Junior golf world champion tames famed King Island courses

KING Island played host to world-beating young golf sensation Zac Wolfe during the 2025 Callaway Cup at the weekend.

At just nine years old the former Under 6 and Under 7 World Champion played from the men’s tees and posted impressive scores of 35 points at Cape Wickham and 36 at Ocean Dunes, playing off a 12 handicap.

The two-time US Kids Golf World Champion lives in Melbourne and started playing golf at just three years old. Zac spent July and August 2022 in America, competing in the US Kids World Golf Championships - the pinnacle of junior golf tournaments globally held at the world-famous Pinehurst Resort in North Carolina.

In December 2022, Zac won his second consecutive US Kids Australian Challenge at Moonah Links in Victoria In July 2023, Zac travelled back to Pinehurst with the aspiration of defending his 6 and under world championship in the boys 7 division.

On the challenging Mid Pines layout (1921, Donald Ross design), Zac was the only player from the strong 96-person field to finish under par, recording a wire-to wire win to become a back-to-back world champion.

Zac has been featured in numerous golf specific publications in addition to mainstream media, including network news, Sunrise segments and Have You Been Paying Attention on Network 10 and various national newspaper articles.

Zac loves many sports, including playing club basketball in addition to soccer, tennis, football, hockey and cricket with his friends, learning guitar, being creative with Lego and drawing.

The weekend brought together golfers from around Australia for three memorable days on King Island, combining friendly competition, inspiring stories, and some of the country’s most spectacular courses.

Played across the three venues – King Island Golf and Bowling Club (Australia’s best nine-hole course), the world-ranked Cape Wickham Links (No 1 in Australia and No 24 globally), and Ocean Dunes (Australia’s No 13 ranked and No 4 public access course) – the event offered a unique golfing experience for visitors in remarkable settings.

NSW’s Matt Cullen took out the overall title, winning from a prize pool of more than $10,000, thanks to sponsors Callaway and Air Adventure Golf.

The event also raised $2,945 for Empower Golf, an organisation helping Australians with disabilities access and enjoy golf.

Among those who teed off was Empower ambassador and Bali bombings survivor Ben Tullipan, who shared his powerful story at the Saturday night dinner.

Local Jigs Denby also addressed guests during the dinner, drawing warm praise for his engaging and heartfelt speech.

There was a light-hearted finish to the day at Cape Wickham, where players competed in a “chop off” to win a Callaway wedge.

Local Richard Collins, who bussed the visitors around, had just one shot - and nearly holed it - beating the field and walking away with the prize.