BRASELTON, Ga. – The Kahkwa Club will host 99 of the nation’s best junior golfers during the Erie Junior Golf Classic, Aug. 16-19, 2010, the American Junior Golf Association has announced. This inaugural event will give players from the state of Pennsylvania as well as players from around the country an opportunity to compete at the highest level.
The Kahkwa Club is a private country club and golfing community in Erie, Pa. It features an 18-hole championship golf course built by famed designer Donald Ross. With the long-range views from the tees, tree-lined fairways and undulating greens and hills, the course will provide a great challenge for the three days of stroke play competition. The Kahkwa Club has been host to numerous national competitions, including the 1971 U.S. Women’s Open, 1958 Women’s Western Open and most recently the 2004 U.S. Women’s Amateur.
“Erie has a tremendous golf following and we wanted to bring national-ranked players from around the country to The Kahkwa Club,” said Kahkwa Club member Greg Cronkhite. “We wanted to provide an opportunity for the players from across the states to play against our local juniors.”
The Philip E. Patton Foundation will serve as title sponsor for the event. Wanting to recognize the late Phil E. Patton, the event will honor Patton who served as Kahkwa Club president as well as an LPGA Board of Director’s member. An avid lover of the game, Patton started the North Coast and Golden Bear Tours in Florida and was a dedicated supporter of growing the game at the junior level.
The Erie Junior Golf Classic is one of 85 events the AJGA will conduct in 2010. Next year, the AJGA will conduct tournaments in 30 states.
“We have a very active membership and the chance to showcase the club as well as promote the game of golf makes The Kahkwa Club a great fit with the AJGA,” said Head Golf Professional Michael O’Conner.
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 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 , which is in its third decade of AJGA 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.