KARRIE WEBB JUNIOR MASTERS DRAWS RECORD FIELD AS FAMILIAR FACE CLAIMS TITLE

18-hole boys winner Rico Avolio, Karrie Webb, and 18-hole girls winner Lily McGuinness Photos: Rhonda Martin

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Yeppoon golfer Lily McGuinness claimed her third Karrie Webb Junior Masters title last weekend as the tournament attracted a record field, with Burdekin competitors also among winners.

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Roughly 120 young golfers contested the tournament at Ayr Golf Course on Saturday, 24th October and Sunday, 25th October. The tournament was the final Greg Norman Junior Masters qualifier of this year’s junior calendar.

McGuinness reclaimed the 18-hole girls gross title after finishing second last year, winning the event for the third time in four years. Her score of 139 was the lowest among all 18-hole competitors.

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Rowes Bay golfer Rico Avolio took out the boys division with a gross score of 151.

Meanwhile, Ayr golfers ran rampant in both six-hole competitions, with Adelle Morello and Austin Mann winning the girls and boys divisions respectively.

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Burdekin locals Ara Oakes, Tyler Smith, Royce Cohen, River Oar, Andi Perry and Reid Statham also finished in the top three of their divisions.

Karrie Webb, who was in attendance across the weekend, said she was impressed by the talent of this year’s field, which almost doubled in participation since 2023.

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“It's great to see so many young kids playing. I played in all these junior tournaments when I was younger, so it just reminds me all about it,” she said.

“The competition was great—we had kids from Brisbane, Caloundra, all the way up to Atherton and Cairns. It just shows this region that it's an important event for the kids who aspire to continue going from three holes, to six holes all the way up to 18 holes."

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The weekend also included the Golf North Queensland (GNQ) Junior Golfer of the Year presentation on Saturday night, which recognised the best-performing junior golfers in GNQ over the season.

Another presentation on Sunday capped off the weekend’s competition, with winners across the two days taking home impressive prizes courtesy of Mizuno Australia.

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“When you have such great prizes, I think it excites the kids. At a lot of the junior golf tournaments around the district don't usually see prizes like that,” Webb said.

She added that the tournament attracted business to the town.

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"A lot of people travelled a long way, spending a lot of money in the community—hotel rooms, caravan parks. I was out on Friday night, and there was a lot of people out having dinner. A lot of money was spent in town, which is great,” she said.

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Webb thanked sponsors Raine & Horne and Mizuno Australia, as well as her mother, Evelyn, and the volunteers who contributed to tournament preparations.

“They've worked really hard to build this event up to be bigger and better every year. I think our goal is to continue to make it bigger and for more and more people to come and play,” she said.

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Full results available online

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