By Greg Smith and Matt Crouch
AJGA Communications Department

Once again in 2005, some of the nation’s best junior golfers will gather Easter Weekend at three sites across the country for what has become an AJGA holiday tradition. These events, the Mizuno Junior at Chateau Elan in Braselton, Ga., the Heather Farr Classic in Mesa, Ariz., and the PING Junior at the Woodlands in The Woodlands, Texas, have crowned many great players as their champions, and are sure to do so again in 2005.

“Easter weekend at Chateau Elan is always an exciting event, and now with Mizuno as the title sponsor, we are excited about taking the tournament to another level,” AJGA Tournament Director Walker Hill said. “I’m sure the juniors will find the course not only to be in great condition, but also very challenging.”

The Chateau Elan event annually attracts a strong field, all looking to be crowned champion. The tournament’s history includes an impressive list of golfer’s who became stars after completing their junior careers.

Beth Bauer, the 2002 LPGA Tour Rookie of the Year, tied Vicki Goetze-Ackerman’s AJGA record for most consecutive wins at a single AJGA tournament, winning the event five times (1994-1998). Charles Howell III won in 1996. Virada Nirapathpongporn, the 2003 U.S. Women’s Amateur Champion tasted victory twice (1999-2000) before beginning her college career at Duke University.

Patton Kizzire looks over his scorecard after clinching the tournament title at the 2004 Mizuno Junior at Chateau Elan.

In 2001, Brittany Lincicome shot a final-round 65, setting the record for the low round at the tournament, on her way to victory. Lincicome would become a two-time champion in 2003. Recently, the 19-year-old qualified for the LPGA Tour.

In 2004, Mallory Hetzel and Patton Kizzire were crowned champions. Hetzel went on to earn three more top-10s at AJGA events and was named a 2004 first-team Rolex Junior All-American. A 2005 graduate, Hetzel, has committed to play her college golf at Georgia.

“Continuing with tradition, we expect the competition at this year’s tournament to be first-class,” Hill said. “It should be fun to watch as these juniors battle at the Mizuno Junior at Chateau Elan.”

The Heather Farr Classic, which started in 1999 as the third leg of the AJGA’s Easter Weekend schedule, has become one of the premier events on the Association’s 75-tournament schedule in 2005.

Contested at Longbow Golf Club in Mesa, Ariz., the Heather Farr Classic has crowned some of the top names in junior golf as its champion. Former champions include Paula Creamer (2003 & 2004) who was the medalist at LPGA Qualifying in December and Hunter Mahan (1999) who finished in the top 10 at the 2005 FBR Open.

Two former champions will be returning to the Heather Farr Classic in 2005 for another shot at the title.

Two-time Heather Farr Classic champion Paula Creamer is now competing on the LPGA Tour.

Three-time Rolex Junior All-American Amanda Blumenherst of Scottsdale, Ariz., took the tournament title in 2002 with rounds of 72-72—144. The 18-year-old will be looking for her 11th career AJGA title with a win at the Heather Farr Classic.

Wanting to continue the good things he started in 2004 will be defending champion Rory Hie of Lakewood, Calif. Prior to 2004, Hie’s best finish in an AJGA Open event was a tie for seventh at the I.R.I. Arizona National Junior in 2003. The first-team Rolex Junior All-American started his 2004 season with a tournament-record 64 in the first round of the Heather Farr Classic, eventually taking the title by six strokes.

Blumenherst and Hie will not be without some stiff competition for the title as there are 24 other Rolex Junior All-Americans in the field, as well as 13 (eight boys, five girls) players that finished in the top 10 in 2004.

Leading the charge in the Girls Division will be Esther Choe of Scottsdale, Ariz., and In-Bee Park of Las Vegas, Nev.

Choe finished outside of the top 10 in national junior golf competition only once in 2004, highlighting her summer with a victory at the British Junior Open Championships in Scotland. The first-team Rolex Junior All-American had four top-five finishes in national junior golf events in 2004.

Park, the 2002 Rolex Junior Player of the Year, is looking to add another Easter Weekend title to her resume after winning the 2004 Mizuno Junior at Chateau Elan. The win was one of four for her in 2004 as she went on to take top honors at the Thunderbird International Junior, Scott Robertson Memorial and The Junior Heritage.

Christopher Ward will be looking to capture his second straight title at the PING Junior at The Woodlands.

The Boys Division does not have a shortage of talent either with players like Jamie Lovemark of Rancho Santa Fe, Calif., and Sihwan Kim of Fullerton, Calif.

Lovemark, a first-team Rolex Junior All-American, tallied two national junior victories in 2004. He used rounds of 70-70-67-69—276 to take top honors at the Rolex Tournament of Champions and followed it up later that month to win the Western Junior Amateur.

Kim made a name for himself by beating David Chung of Fayetteville, N.C., 1-up to win the 2004 U.S. Junior Amateur. The two-time Rolex Junior All-American has three AJGA wins to his credit.

In 1985, Bob May and Lisa Nedoba were crowned inagural champions at the PING Junior at The Woodlands. Twenty-one years later, 132 of the nation’s top junior golfers will be looking to capture the tournament crown.

Among the field will be defending champion Christopher Ward of McKinney, Texas. Ward survived a one-hole playoff and was crowned champion in 2004 after inclement weather shortened the boys division to 18 holes of play.

Looking to dethrone Ward will be Paul Haley of Dallas. Haley, a first-team Rolex Junior All-American, earned victories at the Dunlop Carolina Junior Championship and the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail Junior in 2004.

Mu Hu of Celebration, Fla., and The Woodlands’ own Bronson Burgoon should also prove worthy competition. Burgoon was a third-team Rolex Junior All-American, while Hu received honorable mention honors.

The girls division is wide open. Morgan Pressel who won the event in 2004 will not be participating this year. Stephanie Connelly of Pasadena, Md., will be looking to reclaim the title she won in 2003.

Also set to make some noise in the girls division will be a pair of Texans who have experience at The Woodlands.

Lauren Espinosa of Hickory Creek, Texas, will be looking to improve on her fourth-place finish from a year ago. Espinosa has three career AJGA victories and has signed a letter of intent to play Arizona next fall.

Coming off a 2004 season in which she earned four top-10 finishes including a win at the Fore!Kids Junior at TPC Louisiana, Caney Hines should contend for the title. The San Antonio native earned a seventh-place finish in 2004 and was named an honorable mention Rolex Junior All-American.

As usual, the Easter Weekend events should prove to be an exciting start to another AJGA season. Keep up with all the action by checking out ajga.org for the latest wrap-ups and results!