ALPG Rookie Emily McLennan claimed her first ALPG title today at the Mulpha Norwest Pro-am at Castle Hill Country Club in Sydney today. 

The 22-year old shot a 5 under par round of 69 to take the title by one shot from one of the three Rio Olympians in the field, Switzerland`s Fabienne In-Albon. 
Former NSW Women`s Open Champion Sarah Oh finished alone in 3rd place after shooting a 3 under par 71, the best round of the afternoon field who sweltered in the 42 degree heatwave conditions.

McLennan, who splits her time between Australia and the US was clearly delighted at claiming her first professional title.
“This is an amazing start to my ALPG season. I felt that I had something to prove coming in here. I am on the reserve list for all of the major ALPG tournaments so I was determined to get off to a good start. This win, especially when you look at the field with so many successful and experienced players playing gives me a lot of confidence heading into the rest of the year”

McLennan only turned professional in August 2016, and will spend the bulk of 2017 back in the US chasing her LPGA dream on the tour’s secondary tour, the Symetra tour, to which she gained status by getting through to the second stage of the LPGA Qualifying Tournament in 2016.

The humble young woman who originally hails from Scone in NSW is clearly not your average professional sportsperson. Emily left Australian shores for the highly-regarded US Collegiate system, and has since graduated from the University of Tennessee with the highest academic honours, along with being inducted into the prestigious Kappa Tau Alpha Society for Mass Communication and Journalism.

Emily was quick to pay tribute to her parents “My parents (Greg & Sue) are pretty much funding all of this, I definitely wouldn’t be here without them”, and her long-term coach Garry Calder (from Brisbane Golf Club) “I only get to see Gary in person roughly every 18 months. We do a lot through phone calls, emails and video, he knows my game so well I only have to say what shot I am hitting and he works it out.”
She also thanked her main sponsors GBelts, and also Titleist for their support.

The win takes McLennan into the early lead in the 2017 ALPG Club Car Series, and sets her up nicely to qualify for the RACV Gold Coast Challenge, the Oates Vic Open and the ISPS Handa Women’s Australian Open.

The ALPG Tour will now head east across the M2 to Pennant Hills for the GoldKey Financial Services Proam on 19th and 20th January, where 85 professionals from 19 different countries will compete for $30,000 in prizemoney.

For final results and prizemoney from the Mulpha Norwest Pro-am go to http://alpg.com.au/tournament.php?id=4815 

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