AJGA Blog

Tournament notes – First and Second Rounds

• The first round mirrored the course set-up (yardage and hole locations) used during the second round of the 2011 PLAYERS Championship. The AJGA scoring average was 76.89, while the TOUR average was 72.09.
• For both the AJGA and the TOUR, No. 14 played as the hardest hole. Likewise, Nos. 11 and 16 played as the easiest holes.
• On Dye’s Valley Course, the second-round scoring average was 73.00 (77 rounds). During the 2010 Winn-Dixie Jacksonville Open Presented by Planters, the tournament scoring average was 70.93 (415 rounds).
• Gavin Hall’s second-round 64 was matched or bettered by just three players during the 2010 Winn-Dixie Jacksonville Open Presented by Planters:
  • David Mathis, 63 (second round)
  • Shane Bertsch, 64 (first round)
  • Jeff Curl, 64 (second round)
• In a matter of 24 hours, Grayson Murray improved his score by 22 shots. After opening with an AJGA career-worst 90, Murray rebounded with a 2-under-par 68. “I feel like I know the Stadium Course pretty well and I played it pretty well last year. Today seeing different holes and different shots, it makes it a little easier visually. It was a good break (playing a different course), now tomorrow I can try to improve on that 90.”
• Like Murray, three other players climbed the leaderboard by improving their score by more than 10 shots:
  • Scott Scheffler (67, from T57 to T23)
  • Blake Kennedy (69, from T57 to T35)
  • Tee-K Kelly (69, from T65 to T38)

Even more to play for

One of the world’s most prestigious junior titles is on the line this week at The Junior PLAYERS Championship presented by TaylorMade-adidas Golf, and TPC Sawgrass General Manager Bill Hughes added even more incentive and prestige Thursday night.

During his closing remarks at the Golf World Media Presentation, Hughes proudly announced to the 78-player field that the champion of this year’s event will be given a sponsor's exemption to the Nationwide Tour's Winn-Dixie Jacksonville Open Presented by Planters.

“It goes to show that Winn Dixie is 100 percent behind the growth of the game of golf and in fostering an experience to one special junior golfer that will be a memory of a lifetime,” Hughes said. “I am humbled and thankful to Peter Lynch, President and CEO of Winn Dixie, for his tremendous support of The Junior PLAYERS Championship presented by TaylorMade-adidas Golf.”

In 2010, Michael Johnson of Birmingham, Ala., was the first champion to earn the sponsor’s exemption and compete in the Nationwide Tour event. Now a freshman at Auburn, Johnson carded rounds of 74-73 – 147 and missed the cut in his professional debut.

The champion to-be will get a preview of the course he’ll compete on in 47 days, as Saturday’s second round will be played on Dye’s Valley Course, which also hosts the Winn-Dixie Jacksonville Open Presented by Planters.

-Chris Richards, AJGA Communications

From near and far

Now in its fifth year, The Junior PLAYERS Championship presented by TaylorMade-adidas Golf has featured players from 24 countries, two of which will be represented for the first time in 2011 (Austria and Belgium).

The 18 international invitees in this year’s field bring resumes that include top finishes in some of the world’s best amateur events.

Robin Goger (Austria)

• Medalist, 2011 European Boys Team Championship

Thomas Detry (Belgium)

• Won 2011 Beligum National Match Play

Mads Sogaard (Denmark)

• 2nd, 2011 Danish Amateur

Frederick Hammer (Denmark)

• T10, 2011 Danish Amateur

Maximilian Rottluff (Germany)

• Won 2011 Junior Orange Bowl International

Gary Hurley (Ireland)

• Won 2011 Munster Boys Open

Gavin Moynihan (Ireland)

• T2, 2011 Sir Henry Cooper Junior Masters

Richard Broadhurst (Italy)

• T3, 2011 Italian Boys U-18 Stroke Play

Edoardo Torrieri (Italy)

• Won 2011 Italian Boys U-18 Stroke Play

Takahiro Hataji (Japan)

• T3, 2011 Japan Junior Championship (15-17)

Emilio Maurer (Mexico)

• T8, 2011 Mexican International Amateur

Daniel De la Garza (Mexico)

• Three AJGA top-five finishes in 2011

Alvaro Ortiz (Mexico)

• Won 2011 AJGA Bass Pro Shops / Payne Stewart Junior Championship

Kristoffer Ventura (Norway)

• Won 2011 Norwegian Challenge

Joakim Carlsson (Sweden)

• T7, 2011 JSM Slag

Jamie Clare (United Kingdom)

• 2nd, 2011 English Amateur

Matthew Fitzpatrick (United Kingdom)

• 2nd, 2011 Carris Trophy

David Boote (United Kingdom)

• Won 2011 Welsh Boys' Championship

Day 2 News and Notes

• [Revised] Nine balls found the water on No. 17 (which brings the week’s total to 12). The famous hole played as the eighth-hardest hole on the course on Saturday, which is five spots harder than the first round. However, one group found it to be easier than most, as the 9:30 a.m. pairing (Emiliano Grillo, Sean Kelly and Beau Hossler) all carded birdies on the island green.
• After a second-round 73, Yosuke Asaji finds himself with a two-day total 147 (T9), which is good enough for the top spot among international players in the field. If that isn’t impressive enough, this is Japan’s first appearance in The Junior PLAYERS Championship.
• Over the event’s first three years, the winning score has been pretty consistent. Bobby Wyatt won at 6-under-par in 2009, while Evan Beck (2008) and Morgan Hoffmann (2007) each carded 7-under-par totals. With four players at 2-under-par or better, the 2010 Junior PLAYERS Championship seems to be following the trend.

Rodgers Rebounds

Patrick Rodgers didn’t look like a Rolex Junior All-American after an opening-round 78, but he proved that he’s one of the world’s top juniors by following with a second-round 67 at The Junior PLAYERS Championship. The 11-shot improvement has moved him 37 spots up the leaderboard and into a tie for fifth at 1-over-par.

“I told my caddie on the range that I’ve never felt better about my game after a 78,” said Patrick, whose 67 ties the tournament’s lowest second round (Morgan Hoffmann, 2007). “I missed everything I looked at yesterday. I had nine lip-outs and missed five or six putts inside five feet, which I don’t normally do.”

After some work on the putting green (he said the key was to keep his head still and chest down), Patrick started the second round knowing he had little margin of error over the final 36 holes.

“I knew I couldn’t make it all up today. If I wanted to get back into it, it was a two-day process and I’d probably be coming from behind tomorrow,” Patrick said. “I actually made a couple mistakes, made three bogeys, but I made enough birdies to put myself a little closer.”

Since finishing third at this event in 2009, Patrick has learned what it takes to compete on a weekly basis. His 2010 campaign includes a win at the Western Junior and a runner-up finish at the Rolex Tournament of Champions.

“Last year at the time, that was probably the most pressure I’ve ever played in,” Patrick said of playing in the final group on Sunday. “It was a completely new experience to me, so I think I learned a lot from that and I’ve been in that position a lot of times before and I’ve never got it done, but hopefully tomorrow I’ll shoot another good one.”

Day 1 News and Notes

• Only three balls found the water on No. 17 during the first round. It played to a 3.09 average and was the fifth-easiest hole on the golf course. By comparison, the TOUR played No. 17 to a 2.97 average during the second round of the 2010 PLAYERS Championship.
• Dermot McElroy (Maynooth, Ireland) posted the lowest round among the 18 international invitees. A quarterfinalist at the 2010 British Boys Amateur Championship, McElroy stands at 1-over-par and is tied for 10th.
• Through Friday, a total of 21 college coaches have checked-in and followed the first-round action at TPC Sawgrass.
• On the day, only six players carded rounds under par. Of those six, three are Florida residents: Thomas Stewart (69), Shun Yat Hak (71) and JD Tomlinson (71).
• Jordan Spieth carded a 1-over-par 73 and is tied for 10th heading into the second round. What’s the significance? It has been 1,061 days since Spieth has finished outside the top 10 at an AJGA event (27th, 2007 PING Invitational).
• The 18th hole played 0.86 shots over par on Friday and was the hardest hole. The 462-yard par 4 surrendered just three birdies on the day: Beau Hossler, Gavin Hall (whose 16th birthday was Friday) and Alex Carpenter.

What to watch for – Junior PLAYERS, Round 1

The first round has begun at The PLAYERS Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass, and 78 of the world's best juniors are playing the same course the TOUR plays each May during The PLAYERS Championship. Here are few storylines to watch as the first round of The Junior PLAYERS Championship unfolds.

• America's Best – The 8:54 a.m. group (No. 1 tee) features the last two U.S. Junior Amateur champions. Jim Liu became the event’s youngest champion in 2010, while Jordan Spieth defeated Jay Hwang to win in 2009.
• The World's Best – 18 international invitations were extended to players from 13 foreign countries. Players like Thomas Sorensen (Hjorring, Denmark - Ranked No. 1 in Danish Boys Rankings) and Anthony Murdaca (West Hindmarsh, Australia - 2010 Australian Junior Champion) look to test their skills against their counterparts from across the globe.
• Swedish Surge – Sweden has had a player finish in the top 10 in each of the previous three Junior PLAYERS Championships. Pontus Widegren finished T5 in 2007 and 2nd in 2008, while Niclas Carlsson finished 10th in 2009. Can Adam Strom (Goteborg, Sweden) or Victor Tarnstrom (Nykvarn, Sweden) continue the streak in 2010?

Caddie Commitment

Ask the players and most of them will tell you that the professional caddies are a highlight of The Junior PLAYERS Championship. For Lucas Bjerregaard of Frederikshavn, Denmark, his caddie last year was more than just a highlight.

Two days prior to the start of this week's event, Lucas called Graham Walker, who caddied for him in 2008, to ask if he could make it to Ponte Vedra Beach to caddie for him again this year. Though he works at a club in Kiawah Island, S.C. (a five-hour drive from TPC Sawgrass, according to Google Maps), Graham made the 272-mile trip to loop for his friend from Denmark.

The Junior PLAYERS Championship is a congregation of the world’s best players, and this instance proves that it is also a congregation of caddies from across the nation.

Through This Tunnel

As competitors in the 2009 Junior PLAYERS Championship have left breakfast each morning and head down the Tunnel of Champions, they are greeted by engraving on the clubhouse walls.

“Through this tunnel pass the greatest golfers in the world competing for the right to be called the PLAYERS Champion.”

Intimidating? Maybe. Inspiring? Definitely. This week, 78 juniors have walked the same halls and the same fairways as Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Sergio Garcia and many other professionals who call themselves the PLAYERS Champion. Today, these 78 play for the right to be called the Junior PLAYERS Champion. 

Who will take home the trophy? Bobby Wyatt sits alone at the top after Patrick Rodgers bogeyed No.1, but Yaroslov Merkulov birdied the first and is charging to the top, only two strokes back of the lead.

Stay tuned to FootJoy Live Scoring to see who will follow Evan Beck as the 2009 Junior PLAYERS Champion.

Lucky 7s?

History is said to repeat itself, and if that's the case at The Junior PLAYERS Championship, Patrick Rodgers and Bobby Wyatt should be thinking about the number 70 today.

The winning total in both of the previous Junior PLAYERS Championships has been 7-under-par - a mark that would be matched if either Rodgers or Wyatt card a round of 2-under-par 70 during today's final round. By comparison, Henrik Stenson posted an 8-under-par total during the final three rounds en route to his win at the 2009 PLAYERS Championship.

Will 7-under-par be enough? Follow all the final-round action with FootJoy Live Scoring.