Past Rolex Junior Player of the Year brings an event to his hometown of Memphis
True Temper, the world’s leading manufacturer of golf shafts, and David Gossett, current PGA TOUR professional and AJGA alum, will team up to host an event in Memphis, Tenn., in 2005, the AJGA announced Friday.
The tournament will play host to 84 of the nation’s top 12-18-year-old boy and girl junior golfers. The dates and golf course for the tournament will be determined in the near future.
“This event is sure to be one of the most anticipated new junior golf events of 2005,” said Jason Etzen, AJGA executive vice president of development. “We are honored to be partnering together with True Temper, which is consistently the No. 1 shaft on all professional tours, as well as David Gossett, one of the best and brightest young stars on the PGA TOUR.”
Gossett began his relationship with the AJGA in 1994, winning six tournaments over the next five years. Being named the 1997 Rolex Junior Player of the Year highlighted Gossett’s career with the AJGA. The 1999 U.S. Amateur winner turned professional in 2000 and won his first PGA TOUR title in 2001 while playing on a sponsor exemption at the John Deere Classic. Last year, Gossett had six top-25 finishes.
“I’m extremely excited about having the opportunity to continue my relationship with the AJGA,” Gossett said. “It’s a wonderful opportunity to be able to bring an open tournament back to my hometown.”
The agreement secured True Temper as the tournament title sponsor of the True Temper Junior Championship hosted by David Gossett in 2005 and 2006.
“True Temper has maintained a longstanding commitment to junior golf both locally and nationally,” True Temper Director of Marketing Chad Hall said. “We are very pleased to add our support to the most prestigious junior golf organization in the world today.”
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 largest association of its kind, the AJGA has a junior membership (boys and girls ages 12-18) of approximately 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, a 20-year supporter of the AJGA, became an AJGA Premier Partner in 2004.
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 300 wins. Aside from David Gossett, other AJGA alumni include Phil Mickelson, Tiger Woods, Davis Love III, Mike Weir, Charles Howell III, Jim Furyk, Vicki Goetze-Ackerman, Grace Park, Cristie Kerr and Beth Bauer.
For more information, contact Tonya Oskarson (toskarson@ajga.org
) at (770) 868-4200.