First Team | Second Team | Honorable Mention | Scholastic Honorees
BRASELTON, Ga. - Blades Brown of Nashville, Tennessee, was named the top male junior golfer in the world with the American Junior Golf Association’s Rolex Junior Player of the Year award. Gianna Clemente of Estero, Florida, was named the top female junior golfer in the world and joins Brown on a historical list of Rolex Junior Players of the Year : Tiger Woods, Jordan Spieth, Scottie Scheffler, Morgan Pressel, Paula Creamer, Ariya Jutanugarn, Inbee Park and Rose Zhang.
The Rolex Junior All-America Teams annually recognize the world’s premier junior golfers. The 2024 class includes 48 boys and 48 girls, ages 13-19, from 19 states and three countries.
These young men and women distinguished themselves through exceptional play in 160 national junior golf events, 142 of which were conducted by the AJGA. The teams were determined exclusively through the Rolex AJGA Rankings as of October 17.
Blades Brown
In 2024, Brown solidified his status as one of junior golf’s brightest stars after placing inside the top five at four out of five national junior golf events. The Tennessee native finished third at the AJGA Simplify Boys Championship at Carlton Woods after a three-day total of 75-71-65 — 211. The field included 18 of the top 20 ranked players, highlighted by 2023 Rolex Junior Player of the Year, Miles Russell of Jacksonville Beach, Florida.
In March, Brown placed fourth at the Dustin Johnson World Junior and tied for 19th at the Junior Invitational at Sage Valley. By May, Brown’s impressive young career reached new heights as he made his PGA TOUR debut at the Myrtle Beach Classic. At just 16-years-old, Brown shot a 1-over-par 72 in his opening round, followed by a 4-under-par 67 to make the cut. He finished the event with rounds of 5-under-par 66 and 2-under-par 69 to finish at 10-under-par 276, tying for 26th place in his first TOUR event.
This 16-year-old is ready for the spotlight 🌟
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) May 8, 2024
@BladesBrown2026 will be making his TOUR debut this week @MyrtleBeachCl.
In 2023, Brown became the youngest co-medalist in U.S. Amateur history and his mom is a former @WNBA player. pic.twitter.com/Y1mzJFOw8C
Returning to the AJGA circuit, Brown’s momentum continued as he tied for third at the RLX Ralph Lauren Junior Classic. In the Quarterfinals, he defeated Princeton commit Eric Yun of Menlo Park, California, in a commanding performance. A two-time First Team Rolex Junior All-American, Brown played a pivotal role in leading the East Team to victory at the Wyndham Cup, marking the East’s first win since 2021. Brown won his singles match over Kihei Akina of Kahuku, Hawaii, to clinch the cup for the East.
Brown’s standout year continued as he captured medalist honors at the 77th U.S. Junior Amateur Championship, becoming only the third player to earn medalist honors at both the U.S. Junior and U.S. Amateur. The 1991 and 1992 Rolex Junior Player of The Year, Tiger Woods, is one of the three players to share that distinction. Capping off the season, Brown placed second at The Junior PLAYERS Championship presented by Rolex after a three-day total of 71-73-66 — 210.
Blades Brown gets it done after winning two of his last three holes.
— AJGA (@AJGAGolf) September 24, 2024
15.0 - USA
8.0 - INT#JrPresidentsCup pic.twitter.com/KT88t9Xhjs
In recognition of his stellar year, Brown was selected to represent the U.S. Team at the Junior Presidents Cup in Laval-sur-le-Lac, Quebec, helping the team reclaim the cup. His achievements and composure under pressure have solidified his place among the top ranks of junior golfers worldwide.
Gianna Clemente
Clemente’s extraordinary 2024 season further solidified her place among the elite in junior golf, earning her the honors of 2024 Girls Rolex Player of the Year. A five-time Rolex Junior All-American, Clemente began the year with a top-10 finish at the Fortinet Girls Invitational at Stanford, posting rounds of 71-72 — 143. In March, she finished tied for 11th at the Junior Invitational at Sage Valley.
Her performance took another leap when Clemente finished an impressive fifth place at the prestigious Augusta National Women’s Amateur Championship (ANWA), competing against the top female amateurs from around the world. This strong finish set the tone for her summer season and propelled her to her fifth AJGA win and third Invitational title at the Mizuho Americas Open in May. In this unique stableford event, Clemente tallied 149 points to win by two. With the AJGA field playing alongside a full 120-player LPGA field, Clemente found herself in a final round pairing with LPGA stars Nelly Korda and Hannah Green.
Ladies and gentlemen, @giaclementegolf 👏
— AJGA (@AJGAGolf) May 19, 2024
Gianna Clemente wins alongside @NellyKorda at the #MizuhoAmericasOpen!@MizuhoLPGA | @MizuhoAmericas pic.twitter.com/mqfcpvxApj
Immediately following her Mizuho victory, Clemente competed in the LPGA ShopRite Classic presented by Acer, finishing 47th with an impressive three-day total of 68-70-71 — 209, again proving she can hold her own among the best in the game.
In June, Clemente tied for 15th at the Rolex Girls Junior Championship and played an integral role on the victorious East Team at the Wyndham Cup. Her summer continued with a deep run at the 75th U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship, advancing to the Semifinals before falling to PING Junior Solheim Cup teammate Asterisk Talley of Chowchilla, California. She also reached the match play portion of the U.S. Women’s Amateur, advancing to the Round of 32.
Gianna Clemente is the first to punch her ticket to the 2024 U.S. Girls' Junior quarterfinals.
— USGA (@USGA) July 18, 2024
Her lifetime match play record in the championship is now 11-2 💪 pic.twitter.com/5pOoqdWPCk
At the PING Junior Solheim Cup, Clemente was part of a historic U.S. Team performance, where they earned 18.5 points – the highest score in tournament history – crushing their European counterparts 18.5. to 5.5. Clemente contributed to the team’s dominant win with a commanding 5&4 victory in her singles match against Europe’s Paris Appendino.
Rounding out the summer, Clemente finished as runner-up at The PING Invitational. A two-time champion of the event, she holds the distinction of being the youngest champion in the tournament’s history, having won it in 2021 at just 13 years, 6 months and 18 days old.
Brown, Clemente and the 2024 Rolex Junior All-America Teams will be honored at the Rolex Junior All-America Awards Banquet on Saturday, November 23, hosted at the JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort & Spa. ‘The Greatest Night in Junior Golf’ will recognize the accomplishments and celebrate the achievements of the Rolex Junior All-America teams, Rolex Scholastic Junior All-America honorees and Jerry Cole Sportsmanship Award recipients. Rolex Junior All-Americans and a field of the top players in the Rolex AJGA Rankings will compete at the Rolex Tournament of Champions, November 13-27 at TPC San Antonio – Canyons Course in San Antonio, Texas.
For more information, please contact Angela Ding (ading@ajga.org ) in the AJGA Communications Department at (678) 425-1786 or visit ajga.org.
