Local junior Coby Carruthers (Jordan Springs) has won the 2022 JNJG NSW Boys Junior Golf Championship in emphatic style, leading from the outset to record a narrow 1-shot victory.
Playing his first round at Byron Bay GC, Coby. a member at Concord GC),
shot the best score of the day, with his 68 giving him a lead of 2 shots over Toby Farrar (The Australian GC) and 3 shots over Alfie Ward (Maroochy River GC, Qld).
Day 2 was a washout, as the severe rain event swamping Sydney moved north to blanket northern NSW.
Coby maintained his momentum on Day 3 at Ocean Shores GC, shooting a 2-under par 70 to maintain his narrow lead, although several of the highly-talented field shot scores as low as 66 to move within striking distance.
A 2-over par 74 on Day 4 for a 54-hole total of 212 could perhaps have given his rivals an opportunity to strike but the conditions were tough on everyone, with only distant rival Billy Dowling (Surfers Paradise GC, Qld) managing to shoot a sub-par round on the final day.
Coby would ultimately win the title by a narrow 1-shot margin over Harrison Gomez (RACV Royal Pines GC, Qld) and 2 shots ahead of Jye Halls (New South Wales GC) and Taj Egea (Brookwater GC, Qld).
Coby also won the 17 Years Boys Age Group title, ahead of Kade Webber (Stonecutters Ridge GC) in 5th and Tyler Nesci (Leonay / Concord GC) in a tie for 11th.
In the Girls division, Grace Lee (Glenmore Park / Concord GC) was one of the tournament’s early favourites but a 1st round score of +1 (74) would give early leaders, Kate McFarlane (Bundaberg GC, Qld) and Yuuki Takada (Southport GC, Qld) a 4-shot advantage at the completion of Day 1.
Following Day 2’s abandonment, Grace shot the best score of the tournament on Day 3, with her blistering 67 propelling her into a share of the lead with Haruhi Nakatani (Southport GC, Qld).
A horror final round of 80 would knock Grace out of the running for the title but she would still finish with a highly credible share of 6th place, behind overall winner Sarah Hammett (Emerald Lakes GC, Qld), whilst Jeneath Wong (The Metropolitan GC, Vic) and Haruhi Nakatani finished as joint runners-up.
Grace would also finish as runner-up in the 17 Years Girls Age Group, Annoushka Maikap (Stonecutters Ridge GC) 7th in the 14 Years Girls Age Group and Michelle Yang (Stonecutters Ridge GC) 14th in the 15 Years Girls Age Group.
The final awards for the Championships would also prove successful for both Coby and Grace, who won the Champion of Champions trophies respectively.
This award is presented to a reigning Club Champion who performs the best at the NSW Junior Championships. As current Junior Club Champions at Concord GC, Coby and Grace each took out this prestigious trophy for the Boys and Girls divisions respectively.
