Around the Green

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

Lanny Wadkins Junior Championship Moves to Oakmont CC

ADDISONThe Lanny Wadkins Junior Championship is set to head to Oakmont Country Club in Corinth on July 12-13. This will be the fourth event this summer for the Legends Junior Tour and the last event before the 95th Texas Junior Amateur.

“We’re looking forward to bringing the Lanny Wadkins Junior Championship to Oakmont Country Club for the first time,” said Tournament Director Adam Schulte. “The course is a great championship layout that should provide a solid challenge for all and produce a great group of champions.”

Oakmont Country Club was opened in 1986 and designed by Roger Packard with consulting from Don January. The par-72 layout stretches out to 6,800 yards and the Bermuda greens and champion Bermuda fairways will offer a nice test to the 120-player field.

The Lanny Wadkins Junior Championship is a 36-hole stroke play event with players competing in three different divisions. There is a Boys 15-18 Division, a Boys 14 & Under Division and a Girls 12-18 Division. Players are required to have an active membership within the Texas Junior Golf Alliance. The alliance is a joint venture between the Texas Golf Association, Northern Texas PGA, Southern Texas PGA and Houston Golf Association.

“The Texas Junior Golf Alliance does a great job of helping players map out their junior golfing careers,” said Legends Junior Tour staffer Kevin Porter. “The Lanny Wadkins Junior Championship offers a great opportunity for players to start competing on a state-wide level versus a regional level.”

Now in it’s 13th year, the Lanny Wadkins Junior Championship has been named after the Hall of Fame golfer since 2008. Wadkins won the 1970 U.S. Amateur Championship and turned professional the following year. He compiled 21 victories on the PGA Tour, including the 1977 PGA Championship at Pebble Beach and The Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass in 1979. He was a perennial member of the U.S. Ryder Cup team, playing on eight teams and winning 20 matches and 21.5 points.

Matthew Watkins of Heath won last year’s Boys 15-18 Division at Brookhaven Country Club’s Masters Course. His 6-under score was two strokes better than Seth Bearden of Crowell and three strokes ahead of Plano’s Matthew Comegys, who would go on to win player of the year honors in the division.

Austin’s Farah O’Keefe won the Girls 12-18 Division by one stroke. O’Keefe just recently competed in the LPGA’s Volunteers of America Classic after qualifying through the Texas Junior Golf Alliance. Dallas’ Nathan Miller won the Boys 14 & Under Division at 3-under 141 overall.

Other past champions include Sam Rosenberg, Blaine Hale Jr., Matthew Zampello, Travis McInroe, Ryan Grider, Pierceson Coody, Grace Do, Amber Wang and Callie Scheffler.

This is the final LJT event before the 240-player Texas Junior Amateur, which returns to the Clubs of Kingwood on July 26-28. The top three finishers of each division will earn an exemption into the 95th Texas Junior Amateur.

Along with exemptions into future LJT Major and Invitational event, players are competing for AJGA Performance Stars as well as LJT Player of the Year Points. The Lanny Wadkins Junior Championship is ranked by Junior Golf Scoreboard as well as Golfweek.

Pairings for the First Round will be available on Friday, July 9, and tee times for Monday’s first round will begin at 7:30 am off the No. 1 and 10 tees. The tournament will be in two waves with the Boys 15-18 Division going off in the morning and the Girls 12-18 and the Boys 14 & Under Divisions going in the afternoon. The final round pairings will be sent out following Monday’s play and the divisions will flip.

For more information about the Lanny Wadkins Junior Championship, click here.