Michelle Bang and Max Fischer Win A.C.T Week of Golf
(2:00pm - Friday 5th January 2024)
Michelle Bang (Concord) and Max Fischer (Bonnie Doon) are the 2024 Harvey Norman A.C.T Week of Golf Champions!!
After starting the final round with a share of the lead, Bang was far too solid on Friday morning, giving no one else a chance as the 17 year old cruised to a four shot victory. The impressive Concord youngster was bogey free through the first 14 holes in the final round, opening up a five shot lead, and two late bogies certainly didn't dampen the mood as she claimed the biggest victory of her JNJG career.
Bang finished at five under par for the tournament to win by four shots, her winning margin would have been much greater if not for the outstanding performance by 13-Year-Old Camilla Kim (The Australian). Kim pushed her much older rival all the way, finishing the tournament in red figures at one under par and winning the 13 Years & Under Division by an astonishing 30 shots, despite an up and down final round. Kim made five birdies, but was unable to keep the bogies off her card as she did earlier in the week, to finish with a final round 75.
NSW Junior State Team Representative Sophie Eppelstun (Catalina) finished third, five shots further back, after playing her final 36 holes in two under par. Victorian visitor Seabil Leong (Metropolitan) rounded out the top four and also claimed the 14/15 Years Division, finishing one shot further back of Eppelstun. Queenslander Maddison Kelly (Noosa) and Rebecca Zhao (The Lakes) rounded out the top five, finishing at six over par.
As Bang cruised home in the Girls Division, the Boys Division was the complete opposite, with as many as six players fighting it out throughout the final round.
Max Fischer (Bonnie Doon) and Nathan White (Pymble) shared the overnight lead, but it was Harry Gourlay (The Australian) who was the first to put his hand up to challenge during the final round.
After a 67 on Thursday rocketed him up the leaderboard, the 15-Year-Old backed that up with a 68 on Friday, his charge only ending with his first bogey of the day on the 17th hole. Gourlay finished in a share for third, his good week rewarded when he birdied the first playoff hole to claim victory over Toby Farrar (The Australian) in the 14-15 Years Division.
Overnight leader White and fellow A.C.T Junior State Teammate Harry Whitelock (Royal Canberra) tried hard to keep the trophy in the A.C.T, but fell away late in the day with White finishing outright sixth at even par in his best JNJG major performance to date. Whitelock went even closer, his tournament coming to an end on the 16th hole, a hole that caught many during the week, to finish in the share of third with Gourlay and Farrar.
That left two players to battle it out, with Fischer and Cascio standing on the 18th tee sharing the lead at four under par. Fischer got to that point with an up and down round including five birdies and an eagle, the eagle coming on the difficult 16th hole, with a 3-wood out of the trees and over the water from 225m that was described by one on-looker as "the best shot I've ever seen in my life".
Cascio had made seven birdies of his own throughout the final round, including a clutch birdie on the 17th (which was matched by Fischer), as the two boys headed down the 18th with a three shot lead. After both players found trouble, the tournament was set to be decided on the greens with both players facing testing par putts. Amazingly, after making 13 birdie putts and an eagle between themselves throughout the day, both players missed their par putts. As the other players in the final group finished up their tournaments, the two leaders sat on bogey putts to extend the tournament. Cascio missed his putt to the left, three-putting for a double bogey, with Fischer knocking his putt in for a one-shot win and the first Major of his JNJG Career.
A big thank you to host club Gungahlin Lakes Golf Club who put together an amazing tournament at such short notice and Major Sponsor Harvey Norman for providing gift vouchers for all the champions.
Final Round Underway at Gungahlin Lakes
(7:00am - Friday 5th January 2024)
The final round of the Harvey Norman A.C.T Week of Golf is underway at Gungahlin Lakes.
It's going to be an exciting finish, with Camilla Kim (The Australian) and Michelle Bang (Concord) sharing the lead in the Girls Division whilst Nathan White (Pymble) and Max Fischer (Bonnie Doon) share the lead in the Boys Division.
A.C.T Week of Golf Goes Down to the Wire
(3:00pm - Thursday 4th January 2024)
The Harvey Norman A.C.T Week of Golf is headed for an exciting finish with just one round to play at Gungahlin Lakes!
Camilla Kim (The Australian) and Michelle Bang (Concord) share the lead in the Girls Division, six shots clear of their closest rivals. Nathan White (Pymble) and Max Fischer (Bonnie Doon) share the lead in the Boys Division, with the top 10 Boys separated by just five shots on the leaderboard.
On a day where the weather turned, the rain came down, and the difficult Gungahlin Lakes course bared it's teeth, young-gun Kim and the in-form Bang separated themselves from the chasing pack with fantastic third rounds. Kim fired a two under par 70, highlighted by birdies on three of the four par threes, whilst Bang was solid as ever with three birdies and three bogies in the tough conditions.
There's also a tie at the top in the boys, however the leading boys don't have the benefit of a six shot lead like the girls. Canberra local White moved into a share of the lead in the Boys Division, firing a three under par 69, whilst Fischer backed up yesterday's low round of the tournament with a 71 on moving day. The chasing pack is headed by another A.C.T local, with Harry Whitelock (Royal Canberra) and Sam Cascio (The Australian) in a share of third.
The leading groups will tee off at 9:00am on Friday morning.
Bang, Subramaniam Take Lead into Moving Day
(7:00am - Thursday 4th January 2024)
Michelle Bang (Concord) and Vidur Subramaniam (Ryde Parramatta) will take two shot leads into the third round of the Harvey Norman A.C.T Week of Golf at Gungahlin Lakes Golf Club.
Who will hold the lead at the end of moving day?
Bang, Subramaniam go Clear at Lakes
(7:00pm - Wednesday 3rd January 2024)
Michelle Bang (Concord) and Vidur Subramaniam (Ryde Parramatta) have gone two shots clear at the halfway point of the Harvey Norman A.C.T Week of Golf after an exciting days play at Gungahlin Lakes.
On a day where 14 players finished in red figures and a course record was broken, it was Bang who stood tallest in the Girls Division with her second straight score of 70. The 17 year old leads two of Australia's brightest young guns, Camilla Kim (The Australian) and Seabil Leong (Metropolitan), the Victorian who broke former JNJG star Steph Kyriacou's course record with a three under par 69 on Wednesday afternoon. Australian Junior Champion Ann Jang (NSW) will join the leading trio in the final group, two shots further back at level par.
The leading girls will tee off at 9:00am on Thursday morning.
There were birdies galore in the boys division, with six players breaking 70 on a perfect afternoon for scoring. Max Fischer (Bonnie Doon) was the best of them, with eight birdies and an eagle in his tournament low round of 66 to move into the top five. But the player they all have to chase is Kiwi-turned-Aussie Vidur Subramaniam, who backed up his opening round 70 with a four under par 68 to take the outright lead.
A.C.T local Harry Whitelock (Royal Canberra) moved into a share of second with a five under par 67, with playing partner Sam Cascio (The Australian) matching him on day two with a 67 of his own. They'll be joined in the final group by Jamie Smith (Monash) who moved into outright fourth with a 3 under par 69 on day two.
In total there's eight boys in red figures after the second round, with the leading boys teeing off at 9:10am on Thursday.
Tight at the Top in the A.C.T
(11:45am - Wednesday 3rd January 2024)
Round two of the 2024 Harvey Norman Week of Golf is underway at Gungahlin Lakes Golf Club.
Toby Farrar (The Australian), Bill Eppelstun (Catalina) and Andrew Kneeves (Castle Hill) share the lead in the Boys Division, with Camilla Kim (The Australian), Michelle Bang (Concord) and Ann Jang (NSW) sharing the lead in the Girls.
Round Three will be a seeded draw, with Tee Times between 7:00am and 9:00am.
Tight at the Top in the A.C.T
(6:00pm - Tuesday 2nd January 2024)
It's a stacked leaderboard after the opening round of the 2024 Harvey Norman A.C.T Week of Golf at Gungahlin Lakes Golf Club.
Toby Farrar (The Australian), Bill Eppelstun (Catalina) and Andrew Kneeves (Castle Hill) share the lead in the boys division, signing for matching three under par 69s on the testing Canberra layout. A further three boys finished the opening day in red figures, including Harry Atkinson (Pymble), Vidur Subramaniam (Ryde Parramatta) and Enzo Moon (Lynwood).
In total, the top 25 players are separated by just five shots, with the trophy most definitely up for grabs with three days of play remaining.
The Girls Division is also tight, with young gun Camilla Kim (The Australia) upstaging some of her older rivals to take a share of the lead. The 13 year old from Sydney impressed on day one, finishing her first ever bogey-free round in JNJG competition, only joined late in the day by Michelle Bang (Concord) and Ann Jang (NSW) who also finished with a two under par 70.
Play continues on Wednesday morning, with first tee times at 11:45am.
2024 Season Underway at Gungahlin Lakes
(11:45am - Tuesday 2nd January 2024)
The 2024 JNJG Tour Season is underway with the opening round of the Harvey Norman A.C.T Week of Golf at Gungahlin Lakes.
The tournament was moved to Gungahlin Lakes at very short notice as a result of a freak storm in the A.C.T that brought down more than 300 trees at Murrumbidgee Country Club and closed parts of the course, just 4 weeks ago.
More than 100 of the best junior golfers from around Australia will take part, as well as a visitor from New Zealand, with players chasing both WAGR points and Golf Australia Junior Order of Merit points at the testing layout.
Leaderboard - Click Here
"Tour Tee" Tee Times - Click Here
2024 Harvey Norman A.C.T Week of Golf
(3:00pm - Friday 15th December 2023)
For those unaware, a freak storm hit the Canberra region last week, with Murrumbidgee Country Club one of the worst affected parts of Canberra.
You can view footage of the storm here - https://www.canberratimes.com.au/video/local/x8qcumg/canberra-december-storm-hits-with-big-lightning-show/
As a result, parts of the golf course have been closed, with many areas declared unsafe due to all the fallen / damaged trees.
Following an inspection of the venue and in discussion with the host club, the decision has been made, due to player safety and course access, to move the Harvey Norman A.C.T Week of Golf to a new venue.
The new venue will be Gungahlin Lakes Golf Club, who have been amazing in agreeing to host such a prestigious event on such short notice.
-
Tournament Dates remain the same (January 2 - January 5).
-
Player numbers remain the same (Max Field 112 - Handicap Guidelines Apply).
-
Tee Times may change slightly in Rounds 1, 2, 3 to accommodate member competitions.
-
However, Tee Times for the final round on Friday 5th January will still be 7:00am to 9:00am (2-Tee Start) with presentation to take place at 2:00pm.
Entries will close on Thursday 21st December and there's only VERY LIMITED SPOTS remaining.
Register Now - 2024 Harvey Norman A.C.T Week of Golf
