Introduced by the AJGA in 1978, the Rolex Junior Player of the Year award recognizes one boy and one girl who had the most outstanding year in junior golf events at the national level. Past recipients have gone on to become some of the most esteemed players on the PGA and LPGA Tours, including Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Charles Howell III, Hunter Mahan, Brian Harman, Jordan Spieth, Vicky Hurst, Inbee Park, Paula Creamer and Morgan Pressel.
Scheffler, 17, is the third Dallas native to be named Rolex Junior Player of the Year, five years after Jordan Spieth became the second. In July, Scheffler joined the same category as Spieth when he became the fifth Texan to win the U.S. Junior Amateur Championship. That victory moved him to the No. 1 spot in the Polo Golf Rankings, a seat he has held since July 30, 2013.
His accomplishments during the 2013 season will be heralded Nov. 24 during the Rolex Junior All-America Awards Banquet at PGA National Resort & Spa in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. The awards ceremony, dubbed “The Greatest Night in Junior Golf,” will also trumpet the achievements of the rest of golf’s next generation by means of the Rolex Junior All-America Teams, HP Scholastic Junior All-America Teams and Jerry Cole Sportsmanship Award.
Scheffler, 17, finished within the top 10 in all 2013 starts, including two runner-up finishes. He claimed the No. 1 spot in the Polo Golf Rankings in July, after winning the U.S. Junior Amateur Championship.