CAPE GIRARDEAU, MO. – The 29th Rolex Girls Junior Championship will take place August 17-21 in Cape Girardeau, Mo. The all-girls invitational brings the top-ranked junior golfers in the world to compete at Dalhousie Golf Club for a 72-hole, stroke-play tournament.
The Rolex Girls Junior Championship, organized in partnership between Rolex, the American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) and Dalhousie Golf Club - the No. 4 course in Missouri in Golf Digest’s rankings for two consecutive years - will challenge the 72 AJGA golfers invited to play through the Rolex AJGA Rankings.
About the Rolex Girls Junior Championship Field
Since 1992, the competition brings together one of the strongest fields in junior golf. The 2020 event will include 10 of the top 20 girls in the Rolex AJGA Rankings. Rose Zhang of Irvine, California, headlines the field holding the No. 1 spot in the Rolex AJGA Rankings and is the reigning 2019 Rolex Junior Player of the Year. Zhang will be entering the tournament coming off a win at the 2020 U.S. Women’s Amateur.
Zhang is a four-time Rolex Junior All-American verbally committed to play college golf at Stanford. She currently has eight national junior golf wins and finished T3 earlier this year at the 2020 ANNIKA Invitational USA presented by Rolex.
Bohyun Park of Farmers Branch, Texas, enters the tournament looking for her second win of 2020 and her first AJGA Invitational win. Park is No. 4 in the Rolex AJGA Rankings and a two-time Rolex Junior All-American. Verbally committed to play college golf at the University of Texas, Park has 16 top-10 finishes in national junior golf events since 2017.
Behind Zhang and Park, Amanda Sambach of Davidson, N.C., and Taylor Kehoe of Strathroy, Ontario, each have five AJGA wins. Kehoe earned her second win of the season last week. Sara Im of Duluth, Georgia, has four wins through her junior golf career.
Representatives from seven foreign countries and 22 U.S. states are set to compete in one of the AJGA’s most iconic all-girls events.
The 2020 Rolex Girls Junior Championship field is highlighted by 13 Rolex Junior All-Americans and 40 AJGA champions, including 17 players with wins this year. Of the 72 total girls competing, 21 players have committed verbally or with a National Letter of Intent to play college golf.
As part of the players committed to play college golf, the field features four sets of future college teammates:
- Auburn University: Casey Weidenfeld of Pembroke Pines, Florida, and Morgan Jones of Auburn, Alabama
- Michigan State University: Brooke Biermann of Wildwood, Missouri, and Leila Raines of Galena, Ohio
- University of Tennessee: Kynadie Adams of Gallatin, Tennessee, and Bailey Davis of White Plains, Maryland
- University of Virginia: Megan Propeck of Leawood, Kansas, and Amanda Sambach of Davidson, North Carolina
Rolex Girls Junior Championship History
The Rolex Girls Junior Championship has occurred annually since 1992, changing host venues each year. Noteworthy courses include: LPGA International – Champions and Legends Course (2002-2005), Long Cove Club (2010), The Country Club of North Carolina – Dogwood Course (2015), and Promontory Club – Dye Canyon Course (2018).
Dalhousie Golf Club also hosted the 2013 Rolex Girls Junior Championship, crowning current LPGA Tour player Alison Lee as the champion with a score of 7-under-par 281. Lee went on to win the 2013 Rolex Tournament of Champions and was also named the 2013 Rolex Junior Player of the Year in her last year of junior golf before starting her stand-out college career at UCLA.
Past champions of the Rolex Girls Junior Championship include an AJGA all-star cast: Rachel Heck (2017), Alison Lee (2013), Ariya Jutanugarn (2012, 2011), Morgan Pressel (2005), Paula Creamer (2003), and Inbee Park (2002).
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About Rolex
An unrivalled reputation for quality and expertise
Rolex, a Swiss watch manufacture headquartered in Geneva, is recognized the world over for its expertise and the quality of its products. Its Oyster Perpetual and Cellini watches, all certified as Superlative Chronometers for their precision, performance and reliability, are symbols of excellence, elegance and prestige. The word “Perpetual” is inscribed on every Rolex Oyster. But more than just a word on a dial, it is a philosophy that embodies the company’s vision and values. Hans Wilsdorf, the founder of the company, instilled a notion of perpetual excellence that would drive the company forward. This led Rolex to pioneer the development of the wristwatch and numerous major watchmaking innovations, such as the Oyster, the first waterproof wristwatch, launched in 1926, and the Perpetual rotor self-winding mechanism, invented in 1931. Rolex has registered over 500 patents in the course of its history. A truly integrated and independent manufacturing company, Rolex designs, develops and produces in-house the essential components of its watches, from the casting of the gold alloys to the machining, crafting, assembly and finishing of the movement, case, dial and bracelet. Furthermore, Rolex is actively involved in supporting the arts and culture, sport and exploration, as well as those who are devising solutions to preserve the planet.