Whilst primarily established to provide scholarships to women undertaking the PGA Membership Pathway Program (previously known as the Trainee Program), the scope of the fund has been expanded to encompass all programs leading to Vocational Membership of the PGA, in addition to providing support for current female golf professionals to continue their education via industry-relevant higher education opportunities.

The scholarships encompass two key funding areas. 

The first relates to the next generation of members, providing assistance to new or currently-enrolled women to meet the financial obligations  associated with undertaking the relevant program requirements.  Scholarship funding is available for programs leading to PGA membership including the PGA Membership Pathway Program, the PGA Performance Program and the Diploma of Golf Management.

The second is under the banner of creating new leaders, with funding available to current Full Vocational female Members with the aim of lifting current female professionals in to leadership roles within the industry. Funding can be used to access relevant higher education opportunities via the Advanced Diploma of Leadership and Management or other relevant courses.

There are a total of 15 scholarship opportunities under the WiGSF.

Alongside the PGA, support and investment into the WiGSF has been provided by ISPS Handa, Acushnet, Callaway and TaylorMade.  As partners of the PGA they have continued to demonstrate their shared commitment to developing further female professional pathways, and we anticipate further support from existing and new PGA Partners or organisations who are keen to support this initiative into the future.

To be eligible, applicants need to be a female Australian citizen or permanent resident and meet the eligibility criteria to undertake the program of their choice.

Applications will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis with priority of scholarships awarded to individuals who have had to overcome or are overcoming disadvantage in pursuit of their studies. Disadvantages may include but are not limited to the following: 

• Financial difficulty or low-income earner 
• Family/caring responsibilities 
• Geographical isolation/significant distance from major capital city 
• English as a second language 
• Disability or medical condition 
• Family crisis or difficult family environment 
• Career/ study disruption 
• Other difficult circumstances 

 Currently only six percent of Vocational Golf Professionals in Australia are women.

PGA of Australia Chief Executive Gavin Kirkman said he was delighted to see the WiGSF coming to fruition in Australia.

“This is a very important project for us going forward,” said Kirkman.

“The PGA is committed to increasing the not only the number of female PGA Professionals but helping to elevate our current women members into leadership roles within the industry; and we are very optimistic these scholarships will facilitate that. It’s an exciting time in golf with the boom in participation and more women coming to the game as we improve some of the barriers that have been there in the past, recognised all formats and make our sport more fun and accessible. This is an initiative that we are very proud of at the PGA, and we hope that there is a strong take-up of what’s on offer.”

For additional information please contact the PGA Education Department at [email protected]

Growing up in Sydney in the late 1960s, he was the golden child of Australian amateur golf. He was the one with the swing, the talent, the power and the looks to follow the generation of Peter Thomson, Kel Nagle, Bruce Devlin and Bruce Crampton.

Bob Shearer, not the favourite to win the match, beat him in the semi-final of the 1969 Australian Amateur at Royal Adelaide and soon after he committed to playing golf for money.

As most did in those days, he took himself to Britain, then the thriving heart of the European Tour. He breathed a little life into a tour dominated by home players, most of whom went quietly about their business. Jack and his mates, Shearer, Ian Stanley and Stewart Ginn were a revelation to the British, unused to pros playing first-class golf by day and then closing the clubhouse bar long after the day’s final putts had gone down.

By 1975 Newton was one of the best players in Europe and he arrived at Carnoustie for The Open with some reason for optimism. He tuned up by playing a practice round with Jack Nicklaus and Tom Weiskopf and 65 in Friday’s third round had him one behind South African Bobby Cole, one ahead of Johnny Miller, two ahead of Tom Watson with Nicklaus another shot back.

The American superstars, Nicklaus and Miller, had to fancy their chances. Watson, playing his first Open, had just choked away the US Open the previous month and neither Cole nor our man had much experience of the final day pressure of a major championship.

The wind changed direction for Saturday’s fourth round and Carnoustie, likely the toughest of all the Open courses, played at its most difficult. Miller took two to get out of the fairway bunker at the 18th, made a bogey and tied with Nicklaus at 280. Watson, playing with Miller, came to the 18th one behind his partner, hit a 9-iron to 25 feet and made the long putt for 279.

The wind switch made the into-the-breeze 17th a brutal hole and Jack, needing two fours for 278, hit the wrong club off the tee, barely carried the burn running across the fairway and made an almost inevitable five.

Cole took 76 to tie Nicklaus and Miller, leaving Newton and Watson to play for the Claret Jug over 18 holes on the Sunday.

The wind switched back, the last was a drive and a 2-iron and after 17 holes they were tied. Watson hit the green, Jack the greenside bunker and four to a five it was after the Australian missed from 12 feet coming back down the hill.

Eight years later The Open was at Royal Birkdale. Watson won the last of his five Opens and Newton was in Australia commentating for Channel Nine.

In the years after Carnoustie, Jack won the 1979 Australian Open after Greg Norman three-putted Metropolitan’s final green and five months later was second behind Severiano Ballesteros at Augusta.

Seve liked and respected ‘Yak’, as he called him. They had played together in Europe when Seve was starting out and at the post tournament press conference the Australian made it clear he was tired of the lack of respect some Americans had for the Spaniard’s game.

“I’ve read some of the newspaper articles this week and, you know it’s almost as though you guys are waiting for Seve to blow up,” Newton said.

“I’ve also heard some pretty snide, completely uncalled for remarks from some of the players that he’s lucky and a one-putt Jessie and all that crap.

“America’s considered to be the tops in professional golf and here comes a young 23-year-old and he’s taken some of the highlight away from your superstars. But, you know, the guy’s a great player and the sooner Americans realise it the better.”

A year later Newton lost his tour card in the United States and whilst still a young man his game was some way from its best and he wasn’t exempt at Birkdale. With a nice television offer on the table, flying all the way to England to qualify with hundreds of others for a few meagre spots in the Open field likely seemed a bad idea.

Of course, had Watson not made that long putt across the 72nd green, Newton would have been the champion, an exempt player and teeing up at Birkdale and playing a few weeks in Europe on the way home.

Instead, the very next week he walked into the spinning aeroplane propeller and life as he knew it irrevocably changed.

There was only one way Jack was going to manage his tragedy. He learned to write beautifully with his left hand, he got his handicap down to 12, was the Chairman of the Board of the PGA Tour of Australasia for years and his Jack Newton Junior Golf Foundation introduced thousands of kids to the game.

He was a brilliant television commentator who could have worked in America but with his family in Australia he eschewed the opportunity. As bland as the world of television golf commentary is these days, he’d have been a revelation because he was never afraid to say what was exactly on his mind.

Ironically the year after the accident he was working for the BBC at St Andrews.

Vincente Fernandez, John Bland and Freddie Couples came to the final hole on Friday (by now the second day) and one after the other they played far to the left of the usual line off the 18th tee. Alex Hay, the long-time British commentator was on with Newton and with each successive drive he expressed some surprise at how far left they were driving.

Jack suggested the position of the pin and the angle of the wind had a lot to do with it, but Hay wasn’t having it.

In his post-round television interview Couples was informed there was some dispute in the commentary box about the strategy on the final hole.

“Well, we all thought the direction of the wind and the position of the pin advantaged a drive further left than normal.”

“Well, Alex,” said Jack, “I guess that’s why you were a club pro and I played the tour.”

He never worked for the BBC again but that was Jack. He called it as he saw it and he didn’t suffer fools.

Hiding away in the corner and doing nothing was never an option for him and in the four decades after his accident Newton made an extraordinary contribution to the game in Australia.