The Victorian Boys and Girls Championships has a new home in 2018, with Moonah Links Golf Club locked in to host all four stroke play rounds from September 24-27.
Having held the Australian Open in 2003 and 2005, the move to Moonah Links gives the country’s best young players another chance to test themselves on one of Victoria’s premier layouts without a cut.
Tournament Director Doug O’Keeffe is thrilled with the announcement that the Championships will be played on the Mornington Peninsula for the first time.
“Having the support of the club is a massive boost to these two Championships,” says O’Keeffe.
“The courses and facilities Moonah Links boasts are world class. I’m sure the competitors will be thrilled with the announcement and we are very excited to maintain the momentum of recent years.
“Kazuma Kobori and Bella Kil joined some of Australian golf’s most decorated players by winning the Boys and Girls Championships last year and we look forward to seeing who emerges in 2018.”
Last year’s fields at Yarra Yarra GC were the strongest in the event’s history, with 47 interstate players and 16 internationals (from Singapore, New Zealand, Thailand and Malaysia) making the trip to Melbourne to compete.
A staggering 50 players were balloted out of the tournament in 2017 after a record number of entries were received, O’Keeffe confident the Championships will continue to grow in 2018.
“The tournament has progressively grown over the past few years, highlighted by a capacity field and an extensive waiting list last September,” says O’Keeffe.
“We’ve already had players express interest from overseas and interstate. With the guarantee of four rounds at one of the best courses in Australia, we’re bound to attract the very best golfers locally and abroad.”
For those unable to make it to Moonah Links for Thursday’s final round, the live stream of the final round is returning to www.golfvic.org.au in 2018, with live scores available during all four rounds.
The Victorian Boys and Girls Championships is one of three World and Australian Junior Ranking Events held in Victoria, alongside January’s Victorian Junior Masters and the Junior Victorian Open at the start of summer.
With the girls’ event first played in 1925 and the boys’ Championship established in 1930, the tournament is Victoria’s oldest junior event.
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.
Past male champions include Kevin Hartley (1951), Ian Stanley (1966), Bob Shearer (1963), Marc Leishman (2001), Bryden Macpherson (2007) and Todd Sinnott (2009).
Please click here to register for the Championships.