The stage is set for an exciting 2017 Victorian Boys and Girls Championships, with the historic event returning to Yarra Yarra Golf Club for all four competition rounds from September 25-28.
Tournament Director Doug O’Keeffe is thrilled to see the event at Yarra Yarra for a second straight year, with some of the nation’s best young players again granted the chance to play four full rounds without a cut at one of Melbourne’s prestigious sandbelt clubs.
“Yarra Yarra Golf Club has hosted an array of major tournaments in recent history. Having the sustained support of the club is a massive boost to these two Championships and we are very excited to continue the momentum from last year,” says O’Keeffe.
Yarra Yarra’s General Manager Peter Vlahandreas has been instrumental in building the event after the club became the exclusive host for the tournament in 2016.
“I’m sure the players of this event will have a great experience over the four days on the testing layout the course provides,” says Vlahandreas.
“Last year’s winners Konrad Ciupek and Alizza Hetherington now join some of Australian golf’s most decorated players who have enjoyed success in the Boys and Girls Championships and we look forward to seeing who emerges in 2017.”
The tournament is Victoria’s oldest junior event with the Girls section first played in 1925 and the Boys Championship established in 1930. Steeped in history, the tournament boasts an impressive honour roll of both male and female winners.
Burtta Cheney (1935), Margaret Masters (1951 – 1954), Lindy Goggin (1969), Rachel Hetherington (1991) and Su Oh (2008 and 2010) have all held the Girls trophy aloft.
Last year, Girls champion Alizza Hetherington went on to claim the Victorian Amateur title just three months later, before competing in the 2017 ISPS Handa Women’s Australian Open.
Past male champions include Kevin Hartley (1951), Ian Stanley (1966), Bob Shearer (1963), Marc Leishman (2001), Bryden Macpherson (2007) and Todd Sinnott (2009).
Rising star Cameron John (Commonwealth GC) etched his name on the Boys trophy back in 2015 and has since won the 2015 Argentine Amateur, 2015 Victorian Amateur, 2016 Scottish Stroke Play and the 2017 Australian Boys Amateur title.
O’Keeffe expects the field to be strong in 2017 and is confident that the tournament will continue to expand.
“The tournament has progressively grown over the past few years with a capacity field last September,” says O’Keeffe.
“We have already had players express interest from overseas and interstate. With the guarantee of four rounds at one of the best courses in Australia it is bound to attract even more interest going forward.”
The Victorian Boys and Girls Championships is one of three Australian Junior Ranking Events held in Victoria, the other being the Victorian Junior Masters and Victorian Junior Open.
Live scoring will be available for all four rounds and a live stream of the final round will be available at www.golfvic.org.au.
Please click here to register for the Championships.