Golf Australia, the PGA of Australia and the WPGA Tour of Australasia have officially kicked off the Women and Girls Month celebrations today with the first Women’s Golf Network event for 2023 alongside a morning of networking with media for competitors in The Athena.

The momentum of Women and Girls Month continues into the weekend with the third edition of The Athena where 12 up-and-coming young women golfers will take to the Sandy Golf Links greens to battle it out in a golf tournament like no other.

WPGA Tour CEO Karen Lunn said, “The Athena is a truly unique event. Played over two days and comprised of a day of short-form challenges and a day of four-hole match play, it’s golf but in an easy to consume and follow format.

“The Athena prioritises our next wave of genuine talent and due to the small field gives them huge opportunity to showcase not just the incredible athletes that they are but their unique and watchable personalities too.

“Keeley Marx is the IMG World Junior Champion, Justice Bosio is playing the Augusta National women’s event later this year and Kelsey Bennett won the WPGA Tour Q School in 2023. These players are just three examples of the talent we have lined-Up for The Athena and all our competitors are poised to take the next step in their careers.

“The Athena has acted as a springboard for its two previous winners careers, Kristalle Blum and Kirsten Rudgeley and we can’t wait to see what the tournament brings to our next winners career long-term.”

Golf Australia’s Head of Women and Girls Engagement, Tiffany Cherry highlighted the jam-packed schedule for the rest of March, “Women and Girls Month is only just getting started”, said Cherry.

“The first Women’s Golf Network event of 2023 and The Athena kickstarted the month, then we’re straight into our schedule of events that are open to the public, including an International Women’s Day event with a childcare offering, as well as an Active Allies Day and Family Day. These events are intended to act as a template for clubs and facilities around the country to be inspired to apply initiatives like this in their own backyards, as they like.  

“These events, including a host of others across almost every State, alongside a number of key fixtures on the WPGA Tour schedule including the NSW Women’s Open and

“These events alongside a number of key fixtures on the WPGA Tour schedule including the NSW Women’s Open and the Australian Women’s Classic round out the month and the month concludes with the inaugural meeting of the Golf Leaders Network.

“There is so much happening in the golf industry to bring more women and girls into the game, not just from a playing perspective but from a career perspective too. The Australian Golf Landscape Research showed us that there’s millions of women and girls in Australia who are open to playing the game, they just haven’t gotten started yet.

“We hope by celebrating for an entire month that we can show more women and girls out there that golf is for them and break down some of the barriers to women and girls getting into golf.”

Women and Girls Month runs from 1-31 March with a full schedule of events and registration links available here.