THE cream of junior golf in the Wimmera was on display at Horsham Golf Club on Sunday.
Warracknabeal's Michael Bayles was crowned the boys champion, while Dimboola's Marli Sallmann successfully defended her 2007 crown in the girls championship.
Bayles relished the perfect golfing conditions hitting 74 off the stick, edging out Horsham's Levi Burns who had 79.
Fellow young Warracknabeal golfer Anthony Wilkins put up a strong challenge in the front nine with 37, before fading to finish on 83 to finish third.
Last year's boys champion Josh Pahl, Edenhope, was unable to defend his crown because of World Youth Day commitments in Sydney.
Edenhope's Shane Williams was the B-grade winner, ahead of Horsham's Jordy Briggs.
The Callaway competition was fierce with Jarrod Berry claiming the boys title, while Victoria Smith took out the girls.
Wimmera District Golf Association junior liaison officer Michael Bates said it was a promising time for junior golf in the Wimmera with junior numbers continually increasing.
"We had 23 juniors play in the tournament and the annual tournament is fast becoming an integral part of the junior golf calendar in the region," Bates said.
"The standard was very good as can be seen from the young fellow that won the boys with 74 off the stick."
He said the Wimmera's junior program was heading in the right direction.
"We lost a lot of seniors lately, and we are rebuilding from scratch and starting to get some good results," he said.
"But we could always use a lot more."
Bates said the tournament was a good event to base selection criteria on for team events, which they have named two.
A nine-man squad will contest the state titles at Trentham Golf Club on August 9 and 10.
They are: Levi Burns, Paddy Carracher, Nick Thompson, Jordy Briggs, Horsham; Anthony Wilkins, Warracknabeal; Marcus Wilkinson, Halls Gap; Mitchell Trounce, Drung; Grant Dumesny, Pimpinio; Shane Williams, Edenhope.
A five-man team was also announced to take on South Western and South Eastern District on July 27.
They are: Levi Burns, Anthony Wilkins, Mitchell Trounce, Shane Williams, and Paddy Carracher.