BRASELTON, Ga. – Furman Golf Club will host 78 of the nation’s best junior girl golfers during the AJGA Girls Championship in Greenville, S.C., Sept. 4-7, 2009, the American Junior Golf Association announced Thursday. This inaugural event will give girls from South Carolina as well as girls from around the country an opportunity to compete at the highest level.
Home to the Furman golf team, Furman Golf Club was recently named one of South Carolina’s top 30 best courses to play. In 2008, the club underwent renovation that included a complete re-design of all 18 greens. The greens were built to USGA specifications with the installation of Champion Bermuda grass. The design was modeled as a Donald Ross style that follows the flow of the beautiful land that the golf course lays.
Tournament play will begin Saturday, Sept. 5 and run through Monday, Sept. 7. The AJGA Girls Championship will include a special banquet celebration. In what will become an annual event, the AJGA will honor one individual each year that has demonstrated a significant and positive impact in the world of women’s golf and women’s junior golf.
The award, to be named after LPGA Hall of Fame golfer Betsy Rawls, will be awarded to Rawls herself Friday, Sept. 4.
“The uniqueness of this event and the announcement of the Betsy Rawls Award make this tournament different from any other on the AJGA schedule,” said AJGA Southeast Regional Director Preston Etheridge. “We are excited to bring the event to Furman Golf Club where there has been such a rich history of fine women’s golf.”
To date, Furman University has harvested two Hall-of-Fame members and 12 LPGA Tour members including Dottie Pepper, Beth Daniel and Betsy King.
The AJGA Girls Championship is one of 86 events the AJGA will conduct in 2009. This year the AJGA will conduct tournaments in 30 states and Mexico.
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 an annual junior membership (boys and girls ages 12-18) of more than 5,000 junior golfers from 50 states and 30 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 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 200 former AJGA juniors currently play on the PGA and LPGA Tours and have compiled more than 350 wins. AJGA alumni include Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Jim Furyk, Stewart Cink, Davis Love III, Cristie Kerr, Pat Hurst, Paula Creamer, Brittany Lincicome, Morgan Pressel and Julieta Granada.
For more information, please contact Sara Wagoner (swagoner@ajga.org
) in the AJGA Communications Department at (678) 425-1786.