To conclude what has been an up and down year, juniors from across the state gathered yesterday for the 2020 Smarter Than Smoking Junior Presentation Day at Gosnells Golf Club.
22 Teams took part in the annual four-ball ambrose event, with the theme this year being ‘all things yellow’ in support of The Longest Day and the Cancer Council. There were many impressive outfits out on course and we thank teams for getting involved and making the day even more enjoyable. The golfing winners of the day were GolfWA’s team of Greg Higham, Emma Elliot, Jordan Jung and Abbie Teasdale with a score of Nett 52.75 with Lake Karrinyup 2 and the Pinjarra Paddlepops finishing just behind on 53.25. The best-dressed team, arguably the more important prize, went to the boys from Gosnells, aptly named ‘Pineapple Express’. Honourable mentions to the Gosnells Girls and the Pinjarra Paddlepops who looked fantastic!
As part of the Junior Presentation Day, the 2020 Smarter Than Smoking Junior Stroke Averages were awarded to the following names who have produced some impressive scores across the season:
- 11 & Under Boys Winner: Ollie Marsh – Mount Lawley GC (79.71)
- 12- 13 Boys Winner: Riley Gott – Western Australian Golf Club (74.82)
- 14- 15 Boys Winner: Aldrich Potgieter – Joondalup Country Club (71.11)
- 16- 17 Boys Winner: Jordan Jung – Royal Perth Golf Club (69.67)
- 14 & Under Girls Winner: Erina Tan – Mount Lawley Golf Club (74.50)
- 15- 17 Girls Winner: Abbie Teasdale – Royal Fremantle Golf Club (71.86)
In the lead up to the event, clubs were asked to nominate junior golfers who have shown significant improvement since the start of 2020 for the Most Improved Golfer of the Year. Congratulations to all those nominated by their club and on their great improvement and efforts, it is fantastic to see so many young golfers working hard on their game.
The Most Improved Boy of 2020 was Mason Burr from Gosnells Golf Club – Mason competed in many junior events across the year and shown considerable improvement by reducing his handicap by over 14 shots. Mason recently broke 80 for the first time and is well on his way given his passion for golf.
The Most Improved Girl fo 2020 was Katie McCabe from The Vines Golf & Country Club – Katie only took up the game of golf only two years ago, by working hard on her game Katie was able to reduce her handicap by over 12 shots since of the 2020 and will look to continue this great trend.
The major award for the evening is the Keith Barker Medal inaugurated in honour of Keith’s contributions to golf in WA, and is awarded to the most outstanding junior boy and girl golfer across the 2020 season. All those nominated showed great results across the year but there were two standouts that proved their talent and class in their final year in the junior ranks, Abbie Teasdale (Royal Fremantle) and Jordan Jung (Royal Perth).
Abbie had an impressive year in her final year in the junior ranks. Despite turning 18 in August, Abbie started the year strong with a win at Nedlands Junior Masters and followed it up by winning the Cobra Puma Junior Championship and Drummond Golf 54 Hole Championship in the July School holidays. Abbie is a fantastic representative of her club and her state, always carrying herself and competing to the highest level.
Jordan had an oustanding year and was always a consistent performer no matter the level of the event he competed in. He showed this across the year with his impressive stroke average and tournament results such as runner up at WA Amateur Championship in March and a 5th place finish at the Nexus Risk WA Open in October. Jordan also had multiple juniors wins including Cobra Puma Championship, Drummond 54 Hole and Gosnells Junior Open.
Congratulations to all award winners and all those that took part in what was an incredibly enjoyable day. We thank our sponsors Healthway, Drummond Golf and Cobra Puma Golf, as junior golf in WA would not be what it is today without their continual support.
Further to the day, Gosnells Golf Club raised funds for one of their own junior members and will be taking on The Longest Day 72-Hole challenge on Friday, December 18th. To get behind them and donate to a great cause click here!
