Harrison Crowe has big plans for this week’s Australian Boys’ Championship – and even bigger plans for 2019.
With a goal to shave 600 spots off his current world ranking of 1147 by year’s end, the 17-year-old will head into the 72-hole championship with his eyes firmly on the top prize.
“I feel like my game is where it needs to be at the moment,” the NSW state team member said.
“Competitive wise, I’m thereabouts and I just need to put the numbers on the board. I’m really excited for what these next two weeks and the year has in store for me.
“My goal is to be within the top 400-500 in the world by end of the year. That will kickstart me into a few events, like the Australian Master of the Amateurs.”
Crowe arrived on the Gold Coast on Monday with the NSW Junior Interstate team before a practice round today.
“Queensland courses are always fun to play and Southport will definitely be a challenge,” he said.
“There is a lot of water and strategic play needed. It will be a test and the course will separate the better golfers throughout the week.”
Chief among Crowe’s rivals will be Louis Dobbelaar and Kazuma Kobori, both with impressive resumes.
Kobori, a member of Rangiora Golf Club in New Zealand, recently won the NZ PGA against a high-class professional field, while Dobbelaar has been a prominent member of the Queensland high performance program and state team for years.
“At some point you do sort of look at other players, but you do your best to block it out,” Crowe said of his opponents.
“I’m trying to focus on myself this week. I do my best to play my own game, chat to my player partners and try to have fun.”
A member at St Michael’s in Sydney, Crowe only has to look within his club for inspiration.
“There are some high-quality players coming out of St Michael’s (Travis Smyth, Steph Kyriacou, Kelsey Bennett and John Lyras to name a few) and it’s a pretty high bar to set and overcome; but it’s a good challenge.”
Play begins at 7am (AEST) on Wednesday with live scoring available here.