BGC’s Sam Slater turns Pro

Highly-decorated Brisbane Golf Club amateur, 2021 Club Champion Sam Slater, has turned professional.

And he has timed his announcement to perfection. His first professional event will be the BGC Pro-Am on Monday week, July 10, where Sam will be one of 62 professionals in the field who will play for a purse of $20,000.

“Now is the right time, and I know I’m ready,” said Sam, who has been contemplating the move for the past 12 months and says he is currently playing as well as he has ever played.

“The question in the back of my mind has always been ‘am I good enough to turn pro?’. I am ready to answer that question, and obviously I will be learning on the run.”

Now 22 years of age and playing from a handicap of plus four, Sam joined BGC as a 14-year-old and won the Junior Club Championship in three successive years – 2017, 2018 and 2019. He was Club Champion in 2021, and has been a Division One team member in BGCs three recent successive Brisbane District Golf Association Pennant victories.

And he turns professional when rated the No.1 amateur in Queensland, and is currently No.4 on the 2023 Australian Order of Merit. These ratings follow his recent representation for Queensland where the top eight male and female golfers competed in the Australian Interstate Teams matches at St Michael’s Golf Club in Sydney. Sam, who was the No.1 player for Queensland, was the only undefeated male during the series.

During his impressive amateur career – coached by BGC Teaching Professional Lee Eagleton – Sam has also won the Tasmanian Open (2022) and the South Australian Amateur (2021) and was a long-term member of the Queensland Academy of Sport. Lee will remain his coach during his professional career.

BGC Chief Executive Officer, Geoff Kuehner, said the club was thrilled to learn Sam was turning professional.

“To see him come to our club at such a young age, watch him grow on and off the course, and now turn professional is a highlight for many people associated with BGC. We are very proud of Sam.” he said.

“And we are excited that he has chosen to debut in our most celebrated event of the year, the Pro-Am, which returns after several years of hosting the Legends Pro-Am.

Sam will be will be joined in the Pro-Am field by last year’s Queensland PGA Champion and BGC member, Aaron Wilkin, as well as fellow BGC members Lawry Flynn, Jonathon Pepper, Brent Rankin, Cooper Eccleston and Tyla Vinter.

“Hopefully our members will be out in force not just to witness popular member Sam make his professional debut, but to support the other club members in the field,” Mr Kuehner said. – TONY DURKIN