| by: WebMaster - 6/27/2005 7:55:33 PM |
| GOLF, Ill. (June 27, 2005) – A field of 156 of the nation’s top junior golfers will be competing July 11-15 in the 2005 Western Junior Championship, presented by TaylorMade-adidas Golf at Blythefield Country Club in Belmont, Michigan. “Blythefield will be the first club outside of Illinois to host all three Western Golf Association tournaments. Blythefield was host to the Western Amateur when Dale Morey won in 1953,” said Gabe Ottolini, Western Golf Association associate tournament director. “Arnold Palmer went on to win the Western Open there in 1961.” WGA Director Mike Morrissey will serve as WGA Western Junior chairman for the 2005 championship. The Western Junior Championship is the oldest national junior tournament in the United States and has been a testing ground for future stars, such as Tiger Woods, Fred Couples, Jim Furyk, Phil Mickelson, Jeff Maggert and Fuzzy Zoeller. The 2006 championship will be hosted by Cantigny Golf in Wheaton, Illinois and the 2007 championship will be at Waukonda Country Club in Des Moines, Iowa. For more information about the Western Junior, contact the Western Golf Association at 1 Briar Road, Golf, IL 60029, call (847) 724-4600, or visit the Western Junior Web site at www.westernjunior.com. Top players entered in the 2005 Western Junior include: Jamie Lovemark, 17, Rancho Santa Fe, California. Senior, Torrey Pines H.S. Earned two first-place finishes in back-to-back weeks in : the 2004 Western Junior Champion and AJGA Rolex Tour of Champions; runner-up in the Thunderbird International Junior. Philip Francis, 16, Scottsdale, Arizona. Junior, Laurel Springs School. First- team, Rolex All American; winner of the 22nd Annual Scott Robertson Memorial; runner-up at Western Junior Amateur, PING Phoenix Junior Amateur, and FootJoy Boys Invitational; third place, Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail Junior. Rory Hie, 16, Lakewood, California. Senior, Cerritos H.S. First-team, Rolex All American; winner of Heather Farr Classic 2004, SCPGA Toyota Tour Cup and Lennar Junior at Mission Hills; runner-up at Heather Farr Classic 2005, Las Vegas Founders Junior Championship, MCI Junior Heritage, and Rancho Santa Margarita Auto Dealers/Cox Communications Junior. Jordan Cox, 17, Redwood Shores, California. Senior, Junipero Serra H.S. Fourth place Las Vegas Founders Junior; fifth place, FootJoy Boys Invitational 2004; seventh place MCI Junior Heritage; 18th place, Rolex Tournament of Champions. Daniel Lim, 18, Gilroy, California. Senior, Bellarmine College Prep. Winner of the Las Vegas Founders Junior 2004; seventh place, Thunderbird International Junior; eighth place, USGA Junior Amateur Championship. |
