2010 Junior PGA Championship
The Junior PGA Golf Championship is this Summer’s Premier Event
Inside the ropes!
Walking down a plush green fairway, beautifully manicured, the same fairway the likes of Tiger, Phil, Sergio, and Jack have walked.
And it gets even better!
Welcome to the world of competitive golf. Every year, the PGA of America stages some of the game’s greatest championships, and in 2010 the 35th edition of the Junior PGA Championship will be contested August 2-5 at Sycamore Hills Golf Club in Fort Wayne, Indiana. “The Jack Nicklaus Signature design will present the nation’s top-ranked juniors a great challenge on which to display their talents,” said PGA President Jim Remy.
It’s An Experience Unlike Any Other.
And if the 2010 Junior PGA Championship is anything like past versions of the Junior PGA Championship, fans, golfers, and officials are in store for a week of thrilling golf. In fact, you don’t have to go too far back to find a final round that kept golf fans on the edge of their seats. In the final round of the 2008 boys’ championship, Anthony Paolucci needed to get up and down on the 72nd hole to force extra holes, and he did so. And the wedge shot he hit to force a playoff with Jordan Spieth ultimately catapulted Paolucci to the victory.
And it’s creating opportunities like that, in a championship run by one of golf’s oldest governing bodies that offers junior golfers experiences they just can’t get in other golf events.
You are playing in a tournament run by the same Association that runs the PGA Championship, The Senior PGA Championship, and the Ryder Cup – The PGA of America.
The 2009 Junior PGA Championship, played at TPC River’s Bend in Maineville, Ohio was won by T.J. Vogel (boys’ division) and Alexis Thompson (girls’ division). In fact, for Thompson, who made a lot of noise on the LPGA Tour this summer, it was the second time she captured the Patty Berg Trophy (awarded to the winner of the girls’ division of the Junior PGA Championship). Just 14-years-old, Thompson won her first Junior PGA Championship in 2007 at the age of 12.
Meanwhile, in the boy’s championship, Vogel, from Cooper City, Florida shot a 68-66-72-66 to earn the Jack Nicklaus Trophy, and for Vogel, the win was “extra” special as it was his final tournament as a junior golfer.
“I wanted to win my last tournament before going to college, and I accomplished that goal,” Vogel told the Associated Press. “I could not picture this any other way, leaving junior golf.”
Finishing two shots off the pace was Spieth, who had to settle for a second-place finish for a second-straight year. Jordan Spieth won the U.S. Junior Amateur leading into the Junior PGA Championship as well.
The Junior PGA Championship – A Week That Includes More Than Golf
What makes the Junior PGA Championship particularly standout compared to other junior golf tournaments is the fact that it is run by the PGA of America. There are no entry fees, nor is there a membership fee required to play for the national championship. And, the PGA of America offers a career awareness seminar for all participants. The seminar focuses on the many career choices available to juniors seeking to make a living in the world of golf.
Past Champions
The Junior PGA Championship is also recognized as a major stepping stone for some of the world’s best golfers. Trevor Immelman, winner of the 2008 Masters, won the Junior PGA Championship in 1996. David Toms, who won the PGA Championship in 2001, captured the Junior PGA Championship in 1984; while Cristie Kerr, who won the 2007 U.S. Women’s Open Championship, hoisted the Patty Berg Trophy in victory in 1995.
Others who have won the Junior PGA Championship include: Billy Andrade (1981), Billy Mayfair (1982), and Sean O’Hair (1998); while golfers such as Phil Mickelson, Justin Leonard, Jim Furyk and Stewart Cink have also played in the Junior PGA Championship.
For more information on the Junior PGA Championship and other Junior events run by the PGA of America, please visit: http://www.pga.com/pgaofamerica/juniors/
