TALENTED Weipa golfer Tom Whittle has been crowned the Far North’s A-grade golfer of the year after a stellar 2021 on the region’s courses.
The 16-year-old, who learnt his craft at the Carpentaria Golf Club under the guidance of his father Rod, has benefited from a shift to Cairns.
He’s a regular at the Cairns Golf Club but travels far and wide across the region to play in open events.
“We moved to Cairns to give him an opportunity to further his golf and it’s really paying off,” Rod said last week.
“Unfortunately COVID came along at a time where he could have been travelling interstate to events, so Tom put a focus on the Far North circuit last year and he did really well.”
Tom was the winner of the Half Moon Bay Open, El Arish Open and Mossman Open, and was the junior champion in a number of other events, including the Cairns Open.
The teenager was also part of the Cairns pennant team which won the FNQ championship.
Always regarded as a talent in Weipa, Tom has matured both as a person and a golfer and is currently off a handicap of 1, although did get down to +2 at one stage.
He’s also done it while dealing with his autism, which has been an ongoing challenge.
“I’m really proud of him because he works so hard and a lot of people wouldn’t know about the autism because it’s not something you can see,” Rod said.
“He’s also been away from some of his family while in Cairns and he’s handled that really well, too.”
During the school holidays, Tom returned to his home course at Weipa and paired up with Peter Ross on Saturday where they finished runner-up.
The Indigenous star hopes to do more travelling to ranking events later this year and continue to represent Weipa and Cairns as he travels.
Anyone interested in sponsoring Tom should contact Rod on 0428 851 877.
