On Monday 3 April 2017, 6 athletes from the Australian Capital Territory, Northern Territory and Tasmania came together as The Composite Team to contest the 2017 Australian Girls Amateur Championship and Interstate Teams Matches.  The team manager was Sue Harrison, Jack Newton Junior Golf, ACT Monaro, and the coach was Luke Grinham, Jack Newton Junior Golf, Illawarra and Far South Coast.The uniforms were purchased from Sporte Leisure through GolfNSW and the players also appreciated sponsorship from Srixon.

The Event
An unofficial practice round was scheduled for the players at 12.40pm on Monday 3 April 2017.  On the morning of Tuesday 4 April the team attended the Golf Australia High Performance Pathway Meeting, presented by Brad James.  In the afternoon players participated in the official practice round.  The weather was not great, however, all players were able to see the 18 holes, either by playing or walking and mapping.  The course had been lengthened for the event (6000+ metres) and was longer than the course played by the boys.  Yardage books were used on both practice days and during the tournament.

The Australian Girls Amateur Championship was conducted over 72 holes from Wednesday 5 April to Friday 7 April.  The results for our team were:

Zahara Lemon                 15th             +12    304                            Chloe Thornton              36th        +21    313

Katelyn Rika                   57th             +42    334                           Hallie Meaburn                MC         +21

Amber Thornton              MC              +26                                         Jade Longstaff             MC        +33

Saturday 8 April was a rest day and we took the opportunity to have a break from golf, do some team building and have a relaxed recovery day before the commencement of the Interstate Matches.

The Interstate Matches were conducted from Sunday 9 April to Tuesday 11 April, with two matches each day and the final match on Tuesday.  Chloe Thornton was team captain and Zahara Lemon was vice captain.  With our first three matches being against Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland a great deal of mental and emotional energy was spent early on by the players.  We completed the competition in 4th place and individual results were:

VIC NSW QLD WA SA
Zahara Lemon Played @ 2 Lost 1 down to Ruffels Played @ 1
Lost to Kim 6/5		 Played @ 1
Won to Taylor 1 up		 Played @ 2
Halved with Norris		 Played @ 1
Lost to Adams 8/6
Chloe Thornton Played @ 1
Lost 4/3 to Hetherington		 Played @ 2
Lost to Choi 3/2		 Played @ 2
Lost to Edgar 2/1		 Played @ 1
Won to Hinson-Tolchard 1up		 Played @ 2
Won to Yun 5/3
Katelyn Rika Played @ 3
Lost 3/1 to Matsumoto		 Played @ 4
Lost to Chu 6/5		 Played @ 3
Lost to Wilson 6/4		 Played @ 3
Lost to Rudgeley 6/4		 Caddied
Jade Longstaff Played @ 4
Lost to Ooi 3/1		 Played @ 3 Lost to Kyriacou 9/7 Played @ 4
Lost to Hapgood 5/4		 Played @ 4
Won to Teasdale 1up		 Played @ 3
Lost to Jacobs 2/1
Amber Thornton Played @ 5
Lost to Hilliard 8/7		 Caddied Caddied Played @ 5
Won to Ahnantakrishnan 4/3		 Played @ 5
Won to Peirce 7/5
Hallie Meaburn Caddied Played @ 5
Lost to Ji 3/2		 Played @ 5
Lost to Porter 7/6		 Caddied Played @ 4
Halved with Sutton
Concluding Comments

I would like to thank Stuart Eaton, Golf TAS and Brett Rankin, Golf NT for their support during the organisation and delivery of this event for the Composite Team.  It has been rewarding and a privilege to be managing this team and working with such professional people.  Thank you to Luke Grinham, whose commitment to the role and expertise was outstanding.  Thank you also to the Central Southern Golf Association (ACT) and Jack Newton Junior Golf for their all round support of the Composite Team.  I also appreciate the support of parents.  Finally, I would like to compliment the athletes and thank them for being an inspiration and pleasure to work with.

Sue Harrison
Composite Team Manager
April 2017