Claire Shin and Ali Rachid - Champions at Goulburn
(Sunday 25th November 2018)
Claire Shin (Concord) and Ali Rachid (Kogarah) have claimed dramatic victories at the 2018 Brett Ogle Junior Masters.
After starting the final round one shot back, Claire Shin (Concord) has shot a final round 69 to overnight leader Amber Thornton (Queanbeyan) by one shot. 13 Year Old Shin claimed her maiden JNJG Junior Masters Overall Title, closing the tournament out with a birdie at the last to take the trophy.
Shin was on fire early, making the turn with three birdies and no dropped shots to take the lead. The tournament turned on the 10th however, with Thornton taking the lead after a double bogey by the youngster. Playing one group ahead of the leaders was Concord's Yerin Kim and despite her best efforts to put the pressure on, getting it to four under par for the day at one stage, the tournament was turning into a two-horse race. Birdies on the 12th and 16th saw the Concord girl re-take the lead and despite a bogey on the 17th, led by one shot with one hole to play. Local girl Thornton applied the pressure, making a birdie of her own to briefly draw level but showing nerves of steele, Shin responded with her own birdie for the win.
Thornton took out the 16/17 Years Division with her overall second place, with Shin also claiming the 12/13 Years Division. The Girls 14/15 Years Age Divisional Trophy was taken out by Yeleen Son (Ryde Parramatta), needing two extra holes to defeat the relative newcomer Grace Adams (Moore Park). Ju Eun Jang (Toukley) was impressive once again, winning the Girls 11 Years & Under Division by 12 shots.
In the boys division, 15 Year Old Ali Rachid started brilliantly with birdies on the second, fourth and fifth holes to open up a five shot lead. The back nine wasn't as pretty, but the Kogarah junior had done enough by this stage to hold onto the lead and win his first overall JNJG title. Luka Brucic (St Michael's), playing in his final JNJG event before turning 18 fought hard all the way to the end, recovering from a quadruple bogey seven on the par three 8th hole with three back nine birdies to finish solo second.
Brucic was the last player to qualify for the Bonville Champions Trophy after winning the 16/17 Years Division, with Seb Sara (NSW) finishing outright third in his best ever JNJG performance. Overnight leader Kai Komulainen (Long Reef) faded on day two with a 79 but still won the Boys 12/13 Years division by six shots, with Jamie Smith (Manly) picking up a much deserved win after many near misses in the Boys 11 Years & Under Division.
The shot of the day belonged to 11 Year Old Noah Komulainen (Long Reef), who scored his first ever hole in one on the difficult par three 8th hole!
JNJG would like to thank Brett Ogle for his support of the Junior Masters event at Goulburn, whilst also thanking Srixon for their continued support of this event and many other JNJG Junior Masters Events throughout the year.
Final Scores - Click Here
Young Guns Shine at Brett Ogle JM
(Saturday 24th November 2018)
The opening round of the Brett Ogle Junior Masters has been played in cool and windy conditions at Goulburn GC.
On a difficult day for scoring with the wind blowing across the course, the young guns starred on the opening day with a couple of experienced locals also in the mix heading into the final round.
13 Year Old Kai Komulainen (Long Reef) will take a share of the lead into the final round of the Brett Ogle Junior Masters as he searches for his maiden JNJG Overall Title. The talented youngster from Sydney's Northern Beaches was super consistent on a tough day, making three birdies and two bogies in his round of 70. He shares the lead with Ali Rachid (Kogarah), who continued his love affair with the Goulburn layout after breaking par for the second straight time in the opening round.
Joining the leaders in the final group and trailing by just one stroke is A.C.T local Luka Brucic, looking to win his first JNJG Overall Title in his last event as a junior. The St Michael's representative had a roller-coaster round on day one, six birdies offset by four bogies and a double bogey to see him finish with an eventful even par 71. Seb Sara (NSW) is also playing in the final group for the first time despite battling the flu and having no voice!! The 14 Year Old fired a 73 to sit in outright fourth.
Local girl Amber Thornton (Queanbeyan) has continued her recent run of good form to take a one shot lead into the final round of the Girls Division. Thornton had four birdies in the difficult conditions to lead 13 Year Old Claire Shin who had two birdies and an eagle on day one. Annika Boyd (Pymble) and Isabelle Hawes (Royal Canberra) played themselves into the final group after rounds of 74 and 75 respectively.
Live Scores - Click Here
Round Two Draw - Click Here
Goulburn Ready to Host Brett Ogle JM
(Friday 23rd November 2018)
The final event of the 2018 JNJG Junior Masters Series will take place this weekend, with the Goulburn GC set to host the Brett Ogle JM. A capacity field of 128 players will look to become Brett Ogle JM Champions for the first time after 2017 winners Clayton Small (Long Reef) and Shannon Lee (Ryde Parramatta) have exited the junior ranks. Also up for grabs this weekend are the final points in the season long Masters Points Race, with the year-long winners in each age division earning an exemption into next month’s Greg Norman Junior Masters on the Gold Coast.
After fantastic 2018 seasons, Hunter pair Josh Robards (Newcastle) and Harry Cleare (Belmont) will once again be among the favourites to take out the final event of the year. Having dominated the Junior Masters Series this year and having won the last two junior masters events between themselves, Robards the Greg Chalmers JM and Cleare the South Coast JM, the 16 Year Olds will be paired together in the opening round on Saturday. With not only the Brett Ogle Junior Masters, but also the Masters Points Race and Master of Masters titles up for grabs, all eyes will be on the boys as they begin the tournament from the 5th Hole in the shot-gun start.
In the Boys 14/15 Years Division, Ali Rachid (Kogarah) and Joshua Todd (The Australian) will be hardest to beat, with the winner at this event likely to receive the exemption into the Greg Norman Junior Masters. The 12/13 Years Division will once again be a closely fought battle, with long-time rivals Harry Atkinson (Kurri Kurri) and Kai Komulainen (Long Reef) set to vie for the trophy yet again. They’ll be joined by recently turned 12 Year-Old Max Fischer (Moore Park), who leaves the 11 Years and Under Division for the first time after claiming numerous trophies in that division this year.
As always at Goulburn, the Girls Division is quite strong with many of the state’s best players looking to sign off from 2018 with a victory. Kara Williams (Avondale) will be looking for her first title of the season, whilst Annika Bod (Pymble) and Yerin Kim (Strathfield) are joined by local girls Amber Thornton (Queanbeyan) and Issy Hawes (Royal Canberra) in one of the strongest 16 Years and Over fields of the season. 13 Year Old young gun Claire Shin (Concord) will be out to show the older girls that they won’t have it all their own way, looking for a victory that would also see her wrap up a spot in the Greg Norman Junior Masters.
Play begins on Saturday with a shot-gun start at 12:15pm, with the round one draw available at the link below. The draw for the second round will be seeded, with play to get underway via a shot-gun start at 7:30am on Sunday morning.
Round One Draw – Click Here
Live Scores – Click Here
