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.