Past JNJG Members Now Tour Champions
July 2021 will go down as one of those unforgettable weeks in Golf for Australia. NSW star Steph Kyriacou got the ball rolling when she captured the Big Green Egg Open on the Ladies European Tour. Just hours later Victorian Lucas Herbert claimed the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open, his second win on the European Tour. If these wins weren’t enough, New South Welshman Cam Davis then went on to win his first ever PGA Tour title, the Rocket Mortgage Classic! Rounding out the wins for the week was Queensland Amateur Louis Dobbelaar who added the prestigious American North and South Amateur Championship to his list of achievements.
This week was extremely exciting for all of us at JNJG as two of these wins came from two of our past members. Both of these players had different junior careers, but both can now officially be described as Tour Champions!
Cam Davis’ junior career included two State of Origin showings as well as being a Golf NSW Junior State Team Representative. During his junior career he was a member of Roseville and Monash Golf Clubs and was coached by Jimmy Ballard and former JNJG Player Development Manager Khan Pullen.
It is perhaps Cam’s junior results that have led him to his professional success. He claimed runner up finishes in six junior events including the JNJG State Age Championship, the JNJG Champions Trophy and the NSW Junior Champion of Champions. While these results were fantastic, Cam never actually won a junior event. His first win on the PGA Tour this week is testimony to his grit and determination. He never gave up and has continued to grind it out since his junior days. His 2017 Australian Open win is another example of that.
While he may not have claimed a junior title, he has most certainly made up for it and is a great example for our current members. If you want it bad enough and put in the hard yards anything is possible.
Cam graduated from the Jack Newton Junior Golf in 2013 and everyone at JNJG could not be prouder to call him one of our own.
The latest Ladies European Tour Champ is another one we are most excited to claim as one of ours. Steph Kyriacou captured her first professional win this week when she won the LET Big Green Egg Open by 2 shots. From her early junior days, we knew this young lady was destined for great things.
Not only did she have three runners up finishes in JNJG Junior Masters events throughout her junior career but she also finished Runner Up in three JNJG Majors. Steph had a highly decorated career with JNJG. She was the 2016 Peter O’Malley Junior Masters Champion, the 2016 JNJG State Age Champion and the 2016 JNJG Fayde Junior Matchplay Champion. She also went on to win an International Junior title, the Maple Leaf International Players Championship while representing JNJG in Canada.
Steph was a Golf NSW Junior State Team representative 2 years in a row. She was well regarded amongst her peers and this was evident when she was named the 2017 JNJG Players Player. Her laid back, friendly attitude made her a favourite with JNJG staff, parents and other players. She always worked hard and never complained. She also is never shy when it comes to volunteering to help JNJG grow the game of golf.
Steph was one junior who went through the whole development pathway from the beginning to end. She graduated from JNJG in 2018. Once out of the junior ranks her success has continued and in 2020 she won the Geoff King Motors Australian Ladies Classic Bonville while still an amateur and was named the Ladies European Tour Rookie of the Year.
Despite never making the JNJG Sate of Origin Team we think she has more than made up for it!
Seeing past members succeed on the world stage is incredibly rewarding for all of us at JNJG. We hope that their time in the junior ranks has helped contribute to that success and we will always follow their progress with great pride. Congratulations Cam and Steph!! Here’s to many more victories in your futures.
For all our current juniors this could be you in the years to come.
