World Junior Girls Championship: NZ names strong team for Canada

New Zealand Golf has named an exciting team to contest the inaugural World Junior Girls Championship Trophy in Canada in September.

Julianne Alvarez (Manor Park), Wenyung Keh (Pakuranga) and Alanna Campbell (Omanu) will compete at the North and South Courses at the Angus Glen Golf Club in Markham Ontario, Canada.

Fifteen countries will participate in the inaugural World Junior Girls Championship, which will be staged from September 26 to October 1, with teams being selected based on their finish at the 2012 World Amateur Team Championship in Turkey.

Liz McKinnon, the High Performance Coordinator at New Zealand Golf, will be the team manager in Canada and believed this international competition will be great for the player’s development. 

“This event is the first of its kind where the top junior girls from around the world will be competing,” she said.

“This gives our Kiwi players a great opportunity to test their golf skills.”

McKinnon said the balance of the team ensures they will be competitive but also gain good development from the competition.

“This team is a great mix. Julianne is very experienced internationally and we look forward to developing the potential of Alanna and Wenyung on the international stage. It is a great opportunity for the experienced girls to share their preparation and tactical skills that go with a high calibre international event with the less experienced.”

Former NZ Amateur Champion Alvarez has been a consistent performer in recent time and will be the senior player in the New Zealand team.

Campbell earns her place in the side after an impressive 2014. The Bay of Plenty rep claimed the Victorian Junior Masters earlier this year for her maiden international win.

She has continued that form in impressive fashion back home with seven top five finishes, including a win in a playoff recently at the Bay of Plenty Open, to be 10^th on the NZ Golf Order of Merit. 

Keh has been a standout performer for Auckland in the past two years. The 17-year-old was the player of the tournament at the 2013 Toro Interprovincial at Muriwai as she managed a perfect winning record.

Keh, who is a former NZ Amateur Finalist, is currently ninth on the NZ Golf Order of Merit after runner-up finishes in qualifying for the NZ Amateur and the North Shore Classic.

The younger sister of Munchin also had her best international result when she finished tied second at the Singapore Ladies Amateur only three strokes back from the champion.

All three of the Kiwi girls will look to carry that form into the World Junior Girls Championship.

The competition is open to female juniors who have not reached their 19th birthday by the last scheduled day of the championship, October 1, 2014 and who are members in good standing with their respective golf federation and who are not playing university or college golf.

The format mirrors that of the Espirito Santo Worlds Team Championship. It is both a team, where the best two out of three scores each day count, and an individual 72 hole stroke play competition. 

NZ team to contest the World Junior Girls Championship Trophy

Julianne Alvarez (Manor Park), Wenyung Keh (Pakuranga) and Alanna Campbell (Omanu)

Team Manager: Liz McKinnon.

World Junior Girls Championship Fact Box

When: September 26 to October 1

Where: Angus Glen Golf Club in Markham Ontario, Canada

For more information visit: CLICK HERE

Peter Thornton | New Zealand Golf
Media & PR Manager