Teenage prodigy Jeffrey Guan is among three additions to Golf Australia's rookie development squad for 2024.
Fellow former Sydney amateur star Harrison Crowe and Perth’s Haydn Barron are the other exciting prospects who will receive financial support and guidance from the national organisation in the early phases of their professional careers.
Guan, a two-time Australian junior amateur champion, and Crowe, an Asia-Pacific amateur winner, recently turned professional with Crowe earning playing rights for the Asian Tour.
Barron is the mature-aged member of the squad at 27 and began his career as a DP World Tour player this month with a top-10 finish in Qatar over the weekend.
The rookie squad includes some of the best young players from Australia and the world’s golf tours, including the likes of Gabriela Ruffels, Cassie Porter, Grace Kim and Stephanie Kyriacou in the United States and Barron and Kirsten Rudgeley in Europe.
Guan, 19, is thrilled with his opportunity.
"Golf Australia has helped me all through my career and this is another step," he said.
"To get that funding is great for me at this stage first of all. On top of that, to be able to access the support in terms of nutritionists, physios, conditioning and that kind of thing is awesome.
"Plus I can plan ahead for the year and set a schedule with some certainty. So I'm extremely grateful."
Golf Australia’s high performance director Tony Meyer said the rookie squad was not just about providing financial assistance but about guiding young professionals to help them get the best out of themselves.
"We're delighted to have three new members of the squad who've all earned their place," said Meyer.
"Jeff Guan and Harrison Crowe are really exciting young players and their records show that.
"Haydn Barron is a little older than the players we typically bring in as a first-year player, but we have to factor in that a couple of years of his development were lost to the pandemic travel restrictions, and he's made good progress including earning his DP World Tour playing rights."
