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AJGA,
I.R.I. Golf Group Combine Efforts for Mixed Team Event
Nation’s
top junior golfers to play in one-of-a-kind team event in
Tucson
By Joe
Mazzeo
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As a majority of the country toils away under the specter of
cold winter weather, springtime seems like a distant and evasive
concept. But the 2004 American Junior Golf Association schedule
offers junior golfers the proverbial light at the end of the
tunnel with a new and exciting event helping to kick off the
season.
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Arizona
National |
Early May will see the AJGA conduct the inaugural I.R.I. Golf
Group Arizona National Mixed Team Championship in sunny Tucson,
Ariz. The mixed team event will take place May 7-9 at Arizona
National Golf Club in Southern Arizona.
Several factors will make the event one to remember—the
outstanding facility, the unique format, and the beautiful location.
Arizona National, home to the University of Arizona’s
NCAA golf teams, will serve as the tournament course and will
give juniors a glimpse at one of collegiate golf’s top
sites. The facility has been lauded in sundry publications such
as the Arizona Republic, GolfWorld,
the Arizona Daily Star and Golf Magazine.
Teams - made up of one boy and one girl - will compete using
the four-ball, alternate-shot foursome and modified Scotch formats.
The course, which overlooks Tucson, allows for spectacular views
of Arizona’s second-largest city and the surrounding desert
that stretches all the way to Mexico. While the scenery can
be breathtaking at Arizona National, it is the golf that will
leave most players in awe.
"To have an AJGA event here is a great way to showcase
Tucson and Arizona National,” said Jeff Silverstein, chairman
of the I.R.I. Golf Group. “It’s one of the top 100
golf courses in America. It is the premier golf course in Southern
Arizona.”
For the second straight year, the AJGA will look to the I.R.I.
Golf Group as a partner in bringing national junior golf to
Tucson. In 2003, Arizona National served as host of the I.R.I.
Golf Group Arizona National Junior. Esther Choe of La Quinta,
Calif., and Daniel Lim of Gilroy, Calif., each claimed titles
in the Girls and Boys Divisions.
Arizona National annually plays host to two national college
events—the Wildcat Invitational for women and the PING
Intercollegiate for men.
AJGA alumni Erica Blasberg, Henry Liaw, Lani Elston and Chris
Nallen currently call Arizona National home as they compete
on the collegiate level for Arizona.
Designed by Robert Trent Jones, Jr., Arizona National is nestled
against the foothills of Southern Arizona’s Santa Catalina
Mountains. The adjacent mountainside is dotted with countless
giant Saguaro cacti, whose blossom is the official state flower.
"This golf course is in one of the most striking locations
you’ll ever see,” said Greg Allen, head women's
golf coach, of his team’s home course. “But it’s
the challenge it presents that will make it so special for the
juniors.” |
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