The stage is set for an exciting 2016 Victorian Boys and Girls Championships to be played 20-23 September.
In a major coup, all four competition days will be played at Yarra Yarra Golf Club without a cut after being held across Northern Golf Club and Yarra Yarra for the last three years.
Tournament Director Doug O’Keeffe is thrilled to see the event played exclusively at Yarra Yarra, one of Melbourne’s prestigious sandbelt clubs.
“Yarra Yarra Golf Club has hosted an array of major professional events in recent history. Having the support of the club is a massive boost to these two Championships and we are very excited to be here in September,” said O’Keeffe.
“Club General Manager, Peter Vlahandreas has been instrumental in making this year’s event possible and we are looking forward to continuing the momentum into the future.
“I’m sure the players of this event will have a great experience over the four days on the testing layout the course provides. Some of Australian golf’s most decorated players have enjoyed success in the Boys and Girls Championships and we look forward to seeing who emerges in 2016.”
The tournament is Victoria’s oldest junior event with the girls section first played in 1925 and the boys championship established in 1930.
Steeped in history, the tournament boasts an impressive honor roll of both females and male 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.
While past male champions include Kevin Hartley (1951), Ian Stanley (1966), Bob Shearer (1963), Marc Leishman (2001), Bryden Macpherson (2007) and Todd Sinnott (2009).
The current defending champions are Celina Yuan (The Australian GC) and Cameron John (Commonwealth GC) who has since won the 2015 Argentine Amateur, 2015 Victorian Amateur and the 2016 Scottish Stroke Play.
O’Keeffe expects the field to be strong in 2016 and is confident that the tournament will continue to expand.
“The tournament has progressively grown over the past few years with a record number of boys and girls in the field last year. With players guaranteed four rounds at one of the best courses in Australia it is bound to attract more interstate and international interest going forward,” added O’Keeffe.
Peter Vlahandreas, Yarra Yarra General Manager is excited his club will be the new exclusive host of the event.
“Yarra Yarra has a long history of amateur and junior golf tournaments and we are extremely pleased to be the exclusive host of the Victorian Boys and Girls Championships for 2016 and beyond.”
The Victorian Boys and Girls Championships is one of two Australian Junior Ranking Events held in Victoria, the other being the Victorian Junior Masters.
Live scoring will be available for all four rounds and a live stream of the final round will be available at www.golfvic.org.au.
Please click here to register for the Championships.