Jacksonville, Florida - The AJGA is proud to announce the Billy Horschel Junior Championship presented by Zurich as the recipient of the 2022 Open Tournament of the Year award.
The Open Tournament of the Year award annually recognizes a tournament that goes above and beyond on overall tournament experience from hospitality, volunteers and sponsor involvement to impact on the community and more.
The AJGA schedule features more than 50 Open championships, including tournaments supported by the likes of Mizuno and Under Armour, as well as events hosted by Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas and Patrick Reed to name a few.
We are honored to receive the 2022 Open Tournament of the Year award. It means a lot to us that our AJGA event received this award. We love the juniors, we love our volunteers, we love our sponsors and we do everything we can to make a world class event.
In 2022, the Billy Horschel Junior Championship raised over $170,000 for charity. The charities impacted by the fundraising included Feeding Northeast Florida, and K9s for Warriors.
As part of Horschel's long standing relationship with Polo Ralph Lauren all players, volunteers, Junior-Am participants and AJGA staff were outfitted in RLX golf attire for the week. Players and their families were also treated to daily meals at the course following the practice round, and first and second rounds.
The event was also supported by a large volunteer group lead by volunteer chairs Shelley Dickerson and Norma Buchanan. The volunteers at the Billy Horschel Junior Championship presented by Zurich help man timing stations, shuttle players between holes, aid with registration and stock coolers amongst other roles to keep the events running smoothly.
The event was elevated for tournament sponsors as well. A welcome dinner was held nearby at The Yards the night before they all competed in the Junior-Am Fundraising Tournament. A closest-to-the-hole contest was held on the par 3 course with glow golf balls onto a floating green. Presenting sponsor Zurich also had the opportunity for an exclusive golf outing with Billy Horschel as a thank you for their continued support of the event the past seven years.
The 2022 event at Palencia Golf Club saw an exciting finish where Max Jelinek of (Czechia) Port St. Lucie, Florida, and Sophie Stevens of Highland, Michigan, each earned their first AJGA win.
Each year, the AJGA presents awards to the tournaments with the best individual hospitality, Junior-Am Fundraising Tournament, charitable giving and volunteer base. Awards are also given to the events with engaged media and social media participation. Finally, the AJGA recognizes the year's most outstanding golf professional, superintendent and golf course executive, as well as the most game changing event, best new event, best Neuropeak Pro Preview Series tournament, best Ninja Junior All-Star Series tournament, best Invitational and overall tournament of the year. Tournament awards for the 2022 season will be presented on-site at the 2023 tournament.
The 2023 Billy Horschel Junior Championship presented by Zurich moves back to Eagle Harbor Golf Club, which hosted the event from 2017 to 2020.