COURSE: One of the most well-known courses in the country, Royal Sydney in the city’s east welcomes the first event of the 2021 Adidas Junior 6s Tour.

Host of numerous Australian Opens in the past, Royal Sydney is not a regular junior tournament venue, meaning the layout could be quite a mystery for much of the field.

Originally designed by Carnegie Clark in 1921 and updated numerous times since, Royal Sydney, which is currently ranked No.49 in Australia, is slated for a renovation under the watch of noted course architect Gil Hanse.

“Royal Sydney’s pushed up greens, lightning fast slopes, oversize bunkers and relentlessly narrow fairways make for a genuinely tough test,” Top-100 judging panel member Adrian Logue said of the layout.

FORMAT: The competitors will play 18 holes of stroke play, with points on the year-long race awarded to a number of players, and the top boys and girls finishers to go head-to-head in a 6-hole match for the title and additional points.

PLAYERS TO WATCH …

Jeffrey Guan has already enjoyed success in the Adidas Junior 6s Tour format and has been showing plenty of form so far in 2021.

A former NSW Junior champion and runner-up at the recent NSW Amateur, Guan is a member of The Australian Golf Club and certainly a player to watch for the future having been chosen to play major pennants at just 10.

Like so many of New South Wales’ brightest prospects, Guan works with Gary Barter on his game and has the firepower to handle the challenge that is Royal Sydney.

Guan’s fellow Australian member, Brielle Mapanao got some TV time and well-deserved attention at last week’s junior section of The Players Series held at Bonnie Doon.

The 17-year-old was the leading woman in the field after carding rounds of 76 and 75 in blustery conditions with crowds adding to the pressure of playing alongside the professionals battling out the main event.

RIGHT: Jeffrey Guan was the first Adidas Junior 6s ambassador and will be among the favourites this week. PHOTOS: Supplied.

Mapanao is also a member of Castle Hill Country Club, and will have plenty of experience with big golf courses, as well as owning the enviable record of being undefeated in the preliminary rounds of the NSW Division 1 Major Pennant in both 2019 and 2020.

St. Michael’s member Jeff Pullen has his eyes on a US college career and will certainly be capable of making noise amongst the best amateurs in the game judging by his then course record 62 at Bonnie Doon late last year as part of the Adidas Junior 6s Tour.

Pullen was eighth at the same venue last week in The Players Series junior tournament and will likely be brimming with confidence, as he makes his first start in a series that offers multiple professional tournament exemptions and an Adidas sponsorship to the overall winner to be crowned at Royal Melbourne later this year.