SINGAPORE - The Singapore Golf Association (SGA) announced the formation of a Junior Development Squad at a press conference yesterday (6 July), as it aims to grow interest in the game amongst youths.

The pioneer team consists of 11 girls and 13 boys with an age range of 9 to 14.

They were selected during a junior camp which was held last month and the SGA hopes that such an initiative would not only aid in identifying talented golfers from a younger age, but also provide them with more competition opportunities.

"Our development plan serves as an additional arm to provide the juniors a more competitive platform and more chances to represent Singapore in selected events." said SGA's high performance manager, Jerome Ng.

The squad will receive specialised training, such as on-course mentoring and clinics with local professional and elite golfers such as Asian Tour professional, Singaporean Koh Deng Shan.

In addition, weekly nine-hole training and gym work will be incorporated to ensure the young golfers realise their potential.

Said Ross Tan, president of SGA: "We have a good team here in SGA, (and) we are lucky to have parents coming forward to support the junior development. This is a start - if we keep creating opportunities for juniors to show themselves, bring them out for competitions, one day, we will have a world champion."

The SGA is also planning to send the team to major overseas tournaments, such as the APGC Junior Championship which will be held in August, the Victorian Boys & Girls Championship in September, as well as The Junior Open in 2018.

Moving forward, SGA also has plans to hold free-for-all trials at public driving ranges in order to reach out to more families and children, while at the same time, scouting for more talented golfers to join its ranks.