Lynwood Country Club in Sydney’s Northwest played host to the inaugural PGA of Australia & Jack Newton Junior Golf (JNJG) Junior Pro-Am on Monday.

The purpose of the new event is to promote participation between PGA Trainee Professionals and junior golfers in a competition setting, with individual and team events played in conjunction on the day.

45 PGA Trainees paired up with juniors from their respective clubs to tackle the slick greens on the links-style Lynwood layout. The team of Ricky Kato (PGA Trainee) and James Dougherty (junior) from Manly Golf Club had a day to remember, combining in the 2BBB Stableford event to secure outright team honours with an incredible 47 points.

Daniel Priest (PGA Trainee) and Matt Frith (junior) from Cronulla Golf Club edged out two other pairings to secure runner-up honours with 44 points on a countback.

The major place getting was reversed in the individual Professional event on the day with Daniel Priest shooting an impressive 4-under par 68 to take home the winner’s cheque, three shots clear of Ricky Kato (71).

In the individual junior event, Avondale’s Nick Anderson notched up an impressive 40 stableford points to secure the win, while Lynwood’s Hayden Carver finished outright runner-up on 39 points.

CEO of JNJG, Peter Van Wegen sees this event as being a highlight on the PGA Trainee and JNJG tournament schedules for years to come following the success of the first staging.

”The opportunity for PGA Trainees and Junior golfers to engage and compete together is fantastic. Both groups of golfers are future stars of the game and leaders of our great industry and it is important to grow the relationship between Trainees and Juniors to promote networking and development,” said Van Wegen,

The PGA supports the development of mentoring relationships between PGA Trainee Professionals and juniors from their club.

“Juniors love playing golf alongside Professionals and events such as these can help encourage young golfers to pursue their playing or career goals in the future,” said David Barker, NSW/ACT Senior State Manager for the PGA.

Further information regarding the PGA Trainee Program can be found via the PGA website.