Around the Green

Texas Girls' Invitational Moves to Crown Colony Country Club

DALLAS — The Texas Girls’ Invitational moves to Crown Colony Country Club for the first time in its seven-year history. This girls-only event is scheduled to play 36 holes of stroke play competition on Sept. 23-24.

Conducted by the Legends Junior Tour, the Texas Girls’ Invitational was modeled after the Byron Nelson Junior Championship and the Texas Cup Invitational. The tournament has taken on its own identity and quickly become a favorite among girls on the LJT schedule. The tournament began in 2010 with only 12 participants and has now grown into an invitation-only field of 72 girls that was chosen from 24 different exemption categories.

The championship has spent the last five years at Bentwater Yacht & Country Club. Before that it was at Glenloch Pines in 2011 and High Meadow Ranch in 2010. Crown Colony CC is hosting its first LJT since the 2009 Jackie Burke Cup. The course is nestled in the heart of the Pineywoods of East Texas and was designed by Robert von Hagge and Bruce Devlin.

Dallas’ Hailey Jones won last year’s tournament with an overall score of 3-under 141. Jones made 10 birdies in 36 holes and finished five strokes ahead of the field. Jones is the two-time defending Girls 12-18 Player of the Year and currently leads the standings for 2017 heading into the Texas State Junior Championship.

The 2017 champion will have her name engraved on the ‘Nez Muhleman trophy. Inez “Nez” Muhleman of Houston is known for her dedication to junior golf. Muhleman never missed a Girls national championship until she retired in 2010. In 2011, she received the USGA Joe Dey Award, which is the organization’s highest honor for volunteerism, for her service to the game and for establishing the Junior Girls’ Travel Fund to help young Texans afford travel expenses to the U.S. Girls’ Junior.

Past champions of this girls-only event include Kaci McCartan, Lakareber Abe, Maddie McCrary, Vanessa Ha, Jaravee Boonchant and Anne Chen. This is the final “Major” tournament for the girls on the Legends Junior Tour.

The championship is Junior Golf Scoreboard and Golfweek ranked and offers numerous AJGA Performance Stars to the top finishers. The winner will earn an invitation into the 2017 Kathy Whitworth Invitational.

For more information on the Texas Girls’ Invitational, visit the Legends Junior Tour page at www.txga.org.