Jan 05, 2020: The world’s leading amateur golfers from around the world will converge in Melbourne in January or the Men’s and Women’s Australian Master of the Amateurs Championships at Victoria Golf Club. It has become an essential tournament for those on the cusp of turning professional.
As an aspiring professional golfer, there’s a considerable jump from playing as an amateur to going pro, and that’s where the Australian Master of the Amateurs tournament makes a difference.
The tournament was set up by former television and cinematographer Peter Mann and his wife Angela – a theatre nurse – 22 years ago.
“Peter’s vision was to set up a tournament that treated amateurs like professionals,” said Angela “It’s evolved from a small event into a major drawcard for the world’s best players over the years.”
The golfing industry has recognised this championship as a perfect pathway to transition from amateur to pro, such as Australia’s Jason Day (ranked world number 37), Tommy Fleetwood (ranked 10), Bryson DeChambeau (ranked 14) and Rickie Fowler (ranked 23).
This year the tournament has attracted 78 of the best male amateurs in the world from 21 countries, including three of the top ten players such as the rising star Ricky Castillo from USA. Ricky is currently world number 7 and has finished top ten in over 50 per cent of his championships in 2019. The male field also includes Benjamin Schmidt (number 2 in England), Keita Nakajima (number 2 in Japan), Nathan Barbieri (number 2 in Australia), Jannik De Bruyn (number 3 in Germany) and Jared Edwards (number 1 in New Zealand).
This is the third year that female players have taken part in the tournament and it has quickly grown in popularity with 11 countries participating. With Tsubasa Kajitani (number 1 in Japan), Amelia Garvey (Number 1 in New Zealand), Alyaa Abdulghany (number 1 in Malaysia) and Doey Choi (number 2 in Australia) fighting it out for the Coveted Green Jacket. The standard of play is very high, with several of the golfers having amateur handicaps up to plus-seven on some of the hardest courses around the world.
The tournament is from the 7th – 10th of January and entry is free for spectators.
The Victoria State Government is proud to support the Men’s and Women’s Australian Master of the Amateurs Championships through its Significant Sporting Events Program.
Australian Master of the Amateurs Release
