Time for the Junior PLAYERS to Shine
The Junior PLAYERS Championship returns to TPC Sawgrass for third year

The Junior PLAYERS Championship returns to TPC Sawgrass to ring in Labor Day weekend Sept. 3-6. With 78 of the top junior golfers from around the globe teeing it up in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., the competition will be nothing short of fierce. In 2008, 30 juniors that competed in The Junior PLAYERS Championship field went on to earn Rolex Junior All-America honors, with seven of them being named to the First Team. For 2009, the tournament field represents 18 states and 15 foreign countries.

Anthony Paolucci

Five of the top 10 boys in the Polo Golf Rankings lead the way in this year's field, including Patrick Winther of Howey in-the-Hills, Fla. Winther began the 2009 season on a high note winning both the Polo Golf Junior Classic and the HP Boys Championship at Carlton Woods. Winther will look for his fourth AJGA title at Sawgrass.

Anthony Paolucci of Dallas, follows Winther in the Polo Golf Rankings at No. 7. Paolucci, a two-time Rolex Junior All-American, will be looking for his first AJGA title. In 2009, Paolucci has accumulated four top-15 finishes, including a tie for eighth at the HP Boys Championship at Carlton Woods.

Right behind Paolucci at No. 8 in the Polo Golf Rankings is Cheng-Tsung Pan of Upland, Calif. Pan has not finished outside the top 15 in his three years of AJGA competition. In 2009 alone he has finished tied for third at the HP Boys Championship at Carlton Woods and tied for ninth at the U.S. Junior Amateur.

Justin Thomas of Goshen, Ky., will be looking to make another big splash on a PGA TOUR course. The 16-year-old became the third-youngest player ever to make the cut at a TOUR event when he made it to the third round at the Wyndham Championship in August. Thomas earned the right to play in the event by winning the AJGA's FootJoy Invitational in June. He finished T38 at the 2008 Junior PLAYERS Championship.

Leading the international field will be Niclas Carlsson of Enebyberg, Sweden. Carlsson began the year strong by advancing to the semi-finals at the Polo Golf Junior Classic. In May, he followed it up with a tie for fifth at the Thunderbird International Junior. Currently ranked No. 25 in the Polo Golf Rankings, Carlsson will be looking for his first AJGA victory.

Joining Carlsson from across the sea will be Lucas Bjerregaard of Frederiksavn, Denmark. With a Polo Golf Ranking of No. 43, Bjerregaard has two top-10 finishes in 2009 including a pair of ties for seventh at the Thunderbird International Junior and the Western Junior Championship. This will be Bjerregaard’s third trip to TPC Sawgrass for The Junior PLAYERS Championship.

With such a tough field of competitors looking to end the summer season in strong fashion, every shot will count at The Junior PLAYERS Championship, making for three rounds of memorable golf at TPC Sawgrass.