Around the Green

Lanny Wadkins Junior Championship Returns to Gentle Creek CC

DALLAS – For the fourth straight year, the Lanny Wadkins Junior Championship will be held at Gentle Creek Country Club in Prosper, Texas. The field of more than 100 players will take on the par-72 layout on August 8-9.  
 
Lanny Wadkins won the 1970 U.S. Amateur Championship and turned professional the following year. He went on to win the 1977 PGA Championship at Pebble Beach in a three-hole sudden-death playoff against Gene Littler. It was the first ever sudden-death playoff for the event. Wadkins also won The Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass in 1979. He was a perennial member of the U.S. Ryder Cup team, playing on eight teams, and winning 20 matches and 21.5 points. Lanny Wadkins was elected to the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2009.
 
This year’s field is split into three divisions: Boys 15-18, Girls 12-18 and Boys 14 & Under. The championship is one of two remaining open events on the Legends Junior Tour schedule. Past champions include Sam Rosenberg, Blaine Hale Jr., Matthew Zampello, Travis McInroe, Ryan Grider, Pierceson Coody, Grace Do, Amber Wang and Callie Scheffler.
 
Last year’s event saw Dallas’ Peridon Castille shoot 5-under 67 in the final round to win by one stroke in the Boys 15-18 Division. Castille made five birdies and an eagle in his final 18 holes to finish 8-under overall. Kingwood’s Damin Strydom won the Boys 14 & Under Division after his round of 9-under 63 on Tuesday. Strydom played a sensational bogey-free final round with an ace on the 139-yard 15^th hole. Dallas’ Hailey Jones posted rounds of 72-67 to win by three strokes in the Girls 12-18 Division. Like last year, Jones is coming off a win at the Texas State Junior Championship last week. Jones has three wins on tour already this season.
 
LJT and AJGA tournament exemptions will be given out to the top performers. The Boys 15-18 winner will receive exemptions into the LJT’s most prestigious events, including the Texas Cup Invitational, the Byron Nelson Junior Championship, and the George Hannon Junior Invitational. The winner will also receive 12 AJGA performance Stars, the top 5 will receive 8 Performance Stars and the top 10 will receive 4 performance stars. The Girls 12-18 division winner will receive 12 performance stars and the top 3 will receive 8 performance stars as well as an exemption into the Texas Girls’ Invitational. 
 
Gentle Creek Country Club is carved into the gently rolling terrain and meanders through manicured fairways and wooded countryside. The parkland style course was designed by PGA Tour professional D.A. Weibring and features picturesque water hazards and large TifEagle Bermuda grass greens.
 
For more information about the Lanny Wadkins Junior Championship, click here.
 
About Legends Junior Tour
The Legends Junior Tour is part of the Texas Junior Golf Alliance, a joint venture between the Texas Golf Association, Northern and Southern Texas PGA and Houston Golf Association. The Tour operates as part of the Texas Golf Association and its Foundation, a 501(c)(3) organization. Since its inception in 2005, the Tour has provided over $250,000 to promote junior golf initiatives and exposure to the game to those who might not otherwise have the opportunity across the state. The Legends Junior Tour is home to such prestigious events as the Byron Nelson Junior Championship, Texas Cup Invitational, Jackie Burke Cup and Texas State Junior Championship.