The name Gavin Flint is synonymous with amateur championships, and he is probably the only player to ever have held the New Zealand, New South Wales and Victorian Amateur Championships in one year, not to mention the Queensland Amateur in the preceding year.

The 23-year-old from Virgina Golf Club has quietly being going about his business as he structures his game to play alongside the professionals. Following the South Australian PGA Championship he currently sits second on the Von Nida Tour Order of Merit.

There was his maiden victory on the Von Nida tour earlier this year in the Bega Cheese New South Wales PGA Championship as well as strong opening rounds in the Cadbury Schweppes Australian PGA and New Zealand PGA Championships on the main Australasian PGA Tour. On these results alone Gavin has slipped into the professional ranks smoothly in his rookie year.

As to playing golf for a living, Gavin is making the necessary adjustments both to his game and his fitness under the watchful eye of Gary Edwin. A new sponsor deal with TaylorMade has been signed that will see the Queenslander carrying the latest in technology in his rookie season as a professional.

"Competition is a lot deeper in the professional ranks and it's been a bit of an adjustment. The days are longer and you are playing more often. That sometimes takes it toll. I will concentrate on the Von Nida events firstly then the Nationwide Tour. I have no status on the Nationwide Tour at the moment so later in the year I plan to go to America and attempt to pre-qualify for some events." Gavin commented following a recent Von Nida event in Sydney.

Gavin will not be on his own when he hits the US later this year in an attempt to gain starts on the Nationwide Tour. He joins the talents of a number of young Australian guns like James Nitties and former US Amateur Champion Nick Flanagan, who also will be exposed to the torture and torment of playing the Monday before the tournament in an attempt to get into the Nationwide Tour championship proper.

Pre-qualifying does not seem to faze Flint as he has played in the US before and is hardened by his US collegiate experiences, the homing ground of many PGA Tour players. In 2004 he narrowly missed graduating to stage two of the USPGA Tour School. He will also take with him an impressive dossier of career highlights to date, both as an amateur and as a professional.

Gavin Flint is quietly spoken and shows little or no emotion on the course. That's not to say he slips into the ether when playing, but he prefers to let his golf do the talking; after all it is his profession now and individuals approach their craft differently.

Whilst he will be looking this summer in Australia to improve on his performance on the Australasian Tour in 2004, where he made two out of five cuts, it is early days yet.

There is little doubt that Flint has the talent, game and dedication to be successful and this was proven when he took out medalist honours for the Australian Tour School last December after sharing the 72 hole lead with Darren Beck, another young emerging talent. The placing gives him a limited number of starts on the Australasian Tour this season.

To date Gavin has tasted success mainly with the Von Nida events - making the cut in his first event as a professional in November 2004 at the Toyota Queensland PGA Championship and again the next week at the NSW Open at Liverpool Golf Club. This then culminated with his win at the NSW PGA in March 2005.

Von Nida events serve their purpose with the next scheduled event the Western Australian PGA Championship starting 26 May. The tour gives our emerging talent the opportunity to gain confidence and test their skills before exposing themselves to the main world tours, in Flint's case this will be the Nationwide Tour and later the US PGA Tour School.

Flint is a silent but deadly golfer who is quietly going about his business, and a professional who is bound to make an impression on the golfing stage. Whether it will be the same impression that he made as one of the world's best amateurs – time will tell.