Greensboro, N.C. – Jackson Van Paris of Pinehurst, North Carolina, leads the 19th annual AJGA Invitational at Sedgefield at Sedgefield Country Club by one stroke after an opening round of 4-under-par 66. The No. 8 player in the Rolex AJGA Rankings is looking for his third AJGA Invitational title.
The AJGA Invitational at Sedgefield annually fields one of the top championships in junior golf with some of the world’s best male golfers testing the home of the oldest regular season stop on TOUR, The Wyndham Championship. The event is one of three all-boys AJGA invitation-only events on the updated 2020 schedule and boasts an elite group of 93 past participants who have made the jump from the AJGA Invitational at Sedgefield to the PGA TOUR. Past champions of the AJGA Invitational at Sedgefield include 12-time PGA TOUR Champion Justin Thomas and 2-time PGA TOUR Champion Brian Harman.
The 2020 AJGA Invitational at Sedgefield features a 75-player field that includes 7 players in the top-20 of the Rolex AJGA Rankings. The field is highlighted by current No. 1 and reigning Rolex Junior Player of the Year Maxwell Moldovan of Uniontown, Ohio. The field is rounded out by 15 Rolex Junior All-Americans, and 42 AJGA champions, including the defending champion of the tournament, Brett Roberts of Coral Springs, Florida.
Sedgefield Country Club is an 11-time host of the AJGA Invitational at Sedgefield. The Donald J. Ross-designed course is one of two courses on which the Wyndham Championship was founded in 1938 when tournament rounds were played at both Sedgefield and Starmount Forest Country Clubs each year. The Wyndham Championship is the sixth-oldest regular season stop on the PGA TOUR excluding the Majors and will again host in 2020 from August 11th to the 16th.
Round one is in the books.
— AJGA (@AJGAGolf) June 9, 2020
Jackson Van Paris leads the #SedgefieldInv at 4-under-par 66. pic.twitter.com/gSnnWYmLij
Van Paris, the 2020 AJGA Player Representative, fired five birdies in his opening nine holes to take hold of the solo lead. The Vanderbilt University verbal commit already has an impressive national junior golf career. Van Paris is a two-time AJGA Invitational Champion and captured the Junior Invitational at Sage Valley title earlier this spring. The three-time Rolex Junior All-American also annually helps run the Carolina Cup which raises funds for the AJGA’s Achieving Competitive Excellence Grant.
“It was great to get out and play a competitive round. The round was a lot of fun. I got off to a very good start and continued to play solid throughout my round. Playing with two of my really good friends also made it very enjoyable,” said Van Paris. “I’m looking forward to the next three days and hopefully continuing the good play.”
One stroke behind Van Paris in second sits Kelly Chinn of Great Falls, Virginia. Chinn’s five birdies has him in solo second at 3-under-par 67. The Duke University verbal commit is currently No. 12 in the Rolex AJGA Rankings after an impressive season-ending win at the 2019 Rolex Tournament of Champions hosted at PGA National.
John Marshall Butler of Louisville, Kentucky; David Ford of Peachtree Corners, Georgia; J. Holland Humphries of Austin, Texas; Drew Doyle of Louisville, Kentucky; Sam Sommerhauser of Rocklin, California, and Sean-Karl Dobson of Austin, Texas, are T3 at 2-under-par 68.