Junior All-Star Championship Heads to Tampa Area Labor Day WeekendThe Innisbrook Resort & Golf Club in Palm Harbor, Fla., set to host nation’s top 12-15-year-old junior golfersBRASELTON, Ga. — The American Junior Golf Association heads to Palm Harbor, Fla., August 31 - September 3 for its Junior All-Star Championship. The 54-hole stroke play event, which marks the final tournament in the 2007 Junior All-Star Series, will be contested on The Innisbrook Resort & Golf Club's Copperhead Course. The Junior All-Star Series is a collection of events specifically designed for boys and girls age 12-15 years old. The competition provides an opportunity for younger members to develop their skills and earn entry into open tournaments. Juniors are limited to a maximum combination of five AJGA Open and Junior All-Star Series events per year. The invitation-only Junior All-Star Championship marks the final event in the series, which began in 1998. To receive an invite, boys must have finished in the top five and girls must have finished in the top three at Junior All-Star Series events during the 2007 season. The event acts as a springboard for juniors to propel themselves into more prestigious events. The 2006 victors are prime examples of this mission. In 2006, Cory Whitsett of Houston, ran away with the Boys Division at Langdom Farms Golf Club in Aurora, Ore. Whitsett won by 10 strokes while setting a new 54-hole tournament record at 15-under-par 198. Sarah Brown of Stewartsville, N.J., captured the Girls Division with a 2-over-par 215 tournament total. Both went on to be named 2006 honorable mention Rolex Junior All-Americans. This year, Whitsett has not finished out of the top 15 in any AJGA event he has played. He recently captured the U.S. Junior Amateur Championship with an 8 and 7 margin of victory. Brown has had a strong 2007 season as well. She has notched two top-10 finishes, including a tie for fifth place at the Mizuno Junior at Chateau Elan. The Junior All-Star Championship is one of 80 events the AJGA will conduct in 2007. This year, AJGA tournaments will take place in more than 25 states. The American Junior Golf Association is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to the overall growth and development of young men and women who aspire to earn college golf scholarships through competitive junior golf. The largest Association of its kind, the AJGA has an annual junior membership (boys and girls ages 12-18) of more than 5,000 junior golfers from 49 states and more than 25 foreign countries. Titleist, the AJGA’s National Sponsor, has been the catalyst and driving force behind the Association’s success since 1989. Rolex Watch USA, which is in its third decade of AJGA support, became the inaugural AJGA Premier Partner in 2004. In 2007, after 12 years of support, Polo Ralph Lauren became the AJGA’s second Premier Partner. AJGA alumni have risen to the top of amateur, collegiate and professional golf. More than 160 former AJGA juniors currently play on the PGA and LPGA Tours and have compiled more than 300 wins. AJGA alumni include Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Jim Furyk, Stewart Cink, Davis Love III, Cristie Kerr, Pat Hurst, Paula Creamer, Morgan Pressel and Julieta Granada. For more information, please contact Stacey Whyte (swhyte@ajga.org) in the AJGA Communications Department at (678) 425-1787 or visit the AJGA Web site at ajga.org.
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