Around the Green

Bluebonnet Championship Returns for 18th Year

DALLAS – The Legends Junior Tour returns to action with the Bluebonnet Championship following a break in tournaments. The championship returns to Brownwood Country Club on May 4-5.

The 36-hole stroke play championship features 144 golfers who will compete on the par-72 course that stretches to 6,227 yards for the boys and 5,748 yards for the girls. Players will compete in three separate divisions, Boys 15-18, Girls 12-18 and Boys 14 & Under.

The Bluebonnet Championship was started by Brownwood businessman Bart Johnson in 2001. The tournament has an impressive list of past champions that includes two PGA Tour winners, Patrick Reed and Cody Gribble, and other junior golfers that have gone on to success at the next level like Brett Spencer, Cory Whitsett, Charles Kim, Cooper Dossey, Maddie Szeryk, Greta Bruner, Noah Goodwin, Scottie Scheffler and Stratton Nolen. After not being held in 2006, the Legends Junior Tour took control of the tournament in 2007 and it has consistently produced one of the largest, and strongest, fields of the year.

Luke Dossey, Kaelen Dulany and Calynne Rosholt won their divisions in last year’s Bluebonnet Championship. Dossey posted rounds of 67-69 to get to 8-under overall and win the Boys 15-18 Division, while Dulany won the Boys 14 & Under Division at 2-over 146 and Rosholt won the Girls 12-18 Division at 4-under 140.

This championship is ranked by both Junior Golf Scoreboard and Golfweek. Competitors who finish in the top half of the field will gain points towards the LJT Player of the Year Standings. The top five finishers in the Boys 15-18 Division will earn a spot in the Byron Nelson Junior Championship and the Texas Junior Amateur. The winners of the Boys 14 & Under Division and the Girls 12-18 Division will each earn an exemption into the George Hannon Junior Invitational and the Texas Junior Golf Alliance Invitational.  

Along with rankings on the Legends Junior Tour, the top finishers in each division will earn AJGA stars based on their finishes. The Bluebonnet Championship also serves as a qualifier for the IMG Academy Junior World Championships in California on July 8-12.

The top finishers in each Junior World Championships age division will earn exemptions. A total of six players, three boys and three girls, will gain entry into the event in San Diego.

Brownwood Country Club was designed by Leon Howard and opened in 1929. The course features an open layout that gives players ample opportunities at making low scores. The greens however can be challenging if you miss your spot.

Since the LJT took over the event in 2007, the champion of the Boys 15-18 Division has been under par each year with McClure Meissner getting the furthest under par at 13-under 131 in 2016. Stratton Nolen posted the best score in the Boys 14 & Under Division since 2007 at 7-under 135, while Sara Camarena and Calynne Rosholt are tied for the lowest in the Girls 12-18 Division at 4-under 140. 

For more information about the Bluebonnet Championship, click here.