Iluka Junior Classic - Sunday 23rd March
The Iluka Junior Classic has recently been one of the most popular events on the NRDGA Order of Merit Circuit. The Junior Classic, started in 2012 with enormous energy by Iluka member Jim Pritchard, and continued over the last 12 months by PGA professional Paul King and his family. It is always a welcoming event for OOM participants.
This year’s event produced another tight contest in the Junior Boys Division. Riley Taylor (Casino) held off a strong field with a great score of two under par 68. Riley has played very consistent golf this year and currently leads the Junior Boys OOM standings by a small margin. Another great round last Sunday was by Jack Wright (Yamba) with a 71 and Jack is keeping Riley in sight in the OOM standings. The Junior Boys Division nett event was won by Josh Williams (Murwillumbah) with a sensational round of 63, seven better than his handicap. Josh has only joined the NRDGA circuit this year and has already reduced his handicap by 4 shots. We suspect the handicapping system will be keeping you in focus for the rest of the year Josh!!
Another great score (in fact a PB we understand) was recorded by Maddie Trew (Murwillumbah) to take out the Junior Girls Division. Maddie’s score of 72 (one over par) was a demonstration of the consistent golf she has produced so far this year.
The Cadet Boys Division gross event was won by Max Murray, another new graduate of the very successful Junior Golf group at Murwillumbah. Max seems to be thriving on the competitive nature of 9 hole golf in the NRDGA region and will undoubtedly progress further as the year progresses. Other good gross scores were recorded by Ty Grace (Ocean Shores) and Nicholas Sneesby (Murwillumbah) with rounds of 48. A first timer from Byron Bay, Connor Whitelock, won the Cadet Boys Division nett event. Connor held off a regular competitor from the Ocean Shores club, Nicholas Martin by a few shots.
Grace Matthews (CTH) recorded the best gross score in the Cadet Girls Division and Emily Martin (Murwillumbah) recorded the best nett score in this group.
A sensational turnout of 16 golfers also participated in the Iluka Junior Classic 5 hole Tyro event. Two years ago, Iluka Junior Golf was started from scratch. In this year’s event, 50% of the starters in the Tyro event were Iluka locals, a sure sign that the trend is in the right direction and the hard work is paying off.
Our sincere thanks to the Iluka Junior Co-ordinator, Paul King, for a great day out. Paul’s efforts in bringing the local golfers through and also helping with the transport to other NRDGA events is greatly appreciated.
For more information on Northern Rivers Junior Golf contact Gerard Wilkinson on (mobile) 0419 708 676 (gerard@jnjg.com.au) or Andrea Glavocih on (02) 6686-5411 (ricsavservices@bigpond.com).
