Tom Heats Up as Sophie Master's Macarthur Again
(2:00pm - Monday 10th June 2019)
Tom Heaton (The Australian) has won the 2019 Macarthur Junior Masters after a superb final round at Campbelltown Golf Club. Heaton fired a four under par 66 to claim the title, with some of the best young JNJG talent filling the next five places on the Boys Leaderboard. Sophie Yip (Concord) made it back to back titles in the Girls Division, defeating fellow Concord GC member Belinda Ji by a single shot in a nail-biting finish.
In the end, the margin was a comfortable four shots for Heaton, but the Boys Division was much closer than that throughout the final round. Heaton surged into the lead early on Monday with back to back to back birdies from the second hole, however bogies on the fifth and ninth hole kept the chasing pack interested. The Wollongong 17 year old took control of the tournament early on the back nine, with birdies on the 10th and 14th and a chip-in eagle on the 13th closing the door on the rest of the field.
14 year old young guns Jye Halls (Mollymook) and Jeffrey Guan (The Australian) were locked in a tight battle for second place, one which ended up requiring extra holes to determine the 14/15 Years Champion. They finished tied for second overall, locked together at minus one, with both players doing it in very different ways. Halls responded from three front nine bogies with four back nine birdies to chase down the steady Guan who incredibly had three birdies, 31 pars and only two bogies for the entire tournament. A birdie on the second playoff hole was enough for the Mollymook junior to claim his first age divisional title of the year.
Incredibly, despite finishing under par for the tournament, they were almost joined in the playoff by the fast finishing Brij Ingrey (Newcastle). Starting the day six shots out of the lead after a 75 at Camden on day one, Ingrey rode a hot putter on day two all the way into contention on Monday afternoon. Three birdies in the opening four holes got the 14 year old off to a great start and two more birdies on the back nine saw the Newcastle junior standing on the 18th fairway at five under par and in a share of second place. After finding the back bunker with his second, Ingrey nearly pulled off a miracle up and down but had to settle for a 66 and outright fourth, missing the 14/15 Years Playoff by just a single shot in his best JNJG performance to date.
At Camden, the ever-impressive Kai Komulainen (Long Reef) was far too good for the boys in the 12/13 Years Division, finishing five shots clear of Jake Riley (Toronto). Komulainen's rounds of 70-73 were good enough for a 6th place finish overall, defeating the likes of state team players Harrison Crowe (St Michaels) and Josh Robards (Newcastle) who rounded out the top 10. Enzo Moon (Strathfield) impressed again to win the Boys 11 Years & Under division by eight shots from Leon Li (Roseville).
The shot of the tournament belonged to Marco Perin (Bonnie Doon), recording his first hole in one with an ace on the 14th at Campbelltown on Monday!
Sophie Yip (Concord) made it back to back titles in the Girls Division, defeating fellow Concord GC member Belinda Ji by a single shot in a nail-biting finish at Campbelltown. Yip, Ji and fellow state team member Yerin Kim (Strathfield) cleared out on the back nine with the tournament becoming a three horse race as the birdies rolled in.
After starting on the back nine, it was Kim who found herself out in front as the players made the turn with four birdies in her first seven holes. The putter went cold from there on and despite finishing with the equal low round of the day, the 17 year old settled for a third place finish.
As Kim went cold, it was Belinda Ji who took control of the Girls Division with birdies on the 17th and then the tough uphill par four 1st. However, the tournament was turned on it's head in a three hole stretch starting from the third as the momentum shifted towards the defending champ. Ji dropped shots on the third and fourth hole before making a double bogey on the fifth, and Yip took full advantage.
Yip picked up birdies on the fourth and fifth, a six shot swing over the three hole stretch and all of a sudden the 14 year old had the lead. From there she never let go of the lead, hanging on to win by one shot with an even par 71 on day two. Jasmine Driscoll (NSW GC) moved into fourth position with an impressive round of 72 on day two, with June Song (Avondale) rounding out the top five with a 74 on Monday.
Ann Jang (Toukley) was the standout at Camden on Day two, moving into the top 10 overall with an even par round of 74. Jang won the 12/13 Years Division by seven shots, with Rachel Lee (North Ryde) defeating Millie Komulainen (Long Reef) on the first playoff hole.
JNJG would like to thank both Campbelltown GC and Camden GC for putting on another fantastic Junior Masters event, and we hope to see everyone at the NSW Junior Championships or JNJG Under 12 State Age Championships in the next school holidays. Entries are currently open and filling up fast!!
Final Scores - Click Here
Fantastic Finish Looms at Macarthur JM
(11:00am - Monday 10th June 2019)
The final round of the 2019 Macarthur Junior Masters is set to go right down to the wire as the player's make the turn and head into the back nine.
The lead groups will have hole-by-hole live scoring as it happens, so follow all the action below!
Boys Scores - Click Here
Girls Scores - Click Here
Masterclass at Macarthur as Cream Rises to the Top
(5:00pm - Sunday 9th June 2019)
With 10 members of the NSW Junior State Team lining up, the 2019 Macarthur Junior Masters promised to be one of the most evenly contested events of the year and the opening round delivered on a perfect Winter's day in Sydney's South West.
On a Camden golf course presented in fantastic condition, NSW Captain Belinda Ji (Concord) stamped her authority on the event, firing the only under par score of the day in the Girls Division to open up a two shot lead with 18 holes to play. Ji had five birdies on Sunday afternoon, finishing with a two under par 72 that could have been better if not for two bogies on par fives! Defending Champion Sophie Yip (Concord) remains in the hunt for back to back titles after an even par 74, whilst fellow state team representatives Yerin Kim (+2 - Strathfield) and June Song (+3 - Avondale) round out the final grouping on Monday.
Two under was also the best score of the day in the Boys Division, with young guns Jeffrey Guan (The Australian) and Ali Rachid (Kogarah) upstaging some of their older rivals to take the lead with opening round 69s. Jye Halls (Mollymook), Blake Phillips (Concord) and Tom Heaton (The Australian) all sit one shot back after finishing the day at one under, whilst defending champion Harrison Crowe (St Michael's) and JNJG Junior Masters regular Josh Robards (Newcastle) are right in the mix at level par.
At Campbelltown, 13 Year Old Kai Komulainen (Long Reef) stole the show with a superb even par 70 to keep himself in the hunt for his first overall title. The young gun had five birdies on the opening day, three on the back nine alone got the Northern Beaches youngster to the top of the leaderboard at two under par. However back to back bogies to finish, on the difficult 17th and 18th saw him drop out of the overall lead, even though his score of 70 was three better than anyone else at Campbelltown on day one.
Play begins at 7am at both courses on Monday - don't forget both host clubs will have a BBQ breakfast available from 6:30am!!
Leaderboard - Click Here
Round 2 Draw - Camden
Round 2 Draw - Campbelltown
Cool Conditions at Campbelltown, Camden
(7:00am - Sunday 9th June 2019)
The opening round of the 2019 Macarthur Junior Masters is set to get underway in cool conditions at Campbelltown GC and Camden GC.
Play begins at 7:00am at Campbelltown, with a slightly later start at Camden with play starting at 10:15am.
Round 1 Draw - Campbelltown
Round 1 Draw - Camden
Leaderboard - Click Here
Crowe and Yip out to Defend Title at Macarthur
(3:00pm - Friday 7th June 2019)
The strongest Junior Masters field of the year will head to Sydney’s South West this long weekend, with 220 players set to tee it up in the 2019 Macarthur Junior Masters. Campbelltown GC and Camden GC once again joint-host the tournament, with all players playing 18 holes at both tournament venues.
Players in the 11 Years & Under and 12 & 13 Years Divisions will play 18 Holes at Campbelltown GC on Sunday in the opening round before switching over and playing 18 Holes at Camden GC on Monday for day two.
Players in the 14 & 15 Years and 16 & 17 Years Divisions will play 18 Holes at Camden GC on Sunday in the opening round before switching over and playing 18 Holes at Campbelltown GC on Monday for day two.
Defending Champions Harrison Crowe (St Michaels) and Sophie Yip (Concord) will both compete in the tournament this weekend, fresh off stunning performances for both the NSW Junior Boys & Girls Team as well as the NSW Men’s and Women’s Teams. Crowe opened with a six under 65 in 2018 and was never headed, going on to win the tournament by two strokes. Crowe is in even better form this year and will no doubt be hard to beat again in 2019.
It was a different story in the Girls, with Yip coming from behind to win in the final round. At only 13 Years of age last year, Yip was actually on the other side of the draw to the main rivals and finished with a bogey free 71 at Camden to steal the win. This year, with more International experience after playing in the 2018 US Women’s Amateur, Yip will be looking to make it back to back titles for the first time.
Play gets underway at 7:00am at Campbelltown GC on Sunday morning, with a slightly later hit off at Camden with play commencing at 10:15am.
Round 1 Draw - Campbelltown GC (11 Years & Under and 12/13 Years) – Click Here
Round 1 Draw - Camden GC (14/15 Years and 16/17 Years) – Click Here
Leaderboard – Click Here
(For reference, rounds at Campbelltown will appear on the website as 1A and 2A. Rounds at Camden will appear on the website as 1B and 2B)
Players will swap courses for the second round, with the draw to be re-done and seeded on Sunday evening after the opening round.
