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2024 Victorian Junior Country Regions

The Ballarat District Golf – Junior Team competed in the Golf Australia – 2024 Victorian Junior Country Regions on 19th and 20th October at the Heathcote Golf Club.

The competition brought together six regions, with several associations combining forces to form their teams. As always, we entered a standalone team. Although this limits our player pool, it allows us to maximise the opportunities we can offer to our most talented junior golfers.

Our team performed solidly, finishing as runners-up behind the South Western Golf Association. The depth and quality of South Western was evident as they dominated the gross event to earn another Victorian Junior Country Regions title. In the net event, we narrowly missed out on the top spot, finishing just three strokes behind Golf Central Vic.

Team Line-Up

Players:

  1. Harry Cowan (Bacchus Marsh West GC)
  2. Xavier Gleeson (Ballarat GC)
  3. Sam Winton (Midlands GC)
  4. Mitchell Wells (Bacchus Marsh West GC)
  5. Dillon Benton (Midlands GC)
  6. Rex Hodge (Mt Xavier GC)
  7. Sky Adirekchotikul (Midlands GC)
  8. Jack Cowan (Bacchus Marsh West GC)
  9. Josh Nalder (Maryborough GC)
  10. Aaliya Puvanendran (Ballarat GC)
  11. Sydney Viktorie Bayerle (Ballarat GC)

Reserves Players:

  1. Oscar Burke (Buninyong GC)
  2. Aidan Bai (Ballarat GC)

Two promising players, Nyomi Ahmet (Bacchus Marsh West GC) and Pearl Goodwin (Ballarat GC), represented Western (a team comprising players from Ballarat District, Western District and Wimmera District).

Officials:

  • Andrew Milligan (Team Manager)
  • Andrew Cartledge (Junior Coach)
  • Baley Holloway (Junior Coordinator)
  • Jeanette Tocchet (Secretary)

The team competition consisted of two rounds of stroke play, with the lowest aggregate score determining the winners in both the gross and net events. Six scores counted each day, with at least one score from both boys and girls required.

Highlights

Round 1:

  • Sam Winton made an impressive debut, shooting a 4-over par 76
  • Sky Adirekchotikul, also on debut and just 13 years old, followed closely with a 5-over par 77
  • Solid contributions also came from Jack Cowan (+8), Xavier Gleeson (+9), Rex Hodge (+10) and Sydney Viktorie Bayerle (+16)

Round 2:

  • Harry Cowan, the team’s top player, led the way with a 5-over par 77
  • Rex Hodge on debut, produced a solid round of 6-over par 78
  • Jack Cowan (+8), Sky Adirekchotikul (+9), Sam Winton (+9) and Sydney Viktorie Bayerle (+15), strong contributors in Round 1 again performed well

Final Team Leaderboards

Gross

Position

Team

Total

1

South Western Golf Association

+58

2

Ballarat District Golf

+100

3

Golf Central Vic

+116

4

Dalhousie / Goulburn

+134

5

Murray Darling Golf Association

+159

6

Western

+220

Net

Position

Team

Total

1

Golf Central Vic

+8

2

Ballarat District Golf

+11

3

South Western Golf Association

+12

4

Murray Darling Golf Association

+35

5

Dalhousie / Goulburn

+39

6

Western

+48

Top ten finishes in the Victorian Boys Country Championship event:

  • Sam Winton (tied 5th)
  • Sky Adirekchotikul (tied 7th)
  • Jack Cowan and Rex Hodge (tied 9th)

A special congratulations to Sydney Viktorie Bayerle who finished fifth overall in the Victorian Girls Country Championship event and won the Girls Net trophy.

Looking to the Future

With six players making their debuts and four others gaining experience as reserve players (competing in the individual events) or representing the Western region, our team looks well positioned to consistently challenge for the Victorian Junior Country Regions title over the next few years.

Acknowledgements

We congratulate Stephanie Baker (Riverside Golf Club – Mildura) on claiming back-to-back titles as the Victorian Girls Country Champion and Christopher Filipowicz (Geelong Golf Club) for taking home the Victorian Boys Country Champion title.

We extend our thanks to Jessica Martin and Liam Green from Golf Australia for organising the competition, and to the Heathcote Golf Club for hosting. We also appreciate the efforts of the district associations that continue to support the competition, ensuring it remains a highlight on the Victorian junior country golf calendar.

On behalf of our team, a big thank you to Andrew Cartledge (Junior Coach), Bailey Holloway (Junior Coordinator) and Jeanette Tocchet (Secretary) for organising our involvement in the competition and to the Executive Committee of Ballarat District Golf and all our affiliated clubs for their support.

Andrew Milligan

Team Manager