Melbourne's Yarra Yarra Golf Club to host Australian Amateur in January

SOUTH MELBOURNE, Australia (August 31, 2016) -- One of Australia’s most storied courses will be the primary host of the 2017 Australian Amateur Championship presented by Swinging Skirts. The Yarra Yarra Golf Club, in the heart of Melbourne’s famous Sandbelt, will throw open its gates to 312 of the world’s finest players for the first time. In conjunction with the nearby Peninsula Kingswood Country Golf Club’s Kingswood Course for the stroke play phase, Yarra Yarra will be on show throughout the week of January 17-22 with entrants expected from across Australia, along with New Zealand, England, Scotland, Korea, Japan, Wales, Taiwan, Malaysia and the United States. Yarra Yarra general manager Peter Vlahandreas said the club was thrilled to add its name to the rich history of the national amateur title. “The global significance of the Australian Amateur grows annually and we are excited to be a part of it in 2017,” Vlahandreas said. “We have hosted some great tournaments as a club, but never this one. So we will be doing all in our power to make sure the players from around the world leave Yarra Yarra with a great experience. “The course is revered around the world for its layout and we will have it in pristine nick for the Aussie Amateur. “All here at the club are just really excited to be involved.” The stroke play rounds on Tuesday and Wednesday will feature 234 men and 78 women over 18-holes at each club, with the leading 64 men and 32 women advancing to the elimination match play at Yarra Yarra. This is the first time Yarra Yarra has hosted this prestigious championship for both men and women, while Peninsula Kingswood Country Golf Club was also the secondary host in 2016. Both men’s and women’s championships date back to 1894 and both winners receive an exemption into their respective 2017 Australian Opens. Designed by Alex Russell in collaboration with Alister MacKenzie, Yarra Yarra features large, fast and undulating greens and superb bunkering in a natural setting. Its four par-3's are world renowned, particularly the signature 11th hole which is regarded as one of the best in the country. The Kingswood Course is also located on the Sandbelt and is always exceptionally manicured with gentle undulations and fast greens to make it a great test of golf, as those who competed this year will attest.