Australia will be represented by two strong teams at the Asia Pacific Junior Championship starting today at Clearwater Golf Club.
Following the successful 2017 foray of Grace Kim and Jed Morgan, who brought home silver from nearby Hong Kong Golf Club, two in-form combinations will attempt to go one better against the region’s brightest young talent.
The all West Australian combination of Maddison Hinson-Tolchard and Josh Greer will be joined by Queenslander Cassie Porter and New South Welshman Jye Pickin, with both teams under the eyes of South Australia coach Adrian Wickstein and manager Alicia Smith.
All four youngsters have savoured impressive victories in the past year.
Hinson-Tolchard won the Australian Junior Championship in Perth, then backed up and helped lead her state to the Junior Interstate Series title.
Greer, who made a bold run at the Australian Amateur, was also the WA Junior champion amid a crop of incredibly talented West Aussies.
Porter, based on the Sunshine Coast, won the 2017 Katherine Kirk Classic and made her professional tournament debut at the Vic Open in February.
Pickin, of Newcastle, won this year’s NSW Junior and was recently second in the Northern Territory Amateur among a string of great results.
All players in Hong Kong this week must be 17 or under, with teams of two to play one fourball round, one foursomes round and one round of individual strokeplay to total 72 holes per team
UPDATE:
The young Australian teams are acquitting themselves well at this week’s Asia Pacific Golf Confederation’s junior championship in Hong Kong.
Chasing a European invitational team after the foursomes and individual components, the team of Sunshine Coaster Cassie Porter and Newcastle’s Jye Pickin are right in the hunt for a podium finish in today’s final fourball round at Clearwater Bay in Hong Kong.
The Porter-Pickin combo sits at a total of 218 through three rounds, 16 off the European leaders, but within four shots of the second Korean team in third.
Also chasing hard is the West Australian combination of Maddison Hinson-Tolchard and Josh Greer at a combined 222 through three rounds.
Porter and Pickin, who fired respective rounds of 73 and 70 in the opening individual section, combined yesterday to shoot a creditable 75 in foursomes played in windy conditions to share sixth place.
Hinson-Tolchard and Greer, after rounds of 77 and 70, respectively in individual play, carded the same 75 in foursomes to sit 12th.
Scores are expected to be low today as the best-ball format of the closing round heats up.
Coach Adrian Wickstein said all four members of the Australian teams were loving the experience and bonding well.
