The sixth Golfweek Northern California Junior Open runs May 2-3 at Haggin Oaks Golf Complex in Sacramento, California.
The sixth Golfweek Northern California Junior Open runs May 2-3 at Haggin Oaks Golf Complex in Sacramento, California.
The event kicks off the 2020 schedule on the Golfweek Junior Tournament Series and winners earn automatic invitations to the Golfweek West Coast Junior Invitational, to be played May 23-24 at Ak-Chin Southern Dunes in Maricopa, Arizona, and the Golfweek International Junior Invitational Nov. 7-8 at Hammock Beach Resort in Palm Coast, Florida.
Registration for the NorCal is open to all junior golfers age 13-19 and not affiliated with a collegiate program.
To access the registration page, please click the following link:
The loaded field at the 10th annual Junior Invitational at Sage Valley Golf Club features 38 of the top 40 players in the world.
One of the premier events in the junior golf calendar is just a month away and the field is loaded to say the least.
Thirty-eight out of the top 40 players in the Golfweek/Sagarin Junior Boys Rankings will tee it up at the 10th annual Junior Invitational at Sage Valley Golf Club in Graniteville, South Carolina, March 12-14.
Defending champion Tom McKibbin highlights the 54-player field that spans five continents and 11 different countries. McKibbin and Karl Vilips, Golfweek/Sagarin’s No. 1 junior and a quarterfinalist at the 2019 U.S. Amateur, are making their third and fourth appearances, respectively.
“We are incredibly pleased with the strength of the field competing in the 10th Annual Junior Invitational,” said Tom Wyatt, president of Sage Valley Golf Club and Tournament Chair in a release. “We’re looking forward to tournament week, when players will have the opportunity to play Sage Valley’s Tom Fazio championship course, as well as our brand-new Fazio-designed par 3 course. It’s always fun to see these rising stars take on this challenging course.”
Former Junior Invitational players include 13-time PGA Tour winner Justin Thomas, as well as the last three U.S. Amateur champions Doc Redman, Viktor Hovland and Andy Ogletree. Other former players include 2019 U.S. Amateur runner-up John Augenstein and rising PGA Tour star Matthew Wolff.
Full Junior Invitational field
Kelly Chinn, Great Falls, Virginia | United States
Jack Heath, Charlotte, North Carolina | United States
Bo Jin, Encinitas, California | China
Joseph Pagdin, Orlando, Florida | England
Brock Hoover, Woodstock, Georgia | United States
Nick Dunlap, Greer, South Carolina | United States
Maxwell Moldovan, Uniontown, Ohio | United States
Preston Summerhays, Scottsdale, Arizona | United States
Karl Vilips, Perth | Australia
Conor Gough, Slough | England
George Duangmanee, Fairfax, Virginia | United States
Tom McKibbin, Newtonabbey | Ireland
Austin Scott, Daniel Island, South Carolina | United States
Brett Roberts, Coral Springs, Florida | United States
Luke Potter, Encinitas, California | United States
Tucker Clark, Phoenix, Arizona | United States
Ethan Chung, Murrieta, California | United States
Jeewon Park, Lake Mary, Florida | South Korea
Aaron Du, Beijing | China
Taehoon Song, Buena Park | South Korea
Andi Xu, San Diego, California | China
Wilmer Ederö, Landeryd | Sweden
Ben James, Milford, Connecticut | United States
Jimmy Zheng, Auckland | New Zealand
John Marshall Butler, Louisville, Kentucky | United States
Jackson Van Paris, Pinehurst, North Carolina | United States
Gordon Sargent, Birmingham, Alabama | United States
Ian Maspat, San Diego, California | United States
Ian Siebers, Bellevue, Washington | United States
Andrew Goodman, Norman, Oklahoma | United States
Jonathan Griz, Hilton Head Island, South Carolina | United States
Brendan Valdes, Orlando, Florida | United States
Ben Schmidt, Barnsley | England
Ben Lorenz, Peoria, Arizona | United States
Jake Beber-Frankel, Miami, Florida | United States
Maxwell Ford, Peachtree Corners, Georgia | United States
Michael Brennan, Leesburg, Virginia | United States
Luke Clanton, Miami Lakes, Florida | United States
Yuki Moriyama, Las Vegas, Nevada | Japan
Piercen Hunt, Hartland, Wisconsin | Canada
Tyler Wilkes, Tampa, Florida | United States
Cohen Trolio, West Point, Mississippi | United States
Sampson-yunhe Zheng, Orlando, Florida | China
Carson Bacha, York, Pennsylvania | United States
Andrew Yong. H Jung, Champions Gate, Florida | South Korea
David Ford, Peachtree Corners, Georgia | United States
Michael Thorbjornsen, Wellesley, Massachusetts | United States
Scotty Kennon, Bandon, Oregon | United States
Abel Gallegos, Veinticinco De Mayo | Argentina
Caden Fioroni, San Diego, California | United States
Jacob Sosa, Austin, Texas | United States
Stephen Campbell Jr., Richmond, Texas | United States
The competition schedule for junior golfers in 2020 contains a number of new events and schedule changes.
Juniors golfers with professional dreams can find any number of sound bites from Tour players that link game development and Tour readiness with junior golf. The American Junior Golf Association plays a big role in that, but opportunities extend beyond the AJGA, too. From the U.S. Junior and Sage Valley Junior Invitational, two of the premier events, to smaller regional tournaments scattered around the U.S., there is no shortage of events to play.
Interestingly, the competition schedule for junior golfers in 2020 contains a number of new events and schedule changes. A major event is even expanding its field by more than 100 players. Here’s what you need to know for the upcoming season.
New to the schedule
Mack Champ Invitational
Tour players don’t just talk about junior golf contributing to their success, they put their time and their resources behind the statement. Many current PGA and LPGA players back events on the AJGA schedule, but Cameron Champ is going about the idea of “hosting” a little bit differently.
Champ is using junior golf to honor his late grandfather Mack Champ with the inaugural Mack Champ Invitational. The Cameron Champ Foundation will put on the event, to be played March 20-22 at Memorial Park Golf Course in Houston. The goal of the tournament is to focus on identifying talented players from diverse backgrounds as a way to honor the legacy left by Mack, who passed away in October 2019.
Champ will conduct a clinic during tournament week. The 36-hole event will be divided into four age divisions.
Excited to announce the inaugural MACK CHAMP INVITATIONAL! March 20-22, 2020 @ Memorial Park GC in Houston. This 2 day tournament will bring together the game’s best junior golfers of diverse backgrounds. LEARN MORE: https://t.co/RBkUBj45ss@CameronChampFDNpic.twitter.com/ioqeYxn1Oz
One goal of junior golf? Get noticed, preferably by a college coach. The Notah Begay Junior Invitational will offer something quite unusual to its participants: a TV slot on Golf Channel. Players, ages 8 to 18, must qualify into this event, to be played at a yet-to-be-announced location on a yet-to-be-announced date.
Dye Junior Invitational
Players looking for a 54-hole event on a renowned golf course should take note of the inaugural Dye Junior Invitational. The field will consist of 33 girls and 33 boys competing May 25-27 at Crooked Stick Golf Club in Carmel, Indiana. The course has a long, distinguished history as a tournament host, and will host the Western Amateur two months after the juniors play in May.
The championship was created by the Crooked Stick membership as a way to honor Pete and Alice Dye. The field will be filled by invitation only.
The event is a 54-hole competition for boys and girls. There will be 33 players in both divisions and the event will be recognized by awarding points for WAGR, Junior Golf Scoreboard, and Golfweek rankings. @TheJGS@GolfweekJuniors@WAGRankpic.twitter.com/3lIWmvBeKy
PGA Tour starts are a coveted commodity when you’re a junior golfer. One of those is on offer this summer at the inaugural Barbasol Junior Championship, to be played June 29-July 2 at Keene Trace Golf Club in Nicholasville, Kentucky.
The new 54-hole event will be open to boys under the age of 19, and the champion will earn a spot later in July at the PGA Tour’s Barbasol Championship, which is also played at Keene Trace.
Different dates and format changes
AJGA Thunderbird International Junior
When the NCAA Championships move to Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Arizona, for the next three years, it means the AJGA’s Thunderbird International Junior has to move out – at least, it has to change dates.
The Thunderbird, which has divisions for girls and boys, typically has been played at the end of May, but this year, for the first time, it will be played April 9-12, which means, of course, that it finish on Masters Sunday.
Sage Valley Junior Invitational
The Sage Valley Junior Invitational is one of the most coveted junior-golf starts on a player’s calendar. The course, Sage Valley Golf Club in Graniteville, South Carolina, is top-notch and the level of competition is as tough as it gets for junior boys.
This is the first year the tournament will be played in March, as it was previously held in late April. The switch was made mainly to avoid potential conflicts with other tournaments and to ensure it continues to attract an elite 54-player field.
“Moving play to mid-March means the course will be in absolute perfect condition, making for an incredible competition,” Pete Davis, chairman of the SVJI Sports Foundation, said in a release.
Gator Invitational
If the object of junior golf is to prepare for the next step – college golf – then mirroring that experience as closely as possible is key. That’s why it’s a big deal that the Gator Invitational has added a round this year to become a 54-hole event.
The Gator, a junior boys event, will be played March 13-15 at The Country Club of Jackson in Jackson, Mississippi, which also hosts the PGA Tour’s Sanderson Farms Championship. Exemptions into the South Beach International Amateur and the Dogwood Invitational are on the line.
U.S. Junior
The major men’s amateur events on the USGA schedule – think the U.S. Amateur and U.S. Mid-Amateur – require a companion course to accommodate the enormous field. For the first time in the 73-year history of the U.S. Junior Amateur, the USGA will require two courses to accommodate an expanded field, too.
The tournament will start with 264 players playing both Hazeltine National Golf Club and Chaska Town Course in Chaska, Minnesota, before the stroke-play portion of the event switches exclusively to Hazeltine.
The U.S. Junior previously had a starting field of 156 players.
Nicole Adam has worked with Donna Andrews, a former LPGA player, ever since she moved to Pinehurst. It has her on a path to the next level.
A huge number of junior golf success stories have roots in Pinehurst, North Carolina. That’s thanks in large part to the U.S. Kids’ Golf World Championship, a long-running junior event played at various courses around the golf mecca with age divisions for 6-year-olds all the way up to 12-year-olds.
Nicole Adam’s story starts there. The Adam family would travel from their Mansfield, Ohio home to Pinehurst each year for the tournament. By the time Adam was 13, her family had relocated to Pinehurst. It has forever become a part of her golf journey.
Pinehurst No. 2 hosted the U.S. Amateur in August. It’s a three-time U.S. Open venue, and it shows. The first time Adam, now 17, played the course, she pulled out a sand wedge on the first hole, chipped up on the green and watched it roll right back to her feet.
“I think that just helped me so much, just learn different shots and try different things,” she said.
It’s hard to pick a favorite course among the nine that bear the Pinehurst name. Adam says she plays them all an equal amount. No. 2, which she might play three or four times a month, is certainly a treat.
Even as Adam’s shot-making has improved with so much world-class golf right at her doorstep, her instructor thinks it’s the competition that has moved Adam forward in golf, to the point that she’s found success on the national stage.
Adam has worked with Donna Andrews, a former LPGA player who teaches out of nearby Pine Needles, ever since she moved to Pinehurst. Andrews describes a gradual progression of building confidence and finding consistency, but it’s the tournament play that reinforces that growth.
“It’s easy to stand on the tee box and learn how to hit balls,” said Andrews. “But I told her she would know when she was there when her bad days were even par.”
A blow-up hole rarely derails her rounds these days. Andrews has watched her student’s course-management skills get sharper.
When the North & South Women’s Amateur rolled around in July, another flagship event that draws players from all over the world, Adam entered. It was among her first real amateur starts after playing mostly in junior-golf events. Adam had played the junior version of the event a handful of times but didn’t want to jump into the fray with college players (and handle a yardage bump) until she was ready.
“I got my game up to a good enough place to where I’d be able to hang,” Adam said.
Playing on familiar turf, Adam fired rounds of 70-75 on Pinehurst No. 2 to take the No. 12 seed into match play. For better or worse, she drew USC junior Gabriela Ruffels in the first round, the eventual champion.
Adam called it one of the most fun matches she’s ever played. Despite being 3 down on the 10th tee, Adam clawed her way back into the match.
“I’m pretty competitive, I always think I have a chance and I always think I can come back, especially in match play,” Adam said. “When I was playing Gabi, I was 3 down and I still thought I had a chance and I always do.”
The par-3 15th at Pinehurst No. 2 features a tiny green that slopes down on all sides. Adam stuck it within 5 feet of a pin on the back-right part of the green and made a touchy downhill putt for a birdie that brought the match to all square. Ruffels won the next two holes to close Adam out on No. 17.
In addition to winning the North & South, Ruffels also went on to win the U.S. Women’s Amateur at the end of the summer.
“I think it was a huge day because she played so well. I think she proved to herself that she could compete,” Andrews said of Adam. “That’s what I’ve seen really change over the past year or so. I’ve seen how her confidence has grown.
“…It’s a match play event, you really have to manage your own game and not get caught up in what everybody else is doing and I think she did a great job of that.”
Andrews sees this as Adam’s future, knowing that many of her junior-golf goals have been accomplished. The days of major swing changes are behind Adam as the high-school senior prepares to make the jump to college golf next fall. She’ll play for the University of North Carolina, the same as Andrews did in the 1980s.
Nicole Adam, right, with Annika Sorenstam during the Annika Invitational USA. (AJGA photo)
Adam is now ranked No. 26 by Golfweek. Most recently, she finished T-6 at the Annika Invitational USA, which is a best-of-the-best junior golf field. Adam hopes the U.S. Women’s Amateur is on the horizon for this year. It’s an event for which she’d have to qualify.
With all the competitive fire that burns in Adam, there is still a bit of shyness. Andrews sees her student blossoming in the limelight with each passing experience, whether it’s the North & South or having to accept an award and say a few words.
“That’s part of her growing process is learning to give speeches and things like that and have to stand up in front of people and talk,” she said. “Every bit is making her a much more well-rounded athlete because she is getting the public speaking.”
Eighty junior golfers will get the chance to compete in the National Finals at Augusta National Golf Club on the Sunday before Masters week.
Registration for the 2020-21 Drive, Chip and Putt qualifying opened on Wednesday.
Three qualifying stages in the Drive, Chip and Putt competition, organized by the USGA, the Masters Tournament and the PGA of America, lead up to the National Finals, contested on the Sunday between the Augusta National Women’s Amateur and the Masters Tournament at Augusta National.
Eighty junior golfers (40 girls and 40 boys) ages 7-15 who navigate local qualifying, subregionals and regionals will get the chance to compete in the National Finals.
“It’s exciting to see Drive, Chip and Putt continue to grow the game and inspire juniors everywhere to love and play it,” said Mark Newell, USGA president. “As a founding partner of the program, we’re able to witness, firsthand, the level of passion that junior golfers have and to know that the future of the game is in good hands.”
Augusta National Women’s Amateur champion Jennifer Kupcho signs autographs during the finals of the 2019 Drive, Chip and Putt. (Michael Madrid/USA TODAY Sports)
“Drive, Chip and Putt is a unique and exciting opportunity for participants of all skill levels to get started in the game,” said Fred Ridley, Chairman of Augusta National Golf Club and the Masters Tournament. “Our partnership with the USGA and PGA of America is rooted in the shared mission of engaging golf’s next generation, and each year, we are encouraged by the smiles we see as boys and girls have fun playing a game we hope they enjoy for the rest of their lives.”
“The PGA of America is proud of the great tradition that Drive, Chip and Putt has become through our longstanding partnership with both the USGA and the Masters Tournament,” said PGA President Suzy Whaley, PGA. “Each year, Drive, Chip and Putt serves as a special opportunity for girls and boys to showcase their golf skills and their passion for the game in a fun and welcoming environment. We’re excited that PGA Professionals will help inspire the next generation to pursue a lifetime of enjoyment through the game of golf, as we host qualifying events across each of our 41 PGA Sections nationwide.”
Schedule
Local qualifying (May/June/July/August)
There are 317 host sites throughout all 50 states. Three juniors from each age and gender category from each venue will advance.
Subregionals (July/August)
There 61 subregional host sites. Two juniors from each age and gender category from each venue will advance.
Regionals (September/October)
There will be ten host sites in ten regions. One junior from each age and gender category from every venue will advance. Here are the regional locations:
Sept. 12 – Medinah Country Club
Sept. 19 – The Bear’s Club
Sept. 19 – Oakmont Country Club
Sept. 20 – TPC Scottsdale
Sept. 20 – Colorado Golf Club
Sept. 20 – Pebble Beach Golf Links
Sept. 27 – TPC River Highlands
Oct. 10 – Oakland Hills Country Club
Oct. 10 – Alotian Club
TBA – Quail Hollow Club
National Finals (April 4, 2021)
There will be 80 finalists who will make it to Augusta National Golf Club.
The finals for the current seventh season of Drive, Chip and Putt will be April 5 with live coverage on Golf Channel.
Benedetta Moresco won the Annika Invitational USA in her first competitive start in the United States.
Benedetta Moresco’s tournament history is diverse. Type her name into the World Amateur Golf Rankings and the hit produces a list of tournament starts in which a U.S. flag appears only once, to indicate Moresco’s turn on the European Junior Solheim Cup team for last fall’s matches in Scotland.
This week’s Annika Invitational USA was both Moresco’s first competitive start in the U.S. and her first win. It’s significant considering that she relied on a tip from tournament host Annika Sorenstam during a weekend clinic to make up for inexperience on Bermudagrass.
Moresco went 4 under at World Golf Village’s Slammer & Squire course in St. Augustine, Florida, edging runner-up Sadie Englemann (a 2020 classmate) by two shots. She played the front nine of the final round in even par – three birdies, three bogeys – but felt she really had a leg up on Englemann by the time she cleared the par-5 16th with a birdie to reach 1 under on the back.
For as much inexperience as she has on thick Bermuda, wind that kicked up on the final day worked to her advantage.
“I quite like playing in the wind,” Moresco said. “I prefer wind instead of rain. I was kind of confident today even though the wind was blowing high.”
She arrived two days early in St. Augustine and devoted her practice rounds to practicing touch shots around the green. By the first round of the tournament, she felt relatively confident and posted 1-under 71, the sixth-best score of the day.
Sorenstam typically hosts a clinic during this event, which happened after the second round. She focused on short game and Moresco listened carefully.
“I learned that you have to swing with the bounce and let the club do the work,” Moresco said. “I was hitting it harder and with a negative angle but then I understand I have to use more bounce and let the grass help and the club swing through.”
St. Augustine is a long way from Moresco’s home in Caldogno, Vicenza, Italy. Her favorite course, however, is in France – Saint-Cloud Golf Club near Paris. You can see the Eiffel Tower from the 17th hole.
Playing around Europe, particularly on her home course in Italy, has reigned in Moresco’s tee ball.
“I grew up on a narrow course,” she said. “Here it’s different because the fairways are a little bit wide open and the driver was really good today and the whole week.”
Annika Sorenstam presents the trophy to Benedetta Moresco. (Photo: Annika Foundation)
For proof of the girls golf empire that Sorenstam has built, look no further than Moresco. After four starts at the Annika Invitational Europe (she finished in the top 5 last year), Moresco decided to play the U.S. event for the first time. She became the first Italian champion. This was also her first AJGA start.
Moresco was headed back to Italy after a long holiday weekend in Florida. The Italian player has competed all over Europe in the past two years, winning twice in Italian “under 18” events. In a few months, she’ll be back to play the Augusta National Women’s Amateur for the first time. At No. 24 in the world, she easily earned an invitation – and one that prompted lots of screaming when it arrived in the mail.
Moresco’s older sister Angelica, a junior at the University of Alabama (ranked No. 72 in the world) will make the five-hour drive from Tuscaloosa that week to watch Benedetta compete. Next fall, Angelica will likely help ease the college transition for little sis, who has signed to play for the Crimson Tide, too.
“It’s exciting because I really want this experience and every time I look on the calendar and see that days are coming,” Benedetta said. “I’m kind of nervous but I’m really, really happy and I really can’t wait.”
Alexa Pano, 15, won her second straight Amateur division title and her third in the last four years at the Doherty Women’s Amateur.
FORT LAUDERDALE – Alexa Pano said playing in the Ione D. Jones/Doherty Women’s Amateur Championship at Coral Ridge Country Club always has her in a good mood.
And it’s not just because she usually goes back to her Lake Worth home with a trophy.
Pano, 15, won her second straight Amateur division title and her third in the last four years, defeating Courtney McKim of Raleigh, N.C., 4 and 3, on a blustery, sometimes rainy Friday morning in the 88th edition of the prestigious tournament.
“It feels pretty good,” said Pano, who won the Amateur First Flight title when she was 9. “I always feel happy when I’m playing in this golf tournament. To start off the year with a win is a great start.
“It’s really nice to come back to defend. Every tournament, my goal is to win, so to repeat is really nice.”
In the Senior Championship division, top-seeded Judith Kyrinis of Thornhill, Ontario, defeated Corey Weworski of Carlsbad, California, on the first extra hole.
Down by three holes, Kyrinis won 13 and 15 with pars, and sent the match into overtime by sinking a 15-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole. She and Weworski returned to the first hole, where Kyrinis sank another 15-footer for birdie and the victory.
“I just made them at the right time. I’ve really been putting well all week,” said Kyrinis, a former U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur champion who birdied the final hole last year to win the Canadian Mid-Amateur and Senior Women’s Championship. “I knew anything could happen on some of those back-nine holes.”
In the Senior First Flight, Therese Quinn of Jacksonville defeated Natalie McNicholas of Naples, 2 up. In the Senior Second Flight title match, Mimi Hoffman of Springfield, Va., beat Mo Sheehan of Grayslake, Ill., 2 up.
McKim, 29, who runs the corporate real estate division of a medical company, went back and forth with Pano over the first seven holes. Pano sank an 8-foot par-saving putt to win the first hole, but McKim won the next two holes with pars to go 1 up.
“It was a bit of a struggle in the beginning figuring out the wind,” Pano said. “I kind of found a rhythm toward the middle of the round.”
Pano hit a lovely pitch to the par-5 fourth green and sank the birdie putt to square the match, and the players halved the next two holes with pars. McKim went ahead with a great birdie of her own after pitching her third shot to about five feet from the pin on the par-5 seventh hole.
McKim’s tee shot on the par-3 eighth landed in thick rough next to a bunker and the ball came out sideways and rolled to the bottom of the two-tiered green. McKim pitched the ball from there close to the hole, but Pano, whose tee shot landed on the top tier, two-putted for a par to pull even.
A turning point came on the long, par-4 ninth hole. Pano’s tee shot kicked into a bush and she had to take an unplayable and a one-shot penalty. She dropped the ball in the right rough, then hit a 3-wood 225 yards that ended up four feet from the flag. McKim, who also reached the green in three, missed her par putt and Pano made hers to take a 1-up lead.
“She played an unbelievable shot after taking an unplayable,” McKim said. “Hats off to her on that. That’s just crazy good.”
“Being able to save par definitely shifted the momentum my way and carried over to the back nine,” Pano said. “It was probably the best shot of the day and one I’ll never forget.”
McKim bogeyed the 10th after hitting into a fairway bunker – “I struggled with my driver all day,” she said – and coming up short of the green with her second shot to go 2 down. Pano then won her fourth straight hole, making birdie at the par-5 11th after her 70-yard pitch settled three feet from the hole.
Pano’s tee shot at the par-3 12th plugged in a bunker and McKim won the hole with a two-putt par. But Pano went back to 3 up with a 4-foot birdie putt on the par-5 13th, and her two-putt par on the 14th gave her a four-hole lead with four to play.
At the par-4 15th, McKim’s approach landed about 15 feet from the hole while Pano’s went over the green. But she chipped to within 18 inches, and after McKim missed her birdie try, Pano rolled in the short par putt to close out the match.
“I knew I had to get it tight. Especially with Courtney having a birdie putt,” said Pano, who had three birdies and three bogeys in 15 holes. “To be around even par for those holes, especially in that wind, was pretty good.”
At 15, Lukas Roessler of Chile is one of the youngest players in the field this week with a spot in the Masters up for grabs.
Ivan Camilo Ramirez isn’t getting too far ahead of himself after opening with a two-shot lead Thursday at the Latin America Amateur Championship with a spot in the Masters and the British Open on the line.
Ramirez, a 22-year-old from Colombia, found himself at 2 over after three holes in windy conditions, but he was able to stay calm and finished with five birdies in his round of 3-under 68 at Mayakoba’s El Camaleón Golf Club.
“It wasn’t the start that I wanted, but at end of the day, it’s 18 holes today, 18 tomorrow, 18 on Saturday and 18 on Sunday,” said Ramirez, who played at Texas Tech and finished fourth individually at the 2018 NCAA championships. “It’s just a lot of holes that you have to stay calm and stay patient.”
Chileans Lukas Roessler and Gabriel Morgan Birke are tied for second at 1 under. At 15, Roessler is one of the youngest players in the field this week. His older brother, Toto Gana, won the 2017 LAAC at Club de Golf in Panama. Gana shot a 77 Thursday.
“It was an incredible moment when he won, and we realized if you practiced a lot, you could go far,” Roessler said. “He wasn’t that good at the beginning, but then he practiced a lot and he became a good player then, so that gave us motivation to keep on practicing.”
Roessler shares the same coach, Alvaro Miguel, as his brother and Joaquin Niemann, the 2018 LAAC winner. Niemann became the first Chilean player to win on the PGA Tour at the 2019 Greenbrier tournament. The 21-year-old tied for fifth at the Sentry Tournament of Champions to start the year.
Ramirez has played in all six previous editions of the LAAC. Last year he tied for ninth at the LAAC played at Teeth of the Dog in the Dominican Republic after missing the cut in 2018.
“I feel like a few of the last years that I haven’t played well, I’ve put too much pressure on myself. So, this week, I just want to enjoy it,” Ramirez said. “It’s a great chance to play in the Masters and The Open, but I think the prizes have to stay out of my mind. I just need to play golf. I need to play 54 more holes and follow the plan that I have. “
Led by No. 1 Karl Vilips, the 10th Junior Invitational at Sage Valley Golf Club in March has several top-ranked junior boys in the field.
Led by No. 1 Karl Vilips, the 10th Junior Invitational at Sage Valley Golf Club boasts a strong field with six of the top 10 boys in Golfweek’s junior rankings committed to play in the event.
No. 2 Joseph Pagdin, No. 5 Maxwell Moldovan, No. 6 Ben James, No. 9 Andrew Goodman and No. 10 Bo Jin join the elite field for the Junior Invitational at Sage Valley Golf Club in Graniteville, South Carolina, on March 12-14. Defending champion Tom McKibbin of Northern Ireland has committed to return, the tournament announced Thursday.
No. 11 George Duangmanee, No. 12 Kelly Chin, No. 13 Preston Summerhays, No. 14 Gordon Sargent and No. 15 Brett Roberts are also in the field.
“Our 10th anniversary event is shaping up to once again be the most prestigious field in junior golf,” said Pete Davis, chairman of the SVJI Sports Foundation, in a release. “Moving play to mid-March means the course will be in absolute perfect condition, making for an incredible competition.”
Factors to determine eligibility for the 54-hole stroke-play tournament include 17 automatic qualifiers, some of which are the top 10 and ties from the 2019 Junior Invitational, the 2019 USGA Junior Amateur Semi-Finalists and the 2019 Junior PGA Champion, among others. Remaining spots are filled based upon information collected from Golfweek/Sagarin Junior Rankings, the World Amateur Golf Rankings (WAGR), Rolex AJGA Golf Rankings, Junior Golf Scoreboard and the European Golf Rankings.
The Invitational has traditionally drawn some of the biggest names in junior golf, including several who have gone on to successful PGA Tour careers. Tournament alumni include Justin Thomas, Doc Redman and Viktor Hovland. Sage Valley past players who are in this year’s Masters field include Thomas, John Augenstein, Matthew Wolff and Andy Ogletree.
The Latin America Amateur Championship will be Jan. 16-19 at El Camaleón Golf Club at Rosewood Mayakoba Resort in Playa del Carmen.
The Latin America Amateur Championship – which offers its winner berths in the Masters, the U.S. Amateur, the British Amateur and final-stage qualifying for the British Open – will be held in Mexico for the first time this weekend.
The sixth edition of the LAAC will be Jan. 16-19 at El Camaleón Golf Club at Rosewood Mayakoba Resort in Playa del Carmen. The previous editions of the LAAC were at Casa de Campo in the Dominican Republic (twice), Prince of Wales Country Club in Chile, Club de Golf de Panama and Pilar Golf in Argentina.
Alvaro Ortiz of Mexico, who played college golf at Arkansas through the 2018 season, won the LAAC in 2019, then finished T-36 at the 2019 Masters before turning pro. Joaquin Niemann won the 2018 LAAC before turning pro, joining the PGA Tour and winning his first Tour event this season at the Military Tribute at the Greenbrier in September.
The LAAC was created in 2014, a year before the first playing of the event, by the Masters Tournament, the R&A and the U.S. Golf Association to promote the development of golf in South America, Central America, Mexico and the Caribbean. It follows a model established by the Masters and the R&A with the creation of the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship in 2009, which also offers spots in top international events to its winner.
This year’s field of 108, who are invited through their national golf federations based on World Amateur Golf Ranking status, will play the 20th-ranked course in Golfweek’s Best 2020 list of courses for the Caribbean and Mexico. A Greg Norman design, El Camaleón opened in 2006.
This year’s event features players from 29 countries and territories: Argentina, The Bahamas, Barbados, Bermuda, Bolivia, Brazil, Cayman Islands, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, St. Lucia, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos, Uruguay, Venezuela and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
