Golf Vic Vol 60 No 2 2019

TWO ADDITIONS TO VIS SQUAD Andre Lautee and Matias Sanchez are the two big additions to the VIS squad for 2019. Lautee, 19, the 2018 Victorian Amateur champion out of Kingston Heath, has worked his way to prominence while Sanchez, who won the 2017 Australian Amateur, had already developed a fine reputation, especially as a match player. Sanchez, 20, previously worked outside the national programs under coach Tim Wendel at his Rowville academy, but can retain his personal coach under the new management of the VIS program. Lautee impressed with his well-rounded ways, holding down a job as a lifeguard as well as studying technology full-time. “Andre’s got the perfect set-up in terms of the balance in his life,’’ said Matt Cutler, Golf Australia’s High Performance Manager for Victoria. “He’s coming into the VIS, he’s studying at uni and he’s got a part-time job. I love that. “You’re not 100 percent focussed on golf, because at this age, you don’t have to be full-time. I love that model, where they have at least one thing outside of golf.’’ The other five members of the squad – Stephanie Bunque, 21, Blake Collyer, 22, Kono Matsumoto, 19, Kyle Michel, 22, and David Micheluzzi, 22 – are back from 2018. “We’ll do that here. We want our top players playing the Susie Tolhurst and the Ivo Whitton events and creating a stronger field, but also winning those and moving into the national ranking events, travelling overseas and maybe they go to Asia or New Zealand first, rather than the big step to the UK or the US.’’ With the Interstate Series approaching, at Tasmania Golf Club in May, Victoria will defend its men’s title but according to Kinney, the priorities have shifted. “It’s great that you get to play against the best players from other states, so it’s a great development opportunity’’ he said. Their aim is clear, taken from Golf Australia’s strategic priorities. It is: ‘To produce athletes who are capable of winning major championships, Olympic medals, and achieving top-100 world ranking positions’. It’s an interesting position for people like Cutler and Kinney because on statistics taken from the men’s world rankings over the years, the average time from a player entering the rankings to reach the top 100 is seven to 10 years. “Realistically, even the VIS kids are seven to 10 years away from reaching the national objective,’’ said Kinney. “So the junior squad players are maybe 15 years away. The parents need to understand that it’s a 15-year journey and investment. That’s really important.’’ All of which gets back to Matt Cutler’s original point. This is about identifying the talent, building the foundations and shaping the people, and it is a long-term project. The judgements won’t come for a long, long time. “The challenge for me is to get results,’’ said Kinney. “In the end it’s about results. That’s what you hang your hat on.’’ BLAKE COLLYER ANDRE LAUTEE KONO MATSUMOTO KYLE MICHEL DAVID MICHELUZZI MATIAS SANCHEZ STEPHANIE BUNQUE 8 Golf Victoria