Polo Golf Junior Classic
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Polo Golf Junior Classic

Polo Golf Junior Classic heads to Bethpage Black

64-player field features 47 past AJGA Champions
Trophy w Bethpage Black Sign - 2022 - Polo Junior Classic.JPG

The Polo Golf Junior Classic returns for its 43rd year in a new home at Bethpage Black. The marquee event on the AJGA's schedule due to its unique format will feature 64 juniors, 32 boys and 32 girls, competing over four days to crown a match play champion.

About the Field

  • 38 college commits
  • 26 Rolex Junior All-Americans
  • 47 past AJGA Champions
  • 18 states represented
  • Seven countries represented

About Bethpage State Park Golf Courses - Black Course
The move of the Polo Golf Junior Classic in 2022 to Bethpage Black marks the first time the event is being played on a public course. The Black Course is rich in tradition having hosted three major championships, two FedEx Cup playoff events and the upcoming 2025 Ryder Cup.

The course which opened in 1936 as part of the Depression Era public-works project that build Bethpage State Park burst onto the scene in 2002 with its first hosting of the U.S. Open. It was this year that a young Tiger Woods, who won the Polo Golf Junior Classic in 1991, captured his second U.S. Open title. The Black Course again hosted the U.S. Open in 2009 where AJGA alumni Lucas Glover took home the title. The ‘extremely difficult course’ recommended ‘only for highly skilled golfers’ also hosted the 2012 and 2016 FedEx Cup playoff event, The Barclays. AJGA alumni Brooks Koepka won the 2019 PGA Championship when the course hosted its first major in ten years.

AJGA Champion Highlights
Of the 47 players who’ve won an AJGA event, a few highlights:

  • Jaclyn LaHa of Pleasanton, California, took home her first AJGA invitational win in 2022. The University of Virginia commit won the inaugural Under Armour / Albane Valenzuela Girls Invitational wire-to-wire by five strokes.
  • Henry Guan of Dallas, became the youngest winner of the Wyndham Invitational presented by Truist two weeks ago. The 2026 graduate finished the 72-hole stroke play event at 7-under-par 273 two strokes clear of the field.
  • Alice Ziyi Zhao of (China) Irvine, California, broke the AJGA lowest 54-hole tournament total record earlier this season winning the Jim Clilck Automotive / HSL Properties Championship presented by the Tucson Conquistadors. The 2027 graduate went on the next week to win her first AJGA invitational title at the KPMG Stacy Lewis Junior All-Star Invitational held at Blessings Golf Club.
  • Jasmine Koo of Cerritos, California, is already a two-time AJGA champion in 2022. Koo, a recent University of Southern California commit, won the Sergio and Angela Garcia Foundation Junior Championship and the long-running PING Heather Farr Classic.

Tournament History
The Polo Golf Junior Classic has occurred annually since 1978, with a variety of host venues over its tenure. Noteworthy host courses have included Liberty National Golf Club, PGA National Resort and Spa – Champion & Fazio Courses, Sea Island Golf Club, Innisbrook Resort and Echo Lake Country Club.

The event now in its 43rd year has had its share of noteworthy past champions. In the Boys Division it includes Tiger Woods, Trevor Immelman, Stewart Cink, Brian Harman, Morgan Hoffman and Matthew NeSmith. On the Girls Division side, Vicki Goetze, Grace Park, Paula Creamer, Morgan Pressel, Ariya Jutanugarn, and Sierra Brooks.

The Polo Golf Junior Classic is the only true match play format event on the AJGA schedule. All but two years of the 43-year history have been played as match play. The top-32 boys and 32 girls will compete over four days.

11 Boys and seven Girls within the Top 25 of the Rolex AJGA Rankings

Boys Division

No. 2 - Eric Lee of Fullerton, California

No. 6 - Nicholas Gross of Dowingtown, Pennsylvania

No. 8 - Aaron Pounds of The Woodlands, Texas

No. 9 - Bryan Kim of Brookeville, Maryland

No. 12 - Jack Roberts of Saint Marys, Georgia

No. 14 - Henry Guan

No. 15 - Matt Moloney of Vienna, Virginia

No. 18 - Andrew Ramos of Blaine, Minnesota

No. 19 - Carson Kim of Yorba Linda, California

No. 20 - Patton Samuels of Clarksville, Tennessee

No. 25 - Wyatt Plattner of Sarasota, Florida

Girls Division

No. 6 - Jaclyn LaHa

No. 10 - Katie Li of Basking Ridge, New Jersey

No. 11 - Jasmine Koo of Cerritos, California

No. 14 - Catherine Rao of Camarillo, California

No. 15 - Rianne Malixi of (Philippines) San Bernardino, California

No. 19 - Kynadie Adams of Nashville, Tennessee

No. 25 - Erica Lee of Arcadia, California

Future College Teammates

As a part of the 38 total players committed to play college golf, four sets of future college teammates are in the field:

Boys Division

  • University of California, Berkeley - Eric Lee, and Ethan Fang of Plano, Texas
  • Texas A&M University - Aaron Pounds and Jack Usner of The Woodlands, Texas
  • Stanford University - Kush Arora of Pleasanton, California, and Ethan Gao of Alpharetta, Georgia

    Girls Division

    • Vanderbilt University - Lynn Lim of Gallatin, Tennessee, and Charlene Chung of Hong Kong, Hong Kong

    Social
    Follow along on social with #PoloGolfJC or check us out on Twitter Instagram  and Facebook .

    About Polo Ralph Lauren

    Polo Ralph Lauren, a premium lifestyle brand, has been a partner for more than three decades. Since 1995, Polo Ralph Lauren has supported junior golfers who become the next generation of college graduates and business leaders. Every week through AJGA social and digital content, Polo Ralph Lauren celebrates the top performances of AJGA members worldwide, through Polo Ralph Lauren #InspiredPerformances . Polo Ralph Lauren has hosted the Polo Golf Junior Classic, an Invitational dating back to 1978 and one of the longest-running events in AJGA history.

    For more information about the Polo Golf Junior Classic please contact Emma Varela (evarela@ajga.org ) in the AJGA Communications Department.