HOT SPRINGS — Two of golf’s major junior championships return when the 47th Junior PGA Championships tee off at Hot Springs Country Club in Hot Springs, Arkansas, Aug. 1-4.
The four-day, 72-hole event will feature 312 players—156 girls, 156 boys—playing concurrently on the club’s Arlington and Park Courses. The Junior PGA Championships are open to players who are no older than 18 years of age on August 4, and all contestants must have qualified through a PGA Section Championship or have been granted an exemption into the field.
The top female junior golfers will compete for the Patty Berg Trophy. The girls division features five of the top 10 junior players, according to the Rolex AJGA Rankings, highlighted by No. 2 Gianna Clemente, No. 3 Anna Davis (2021 Junior PGA Champion) and No. 4 Yana Wilson.
The top male junior golfers competing for the Jack Nicklaus Trophy feature seven of the top 15 junior players, including No. 2 Jay Leng Jr., No. 4 Blades Brown and No. 6 Nicholas Gross.
Included in the two fields are 114 golfers committed to play at the collegiate level, as well as 17 players from the host South Central PGA Section and 10 Arkansas natives.
The Junior PGA Championships are where the best in the world get their start. Among previous participants are Tiger Woods, Rose Zhang, Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas, Lexi Thompson, Yuka Saso, Scottie Scheffler and Inbee Park.
The 2022 Boys Junior PGA Championship saw champion Max Herendeen of Bellevue, Washington, cruise to a five-shot win. In the Girls Junior PGA Championship, No. 6-ranked Kaitlyn Schroeder of Jacksonville, Florida, saved her best for last with a 6-under 66 in the final round to win by two strokes. Herendeen will begin his collegiate golf career this fall at the University of Illinois, while Schroeder just finished her first semester on the golf team at the University of Alabama in the spring.
Players to Watch at the 2023 Junior PGA Championships
Girls Division:
Gianna Clemente – Estero, Florida
Clemente, the No. 2-ranked golfer in the American Junior Golf Association Rankings, made history as the youngest champion (at age 13) in PING Invitational history in 2021 before successfully defending her title in 2022. Last year, the two-time First-Team Rolex Junior All-American became the youngest player to Monday qualify for three straight LPGA Tour events. In 2019, as an 11-year-old, Clemente became the third-youngest player to compete in the U.S. Women’s Amateur.
Anna Davis – Spring Valley, California
Currently No. 3 in the AJGA Rankings, Davis returns to the field after winning the Girls Junior PGA Championship in 2021. In April 2022, she won the third Augusta National Women’s Amateur at the age of 16, and she was a member of the 2021 U.S. Junior Solheim Cup team. A two-time First-Team Rolex Junior All-American, Davis is verbally committed to Auburn University.
Yana Wilson – Henderson, Nevada
Wilson, a University of Oregon commit, is currently ranked No. 4 on the AJGA Rankings. A 2021 First-Team Rolex Junior All-American, she has won more than 118 amateur junior golf tournaments, notably the inaugural Mizuho Americas Open in June and the 73rd U.S. Girls’ Junior in 2022.
Boys Division:
Jay Leng Jr. – San Diego, California
Leng, the No. 2-ranked golfer in the boys AJGA Rankings, has won the 2022 PING Invitational and the 2023 Polo Golf Junior Classic. A 2022 First-Team Rolex Junior All-American, he is verbally committed to Stanford University.
Blades Brown – Nashville, Tennessee
The No. 4-ranked golfer in the AJGA Rankings, Brown boasts three AJGA wins in 2023: the AJGA Junior at Canebrake presented by Piedmont Bank, Huntsville.org Junior Championship and Wyndham Invitational presented by Odyssey.
Nicholas Gross – Downington, Pennsylvania
Currently ranked No. 6 on the AJGA Rankings, Gross won the 2023 AJGA Simplify Boys Championship at Carlton Woods. The 2022 First-Team Rolex Junior All-American won the AJGA Junior All-Star Invitational in 2021.
Players from the South Central PGA Section in the Field (17):
- Emmerson Doyle, Cabot, Ark.
- Joe Duke, Benton, Ark.
- Will Gordon, Hot Springs, Ark.
- Will Hennessee, Tulsa, Okla.
- Lisa Herman, Jenks, Okla.
- Brode Horton, Royal, Ark.
- Maggie Huett, Hot Springs, Ark.
- Jaden Johnson, Hot Springs, Ark.
- Megan Kalapura, Tulsa, Okla.
- Benton Manly, Tulsa, Okla.
- Jackson McLaughlin, Little Rock, Ark.
- Keaton Michael, El Dorado, Ark.
- Anna Kate Nichols, Little Rock, Ark.
- Avery Schartz, Wichita, Kan.
- Emerie Schartz, Wichita, Kan.
- Presli Webb, Conway, Ark.
- Asher Whitaker, Wichita, Kan.
For more information about the Junior PGA Championships, visit JuniorPGAChampionship.com and follow on Twitter and Instagram.
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