GREENSBORO, N.C. – Many of the best junior golfers in the world are set to play in the 18th annual Wyndham Invitational presented by BB&T beginning Monday, June 10, 2019 at Sedgefield Country Club. The Wyndham Invitational is a “major” on the American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) schedule.
■ Wyndham Invitational Alumni on PGA TOUR:
The 86 PGA TOUR golfers below played the Wyndham Invitational presented by BB&T early in their careers, including four-time Major winner Brooks Koepka, 2015 Masters champion and FedExCup champion Jordan Spieth, 2011 Wyndham winner and 2012 U.S. Open winner Webb Simpson, and 2013 Wyndham Championship winner and 2018 Masters Champion Patrick Reed. Several years from now, some of the golfers playing in this year’s Wyndham Invitational will also be playing professional golf. Wyndham Invitational alumni who
reached the PGA TOUR are listed below with the years they played here:
■ Anders Albertson (2020) ■ Byeong-Hun An (2007-‘09) ■ Mark Anderson (2004) ■ Blayne Barber (2008) ■ Daniel Berger (2010) ■ Zac Blair (2008) ■ Bronson Burgoon (2003-’05) ■ Sam Burns (12, ’13)
■ Brian Campbell (2011) ■ Roberto Castro (‘02) ■ Bud Cauley (2006) ■ Cameron Champ (14)
■ Wyndham Clark (2010, ’11) ■ Austin Cook (2009) ■ John Curran (2003) ■ ZeCheng Dou (2012)
■ Tyler Dunlap (2010,’11) ■ Harris English (2005) ■ Doug Fortner (2004) ■ Rickie Fowler (2006)
■ Bobby Gates (2003-04) ■ Joey Garber (2009) ■ Doug Ghim (2012, ’13) ■ Taylor Gooch(08,’09)
■ Cody Gribble (2006, ’07) ■ Lanto Griffin (2006) ■ Emiliano Grillo (2009-’10) ■ Luke Guthrie (2008)
■ Chesson Hadley (2006) ■ Paul Haley (2004-05) ■ Matt Hansen (2010) ■ B. Harman (‘02-‘04)#
■ Russell Henley (2006) ■ Morgan Hoffmann (2007) ■ Tom Hoge (2007) ■ Billy Horschel (2005)
■ Mu Hu (2004-’08) ■ Mark Jones (2005) ■ Ryo Ishikawa (2006) ■ S. Kaufman (‘09,’10)
■ Tee-K Kelly (2012) ■ Michael Kim (2009) ■ Chris Kirk (2003) ■ Kevin Kisner (2003)
■ Patton Kizzire (2003) ■ Colt Knost (2003) ■ Brooks Koepka (2007) ■ Ben Kohles (07, ’08)
■ Kelly Kraft (2007) ■ Scott Langley (2007) ■ Danny Lee (2007) ■ Lucas Lee (2004, ’05)
■ Richard Lee (2006) ■ Alexander Levy (2013) ■ Luke List (2002) ■ Adam Long (2006)
■ Denny McCarthy (2010) ■ Lee McCoy (2010 -12) ■ Zack Miller (2002) ■ Keith Mitchell (2009)
■ Grayson Murray (2010-‘12) ■ Carlos Ortiz (2007) ■ John Peterson(‘06-07) ■ Martin Piller (2004)
■ Jonathan Randolph (2007) ■ Patrick Reed (2006, ’07) ■ Seth Reeves (2008, ’09) ■ Wes Roach (2006-07) ■ Sam Saunders (2002-’04) ■ Conrad Schindler (2005, 07) ■ Webb Simpson (2002-04) ■ Jordan Spieth (08-09) ■ Kyle Stanley (2005) ■ Brett Stegmaier (2002) ■ Scott Stevens (2014) ■ Robert Streb (2005) ■ Hudson Swafford (2005) ■ Justin Thomas (2008-‘10)# ■ Brendan Todd (2002, ’03) ■ Ethan Tracy (07-08) ■ Cameron Tringale (2004) ■ Kevin Tway (2005, ’06) ■ Peter Uihlein (2003-’07) # ■ Richy Werenski (‘09) ■ Bobby Wyatt (2007, ’09) ■ Andrew Yun (2006,’08,’09)
##Won Wyndham Invitational.
■ No. 1 Junior Golfer in the Field: Karl Vilips, the No. 1 golfer in the Rolex AJGA Rankings, the No. 36 golfer in the R&A World Amateur Rankings and the Wyndham Invitational defending champion, is back to defend his title; it is his fourth-consecutive appearance in the event. Vilips finished tied for third in 2016 and tied for fourth in 2017 before winning in 2018 at the Sedgefield Country Club Dye Course. The Wesley Chapel, Florida, golfer is verbally committed to play golf at Stanford University . The rising high school senior is a native of Perth, Australia, but has studied in the United States on scholarships since the age of 11.
■ Strong Field: After graduating from high school, many of the best junior golfers begin their transition to college golf by playing amateur events and ending their junior careers. Eighty-three percent of this year’s Wyndham Invitational field of 72 golfers is made up of rising seniors, juniors and sophomores. Ranked players from each class according to the AJGA Rankings are below:
■ Class of 2019: six of the top 25 ■ Class of 2020: 13 of the top 25
■ Class of 2021: 15 of the top eight ■ Seven of the top 10 in the class of 2022
■ North Carolina Natives: Some of the top junior golfers in North Carolina will play this year's Wyndham Invitational presented by BB&T. All gained entry through the same eligibility standards as the rest of the field. North Carolina golfers are listed below with the year of their high school graduation, hometown and their June 1 Carolinas Golf Association ranking:
■ Jackson Van Paris, 2021, Pinehurst (6) ■ Peter Fountain, 2020, Raleigh (103)
■ Jack Heath, 2020, Charlotte (74) ■ Narayan Mohan, 2021, Charlotte (113)
■ Qualifying Tournament: More North Carolina juniors may earn entry into the Wyndham Invitational presented by BB&T through an 18-hole qualifying tournament. The qualifying tournament is set for 1 p.m. on Saturday, June 8 at Holly Ridge Golf Links in Archdale, N.C., with a maximum field of 60 golfers. The top-two finishers from the qualifier will advance into the Wyndham Invitational field. The full qualifier field is here: https://bit.ly/2IcKnkX .
■ Future ACC Players in the field: Eight of the golfers in the Wyndham Invitational field have made commitments to play college golf in the Atlantic Coast Conference. They are listed below with their year of high school graduation and their ACC school. Those with a (v) are verbally committed:
■ Benjamin James, 2022, Virginia (v) ■ George Duangmanee, 2020, Virginia (v)
■ Luke Sample, 2021, Duke (v) ■ Peter Fountain, 2020, North Carolina (v)
■ Carter Pendley, 2019, Clemson ■ Brett Roberts, 2020, Florida State (v)
■ Gary Albright, 2020, Florida State (v) ■ Dongjin Park, 2019, North Carolina
■ First Team Rolex Junior All-Americans: Two golfers in the field were among the top 12 junior golfers in the world, earning standing as first team Rolex Junior All-Americans:
■ Canon Claycomb, 2017 and ‘18
■ Karl Villips, 2017 and ‘18
■ Rolex Junior All-Americans: Seventeen of the 72 players in the Wyndham Invitational field received Rolex Junior All-American recognition. Karl Vilips of (Australia) Wesley Chapel, Florida, achieved this honor in 2016, ’17 and 18; Jackson Rivera of Rancho Santa Fe, Calif., Jackson Van Paris of Pinehurst, N.C., and Sampson-Yunhe Zheng of Orlando, Fla. did so in 2017 and ‘18. Others are Jake Beber-Frankel of Miami, Fla., Trey Bosco of Austin, Tex., Kuangyu Chen of Shenzhen, China, George Duangmanee of Fairfax, Va., Chris Fosdick of Middlefield, Conn., Peter Fountain of Raleigh, N.C., Frankie Harris of Boca Raton, Fla., Jay Nimmo of Benton, Ky., Jeewon Park of Lake Mary, Fla., Nicklas Staub of Boynton Beach, Fla. and Brendan Valdes of Orlando, Fla..
■ International Players: Fifteen of the 72 golfers in the Wyndham Invitational field represent seven foreign countries. Those golfers are listed below with the country they represent and their current hometown, if applicable:
■
Kuangyu Chen, (Australia) China ■ Kiko Francisco Coelho, Portugal
■ Aaron Du, (China) Sanford, Fla. ■ Sixian (Tyler) Guo, (China) Irvine, Calif.
■ Kelvin Lim, (Canada) Lake Mary, Fla. ■ Yuki Moriyama, (Japan) Las Vegas, Nev.
■ Dongjin Park, South Korea ■ Jeewon Park, (South Korea) Lake Mary, Fla.
■ Andres Quintanilla, Mexico ■ Sebastian Rincon Gallardo, Mexico
■ Adam Thorp, Canberra, Australia ■ Taehoon Song, (South Korea) Buena Park, Calif.
■ Eloy Vigil Escalera, Mexico ■ Karl Vilips, (Australia) Wesley Chapel, Fla.
■ Sampson-Yunhe Zheng, (China) Orlando
■ 2018 Tournament Recap: Karl Vilips entered the 2018 Wyndham Invitational, moved to Sedgefield Country Club’s Dye course because of severe winter kill at the Ross course, as the No. 1 player in the Rolex AJGA Rankings. Having finished tied for fourth and tied for third in his two previous Wyndham Invitational presented by BB&T appearances, Vilips was a pre-tournament favorite. He shot a 3-under0-par 67 in the first round, good for a three-way tie for first. After a 2-under-par 68 in the second round, the Australian junior took a single-stroke lead over Eugene “The Machine” Hong and Austin Greaser. The fireworks came in the third round when Vilips took complete control by tying the course record with a brilliant 8-under-par 62 highlighted by 10 birdies and two bogeys. With a nine-stroke cushion entering the final round, Vipils coasted to the win with a final-round 3-over-par 73. His six-stroke win at the 17th annual Wyndham Invitational presented by BB&T was his the third Invitational victory in five AJGA wins.
■ Previous Winners: The AJGA first hosted an event in Greensboro in 1988 for boys and girls but the Wyndham Invitational presented by BB&T was created in 2002 as a boys-only Major event opposite a similar Major event for girls (Rolex Girls Junior Championship). The 2019 tournament will be the 18th Wyndham Invitational, and 16 distinct players have won the 17 championships. Previous winners include a number of current PGA TOUR champions:
■ 2002: Steve Han ■ 2003: Brian Harman ■ 2004: Brian Harman
■ 2005: Daniel Woltman ■ 2006: Andrew Yun ■ 2007: Peter Uihlein
■ 2008: Cameron Peck ■ 2009: Justin Thomas ■ 2010: Tanner Kesterston
■ 2011: Billy Kennerly ■ 2012: Matthew NeSmith ■ 2013: Matt Gilchrest
■ 2014: Austin Connelly ■ 2015: Charles Huntzinger ■ 2016: Eugene Hong
■ 2017: Trent Phillips ■ 2018: Karl Villips
■ 54-hole Cut: The 72-player Wyndham Invitational will utilize a cut following the third round of play. The top 48 golfers and ties will advance to the final round. Golfers will play in threesomes in the final round, and a tie after 72 holes will be decided by sudden-death playoff.
■ TaylorMade-adidas Golf Live Scoring and Tournament Results: The AJGA website, www.ajga.org , provides live scoring during the Wyndham Invitational presented by BB&T. In addition, after play is complete each day, full-field results, a tournament recap and pairings for the next round are posted on the website.
■ Tournament on Twitter: In addition to the tournament’s live scoring, additional tournament coverage is available through social media on @AJGAGolf channels (Twitter, Instagram, Facebook). After the Wyndham Invitational presented by BB&T with the hashtag, #WyndhamInvitational.
■ Wyndham Exemption History: For five years, Wyndham Invitational winners earned a sponsor’s exemption into the Wyndham Championship. However, when the PGA TOUR changed the structure of its season in 2013, that practice could no longer happen. The Wyndham Championship sets the field for the FedExCup Playoffs and ends the TOUR’s regular season. After the Wyndham, the top-125 players in points enter the playoffs while the next 75 play four tournaments with the top-75 finishers from the Web.com Tour in the Web.com Tour Finals. With PGA TOUR golfers trying to keep their cards, the Wyndham could no longer give an exemption to the winner of its AJGA tournament. The following five Wyndham Invitational presented by BB&T winners took advantage of the exemption:
■ 2008: Cameron Peck ■ 2009: Justin Thomas ■ 2010: Tanner Kesterson
■ 2011: Billy Kennerly ■ 2012: Matthew NeSmith
■ Thank You Volunteers: More than 100 people, many of them Sedgefield Country Club members representing both the Ross and Dye facilities, volunteer at the Wyndham Invitational. Primary functions for Wyndham volunteers are live scoring, player hydration, pace of play timing, standard bearers and spotters.
■ AJGA interns housed at Sedgefield: Each year, AJGA interns manage tournament operations for all AJGA events nationwide. In Greensboro, those interns stay with families who live in the Sedgefield Country Club areas.
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About the 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 12-19) of more than 7,000 members from 50 states and 60 foreign countries. Through initiatives like the Achieving Competitive Excellence (ACE) Grant, a financial assistance program, and Leadership Links, a service-oriented platform that teaches juniors charitable-giving skills, the AJGA fosters the growth of golf’s next generation.
TaylorMade and adidas are the AJGA’s National Sponsors, supporting the AJGA for more than 25 years. TaylorMade has served as the Official Ball of the AJGA since 2016. adidas has been the Official Apparel and Footwear of the AJGA since 2017. Rolex, in its fourth decade of AJGA sponsorship, became the inaugural AJGA Premier Partner in 2004.
AJGA alumni have risen to the top of amateur, collegiate and professional golf. Former AJGA juniors have compiled more than 900 victories on the PGA and LPGA Tours. AJGA alumni include Rickie Fowler, Sergio Garcia, Dustin Johnson, Phil Mickelson, Patrick Reed, Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas, Tiger Woods, Paula Creamer, Ariya Jutanugarn, Cristie Kerr, Stacy Lewis, Brittany Lincicome, Anna Nordqvist, Inbee Park and Lexi Thompson.
■ Wyndham Invitational presented by BB&T Tournament Schedule:
■ Monday: Morning practice rounds (8 a.m.); BB&T Junior-Am Tournament at 1 p.m.
■ Tuesday: First-round tee times 7 a.m. – 10:50 a.m.
■ Wednesday: Second-round tee times 7 a.m. – 10:50 a.m.
■ Thursday: Third-round tee times 7 a.m. – 10:50 a.m.
■ Friday: Final-round tee times 7 a.m. – 10 a.m.
Awards Ceremony following play at approximately 2 p.m.
The 18th annual Wyndham Invitational is set for June 10-14 at Sedgefield Country Club Dye. Admission is free. Practice rounds begin Monday morning, June 10 with the AJGA Junior-Am tournament Monday afternoon. Tournament play begins Tuesday, June 11 and concludes Friday, June 14. For additional information on the event, please visit www.ajga.org .