uot;left" />Boom West Australian youngster Minjee Lee has capped a great year with another rare honour.
Lee, 18, took the world by storm this year before turning professional in September after helping Australia to the world teams title.
Her results have catapulted her to win both the women’s and girls’ sections of the Australian Amateur Rankings in 2014.
The system honours the best performed and most consistent players with the results of more than 70 ranking events across Australia collated to determine the winners.
Lee won both categories courtesy of her wins in the Australian Amateur, Oates Vic Open and Dunes Medal and top five placings in the NSW Open, WA 72-Hole Championship and Victorian Amateur.
The men’s rankings was won by Victorian Todd Sinnott, who finished runner-up in several events including the Riversdale Cup, Mandurah Open, Master of the Amateurs and Victorian Amateur as well as being a semi-finalist in the Australian Amateur.
Another Perth golfer, Curtis Luck, won the boys’ rankings after being runner-up in the Australian Amateur and winner in the NSW Medal, WA Medal and Victorian Junior Masters.
The men’s and women’s senior rankings, for players aged 55 years and over, had newcomer Gordon Claney (Vic) take the honours with a number of top performances including winning the Australian Senior Amateur and Victorian Senior Amateur as well as top-five finishes in the Royal Melbourne Senior Classic, National Senior Masters, Queensland Senior Amateur and SA Senior Amateur.
Jacqui Morgan (NSW) won the women’s senior rankings for the first time after being in contention for the past two years. Morgan was top qualifier at the Australian Women’s Senior Amateur and winner of the NSW Senior Amateur and NT Senior Amateur.
More than 3700 players from around the world competed in the rankings events, with the systems continuing to provide vast interest for golfers of all ages.
The Australian Amateur Ranking System provides players, as well as the industry, the opportunity to monitor player movements based on results from particular events across amateur golf.
Golf Australia's high performance program uses the rankings (along with other ranking systems that exist within amateur golf) as a tool, not a benchmark, when selecting teams/squads for national or international competitions.
The Australian Amateur Championship, as well as other prominent Australian golf championships, uses the rankings as an entry criterion for its events.
Each system is points-based, and operates over a 12-month rolling period. All national championships and each state’s amateur championships count towards a player’s average, in addition to various other major events.
Players’ points are determined by their finishing positions in each event and the events themselves are weighted according to the field strength.
Summary:
Men’s Rankings:
1. Todd Sinnott (Vic) 130.83
2. Curtis Luck (WA) 110.78
3. Simon Viitakangas (Qld) 95.32
Women’s Rankings:
1. Minjee Lee (WA) 195.08
2. Su Hyun Oh (Vic) 135.20
3. Shelly Shin (NSW) 128.04
Boys’ Rankings:
1. Curtis Luck (WA) 139.56
2. Ryan Ruffels (Vic) 127.02
3. Zach Murray (Vic) 95.94
Girls’ Rankings:
1. Minjee Lee (WA) 194.33
2. Karis Davidson (Qld) 160.21
3. Su-Hyun Oh (Vic) 148.88
Senior Men’s Rankings:
1. Gordon Claney (Vic) 102.67
2. Stefan Albinski (NSW) 101.12
3. Vince Clark (NSW) 95.02
Senior Women’s Rankings:
1. Jacqui Morgan (NSW) 224.25
2. Sylvia Donohoe (NSW) 154.50
3. Josie Ryan (Qld) 142.58
Further information: http://www.golf.org.au/playerrankings