Brett Coletta
(Golf Australia Photo)
MELBOURNE, Australia (January 14, 2017) -- Brett
Coletta, one of Australian golf’s hottest prospects, is
turning professional.
Coletta will join the paid ranks at next week’s
Singapore Open (January 19-22) and soon
afterwards
try his hand on the PGA Tour.
The 20-year-old Melburnian is changing status
after
reaching a career-high No.7 in the world amateur
rankings but, more importantly for the next phase of
his
career, after a string of stunning results in PGA Tour
of
Australasia events around Australia.
Coletta, a member of the Golf Australia national
squad for the past three years, roared to prominence
when he finished runner-up to good mate and fellow
Australian Curtis Luck in the Asia-Pacific Amateur
Championship in September.
But having watched the chance to play in The
Masters agonisingly slip through his fingers in South
Korea, Coletta quickly displayed the tenacity for
which
he's already renowned.
The Woodlands Golf Club member became the
first
amateur since Stuart Appleby in 1991 to win the
Queensland Open.
He backed that up with a superb runner-up
finish at
the New South Wales Open and then went deep
again in
Queensland with a T6 finish against a top
international
field at the Australian PGA Championship.
“It's been a big couple of months, that's for
sure,”
Coletta said with typical understatement.
“I have been working hard for several years to
reach the point where I think my game can contend
at
the professional level and those results proved to me
that it's time to give it a shot.
“Losing out to Curtis in the Asia-Pacific Amateur
was a pretty tough hit to take, but it also taught me
a
lot of invaluable lessons you can't always find on the
practice range.
“I think I showed it didn't affect me and that I
learnt from it, so hopefully my game will stand up in
Singapore and beyond.”
Coletta has signed with management company
Wasserman to represent his interests, following in
the
steps of Jason Day, Cameron Smith and fellow
Victorian
Marc Leishman, with the plan to join that trio on the
US
PGA Tour for several tournaments during 2017.
Coletta, a member of the winning Victorian team
in
the 2015 Interstate Series, has already shown an
aptitude for American golf, taking out medallist
honors
at the 2015 US Amateur.
But his mentor Marty Joyce, the Victorian
national
coach and head of the Victorian Institute of Sport
golf
program, said his game and attitude had progressed
a
long way since.
“He's always had great potential, but Brett's
really
come on this past year in terms of being consistently
powerful and, just as importantly, in the mental
aspect
of his game,” Joyce said.
“A lesser athlete could easily have been knocked
around pretty hard by what happened in Korea, but
Brett has shown both his game and head are in great
shape by what he's done subsequently.
“The VIS has been a great haven for Brett for
his
physical development, but it's also helped him a lot
in
his off-course progression to deal with the demands
of
professional golf, both on and off the course.”
Golf Australia high performance director Brad
James lauded the work done by Joyce, the VIS and
Golf
Victoria in helping Coletta to this point in his career.
“It’s a great achievement. Brett was identified 4-
5
years ago with plenty of potential and as a dynamic
athlete, but he’s worked extremely hard on his
pathway,” James said.
“He's taken steps forward each year and in this
past few months has really blossomed and now it’s
time
for him to transition to the next level and that’s what
we’ve been striving for.
“What Marty and his service team have
implemented in recent years has been first class –
it’s
really showcased their program with several of those
guys in that 2015 Victorian team having taken the
step
up to professional level already, including Ryan
Ruffels,
Ben Eccles and Lucas Herbert.”
An emotional Coletta was full of praise for his
family and those who’ve helped shape his career to
this
point, dating back to his golfing roots at Sandhurst
Golf
Club where he was concurrently senior and junior
club
champion at age 16.
“My parents have always been unreal with their
support, driving and flying around whenever possible
just to make sure everything I needed was never far
away,” Coletta said.
“We grew up basically at Sandhurst and the club
was always very supportive in allowing me to
practise
whenever I could and then to play against the older
guys and that was very important to get that
exposure
at a higher level when I was so young,” he said.
“Woodlands has been fantastic, too. They’ve
shown
great understanding of my direction and allowed me
to
go away and do the things I’ve needed to do to
reach
this stage.
“And the members of both clubs have been
incredibly helpful to me over the years, both playing
with me and just offering support when needed.
“I’d like to give a huge thanks to Marty, who’s
just
been brilliant. He and (strength and conditioning
coach)
Luke Mackey and (VIS coach) Darren Cole have
taken
my game to another level and I can’t say enough
about
them as people, not just coaches.
“And (sports psychologist) Noel Blundell has had
a
huge influence on my development, especially in the
past six months.
“Everyone at Golf Victoria and Golf Australia has
been great with all the positive support and feedback
they’ve put into me. For them to think I was worth
all
the time they put into me was unbelievably
important
and I wouldn’t be here without them.
“I’m very happy to be part of those programs
and
it’s really overwhelming when you look back and see
who played a part in getting me here.”