Golf Australia has announced the members of the Golf Australia Rookie Professional Squad for 2011. The squad members are: Bronson La Cassie, Matt Giles, Matt Griffin, Rick Kulacz, Matt Jager, Kieran Pratt, Jason Scrivener, Jordan Sherratt, Rebecca Flood, Stacey Keating, Stephanie Na and Alison Whitaker. The program has expanded from eight to twelve players in 2011. The Golf Australia Rookie Program offers a way of assisting professional golfers as they enter the most exciting and challenging time of their professional careers; finding and establishing themselves on an international Tour and understanding the demands of travelling to different parts of the world whilst at the same time trying to compete against the best players in the world. The Rookie Program consists of male and female professionals with no stipulation on the number of program members. Successful applicants each receive a rookie scholarship that is offered for a period of one year with a review after six months. The scholarship holder can be part of the program until their fifth year of professional golf. There are essentially two streams of funding within the scholarship including Training and Preparation Funding and Competition and Travel Funding. The Training and Preparation funding offers support to access to coaching, strength and conditioning, biomechanics, sports psychology, physiotherapy and advice from nutritionists. The Competition and Travel Funding helps cover a range of player expenses including airfares, accommodation, entry fees and caddy fees. Golf Australia High Performance Director Brad James, who will oversee the program, said the squad represented a good mix of professionals who have played on various Tours already and those new professionals who have made the transition from Golf Australia s National Squad program. We re pleased to be able to expand this program and make the opportunities available to more players who warrant our support, James said. Applications for the program almost doubled in 2011 and former and current rookies are resounding in their praise for the program.