The 54-hole Team TaylorMade Invitational kicks off a packed Memorial Day weekend of golf to open the AJGA's 2021 summer season.
Debuting at Streamsong Resort's Blue Course May 28-31, 78 of the world's top boys will compete at the newest boys event organized in partnership between the American Junior Golf Association and National Sponsor TaylorMade.
About the field
Invited through the Rolex AJGA Rankings, players represent 21 states and two international countries (China, South Korea) and include:
- 42 former AJGA champions
- 25 Rolex Junior All-Americans
- 40 players committed to play college golf
- Eight players who participate in Leadership Links including State Cup organizers Sean-Karl Dobson of Austin, Texas (Texas Cup ), and Maxwell Ford of Atlanta (Georgia Cup )
- 19 first-time AJGA Invitational competitors including four high school seniors
U.S. Amateur Four-Ball Spotlight
Kiko Francisco Coelho of (Portugal) Lake Mary, Fla. (and partner Leopoldo Herrera III) won this week's USGA Championship at Chambers Bay
in 19 holes. Three days will separate the victory from the first round of the Team TaylorMade Invitational where semifinalist Kelly Chinn of Great Falls, Virginia, will also tee it up. Coelho defeated Chinn (and partner David Ford of Atlanta), 3&1.
Chinn, the reigning Rolex Junior Player of the Year, and No. 1 Rolex AJGA Ranked Ford won medalist honors at 16-under-par 127. In total, five boys in the Team TaylorMade Invitational field made match play also in the top of the Rolex AJGA Rankings: No. 25 Coelho, No. 3 Chinn, No. 76 Carter Loflin of Duluth, Georgia, and No. 4 Wells Williams of West Point, Mississippi, and No. 28 Maxwell Ford of Atlanta.
The new #TeamTaylorMadeInv hardware💯 pic.twitter.com/EEK90aFidZ
— AJGA (@AJGAGolf) May 26, 2021
All eyes on Central Florida
The Team TaylorMade Invitational joins a rich history of events including the AJGA Simplify Boys Championship at Carlton Woods
, Wyndham Invitational presented by Truist
, and The Junior PLAYERS Championship
. This event, and the Jack Burke Jr. Invitational
set to debut in August 2021, are the first two AJGA boys-only stroke play Invitationals added to the schedule since 2007.
Outside of Kelly Chinn who won the 2019 and 2020 Rolex Tournament of Champions and The PING Invitational, three players have secured AJGA Invitational wins in the field since June of 2019.
Luke Coyle of Campbellsville, Kentucky, used a playoff to capture the Junior All-Star Invitational in October and Rolex Junior All-America honors in November. Now at No. 47 in the Rolex AJGA Rankings, the 16-year-old will play in his second AJGA Invitational of 2021.
Jack Usner of The Woodlands, Texas, (June 2020) and You Seong Choi of (South Korea) Hacienda Heights, California, (June 2019) won at the KPMG Stacy Lewis Junior All-Star Championship. Both prior Rolex Junior All-Americans, Choi finished third at the PING Heather Farr Classic over Easter while Usner ended T5.
Besides a sweet new trophy, bragging rights will be on the line on Streamsong's Gauntlet putting course on Friday, May 28 and Sunday, May 30 with a unique set of challenges from the Team TaylorMade staff.
College Preview
With an eye on college golf with the NCAA Division I Championships
ongoing May 21-June 2 at longtime AJGA venue Grayhawk Golf Club in Phoenix, these players will be future college teammates:
- Duke University – Kelly Chinn and William Love of Atlanta, Georgia
- Florida State University – Luke Clanton of Miami Lakes, Florida, and Patrick McCann of Tallahassee, Florida
- University of Arkansas, Fayetteville – John Daly II of Dardanelle, Arkansas, and Kaelen Dulany of Keller, Texas
- University of Texas at Austin – Thomas Morrison of Dallas, Texas, and Jacob Sosa of Austin, Texas
- University of Virginia – Benjamin James of Milford, Connecticut, and Bryan Lee of Fairfax, Virginia
- Virginia Tech – Mehrbaan Singh of Ashburn, Virginia, and David Stanford of Vienna, Virginia
- Wake Forest – Andrew McLauchlan of Neptune Beach, Florida, Marshall Meisel of Chevy Chase, Maryland, Boyd Owens of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and Scotty Kennon of Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida
AJGA Invitational Debut
These 19 players will make their AJGA Invitational debut:
Name | City | Grad | Rolex AJGA Ranking |
Justin Burroughs | Pensacola, Fla. | 2022 | 20 |
Christian Clark | Dallas, Texas | 2022 | 23 |
Ryder Cowan | Edmond, Okla. | 2023 | 41 |
Javier Delgadillo | El Paso, Texas | 2022 | 48 |
Matthew Doyle | Madison, Conn. | 2021 | 63 |
Carson Enright | Longboat Key, Fla. | 2021 | 67 |
Reed Greyserman | Boca Raton, Fla. | 2024 | 69 |
Bryan Kim | Brookeville, Md. | 2023 | 70 |
Chase Kyes | Birmingham, Ala. | 2025 | 75 |
Michael La Sasso | Raleigh, NC | 2022 | 76 |
Ryan Lee | Overland Park, Kan. | 2022 | 83 |
Carter Loflin | Duluth, Ga. | 2022 | 84 |
Patrick McCann | Tallahassee, Fla. | 2021 | 90 |
Kyo Morishita | (Japan) Bradenton, Fla. | 2022 | 101 |
Solomon Petrie | Akron, Ohio | 2022 | 102 |
Derek Sanderson | New Smyrna Beach, Fla. | 2021 | 116 |
Andrew Tan | Austin, Texas | 2022 | 118 |
Cooper Tate | Winter Garden, Fla. | 2022 | 119 |
Jack Turner | Orlando, Fla. | 2023 | 157 |
Rolex AJGA Rankings Top Players (as of May 25):
Name | City | Grad | Rolex AJGA Ranking |
Kelly Chinn | Great Falls, Va. | 2021 | 3 |
Wells Williams | West Point, Miss. | 2022 | 4 |
Caleb Surratt | Indian Trail, N.C. | 2022 | 7 |
Luke Clanton | Miami Lakes, Fla. | 2022 | 8 |
Benjamin James | Milford, Conn. | 2022 | 9 |
Thomas Morrison | Dallas, Texas | 2023 | 10 |
Scotty Kennon | Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. | 2021 | 12 |
Bryan Lee | Fairfax, Va. | 2022 | 16 |
John Daly II | Dardanelle, Ark. | 2021 | 17 |
Brendan Valdes | Orlando, Fla. | 2021 | 18 |
About Team TaylorMade
TaylorMade has been involved with the AJGA as a product supplier and partner for more than 25 years, joining as an Official Partner in 2011 and investing fully as a National Sponsor in 2016. The Official Golf Ball of the AJGA, Team TaylorMade athletes Tiger Woods, Rickie Fowler, Dustin Johnson, Matthew Wolff, Collin Morikawa, Sierra Brooks, Maria Fassi, Sung Hyun Park, and Charley Hull all have ties to the AJGA as player alumni, tournament hosts or program supporters.
About TaylorMade Golf Company
Headquartered in Carlsbad, California, TaylorMade Golf is a leading manufacturer of high performance golf equipment, golf balls and accessories with industry-leading innovative products like SIM2 metalwoods, SIM2 irons, P Series irons, TP5/TP5X golf balls and Spider putters. A major force across the world's professional tours, TaylorMade has an unrivaled athlete portfolio that includes Tiger Woods, Dustin Johnson, Rory McIlroy, Tommy Fleetwood, Rickie Fowler, Matthew Wolff, Collin Morikawa, Harry Higgs, SH Park, Charley Hull, Maria Fassi and Sierra Brooks.