Yeppoon golfer Lily McGuiness to play in world championship in Ireland

Lily McGuiness is just 13 and already realised a goal of playing off scratch. Now, the superstar teen will take on the world’s best.

Yeppoon golfer Lily McGuiness has qualified for the 2026 Champion of Champions World Championship in Ireland.

It’s a rare day that Lily McGuiness is not on a golf course, practising or playing.

This dedication has the Yeppoon 13-year-old displaying the mastery and maturity of a player well beyond her years.

She set her sights on becoming a scratch golfer, a feat she achieved in March.

She is currently off 0.9 and determined to get to +1 by the end of the year.

Lily is constantly adding silverware to her already burgeoning trophy cabinet and she has just secured a place in an international tournament in Ireland.

The modest star will make her first appearance at the Champion of Champions World Championship in July next year.

A field of 250 golfers from more than 40 countries will play at the five-star Lough Erne Resort.

Lily McGuiness is currently playing off a handicap of 0.9.

Consistency has been the cornerstone of McGuiness’s success and she produced it again at the qualifying event - the Australian Junior Age Division Championship at RACV Royal Pines Resort on the Gold Coast.

She finished with a three-over par 219 at the tournament, carding rounds of 74 (+2), 71 (-1) and 74 (+2) to win the 13/14 girls division by three shots and secure her place in the Australian team.

Lily said she could not wait to be part of such a prestigious event.

“This qualification means a lot to me,” she said.

“I have been fortunate enough to attend and play well in a number of big events all over the country in the last few years but to have the opportunity to represent Australia at an international event is amazing.

Lily McGuiness tees off in one of her many tournaments.

“I am expecting some tough competition, very different golf courses to what we are used to in Australia and I think it will probably be cold, wet and windy at times.

“I’m just hoping to play well, to gain some good experience playing internationally and to test my game against some of the best juniors in the world.”

This will be the second time Lily has represented her country.

She spent two weeks in the United States in 2018, competing in the World Stars of Junior Golf in Las Vegas and the West Coast Junior Olympics in Temecula.

Lily McGuiness was excited to represent her state.

Lily started playing golf in Mackay at age five before she and her family moved to the Capricorn Coast in 2020, where she joined the Yeppoon Golf Club.

Titles have come thick and fast for the schoolgirl, and she can proudly boast being the first Central Queensland golfer to win a gross event at the Greg Norman Junior Masters after blitzing the under-13 girls division to claim the title by five shots in 2024.

Dad Scott mentored Lily in her formative years but she has, for the past three years, been working “mainly remotely” with high-performance coach Ji McBryde, who is based at Sanctuary Cove.

“I am lucky to have my dad here with me every day to help me with the areas of my game that Ji wants me to work on,” she said.

Lily McGuiness with her dad Scott during the US Kids Golf Foundation Australian Open in Rockhampton in 2022.

“I think my iron shots and chipping are the best parts of my game at the moment.

“I am constantly working to develop all parts of my game, but I am really working hard to improve my putting lately.”

McBryde said Lily was very focused on what she wanted to achieve, and the fact she had already played off scratch was a testament to her dedication.

“She very much wants to be as good as she can be,” he said.

“She trains hard and puts the time in. She asks the right questions and takes on the feedback.

“There are no limits to how good she can get... it’s how she can continue to grow physically and mentally to stay ahead of the curve.”

Putting is the area Lily McGuiness is focusing on.

McBryde said Lily was solid from tee to green but her iron play was the strongest part of her game.

Lily said she tried to stick to a proven formula if things weren’t going her way during competition.

“If I have a bad hole, it doesn’t matter. I just have to keep going, stay positive and do my best because I can always birdie the next hole,” she said.

Lily will have plenty of tournaments in which to fine-tune her competitive edge before her international duties.

She will tee off at events including the Queensland Junior Amateur, the Katherine Kirk Classic, the Cam Smith Junior Classic and the Greg Norman Junior Masters this year and early next year look to compete in the Grant Field Junior Classic and the Australian Junior Amateur.