In establishing the Junior 6s Invitational, Ewan Porter sought to honour two of the most important influences on his life… and do some good in the process.
The idea to host a junior tournament with a difference came before the death of his father, but when Norm Porter passed in September 2018 it provided the catalyst Ewan Porter needed to bring it to life.
Porter’s vision is to invite the best junior golfers in the country and provide them with an important step on their journey to becoming professionals.
The inaugural Junior 6s Invitational, to be held at Sydney’s Cronulla Golf Club on October 7-8, serves as a junior hybrid of the Vic Open and World Super 6 Perth formats, with the best 36 boys and 36 girls to play 36 holes of strokeplay before the top eight advance into six-hole matches.
The winner of the boys event will receive an exemption into the 2019 New South Wales Open and Gippsland Super 6 tour events while the girls winner will play in the 2020 NSW Women’s Open and the ActewAGL Canberra Classic, an ALPG tournament co-sanctioned with the Ladies European Tour.
By playing a part in their future, Porter gets to honour his past and the game that shaped the direction his life would take. A keen rugby league player as a youngster, Porter joined Cronulla Golf Club at 12 years of age where long-time professional Colin Arnold ensured his group of eager juniors were given playing opportunities denied to many their age.
The encouraging environment he found opened Porter to a world of possibilities.
“Golf gave me absolutely everything. Everything,” a passionate Porter tells Australian Golf Digest. “Irrespective of where I’ve been, who I’ve met, what I’ve seen, it’s all because of golf, and it all started with Cronulla Golf Club, with the Jack Newton Junior Golf Foundation and Golf NSW.
“They’re the three foundations and clubs who elevated my trajectory in golf and set a platform for where my life took me. I joined Cronulla in 1994 just after I turned 12 and there were a lot of juniors there at the time. Junior members weren’t allowed to book in for the Saturday comp so you had to call up first thing Saturday morning and hope there was a spot or you had to show up Saturday morning.
“There’d be a dozen juniors or more who would show up when it was still dark on Saturday morning and Colin Arnold would always get us a game. He was the best. He would manufacture the sheet in some capacity or do whatever it took. He had the committee’s blessing to go ahead and ensure that we all played.
“There was always that sense of trepidation especially if you knew the sheet was full, but I can’t ever remember not getting a game. I took everything for granted up until two or three years ago and sitting out of golf for a while gave me some clarity. I’ve become very appreciative of every opportunity I’ve had not just in golf but in life.”
“Sitting out of golf for a while gave me some clarity.” – Ewan Porter
When the winners of the strokeplay section are presented with the Norm Porter Memorial Trophy on October 8, it will mark little more than a year since Norm’s passing. The memorial service was held at Botany Golf Club where he was a long-time member but through his son, Norm came to have an association and many friendships also at Cronulla.
Ewan’s emotions tend to reside just below the surface and given the significance of the moment, he knows it will be a trophy presentation he’ll never forget.
“I’m sure I’ll be able to hold it all together in the moment but it’s certainly something I’m going to be very proud of, and I know my dad will be,” said Porter, winner of two Nationwide Tour events including the 2008 Moonah Classic.
“My mum’s going to be there with me so as long as I don’t look at her I’m sure I’ll be fine.”
