Tee-time for Classic line-up

Above: Cameron Smith in action. Picture courtesy LIV Golf

Players from the length of Queensland, NSW and Victoria will tee-up for the eighth Cameron Smith Junior Classic (CSJC) at Wantima Country Club on Thursday.

All 224 places in the 36-hole and 9-hole tournaments on the Brendale course were snapped up weeks ago, with lengthy waiting lists for both.

Ken McKay, the CSJC founder and co-ordinator with Shane Johnsson, said 75 per cent of the spaces went within 24 hours of registrations opening.

The line-up includes Fuyu Yang, from The National Golf Club in Victoria, Noah Cowan of Kiama, NSW and Elijah and Jonah Whittington from Ballina, NSW.

Joining them will be players from Atherton, Ayr, Mystic Sands, Townsville, Rockhampton, Yeppoon and across south-east Queensland.

“I think there is a really good line-up,” said Ken, as support on and off the course continues to grow for the CSJC.

Global league LIV Golf and Cameron Smith’s Ripper GC, which won this year’s LIV Team Championship, are supporting the event.

It is believed the CSJC will be the only Australian tournament, outside LIV Golf Adelaide, to be backed by LIV and Ripper GC.

As a result, this year’s tournament is set to have the biggest collection of prizes and giveaways for a junior event in this country.

It gets underway at 7am tomorrow, when 152 players under 18 with a Golf Australia (GA) handicap start teeing-off in the two-day 36-hole tournament.

Round two is on Friday, when 72 players under 14 without a GA handicap, start the nine-hole competition at 6.30am.

Now based in the US, Cameron Smith grew up in Bray Park and went to Pine Rivers State High School. He learned to play golf at Wantima and is still a member of the club.

Two years ago he won the 150^th Open Championship at St Andrews and the Players’ Championship, dubbed the fifth Major, to reach second on the world rankings.

Tyler Duncan the first CSJC winner in 2017, is now a professional and played in the Queensland PGA, Australian PGA and Australian Open this year.

Wesley Hinton, the 2022 CSJC A Grade winner, also played the Queensland PGA this year.

Duncan and Hinton have each also won Cameron Smith Scholarships and spent time in the US honing their game alongside Smith.