The I.R.I. Golf Group and the American Junior Golf Association will once again combine efforts by adding the AJGA I.R.I. Golf Group Arizona National Mixed Team Challenge to the 2004 schedule, the AJGA announced Monday.
The mixed team event will take place May 7-9, 2004, at Arizona National Golf Course in Tucson, Ariz. The teams, made up of one boy and one girl, will compete using the four-ball, foursome and modified scotch formats.
“The AJGA is trying to create some different formats that are fun, unique and will get the kids excited about the upcoming season,” said Stephen Hamblin, AJGA executive director. “We have enjoyed this relationship with I.R.I. Golf Group and hope to see events such as this continue and grow over the years.”
The I.R.I. Golf Group also sponsored events at Highland Creek Golf Club in Charlotte, N.C., and Oakridge Country Club in Garland, Texas, in 2003 and will continue through 2005.
I.R.I. Golf Group is a Southern California-based company that has been involved in the acquisition, development and management of more than 55 golf courses. Run by PGA golf professionals, I.R.I. brings practical, insightful knowledge to every aspect of creating and operating a golf course.
Arizona National has received numerous accolades in such publications as Golf Magazine, Golf Digest, Golf for Women and the Arizona Republic.
The par-71, 6,776-yard layout Arizona National played host to the AJGA I.R.I. Golf Group Arizona National Junior in 2003. Esther Choe of La Quinta, Calif., took top honors in the Girls Division while Daniel Lim of Gilroy, Calif., was victorious in the Boys Division. Choe and Lim were both named honorable mention Polo Golf Junior All-Americans.
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 AJGA, the largest Association of its kind, has a junior membership (boys and girls ages 13-18) of approximately 5,000 junior golfers from 50 states and 30 foreign countries.
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 280 wins. AJGA alumni include Phil Mickelson, Tiger Woods, Davis Love III, Mike Weir, Charles Howell III, Jim Furyk, Dottie Pepper, Grace Park, Cristie Kerr and Beth Bauer.
For more information, please contact Matt Crouch in the AJGA Communications Department at (770) 868-4200, ext. 795.