The IMG Golf Academy Preseason Series will
include 10 events in 2012 and will offer 960 playing opportunities to aspiring
junior golfers, ages 12-18. Participation for eligible juniors is limited to
one IMG Golf Academy Preseason Series event per calendar year. Host facilities
include: St. James Plantation (Southport, N.C.); Brookhaven Country Club
(Dallas, Texas); Oak Valley Golf Club (Beaumont, Calif.); Innisbrook Resort
& Golf Club (Palm Harbor, Fla.); Mira Vista Golf & Country Club (El
Cerrito, Calif.); Basking Ridge Country Club (Basking Ridge, N.J.); Prairie
Landing Golf Club (West Chicago, Ill.); Nemacolin Woodlands Resort (Farmington,
Pa.); and Chateau Élan (Braselton, Ga.). Top finishers in the Preseason Series
events will earn exemptions into select IMG Junior Golf Tour events. The IMG
Junior Golf Tour is in its second season operating events on championship
courses throughout the Southeast.
The
AJGA is very excited to team up with the IMG Golf Academy, said Jason Etzen,
AJGA chief business officer. The IMG Golf Academy Preseason Series will offer great
playing opportunities to the AJGAs first-time members.
The
IMG Leadbetter Golf Academy has long been dedicated to developing the complete
player on and off the course, echoed David Whelan, Director, IMG Leadbetter Golf
Academy. We consistently look for opportunities to support the development of
talented juniors here on our campus and beyond. Sponsoring the IMG Golf Academy
Preseason Series presents us with the unique opportunity to provide competitive
playing opportunities to young players not only in our system, but throughout
the country.
The IMG Leadbetter Golf Academy, located in
Bradenton, Fla., is one of the worlds leading development schools for the
aspiring junior player. Student-athletes representing more than 40 nations call
the IMG Leadbetter Golf Academy home, while countless professionals return for
off-season training and pre-season preparation. Over the years the Academy has
helped students enroll in the nations top collegiate golf programs, while also
producing amateur and professional champions, including current world No.1
female professional Yani Tseng, 2010 U.S. Womens Open champion Paula Creamer,
2010 U.S. Amateur champion Peter Uihlein, two-time Rolex Junior Player of the
Year Victoria Tanco and 2010 U.S. Girls Junior Amateur champion Doris
Chen.
Titleist, the AJGA's National
Sponsor, has been the catalyst and driving force behind the Association's
success since 1989. Rolex, 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. Former AJGA juniors have compiled
more than 400 victories on the PGA and LPGA Tours. AJGA alumni include Stewart
Cink, Matt Kuchar, Hunter Mahan, Phil Mickelson, Tiger Woods, Paula Creamer,
Cristie Kerr, Inbee Park and Morgan Pressel.
For more information, please contact
Katie Wilson (kwilson@ajga.org) in the AJGA Sponsorship Department at (678)
425-1743.
IMG Academies, the
worlds largest and most advanced multi-sport training and educational
institution, has announced its sponsorship of an American Junior Golf
Association (AJGA) preseason series designed specifically for first-time AJGA
members and those members who have not yet participated in or qualified for
another AJGA event.
About IMG
Academies
IMG Academies, a
division of IMG Worldwide, the global sports, fashion and media company, is the
worlds largest and most advanced multi-sport training and education complex
dedicated to developing the TOTAL ATHLETE. For more than 30 years, IMG
Academies has helped countless youth, adult, collegiate and professional
athletes reach their full potential in sport and life, by providing expert
coaching, tailored programs and world-class facilities within an energetic
environment across a 400-acre campus.
Today the
Bradenton, Fla.-based campus attracts more than 20,000 athletes from 100
countries annually. The Academies consists of the IMG Bollettieri Tennis
Academy, IMG Leadbetter Golf Academy, IMG Madden Football Academy, IMG
Baseball, Basketball, Lacrosse and Soccer academies all supported by the IMG
Pendleton School and IMG Performance Institutes multi-faceted training
disciplines. IMG Academies also conducts camps, clinics and events year-round,
while providing support to teams and federations around the world. Find more
info at www.imgacademies.com
.
About AJGA
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 provides
valuable exposure for college golf scholarships, and has an annual junior
membership (boys and girls ages 12-18) of approximately 5,000 junior golfers
from 49 states and more than 40 countries. To ensure scholarship opportunities
for all junior golfers who have the skill, the AJGA created the Achieving
Competitive Excellence (ACE) Grant program to provide financial assistance to
young players in need.