Around the Green

James A. Ragan Memorial Returns to Corpus Christi Country Club

DALLAS – The Legends Junior Tour is set to head south for the fourth James A. Ragan Memorial at Corpus Christi Country Club on Feb. 18-19. This will be the second event of the 2018 schedule.

James Ragan was a former Legends Junior Tour Player that was diagnosed with a rare type of bone cancer when he was 13 years old. Ragan founded the Triumph Over Kids Cancer Foundation, which has raised more than $2 million for cancer research.

James started playing on the Legends Junior Tour in 2008 and recorded three top-25 finishes. The Corpus Christi native won the 2010 Jimmy Demaret Junior Classic and earned his way in to the prestigious Jackie Burke Cup. The same year, he was presented with the LJT’s first Sportsmanship Award and a year later the award was named after him. James passed away in February of 2014.

James played in more than 20 events on the LJT before joining the Rice University golf team, but his friendships and positive attitude were what inspired this honor.

“The Legends Junior Tour is about friendships and growing, along with competitive golf,” said Director of Operations Kellen Kubasak, “James lived his life that way and we’re here to honor him for that.”

After two years at Palmilla Beach Golf Club in Port Aransas, Texas, the James A. Ragan Memorial moved to Corpus Christi Country Club in 2017. James’ home course, Corpus Christi CC was designed by Robert Trent Jones Jr. and features 18 holes of championship golf nestled next to Corpus Christi Bay.

Last year, Corpus Christi’s own Billy Teichman won the Boys 15-18 Division after shooting 5-under 66 in the final round. Teichman played a bogey-free round on Monday to win by four strokes in an event named after one of his old friends.

“Just winning this tournament with James’ name on it is special,” Teichman said following his win. “I knew James growing up and it meant a lot to me to win in Corpus, especially at my home course and with the whole Ragan family and several TOKC people out watching.”

Richardson’s Libby Winans won the Girls 12-18 Division by two strokes over Fort Worth’s Kennedy Pedigo and Spring’s Matthew Spaulding won the Boys 14 & Under Division by one stroke. All three players join a list of past champions which include Walker Lee, who competed in the 2017 U.S. Open at Erin Hills, Hailey Jones, who is a three-time Girls 12-18 Player of the Year, McClure Meissner, Scott Roden, Damin Strydom and Ellie Szeryk.

The James A. Ragan Memorial is ranked nationally by Junior Golf Scoreboard and Golfweek. The event’s 84-player field will vie for exemptions into future LJT Invitational events like the Byron Nelson Junior Championship, the Texas Junior Amateur, The
Texas Girls’ Invitational and the Texas Cup Invitational as well as compete for AJGA Performance Stars.

The tournament starts on Sunday, Feb. 18 with tee times starting at 8:00 AM. The final round is scheduled for Monday, Feb. 19 with tee times starting at 8:00 AM. The awards ceremony will take place as soon as play is completed on Monday.

For more information about the James A. Ragan Memorial, click here. If you would like to learn more about James’ foundation, Triumph Over Kids Cancer, click here.