Rick Kulacz has announced that he has both turned professional and selected IMG for global management and marketing representation. Kulacz, a 22-year old from Perth, Western Australia, will start his professional career at the first stage of the PGA TOUR Qualifying Tournament later this month. Kulacz was the 2001 World Junior Champion and Australian Junior Champion. He has been a member of the Golf Australia National Squad since 2002 and has established himself as one of the finest amateurs in the country winning the South Australian Invitational, Dunes Medal and Federal Amateur in the past two years. Last November he became the first amateur to win on the Von Nida Tour at the NSW Open and the following week was paired with Greg Norman in the third round of the MFS Australian Open at Royal Sydney where he impressed everyone with the quality of his game and composure in the presence of Australia&aposs golfing icon. This year, Kulacz was a quarter finalist at the British Amateur Championship and in August won the Scratch Players Amateur in the United States. He was also a member of the winning Australian teams at the Trans-Tasman Cup, Four Nations Cup and Asia-Pacific Teams Championship. On his decision to turn professional, Kulacz said: “I feel the time is right to take the next step in my golf career and I am looking forward to the challenges that lie ahead. I want to express my thanks to everyone who has supported me through my amateur career and in particular to Greg Fitzhardinge and the WA Golf Association. “I am excited to start my professional career and partner with IMG to utilise their global expertise to achieve my long-term career goals.” David Rollo, IMG Client Management Executive, commented: “We have had the pleasure of following Rick&aposs progress over the past few years. His impressive ability and strong work ethic have enabled him to become one of the world&aposs best amateur golfers and those traits will serve him well going forward. IMG is excited to join Rick s team and support his ambitions as a professional golfer.”