Country’s top junior golfers head to The Traditions Club at Texas A&M, April 1-4

BRASELTON, GA -- The nation’s top junior golfers will celebrate Easter weekend in Texas for the 26th consecutive year, as the American Junior Golf Association will host the Laredo Energy Junior at Traditions, April 1-4. The Traditions Club at Texas A&M in Bryan, Texas, will host 132 boys and girls, ages 12-18, for the third year in a row.

Past champions of this event have gone on to succeed at the collegiate and professional levels. Bronson Burgoon, a member of Texas A&M’s 2009 NCAA championship squad, won in 2005, while Lucas Glover won this event in 1997, 12 years before his U.S. Open victory. In the Girls Division, past champions include Morgan Pressel (2004), Cristie Kerr (1995) and Kellee Booth (1992, 1993).

In 2009, siblings Curtis and Alexis Thompson of Coral Springs, Fla., captured the Boys and Girls Division titles. Curtis used a final-round 70 to extend his second-round lead and capture his first AJGA Open title with a 3-under-par total. Alexis successfully defended her title and fired a bogey-free 66 in the final round, which allowed her to cruise to a seven-shot victory.

A portion of the 132-player field will be reserved for players earning entry via the K12 Qualifier, which will be held Wednesday, March 31. K12 Qualifiers give juniors an opportunity to "play their way in" to coinciding AJGA Open tournaments or earn a Tournament Exemption or Performance Star for a future event. The K12 Qualifier Series offers opportunities for AJGA juniors at approximately 50 AJGA Open events.

The tournament practice round will take place Thursday, April 1, and the first and second rounds will take place Friday, April 2, and Saturday, April 3. The fields will be cut following the second round. The final round will take place Sunday, April 4, with tee times running from 8:15-10:12 a.m. An awards ceremony will take place immediately after Sunday’s final round. Spectators are welcome and admission is free of charge.

The American Junior Golf Association is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to the overall growth and development of young men and women who aspire to earn college golf scholarships through competitive junior golf. The largest Association of its kind, the AJGA has an annual junior membership (boys and girls ages 12-18) of more than 5,000 junior golfers from 49 states and more than 30 foreign countries.

Titleist, the AJGA's National Sponsor, has been the catalyst and driving force behind the Association's success since 1989. Rolex Watch USA, which is in its third decade of AJGA support, became the inaugural AJGA Premier Partner in 2004. In 2007, after 12 years of support, Polo Ralph Lauren became the AJGA's second Premier Partner.

AJGA alumni have risen to the top of amateur, collegiate and professional golf. More than 200 former AJGA juniors currently play on the PGA and LPGA Tours and have compiled more than 350 wins. AJGA alumni include Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Jim Furyk, Stewart Cink, Davis Love III, Cristie Kerr, Pat Hurst, Paula Creamer, Brittany Lincicome, Morgan Pressel and Julieta Granada.

For more information, please contact Chris Richards (crichards@ajga.org) in the AJGA Communications Department at (678) 425-1789 or visit the AJGA Web site at ajga.org.