LPGA Tour star Sung Hyun Park, continues her support of the AJGA in hosting an event September 4-7 in Montana. Park sponsored the AJGA's longtime event at The Ohio State University's Scarlet course in 2019.
The third annual Labor Day Montana event will be held at Big Sky Resort , part of the Boyne family of properties that also host annual AJGA events in northern Michigan and Maine.
The 54-hole, stroke-play event for 78 boys and girls will be set up on a classic links-style Arnold Palmer design, which winds along the Gallatin River and is within an hour of Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming.
About Host Sung Hyun Park
With her breathtaking swing, long distance and aggressive play Sung Hyun Park
is currently the most popular player in Korea. In a country obsessed with golf, she enjoys rock-star status with legions of fans who follow her around the world to offer their support.
These same fans can often be heard shouting her nickname “Namdalla” which means “I am different” in Korean. As only the second male or female player to earn Rolex Player of the Year and Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year honors in the same year (after Nancy Lopez in 1978) along with her seven victories, including two majors, in only three years on the LPGA Tour, she has the game to prove that she is indeed different.
Tournament History
In 2019 , Ben Lorenz of Peoria, Arizona, and Charlotte Hillary of Cherry Hills Village, Colorado, each earned their first AJGA wins. Both class of 2020 grads, Lorenz finished his junior career No. 52 in the Rolex AJGA Rankings and is slated to play college golf at Oklahoma. Hillary was named the female Jerry Cole Sportsmanship Award recipient in 2019 thanks to her work with Leadership Links and will attend Northwestern.
In 2018, Dillon Stewart of Fort Collins, Colorado, and Montgomery Ferreira of University Place, Washington, claimed the AJGA's first event in Montana's first titles. Stewart won for the second time in 2018 and is a rising sophomore at Oklahoma State. Ferreira defeated Hillary and Chaewon Baek of (South Korea) Langley, British Columbia, in a two-hole playoff. She is verbally committed to Notre Dame and finished inside the top eight twice in August 2020.
Inside the 2020 Field
- Players from 21 states and four countries (United States, Canada, China and South Korea
- Four Montana natives
- Seven past AJGA champions
- 13 players verbally committed to play college golf
- A portion of the field is reserved for qualifiers who will earn entry based on their play on Thursday, September 3
Boys Division Players to Watch
Ethan Tseng of Portland, Oregon (2022), is No. 144 in the Rolex AJGA Rankings and looks to continue momentum from August 2020. The 16-year-old has not finished outside the top 11 this season and recently finished second and fifth at the AJGA Junior at Pronghorn and AJGA Junior at Sunriver, respectively.
Rocco Salvitti of Canonsburg, Pennsylvania (2023), has also compiled a list of top-10 finishes during his second AJGA season. The Central Catholic High School rising junior finished fourth at the 2020 AJGA Junior at Southpointe presented by DICK's Sporting Goods.
Collin Hodgkinson of Beaverton, Oregon (2022), is playing in his fourth tournament of 2020. The 16-year-old earned his third career top-10 finish at the 2020 AJGA Junior at Pronghorn (sixth). He returns to Big Sky for a second year.
Girls Division Players to Watch
Angela Heo of Murrieta, California (2022), has three top-10 career AJGA finishes including win at the 2019 AJGA Preview at Arrowhead, her first event.
Marcella Mercer of Bigfork, Montana (2021), is one of four native Montanans in the field and returns to play for a third year at Big Sky. The 17-year-old will compete in her first event of 2020.
Bridget O'Keefe of Palo Alto, California (2022), is seeking her first AJGA win after three seasons of national junior golf. The 16-year-old has three top-10 finishes in 2020.
Social
Follow along on social with #SHParkJr or check out the AJGA on Twitter
, Instagram
, Facebook
and TikTok. Follow host Sung Hyun Park @xxndl on Instagram
.