LJT Spring Preview heads to Historic Cedar Crest Golf Course Feb. 24-25

ADDISON – The Legend’s Junior Tour Spring Preview heads to Cedar Crest Golf Course on Feb 24-25 for the first time in its 19-year history.

 “We are excited to bring this popular event to a great course,” shared Tournament Coordinator Preston Vinzant. “The kids are going to play a great layout which has an incredible history. A lot of golfers know about Cedar Crest, and we can’t wait to introduce these kids to the history behind it.” 

 The Spring Preview is an 84-player field across three age groups. The high-talent field will compete over 36 holes of stroke play and add their name to a great list of winners. Previous winners of the Tournament include Will Zalatoris, Cole Hammer, Anne Chen, Hailee Cooper, Cole Sherwood, and Andrew Petruzzelli. 

 Cedar Crest Golf Course is located in South Dallas and opened in 1919. The former Country Club that turned public in 1946 was designed by A.W. Tillinghast who also is the creator behind Texas courses such as Brook Hollow GC, Brackenridge Park,  Dallas CC, Lakewood CC, Colonial CC, and Oak Hills CC. The course hosted the 1927 PGA Championship won by 11-time major winner Walter Hagen. The course also hosted the Dallas Open in 1926 won by Macdonald Smith and the USGA Public Links Championship in 1954. The course built a new clubhouse in 2001 and the course was eventually renovated in 2004 by D.A. Weinberg. The course remains a favorite amongst Metroplex golfers.

 Cedar Crest Golf Course is the creator behind the “I Am a Golfer Foundation”. Established in 2018, IAMGF’s mission is to be a “Catalyst for community renewal and transformation in South Dallas through Programming, Preservation, and Promotion”.  IAMGF has engaged over 650 areas of youth in instructional programming, created and hosted over 90 paid internships, and awarded more than $300,000 in college and higher education scholarships. For more info on the IAMGF click here. 

 In last year’s event at the Golf Club at Texas A&M, Andrew Petruzzelli of Dallas won the Boys 15-18 Division with a 13-under 129. Shyla Brown of Dallas won in a playoff against Maelynn Kim of Katy in the Girls 12-18 division with an even-par 142 total. Henry Jackson of Lantana won the boys’ 14&U division with a three-over-par 145.  

 The Boys 15-18 Division winner will receive exemptions into The Texas Cup Invitational, Bluebonnet Championship, Byron Nelson Jr., Texas Junior Amateur, George Hannon Jr, and the Texas Jr. Golf Alliance. The Boys 14& Under winner will receive exemptions into the Bluebonnet Championship, George Hannon Jr., and TX Jr. Golf Alliance. The Girls 12-18 Division winner will receive exemptions into the Bluebonnet Championship, George Hannon Jr., Tx Jr. Golf Alliance, and the 16^th Texas Girls Invitational.  

Petruzzelli, Brown and Jackson Win at Spring Preview

College Station, Texas – Andrew Petruzzelli fired a blistering 8-under par 63 in the Final Round to win the Spring Preview’s Boys 15-18 Division at The Golf Club at Texas A&M. Shyla Brown captured the Girls 12-18 Division, winning in a four-hole playoff while Henry Jackson won in the Boys 14 & Under Division.

Winners: Dallas’s Petruzzelli trailed by two strokes heading into Sunday’s Final Round. He finished with rounds of 66-63 to get to 13-under 129 overall and three strokes ahead of the field. Andrews’ round came together on the back nine as he fired a 7-under par 29 coming in.  The almost course record 63 was an amazing score as the leaders fought 20-30 mph winds throughout their round.  Shyla Brown of Dallas captured the Girls 12-18 Division winning in a 4-hole playoff over Maelynn Kim. She overcame a rough mid round stretch to claim her first LJT victory in her first start. Henry Jackson of Lantana won the Boys 14 & Under Division holding onto his first round lead and claiming his 2^nd LJT victory. Roberts finished the tournament at 3-over par 145.

Top Finishers: Austin’s Trenton Mierl followed up his first round 64 with a final round 68 to finish second behind Petruzzelli by 3 strokes. Katy’s Shauak Nair matched the low score of the day with an 8-under par 63 of his own to climb the leaderboard all the way up to third place.  First round leader, The Woodland’s Austin Hofferkamp fought through an illness and held on for a 4^th place at 6-under par.  Montgomery’s Tyler Sanford finished up his tournament in 5^th place after a final round 5-under par 66. In the Girls 12-18 Division, Katy’s Maelynn Kim finished runner-up in the Spring Preview for the second straight year.  Maelynn started the day 3 shots behind the first round leader Brown.  That deficit quickly turned into 6 shots through the first 3 holes, but Maelynn fought back to post a final round 72 to force the 4-hole sudden-death playoff. The Woodland’s Veronika Exposito finished third finishing at 4 over par for the tournament.  Austin’s Claire Wan and Mansfield’s Lauren Madson finished in a tie for 4^th at 5-over par. In the Boys 14 & Under Division, College Station’s Ryan (Woojin) Lee finished second, one shot behind Jackson and Austin’s Dylan Knox finished third, two shots behind the leader.  Selma’s Aadi Parmar finished fourth at 6-over with Prosper’s Grant Clapp rounding out the top 5 at 8-over par.

Weather: Sunday’s weather started with temperatures in the mid-60s and calm winds.  Conditions would quickly change by the time the leaders teed off as the temperature rose into the low 80’s and the calm wind transformed into very gusty conditions with winds topping of over 30 mph at times.

Host Course: The Golf Club at Texas A&M is hosting the Spring Preview for the second time in the event’s 18-year history. The club took on a $5 million renovation in 2013 and Texas A&M’s own Jeff Blume handled the redesign. The par-71 course is playing at around 6,700 yards in the Boys 15-18 Division, 6,300 yards in the Boys 14 & Under Division and 5,800 yards in the Girls 12-18 Division.

Tournament History: The Spring Preview has been played every year since its inception in 2006. Past champions of this event include William Zalatoris, Maddie Szeryk, Stratton Nolen, Brad Dalke, Nathan Weant, Brendan Redfern, Travis Vick, Julia Beck, Cole Hammer, Hailee Cooper, Kyle Hogan, Turner Hosch and Hanna Alberto.

Next Up: The Legends Junior Tour heads to Gladewater on March 13-15 for the Texas Cup Invitational. Tempest Golf Club is hosting the first Boys Major event in 2023 and the 84-player field will be set on March 2.

To see all the scores from the Spring Preview, click here. For more information on the LJT Spring Preview, click here.

Hofferkamp, Mierl, Brown, and Jackson lead at Spring Preview

College Station, Texas – Trenton Mierl and Austin Hofferkamp both fire a 7-under par 64 in the opening round of the Spring Preview to lead the Boys 15-18 Division at The Golf Club at Texas A&M. Shyla Brown leads the Girls 12-18 Division at 4–under par 67, while Henry Jackson leads the Boys 14 & Under Division at 2–under par 69. 

Leaders: Mierl of Austin and Hofferkamp of The Woodlands tied for the best round on Saturday at The Golf Club at Texas A&M. Mierl’s round consisted of seven birdies and zero bogeys, while Hofferkamps scorecard had a little bit of everything. He tallied a total of one eagle, seven birdies, and two bogeys. Dallas’s Brown leads by three strokes in the Girls 12-18 Division after shooting 67 in the first round. Brown had a clean card with no bogeys and 4 birdies, with her last one coming on her final hole of the day, the par 4 ninth.  Jackson of Lantana leads the Boys 14 & Under Division by two strokes after shooting a 2-under par 69. He tallied three birdies and one lone bogey, coming on the par 4 16th. 

In Contention: Andrew Petruzzelli of Dallas sits two strokes behind Mierl and Hofferkamp heading into Sunday’s final round of the Boys 15-18 Division. Rounding out the top 5 include Wimblery’s Jaxon Donaldson and Dallas’s Martin Kemp at 4-under par, three strokes off the lead. Two players are tied for second place in the Girls 15-18 Division. Maelynn Kim and Veronika Exposito will play with Brown in the final ground, sitting three strokes back. In the Boys 14 & Under Division, Ryan (Woojin) Lee and Dylan Knox are tied for second at even par, while there is a three-way tie for fourth place. Declan Dent, Grant Clapp, and Aadi Parmar all sit at one-over par, three strokes off the lead.  

Weather: The morning started off chilly with cloudy skies, temperatures in the 50’s and a brisk wind. As the sun came out, temperatures crept up around 80 degrees in the afternoon with 10 mph winds. 

Host Course: The Golf Club at Texas A&M is hosting the Spring Preview for the second time in the event’s 18-year history. The club took on a $5 million renovation in 2013 and Texas A&M’s own Jeff Blume handled the redesign. The par-71 course is playing at around 6,700 yards in the Boys 15-18 Division, 6,300 yards in the Boys 14 & Under Division and 5,800 yards in the Girls 12-18 Division. 

What’s at Stake: This is the third Open Event on the LJT schedule in 2023 and player of the year points are going to be awarded to the top half of each division. Along with points, the top finishers will get AJGA Stars and exemptions into future LJT Majors like the Bluebonnet Championship, Veritex Bank Byron Nelson Junior Championship and Texas Junior Amateur. The event is ranked by Junior Golf Scoreboard and Golfweek. 

Next Up:  Pairings for the Final Round of the Spring Preview are available and can be viewed by clicking here. Players will be teeing off of both #1 and #10 tees between 8:00 AM and 10:00 AM. 

To see all the scores from Saturday’s first round, click here. For more information on the LJT Spring Preview, click here. 

Gilbert, Slaughter and Mierl Win Spring Preview

Lake Jackson, Texas – Jack Gilbert of Houston wins the Spring Preview at The Wilderness Golf Club in playoff fashion with a birdie on the par-4 18^th. Zoe Slaughter of Houston fired a 3-under 69 to win the Girls 12-18 Division by two strokes, while Trenton Mierl of Austin posts consecutive rounds under par to win the Boys 14 & Under Division.

Leaderboard:

Boys 15-18 Division

*Won on first playoff hole with birdie

Girls 12-18 Division

Boys 14 & Under Division

Full Leaderboard

Leaders: The Boys 15-18 Division went to a sudden death playoff that ended on the first playoff hole, the par-4 18^th, when Gilbert made birdie to claim his first LJT Boys 15-18 Division win. He made five birdies with one lone bogey on Sunday bringing his total up to eight birdies and two bogeys over 36 holes. After leading the Girls 12-18 Division by one stroke, Slaughter found herself down one stroke with three holes to play. As she did all weekend, she remained calm and steady shooting 1-under during her final three holes to win. With a 1-under 71 in the final round, Mierl posted consecutive rounds under par to win the Boys 14 & Under Division by 3 strokes and his win of the 2020 season. He carded four birdies during his final round, three of which came on his second nine.

In Contention: In the Boys 15-18 Division, Austin’s Drew Wagner came up one putt short when he made par on the first playoff hole. Wagner posted consecutive rounds of 3-under 69 for the championship finishing at 6-under overall. League City’s Jacob Salazar finished in solo third after shooting even-par 72 on Sunday and finishing at 3-under-par. Houston’s Tyler Gardner finished fourth, while Lake Jackson’s own Jacob Borow finished fifth. Shreveport’s Burke Alford and Richardson’s Luke Eckholm tied for sixth and Kingwood’s Brooks Pawlak finished solo eighth.
In the Girls 12-18 Division, Jacqueline Nguyen of Houston and Eubin Shim of Waco finished tied for second at 3-under-par 141. Reagan Gray of Missouri City finished fourth at even-par total, while Amelia Guo rounded out the top-5 at 3-over-par.
In the Boys 14 & Under Division, Daniel Zou of The Woodlands carded rounds of 73-70 to finish second and three shots back of Mierl at 1-under-par 143. The Woodlands’ Austin Hofferkamp finished third, while San Antonio’s Levi Keith finished fourth. Rhett O’Rear of Plano and Bowen Ballis of Shenandoah finished tied for fifth.

Course: This year’s Spring Preview is the first time The Wilderness Golf Club is hosting the Legends Junior Tour. Roughly 60 miles south of Houston, the course was designed by Jeffrey Brauer bringing golf and nature together. The course features a naturally rolling terrain nestled in the wetlands of Lake Jackson.

Weather: Sunday’s final round started of overcast with light rain and temperatures in the low 70s. The sun got up in the skies for a beautiful afternoon with temperatures in the low 80s and wind gusts up to 12 mph.

About the LJT: The Legends Junior Tour is part of the Texas Junior Golf Alliance, which is a joint venture between the Texas Golf Association, Northern and Southern PGA and Houston Golf Association. The tour operates as part of the Texas Golf Association and its foundation. Since its inception in 2005, the tour has provided funds to promote junior golf initiatives while conducting some of the state’s top junior championships including the Veritex Bank Byron Nelson Junior Championship, Texas Junior Amateur and the Texas Girls’ Invitational as well as the Texas Cup Invitational.

What’s Next: The Bluebonnet Championship is the next stop for the Legends Junior Tour in Brownwood. Brownwood Country Club has hosted the Bluebonnet Championship since the tour took it over in 2006. The championship will be conducted May 2-3.
For more information on the Spring Preview, visit the tournament homepage by clicking here.

Salazar and Wagner Fire 69 and Lead Spring Preview

Lake Jackson, Texas – Jacob Salazar and Drew Wagner posted a 3-under par 69 in the first round of the Spring Preview and lead the Boys 15-18 Division at The Wilderness Golf Club. Trenton Mierl leads the Boys 14 & Under Division, while Zoe Slaughter is atop the Girls 12-18 Division.

Leaderboard:
Boys 15-18 Division

Girls 12-18 Division

Boys 14 & Under Division

Full Leaderboard

Leaders: League City’s Salazar and Austin’s Wagner both posted scores of 3-under during the first round of the Spring Preview. Salazar, who started on the par-5 tenth, got off to a strong start with six pars and three birdies on 12, 14 and 17. After making the turn Salazar found trouble early when he made double bogey on the par-5 second. He quickly bounced back with three birdies in his next five holes before making bogey on the par-3 eight, getting him back to even for the side, and 3-under for the round. Wagner also started his round on the par-5 tenth and birdied his first three holes. He had one more birdie before the turn on the par-5 fifteenth to make the turn at 4-under. Wanger’s second nine got interesting when he started bogey, eagle, bogey. His eagle came on the par-5 second. He finished the round with a birdie on 7 and a double bogey on 8 to get him to 1-over on the side, 3-under for the round. Both are tied atop the leaderboard in the Boys 15-18 Division. In the Girls 12-18 Division, Zoe Slaughter leads by one after an opening round 2-under 70. The highlight of her round came when she made eagle on the par-5 second, and birdie on the par-4 fifth. After making the turn at 3-under, Zoe gave one back on the par-5 fifteenth when she made bogey. She finished the nine at 1-over and round at 2-under. In the Boys 14 & Under Division, Mierl again finds himself in the lead after posting the only under-par round in the division. He got momentum going early when he made an eagle on the par-5 second before making a bogey on the par-4 third. Mierl regained his momentum before making the turn when he birdied the par-4 ninth to turn at 2-under. The momentum was carried into his second nine with birdies on 11, 12 and 14. He closed his round with a double bogey on the par-4 eighteenth to finish with a 3-under 69.

In Contention: In the Boys 15-18 Division, Houston’s Jack Gilbert sits alone in third at 2-under 70, while Houston’s Rex Hargrove is in solo fourth at 1-under 71. Three players are tied in fifth at even-par 72. In the Girls 12-18, Waco’s Eubin Shim and Missouri City’s Reagan Gray are tied for second and one stroke back at 1-under 71. Jacqueline Nguyen is in solo fourth at even-par 72, two strokes back of the leader. In the Boys 14 & Under Division, Daniel Zou of The Woodlands is four shots back in solo second at 1-over 73. San Antonio’s Levi Keith and The Woodlands’ Austin Hofferkamp are tied for third at 2-over 74.

Course: This year’s Spring Preview is the first time The Wilderness Golf Club is hosting the Legends Junior Tour. Roughly 60 miles south of Houston, the course was designed by Jeffrey Brauer bringing golf and nature together. The course features a naturally rolling terrain nestled in the wetlands of Lake Jackson.

Weather: Saturday’s first round consisted of cloudy skies for a majority of the day with temperatures in the mid to high 70s. The sun shinned periodically in the afternoon with winds up to 13 mph.

About the LJT: The Legends Junior Tour is part of the Texas Junior Golf Alliance, which is a joint venture between the Texas Golf Association, Northern and Southern PGA and Houston Golf Association. The tour operates as part of the Texas Golf Association and its foundation. Since its inception in 2005, the tour has provided funds to promote junior golf initiatives while conducting some of the state’s top junior championships including the Veritex Bank Byron Nelson Junior Championship, Texas Junior Amateur and the Texas Girls’ Invitational as well as the Texas Cup Invitational.

What’s Next: The Final Round of the Spring Preview is scheduled for Sunday, March 15^th with tee times going off the No. 1 and 10 tees. To see pairings for the final round, click here. For more information on the Spring Preview, visit the tournament homepage by clicking here.