Two of Australian golf’s brightest prospects are taking the professional plunge.
Sunshine Coaster Shae Wools-Cobb and Gold Coaster Dylan Perry will bid goodbye to glittering amateur careers and start in the pay-for-play ranks in coming weeks.
Wools-Cobb, a Maroochy River member, will make his pro debut on home soil at next week’s Isuzu Queensland Open, while Perry, based at Sanctuary Cove, will start one week later at the New South Wales Open.
Wools-Cobb created headlines when he opened the 2017 Asia-Pacific Amateur with a record 63 at Royal Wellington months after he reached the US Amateur’s final 16 at famous Riviera in Los Angeles.
The 22-year-old was a key member of the Asia-Pacific team that beat Europe for the first time in 14 years in this year’s Bonallack Trophy, capping a couple of stellar years that also included lifting the Mandurah and Northern Territory amateur crowns.
Perry, a long-time member at The Vintage in his native New South Wales, also rode a bullet train through the world rankings with a stellar 2017 campaign.
The 23-year-old, who will turn pro at the NSW Open, won the Riversdale Cup, went within a hair’s breadth of winning the British Amateur crown and backed that up with another near miss in the European Amateur.
He already has advanced to the third stage of the Japanese Tour Q-school with an eye on playing in Asia full-time as early as next year.
Golf Australia high performance director Brad James said both young men had been exemplary contributors to their state high performance squads during their amateur time.
“Golf Australia is extremely excited for both athletes to transition to their professional careers,” James said.
“Their high performance programs have provided some good underpinning development opportunities and we are confident they can use those learnings to help them during the difficult transition into professional golf.
“Both have had much success at the amateur level and we look forward to being a part of their journeys going forward.”