championship to kick-start his year, beating out many of the country’s top amateurs in the open age event. Turnbull also took out the Canterbury Stroke Play, where Moore finished runner-up, the pair ready to do battle again at Gosnells.
