Golf: Bay pair named in Junior Classic team

Opotiki's Tyla Kingi has joined Te Puke's Charlie Hillier in NZ's team for next month's Srixon International Junior Classic. Photo / George Novak

Bay of Plenty golfers occupy half of the four spots in the national team for the Srixon International Junior Classic.

The squad includes Tyla Kingi (Opotiki), Brooke Hamilton (Hamilton), Charlie Hillier (Te Puke) and Tadhg Campbell (Muriwai) and will be managed by New Zealand Golf high performance coach Reon Sayer.

The event, formerly known as the Jack Newton International Junior Classic, will be played from September 30 - October 3 at the Maitland Golf Club in New South Wales.

It provides an important stepping stone for young players on the international stage and the Kiwis will travel to the event after successful national campaigns in 2014.

Kingi, a former winner of the Junior Tiger National Final, has progressed nicely to be a regular competitor on the Charles Tour. She was the third amateur in the LawnMaster Classic on the Charles Tour and third in qualifying for the NZ Amateur.

Bay of Plenty representative Hillier began the year in style when he won the North Island under-19 championship at the Hamilton Golf Club.

The tournament is run by the Jack Newton Junior Golf Foundation which was established in 1986 to introduce more young people to the game of golf and to nurture their skills and enjoyment of the sport.

The objectives of JNJG are to establish and service a variety of golf programmes for boys and girls.