Reigning Men’s Australian Amateur champion Louis Dobbelaar has taken the leap into professional golf.

Dobbelaar, 20, who plays out of Brookwater Golf and Country Club in Brisbane, announced today that he was turning pro, the beginning of what shapes as another exciting career for a young Australian golfer.

His first event will be the PGA Tour Latinoamerica qualifying school starting at the Country Club of Ocala, Florida tomorrow, where he hopes to earn his first playing rights.

It is a four-round event, the first of four qualifying tournaments for the Latin American Tour. Coached by Cameron Smith’s long time mentor Grant Field, Dobbelaar has proven himself to be a winner throughout his stellar amateur career.

He won his first Australian Amateur at Kooyonga in Adelaide this February, completing a set of triumphs that began with his remarkable 2016 New Zealand Amateur Championship win in Wellington at just 15 years of age.

He has also twice won the Queensland Amateur (2020, 2018), the Tasmanian Amateur 2020 and back-to-back wins at the Port Philip Open Amateur (2020,2019) titles.

In America earlier this year, he dominated the circuit winning the prestigious North and South Amateur and the Dogwood Invitational.

“I’m very thankful to all the people who’ve helped me get to this point, from my coach Grant who’s been such a great influence, to the Queensland Academy of Sport, to Golf Australia and to my club and my family,” said Dobbelaar.

“The challenge is there for me now to take what has been built and make something more of it out on the professional circuits. It’s very exciting for me to take that on and I really can’t wait.”

Dobbelaar has previously been part of the Cameron Smith Scholarship, where he travelled to Florida to stay and practise with Smith over several weeks, as recently as this year.

“I’ve had professional golf on my mind for quite a while now but the education I’ve had in amateur golf I hope will stand me in good shape. I know it’s a step up but I feel that right now, I’m ready for it.”