Golf Vic Vol 60 No 1

Zealand where she played former world number one Annika Sorenstam's ANNIKA Invitational Australasia at Royal Wellington. And after Jasper’s win and Piper’s eighth-place finish, the Stubbs clan was back on a flight together over Christmas when the family flew to Hawaii. "It's a good place to relax and get away from golf for a while. There's a rule: no golf for the week," Jasper said. Local 13th Beach member Angus O'Brien fired a superb even- par 70 in the strong winds on the final day to finish tied fourth with Nathan Page from The National, only two shots behind the winning total. It was the best practical golf present that any 14-year-old could wish for on the eve of the Christmas festivities. Rising star Jeneath Wong had a front-row seat to watch how dominant Korean Min-A Yoon went about the business of streeting the field in the Junior Vic Open. To play alongside Yoon became the bonus along with the pressure and expectations of being in the last group in the final round at Barwon Heads Golf Club in December. Wong not only admired but particularly noted how the runaway Korean mastered the difficult southerly wind to shoot a three- under 70 on the way to a whopping 13-shot victory in conditions where an even-par score was remarkable and led to a surge up the leaderboard. "It was a great honour (being in the last threesome) and experience as well. Her short game is really good. One of the par fives, she was over the back with her third shot and chipped it in for birdie. Wong finished tied fourth after shooting two rounds in the 60s and then in January at the Victorian Junior Masters, finished seventh after two successive even-par 74s. That included a spectacular start to her final round: an albatross on Spring Valley's par-five first hole, flushing a seven-iron second shot that hit the pin and dropped into the hole. The pair of top-10 finishes continued her steady advancement for such a talented young player. A student at St Catherine's girls junior school in Toorak, she played number two in Huntingdale's senior women's team in Division One for most of the last pennant season. Wong has won a string of junior titles since the family moved to Australia from Malaysia four years ago. She started hitting balls at three after her father took her to his golf club in Kuala Lumpur for his own practice session. "My Dad said I had a natural swing, so at the age of five I started playing competitions," she said. Royal Melbourne teenager Jack Holland won't be daunted by the surroundings if he gets the chance to play the Vic Open one day. Holland will have pleasant memories of 13th Beach Golf Club’s Beach course, which is the centrepiece of the Open's final round. The Year 10 student at Haileybury College tore apart the tough layout with a brilliant seven-under 65 in his third round of the Junior Vic Open in late December. While admitting the tees were much more forward than the real thing in early February, he still had to attack the pins on the undulating greens to compile his flawless round. "I had played the Beach course a few times. I've always liked it, always thought it's a great tournament course. I won a tournament on it before, just a stableford event in a junior tournament run by 13th Beach," he said. Holland picked up a shot at the second and chipped in from 20 metres for eagle at the short par-four fourth to lay the foundations for his memorable day. "I didn't feel nervous, just stayed within myself. I knew I was playing well and just had to stay in the moment and not get ahead of myself," he said. It was his lowest round by four shots, the previous best a 69 at Moonah Links 18 months earlier. "About two weeks before this event, I shot two-under playing with a few mates on the West course (at Royal Melbourne), so I had a bit of form coming in," he said. Holland attends Haileybury's Keysborough campus where he's captain of the golf team that plays against other schools in the spring and autumn terms. Jeneath Wong Jack Holland Jeneath Wong: In Good Company The family lives in an apartment on St Kilda Road, so the nearby Albert Park Driving Range is her regular ‘playground’, particularly the chipping and putting areas to hone her short game. Wong, who's also a member at Metropolitan, just can't get enough of this wonderfully addictive sport. "I practise every day after school for about two hours," she said. And she's easy to spot during a tournament, wearing her distinctive prescription tinted goggles beneath the golf cap. "I wear normal glasses to school, but at golf they distract you when they fall off your nose," she grinned. Jack Holland: Round Of His Life Golf Victoria 35