Justin Thomas Junior Championship awarded Junior-Am Fundraising and Hospitality Awards

Braselton, GA – The AJGA announced the Justin Thomas Junior Championship received the Junior-Am Fundraising Award and Hospitality Award for 2021. The event played at Harmony Landing Country Club in Goshen, Kentucky, raised money through the Junior-Am Fundraising Tournament and treated juniors and their families to an unforgettable experience.

“This is an honor and a direct result of both our sponsors, who make everything possible, and our committee who works tirelessly to ensure both the success of the event and, more importantly, the enjoyment of the kids,” said Tournament Chairman, Mike Thomas. “Having Big Spring and Harmony embrace the week the way they do also is very important.”

Each year, the AJGA presents awards to the tournaments with the best individual hospitality, Junior-Am Fundraising Tournament, charitable giving and volunteer base. Awards are also given to the events with engaged media and social media participation. Finally, the AJGA recognizes the year’s most outstanding golf professional, superintendent and golf course executive, as well as the most game-changing event, best new event, best AJGA Preview Series tournament, best Ninja Junior All-Star Series tournament, best Invitational and overall tournament of the year. Tournament awards for the 2021 season will be presented on-site at the 2022 tournament.

These two awards are the sixth and seventh AJGA tournament awards the event has received since it began in 2016. The Junior-Am Fundraising Award is a reflection of the dedication the tournament committee has to giving back to charity and the support the event garners from the local community.

“Every year the tournament committee puts in so much work and the local community rallies around the event to raise money for the charitable causes,” said AJGA Senior Midwest Regional Director, Ryan Flanagan. “The fact that the event has won seven AJGA tournament awards in six years is a testament to how much work is put in to make this event one of the top tournaments on the AJGA schedule.”

Money raised from the event goes to the Justin Thomas Foundation and the AJGA’s Achieving Competitive Excellence (ACE) Grant. The Justin Thomas Foundation positively impacts children in need, junior golf, and military families with the intent of helping all achieve their full potential.

The goals of the Justin Thomas Foundation reflect the altruistic aspirations of the Thomas family. By funding programming and fulfilling requests of those in need, they are committed to showing compassion, displaying kindness, and making a difference in the world.

The AJGA’s ACE Grant provides financial assistance to junior golfers who have the skills to compete on a national level but not the means. The tournament has raised money for the ACE Grant since the even began in 2016 and in 2018, Justin Thomas endowed an AJGA ACE Grant to provide a junior golfer from Kentucky with financial assistance each year in perpetuity.

In addition to the Junior-Am Fundraising Award, the event also received the Hospitality Award. This award goes the tournament that creates the best experience for the juniors and their families. Each year the Justin Thomas Junior Championship has raised the bar when it comes to hospitality.

“We just deliver good ole fashion southern hospitality here,” said Tournament Committee Member, Missy Kremer. “Many parents comment that everyone is so welcoming and kind at Harmony. It’s a tournament that they all have circled on their calendar. Our goal is always to make it better each year. Hats off to our members who sacrifice their course and some dining areas for an entire week. These awards are for them as well.”

Justin Thomas was onsite for the event in 2021 and created unforgettable moments for the players and their families. Justin was available to the players during the junior-am and practice round to meet and greet as well as take photos and sign autographs. Mike and Jani Thomas were also onsite to help facilitate the event.

Players were treated to many perks of the event, including milkshakes, complimentary breakfast and lunch for each tournament day, custom Justin Thomas tournament gifts, athletic trainers onsite each day, a 28-page full-color tournament program and much more to make the players and their families feel comfortable.

The tournament also provided for the AJGA staff who was onsite by securing donated products, complimentary food, staff housing as well as transportation.

The Justin Thomas Junior Championship returns to the AJGA schedule in 2022 and will be played at Harmony Landing Country Club, August 2-5.

For more information about the AJGA Tournament Awards or the tournament, please contact Tim Jackman (tjackman@ajga.org ) in the AJGA Communications Department.