By: Neal Maidment
The excellence of WA’s junior golfers was recognised at the 2022 GolfWA Crunch&Sip Junior Presentation Day at Hartfield GC on 11 December.
The annual Presentation Day sees clubs participate in a team event, with three juniors and a club official per team, followed by an awards ceremony for WA’s top junior golfers.
Pictured above, the big winners were Celine Chen (Joondalup CC) and Joseph Buttress (The Western Australian GC), who were announced as the respective 2022 Girls’ and Boys’ Junior Golfers of the Year.
Celine’s impressive season saw her secure a number of strong finishes in both junior and open events including victory at the WA State Amateur and the Drummond 54 Hole, and top-10 finishes at the Australian Junior Amateur, the Bowra and the O’Dea Women’s Classic.
Celine was also a member of both the WA Junior and Open Interstate teams and was selected by Golf Australia to play in the Singapore Junior Golf Championship in June – all factors that saw her secure top honours ahead of fellow nominees Aiyana Morris (Royal Perth GC), Amanda Gan, Valerie Khuu and Erina Tan (all Mount Lawley GC), Kortni Houston (Lakelands CC), Jorja Hinson-Tolchard (Gosnells GC) and Sheridan Clancy (Lake Karrinyup CC).
Joseph – who was also presented with the 2022 Long Driver Award on the day – enjoyed a stellar year both at home and abroad. He won four significant titles at the WA Cobra Puma Championship, the Tasmanian Junior Amateur, the Tasmanian Junior Masters and the Victorian Junior Amateur, as well as a runner-up finish at the Australian Junior Amateur.
Also a member of the WA Junior Interstate team, Joseph looks set for a bright future as he claimed the Keith Barker medal as the WA Boys’ Junior Golfer of the Year ahead of fellow nominees Liam Sullivan (The Vines CC), Ken Gao (Mount Lawley GC), Josiah Edwards (Gosnells GC), Krishav Seth (Lake Karrinyup CC), Matthew McLaughlin (Lakelands CC) and Lachlan Hall (Joondalup CC).
Tanae Bouwer and Sam Monteleone each slashed 26 strokes off their handicaps in 2022
Awards were also presented to the Most Improved Junior Girl and Boy for 2022, with Tenae Bouwer (Joondalup CC) and Sam Monteleone (Royal Fremantle GC) topping the respective standings amidst hot competition.
Tenae started the year playing off 43 and slashed an incredible 26 shots off her handicap to finish the year playing off 17. She claimed the award ahead of Zerlina Xu (The Western Australian GC), Abbey Burnham (Pinjarra GC), Isobel Dorrington (Lake Karrinyup CC), Baoly Doan (Mount Lawley GC), Zoe-Grace Ong (Gosnells GC), and Jessica McLaughlin (Lakelands CC).
Just like Tanae, Sam reduced his handicap by 26 strokes this year, smashing his own goal to play off 15, a milestone he reached in July, to finish the year with a 9.6 handicap. In a breakthrough season, Sam won the RFGC April Junior Monthly and competed in all three of Golf WAs flagship junior events throughout the year. He won the Most Improved Junior Boy award ahead of Ethan Hews (The Vines CC), Oliver Macdonald (Royal Perth GC), Yash Seth (Lake Karrinyup CC), Connor Pearson (Gosnells GC), Tuan Truong (Mount Lawley GC) and Jackson Tait (Joondalup CC).
In addition, 2022 Crunch&Sip Junior Stroke Averages awards were handed out to players who have reduced their stroke average by the greatest amount through playing a minimum of 15 Junior Stroke Average events over a 12-month rolling period. This year’s winners were: –
11 & Under Boys: Blake Wager – Gosnells GC (84.33)
12- 13 Boys: Ollie Marsh – Royal Fremantle GC (72.64)
14- 15 Boys: Josiah Edwards – Gosnells GC GC (72.81)
16- 17 Boys: Joseph Buttress – The Western Australian GC (69.52)
14 & Under Girls: Valerie Khuu – Mount Lawley GC (72.52)
15- 17 Girls: Celine Chen – Joondalup CC (70.56)
Finally, the winners of the team event on Presentation Day were The Western Australian GC, whose quartet of John Woolfrey, Riley Gott, Joseph Buttress and Lucas Wan achieved a score of 53.
Jordan McSkimming, GolfWA’s Junior Development Officer, said the event was a suitable celebration of the healthy state of junior golf in the state. “We’ve seen some terrific performances by a number of talented juniors throughout 2022 and it’s great to see them recognised here today. The future of golf in WA is looking very bright.”
—————–
The Crunch&Sip GolfWA Junior Program is a great way of introducing juniors to competitive golf. Find out more about the program here.
