AJGA Blog

News and Notes: Junior All-Star at Cypress Ridge

By: Allison Cottrell, AJGA Communications

Conducted by the American Junior Golf Association, the Junior All-Star at Cypress Ridge is a 36-hole stroke play competition played on the par-72 Cypress Ridge Golf Course. The event features 60 boys and 24 girls, ages 12-15, from 11 states, and three countries. The Boys Division is playing the course at 6,541 yards while the Girls Division is playing the course at 5,790 yards.

Make it two in a row

Fresh off their first AJGA wins at the AJGA Junior at Diablo Grande, Joshua McCarthy of Danville, Calif., and Elizabeth Wang of San Marino, Calif., will look to make it two in a row this weekend at Cypress Ridge. Wang held onto a first-round lead to become the girls champion with a score of 2-under-par 140. McCarthy won in dramatic fashion in a sudden-death playoff with a seven-foot putt for par. McCarthy carded a 4-over-par 148 for the tournament.

Come one, come all

This week’s field of 84 is made up of 60 juniors who are from California, including Jack Avrit whose hometown is Arroyo Grande, Calif. Traveling the furthest is Daulet Tuleubayev of Almaty, Kazakhstan, making the 7,178 mile journey to Arroyo Grande. There are 11 states represented this week, as well as three countries Canada, Mexico, and Kazakhstan.

Natural Habitat

Cypress Ridge is proud to be awarded the distinguished Silver Signature Sanctuary by the Audubon International. Cypress Ridge is the only golf course in the state of California to be given this award, which is presented to the most elite golf courses in the country. Cypress Ridge is dedicated to habitat enhancement, wildlife conservation, integrated pest management, and efficiency of water, waste and energy use. Their dedication is evident throughout the course as it is surrounded by natural ponds and wildlife that set up a beautiful background to the par-72 course.

Famous faces

Arroyo Grande, Calif., is not only home to Cypress Ridge Golf Course but also to some famous faces as well. Actor Zac Efron and “Hulk” star Lou Ferrigno both call the small town home. Efron graduated from Arroyo Grande High School in 2006 and quickly rose to fame the same year in the Disney three-part High School Musical series and has since been in movies such as The Lucky One, 17 Again, and Hairspray. Lou Ferrigno bought a house in the hills of Arroyo Grande in 1988 and has since been a famous citizen of the beach town.

 

Quantifying Opportunities

by Kristi Bradley, AJGA Communications

Easter weekend is one of the AJGA’s busiest times of the year. Take a look at some of the numbers…

4 = number of Easter weekend AJGA tournaments

     - TaylorMade-adidas Golf Junior All-Star at Château Élan 

     - TaylorMade-adidas Golf Junior at Innisbrook hosted by Sean O'Hair

     - Goodman Networks Junior at Traditions

     - Winn Grips Heather Farr Classic hosted by Longbow Golf Club

8 = number of newly-crowned AJGA champions

 

View Full Album

54 = number of juniors who became Fully Exempt after participating in Easter tournaments

1,817 = total number of Performance Stars earned by AJGA players over Easter weekend

132 = number of first-time AJGA members who played over Easter weekend

44 = total number of juniors who earned entry into Easter events via TaylorMade-adidas Golf Qualifiers

40 = number of states represented in Easter tournament fields

79 = total number of AJGA staff members working (The entire AJGA staff works Easter weekend events and all three spring intern teams also assist with the implementation of these large tournaments).

198 = number of volunteers who spent time manning timing stations, driving shuttles and implementing FJ Live Scoring. Thank you to those who took the time to help over a holiday weekend!

1,016 = total number of playing opportunities for junior golfers at AJGA Easter weekend events. A number that speaks for itself and signifies the goal of the AJGA.

Najim cards hole in one

When Ryan Najim of Johns Creek, Ga., made the turn at the TaylorMade-adidas Golf Junior All-Star at Chateau Elan, he reported a score of even par through nine holes. A good start on the day, that even-par score had him tied at the top of the leaderboard.

Three holes later, however, Najim made a statement and broke that tie when he sunk a hole in one on the 170-yard No. 12.

Stay tuned to FJ Live Scoring to see how Najim finishes out his round and to keep up with the rest of the field.

Roets makes PGA TOUR debut

In January, Jason Roets won a sudden-death playoff at the AJGA’s Puerto Rico Junior Open and sealed his berth in the PGA TOUR’s tournament on the same course. This week as Roets steps onto the tee at Trump International Golf Club, things are a little different.

Pictured is Roets during the final round of the Puerto Rico Junior Open.

This time, he’s blogging about his experience for Golfweek. This time, there are grandstands surrounding the 18th green. This time, he’s teeing it up in the PGA TOUR’s Puerto Rico Open and getting a glimpse at what life as a professional golfer is like.

While this is a completely new ballgame for Roets, he brought the comforts of home with him- his brother is carrying his bag and he has a team of fans and coaches from the Gary Gilchrist Golf Academy there to cheer him on.

After the first round, Roets found himself at 4-over-par 76, four shots back of his even-par first round in the AJGA event.

For more information on Roets and his adventures with the PGA TOUR, visit the AJGA website and the Gary Gilchrist Golf Academy blog.

Oh, the Places We'll Go!

Now in its 11th year, the Montverde Academy Junior All-Star Invitational has seen hundreds of young golfers pass through its scoring tents. With 10 years worth of champions for the event, it seems a good time to take a look back at their accomplishments post-Junior All-Star events.

Since its inception, each past champion who has graduated high school has gone on to continue their golf career at Division I colleges, and a couple are testing the waters on professional tours. 

Yuki Sakurai (2003) and Sarah Brown (2006) are playing on the Ladies European Tour and Futures Tour, respectively.  For those 14 who signed National Letters of Intent, their college choices scattered them across the country, from California to Georgia.

The Southeastern Conference brought in more Montverde Academy Junior All-Star Invitational past champions than any other, nabbing six of the premier junior golfers in the country. Three of those six chose to attend the University of Alabama: Bud Cauley (2005), Cory Whitsett (2006) and Hannah Collier (2007). Chris Brady (2000) opted for Vanderbilt, Mu Hu (2004) wore the orange and blue of the Florida Gators and Michael Cromie (2007) is a Bulldog at the University of Georgia.

Next in line is the Pac-10 with four past champions. Daniel Im (2000) opted for the UCLA Bruins, Lauren Espinosa (2001) played for the University of Arizona, Jennifer Osborn (2002) went to Arizona State and Sihwan Kim (2003) chose to attend Stanford.

The Mountain West Conference claims on past champion in Seung Su Han (2001) who went to UNLV. Lance Lopez (2002) chose to be a Longhorn at the University of Texas in the Big 12. West Coast Conference’s Pepperdine signed Taylore Karle (2004). The ACC also boasts a past champion with Natalie Sheary (2005) at Wake Forest.

With four more champions in the graduating classes of 2011 through 2014, the possibilities are endless for the champions of the Montverde Academy Junior All-Star Invitational.