AJGA alum and Clemson University senior Turk Pettit of Auburn, Alabama, won the NCAA Men's individual national championship on May 31 at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Arizona.
🏆 2021 NCAA Individual Champion 🏆 pic.twitter.com/SOMogaVvol
— Clemson Men's Golf (@ClemsonMGolf) June 1, 2021
Pettit shot a total 7-under-par 273 to win by one stroke over fellow AJGA alum and Oklahoma State freshman Bo Jin of Beijing, China. Jin entered the final round of stroke play with a two-stroke lead over Pettit. With Pettit in the clubhouse after shooting an even final round, Jin bogeyed No. 18 to finish one shot behind Pettit.
Pettit is the second player in Clemson University history to win the NCAA Men's individual national championship with the previous being won by Charles Warren in 1997. With his win, Pettit is the 29th AJGA alum to win the NCAA Men's individual national championship.
Pettit played in two AJGA tournaments during his junior career including the 2015 Preseason Junior at Château Élan presented by Halski Systems and 2015 Will Claxton Junior. Runner-up Jin had a very successful AJGA junior career that included a win at the 2017 AJGA Junior at RiverWatch. In addition, Jin had seven top-5 finishes at AJGA tournaments from 2017 to 2020. Jin was also named a Rolex Junior All-American in 2018 and 2019.
The AJGA hosted the Thunderbird International Junior from 2000 to 2019 in Scottsdale, Arizona. The tournament, founded by Mike Kennedy, Del Cochran, and AJGA alumni and PGA TOUR pro Phil Mickelson, was known by many as one of the AJGA's most fun.
In addition to top competition and players, the Thunderbird International Junior gave the world's top players the opportunity to donate money to a charity of their choice and create lifelong friendships through fun social events. The tournament created an outmatched experience with options like personalized lockers, Masters-style scoreboards on the course, a unique trophy, milkshakes, ping pong, and more than 100 volunteers.
Similar to the women's field last week, many of the men competing at the NCAA championship this week have ties to Grayhawk Golf Club. Five of the top 12 finishers competed at the Thunderbird International Junior and had nine tournament appearances between them:
4. Michael Feagles of Scottsdale, AZ (Illinois)
5. John Pak of Scotch Plains, NJ (Florida State)
T8. Ludvig Aberg of Eslöv, Sweden (Texas Tech)
T8. Cameron Sisk of El Cajon, CA (Arizona State)
12. Ricky Castillo of Yorba Linda, CA (Florida)
From the field of 132 players at the NCAA Men's Championships:
123 total AJGA alumni
34 played in the Thunderbird International Junior at Grayhawk Golf Club as junior golfers