Eight of Australia s rising star golfers have been selected to compete at the 2013 Australian Youth Olympic Festival (AYOF) at Twin Creeks Golf and Country Club in Sydney from 17-20 January. Golf, which was contested at the 1900 and 1904 Olympic Games, will again be on the program in Rio 2016. The 2013 AYOF will herald its global debut as it emerges once again as an Olympic sport. The two Australian teams are Rebecca Kay (QLD), Bianca Ling (VIC), Frazer Droop (VIC) and David Micheluzzi (VIC) and Amy Walsh (QLD), Celina Yuan (NSW), Brett Coletta (VIC) and Kevin Yuan (NSW). Rebecca Kay, from Coolangatta and Tweed Heads Golf Club, was the 2011 Queensland State Schools champion and finished in the top 10 at the Australian final of the Aaron Baddeley International. She is a former Athlete of the Year in the golf program at the Gold Coast Academy of Sport and ranked 20th on the National Junior Girls Rankings. Bianca Ling, a member of Kingswood Golf Club, won the Victorian Junior Girls Masters in January, an Australian junior ranking event and finished third at the Girls Tamar Valley Cup in Tasmania. She is ranked 11th on the National Junior Girls Rankings. Frazer Droop, from Yarrawonga Mulwala Golf Club Resort, finished runner up in this year s Victorian Junior Masters. He finished third at the Northern Territory Junior Championship and fourth at the recent Aaron Baddeley International Junior Australia final. He is ranked 14th in Australia on the National Junior Boys Rankings. David Micheluzzi, a member of Cranbourne Golf Club, finished fifth at the Victorian Junior Championships and won the Portsea Junior Open and Latrobe Junior Open in Victoria in 2012. He is ranked 31 on the National Junior Boys rankings. Amy Walsh, a member of Emerald Lakes Golf Club, finished 7th at the NSW Junior Championship in addition to three other top 13 finishes in junior ranking events. She finished 12th at the Australian Girls Amateur Championship and is ranked 16th in the National Junior Girls Rankings. Celina and Kevin Yuan are siblings from Bankstown Golf Club. Kevin, the older of the pair, won the Srixon International Sub Junior Classic and finished fourth at the Subaru State Age Championships. Celina finished third at both the Jack Newton Junior Golf International and the NSW Junior Championship. Brett Coletta, from Sandhurst Golf Club, won the Peninsula Junior Masters and is the Senior and Junior Club Champion at Sandhurst at the age of 16. He was also selected to represent Victoria at the School Sport Australia Championship. The tournament will be 72-holes stroke play, with no cut and comprise a boys and girls individual competition with winning players eligible for gold, silver and bronze medals. There will also be a team competition gold, silver and bronze medals (two boys and two girls from each country, aggregate of all four scores from each round). The tournament will be an official World Amateur Golf Ranking event.
Author: Golf Australia / AOC