Around the Green

The latest golf-related news, notes, and feature stories from the TGA.

Jimmy Demaret Junior Classic Hits 10th Year

DALLAS— The LJT Jimmy Demaret Junior Classic moves back to The Hills Country Club on March 15-16 and is the fifth tournament thus far in 2018. The Live Oak Course is hosting the event for the first time.

The event is named after one of Texas’ true golfing legends, Jimmy Demaret, who won three Masters Tournaments and 31 PGA Tour events in a career that spanned from 1935-57. He became the first three-time winner of the Masters after his victory in 1950 and was elected into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1983. The inaugural event was held at Onion Creek Club in 2008.

The tournament is scheduled for 36 holes of stroke play, 18 holes on both Thursday and Friday. The event features 84 golfers playing in three different divisions: Boys 15-18, Boys 14 & Under and the Girls 12-18 Divisions. This is the second of two tournaments during Texas’ Spring Break Week in 2018. The Collegiate Preview was the first event, held on March 12-13 at Cimarron Hills Golf & Country Club.

In addition to being ranked by Golfweek and Junior Golf Scoreboard, players compete for AJGA Performance Stars as well as exemptions into Legends Junior Tour invitational events like the Byron Nelson Junior Championship, Texas Junior Amateur, Texas Cup Invitational, and Texas Girls’ Invitational.

In the heart of the Austin Hill Country, The Hills Country Club’s Live Oak Golf Course was designed by Leon Howard and will stretch out to 6,717 yards in the Boys 15-18 Division, 6,234 yards in the Boys 14 & Under Division and 6,076 yards in the Girls 12-18 Division.

McKinney’s Jake Kuwitzky won last year’s Jimmy Demaret Junior Classic at Lakecliff Country Club. The Texas Tech commit played well through 36 holes, shooting 66-68 to get to 8-under-par overall and one stroke ahead of the field. Kuwitzky returns to the Jimmy Demaret Junior Classic in 2018 coming off a runner-up finish at the Spring Preview at BlackHorse Golf Club on March 3-4.

Sugarland’s Shaheen Momin won the Boys 14 & Under Division in 2017, shooting 66-71 to get to 5-under 137 overall and three strokes ahead of Shoichiro Kato. Austin’s Madelyn Jones won the Girls 12-18 Division after posting rounds of 66-70 to get to 136 overall and two strokes ahead of eventual Girls Player of the Year Hailey Jones of Dallas.

Other past champions of this event include Cooper Dossey, Philip Barbaree, Cole Hammer, Annika Clark, Maddie Szeryk, Tayler Termeer, Mac Meissner, Macy Fox and Libby Thomas.

Tee times are scheduled to begin at 8:30 AM on Thursday, March 15. Players will tee off the Nos. 1 & 10 tees with the last tee time coming around 10:30 AM. Pairings for the final round on Friday will be adjusted according to scores from the previous round and they will start at 8:30 AM on March 16.

For more information about the Jimmy Demaret Junior Classic, click here.