Everglades Country Club’s Shaylan Bennett and Monash Country Club’s Mingming Lee have been crowned winners at the Blue Mountains Junior Masters event.
A total of 107 juniors played over the past two days in perfect conditions at the immaculate Blackheath Golf Club.
It was a tight race at the top through nine holes, with six players within two shots of the lead. However, Bennett stepped up on the back nine, firing a bogey-free five under par to claim his second Junior Masters title.
Bennett finished his first round at an impressive two under par, just one shot back from leader Michael Li of Avondale.
His second round was even more remarkable, shooting a five-under-par 64 that featured eagles on the par-five 1st and 10th holes, as well as birdies on 16 and 17.
The fifteen-year-old’s final score was a seven under par 131, the victory securing his spot in the Bonville Champions Trophy later this year.
Toukley Golf Club’s Blake Cranston was the runner-up on four under par after rounds of 69 and 65.
Overnight leader Michael Li went on to win the Boys 16 Years & Over division by eight shots with a two-round total of 136 (two under par), with Oatlands’ Christian Fong finishing second.
A playoff was needed to decide the winner in the Boys 13 Years & Under Division after David Kang (Cowra) & Joshua Park (Ryde Parramatta) were tied on eight over par.
Both boys had less than ten feet for birdie on the first playoff hole, but Kang grabbed the win after Park missed his putt. This marked Kang’s first-ever age division win at a Junior Masters event.
In the Girls Division, Lee carded rounds of 72 and 73 to finish the tournament with a total of 145. The five-over-par total was matched by Royal Canberra Golf Club’s Sia Taylor and Ryde Parramatta Golf Club’s Jia You, which meant that a three-way playoff was required to decide the winner.
Lee played the par five first hole perfectly, sinking a ten-foot birdie putt to claim back-to-back Junior Masters titles.
A playoff was also needed to decide the Girls 16 Years & Over title after Jia You and Sia Taylor were tied at five over par.
The girls went down the Par three 2nd hole, both hitting the green in one. You had a tap in for par, whilst Taylor had six feet to save her par and unfortunately missed, which meant You was crowned the Girls 16 Years & Over Champion.
Concord’s Honey Kim claimed her first age division title by winning the Girls 14 & 15 Years Division by one stroke over Castle Hill’s Farmaan Dhilllon.
Final Leaderboard – https://www.golfgenius.com/pages/11139592928706477243
The Junior Masters series now moves to Bathurst Golf Club for the Peter O’Malley Junior Masters, which is set to be held from April 5th-6th.
