On a day of celebration, and supposed relaxation for all fathers, it was great to see so many out in force supporting their sons and daughters in the 2016 Kooringal Junior Tournament. Fantastic weather welcomed the players on arrival, and benign conditions persisted throughout the day with only a slight breeze to trouble players.
Players competed in both Stableford (Handicaps 20+) and also Stroke (Handicaps up to 19) sections, with the coveted Winn Llyod and Kevin Hartley Trophies awarded to the leading girl and boy respectively on the day.
On a day that proved hard to score it was great to see some extremely impressive scores from some very young players. In the U14 girls section Jeneath Wong (Huntingdale GC) and Keeley Marx (The Heritage GC) were tied on a score of 80, with Keeley Marx awarded the win after a close countback. Jeneath Wong took the U14 girls nett winner title with a score of 75. In the U14 boys section is was hard to go past Nathan Page (The National GC) and his low scoring 72, a score that would prove to be the best of the day. Also Sonny Distanislo in the U14 section shone through with a 71 nett to take the title. Aashish Sudarsanan (Metropolitan GC) grabbed the U16 boys title with a steady round of 76, fighting off a number of players not too far behind. Also in the U16 boys section Harrison Weaver (Medway GC) returned the best nett score with a 69.
In the overall sections youth proved to be the key ingredient. With Keeley Marx and Harrison Weaver, both young in age but veterans on the junior tour, proving they have learnt valuable lessons to take home the overall girls and overall boys nett prizes with rounds of 75 and 69 respectively. Nathan Page and Shanaiah Fernando continued there fantastic 2016 form to capture the overall boys and overall girls titles with some stellar golf that included a 72 by Nathan and a 77 from Shanaiah. Both Nathan and Shanaiah have been members of the 2016 School Sport Victoria U17 State Team and both winners at the recent SAJG Regional Series at Keysborough GC.
In the boys Stableford section Siddharth Annangi (Latrobe GC) was the runaway winner with a fantastic score of 40 points, which included 22 points on the front nine. In the girls Stableford section Louise Baliton (Sunshine GC) impressed with 34 points, a round that also included her very first ever eagle.
A big thank you to the Kooringal Golf Club for their continued support of junior golf and well done to all players who competed today.
Click here for final results