The Australian Junior Championships - Finding the Right Balance

The Australian Junior Championships will provide the opportunity for equal field sizes for boys and girls this year.

A full field of 78 boys and 78 girls will be eligible to play for the coveted boys’ and girls’ titles, emphasising Golf Australia’s commitment to equal opportunity. But if either field is not filled, unused spots will be reallocated to the opposite gender. Golf Australia’s events and operations general manager Therese Magdulski said:

“We want to lead by example in providing opportunities and welcoming environments for women and girls.

“With the opportunity to have the same number of boys and girls in the field, there is a better chance of the event being more gender balanced.”

Comparable handicap limits will be set for the boys and girls, so each event remains of an equivalent high standard.

“We want to provide as many opportunities as we can for our up-and-coming players, but balance that with ensuring the field quality remains appropriate for a national championship all while being as gender-balanced as possible,” Magdulski said.

“The gender-balance won’t happen overnight, but by providing as many opportunities for girls as possible in high-performance events, investing in grassroots participation initiatives and promoting women within governance structures, the pendulum will swing.”

The 2021 Australian Junior Championships will be played at Canberra’s Gold Creek Golf Club from 13-16 April.

The challenging Gold Creek layout was designed by well known and internationally acclaimed Australian golfer and course architect Bruce Devlin. It celebrated its official opening in 1996 by hosting the Australian Senior PGA Championship, but this will be the first time a Golf Australia national championship has been held at the club.

This year marks the first time boys and girls have played at the same venue. It’s one venue in the nation’s capital this year, but Magdulski said that should the need and opportunity arise, the number of venues could expand in the future. The championship is played over 72 holes with all players contesting the initial 54 holes and then a cut made to the leading 39 boys and 39 girls and ties for the final round.

The Australian Juniors have illustrious past champions including Minjee Lee, Su Oh, Adam Scott, Jason Day, Cameron Smith, Brett Ogle and Ryan Ruffels.

Click HERE for further information and to enter.

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IMAGE SOURCE: Justice Bosio