Around the Green

Winter Classic Returns to Dallas Athletic Club

DALLAS – For the sixth straight year, the Winter Classic will be the first event on the Legends Junior Tour Schedule and the field has been one of the top-ranked LJT events each year.

Dallas Athletic Club is hosting the Winter Classic for the 10^th straight year and the tournament will be contested on the Blue Course. Ralph Plummer originally designed the layout of the Blue Course before Jack Nicklaus, who won the 1963 PGA Championship held at Dallas Athletic Club, remodeled the course in 1984. The par-72 layout of the Blue Course stretches out to 6,922 yards.

The 84-player field is divided into three different divisions: Boys 15-18, Boys 14 & Under and Girls 12-18. Players eligible for the tournament have an active membership with the Texas Junior Golf Alliance and have earned their way into the field by way of the LJT Priority Entry Status.

Prosper’s Matthew Griggs won the Boys 15-18 Division last year after a four-hole playoff versus Granbury’s Jake Holbrook. Lubbock’s Logan Vargas won the Boys 14 & Under Division, while Austin’s Kaylee Vesely won the Girls 12-18 Division. Other past champions of this event include Brad Dalke, Cole Hammer, Brandon Smith, Annika Clark, Hailey Jones, Grace Choi and Sadie Englemann.

The Winter Classic is the first of nine open events on the Legends Junior Tour. The open events are open for any member of the Texas Junior Golf Alliance, which is made up of the NTPGA, STPGA and the HGA. Players earn entry into the open events through their play on the LJT and in the Texas Junior Golf Alliance events.

Open events are also the best way to earn exemptions into LJT Major events like the Texas Cup Invitational, Texas Girls’ Invitational, Byron Nelson Junior Championship and the Texas Junior Amateur. Along with the four major events on the schedule there are four Invitational events like the Bluebonnet Championship, the Collegiate Preview, the George Hannon Junior Invitational and the newest event on the schedule, the Texas Junior Golf Alliance Invitational.

Tee times will begin Saturday at 8:00 am off the No. 1 and No. 10 tees with the Final round taking place on Sunday Jan. 21. For more information on the Winter Classic or the Legends Junior Tour, click here.

About the 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 more than $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 Junior Amateur.