WA junior star Joseph Buttress will be US-bound in June after being named as one of two recipients of the highly prized Cameron Smith Scholarship for 2023.
Selected by Smith himself in consultation with Golf Australia, Buttress and NSW’s Jeffrey Guan become the first beneficiaries of the scholarship to come from outside Queensland since it was launched by the golfing megastar in 2016.
Seventeen-year-old Buttress plays out of The Western Australian Golf Club and is a multiple winner at elite junior level. He ended 2022 as Australia’s top-ranked junior boy after a breakthrough season that saw him claim four Order of Merit ranking events, both in WA and interstate. In addition, he has finished as runner-up at each of the past two Australian Junior Amateur Championships.
A member of the GolfWA High Performance Program, Buttress has represented WA at junior and senior level – most recently in May’s Australian Interstate Teams Matches – and is considered to be one of the nation’s finest emerging talents.
Co-recipient Guan, 18, plays out of The Australian Golf Club in Sydney, is part of the Golf NSW elite squad and is already a two-time national junior champion. Earlier this month, he was part of the winning NSW team at the Interstate Matches in Sydney and is regarded as a player with potential to make an impact at global level in the coming years.
Both Buttress and Guan will now travel to the United States in June and spend a week practicing with and being mentored by Smith at his Florida home. They will also travel with Smith and spend time at the US Open, which takes place at Los Angeles Country Club from June 15-18.
That would be a mouth-watering prospect for any young golfer and Buttress admits that he was stunned when he heard the news of his scholarship award.
“When I first heard I’d won the scholarship it was a complete surprise to me. It had only ever been granted to QLD golfers before, so it wasn’t really on my radar,” he said. “I’m really proud to be one of the first national recipients and I know it’s going to be a great experience for me and Jeff.
“Like most Australian golfers, I love Cam Smith! I definitely hope to follow in Cam’s footsteps and do what he’s done in the game. Being able to pick his brain and learn about how he approaches practice, gym work and preparing for events will be incredibly valuable.”
What is the Cameron Smith Scholarship?
The Cameron Smith Scholarship commenced in 2016 after the Queensland superstar broke onto the world scene. Although previously awarded only to QLD golfers, this year’s scholarship was the first to have a national scope at the request of Smith himself.
Past beneficiaries include Louis Dobbelaar, Tyler Duncan, Kai Komulainen and Jed Morgan, who currently competes alongside Smith on the LIV Golf Tour.
The scholarship is part of Golf Australia’s Give Back program, where successful professionals agree to surrender a portion of their earnings as an acknowledgment of the help provided along the way and a means of future-proofing the sport. The money is funnelled back into elite amateur training programs via the Australian Golf Foundation.
“We’re delighted that this prestigious scholarship is going to be national from here on,” said Tony Meyer, Golf Australia’s High Performance Director. “It’s what Cameron wanted and we’re happy to facilitate that. It’s absolutely appropriate given his status as a worldwide player and one of the superstars of the sport.
“We know from past visits that first of all the players get so much out of spending time with Cameron, whom they all look up to. But we also know that Cameron loves imparting that knowledge. It’s part of his DNA that he wants to help others at a stage of their lives when they do need some guidance.”
Buttress isn’t the only WA golfer to benefit from an opportunity of this nature in 2023. Gosnells’ Maddison Hinson-Tolchard, who is currently studying in the US, was named as a winner of the 2023 Karrie Webb Scholarship in March.
Image credits: Australian Golf Media
Keep up to date with the latest elite golf news in GolfWA’s news section and on our Facebook, Instagram and Twitter feeds.
