Around the Green

Bluebonnet Championship Set for its 19th Year

BROWNWOOD – The Legends Junior Tour continues its tradition of hosting the annual Bluebonnet Championship after rescheduling the premier junior tournament from its original May 2-3 dates to Sept. 26-27. Despite being postponed to the fall due to the COVID-19 outbreak, the championship returns to Brownwood Country Club and will host 120 of the best juniors in Texas.

“Brownwood Country Club has always been an amazing host for the Bluebonnet Championship and didn’t hesitate to help us find a new weekend in the fall when we were unable to play in May,” Legends Junior Tour Tournament Director Kevin Porter said. “This has always been one of the most competitive and fun events each year and the LJT is thrilled to keep it on the 2020 schedule.”

The Bluebonnet Championship was started by Brownwood businessman Bart Johnson in 2001 and has been be played at Brownwood Country Club since its inception. The par-72 course was designed by Leon Howard and opened in 1929. It features an open layout that gives players ample opportunities at making low scores. However, the greens can be challenging and guard against a lack of focus. The 36-hole championship features three separate divisions: Boys 15-18, Girls 12-18 and Boys 14 & Under.

Last year, Brody Hanley of Lantana carded rounds of 68-66 to post 10-under-par 134 and tie Jackson Davenport of Austin through 36 holes. Hanley carded a birdie on the first sudden-death playoff hole to capture the Boys 15-18 Division title. In the Girls 12-18 Division, MacKenzie Moore of Trophy Club edged out three-time LJT Player of the Year Hailey Jones as well as top-ranked junior Calynne Rosholt by two strokes with rounds of 68-73. Moore will look to defend her title this year and win back-to-back LJT events following her victory at the North Texas Classic earlier this month.

In the Boys 14 & Under Division, Trenton Mierl of Austin is also seeking to defend his 2019 title and win back-to-back LJT tournaments. Like Moore, he recently claimed the North Texas Classic by four strokes after posting 10-under-par 134 through 36 holes.

Hanley, Moore and Mierl are just a few of the decorated past champions of this prestigious junior championship. The impressive list of past Bluebonnet Championship winners includes two PGA Tour winners, Patrick Reed and Cody Gribble, as well as 2020 PGA Tour Rookie of the Year Scottie Scheffler, Brett Spencer, Cory Whitsett, Charles Kim, Cooper Dossey, Maddie Szeryk, Greta Bruner 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.

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 2021 Veritex Bank Byron Nelson Junior Championship and the 95th Texas Junior Amateur. The winners of the Boys 14 & Under Division and the Girls 12-18 Division will each earn an exemption into the 2020 Texas Junior Golf Alliance Invitational and 2021 George Hannon Junior Invitational.

Along with rankings on the Legends Junior Tour, the top finishers in each division will earn AJGA stars based on their finishes.

For more information about the Bluebonnet Championship, click here.