The Saticoy Club set to host the 18th PING Invitational

The 18th PING Invitational will be the ultimate test for 72 of the best junior golfers in the world. The field is split down the middle with 36 boys and 36 girls set to take on The Saticoy Club. The 54-hole, stroke-play tournament will take place October 11-14 in Somis, California.

The venue change takes place after Karsten Creek, located in Stillwater, Oklahoma, undergoes renovations in 2023 and 2024. This year, it finds its home at The Saticoy Club. The Saticoy Club hosted top amateur events this summer, such as the 125th SCGA Amateur Championship and the 10th SCGA Women's Amateur Championship. Established in 1921, the iconic tree featured in the course logo is still standing behind the No. 13 green. This is the fourth event that The Saticoy Club has hosted with the AJGA.

About the Field
From Rolex Junior All-Americans to AJGA champions and college commits, the 2024 tournament field is loaded with talent. Here are some highlights from the field:

• Six international countries represented (Australia, Canada, China, South Korea, United Kingdom, United States)
• 19 states represented (California has the most juniors in the field with 22)
• 36 college commits
• 26 Rolex Junior All-Americans
• 64 AJGA champions

Top players to watch

• Entering the field at No. 1 in the Rolex AJGA Rankings, Asterisk Talley of Chowchilla, California, has had an impressive year. In this past year, four-time AJGA Champion won the Junior Invitational at Sage Valley, finished eighth in the Augusta National Women's Amateur and captured the U.S. Women's Amateur Four-Ball title. She reached the finals match at the U.S. Girls' Junior Championship and the U.S. Women's Amateur Championship this summer as well. Talley notched a huge point at the Curtis Cup this summer when she took down the the No. 1 female in the World Amateur Golf Ranking, Lottie Woad. The two-time Rolex Junior All-American represented the victorious U.S. Team at the PING Junior Solheim Cup last month. The top-ranked player is making her The PING Invitational debut at The Saticoy Club.
  

  Asterisk Talley 🇺🇸 15-years-old 🇺🇸 Remember the name 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/Xe8Df9OtBS

  — Curtis Cup (@CurtisCup) September 1, 2024

• The second two-time champion of The PING Invitational, Gianna Clemente of Estero, Florida, won the Mizuho Americas Open this year. She played in two LPGA events, the ShopRite LPGA Classic presented Acer and the Kroger Queen City Championship presented by P&G. Clemente played on the victorious East Team at the Wyndham Cup and the U.S. Team at the PING Junior Solheim Cup.

• Luke Colton of Frisco, Texas, is the top-ranked player in the Boys Division in this year's field at No. 2 in the Rolex AJGA Rankings. The Vanderbilt University commit has five top-5 finishes this year with a runner-up finish at the K.J. Choi Foundation Texas Junior Championship hosted by Pacificlinks Korea and the Mayakoba Invitational. He played on the victorious U.S. Team at the Junior Presidents Cup in Canada last month and is making his The PING Invitational debut.

• Michael Riebe of Encinitas, California, is playing in The PING Invitational after winning the Junior Presidents Cup as well. The Rolex Junior All-American earned a top-5 finish at the Boy's Junior PGA Championship and the Western Junior Championship this year. He is verbally committed to Vanderbilt University and will join the team next fall.

Tournament History
The inaugural PING Invitational took place in 2006 and in the tournament’s 18-year history, has crowned many notable past champions. Jordan Spieth is the only two-time Boys Division champion, winning in 2008 and 2010. Other notable champions include PGA TOUR player Emiliano Grillo and college standouts – Stanford senior Michael Thorbjornsen and 2023 Walker Cup team member Ben James, a sophomore at the University of Virginia.

Rose Zhang, two-time Rolex Junior Player of the Year and LPGA Tour star, joined Spieth as the first two-time champion in the Girls Division with victories in 2018 and 2020. In 2021, Gianna Clemente of Estero, Florida, became the youngest champion at 13 years, 6 months, and 18 days old. Clemente successfully defended her title in 2022, winning by seven shots to join Spieth and Zhang. The 2026 grad will return to the event for a fourth year this October. Notable Girls Division champions also include: Nelly Korda, Alison Lee and Patty Tavatanakit.

Past champions are listed below:
2023 - Wheaton Ennis and Jasmine Koo
2022 - Jay Leng Jr and Gianna Clemente
2021 - Benjamin James and Gianna Clemente
2020 - Kelly Chinn and Rose Zhang
2019 - Event was canceled due to weather
2018 - Michael Thorbjornsen and Rose Zhang
2017 - Canon Claycomb and Lucy Li
2016 - Noah Norton and Paphangkorn Tavatanakit
2015 - Spencer Soosman and Nelly Korda
2014 - Donnie Trosper and Kaitlyn Papp
2013 - Brad Dalke and Megan Khang
2012 - Gavin Hall and Alison Lee
2011 - A.J. McInerney and Jaye Marie Green
2010 - Jordan Spieth and Kristen Park
2009 - Emiliano Grillo and Rachel Morris
2008 - Jordan Spieth and Victoria Tanco
2007 - Gregor Main and Vicky Hurst
2006 - Andrew Yun and Esther Choe

About PING
PING, a golf club manufacturer with the goal to help golfers play their best, has been an AJGA supporter since 1990 and began supporting the PING Phoenix Junior in 1991. The PING Invitational, one of the AJGA's top Invitationals held over Columbus Day weekend, began in 2006 at Karsten Creek. The PING Junior Solheim Cup, the all-girls match play biennial event, has received worldwide recognition and many participants are able to say they played for their country as a junior and professional.

An Official Partner since 2002, the golf club manufacturer sponsors PING College Golf Signing Day and became "The Official Bag of the AJGA" in 2009. In 2010, PING debuted golf bags for all AJGA champions. PING also became the AJGA's first Legacy Partner in 2020.

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