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#RolexGirls to celebrate 25th tournament in Rochester

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The Rolex Girls Junior Championship will return to The Country Club of Rochester for the second time in three years and celebrate its 25th year on the AJGA schedule, June 13-17, 2016.

One of three girls-only Invitationals on the AJGA schedule, the Rolex Girls Junior Championship provides an opportunity for some of the top female golfers in the world to compete on a big stage. Throughout the week, the AJGA, Rolex and The Country Club of Rochester will celebrate the tournament’s 25-year history with special events and activities.

“The AJGA is excited to return to The Country Club of Rochester,” said AJGA Executive Director Stephen Hamblin. “The club’s rich history, dedication to the development of junior golf and tremendous support from the community will make for a fantastic celebration.”

Since the Rolex Girls Junior Championship began in 1992, many prominent collegiate and professional golfers have competed in the tournament. Past champions include LPGA Tour current and former players such as Kellee Booth, Aree Song Wongluekiet, Naree Song Wongluekiet, Brittany Lang, Inbee Park, Paula Creamer, Julieta Granada, Morgan Pressel, Ariya Jutanugarn and Alison Lee. Ten former champions won the Rolex Girls Junior Championship en route to being named a Rolex Junior Player of the Year.

Founded in 1895, The Country Club of Rochester has been a longtime supporter of women’s golf as it hosted the U.S. Women's Open in 1953 and 1973, the 1962 U.S. Women's Amateur and the 2014 Rolex Girls Junior Championship. At the 2014 Rolex Girls Junior Championship, 14-year-old Elizabeth Wang of San Marino, California, went wire-to-wire to win her first AJGA Invitational. Forty-two of the 45 high school graduates that competed at the 2014 event are currently playing college golf.

Tournament proceeds will go toward the AJGA’s Achieving Competitive Excellence (ACE) Grant and local charity, House of Mercy. The ACE Grant supports junior golfers who do not have the financial resources to play a national junior golf schedule, while House of Mercy provides food, shelter and clothing for the homeless in Rochester. At the 2014 tournament, $20,000 was donated to Wilmot Cancer Institute in Rochester.

“Our committee and the community are excited to once again welcome some of the top junior golfers in the world,” said Tournament Chairman Mark Gianniny. “We had a great experience with the AJGA and Rolex Girls Junior Championship in 2014 and look forward to another successful event in 2016.”

The AJGA has conducted national junior golf tournaments in the Rochester since 2011. By the end of 2016, the AJGA will have hosted nine national junior golf tournaments in the Rochester area. Since 2011, AJGA tournaments have made a $1.7 million impact on the Rochester economy.

For more information on the Rolex Girls Junior Championship, please contact Michelle Hantak (mhantak@ajga.org) in the AJGA Communications Department at (314) 814-1394.

About Rolex

Leading brand of the Swiss watch industry, Rolex, headquartered in Geneva, enjoys an unrivalled reputation for quality and expertise the world over. Its Oyster watches, all certified as chronometers for their precision, are symbols of excellence, performance and prestige. Pioneer in the development of the wristwatch as early as 1905, the brand is at the origin of numerous major watchmaking innovations, such as the Oyster, the first waterproof wristwatch, launched in 1926, and the Perpetual rotor self-winding mechanism introduced in 1931. Rolex has registered over 400 patents in the course of its history. A truly integrated and independent manufacturing company, Rolex designs, develops and produces in-house all the essential components of its watches, from the casting of the gold alloys to the machining, crafting, assembly and finishing of the movement, case, dial and bracelet. Rolex is also actively involved in supporting the arts, sports, exploration, the spirit of enterprise, and the environment through a broad palette of sponsoring activities as well as philanthropic programs.