Golf Australia has today announced its 2015 “rookie squad” with three new star-studded additions.
Outstanding prospects Minjee Lee, Su-hyun Oh and Todd Sinnott join second-year members Oliver Goss, Nathan Holman and Cameron Smith in receiving Golf Australia funding and specialist assistance throughout 2015.
The squad, all recently turned professionals, are viewed by Golf Australia as having the best structures, plans, work ethic and potential to be world-class athletes.
GA high performance director Brad James said the squad, now in its seventh year, was designed to help “ease the transition of our elite athletes” from amateur through to professional ranks.
“It provides a pathway for our athletes to have success when they turn pro instead of enduring a long period when they’re out there learning to be professionals,” James said.
“They’re effectively pros now before they actually turn professional. We’re seeing that now with some of the athletes who have recently turned pro such as Cameron Smith, Nathan Holman and Oliver Goss that they’re tasting some success in the first year or two when they turn pro.
“And I think we’ll see that with Minjee, Su and Todd this yearas long as they continue the hard work they put in as elite amateurs.”
James said much off-course work was being done by the athletes and their teams to produce world-class results.
“The Golf Australia Rookie Program assists this process by providing the worldwide resources and advice to make the transition a smoother one,” he said.
“But it does take time – and immediate success for these athletes is not just about golf, it’s about how to deal with the off-course distractions and commitments and they’re some of the hardest parts of the professional game to deal with those aspects.”