Central Coast Young Guns Claim Greg Chalmers Junior Masters
(2:00pm - Sunday 28th July 2024)
Central Coast duo Shaylan Bennett (Everglades) and Kiara Connolly-Jackson (Kooindah Waters) have used local knowledge to full effect, claiming the 2024 Greg Chalmers Junior Masters at Shelly Beach Golf Club.
Starting the day one shot back in the Girls Division, pre-tournament favourite Connolly-Jackson quickly took control of the tournament with a birdie on the 11th (her second hole in the shotgun start) and didn't look back, cruising to a seven shot victory. The win on home soil marked her second JNJG Masters Title of the season, following her victory at the Illawarra Junior Masters earlier this year. Queensland visitor Janie Carroll (Royal Queensland) and Chloe Zhang (The Lakes) finished in a share of second, one shot clear of overnight leader Georgia Karagiannis (The Ridge) and Camilla Casafus (Moore Park).
Whilst Connolly-Jackson ran away with the Girls Division, the boys Division went right down to the wire. Overnight Leaders Enzo Moon (Lynwood) and Christian Fong (Oatlands) were blown away in the difficult conditions, with the young guns showing the older boys how it's done on Sunday. Harrison Preece (The Vintage) was brave and contended for a long way, finishing in a share of third with the impressive Fletcher Ferguson (Duntryleague). They couldn't catch Central Coast pair Blake Cranston (Toukley) and Bennett who settled down to fight it out. In the end, clutch birdies on the 14th and 17th proved just enough for Bennett to outlast the gallant Cranston by one shot.
With the victory, Bennett qualifies for his first ever Bonville Champions Trophy, with Connolly-Jackson already safely on the bus to Bonville.
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Karagiannis Steals the Show at Shelly
(5:30pm - Saturday 27th July 2024)
Georgia Karagiannis (The Ridge) has fired the best round of her JNJG Career to take the outright lead at the 2024 Greg Chalmers Junior Masters at Shelly Beach.
The Boys Division is set to go right down to the wire, with just four shots separating the top 15 players heading into the final round. Enzo Moon (Lynwood), Christian Fong (Oatlands) and Harrison Preece (The Vintage) share the lead after opening with one over par 72s.
On a difficult day on the Central Coast, with sweeping rain and strong winds welcoming the players, Karagiannis got off to a horror start with a double bogey 7 on the par-five 15th. From there, the youngster from the Southern Suburbs of Sydney responded in fine style, making four birdies in the testing conditons to take the lead. Two late bogies saw the lead shrink to just one shot, with local gun Kiara Connolly-Jackson (Kooindah Waters) lurking in second place. There will be a Central Coast feeling to the final group, with Ava Prince (Toukley) joining the leading girls in third place.
The boys winner is anyone's guess, with a host of players still in the mix heading into Sunday's final round. Moon, Fong and Preece will all be looking for their maiden JNJG Masters title and will sleep on the overnight lead, with local hopes Blake Cranston (Toukley) and Shaylan Bennett (Everglades) just one shot off the pace.
Round 2 Begins with a shotgun start at 7am on Sunday Morning.
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Whitelock set to defend Greg Chalmers Junior Masters
(9:00am - Thursday 25th July)
A full field of over 120 kids will tee up at Shelly Beach Golf Club this weekend for the 2024 Greg Chalmers Junior Masters.
Headlining the field is Royal Canberra’s Harry Whitelock, who is the defending champion. Whitelock is aiming for a hat-trick, looking to win this prestigious event for the third consecutive time.
After winning last year’s event, the teen said, “I’m pretty stoked to go two in a row, I haven’t done that before, so I’ll definitely be back next year to go three in a row hopefully.”
Giving him a run for his money will be Ryde Parramatta’s Vidur Subramaniam, the recent runner-up at the NSW Junior Championship. His handicap of +2.5 is the lowest in the field.
In the girls' division, reigning champion Camilla Kim is not returning to defend her title, leaving the competition wide open.
The spotlight is on Kiara Connolly-Jackson of Kooindah Waters, who boasts the lowest girls' handicap of 0.4 and recently clinched the Illawarra Junior Masters.
This year, the Central Coast is well-represented, with 20 local talents from Shelly Beach, Toukley, Wyong, Kooindah Waters, Gosford, Magenta Shores, and Everglades.
Kids will also be travelling from far and wide to participate, hailing from Canberra, Dubbo, Orange, Wagga Wagga, Albury and even one interstate from Queensland.
The action will kick off on Saturday at midday.
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