Around the Green

The Woodlands Set to Host 90th Texas State Junior Championship presented by Merrill Lynch

DALLAS—One of the country’s oldest and largest state junior competitions, the Texas State Junior Championship, moves to The Woodlands Country Club on July 25-29, 2016, after being hosted by Horseshoe Bay Resort the previous six years.

“Horseshoe Bay has been a great host the past six years,” said LJT Director of Operations Kellen Kubasak. “We felt it was time to move the Championship to a different part of the state and challenge the players with a different venue. The Woodlands Country Club will be a great host for the 90th edition of our Texas State Junior Championship.”

The 90th Texas State Junior Championship, presented by Merrill Lynch, is being held at The Woodlands Country Club’s Tournament Course and Panther Trail. The Boys 15-18 Division will be played at the Tournament Course, while the Girls 15-18, the Boys 14 & Under and the Girls 14 & Under Divisions will compete on Panther Trail.

The Boys and Girls 15-18 Divisions will play 54 holes of stroke play, with a cut following the second round in both divisions. The Boys and Girls 14 & Under divisions will each play 36 holes of stroke play. The Boys and Girls 14 & Under divisions will play July 25-26, the Girls 15-18 division will play July 25-27 and the Boys 15-18 division will play July 27-29.

The Championship is open to residents of Texas. Players do not need to be a member of the Texas Junior Golf Alliance to play, but they must fit the LJT eligibility requirements. In the Boys 15-18 division, players will need to qualify through one of 12 qualifiers across the state unless exempt through one of several different categories. In the Girls 15-18 division and Boys and Girls 14 & Under divisions, The LJT Priority Entry System will be used to determine the field.

The Texas State Junior Championship opens for registration April 4 at 9 a.m. CT. Players can sign up for the event through the Legends Junior Tour’s website, www.TXGA.org/ljt-homepage.html. Championship registration will close June 13 at 5 p.m. CT.

The festivities for each division begin with a banquet on the official practice round day, the night before the first round kicks off. There will also be a guest speaker at each banquet. Past champions of this event include Ben Crenshaw, Bruce Lietzke, Jeff Maggert, Stratton Nolen, Will Griffin, Angela Stanford, Annika Clark and Courtney Dow.

The championship serves as a “Major Championship” on the Legends Junior Tour along with The Byron Nelson Junior Championship, the George Hannon Junior Invitational, the Texas Girls’ Invitational and the Texas Cup Invitational.

Player of the Year points are doubled for this event, and players have a chance to earn Performance Stars on the AJGA circuit. The top five finishers in the Boys 15-18 Division and top three in the Girls 15-18 Division earn fully exempt status. The Top 25 in the Boys 15-18 Division and the top 15 in the Girls 15-18 Division earn stars. To view the full list, click here.

To learn more about the 90th Texas State Junior Championship presented by Merrill Lynch, click here.