Around the Green

Bluebonnet Championship Set for 15th Year

DALLAS – The Legends Junior Tour gets back into action with the Bluebonnet Championship, which returns to Brownwood Country Club for its 15^th year on May 21-22.

The 36-hole stroke play championship features 132 golfers who will compete on the par-72 course that stretches to 6,227 yards for the boys and 5,748 yards for the girls. Players will compete in three separate divisions, Boys 15-18, Girls 12-18 and Boys 14 & Under.

The Bluebonnet Championship was started by Brownwood businessman Bart Johnson in 2001. The tournament has an impressive list of past champions that include PGA Tour winner Patrick Reed, Brett Spencer, Cody Gribble, Cory Whitsett and Stratton Nolen. After not being held in 2006, the Legends Junior Tour took control of the tournament in 2007 and it has consistently produced one of the largest, and strongest fields of the year.

Last year, Houston’s Cole Hammer won the Boys 15-18 Division by two strokes over Carrollton’s Kyle Cox. Hammer recorded two LJT victories in 2015 and competed in the U.S. Open Championship at Chambers Bay. In the Boys 14 & Under Division, Junmin Lee’s 67 in the final round earned the Mission native a two stroke win over Dallas’ Turner Hosch. Conroe’s Greta Bruner won the Girls 12-18 Division at even-par 144. Bruner posted rounds of 71-73 to win by four strokes over Katy Rutherford of Katy.

The Bluebonnet Championship serves as a qualifier for the IMG Academy Junior World Championships in California on July 10-15. The top finishers in each Junior World Championships age division will earn exemptions. A total of six players, three boys and three girls, will gain entry into the event in San Diego. Players will automatically be placed in the correct divisions.

This championship is ranked by both Junior Golf Scoreboard and Golfweek and is the last chance for boys to earn exemptions into the 2016 Byron Nelson Junior Championship, which is being held at Lakewood Country Club in Dallas on June 27-30. Competitors gain points towards the College Golf Camps Points List, AJGA Stars and exemptions into future LJT Invitationals like the Texas State Junior, the Texas Cup, The Texas Girls’ Invitational and the George Hannon Junior Invitational.

For more information about the 15^th annual Bluebonnet Championship at Brownwood Country Club, CLICK HERE.