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A
New Frontier |
AJGA
set to host its first tournament in Mexico, May 26-28 |
By
John Egnot
Manager of Media Relations
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| Mexico
City native Alejandra Llaneza finished in the top 20 at
two AJGA Invitationals in 2005. |
As the AJGA kicks off its 29th season of conducting the best
junior golf tournaments in the world, the Association will be
visiting a new part of the world for the first time. On May
26-28, the AJGA makes its inaugural trip to Mexico for the Nike
Golf Junior Classic hosted by Zona Norte. The 36-hole event,
part of the Nike Golf Junior All-Star Series, will be contested
at Club de Valle Alto A.C. in Monterrey, Mexico.
The
event marks the first time the AJGA has traveled outside the
United States to conduct a tournament since 2003, when the BMO
Financial Group Future Links Junior at Caledon Woods was played
just outside of Toronto.
“The Club de Valle Alto A.C. is very excited to be hosting
the first AJGA tournament in Mexico,” said Jason Ross,
AJGA V.P. of Tournament Development.
This new event will draw some of the best 12-15-year-olds from
across North America. Seventy percent of the Nike Golf Junior
Classic hosted by Zona Norte field will be filled by the AJGA’s
Performance Based Entry (PBE) system with the remaining 30 percent
consisting of Mexican players awarded tournament spots based
on their playing performance by the Mexican Junior Golf Association.
Those players awarded tournament spots will be required to pay
all AJGA membership and tournament entry fees.
So exactly how did the AJGA decide to take a tournament south
of the border? Leopoldo Lopez, president of the Mexican Junior
Golf Association, felt that Mexican junior golfers were at a
disadvantage in trying to gain exposure for college golf scholarships.
Lopez would begin to work with the Texas Junior Golf Tour, an
association in which top finishes in select events provide performance
stars for entry into AJGA tournaments.
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| Club
de Valle Alto A.C. will host Mexico's first AJGA event. |
“Mr.
Lopez has been instrumental in the development of junior golf
in Mexico,” said AJGA V.P. and South Central Regional
Director Beth Reuter. “He really wants the juniors to
know that there is definitely a future for them in golf.”
In October of 2005, the Texas Junior Golf Tour hosted a successful
event in Monterrey. The top-five finishers in the boys' 16-18
age division and the top three in the girls' 12-18 age division
earned one AJGA tournament exemption, while both champions earned
two.
In addition to the tournament, an educational seminar was conducted
to help the junior golfers learn how to get into AJGA tournaments.
The excitement generated by the seminar and the success of the
tournament paved the way for the AJGA to make its first trip
to Mexico this May.
“The Mexican Junior Golf Association started working with
the Texas Junior Golf Tour so the golfers in Mexico have an
opportunity to earn AJGA tournament exemptions,” Reuter
said.
“Eventually, it developed into the AJGA having a tournament
in Mexico so that the juniors can get a feel for what an AJGA
event really is all about.”
The host facility, Club de Valle Alto A.C., is a par-72 golf
course that stretches out to nearly 6,800 yards.
“It truly is a beautiful links-style course nestled beside
the mountain range in Monterrey,” Reuter said. “The
course is in excellent condition.”
In 2005, the AJGA had 25 members from Mexico, up from 20 in
2004. |
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