Date: July 13, 2018
Author: Mark Hayes

Young guns primed for US Junior

Six of Australian golf's brightest prospects have arguably the biggest date of their season rapidly approaching.

Tee times for next week's US Girls' Junior and US Boys' Junior championships have been formalised with three Australians in each competition, effectivly on opposite coasts.

Western Australia's Maddison Hinson-Tolchard, the reigning Australian Girls' Amateur champion, will lead out the female challenge, teeing off first at Poppy Hills Golf Course in California.

Hinson Tolchard will tee off at 10.55pm (Perth time) on Monday night on one of the seven courses around the famous Pebble Beach in northern California.

She will be followed out in the next group by the first of two Sydneysiders, with Steph Kyriacou also off the first tee on day one at 1.06am (Sydney time) on Tuesday.

Her Australian Interstate Series-winning teammate Doey Choi will play off the 10th tee on day one, away at 6.32am (Sydney time) on day one.

Poppy Hills will be set up at (a variable) 5620m and play to a par of 36-35–71.

Like the boys' event, the girls' tournament will reduce to the low 64 scores after two rounds of stroke play, then play six rounds of match play to find a winner the following weekend.

On the east coast, the boys will tackle both courses of the famous Baltusrol Golf Club in New Jersey.

Both the Lower Course (par 70, 6620m), used during the 2016 US PGA Championship, and Upper Course (par 71, 6648m) will be played in the stroke play phase before the Upper takes on the match play rounds.

Starting first-up on the Upper Course at 11.33pm (Brisbane time) on Monday night will be rising Queenslander Jed Morgan.

Off the same tee at 12.57am (AET) will be No.1-ranked AJGA junior Karl Vilips, while an hour later (1.57am Brisbane time), Seongyong Yoon, or "Terry" to his mates at the Surfers Paradise Golf Club, will launch his first drive.

Golf Australia high performance director Brad James was excited for all six youngsters.

"Any time you get the opportunity to play a USGA championship event, it's a great honour and also a rate chance to test your game with the level of play demanded and the course set-up they provide," James said.

"We wish them well as they take on this incredible opportunity and challenge."