This week, six juniors who represented the Club throughout the pennant season have travelled to the Hunter Valley to play in the 2023 Jack Newton International Junior Classic under the guidance of Teaching Professional, Matt Antell, and volunteer, Jane Flentje.
The event is split into Juniors (15 and over) and Sub-Juniors (14 and under) across two courses. The Juniors are playing at Cypress Lakes Golf and Country Club, while the Sub-Juniors are at Rydges Resort Hunter Valley.
JUNIOR CLASSIC – 15 AND OVER
- Lewis Antell
- Hudson Haynes
- Isabelle Watson
Live Scores – Jack Newton International Junior Classic
Click on relevant division to see scores
SUB-JUNIOR CLASSIC – 14 AND UNDER
- Alice Cho
- Inyoung Kim
- Katie Seol
Live Scores – Jack Newton International Sub-Junior Classic
Click on relevant division to see scores
OTHER ROYAL ADELAIDE MEMBERS
Playing the Junior Classic as part of the SA Team
- Raegan Denton
- Josh Grundel
- Imogen Jessen
DAY 6 – FRIDAY 29TH SEPTEMBER
Report courtesy of Isabelle Watson
Today was another early rise for some, as Isabelle, Lewis and Hudson all had early tee times.
Hudson started his day by sleeping through his 4.00am alarm and had to be woken by Matt just before they were supposed to leave! In spite of missing out on most of his warm up he still managed to play some good shots in a round of 94. Isabelle was off next and after playing a fairly solid round but without scoring well she finished with another 85. Lewis teed off last and managed a solid 82, but was hoping for more after being just 4 over par with only 4 holes to play at Cypress Lakes.
Alice, Inyoung, and Katie all managed a lie in this morning with afternoon tee times in the final groups. Trying to chase the leaders in the Sub-Classic, Alice managed a great score of 74. Inyoung was hoping to overtake her roommate but couldn’t make up ground after a 79, but the star of the week, finishing in 3rd place at Hunter Valley, was Katie who shot the best round of the week with a brilliant 70!
After the girls had finished their round, we packed up all our bags and started the 2 hour drive to the airport, which the boys made fun by playing music on the drive and doing karaoke! We were cutting it close to get to the airport but we made it! After grabbing a final bite to eat, we made our way to the gate and boarded our flight home after a very long and tiring – but extremely enjoyable and rewarding – week!
Thank you to Jane and Matt for their wisdom, support and patience (!), and to Michael Jay for joining us earlier in the week. We would also like to all thank the members of Royal Adelaide for supporting their junior members and helping to make trips like this possible.
DAY 5 – THURSDAY 28TH SEPTEMBER
Report courtesy of Inyoung Kim
Today’s tee time was determined through our last two rounds, with Isabelle, Hudson and Lewis leaving early to Cypress Lakes while Inyoung, Katie and Alice stayed in until the afternoon.
It was the penultimate round for everyone, and we all tried our best to make the lasting rounds count. Isabelle shot 85, Hutson shot 87 and Lewis shot 77. Katie shot 74, Inyoung shot 73 and Alice shot 76.
We had chicken nuggets and hash browns for dinner discreetly and professionally cooked by “THE BOYS” (a.k.a Lewis & Hudson). And wrapped the night up by reflecting our overall game play today, noting the progress we have made and the improvements we want to achieve.
For the immediate leave to the airport tomorrow, we all had to pack most of our luggage tonight.
DAY 4 – WEDNESDAY 27TH SEPTEMBER
Report courtesy of Katie Seol
It was a good sleep in today, as we had afternoon tee times. We enjoyed pancakes for breakfast at 9.30am made by Hudson (he said he was the best at making pancakes!). We then headed to Cypress Lakes for our warm ups after which Matt drove Katie, Inyoung and Alice to Hunter Valley to register for round 2.
At Hunter Valley, Inyoung had 3 over today and almost birdied 15th, 6th, and the 18th. Alice, who started off with a birdie on the first hole, shot 4 over today, adding up to 9 over altogether. Katie (71) is on 3 over and in 3rd place.
Over at Cypress Lakes, Isabelle (85), Hudson (97) and Lewis (76) had contrasting rounds but all came home in good spirits.
Tonight we had pizza for dinner (whilst waiting eagerly for the tee off times for tomorrow!), before doing our review session with Matt.
Our daily prize winners were Katie (best gross); Lewis (best net) and Alice (coaches award). Tomorrow Matt and Hudson are up at 4.00am for the first tee time of the day, whilst the Hunter Valley players are off after lunch in the final groups.
Isabelle Watson putting for birdie on the 11th.
DAY 3 – TUESDAY 26TH SEPTEMBER
Report courtesy of Lewis Antell
It was (yet another!) early start for the group today, with the Cypress Lakes players awaking to a 5.00am alarm call whilst the Hunter Valley players enjoyed a ‘lay in ‘til 6.00am! Nevertheless Matt’s “Morning Looseners” got us all ready for the day ahead…
The Cypress Lakes players had to catch the “MattMobile” departing our accommodation at 6.00am to go and warmup for their rounds. It was a swift turnaround for Matt though, making sure that he returned to the house to pick up the Hunter Valley players to give them enough time to also warmup for their rounds. As the nerves were starting to set in, Isabelle stepped up with her 5 wood in hand – hitting her tee shot straight down the middle and setting herself up for a birdie opportunity. Lewis also hit a good 4 iron up to the corner of the fairway dogleg positioning himself for a good approach. Although Hudson was the last of the Cypress Lakes players to tee off, he wasn’t fazed and pulled out his hybrid and also hit a great shot down the middle of the fairway!
An hour later, the Hunter Valley players kept the “Royal” name in great light, as Inyoung and Alice both bombed their drives straight down the middle on 1. On hole 10 Katie was showing off her impeccable accuracy by giving herself a birdie putt to start her round.
By early afternoon, Isabelle walked off the green at Cypress Lakes with a happy face as she finished with a 78, putting herself in contention for the rounds ahead. Hudson (91) and Lewis (83) finished their rounds meanwhile knowing that they have a lot of ground to cover for the rest of the week…
Over at Hunter Valley, Alice finished her round with a colourful 76 (including 5 birdies), whilst Inyoung (73) and Katie (74) can rest up easy knowing that they will be teeing off inside the top 5 positions for their age groups.
Back home and Katie assisted MJ (Manager Jane) in knocking up a feast that would make the ‘My Kitchen Rules’ judges proud – a dish that included lamb, salmon and vegetables.
After dinner we did our performance reviews with coach Matt and identified what we did well and what we could improve tomorrow – where there was a common theme (putting)!
DAY 2 – MONDAY 25TH SEPTEMBER
Report courtesy of Hudson Haynes
It was a nice early start to the day as we had our alarms set for 7.00am for breakfast and to do our pre-golf warm up routine. We then got into the “MattMobile” and headed to Cypress Lakes to prepare for our practice rounds.
Before beginning our round we had to complete the tournament registration and collect our welcome packs. Isabelle, Lewis and I then began our practice round whilst Matt took Alice, Katie and Inyoung to the Hunter Valley course for their practice round. During the practice round, Alice had an eagle of the 15th hole par 4 holing out from 70 metres!
When we finished our rounds we all met up with the others for drinks and hot chips. Then we went back though our yardage books showing each other our points for all of the holes and reviewing our strategies. After this we had about an hour and a half to kill until the opening ceremony so all of us went to the range to practise and compete in the Long Drive Competition.
At 5.30pm the open ceremony commenced, where it was good to see 12 different teams representing their country.
Then we returned home and had burgers and fries made by Alice before doing our evening recovery session.
We start early tomorrow at 5.00am…
DAY 1 – SUNDAY 24TH SEPTEMBER
Report courtesy of Alice Cho
It was an early start for everyone this morning with a 6:00am flight. We all met at the airport for 4:30am. Fortunately our flight didn’t get cancelled this year so we all got to Sydney as scheduled! Like last year, we travelled in the “MattMobile” to our accommodation. It was a long 2.5 hour drive but we stopped halfway and got some snacks.
When we got to our accommodation, we organised rosters for cooking and cleaning for the week and then went to the shops to buy our ingredients. After lunch we all got together and talked about course management and how to prepare for the week.
This year Katie Seol, Inyoung Kim and Alice Cho are playing at the Hunter Valley Golf Club in the Sub-Junior Classic whilst Lewis Antell, Isabelle Watson and Hudson Haynes are playing at the Cypress Lakes Golf Club in the International Junior Classic. We went to our courses and walked the holes before we play a practice round tomorrow. We all felt exhausted after a long day.
Our chef today was Isabelle. Jane and Isabelle made lasagne for dinner with ice cream for dessert.
Tomorrow, we are teeing off at 9:30 for a practice round and an opening ceremony afterwards.
